You are an Automaton, something build for entertain people while you fight in an arena. According to these peoples that found you, you are a Core. Let's try to win the game, then.
When you wake up, the first noise you hear is the creaky grinding of gears, almost rusted and stuck for too much time. A small bzzz follows it and, after that, you can finally observe your surroundings. You are in a large rooms and, except for the zone around you, it's completely dark. You are confused by the area, but then you start remembering what you are: you are an Automaton, of course. The Old Engineers create you for their enjoyment, observing you and others like you fighting for their amusement. You try to move, but your mechanical body feels ... off.
Your first idea is that you got stuck, due to the long time you have remained dormant. But by looking at your lower body, you discover with horror that you don't have legs or wheels or other way to move. You are stuck in your place, fixed and with no option to move.
At least you still have your arms, even if some of them are broken and useless. A small joy in this dire situation.
-Testing. Testing. It's this thing even working?-
You hear a voice in the loudspeaker, on your right. The screen is fractured, projecting a deformed face that you cannot recognize. You think it's some of the apes that your masters treated with contempt.
-Okay, apparently is working. At least some of you are moving, so I assume you are still working. Welp, I'll introduce myself: you can call me Lukas, one of the scavengers of the Olds. Seems that this place is some sort of arena for Cores ...-
You have no understanding of what a Core is, but you think that they are talking about you ... wait. There are others like you?
Silly you, now you remember. If this is an arena, there other Automata to fight.
-Anyway, we decided to get the power running. I'm not sure you can even talk with us?-
You tried to speak, ask them what they want. -Nope, I don't have an idea of what language are you talking. Zalatar, you are good with the Old Language.-
-I think that they are asking you what are you doing. Or what you had for lunch. Those dead languages are hard to translate.-
-Yes yes, I assume that they don't want to know about soups, so I'll answer the question. This is a place where people comes and see people fighting. This is something that everyone loves, even in this era. So, this is my proposal to you: you do what you were create to do, I'll get the crowd and with part of the money obtained from them, we'll repair you. From what I see, you'll need any help to make this place running again.-
-So, you'll have this week to prepare yourself. Meaning no fighting or other stuffs. If your data registers are not damaged, you should know what to do. Lukas out.-
With an electric screeching, the voice and the fragmented image vanish.
So, they call you a Core, but you know that your true designation is Automaton. About your name ...
[ ][NAME] Write-in
... yeah, that's your name. Automaton like you were able to create creatures by using the mana conducts that are built inside you. You glimpse to them and see that most of them appears to be damaged, but you think you can fix them.
You know how to fix them, at least. You have an array of powers to use, but by controlling your components, several of them will require a bit of mana to start work properly again. But you are more interested in something else. To make each match different from the others, your masters used to add disks containing the information about a concept, an element that can be used as core for your creations. Now, you only have those left in the last match before the long sleep. By analyzing these disks, you find that your elements are ...
[ ][ELEMENT] Write in.
[ ][ELEMENT] Write in.
[ ][ELEMENT] Write in. Hello, hello hello.
This is absolutely a bad idea.
So, I'm starting this quest inspired by @DangerKitty quests with Dungeon Core. I have no other experience with the genre.
I have almost zero prep for this quest and an history for being not constant. This is also my first quest, English is not my first language and I don't have much practice in writing stories with it.
To summarize: expect this quest to be dead in two weeks - a month, to be pretty unbalance mechanically speaking (so maybe I'll add/remove/change mechanics mid quest). Don't have high expectations.
You can ask me anything and I'll answer at the best of my abilities.
Let's try to have fun and learn from my (surely to come) mistakes. I need to start from somewhere, don't I?
One funny thing about the [ELEMENT] vote: I'll pick three elements: the first will be decided by majority, the second by a random roll between all the options, the third I'll choose it, not necessarily from all the options. You can pick anything, but please something that we can work with. I'll veto otherwise or ask for some examples.
I'll reserve one post, then you can go.
Room 17: Folly's Room
Room 19: Room guarded by a Small Arenaborne (Small Independent Minion). Ruined Mana Batteries (Increase owner's mana pool by 6)
Creatures
Level: 0 (0/1)
Medium Swarm of Tiny creatures, Noosphere
HP: 32
MP: 32
Attack: 8d4
Defense: 8d1
Traits:
- Swarm: This creature is made by eight tiny creatures, so each time it loses enoug HP to drop a creature (4 HP), reduce MP, Attack and Defense by consequence.
- Mind Reaper: This creature has a greater Attack Dice size.
Skills:
- Memory Munch: Roll 2D6. On a 7-9: Add another Attack Dice to your attack. On a 10+: Add two Attack dice to your attack. 4 Mana
Level: 0 (0/1)
Medium Swarm of Tiny creatures, Holy
HP: 40
MP: 24
Attack: 8d1
Defense: 8d2
Traits:
- Swarm: This creature is made by eight Tiny creatures, so each time it loses enoug HP to drop a creature (5 HP), reduce MP, Attack and Defense by consequence.
- Guardian Aura: This creature increase the Defensive Dice of the other creatures in the same room.
Skills:
- Holy Reflection: Roll 2d6. On a 7-9: An enemy creature takes damage equal to its lowest Attack dice rolled. On a 10+: An enemy creature takes damage qual to its highest Attack dice rolled. 8 mana.
Basically, in my current set of rules, Swarms work like this:
They are made by multiple creatures of one size lower the picked size and they get multiple dices, one for each member of the swarm. When they take damage, if it's enough to kill one member of the swarm, they lose the dices related to the creature.
Quick Example of a Small Swarm:
Sun Scarabs Swarm: 4 Tiny creatures
HP: 24 (6 HP for creature)
MP: 8 (2 MP for creature)
Damage: 4d2 (1 dice for creature)
Defense: 4d1 (same as above)
Trait: Swarm (the describtion above about their working, basically)
Ability: //
So, if the Swarm get attacked and it takes 3 damage, HP goes to 7. It's enough to lose one member of the swarm, resulting in them going to 4 MP, 4d2 for damagae and 4d1.
They are very consistent with damage (lot of dices), but get progressively worn off in combat.
What do you think?
(I remind you that this is a draft and they are tested)
All right, let's start from the basics:
The world is limited to the arena where you are going to fight other 3 Automata like you. Meaning that they have three elements each and the same number of actions. You'll start with 2 actions for each turn and a couple of turns of peace (the free week in the opening post).
The Arena is a map that you'll unlock with the according action and it's made by several rooms. Each room can give bonus resources or access to other particular features. To get them, you must clear the rooms, which will be occupied by non-respawning monsters.
To win, you must claim the rooms of your opponents. Same rules as above, but clearly they can spawn more minions.
Your monster will have the following fields:
Level: The level of the monster. They start at level 1.
HP: How many health point they have. They get 0 or less, they die.
MP: Mana points, used to activate skills.
Attack: The roll for the attack
Defense: The roll for defence. The final damage done is always Attack-Defense
Traits: These are passive, unlocked by levelling or at the creation. The number depends on the size
Skills: The number of skills. They can be level up by use in battle or passive training at home.
You, the Core, will have the following fields. You don't have HP because the losing condition is the one above. (You don't want to damage your atheletes):
Mana: Your accumulated mana.
Mana generation: Mana that you generate each turn.
Minion pool: The max number of minions you can control. A Small minion uses one point, a Medium uses 2, a Large uses 4 and so on.
Claimed Rooms: The list of rooms you directly control.
So, as a Core: what can you do? Since you are in disrepair, you'll need to repair yourself. Those are your upgrades:
- Mana Pool
- Mana Generation
- Minion Pool
- Traps and Enchantment (One - shot)
The first round of repairing will just cost the action, the other will require mana. Traps and enchantment unlock the possibility, as the name suggest, to use mana to create traps in your claimed rooms or spells to use against enemy minions.
Other actions are repairing actions to get the map and the chat system with the other automata, plus the chance to scout rooms close to your claimed rooms.
If you have questions or other doubts, I'll answer when I can
Somewhere in the Vanguard Nest
The room they rented was austere: a bunk bed and a small wardrobe were the only thing present in it. It may have been small, and not very clean, but money was scarce, and it wasn't their first time in a room like that. Plus, it was close to their new discovery, so even better. The two men inside were a varied duo: Lukas was bald and short, with all the pockets on his jacket full of various things; Zalatar was blond, tall and very thin, with a large pair of glasses.
While Lukas was unpacking, Zalatar was writing something on a small device.
"What are you doing?" Asked Lukas, after noticing his friend.
"What do you think I'm doing. Contacting our boss." was the dry response of the other man.
"Come on, we don't exactly have to report to Elarukh our finding." Lukas said, trying to stop his companion, but the message was already sent.
"Oh, I didn't know you had a death wish. Fine, as long as you only pickpocket a small relic, it's only fair and square. But how you plan to hide an entire arena with four - FOUR - damned Cores. And we have to advertise the arena to bring people in, which is not exactly something we can do without getting noticed." The blonde man was sweating and pushed Lukas away.
"If he gets involved, we can say goodbye to our chance to leave this hole. He'll take, what ... 75% of the gains? " Lukas grumbled.
"25% split between us is still better than a bolt in the head, Lukas. If this arena of yours will bring as many people as you dream, it's still worth working on it."
A small ring on Zalatar's device put an end to the conversation. On the screen, the following message:
I'll come to see this "arena" when it's ready. I'll decide after that. Hope you two are not wasting my precious time.
Another message after that. You have 2 days
"Oh well, I think we're done." Lukas sighed. "How many goldies do you have on you?"
Zalatar rummaged through his pockets, taking out five golden disks.
"... well, fuck"
"If this arena doesn't work out, we're screwed." stated Zalatar.
Lukas mumbled, "If it does ... we might, at least, avoid going hungry."
In the Arena
Yeah, now you remember your name. Your art name on the Ring is Folly. Quite a surprise that between your element disks there wasn't Madness, with a name like yours.
You check them again: Noosphere, Lightning and Holy. There were a bunch of options at your disposal: Noosphere could be useful to access information about your enemies or trying to mess with their knowledge; Lightning could be extremely useful for traps and very aggressive minions or enchantments; Holy could be useful for protective spells and healing, maybe? So many ideas, but you'll think about it when the moment comes.
"Testing, testing." You heard again the voice of the man that you think is called Lukas.
"Oh, I see that you four are awake. This place apparently runs on a generator that, in all honesty, I have no fucking clue on how it works, and I don't dare to touch it. But I think I understand how the Arena commands work."
"If this button means Start the game and not Incinerate. - That should be Zalatar speaking.
"I hope is the first, but we are going to discover it soon. We'll turn the energy of the arena just to see if everything is working correctly."
You heard the typical noise of a rusty machine, slowly turning on, with white fluorescent mana floating in the circuits. Pale lights turn on and you feel energy entering in your body. The dark room where you are lights on and you see the environment magically change.
Behind you, a large ethereal sphere begins to form and when you gaze inside it, you see shapes, ideas and objects that quickly turn into each other, continuously changing.
On your right, a part of the room gets turned into what looks like a church or the place of a cult. Golden mana floats around it, as if coming from an higher place.
On your left, mechanical devices containing trapped sparks and lightings project an electric hues on that part of the room, barely contained, but highly explosive.
You heard a loud voice coming from the loudspeaker,
"ROOM 17 HAS BEEN CLAIMED BY FOLLY, HOLY AVATAR, BEARER OF LIGHTING, HERALD OF THE NOOSPHERE."
Then you hear nothing else, but another minute pass before Lukas talks again, "A bit pompous, but I hope the crowd will appreciate it. I don't think you can hear the claim of the other Cores, right?"
You shake your head. No information for free, apparently.
"So, I have one request for all of you: I said a week last time. You don't have so much time, unfortunately: our investor will be here in a couple of days. And we really, REALLY need something to show to him. Not a fight: too early for that. From what I know, you can create some creatures to do your bindings. I think you should create something like that. If it's iconic, the better."
Should look better. Ah, about the colons: they can be used to explain further what you mean, and I use them a lot even in my native tongue. I just checked and they should be corrected, not for opening dialogues (that's apparently not the right use in English), but for the parts where Lukas explains his request and why they don't have a week as promised.
[QM Note: As usual, I reserve the right of veto and ask for more details. Remember: descriptions will affect the final stats and traits.]
[My thanks to @Nigerian Duck for being my beta testing, I know I asked him a lot.]
You have 2 Actions and one of them MUST be a minion creation (only for this turn). Plan format only. For this turn, you'll have the full pool of mana.
Mana generation: +4 each turn
Mana pool: 12/12
Minion pool: 0/4
Minions are your way to directly fight and claim other rooms. You can always count on them. A Small Minion (or a Swarm of four Tiny creatures) costs 3 mana and occupy one slot, a Medium Minion costs 6 mana and occupy 2 slots, a Large Minion costs 12 mana and occupy 4 slots.
[ ] Create a Minion
-[ ] What element?
-[ ] What size?
-[ ] What is it?
You body is ruined by years and inactivity. Your mana tubes leaks. Your creature matrix is damaged. Your battery are half destroyed and some parts of your are still damaged. You'll unlock more upgrades by unlocking all the upgrade of the same tier and, by completing a tier, you'll get one extra action.
[ ] Repair your mana tubes (tier I): Increase mana generation from +4 to +6
[ ] Repair your mana batteries (tieri I): Increase mana pool from 12 to 24
[ ] Repair your minion matrix (tier I): Increase your minion pool from 4 to 8
[ ] Repair your map tracker: Unlock the map of the whole Arena
[ ] Repair the message system: Unlock the option to talk with other Automata (if they pick this upgrade)
[ ] Repair your trap matrix: Unlock the option to put traps in your claimed rooms (they will cost mana).
[ ] Repair your enchantment matrix: Unlock the option to use spells (they will cost mana).
[ ] Repair your minion assembler: Unlock the possibility to have double elements on a minion (they will cost extra mana)
Yes, you cannot directly influence the arena: you'll need to rely on minions, traps and enchantments to do so. But you are still far from useless: you can scout other rooms before the fight begins.
[ ] Scout the room on your left (Room 14)
[ ] Scout the room on the left at the bottom of your room (Room 15)
[ ] Scout the room on the right at the bottom of your room (Room 19)
Scheduled vote count started by Abyssius on Nov 17, 2021 at 4:00 PM, finished with 32 posts and 6 votes.
[X] plan a dungeon needs a boss
-[X] Create a Minion
--[x] noosphere
--[x] large
--[x] noosphere hydra with mindwipe breath.
-[X] Repair your mana tubes (tier I): Increase mana generation from +4 to +6
[X] Plan: Scales and Feather
-[X] Create a Minion
--[X] Holy
--[X] Medium
--[X] Winged white Snake
-[X] Repair your minion assembler: Unlock the possibility to have double elements on a minion (they will cost extra mana)
[X] Plan: Scout's Honor!
-[X] Create a Minion
--[x] noosphere
--[x] medium swarm
--[x] 8 tiny dragonflies with hivemind and telepathy strong enough to use offensively.
-[X] Repair your mana tubes (tier I): Increase mana generation from +4 to +6
[X] Plan: Scout's Honor!
-[X] Create a Minion
--[x] noosphere
--[x] medium swarm
--[x] 8 tiny dragonflies with hivemind and telepathy strong enough to use offensively.
-[X] Repair your mana tubes (tier I): Increase mana generation from +4 to +6
You have many ideas for your first minion, two related to Noosphere and one related to Holy. After some thoughts, you decide that your best opening would be offensive scout, agile enough to not be splat at the first attack yet dangerous enough to overcome the opponent.
Your long, spider like arms moved quickly toward the ethereal sphere on your back, extracting thin filaments that you start weaving into what looked like a small insect, a dragonfly. Everything starts with the small body, then the wings and, at the end, you cloned from the prototype all the creatures. After confirming your work with certain satisfaction, you complete the creation, breathing life into the husks.
After few seconds, the host of dragonflies start flying around you, moving their wing synchronized.
"Oh, finally" One of them "speaks", with a high-pitched voice and a fast pace.
"We live again" Another continue the previous phrase.
"Time to serve the Automata"
"Time to consume the minds of your enemies"
"So much time has passed"
"But we'll serve, as usual"
You look at them with curiosity, "So, you remember your past incarnations?"
"We come from the Noosphere" One answers.
"We recall what happened, what's happening, and we have glimpse of what could happen" The pitch is gleeful, before becoming sad. "Unfortunately,"
"The rule of the Arena prohibit us to talk about what we see"
"But don't worry, we'll find information that you can use"
"Or we'll consume your enemies" This one was so cheerful that was a bit unnerving.
"Which are also our enemies"
They flew around you, joyous. It was strange to talk with them, but apparently the Arena stop them from reveal to you information that you don't have access to. A pity. While the Dragonflies were talking to each other - or themselves, you don't know exactly-, you use your remaining time of the day to assembly mechanical replacement to your damage mana circuits and pipes.
More mana would be helpful in fighting your enemies and having more resource it's always a good course of action. So, you used the aspects provided to you to create replacements and the reparations look ... not great, but you could improve it later, with more mana like the extra one already flowing inside.
Some pieces were golden like the Holy mana, while the electrical sparks of the Lightning fused with the normal electrical sparks of the circuits. The Noosphere mana was not very suited for direct reparation, but it gave you glimpse to perform a better work. Not bad for the first day of activity.
"I wasn't expecting them to do the same type of creatures, of course. But completely different in numbers and shapes?" Lukas pointed at one of the monitors.
"Wouldn't be an interesting fight if they were playing the same things." Zalatar answers, before returning to his terminal.
"Yeah, but don't you think that things will be quite unbalanced? Like, do you see this monstrosity? I don't think none of them can fight against it."
"Sure, but according to the parameters, he just spent everything on that minion. It's all or nothing for him."
"As you say, Zal. Plus, what these things are supposed to be? Flying worms?"
"They are called "Dragonflies". I saw them in an old book. Maybe the Farmers have seen them in flesh?"
"Perhaps. What do you think about the others?"
"One of them decided that strength was in numbers. The other ... is kind of underwhelming? I think all the other Cores can kick his ass, so I hope he has a plan. Or maybe he's just playing weak to distract the others."
"Uhm. There will be always people betting on the underdog, so good for us" Lukas was gleeful in that moment.
"Better to not overwork them: some of them started repairing, but better to take things slowly, don't you agree?"
Lukas nods, before turning on the microphone: "Okay guys, I'll leave the rest of days so that you can charge your batteries again. We'll back tomorrow morning and the day after, our boss will be here to see you fighting. Hope you'll put on a nice show for him".
Then he closes the channel. "Zal, do you think that they sleep or what?" The blonde man shrugged, "Does it matter?"
The next day
While Zalatar and Lukas were trying to exit their room, the landlord - an old lady with unkept grey hair - intercept them.
"Listen, if it's for the payment ..." Lukas tried to justify, but the lady waved her hand, dismissively.
"Yeah, I know. Your friend already paid. No, not this one. The other friend"
Lukas and Zalar exchanged a glare: "He was a tall man, with the eyes of two different colors?"
"No, the lady with the brown ponytail. She paid two weeks and was quite clear that if I tried to charge you again, I won't own a building anymore. And she was dead serious. Scared the shit out of me"
"Yeah, she tends to do this to people" Lukas' laugh was clearly forced and, when the landlady was far enough, whispered to Zalatar,"I don't know anybody fitting the description. Do you?"
"Doesn't ring a bell" Zalatar shook his head.
"Great, so a menacing lady that we know nothing about decided to pay our room."
"Maybe she's working for Elarukh?".
Lukas stared at his friend, before exploding in a nervous laugh. "Elarukh paying two weeks? If it's true, then I have wings and I can fly away"
"It was just an idea, dude. The only thing we can do is wait for her."
"Yeah, I agree. Let's go to the Arena and see what they are doing." Lukas sighed, before checking that the door was closed.
You awake again and so does your dragonflies, which you are quite sure they wake up just a second before you, but they gleefully start buzzing around you.
"Testing, testing." Lukas was again opening the loudspeaker.
"I see that you and your creatures are awake. As we said, tomorrow our boss will be here, so today fighting is still forbidden, even with the ... how we are going to call these?"
"Neutrals? Critters?"
"I like critters. So, no fighting. You have white paper, and you can do whatever you want. Just be ready to show something to our boss, all right? Don't disappoint us".
[QM Note: Same rule: I deserve the right to ask for clarifications and other things.]
[Unfortunately Nigerian didn't answer, I think it's busy so this update is not proofreaded. If you notice some mistakes, please notify me so I can fix.]
You have 2 Actions and you CANNOT attack any creature. So only scout actions for minions.
Mana generation: +6 each turn
Mana pool: 12/12
Minion pool: 2/4
Minions are your way to directly fight and claim other rooms. You can always count on them. A Small Minion (or a Swarm of four Tiny creatures) costs 3 mana and occupy one slot, a Medium Minion costs 6 mana and occupy 2 slots, a Large Minion costs 12 mana and occupy 4 slots.
[ ] Create a Minion
-[ ] What element?
-[ ] What size?
-[ ] What is it?
You body is ruined by years and inactivity. Your mana tubes leaks. Your creature matrix is damaged. Your battery are half destroyed and some parts of your are still damaged.
You'll unlock more upgrades by unlocking all the upgrade of the same tier and, by completing a tier, you'll get one extra action.
[ ] Repair your mana tubes (tier II): Increase mana generation from +6 to +8. Costs 5 Mana
[ ] Repair your mana batteries (tieri I): Increase mana pool from 12 to 24
[ ] Repair your minion matrix (tier I): Increase your minion pool from 4 to 8
[ ] Repair your map tracker: Unlock the map of the whole Arena
[ ] Repair the message system: Unlock the option to talk with other Automata (if they pick this upgrade)
[ ] Repair your trap matrix: Unlock the option to put traps in your claimed rooms (they will cost mana).
[ ] Repair your enchantment matrix: Unlock the option to use spells (they will cost mana).
[ ] Repair your minion assembler: Unlock the possibility to have double elements on a minion (they will cost extra mana)
Yes, you cannot directly influence the arena: you'll need to rely on minions, traps and enchantments to do so. But you are still far from useless: you can scout other rooms before the fight begins.
[ ] Scout the room on your left (Room 14)
[ ] Scout the room on the left at the bottom of your room (Room 15)
[ ] Scout the room on the right at the bottom of your room (Room 19)
Your best way to act upon the Arena. Currently, you can scout, but tomorrow things will be different.
One action for each minion.
[] Scout a Room
-[] Pick a room (14, 15 or 19)
-[] Select a minion
[] Defend a Room
-[] Pick a room (17)
-[] Select a minion
[QM Note: You are clearly not going to be attacked this turn.]
[/SPOILER
Scheduled vote count started by Abyssius on Nov 30, 2021 at 3:20 PM, finished with 14 posts and 4 votes.
[X] Plan: Guardian Angels
-[X] Create Minion
--[X] Holy element, Swarm of the same size/quantity as the Dragonflies. Defensive specialist fairies that can mingle with other Swarms to improve that Swarm's defenses, and add retributive damage equal to damage taken to the attack dice of themselves or a Swarm they're mingled with.
-[X] Repair Map Tracker
-[X] Scout (Dragonflies to 19)
[X] Plan: Guardian Angels
-[X] Create Minion
--[X] Holy element, Swarm of the same size/quantity as the Dragonflies. Defensive specialist fairies that can mingle with other Swarms to improve that Swarm's defenses, and add retributive damage equal to damage taken to the attack dice of themselves or a Swarm they're mingled with.
-[X] Repair Map Tracker
-[X] Scout (Dragonflies to 19)
For starters, you send your dragonflies to scout the hallway on your right. In the meantime, since your creature matrix has some free space, you decide to create a playmate for your swarm. Considering that the dragonflies are mostly offensive, they may need someone to guard over them, like a guardian angel. Oh, this gives you a good idea.
You start weaving golden threads of Holy mana in a small fairy body, with feathered golden wings and white dress, armed with a round shield and and a sword. Another swarm of small creatures, not too impressive, sure, but when you breath life into them, you think they're going to complement very well your other servants. When they start flying, they dispose in formation, very different from the chaotic flight of the dragonflies.
Speaking of the devil, here they return with their report.
"We have great information, Folly" then, they notice the fairies.
"Oh, you are our new companion."
"Are you here to smithe our enemies?" One of them ask to the fairies.
"We serve Lord Folly and we are going to be His shield and His sword" The voice was solemn and high.
"This one is kinda stiff, eh?" One of the dragonflies comments.
"But I hope we'll work together"
"So to achieve the victory for our Automata". The dragonflies drifted along the faries, observing them.
"What have you seen during your exploration?" You ask to the dragonflies.
"Ah, yes."
"Big news: the room is easy to conquer"
"Just one small arenaborn. It uses iron gloves"
"We'll take him out, no doubt on it."
"There are some ruined batteries."
"You can connect to it and store more mana."
Useful informations indeed.
The tone change. "But we were not only the only one exploring"
"Not at all"
"Two other small creatures where on the other side of the room."
"Some kind of insectoids"
"With razor arms."
"This means that another Automata is close"
"We should be careful".
You ponder on the news. You know that one of your opponents is close to you, meaning that it will also know that you are close to him. This meansyou'll have to fight him in the near future. You have still some time left and, while the Dragonflies and the Spirits talk to each other, you start repairing the map, so to be sure where your enemy could actually be. The device is not as badly damage as your other components, so a quick repair made with Holy and Lightning mana is enough. The display blinks with a white light, before presenting you an image.
So, if the enemies scout comes from a near room, it could be in the room 18 or 16. But you cannot be entirely sure and you should decide how to use your minions ...
Lukas and Zalatar were waiting, outside their Arena. They tried to clean up the place, removing some rubbles so to make it as presentable as possible, but a lot more work remained and the time of the meeting was approaching. Lukas scratched his bald head and checked again his watch, while Zalatar was fidgeting.
From the dust that was always present on the border between the Nest and the Old City, a large black vehicle emerged with a low hum. The two were always surprised in see that thing, something that the Old Engineers built and Elarukh paid to get it working again. It was like a chariot, but closed and without animals to drive it, able to float above the ground. The machine stops in front of the two and three heavily armed thugs exited from it, checking around for dangers. After receiving the all clear, the vehicle door in front of Zalatar and Lukas opened and a man, two meters tall with a sickly green skin came out, a pair of protective googles covering his eyes.
-Zalatar. Lukas. I hope everything is ready.- The voice was low and deep and, without waiting for an answer, Elarukh went inside the building. The two men promptly followed their boss.
-Yes boss, we tried to make it more presentable, but a lot of hands will be need to clean this place enough to welcome a paying crowd ...- before Lukas could say anothe word, the tall man stopped, removed his googles and look him in the eyes. One eye was brown, but the other was light blue and not moving. Lukas gulped.
-First, I want to see if it's something as interesting as you told me it would be. Then we'll decide about these details. Don't you agree?-
-Yes boss.- Lukas answer was quick, but the eyes stopped on the other man.
-Zalatar?-
-Yes boss.- Was the answer of the blonde man.
The two guided the green man on what should have been the place of honor when the Arena was working. It was a closed room, with one of the wall replaced by a large screen. Lukas extracted a small remote from one of his pocket and turn it on, before explaining all the buttons on the device.
Elarukh sat on the chair that the two provided, while they were staying standing. A sofa would have been a better options, but none of them had the goldies to buy one. Luckly, Elarukh was more focused on the screens than those details.
-I hope these ... creatures are ready to fight.- He said, while glancing at the two men.
-We already istructed them. They should be ready.-
You expected this quest to be dead, but it's not. For now. Happy Christmas even if late and happy new year!
Same rules apply.
You have 2 Actions and you must ATTACK someone else. Currently, you are sure there are enemies in 19.
Mana generation: +6 each turn
Mana pool: 12/12
Minion pool: 4/4
Minions are your way to directly fight and claim other rooms. You can always count on them. A Small Minion (or a Swarm of four Tiny creatures) costs 3 mana and occupy one slot, a Medium Minion costs 6 mana and occupy 2 slots, a Large Minion costs 12 mana and occupy 4 slots. [ ] Create a Minion
-[ ] What element?
-[ ] What size?
-[ ] What is it?
[Minion matrix is full]
You body is ruined by years and inactivity. Your mana tubes leaks. Your creature matrix is damaged. Your battery are half destroyed and some parts of your are still damaged.
You'll unlock more upgrades by unlocking all the upgrade of the same tier and, by completing a tier, you'll get one extra action.
[ ] Repair your mana tubes (tier II): Increase mana generation from +6 to +8. Costs 5 Mana
[ ] Repair your mana batteries (tieri I): Increase mana pool from 12 to 24
[ ] Repair your minion matrix (tier I): Increase your minion pool from 4 to 8
[ ] Repair the message system: Unlock the option to talk with other Automata (if they pick this upgrade)
[ ] Repair your trap matrix: Unlock the option to put traps in your claimed rooms (they will cost mana).
[ ] Repair your enchantment matrix: Unlock the option to use spells (they will cost mana).
[ ] Repair your minion assembler: Unlock the possibility to have double elements on a minion (they will cost extra mana)
Yes, you cannot directly influence the arena: you'll need to rely on minions, traps and enchantments to do so. But you are still far from useless: you can scout other rooms before the fight begins.
[ ] Scout the room on your left (Room 14)
[ ] Scout the room on the left at the bottom of your room (Room 15)
Your best way to act upon the Arena. They told you to attack someone.
One action for each minion. Minions can assist each other
[] Scout a Room
-[] Pick a room (14 or 15)
-[] Select a minion
[] Defend a Room
-[] Pick a room (17)
-[] Select a minion
[] Attack a Room
-[] Pick a room (14, 15 or 19)
-[] Select one or more minions
[QM Note: You are clearly not going to be attacked this turn. But there's a chance someone will attack also your target.]
Scheduled vote count started by Abyssius on Dec 31, 2021 at 12:20 PM, finished with 14 posts and 7 votes.
[X] Plan: Pylons are a trap, right?
-[X] Repair your minion matrix (tier I): Increase your minion pool from 4 to 8
-[X] Repair your trap matrix: Unlock the option to put traps in your claimed rooms (they will cost mana).
-[X] Attack a Room
--[X] Pick a room (19)
---[X] Dragonflies and Guardian Angels
[X] You Must Construct Additional Pylons
-[X] Repair your minion matrix (tier I): Increase your minion pool from 4 to 8
-[X] Repair the message system: Unlock the option to talk with other Automata (if they pick this upgrade)
-[X] Attack a Room
--[X] Pick a room (19)
---[X] Dragonflies and Guardian Angels
