>>1090195
>Potions
For the Overlapples, theyre bigger one the inside to store more juice and fruit stuff, maybe we can make a potion from it that will let the drinker store more "juice"? Like if it could temporarily expand their pool of mana, or stamina or just energy in general, rather than restoring it?

Amalgamate Construct, for sure.

Deem, the dungeon and our denizens are really trending towards the blending and fusion of things arent they? A lot of the unforeseen incidents have that in common as well. Is that normal?

>>reward for Merud
Well, He does need a new Golem robe, seeing as Centaur chewed up his old one. Maybe thats a good use for that Gazerspawn Skin.

>>1090196
yesyesyesyesyes

HUGE. GOLDEN.

arms

Whichever you go with, the woody brute should be the test subject. She’s been a hard worker since nearly day one.

>>1090195
Given Merud's goal is golem sentience I think we should go for elite golem rather than Golem army.

From a dungeon perspective, raising more copies of golems is incredible.
-Triage a golem and then copy it to make two or more fixed golems from two broken ones.
-More workers for any project of his, and of course more minions in a fight.
-Double the power of golem bosses.
-Double Deems… your duplicate body could be studied in more detail without damaging the original.

Those are all huge force multipliers, Merud would be improving his raw talent and capacity for golemetry. But amalgam… As a researcher, amalgam is something new and unique for Merud to experiment with. The results aren’t reproducible by his peers yet unfortunately, but maybe he’ll work something out. Or perhaps that’s because he would be peerless. There are upsides, I just don’t see them providing as many benefits at once.
-a note of caution: would anything amalgamated with Centaur actually be able to de-fuse?

-The handy Hin-hammer: Pocket golem!
-Infusing the stonebush into the woody brute - would this fusion of plant and stone behave differently from ordinary rock?
-Gazeggs: grant a magic golem powerful eldritch abilities. Presumably without using up the eggs.
-Fusing the cauldron golem with a hat golem: uh, larger cauldron storage capacity? Could use the spatially warped cauldron as an extra potion bath.
-Homunculus golem fused with flesh - golems made from flesh are harder to animate, does this bypass that limitation? Though, hmm, where are we going to get a bit of spare flesh. …Oh! Stargazer left a bunch lying around.
-Pancake can be fused with spare metal to make an extra secure door, or a very heavy crushing trap.
-Woody brute + handy brute = one very big golem, I’m sure.

See, there’s a lot you can experiment with, but who knows what the practical value will be. And he can only do one at a time! And finally, how would the results of this ability differ from just integrating those materials/items into the golem the old fashioned way? Even golem fusion has been done before - see Centaur.

amalgamate would greatly speed up the development of new golems. Combine, observe the effects, and then figure out how to replicate.

You should get Merud a new robe.

Garrison.
We could use more dependable order in this dungeon and less lone heroes doing wild things when we’re not looking.

Amalgamate. It'll give Merude lots to experiment with.

Speaking of golem's, question, Deem.
Eventually, when you're fragment matures into it's own core, do you think she'll prefer to live as an independent golem or do you think she'll quickly settle down somewhere and start a new dungeon?

Wait, which timeline does Stargazer remember?

Both of them seem like they'll up our overall level of power pretty heavily, golem garrison letting us float a larger contingent of enemies, and Amalgamate letting us refine quickly through combination.

I'd say it follows the way we are to go with amalgamate. Mutation and evolution is more your thing than having an army at your back.

And, just as a funny thought, now that Reisarf has a clone of him/herself, you know he's eventually going to get freaky with himself.

1/3 Deem 2024/05/17(Fri)04:52 No. 1091126 ID: ef4bac
File 171594674102.png - (24.26KB , 700x700 , combos.png )

>Deem, the dungeon and our denizens are really trending towards the blending and fusion of things aren't they? A lot of the unforeseen incidents have that in common as well. Is that normal?
As a dungeon I try to take in denizens that will complement my weaknesses and add to my strengths. I've chosen twice now to focus on ensuring development in my denizens: I'm still working towards adding an element of shadow to help them develop their own mysteries and unique skills, and I have strengthened the fecund aspects of my earth element too to promote denizen growth.

An earth dungeon has variety in expression, but my dungeon is still undersized and monotonous. It's only in the last few weeks I've even established lairs I have aspired to shadow but not really grasped it, so I am suffering from vagaries with truths to be discovered. I have passed over fire and can't pass down gifts of pyromancy or other enlightenments.

We shall not speak of air, light or water. My dungeon is however wetter than perhaps it should be and thus I am suffering from blending there too. I have placed myself more centrally than is perhaps ideal too, as my development of the False Idol has indicated.

Considering all of this it's not surprising that we are seeing all these recombinant efforts to force growth and generate variety as new things are encountered, expressed, combined and passed about my dungeon to see which denizens they resonant best with.

It doesn't help they are all developing so fast. Hin, Reisarf and Moriko are all over-levelled for the current state of my Dungeon Heart. Stargazer likely will be next. My wounded Heart will be struggling to support them unless I can gather more gold.

Perhaps people grow faster in this era or perhaps my wou- no, I am getting sidetracked.

>As a researcher, amalgam is something new and unique for Merud to experiment with. The results aren’t reproducible by his peers yet unfortunately, but maybe he’ll work something out.
>Amalgamate would greatly speed up the development of new golems. Combine, observe the effects, and then figure out how to replicate.
I worry I have left Merud to pick up the slack too many times, so giving him the opportunity to ease his research and more quickly develop golems seems a fitting reward.

>Given Merud's goal is golem sentience I think we should go for elite golem rather than golem army.
And his own specialty is one that would likely benefit from focusing on quality over quantity.

>From a practical/dungeon master standpoint, golem garrison is incredibly useful. Instant reinforcements, larger unit cap. As creative as amalgamate golems could be, someone’s got to be the handy man about the dungeon, and that is a lotta hands.
There's dungeon structures I can make that should help ease the burden of building and maintaining a large number of golems, though less versatile than this skill.

I give Merud a few minutes to ponder his new skill in isolation to see what he comes up with.

2/3 Deem 2024/05/17(Fri)04:53 No. 1091127 ID: ef4bac
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Reisarf hustles back in.

"Deem! I took a nap and remembered what happened to the Potential Void on the monster hunting trip and thought you'd want to know."

I think for a moment about what I would find the most personally annoying.

"Alkaline ate it, didn't she?"

"Oh I didn't have to worry at all." Reisarf says. "How do you always know these things?"

"I - no, lucky guess." I say.

I catch a rock that is flung at me from ambush. The shadow slick slime yelps in panic and hides again. That slime's getting added to the punishment roster too.

Reisarf blinks at me, arms half raising as if he was debating whether to applaud. "Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure. What did it do?" Obviously she didn't explode or I would know.

Reisarf shuffles uncertainly. "She wants it to be a surprise."

"And if I don't want to be surprised?" I say icily.

"I would be very conflicted!" Reisarf says.

I sigh. "Fine, if Alkaline wants to surprise me, she can surprise me." I spoil that slime too much.

"OK, but you'll want to know that Hin also ate it!"

This is my hubris. "What happened?"

"I also passed out in the middle of trying a hybridisation spell. Hin tried to interrupt it but the Void fused directly to her. I don't think the Moon is involved, but it's like a less hairy werewolf! She's lizardy like she was in the Orange Crags, but littler."

I blink. We were thinking of researching such a thing, though this is a bracingly direct approach.

I hold in another sigh. Reisarf is trying to do better. "Thank you for informing me Reisarf."

>Wait, which timeline does Stargazer remember?
I don't know. She doesn't talk. As she was at the epicenter of events and didn't get moved to accompany Alkaline and Hin on the expedition, the original one I would say.

>Gazeggs could replicate Stargazer’s dungeon level powers without the corrupting influence of the winze! That’s super powerful! If there are two Reisarfs, one of them should eat all the eggs to be a temporary Stargazer standin. (Will her wiggles and suitability as a staff be emulated, I wonder?)
It certainly might be powerful, but I'm not doing any experiments with those things until after Olan's visit.

>For the Overlapples, they're bigger on the inside to store more juice and fruit stuff, maybe we can make a potion from it that will let the drinker store more "juice"? Like if it could temporarily expand their pool of mana, or stamina or just energy in general, rather than restoring it?
That seems like a good idea as it might also work well with the serum gland attempt. Since Belphe is still brewing up a mix for the cauldron-golem, I ask him to try this. He sulkily agrees to brew this up for his 'competitor'

>Eventually, when your fragment matures into it's own core, do you think she'll prefer to live as an independent golem or do you think she'll quickly settle down somewhere and start a new dungeon?
Don't be an idiot. I am myself. I will remain myself.

And, just as a funny thought, now that Reisarf has a clone of him/herself, you know he's eventually going to get freaky with himself.
No, I don't know. I go to some trouble to not know what my denizens get up to in their private moments while within my dungeon. I don't think about it.

And neither should you.

3/3 Deem 2024/05/17(Fri)04:54 No. 1091128 ID: ef4bac
File 171594689450.png - (52.13KB , 800x600 , golem_choices.png )

>You should get Merud a new robe.
>Maybe thats a good use for that Gazerspawn Skin.
Yes, that might work quite well. Is there anything special I should try to work in?

>A note of caution: would anything amalgamated with Centaur actually be able to de-fuse?
It would perhaps be good to test that. Raw materials almost certainly, it might have some odd effects on magic items, and golems are likely to be damaged.

>Fusing the cauldron golem with a hat golem: uh, larger cauldron storage capacity? Could use the spatially warped cauldron as an extra potion bath.
Those golems are more complicated in what they're meant to do. I want to try the golems out before making further modification to them.

>Homunculus golem fused with flesh - golems made from flesh are harder to animate, does this bypass that limitation? Though, hmm, where are we going to get a bit of spare flesh. …Oh! Stargazer left a bunch lying around.
I will add it to the list if Merud hasn't already thought of it.

>Amalgamate Construct, obviously. Test it with yourself and gold. Think of the earth pulse you could generate!
Unless I'm willing to play the part of a statue in my Treasury or Heart Chamber, very little.

I check in with Merud to see what ideas he's had. We can test one for now:

Homunculus + Alien Lard: "This might be a viable means of creating a more independent golem if the combination can retain Stargazer's ability to store and release mana, as any mana user could provide them energy instead of just a golemeter. Of course command tools or more sophisticated golem cores would still be needed to no longer require a golemeter present."

Hammer Brute + Treated Slime: "Liquids and gels are not a good match for a lot of common golemetry techniques, which this might sidestep. I'd expect the resultant golem to be more limber and resilient, possibly even stretchy."

Handy Brute + Sculpted Simulacrum: "Potentially a substantial increase in capability, however it'll depend on whether any remnants of the Simulacrum's abilities will remain once the spell that created it expires."

Woody Brute + Rockfruit: "This golem is already focused on tenacity and regeneration, so I believe this would further enhance those features by allowing stone armour to be grown as damage accumulates."

Gardener + Sap Bombs: "Again trying to bypass the limitations of our current tools and materials by fusing in more magically active components via amalgamation. I would expect a substantial improvement in the power of the plant growth inherent spell."

Centaur + Basic Golem: "I'm curious about three things: whether a golem combined via this method can successfully be disentangled from Centaur's aberrant golemetry, whether there'd be any side effects on the basic golem, and whether we will see more sophisticated behaviour after adding a third core."

Test the handy brute with a Hin simulacrum. Uh, once we see what state she’s in!

Woody Brute + Rockfruit! White Witch all day every day lets fucken goooooooo

Gardening Sapbombs!

>>1091127
>fusion theme is due to the dungeon being underdeveloped in comparison to our denizens
Shit, we better fix that.

>I don't know. She doesn't talk
Well ask Reisarf to ask her and tell you the answer, then.

>gazerskin robe?
Feels more on-brand for Reisarf, honestly... Maybe we have a surplus and can make more than one?

Woody Brute + Rockfruit

Since he can only maintain one at a time, we really should test that Centaur fusion first as a matter of practicality. However, I support testing the handy brute simulacrum long-term.

>>1091128
>>Gazer Golem Robe
Well, the skin supposedly had shapeshifting properties, and was part of something alive, maybe we could try giving it the ability to mimic materials, and some minor self repair ability. Just enough on the latter to keep it free from wear and tear. The mimicry might have some fringe utility for Merud's research as well.

>>Amalgam Golems
Both the Gardener + Sap Bombs and the Woody Brute + Rockfruit option seem great and on brand, so either or both of those should be good.

Though, we should keep the Hammer Brute + Treated Slime option in mind for after Hin comes back, since her Gelforging could be a key piece to really solidify that idea.

Gazer golem robe features:
-waterproofed
-bigger on the inside (roomy pockets)
-eyespots can be waved around to confuse and frighten predators
-jersey number on back (01)
-chemical/potion spill resistant?

brute + slime could lead to attributes with easy application across our entire gollem stock

>>1091128
I like empowering handy golem. It has a unique feel to it and perhaps Merud would appreciate your joint creation seeing some advancement.

1/2 Deem 2024/05/29(Wed)20:00 No. 1092064 ID: 9e80c7
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>>fusion theme is due to the dungeon being underdeveloped in comparison to our denizens
>Shit, we better fix that.
Time, resources, and more gold will fix that. This offer of patronage from Olan should hopefully address two of those.

>Both the Gardener + Sap Bombs and the Woody Brute + Rockfruit option seem great and on brand, so either or both of those should be good.
Adding the Rockfruit to the Woody Brute should be a relatively straightforward first exercise of this new ability and hopefully give us an exceptionally sturdy denizen as a defender of the dungeon.

I have some golems - and Stargazer - pile up the salvaged Rockfruit and then send them back to clearing the Thaumatorium. Stargazer I have stay, as I did want her to understudy more dungeon happenings as Merud and I discuss what effects this will have on the golem's embedded plants and primitive synthetic biology as he presses rockfruit to it in various locations to try to gauge what response he's getting.

Merud keeps his regretful habit of alluding to golemeters and treatises that were born or written during my long sleep, but I'm glad he's happy.

>Since he can only maintain one at a time, we really should test that Centaur fusion first as a matter of practicality.
It would be good to test, but I think something that's an immediate and dependable show of golem construction would be better.

We keep Centaur wandering around as well, to see what effect the Goo Gullet has on reducing her dependency on a supply of mana from my dungeon. I'll ensure we have some more golem bells readied as well, as the reduced demands of the link should allow her to be sent along with non-golemeters on at least some short tasks outside the dungeon. I don't want to try to switch her to fully independent, and I don't think she has the sophistication to interpret a non-golemeter's orders easily.

It's still too early to see if the cauldron golem has done much potion production, though I do notice Belphe keeps peering into the Golem Totem where we're working, as if expecting it to explode or some other nonsense.

Merud reaches a configuration he's happy with and the Woody Brute is amalgamated with a plentiful supply of Rockfruit. Some quick stab tests show more Rockfruit sprouting in and sealing injuries. It's a success!

>Keep the Hammer Brute + Treated Slime option in mind for after Hin comes back, since her Gelforging could be a key piece to really solidify that idea.
We may not need the amalgamation technique at all if she can just combine clay with Treated Slime using her hammer. That would need new golems though, so less of building up an elite and more working on a new variety.

>>I don't know. Stargazer doesn't talk
>Well ask Reisarf to ask her and tell you the answer, then.
I can get to the bottom of that later.

>>Gazer Golem Robe
Well, the skin supposedly had shapeshifting properties, and was part of something alive, maybe we could try giving it the ability to mimic materials, and some minor self repair ability. Just enough on the latter to keep it free from wear and tear. The mimicry might have some fringe utility for Merud's research as well.
>bigger on the inside (roomy pockets)
I don't think we'll have much time for enchantment before the visit but I shall see what can be quickly put together. It helps Stargazer's skin is such a magically reactive material already.

>Feels more on-brand for Reisarf, honestly... Maybe we have a surplus and can make more than one?
I just made a new robe for Reisarf but we shall see.

2/2 Deem 2024/05/29(Wed)20:02 No. 1092066 ID: 9e80c7
File 171703815047.png - (36.75KB , 750x700 , lizardhin_about.png )

I still would like to work some more with Merud, but I can feel my monster hunters finally coming back.

Hin - looking very lizardy and slightly sheepish - approaches my dungeon's entrance and says the slimes, Reisarf, and the captive monsters are lagging behind before getting to the meat of things.

"So, Deem. I think uh we time travelled or something?" Hin says.

I sigh. "Didn't Reisarf explain?"

"He's been really out of it. Not having Stargazer around to keep him on track isn't helping. Why didn't you send her too?"

"It's because I didn't originally send him with you at all."

I explain Reisarf and Stargazer's misadventures with greenhouses, dungeon mimicry, the magic of potentialities, and the resulting paradox.

"Huh." Hin says, fiddling with her gelforged top.

Though before she tells me how the expedition went, I'd better get to the bottom of her condition. My attendant golem hands me the Scan Lens.

----------------------------------------
Hin Ivac
Lvl 4 Half-Ogre Allsmith (3=>4)
----------------------------------------
Power: A=>S
Vitality: A
Accuracy: C
Speed: D
Wits: D
Skill: C
Spirit: B
Luck: D

A craftswoman growing accustomed to treating everything in the world as her forge. Easily befriended by creatures everywhere. A towering presence in and outside the dungeon.

----------------------------------------
Detected Abilities
----------------------------------------
Giant Blood: Great power over the physical world. Hin is resistant to any effects that would reduce her physical condition and gets an additional bonus on effects that would enhance it.

Item Creation: Hin is trained in the skills and secrets of creating magical items. She can temporarily enhance tools and gear or, with the correct setup, create permanent magical items.

Gluttonous Ogre: Consuming food recovers Hin's stamina and gives her a temporary boost of health. Overeating lets her overcome injuries and illness faster. Hin can eat a wider range of food without ill effect and resists ingested poisons and curses. Potions have an increased effect, as do other food related special effects.

UPDATED - Glutinous Ogre: Hin's body produces slime. She can reflexively sweat tiny amounts of it out of her skin to give herself some protection against fire, cold, acid and cutting attacks. She can also spit slime. Secreted slime can be made sticky, slippery or acidic. Hin can allow abilities that only affect slimes to affect her, usually at full effectiveness due to being honorary slime royalty.

UPDATED - Dragon of the Orange Crags: While dwelling within the Orange Crags, power slowly flows into Hin as reinforcement magic. Within a few hours, Hin gains a boost to size, Power, Vitality and most abilities; a slight impairment to Speed, a powerful acidic breath and can consume gelatinous substances at no harm to herself, possibly boosting her power. When fully transformed, the added strength is on par with the spells reinforcing an elite guardian of Deem's dungeon. Outside of the Crags, Hin can partially access this power after consuming resources from the Crags or overpowering a creature from there. The transformation lasts until Hin cancels it, though she is then weakened for a period that scales with the amount of time spent transformed.

Gelforge: Hin can forge items out of liquids, although viscous ones work best. As part of working it, she can harden such substances into a glassy solid, although the exact properties of the material depend on the effort put in and liquid used.

NEW - Blue Skies Monster: Hin can soak up sunlight and store it. She gains a small boost to her Speed the more light she's stored and can expend it as healing magic, but only for others. Hin can projects the shape that she visualises but they're small and only have only a little substance. She can combine stored light with these conjured figments to swiftly create tools, weapons, armour and other items with substance, although they degrade over time if not stabilised afterwards.

----------------------------------------
Special Equipment
----------------------------------------
Little Mace: A simple enchanted weapon Hin crafted as an apprentice. This mace can be shrunk down to the size of a toothpick when not needed.

Handy Hin Hammer: A hammer that can be used to precisely soften what it's hitting, making it easier to work.

----------------------------------------

I hadn't expected this possibility when I recruited her, but my blacksmith is now the strongest single creature in my dungeon. The collapse of the Potential Void in the possible chain of events where Reisarf worked on chimerism acted as a void shard for Hin, granting her another ability, and has ended up giving her a permanent connection to the Orange Crags. Despite my mild exasperation at the cause and that inisidious Light affinity creeping back in, this is amazing news.

"Hin, why are you honorary slime royalty?" I say.

"Deem, why was that your first question and how the hell do you do keep doing that with that dinky basic lens?" Hin says.

"I asked you first." I point out.

"Well it turns out little Alkie was so cursed and touch-starved that she goes into hugging frenzies. And it turns out she can delegate most of her sliminess to me in a pinch, which was very helpful for keeping her manageable and us all on task."

"With the - ?" I mime a bubble on my head.

"Yah." Hin says.

"Did it hurt?" I shake my head. "No, moving on. To answer your questions, Reisarf did tell me a little of what happened so this wasn't entirely a surprise. And I'm very accustomed to having to make do with poor tools."

"Wait when did you speak to Reisarf?" Hin says.

"We have two Reisarfs now."

"Huh." Hin says again. "This has been a strange week."

I barely have half of a week left before Olan's expected arrival, so one thing to decide is whether Hin should stay as a nine foot tall lizard until then. I'm not currently sure how extensive and prolonged the weakening after turning back will be, but currently I have more strong denizens than dungeon rooms they can be reasonably deployed to.

Put her to work, then. She treats all the world her forge, it's time she lived up to that. Tell her to get more ambitious with her projects now that she's this strong.

Given the uncertain timeframe, we should postpone Hin's de-lizzification until after the visit. This will be our first opportunity to get some practice in with Hin's guardian powers besides. I see a powerful setpiece for the thaumatorium where Hin uses Alkaline's Hydro Pump and emerges from the pool to do battle - once we get it filled back in, of course.
As for who we bench? Well, Stargazer's out of course. We only need to bench one of the Reisarfs, and Moriko...well, depends on how she's feeling.

well things are a mess arent they.
i say we try to get everything presentable/functional, as thats the main thing

>>1092066
Ah, so Stargazer didn't get duplicated.

>turn back?
Ask her how she feels about remaining in that form permanently. Though, I guess if she dies during an invasion it'll remove itself when she resurrects? If the weakening period doesn't happen due to the resurrection refreshing her body, there's no drawback to keeping the form that long. She'd just have to make a trip there to regain it.
Only question is if she's better or worse at blacksmithing while like that. That is her primary job, so if she's worse at it then she'll only want to use the transformation for battle, in which case we need to either work on a chamber that connects to Orange Crags, or collect materials from there that she can use for the incomplete transformation.

Can she even fit in her blacksmith shop now? Might have to do some renovations.

>>1092066
I suppose the question is pretty simply defined:

The state in which you present the dungeon should be, ideally, what you want the dungeon to be.

Thusly: can Hin do her main job like this? Can she adjust enough to be a competent blacksmith? Does she mind staying like this, perhaps training an apprentice, if she has trouble?

If you want Hin to be another miniboss and part of your main force and the above issues don't bother her/you, why the heck not?
Otherwise, I'd advise reverting her posthaste, seeing about making that change more rapid (to use as a panic button) and making your workforce more predictable.
Running theme, that last one. Anyone else undergoing massive, chaotic shifts to their entire being we need to know about, or is it just the two?

Maybe male Reisarf can use a slightly different name from female Reisarf, like if he reversed the order of the letters in his name, that would o̷h̸ g̷̛̐͝ͅo̵̪̓d̴ N̵O̵͖̦ N̵Ō̸̬̘͆̈́͆̉͘T̸̞̦̝͕̍̇̎̀͘ͅ T̶͎̟͓̫̺̽̀ͅH̵͕͇̺̳̫͛̀

Lizard-Hin! Lizard-Hin! Lizard-Hin!

If for nothing else, keep her as is to make Char jealous of the "new dragon" and thus driven to improve himself.

>>1092099
Malesarf and Femsarf

Will Hin fit in the dungeon like this? If she has to spend a lot of time hunched over I wonder if it would have an effect on her body.

>>1092066

Well, Hin's certainly impressive now, we might as well gave her show it off while she's got it.

Deem, if Hin's Light ability bothers you, is there any way you could nudge being a more Earth related, photosynthetic type thing? That's something Slimes can do right? And shes already part Slime...Royalty even.

On an unrelated tangent, I have to point out how thankful we should be for Doyle. He's like our one minion whom we (so far) never have had to worry about running off and doing something crazy, and actually does his job with no major shenanigans. We should give him some kind of acknowledgement soon, his confidence seems real low.

It feels like Elements trying to balance each other out is just going to be A Thing. If we're all worried about Light contamination, I guess, it might be better to find ways to contain it rather than try to excise it entirely. Building valuable Light-based loot is one. It's appropriate for a blacksmith to focus her efforts on that, as long as nothing she makes can hard counter the dungeon build.

1/2 Deem 2024/06/01(Sat)03:46 No. 1092249 ID: ea505d
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>Lizard-Hin! Lizard-Hin! Lizard-Hin!
Yes, yes, she's very impressive.

>The state in which you present the dungeon should be, ideally, what you want the dungeon to be.
I don't have a decade to get everything in place so this will have to do.

>Given the uncertain timeframe, we should postpone Hin's de-lizzification until after the visit.
"If you don't mind the rest of the week being a little strange, would you mind staying in that form?" I say.

"Ah dress to impress huh?" Hin says.

>This will be our first opportunity to get some practice in with Hin's guardian powers besides. I see a powerful setpiece for the thaumatorium where Hin uses Alkaline's Hydro Pump and emerges from the pool to do battle - once we get it filled back in, of course.
"Exactly." I say. "Reisarf won't be casting as effectively without Stargazer, so I might put you in the Thaumatorium if you don't mind. It should be a nice opportunity for you to properly learn the ins and outs of that form."

Hin nods. "You're the boss, boss."

>Ask her how she feels about remaining in that form permanently. Though, I guess if she dies during an invasion it'll remove itself when she resurrects? If the weakening period doesn't happen due to the resurrection refreshing her body, there's no drawback to keeping the form that long. She'd just have to make a trip there to regain it.
"Do you think you'd want to try keeping it up for a longer stint?" I ask her. "We'll have to see how it interacts with resurrection though. I suspect you'd revert and then have to deal with that period of weakness. It might have other side effects if sustained too."

"I feel awesome at the moment." Hin shrugs. "Maybe I'll evaluate it for another week or two to see how how annoying everything being undersized is, and bad that weak period is?"

It sounds very sensible to me.

>If for nothing else, keep her as is to make Char jealous of the "new dragon" and thus driven to improve himself.
My cave wurm shows up at this point.

"Heya Chak, looking good!" Hin says, stomping over to him.

"Hrrrrrm!" he whines at the sight of another large lizard in his dungeon. He raises his head, jaws half open, and waggles it side to side as he decides what to make of this challenger. Suddenly he turns and rushes deeper into the dungeon.

Hin follows. She must have seen something in that look in his eyes. "Are you scurrying off to my forge? Get back here you! YOU HAVE YOUR OWN ROOM NOW CHAK!"

>Can Hin do her main job like this? Can she adjust enough to be a competent blacksmith? Does she mind staying like this, perhaps training an apprentice, if she has trouble?
She's not outrageously bigger, can conjure tools she needs out of light if needed, and can make new ones. The main headache I'd see is the various benches will be lower.

>Will Hin fit in the dungeon like this?
Just how low do you think my ceilings are?! Some of the doorways will be a bit of a squeeze but she'll be fine.

Hin makes her return a few minutes later, grumbling about idiot lizards though with a smile on her face. The sliems have started trickling in. Alkaline must have been budding aggressively.

"It was pretty rough out there Deem." Hin explains. "I think we were lucky you sent us out when we did. Pissed off frogs everywhere. Most of the other critters were either gone or hiding. If we hadn't given the frogs a bloody nose looking for critters, they'd probably be swarming here again. We nabbed a few interesting creatures.. first though, about Alkaline. She wanted to surprise you but-"

I raise a hand. "Reisarf already tried to warn me that Alkaline has some sort of surprise in stock for me. I'm going to let her surprise me."

Hin blinks. "Are you sure? It's, uh, it's a big surprise."

"Hiiin." I say warningly.

"Alright, I won't say anything more." Hin holds up her claws placatingly. "But you better not fly off the handle when you get your surprise, OK?"

"I don't fly off the handle!"

"Your handle's about to fly off right now!" Hin says.

I take a deep breath. "I don't even have a handle." I grumble.

"Probably didn't stick it back on last time."

I snort. "Really Hin? I might have to make you our potion tester again for that. Doyle's brewed up one that should help overstock all your reserves of stamina, mana, slime, light, sass, and so on and so forth."

"Oh nooo what a terrible fate." Hin laughs.

>On an unrelated tangent, I have to point out how thankful we should be for Doyle. He's like our one minion whom we (so far) never have had to worry about running off and doing something crazy, and actually does his job with no major shenanigans. We should give him some kind of acknowledgement soon, his confidence seems real low.
This seems to demonstrate I am not sufficiently terrorising my denizens. It's true though, he has been dependable and I should recognise that. The problem of course is the question of what a renegade witch's cauldron actually wants.

>Deem, if Hin's Light ability bothers you, is there any way you could nudge being a more Earth related, photosynthetic type thing? That's something slimes can do right? And shes already part slime... Royalty even.
Not immediately, no. And I shouldn't be adjusting something purely for my own comfort.

>Put her to work, then. She treats all the world her forge, it's time she lived up to that. Tell her to get more ambitious with her projects now that she's this strong.
We don't have much time for any more projects sadly.

2/2 Deem 2024/06/01(Sat)03:49 No. 1092250 ID: ea505d
File 171723894916.png - (54.88KB , 750x700 , alk_al_ine.png )

Alkaline comes into view.

And so does Alkaline.

And Alkaline too.

I should have seen this coming, Reisarf outright told me he was going to try to temporarily split Alkaline before the Potential Void was 'eaten' by her. This was supposed to be to help them get uncursed but I still smell something about them. Multiple curses on each unless I mistake myself.

"Are you surprised?" The smallest of the trio says, looking somewhere between smug and mischievous. She's all wrapped up in a dress formed out of her Toxic Shroud, though her hair and her hands have more of that organic crystal look.

"Hello, Deem!" The slime in the rear waves enthusiastically. She's reminiscent of our trip to hunt the devil bear, an absolutely massive slime sprouting tentacles and looking on the verge of splitting off slimes at any given moment.

"Hey." the last one says. This one seems to have listened the handful of times I told her to keep drinking water so she'd end up big and strong like Hin. She's much more crystalline on the limbs.

>Anyone else undergoing massive, chaotic shifts to their entire being we need to know about, or is it just the two?
I'll have to check on the glossid and the cake mimic at this rate.

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Alkaline
Lvl 2 Slime Queen (1=>2)
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Power: C (D=>C)
Vitality: C (D=>C)
Accuracy: D (E=>D)
Speed: C (D=>C)
Wits: C (E=>C)
Skill: C
Spirit: D
Luck: D (A=>D)

A newly developed slime queen seeking to tackle all the paths she might take. Is it aspiration or indecision?

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Detected Abilities
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Gelatinous Body: An amorphous form that's soft but can easily heal injuries and reabsorb lost pieces. The weak point is the core residing in the head, though it's protected by toughened slime hair.

Inimical Inversion: Degrades and consumes curses affecting Alkaline with a Luck-based probability of converting them into a positive effect.

Toxic Shroud: Alkaline can form clothes of toughened slime to help protect herself. Her defence grows stronger the more poison and curses she's absorbed.

Slimy Secretions: Alkaline can create small quantities of the following substances.
- Nourishing Goo: Edible slime. Depending on its composition and concentration, it's known as slime-milk, slime-syrup or slime slushies. Superb fertilizer for plants and, in concentrated form, has minor healing properties. Plants can survive and grow embedded in Alkaline.
- Oozy Oil: Slick and slippery slime. It's flammable. Can be processed into a low quality oil.
- Goo Glue: A sticky substance with a moderate adhesive strength.

Delegate: Alkaline can loan one or more slimes a portion of her strength semi-permanently, powering them up and giving them access to some of her abilities. This weakens her accordingly and loaned abilities lose power or become unusable by her. She has to touch the slime to create or cancel a delegation.

NEW - Imperial Ambitions: The rare and powerful slime empress is a royal jelly that's able to spawn multiple subservient slime queens as part of the same colony. Alkaline has taken the first, tentative steps along this path, although the triumvirate rule of her split self is more argumentative than most. The impact on slime colony cohesion is yet to be seen.

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Overflowing Alkaline Abilities
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UPDATED - Shadow Slick: An expansion of Puddle. Alkaline's puddle form becomes flatter, like a shadow. She can climb walls in this form but will slip off ceilings. The puddle has a false depth to it, causing objects and people to sink into it and become mired. Intense light can remove the effect. Most of Alkaline's slime mass is buried in her shadow slick and she can expand it outward from her body to release slime and bog down enemies.

Bad Egg: Alkaline ejects a dense blob of volatile slime. The unstable concoction explodes shortly afterwards. She can increase its power by expending stored curses and poison.

UPDATED - Tailored Slime (Stretchy Slime): Alkaline's Toxic Shroud can be quickly adjusted on the fly and even partially crystallised. She's learnt to form complex and layered clothes for extra protection. She can layer it in with her Shadow Slick, Bad Eggs and Slimy Secretions.

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Overgrowing Alkaline Abilities
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UPDATED - Gluttonous Goo: Alkaline's continuously growing and storing additional slime mass if surplus food is available. Alkaline can quickly recover health by eating things. As she gets bigger she gains a bonus to her slime and slimy secretion production but she suffers penalties to her agility. She can burn off the additional mass to heal herself or instantly create slimes. While cursed or poisoned she experiences faster growth but she also steadily consumes material stored in her Toxic Shroud.

Stretchy Slime: Alkaline's improved the versatility of her slime. She can stretch out parts of her body and create tentacular appendages.

UPDATED - Spit Shot: Alkaline can propel small objects or small globs of her own mass out of her body at high speed. She can launch her attendant slimes this way, and globs of her mass can act semi-autonomously and will try to return to her.

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Overloading Alkaline Abilities
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Hydro-Pump: Alkaline can give a moderate boost to her size and strength by absorbing water. She can also use this to enlarge other slimes.

NEW - Goo Crystallisation: Alkaline has a skeletal structure composed of accumulated toxins and impurities from her Toxic Shroud. It lets her be unusually large and agile for a slime, and resonates with mana, improving her speed and strength at the cost of her stamina. She can crystallise other parts of her body to improve its toughness but at a loss of flexibility.

UPDATED - Unstable Gunk (Unstable Core): Alkaline charges part of her body with energy to explode as a powerful effect. This uses up some of her slime and crystallises more of her body. She can separate the charged goo and throw it, or have it explode outwards from her body.
- Egg Rave: An explosion that sprays out multiple Bag Eggs that release smaller Bad Eggs when they explode
- Shadow Mire: Sprays an area with Shadow Slick-like slime.
- Splatterweb: Spills out a cluster of long sticky strands of slime that create a spider's web. It can't stick to crystallised goo.
- Ooze Zap: Charges up nearby slimes, making them temporarily stronger and faster.

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Lost Abilities
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Muddy Mien (Degraded): Alkaline takes on a mud-like consistency. She's physically stronger but becomes clumsy.

Clumsy Mime (Degraded): Alkaline has a chance of successfully repeating a technique she's seen used, at a degraded quality. If successful she can use it once shortly after witnessing it.

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Spawning Quirks
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Eggs: Alkaline can choose to create eggs. They keep indefinitely and can be rapidly hatched and grown into full slimes when needed. They can also be filled with any of her Slimy Secretion options instead.

Fusion: Alkaline's slimes can readily combine, allowing larger and more dangerous formations slimes to be created.

Hoplites: Slimes able to shift shape and generate Toxic Shrouds to create shields and other accessories. They are especially skilled at combining and working together.

Craftslimes: Tough-skinned slimes full of volatile alchemical goo with a hydra-like motif. They're able to create Slimy Secretions and Bad Eggs. Due to their extremely active biology, a defeated craftslime might spawn one or more small slimes.

Assassin Slimes: Sneaky slimes able to hide in Shadow Slicks. Their armament is lacking unless given weapons or fused with other slimes.

----------------------------------------

I don't know how to handle this.

This wasn't Alkaline's doing originally but the fact they haven't fused back together means they're running with it. Lately it feels like all we've been doing is fighting. This is a symptom of the same thing: she's still trying to rush ahead, do things on her own, and push her luck.

At the same time it's an impressive accomplishment. She seems mostly stable, but again I'm worried she's spreading herself too thin.

What was she hoping for by surprising me? Was she expecting me to be happy? Angry? Proud? Worried?

I don't even know what to call them to tell them apart.

>>1092250
Oh nice, she leveled up! Wits went up a lot, that's good.

>spreading herself too thin
Ah, but her Wits going up so much means she can handle that better. Tell her you are... impressed, and she should focus on improving what she's done. Refine it; make the split completely stable for starters. Don't want any pesky adventurers or sudden surprises disrupting the split. Secondly, she's got a lot of new abilities which is great, but she'll have to practice using them all! Hmm, can she swap the abilities around between her split bodies?
>What was she hoping for by surprising me?
She wanted you to be proud of her, but also probably wanted to see what you look like when surprised, heh. Also Hin said she's touch starved, so I think this is a good time for a hug.

>I don't even know what to call them to tell them apart.
Ask them, then. If they want to be named, maybe something like Alka, Kali, Linea?

Wait, her luck went DOWN?

This is so awesome.

Have the Alkaline triplets work in randomized shifts, see who synergizes best with each Alkaline.

Lithium, Rubidium, and Cesium for names? And then Alkaline is their last name now. Anyways, she seems much happier this way. Don't ruin this for her.

Ok. Yes, this is a handful.

But it's also... kind of perfect?

Alkaline was a big investment and a big piece of your dungeon. We've spent a long time raising her and discussed ad nauseum the future we see for her.

This shows all our theoretical outcomes we desired at once. Not just the things we thought might happen, the ones we were shooting for.

You have the mother slime that focuses on building up something of a slime community, the slime queen, who while a handful and entitled will frankly be more competent and capable at accomplishing things outside your view, even if that'll get her into trouble, and we have the combat focused outcome where we focus on her being competent to actually fight. I know you kind of wanted all three of those in the same package but this... has many possibilities.

Considering you don't want your entire dungeon to be slime battles, they'd obviously need to work in concert, yet seem to not have much trouble not getting each others way at a glance, even if they have different personalities informed by their... forms.

Yeah, as much as it was accidental, this seems kind of like a good thing. Well, other than that maybe this is like having 2/3rds of your personality ripped away for each alkaline, it might mess her up a bit, so be wary of that while you consider how to array these to make a really badass encounter.

>>1092250
>What was she hoping for by surprising me? Was she expecting me to be happy? Angry? Proud? Worried?

Well, impressive was your first genuine thought, go with that. Impressed, a little worried, and give her the surprised face she wanted. She seems happy, dont want to put her off by being too down on her.

Ask her about her new forms, if shes tested it out, how it works, show interest. Maybe Alkaline has been rushing so much because she's been trying to hit some goal, or prove something. If you can get her to acknowledge her accomplishment, and feel like shes reached a milestone, maybe she'll slow down.

>>Doyle
>> The problem of course is the question of what a renegade witch's cauldron actually wants.
I dunno, the only thing he's really articulated is he likes helping. Maybe he needs a more active job. Making potions is important, but its probably hard to feel like he's contributing compared to all the other craziness going on in here. If the Cauldron Golem works out, maybe put Doyle in charge of it, like a subordinate.
If he wants a gift, maybe some kind of battle ladle or something would work.

Greet Alkahime, Allkaline, and Tallkaline warmly. Show your surprise, ask how her trip's been, and give her the hugs she's been needing as Hin mentioned.
What are her plans for having three bodies? Will they all fight as one for more power in battle, or will they rotate for each dungeon run? You should lean towards starting with the former, and help them grow together.
Can they all be trusted to share a room? If alternate living arrangements are going to be needed, set them up in the hidden valley, but separation should be a temporary solution only.

>what a cauldron wants
At least make him officially head of potion making, so all cauldron golems are working under him. Let him know that he can't just be replaced.

>it's an impressive accomplishment
If you're impressed then show it. Be supportive and keep your reservations to yourself for now. See how well they work together before you criticize.

Above all else, show some relief for her. The only reason that she would keep pushing her luck, from where you're standing, is try to impress you. Make it clear on uncertain terms that your affection doesn't hinge on her accomplishments, being unable to show affection does not mean a lack of it, and being supportive of her adventures doesn't mean you'll stop worrying after her. Acknowledge she's an adult now, so you can respect her as one.

At least you can be supportive by helping her with her adventuring career. She can't rely on dumb luck, as she is neither of those anymore. Her other stats are looking good, at least. All-rounder builds can work if there's strategy behind it.

>Inimical Inversion
Only reason this wouldn't atrophy is because it can still be used for cleanup, or defense in a pinch.
>Imperial Ambitions
With the ability to do socratic dialog on demand, there's no wonder how her Wits got a big bump. Even better, each form can pick different stats to improve on their own, therefore improving when back together. Screwing with analysis readings, presumably because it averages between the three, is a funny bonus.

That said, your concerns about cohesion are valid do need to be addressed. In the short term, her minions/kids/troops are going to play favorites soon. You might as well settle the issue here and assign which troops are to fall under which command/form. For the long term, she'll have to find or maintain concensus between herselves. It could be better to treat each one as parts of a whole, rather than as individuals. Ideally, she'd develop a core personality across her (currently) three forms, even if it's not what you originally envisioned. (You don't need to literally split your personality to understand the need to have different "faces" for different situations or contexts.) That's a way you could have the classic boss setup where the other forms are empowered as each form "dies", but that kind of ability does sounds like it would be Spirit-based rather than Wits-based.

---
So the situation so far has been chaotic, but ultimately beneficial to your crew with a lot of improvements. You may know better, but one could think Stargazer had planned for this to happen. Considering such, could she have foresaw something that necessitated what she did?

>>1092250
Ahh the Hecate classic; Maiden Mother Crone trio. We should look to develop a sort of Witch Queen of the Slimes persona for her dungeon work.

>>1092250
Might as well ask about names or if they should be differentiated at all. We can't exactly call her Thing One, Two, and Three, after all, aand it's a bit insulting to just name them after appearance. However, there's all sorts of questions we need to ask about things like independence, how they resurrect (do all of them share a coffin? What if they wipe all at once?) how to employ them in the dungeon (she could do a whole section on her own! A whole wing! A sub-dungeon, if you will!) or if we could just have her work the outdoors, keeping our local area more up to snuff and less chaotic.

And this is all before how this has affected her production of lesser slimes. Is it divided among them? Is it faster? Do they each make different slimes? Can they control each other's slimes?

I have so many damned questions, and so little to actually suggest, but here's the big one:

Alkaline is the first of our chaotic mess of a party to come out the other end of this more or less with a complete bonus. She's just More Alkaline, she's smarter, and it's more a question of HOW to apply what she has than putting out some sort of body-modification fire. Gratze, Alkaline, as far as I'm concerned you're in the top billing!

Quiz her on the above. I'd love to use her new slimes and friends with the statues from before to make a truly heinous room that would confound any adventurer, but first we should see how she works. She might just be our new best groundskeeper, really, but as she is, she could do that AND other stuff!

>I'll have to check on the glossid and the cake mimic at this rate.

yeah do that

>What was she hoping for by surprising me? Was she expecting me to be happy? Angry? Proud? Worried?
You've consistently stated to her face that you don't want to be her mother. She hasn't taken that well. This is her trying to conform her mind around that.
The point of this is to try to get some kind of reaction other than a business-like apathy towards an employee. Even hatred would be enough to help her get past her obsession, but you're still not applying that.
She's obviously angry at you for treating her like a junior employee her entire life. Can we compromise? Even treating her like a pet would be preferable - and that's something you've done well with Chakarchelou, so now she's envious of the fact that you treat your animals in a way she would prefer to detached respect.

"Don't you want things to defy your expectations?"