Wait...
When did Reisarf get glasses?
Also, she can't remember much...
Is that Reisarf or his duplicate?
Where's the other Reisarf?

Aw, he lost all those abilities? But I gotta admit, two Reisarfs is pretty terrific.

I don't know how they'd use Secondary Reisarf. I'm not sure what it really DOES, and seems potentially...concerning? Potentially, disturbing, to experience? Trace Melding sounds useful.

Mana ogreload does replace some of those lost abilities, and a double jump sounds nice. I wonder what he’d copy off you.

Secondary Reisarf (Secondary Storage) all the way! Look, the only way to be sure Reisarf is keeping safe is to have another Reisarf keep an eye on him. They can take care of each other.

>>1089450
Putting Reisarf in concerning and disturbing situations is enrichment.

Secondary Reisarf?

His Own Clone? Now neither of them- nevermind. I'm choosing that one.

>Olan's visit
Speaking of which, don't you have Stargazer's body dungeon that you need to clean up? I'm sure that would look very tacky and you don't want Olan to see that!

>>1089439

You've hit them with the proverbial stick quite a bit. Would not be bad to dial the harshness down a bit and reassure them. They've been wanting to impress you, and they've shown they can do impressive things. But you want them to be able to recognize their limits and when to dial things back, for their safety and others.


For the power, Trace Molding seems a good fit for Reisarfs variable powerset.

Also one Reisarf is a handful, two will be even more so.

>>1089440
>LEAST disruptive
You know, I'm not so sure about that. Choosing the conservative option has consistently landed us in hot water, maybe we need to learn to stop doing that.

>>1089468
Fucking hell, no. This is our problem, we literally punished them for all of one minute and we already have someone calling for easing up, we're too soft. This is why everyone keeps going off the rails.

Trace Melding seems the most versatile option

One Reisarf is enough

>>1089468
We have not even swung the proverbial stick yet. What Deem's laid out is a fair prescription that ends once Stargazer is freed.

>>1089475
Agreed. No going soft.

>>1089468
>ease up on them.
NO.

This is a punishment, they are meant to be punished. Do not go soft and start coddling them again, otherwise they'll never learn their lesson.

1/3 Deem 2024/04/24(Wed)17:05 No. 1089624 ID: 49c7e2
File 171400352127.png - (98.53KB , 800x500 , paradox_level_expert.png )

>Hold on, explain something to me. What exactly caused reality to reject Reisarf's spell? What was wrong with it?
Which spell? That's the problem. There's so many things Reisarf could have done, and so many ways it could have gone, that he wasn't able to contain it.

>Damn, there's this much wrong with her despite taking the LEAST disruptive option?
Why would you think this was the least disruptive option? Such a recent change made it the easier to track what had changed, certainly, but there's barely any weight of following events to stop the ends of Reisarf's chain of causality from flapping around like this.

>Trace Melding seems like the best choice all around, and very in-line with things Reisarf tends to do.
>This looks like it has the best potential to make Reisarf into some kind of weird creature.
>Aw, he lost all those abilities? But I gotta admit, two Reisarfs is pretty terrific.
>The only way to be sure Reisarf is keeping safe is to have another Reisarf keep an eye on him. They can take care of each other.
Hmm..

>I don't suppose we could lean into the paradox a little and get both?
"Let me show you how vast the world is." I say. I put my hands on Reisarf's shoulders to steady him. "You did both."

"But there wasn't time-"

"You did both of those things." I repeat.

>Putting Reisarf in concerning and disturbing situations is enrichment.
Reisarf's concerned expression gradually clears as he makes a face like someone probing a space where there might be a missing tooth.

"Deem, you're amazing!" he says.

"I am aware." I say. I look between him and Stargazer. "You two have had a very long and confusing night. You should get to bed."

>Also it sounds like Reisarf is attached to being female now? Before, she seemed ambivalent about it.
"Wait, before you go, why were you so concerned about my joke, Reisarf?"

"Oh, um I know you've been putting a lot of effort into getting everyone ready for the visit and I don't want to let you down!"

I pause for a moment to process this. "Reisarf, I'm not making a girls-only dungeon."

"Ooooh." Reisarf says, in a tone that suggests he doesn't get it at all. This is followed by a jaw-cracking yawn so I send him and Stargazer to bed.

>When did Reisarf get glasses?
Shortly after defeating the devil bear, I discovered Reisarf has poor eyesight and had them made. He keeps forgetting to wear them.

>Is that Reisarf or his duplicate?
>Where's the other Reisarf?
Probably still out on the monster collection trip.

>Mana ogreload does replace some of those lost abilities, and a double jump sounds nice. I wonder what he’d copy off you.
Nothing for the moment, because he's not using any spells without permission until I unseal Stargazer.

>You only broke part of it. 1/4th of it, by a surface examination. You can almost think about it now!
What are you babbling about? Stop wasting my time. I'm not going to keep bumbling around in whatever conversational maze this is for your entertainment.

>Out of curiosity, how would one go about killing the sky?
With carefully forged arrows. And sharp, sharp knives.

Cowards, all of them.

2/3 Deem 2024/04/24(Wed)17:07 No. 1089625 ID: 49c7e2
File 171400362642.png - (31.18KB , 1000x450 , deems_cool_thaumatorium.png )

>Speaking of which, don't you have Stargazer's body dungeon that you need to clean up?
No.

I sealed that.

I do have the mess she made of the Thaumatorium to clean up though. I step through, and find my hammerai is back to her senses. At the far end of the room, the shadow slick slime squawks and dives back into its shadow. I think it'll be a while before that slime forgives me.

"Deem." Moriko says awkwardly. "You shrank?"

"You got bigger?" I say.

"Mow!" the imp holds up its potion-enchanted hands triumphantly.

"Ah, good work." I tell the imp. Once again she's surprisingly disciplined, managing to stay with Moriko through the chaos of that fight. "And good work to you as well." I say to Moriko, who is looking at me regretfully.

"I tried to attack you!" she protests.

"Because of an attack that hit your biggest vulnerability." I remind her. "And yet you still broke free of it. So again, good work Moriko. If you hadn't kept Stargazer tied up, this could have been worse."

I explain what happened as Moriko stays with me to help start clearing the wreckage. The pool is mostly drained and choked with rubble from broken platforms and some of Stargazer's former contents. We leave the slimes where they lay, so they'd still completely drained of energy. She works until the potion wears off and then I send her get some rest too.

Gained Overlapple Harvest. This is a lot of fruit, and the fruit is bigger on the inside. I might have to make preserves.
Gained Rockfruit Scree. A plant that grows rocks is a lovely aesthetic, although I'm still not sure what to use them for.
Gained Bombed Flowers. Plucking the bombs off the plants armed them... Thankfully they don't seem to have caused too much additional damage. I'll have to get some slimes go through the Thaumatorium to gather up seeds.
Gained Sap Bomb Arsenal. These explode on impact, so only some have been set off. They need careful handling to move.
Gained Kindly Mushroom Troop. A plentiful supply of mushroom caps useful for potion brewing.
Gained Seenut Audience. A swarm of monster nuts. Moriko has slain the ripe ones already.
Gained Mixed Plants. I need to sort through and replant all these. I think I have the originals Stargazer stole back at least.
Gained Gazerspawn Skin. Torn off flaps of Stargazer's shapeshifting skin.
Gained Alien Lard. It's functionally equivalent to Alien Jelly, but fattier.

Stargazer must have taken some injuries from rubbing against the Thaumatorium's fixtures. There's undoubtedly some of the liquid corruption staining what little water is left in the Thaumatorium's pool but the slimes and Kindly Mushrooms bobbing around in it should be detoxifying it. I'll have to refill it but thankfully I already have a number of denizens I was planning to punish by making them haul water.

3/3 Deem 2024/04/24(Wed)17:07 No. 1089626 ID: 49c7e2
File 171400364819.png - (35.96KB , 882x819 , lets_talk_golems.png )

Merud visits the Thaumatorium in the morning with two cups of cacoffee, one for me.

I have been wanting to have more talks about golemetry with him and this is an excellent chance for a hands-on demonstration. I don't think the magic tweaks in the Thaumatorium have felt particularly impactful, so I'm going to take the opportunity to rebuild them to be more focused. One or two simplified magic core golems should be effective sentries: essentially a trap that can repeatedly cast a single spell at invaders. They should hopefully be good training targets too.

They'll only have a single spell - the same spell if we build more than one - they won't even be able to move from where I place them unless we put some effort into making them able to hop. My golem body's Rote Spells are too complex, but the less energetic of Reisarf's attacks, his curses, or his spatial spells might be a candidate. Merud's Improvised Construct might be useful too. If we don't have an existing option that's a good match we can work out a simple spell to build into them.

Merud mentions he has a design which may allow a golem to repeatedly cast a spell based on a potion stored within the golem too.

The function of these golems is essentially harassment. They should be an extra factor for an invader to worry about either because they're launching attacks, making the arena more hazardous, weakening the invader, or strengthening my other denizens. We need to decide what they role will be and an appropriate spell that will help them achieve it.

Finally it'll be more like a statue or oversized game piece than a fully functional golem so what would be an appropriate aesthetic for it?

Platonic solids to keep some simplistic menace. Artistic nudes to mix in distraction with the harassment and maybe garner some rightful admiration. Dragons to give Chakarchelou a catalog to aspire to and to enjoy the classic. Animated weaponry to make the harassment a little more efficient.

>>1089626
make the golem literally a fake supporting pillar. no one expects the supporting pillars!

>>1089629

Supporting pillars that regenerate the boss are a classic. Assuming you want your dungeon to collapse once the boss is defeated, that is.

A curse of formlessness would be a good thing to zap thaumatorium-goers with because it'd make them more likely to fall into the water. I would model it after Alkaline the slime queen, then, as a hint to adventurers who haven't braved the slime lair yet and to interconnect the rooms a bit more.

Improvised construct is also a solid candidate for a weak mob spawner. This one could resemble Merud or Hin, or perhaps a scary poltergeist like what might be responsible for random objects in the room suddenly animating and becoming hostile. You don't even need a real ghost, the rumors of one will add to the intrigue!

Loot ideas:
Overlapple: Excellent preserves and compact food reserves. I feel like it'd go great in a pie.
Rockfruit: Building material stockpile, naturally replenishing falling rock traps, this plant is a great labor saver
Bombflowers and sap bombs are obvious.
Seenuts will be great to plant around the garden.
Shapeshifting skin would make for some very interesting outfits, I bet, particularly for denizens prone to sudden changes in shape and size. Though luckily, reinforcement magic seems to always affect people's clothes. Maybe mixing it in a cloak with golemetry can provide some autonomous defenses instead.

Do Reisarf and his clone have to sleep at the same time to sync memories? The clone might feel less responsible for this paradox before they sync.

Have them act as mulligans. Load them up with paralysis potions and have them randomly cast at everything when they see a non-allied target, even themselves. That way, they'll end up developing randomized behaviors that you can capitalize and refine later on.

>I think it'll be a while before that slime forgives me.
I think you should be ready to get bonked in the head one of these days.

>>1089629
Support golems would be good, with a plantlike design, maybe flowered vines. The potion powered kind would be very good for adjusting to different adventurers on the fly, if you kept a stock of different potions on hand.

>>1089624
>both
NICE.
...why doesn't paradox manipulation count as a miracle? Are there known physical laws that allow it?

>>1089625
>Rockfruit
Yeah that really seems useless doesn't it? The rocks aren't even big enough to make a trap of some kind. Maybe we can mutate/crossbreed them to grow useful ore instead.

>reisarf copy
UHHHHH wait there's another Reisarf out on the trip? What's going to happen when they get back?

OH. I almost forgot, we need to cure Stargazer of her infestation. Which is now inside you. Is that convenient or inconvenient? Keep in mind all the scraps of eldritch flesh left over from the battle has potential to have parasites in it.

>>1089626
>golem harassment
Well Evil Eye seems the most obvious choice here. Spatial Extrusion could be very very annoying when used on/between the platforms they have to cross, as well! Curse of Formlessless has a critical success chance, how likely is it that the golems spamming that could land the slimification on an adventurer?
>aesthetic
Pillar with an eye on it?

I'm imagining a handful of little golems scattered around, with thick hat/lids, that periodically pop out of holes or pots or st, and shoot some kind of minor damage at adventurers from behind. Like "Ow! What was that?" *looks around wildly* "Ow!" *hit from behind again*

>>1089664
I like this a lot. Especially if you can make an arena covered with small domes. Some will be golems. Some won't.

So the golems will bounce up and down when tread on, unbalancing intruders. They'll cast a spacial spell to confuse them, too, when they're far away. Not a damaging attack - that's what other enemies are in the room for - just something to make moving around a chore. I don't have the full list on hand, sue me, but the gist is to make these speed bumps annoying little shits for a game of whack-a-mole that must be played while being attacked.

And for easy dungeon replays, the room layout can be shuffled about, too!

As for aesthetic, a domed hat hiding a spellcasting eye or smug smile should work just fine.

>>1089625
>>Rockfruit
You can plant them in the ceilings and use them as a non-magical rockfall trap, or along walls to camouflage doors/openings/other traps. The nice part is they probably wont even register to adventurers who are looking for magical or mechanical stuff.
>>Alien Lard
Ooh, this should be really useful. We should save some for Doyle, but the rest we should render down into oil. So much we could make with some mana rich oil, even outside of cooking. I bet we could make some cool candles or torches that should be useful for the dungeon's Shadow theming. It could be used to make some resin and lacquer along with that bug we bought, for the golems and maybe items for treasure chests. If we have enough we could even use it as is to just make some oil slick traps, hopefully permanent ones.

Most of the plants in general seem like they'll end up being useful potion ingredients in any case.

>>1089646
Yay my idea got through
Basically, the universe itself caused a time paradox, which means you're not cheating with an improbable exploitable event because the GM explicitly told you that it happened.

Honestly? I think something more mundane might be in order.

2 Turrets disguised as ornate fountains. Normally they passively swivel their heads left and right, from which a lovely stream of water pours out, gently agitating the pool. Once the fighting starts though, they track enemies. At some random point when the invaders least expect it, they begin firing constant high speed streams of pressurized water at our foes.

I don't know if I'd really want rotating faces, that's getting into chintzy territory, and will likely be defaced (anything with that much magical automation is bound to be dangerous from an adventurers perspective).

But maybe carved reliefs in support pillars, or other vine covered statues in recesses in the walls. Something tastefully ancient greek.

>>1089740
Ohh make what appear to be vine covered statues but are actually plant/golem hybrids that will act like part of the decor until an opportune moment to trip someone up presents itself

>>108974
I was thinking as an alternate idea, we could try Merud's potion-golem idea, and make one based on the fertilizing sap, and have golems that can super grow the plants in the room.
So we could then either put a woody golem in here, or some of the more offensive plants like the bombs or the nuts, and then plant something obstructive on the platforms so that they have to use them before the golems cover them in overgrowth that makes them difficult or annoying to jump on to.

1/1 Deem 2024/04/29(Mon)02:15 No. 1089980 ID: 937ec0
File 171438213909.png - (27.28KB , 800x600 , hat_powers_activate.png )

>UHHHHH wait there's another Reisarf out on the trip? What's going to happen when they get back?
I will have two Reisarfs.

>...why doesn't paradox manipulation count as a miracle?
Chronomancers are real and very annoying. Travel back in time IS impossible, but there are some very convincing imitations. It's pitiful really, trying to wind back the clock rather than actually fix the consequences.

>I think you should be ready to get bonked in the head one of these days.
Nonsense, I won't let that slime have the last word. Whatever it throws at me, I am going to catch it.

>I almost forgot, we need to cure Stargazer of her infestation. Which is now inside you. Is that convenient or inconvenient? Keep in mind all the scraps of eldritch flesh left over from the battle has potential to have parasites in it.
Nothing inside Stargazer is getting out until I release the seal. I have golems probe the leftovers and we do find one outsized gristleworm and dispatch it. We also retrieve Stargazer's weird egg sac from behind some rubble.

Gained Jumbo Gristleworm Carcass. This might be big enough to function as a worthwhile catalyst.
Gained Gazeggs. These were supposed to make those who consume them mimic my state, but Stargazer made so many copies of copies they're thoroughly degraded and contaminated by her.

>>Rockfruit
>Yeah that really seems useless doesn't it? The rocks aren't even big enough to make a trap of some kind.
>Building material stockpile, naturally replenishing falling rock traps, this plant is a great labor saver
I have plent of stone, but they're interesting to look at at least. Perhaps they'll be most useful once they grow some more.

>Maybe we can mutate/crossbreed them to grow useful ore instead.
It's very likely they're derived from the copper oreberry bush which I already have.

>>Alien Lard
>So much we could make with some mana rich oil, even outside of cooking. I bet we could make some cool candles or torches that should be useful for the dungeon's Shadow theming. It could be used to make some resin and lacquer along with that bug we bought, for the golems and maybe items for treasure chests.
Alkaline's already able to make low quality oil, but it might certainly have some interesting crafting uses.

>Seenuts will be great to plant around the garden.
Doubt they have the brains to not attack my other denizens. Eventually I might be able to find an out of the way spot for them.

>Shapeshifting skin would make for some very interesting outfits, I bet, particularly for denizens prone to sudden changes in shape and size.
We shall see. It's a pity the colours are so limited.

>Supporting pillars that regenerate the boss are a classic.
>Make an arena covered with small domes. Some will be golems. Some won't.
>We could try Merud's potion-golem idea, and make one based on the fertilizing sap, and have golems that can super grow the plants in the room. Plant something obstructive on the platforms so that they have to use them before the golems cover them in overgrowth that makes them difficult or annoying to jump on to.
>Turrets disguised as ornate fountains. At some random point when the invaders least expect it, they begin firing constant high speed streams of pressurized water at our foes.
I enjoy your enthusiasm but I'm constrained by the Thaumatorium being mostly pool with some stepping stones, which constrains what I can easily fit in with a quick remodelling during the repairs.

These could be very effective in other rooms though. Particularly if Merud and I work on the Golem Totem again to make another golem type easier to build en masse.

>The potion powered kind would be very good for adjusting to different adventurers on the fly
The versatility is limited though, since I don't have any good offensive recipes at the moment.

>A curse of formlessness would be a good thing to zap thaumatorium-goers with because it'd make them more likely to fall into the water
>Spatial Extrusion could be very very annoying when used on/between the platforms they have to cross, as well!
I think the spatial spell will be the better pick: It'll be more tolerant of imperfections in the bare bones materials we're using since it doesn't need to be formed such that it can penetrate an enemy's defences and cling to them.

>A plantlike design, maybe flowered vines.
>Platonic solids to keep some simplistic menace. Artistic nudes to mix in distraction with the harassment and maybe garner some rightful admiration. Dragons to give Chakarchelou a catalog to aspire to and to enjoy the classic. Animated weaponry to make the harassment a little more efficient.
Space, space... some simple platonic shape might be the best, to ensure they're durable. Or perhaps...

>I'm imagining a handful of little golems scattered around, with thick hat/lids, that periodically pop out of holes or pots.
Ah the perfect defence: a sturdy hat.

Merud and I run into a number of complications in converting Spatial Extrusion into a simplified form that will map to a magic core golem, even with Reisarf's help. It'll have to be a sustained spell, unlike Reisarf's ability to drop them down and forget about them. The plus side is this allows some creativity in suddenly withdrawing a Spatial Extrusion to disorient an invader.

The pop up design causes some problems as well, since it won't be able to withdraw while maintaining the spell. Merud has the idea of making the golem extrudes parts of itself to provide an better anchor point for the spell and speed up casting. This has the plus side of physically reinforcing the golem while the spell is active. While attacking it will force it to drop the spell, it will take much less damage than it otherwise would and will have the chance to withdraw again using its head piece as a practically unbreakable shell.

With a first pass of these new golems' design made, I have some time to talk to Merud about his other projects. The mutlti-cored golems and some of our talks on more distributed functionality have lit a fire in him. He has been working on some golem organs to enhance specific attributes of the golem they're installed in, and would like to trial them out.

He describes his three most polished ideas to me:

Goo Gullet (test version): "This is a proof of concept for an inexpensive mana supply for an autonomous homunculus. Droplets of raw mana are introduced from a reservoir into a sealed chamber to react with orange goo. Per Reisarf's notes, the activated curse-matter will fail to curse anything and decay back into a larger amount of orange goo. The excess is drained and digested by the golem as fuel. This may need other improvements to the golem's digestive tract to be worthwhile. And, of course, raw mana is hard to come by outside of your dungeon."

2 Dose Serum Gland (rework 2 v0.5): "The prototype I mentioned for a reusable potion. The golem should be able to trigger a dose the potion's effect on demand, and replenish the potion fluid over time. It might require consumption of some of the ingredients however."

Idolatrous Liver (Lauded Liver?) v0.1: "This is purely curiosity about how your False Idol functioned, in particular how acts of devotion create a bidirectional enhancement effect between yourself and others. It uses clay from the sample you provided. I think if implanted directly into yourself or into an attendant golem this would possibly allow you to gradually 'save up' a trigger of the idol transformation through appropriate acts, or it might allow a modified golem servant to direct a flow of low level reinforcement magic towards the individual it's serving. It might also allow a golem to undergo an idol transformation directly, but I think it's unlikely. Unfortunately the sample is contaminated by the curse you acquired in the Orange Crags, which may reduce effectiveness."

"What's with these names, Merud?" I say.

"They're works in progress!"

Which of these should we go ahead with testing? And on which golems? There's my golem body, the puppet Stargazer is using, various homunculi, the brute golems, the woody brute, the garden homunculus, the mud-and-stick golem, the cauldron golem, Merud's golem horses, Pancake, and Centaur.

>>1089980
Love the hat golems. Note that with a little work their hats could disguise as decorative urns.

Why not put the serum gland thing into the cauldron golem? Seems like an easy synergy, right?

>>1089980
>I will have two Reisarfs.
Two... fully formed Reisarfs? How is that going to interact with the resurrection chamber? Will the second Reisarf have a second Stargazer?
Will there be any problems if they interact?

>Gazeggs
Wait, are those going to make the consumer imitate Stargazer now? I wonder if Reisarf will be interested in that...

>Seenuts too dumb to recognize allies
Hmm. Well, if the nuts ripen even after detaching from the plant, we can store almost-ripened nuts in sealed alcoves or ceiling hatches and release them upon invaders.

>test?
Test the one that's in test version, Goo Gullet. This is just how R&D works, you don't test things before they're ready to be tested.

Oh, and put the gullet in the woody brute I guess. Optimally it's going to be used in a golem that will be the last one to fall in a fight, so that the gullet releases curses as it breaks!

Test the goo gullet on Centaur and the lauded liver on the woody brute.
The serum gland would be fit for the garden homunculus, perhaps she could grow her own ingredients?

>>1089981
I like this idea, can have the hat golems double as an urn with the serum gland in one of theme?

>test
lets go ahead with testing goo gullet. also if we make too much cursed goo, we could use it as a curse trap if it overflows

>>1089980
>Gazeggs
Careful now, you don't want those to hatch into gazebos.

>Unfortunately the sample is contaminated by the curse you acquired in the Orange Crags
Well, that's simple to fix. You could just give him a new uncontaminated sample now, can't you?

>>1089980

With the seednuts, we could probably use golems as simple friend/foe identification I think? Open up and aim the plant at foes while sealing up or otherwise directing aim away from allies.

For the organs...

The gullet feels like it could be useful for increasing the range of our operations, but their fuel being rare outside of our base will put a dampner on that. Could be good with the horse golems, but I feel like we'd need a solid supply of mana before testing that wouldn't risk us.

The serum option could do massive for our in-house potion supply, potentionally letting us start focusing on potions as products a bit more. Could be good with the more nimble homunculi as the delivery systems.

As for the liver, that could potentially let us store "charges" of the False Idol while it's active. This could give you the breathing room to engage in combat if needed without disrupting things too much. If you're willing to divest some fresh clay, we could have a cleaner sample to work with. As for the golem there, I'd say the Wood Brute for elemental compatibility.

For which to pursue, I lean for either the Serum or the Liver

>>1089999
>Gazebos
Agreed; such monsters may be beyond even our control.

Let's work on two of them so even if one fails we still have one success. Or, if they both fail, we learn twice as much. Centaur has an advanced and not quite fully understood digestive system, she would be a very interesting testbed for the goo gut! (And since you're the only source of raw mana, cutting off the supply would be a failsafe against a golem gone rogue.)
Implant the lauded liver in the stick and mud golem, the reinforcement will be the most dramatic on her.

Those Hat Golems are ADORABLE!

*Ahem*

I think the autonomous golem idea is the best bet right now.

I'm willing to bet you could combine the gazeggs and the orange goo to further draw out their replication abilities. Since raw mana is indeed scarce outside the dungeon, this more efficient "Golem Fuel" could help reduce the amount needed.

>>1089980
It might have just been me, but that slime you upset earlier... does she have a crown structure on her head similar to what Alkaline does? Is it possible that she might be a slime queen candidate?

1/2 Deem 2024/05/03(Fri)06:24 No. 1090194 ID: f232bc
File 171474267237.png - (18.03KB , 800x600 , think_youre_tough_huh.png )

>Hmm. Well, if the nuts ripen even after detaching from the plant, we can store almost-ripened nuts in sealed alcoves or ceiling hatches and release them upon invaders.
Good thinking, that should be workable. If they're kept in the dark and undisturbed they should be quite stable.

>Love the hat golems. Note that with a little work their hats could disguise as decorative urns.
The hat in its deployed configuration will be very obvious, as it's half stone, half magic-limned darkness. Some urns based on this design might cause some entertaining confusion all the same.

>Why not put the serum gland thing into the cauldron golem? Seems like an easy synergy, right?
>The serum option could be massive for our in-house potion supply, potentially letting us start focusing on potions as products a bit more.
I hadn't considered using it for mass production. It won't produce doses of potions at a fast rate but the cauldron golem should provide an easy way to measure the performance and modify it further.

Belphe doesn't seem to like this intruder in his territory.

"You think this might cause friction?" Merud asks, watching a pot confront a pot.

"Belphe, behave." I tell my cauldron gulper. "I need you to make a potion using some of our new fruit so we can test how well this works. An enhancement effect using the overlapples or the rock fruit I think. We might as well make efficient use of all this fruit." I tap my chin. "Stoneskin again maybe?"

Belphe narrows his eye and then waggles his arms excitedly as he dances around the cauldron golem, scooping up some fresh potion ingredients. Is he trying to show off?

>It might have just been me, but that slime you upset earlier... does she have a crown structure on her head similar to what Alkaline does? Is it possible that she might be a slime queen candidate?
She does. There's no slime bud though. Seeing she's a fusion of several slimes, maybe Alkaline's slimes are getting uppity in her absence!

>Gazeggs
>Wait, are those going to make the consumer imitate Stargazer now? I wonder if Reisarf will be interested in that...
>I'm willing to bet you could combine the gazeggs and the orange goo to further draw out their replication abilities. Since raw mana is indeed scarce outside the dungeon, this more efficient "Golem Fuel" could help reduce the amount needed.
I think they would imitate Stargazer, yes. I must admit to curiosity about what that would do considering her current condition. But there won't be any experiments with them until after Olan's tour.

Given the considerable stress that eggs have already caused me, it is also tempting to simply incinerate the things.

>Well, that's simple to fix. You could just give him a new uncontaminated sample now, can't you?
No I can't. I don't have the ritual active. I think it might be best to simply wait until we do have an uncontaminated sample.

>Let's work on two of them so even if one fails we still have one success. Or, if they both fail, we learn twice as much.
That leaves the goo gullet then!

>Let's go ahead with testing goo gullet. also if we make too much cursed goo, we could use it as a curse trap if it overflows.
This will be incorporated into a golem specifically to be able to regulate how quickly raw mana is introduced to the orange goo. It should be a drip feed: creating more goo, extracting the excess after it stabilises, and then introducing another drop of raw mana. Though if it does fail the golem will be cursed.

>Centaur has an advanced and not quite fully understood digestive system, she would be a very interesting testbed for the goo gut! (And since you're the only source of raw mana, cutting off the supply would be a failsafe against a golem gone rogue.)
Centaur, despite her flaws, is one of the most sophisticated golems in my dungeon and so I should start making better use of her. With care to avoid any further golemetry related mishaps involving her, Merud and I implant the new organ.

2/2 Deem 2024/05/03(Fri)06:26 No. 1090195 ID: f232bc
File 171474279341.png - (48.75KB , 720x720 , now_we_are_a_family_again.png )

Merud has been working some long hours maintaining my dungeon's golems and I'm pleased to notice he's been learning from it too. I need to do something nice for him. It's been a largely thankless task given the primitive state of my dungeon.

----------------------------------------
Merud Emetter
Lvl 2 Human Golemeter (1=>2)
----------------------------------------
Power: D
Vitality: C => B
Accuracy: C
Speed: E
Wits: B
Skill: B
Spirit: D
Luck: B

A golemeter deeply immersed in the theory and practice of making more and more sophisticated golem. Astonishingly perceptive and knowledgeable, he still hungers to learn more. Though he hasn't been able to work much on talking golems, his horizons have broadened considerably.

----------------------------------------
Detected Abilities
----------------------------------------
Golemetry: The creation, control and upkeep of golems. At its most basic level it is puppeteering inanimate objects and steadily moves towards more complete and independently operating golems.

Arcana: Merud has a broad range of basic knowledge in various types of magic. Given time and preferably no distractions, he can cobble together various spells.

Wizard Eyes: Merud is very perceptive, and skilled at identifying supernatural effects, their sources and parameters.

Rote Spells:
Command Golem: Allows a golemeter to assume control of a golem to make it perform better at a single task. Can be used to issue orders to a golem the golemeter did not create. Hinders or can even take temporary control of a hostile golem.
Improvised Construct: Creates a basic golem from nearby material.
Battery: Imbues a golem with a small reservoir of energy, allowing it to perform tasks far from the golemeter for up to an hour.
Supercharge: Temporarily enhances a golem's abilities but it takes damage over time.
Soul Semblance: Merud can equip a golem he has created with complex abilities such as the speaking on a limited topic or performing complicated tasks without oversight.
NEW - Triage: A patch job, allowing quick restoration of basic functionality, and magic to be salvaged from more damaged golems to restore a more intact one. If cast on a golem before battle, it will be partially repaired and temporarily strengthened as other golems are disabled near it.

----------------------------------------
Special Equipment
----------------------------------------
Golemeter Scarf: A quickly made cloth golem addition to Merud's golemeter robes after several parts of his original robes were absorbed by Centaur. Swifter but lacking protection compared to the original. In an emergency it can operate as an independent golem.

----------------------------------------
New Ability
----------------------------------------

Amalgamate Construct: Merud can temporarily merge material, a magical item, or another golem into an existing golem to upgrade its operational parameters. The exact effects depending on the choice of fusion. He can indefinitely sustain a single amalgamated golem.

OR

Golem Garrison: Merud can use a golem as a template, creating a squad of several replicas at a reduced cost in terms of golem control links and mana consumption, and simplifying maintenance and reconstruction of destroyed golems. More complex and powerful golems will have less copies.

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

Merud's studies have led to a better understanding the process of golem creation. One will allow easier tailoring of an elite or highly specialised golem while the other will give us a larger force of golems that'll need less time maintaining it.

We'll need to pick out a golem to use as a test case too.

Amalgamate Construct, obviously. Test it with yourself and gold. Think of the earth pulse you could generate!

Amalgamate, more new thingies!

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.

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?)

>>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
File 171594683041.png - (34.55KB , 800x550 , told_you_shed_catch_it.png )

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
File 171703801612.png - (39.06KB , 750x650 , shirt_power_activate.png )

>>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
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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.

----------------------------------------
Alkaline
Lvl 2 Slime Queen (1=>2)
----------------------------------------
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?

----------------------------------------
Detected Abilities
----------------------------------------
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.

----------------------------------------
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.

----------------------------------------
Overgrowing Alkaline Abilities
----------------------------------------
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.

----------------------------------------
Overloading Alkaline Abilities
----------------------------------------
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.

----------------------------------------
Lost Abilities
----------------------------------------
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.

----------------------------------------
Spawning Quirks
----------------------------------------
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?"