How to be a dungeon ??? 2013/06/02(Sun)07:30 No. 514048 ID: 256d52
File 137018340901.png - (5.85KB , 600x400 , youre_the_orb_its_you.png )

Ah, I can feel it. Yes. The gold.

Even this meagre collection can conduct the earth pulse and restore a tiny trickle of mana to me.

But it is hardly enough. Everything but my Heart is... numb. I need more, I need to build a hoard and restore myself.

And for that I need servants and to restart the Labyrinth Game.

Better hoard some servants, br00.

okay. how do you do that?

>>514048
your eye thing is leaking, is it supposed to do that?

Exposition Time! ??? 2013/06/02(Sun)08:37 No. 514060 ID: 256d52
File 137018742838.png - (8.17KB , 600x400 , its_not_supposed_to_do_that.png )

>>514051
I'm a Lvl 1 Earth Dungeon, if barely.

Since my Heart isn't mounted properly, my ability to affect my surroundings is greatly reduced.

Out of my elemental powers, I can only access my ability to shape stone, which is limited due to my poor area of influence, and basic golemetry. I can create simple golems with that. Perhaps one moderately powerful one, or a handful of weaker ones.

Since we're deep underground, any resting gold will spontaneously generate monsters from the surplus power of the earth-pulse. I will be able to bind some weak monsters to me, but a tiny pile of gold like this won't be very effective at generating them. If I can find an intelligent creature, I may be able to get them to agree to a binding too. There's some benefits to them for it: I will be able to resurrect them once I can make a respawning pool.

If I can lure wandering monsters here, I might be able to try binding them. Failing that, I could use servants to sacrifice them to me for mana.

>>514052
What? Wait... no! NO!

I'm broken and bleeding power! Aaaaaaaah! AAAAAAAAAH!

can you rotate so it is not leaking out anymore.

Um, can you use your earth-shaping to push the broken shard back in place and plug the leak? Maybe form a band of stone around yourself to hold it in place?

Actually, if you can make golems, you could shape yourself a whole walker frame out of stone. Give yourself some mobility.

>>514060
Time for a rock bandaid, methinks.

Try to call out to a weak nearby monster so we can get a servant pronto.

try to use the earth to push that piece back in.

Create a simple golem and have it carry you around and stop you from bleeding out.

And can you give it a cute face :3

Calm down, now is the time for action not panic.

summon some golems and have them plug up your leak. there seems to be a shard of you that would fit right in the hole.

Then have them mount it properly to improve your power to affect the surrounding

make yourself that some weak golems to try and patch you up and maybe make a stone band around your eye? core? heart? whatever to keep the loose piece in place.

Why don't you roll over to your missing bit and see if you can pop it back it.

Also you should make a non porous indent in the ground to collect your liquid power so you can put it back in.

okay, make a golem and have it mount and repair your heart to the best of its ability.

>>514060
Make a depression around yourself, so the fluid flows back into you.

1/5 ??? 2013/06/03(Mon)06:48 No. 514235 ID: 256d52
File 137026731836.png - (16.22KB , 600x400 , oh_yeaaaaah.png )

>>514062
I'm hurt and I'm bleeding mana! Just tilting myself won't stop it!

>>514085
Look, the leaked mana isn't exactly in a form I can process right now. I can probably come up with something to use it for later, but at the moment it's just wasted energy. This precious little and I can't hold on to even half of it!

>>514077
Aaaaaaah! AAAAH! Aaaah... ahem...

Alright, I'm calmer now. Let's think this through.

Trying to insert and bond my broken shard back with my Heart is a good idea. I'll make a simple golem to try it.

Uh, hmmm. I'm a little out of practice at this.

Now just to place the shard.

2/5 ??? 2013/06/03(Mon)06:49 No. 514236 ID: 256d52
File 137026736688.png - (15.71KB , 600x400 , oh_noooooo.png )

AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaIEEE!

*KABOOM*

3/5 ??? 2013/06/03(Mon)06:50 No. 514237 ID: 256d52
File 137026741331.png - (11.09KB , 600x400 , aftermath.png )

Why did I just explode?! Whhhhhy?

I... I don't know what just happened.

I hurt...

OK, stay calm. This isn't the end of the world. Maybe. Hmm, wait... I can still feel my shard. So what if I...

Dungeon Keeper quest. aw yes. I hope it doesn't peter out.

4/5 ??? 2013/06/03(Mon)06:53 No. 514239 ID: 256d52
File 137026758363.png - (18.32KB , 600x400 , behold_my_true_form.png )

>>514076
CREATE A GOLEM EMPOWERED WITH MY SHARD!

Yes! YES! Hands! Eyes!

>>514063
I should just mention now that I need to remain stationary to gather mana with any effectiveness. If I had a proper treasury to magnify the gold's conduction of the earth-pulse, my regeneration and storage capacity would be a lot higher too, but beggars can't be chosers. This site is hardly ideal, for any number of reasons.

Now, I have a decent golem to use. With this I can-

5/5 ??? 2013/06/03(Mon)06:53 No. 514240 ID: 256d52
File 137026761689.png - (7.79KB , 600x400 , probably_not_a_mating_call.png )

A CAVE QUASIDRAGON DRAWS NEAR!

Well, that does explain the random pile of items. I'm in its nest.

Shall I assault, accost or abscond?

accost!

Wait what does accost mean in this context? I mean that thing doesn't exactly look the type for debate, no matter how aggressive.

??? 2013/06/03(Mon)07:13 No. 514242 ID: 256d52
File 137026880288.png - (19.19KB , 300x300 , advice1.png )

>>514241
It means using rhetoric and/or dungeon magic to try and make it join my side, silly!

Well we do need more minions. So Accost.

...seduce it.

accost. be ready to flee if it's nuts.

Accost! We want a minion. Tell it you will give it a better nest if it serves you.

Accost, I guess.

Have you golem-avatar rotate your main orb-body so the hole is upright first, though. That will prevent further precious mana-fluids from seeping out.

>>514258
already been stated that doesn't work

seeing how we a low on manpower accost

>>514257
Nah, just punch it in the nose for superiority.

>>514260
Not really.

We know trying to replace the shard resulted in an explosion, and that the core needs to be stationary to gather mana.

We don't know that contact with the core by materials other than the core shard would result in an explosion, or that rotation of the core would. We don't know if rotation in place counts as staying stationary or not (after all, the core would be occupying the same physical location, merely in a different state). And even if such rotation would require a temporary interruption in mana collection, I would think it well worth it to limit mana leakage.

>>514235
Read it right here. Tilting the heart will not stop it from bleeding.

Accost it. Sexually.

1/2 ??? 2013/06/05(Wed)08:29 No. 514653 ID: 256d52
File 137044618560.png - (14.24KB , 600x400 , plan_b_is_sword.png )

The quasidragon really doesn't like me being in it's nest, but is cautious enough to not attack right away.

>>514243
Even fractionally draconic monsters like this are pretty strong willed. It's too much to outright dominate so I'll have to try to win it over with my magnificent charm. Let me think, what do monsters want?

>>514252
What? Ugh, no. Not that sort of charm. This body is made out of clay and stone, and that's an animal. How would that even work?

2/2 ??? 2013/06/05(Wed)08:31 No. 514654 ID: 256d52
File 137044626524.png - (10.77KB , 600x400 , diplomacy_level_expert.png )

>>514257
Let's try this!

"You, become my servant! Obey me faithfully and I shall grant you a new nest of unparalleled majesty and there'll be cake and ice-cream every second day!"

The quasidragon seems confused. I have been asleep a long time, maybe I'm still not thinking straight. I need to give it a little more encouragement.

Do I want to try a new tack to convince it to be bound or I can just try killing it until it is dead for mana?

Give it a hug! All monsters want is love and affection!

>killing it until it is dead for mana?
Well, the problem is your mana capacity is pretty limited with that hole in your side. Any new mana will have to be spent almost immediately or lost. An ally of some sort would be more valuable at this point.

...scratch it on the chin! Pet its head! Befriend the big scary monster with physical attention, they like that.

>>514654
Gold. Just promise it gold. Its nest is your nest, so its gold is your gold. Wait, can you even speak its language?

If not I guess we gotta kill it.

>How would that even work?

only one way to find out.

Say you will add to its gold pile roooar

>>514653
>How would that even work?
You'd be doing all the work while it gets all the fun.

say if it works for you, you will add to it's hoard until all the riches in the land are here under it's domain.

We need the gold in a giant pile it likes the gold in a giant pile. If it works for us we all get a bigger gold pile.

>>514671
A good trade for you, since you'll be having it risking its life and probably repeatedly dying for you. Just make a body that resembles its species and is of the opposite gender. Or the same, if it prefers.

hey, maybe it only speaks draconic. talk to it in draconic.

Ya I seriously doubt seducing it will work. Most reptiles work off pheromes... and you don't really look like you'll produce anything but dust.

It is a quasi-DRAGON.
It collected the gold that now powers us.
Offer it more gold! (in the future, once we get repaired)

yes explain it. "i will help you gather gold, i rest near gold and grow stronger, so you having more gold is good for both of us."

Wait wait wait, can the dragon even understand your words?

>>514755
I hope so otherwise Accost was an extremely stupid choice.... though I hope Heart-Chan wouldn't give us an option that was stupid.

Well you're not edible so maybe if you lie down and look harmless it might not attack. Then you can slowly approach and become its friend by scratching its belly.

1/2 Suggestion 2013/06/08(Sat)00:54 No. 515204 ID: 256d52
File 137067805063.png - (12.74KB , 600x400 , that_works_too_i_guess.png )

>>514671
>You'd be doing all the work while it gets all the fun.
That is very close to the opposite of an ideal arrangement.

>Well, the problem is your mana capacity is pretty limited with that hole in your side. Any new mana will have to be spent almost immediately or lost.
Yes, that is more or less the idea. I'd be able to get at least one good spell off. The loss is going to get worse the more mana I have, but I wouldn't be conscious at all if I wasn't able to hold onto some.

>Wait wait wait, can the dragon even understand your words?
Of course it can. I am amazing.

>Say if it works for you, you will add to it's hoard until all the riches in the land are here under it's domain.
Its domain? No, my domain. Mine!

Most creatures that instinctively hoard gold get some benefit from the mana supply and it can't really serve two masters at once. I might give some of my hoard to my servants to keep them happy, but the vast majority of it has to be mine and mine alone.

Since I have a far superior affinity for it and the quasidragon wasn't here, I was able to take ownership of the gold even while unconscious. Not that a quasidragon would be able to get anywhere near the benefit from it a true dragon would anyway.

>We need the gold in a giant pile it likes the gold in a giant pile. If it works for us we all get a bigger gold pile.
Still, I can afford to share.

>...scratch it on the chin! Pet its head! Befriend the big scary monster with physical attention, they like that.
Hmmm...

"Serve me and there'll be goooooold and chin scratches every day!"

CAVE QUASIDRAGON HAS BEEN RECRUITED!

After all, there's not much of a future in being a Lvl 1 wandering monster.

2/2 ??? 2013/06/08(Sat)00:56 No. 515205 ID: 256d52
File 137067817973.png - (10.56KB , 600x400 , decision_time.png )

Alright, I can do this. I can bind up to one more minion and create up to two medium strength golems or six weak ones. I can set up here, but this is a poor site for a dungeon, especially since I have no real idea where I am. On the other hand, there might be stronger monsters already established in places with a stronger earth-pulse and more access to natural resources.

As I see it, I have three options:

1) I can stay and concentrate on working with what little I have. It'll be slow but safe unless something powerful discovers me.

2) I can split my resources, leaving my heart here with the quasidragon to guard it. I'll be able to explore my area but this plan will leave me the most vulnerable.

3) Lastly, I can take everything I have in the hope of finding a better site to set up elsewhere. I will have extremely limited mana regeneration, but a much stronger mobile force.

Which one should I do and is there anything else I should take into consideration?

Scout first. We need to know where we are and what the surroundings hold. Could be a great dungeon site right next door or something horribly dangerous. Information is most important right now.

can weak golems scout? It might be worth it to create all 6 and have them quickly fan out and inspect the area.

Q&A ??? 2013/06/08(Sat)01:38 No. 515210 ID: 256d52
File 137068072919.png - (5.73KB , 300x300 , advice2.png )

>Can weak golems scout? It might be worth it to create all 6 and have them quickly fan out and inspect the area.
Unfortunately no. Conjured golems can't travel very far from me and, well, they're fairly stupid without direct supervision.

Alright then. I say create two strong golems and go with 3. Reconnaisance in force. If we find nothing better then this we can always come back.

>>515211
oh and before we go can we mine out that gold and take it with us?

Also inspect the quasidragons lair. Maybe it has something special.

Who is quest author?

I'm for staying low and safe.
We're small and weak in the grand scale of things, so we should play it safe until we have the strength to move about more openly.

Smartest thing to do would be scout. Only choose blindly if you have to.

No need to leave your core completely vulnerable, though. You could create an additional golem or two to guard it with the quasidragon. Then we reuse them if you decide to stay put, or migrate (or maybe we reabsorb them? Can you consume golems to recover the mana spent?).

See if there is anything you could do to repair the damage before you leave. Also looting the nest for anything valuable or useful (or both) would be good.

>>515205
I like option 3 best. We need to scout, but we shouldn't leave ourselves vulnerable either. Besides, strength in numbers is far better than the tiny amount of magic we can do with our current mana regeneration.

Option 1

we are way to weak to take any chances, we should lay low for a bit and recover.

We need to scout, but be cautious about it. If we pick 2, we will be able to scout it out at a lower risk, even though the danger is greater.

>>515309

the quest just started, man. if we die now, it'd be pretty dumb. I say travel.

im feeling option 3 we can find some more monsters to minionise while we travel

If we were to choose option 1, how hard would it be to relocate later on?

>golems can't travel far
Any reason why they can't guard the heart alongside the quasi dragon while the avatar scouts?

Just make two medium golems and move out. Unless the quasi dragon has any complaints. Would be nice if you were less obviously a golem, but it should be fine.

voting 2 (unless new info comes up)

What else can you do with mana? Can you scan or scout in some other way besides manifesting physical beings and traveling, or implement infrastructure upgrades to improve your ability to defend and perceive your environment? I sincerely hope you have more near-term abilities available besides golem manifestation.
If there is nothing substantive you can do outside of your three choices I suggest option two: You need to spend time securing the loyalty of your first minion and improving its effectiveness anyway before risking it in combat.

1/2 ??? 2013/06/12(Wed)07:03 No. 516436 ID: 325550
File 137104582815.png - (54.11KB , 600x400 , inventory_check.png )

>See if there is anything you could do to repair the damage before you leave.
I put some clay in the hole and it didn't explode. Progress! The liquid mana's still seeping through. Hardly surprising: mana's not entirely physical so mundane materials can't entirely stop it.

My ah... flaw... isn't causing me pain. I can barely feel my mana slowly seeping into it. Maybe forming this golem body helped stabilise it? Proper mounting as a dungeon heart might help too. Touching it and getting the clay in wasn't exactly a pleasant sensation but now it's just an area of numbness. I'm trying not to think about it and the mana bleeding out of my broken-

Not thinking about it!

>Also looting the nest for anything valuable or useful (or both) would be good.
After a quick search, I have my heart, a bag of gold coins, and a sword.

If there was anything else magical here, I'd have sensed it. And anything else isn't that useful to me.

Speaking of magic, the sword's actually surprisingly good quality. It's orichalcum. Mountain-copper is one of the more common magical metals, but unfortunately it's not as good a conductor for the earth pulse as plain coins and gems. I could maybe put it in a treasure chest to - no, that's something for later.

>Any reason why [the golems] can't guard the heart alongside the quasidragon while the avatar scouts?
That is exactly what they'd normally do. It's unusual that my golem body is acting as a sort of relay for my sphere of influence.

>Can you consume golems to recover the mana spent?
I would no longer need to devote a portion of my mana supply to sustaining them and yes, I would be able to scavenge some of the energy used to originally create them.

2/2 ??? 2013/06/12(Wed)07:07 No. 516437 ID: 325550
File 137104605236.png - (21.72KB , 600x400 , pose_as_a_team_because_etc.png )

>Just make two medium golems and move out.
Alright, let's do this thing.

Given my heart and my heart fragment are the two most valuable things I possess, I'd rather move everything together and find a good spot to establish myself.

Having my core self removed from a dungeon I've created is similar to, but almost entirely unlike, having my heart ripped out of my body. For one, I survive the process. Still, it's not easy on me and I'd prefer to avoid it given my current state.

>Unless the quasi dragon has any complaints.
He wants to move out. He's starting to get a little hungry.

>Would be nice if you were less obviously a golem, but it should be fine.
What do you mean by that?

>What else can you do with mana? Can you scan or scout in some other way besides manifesting physical beings and traveling, or implement infrastructure upgrades to improve your ability to defend and perceive your environment? I sincerely hope you have more near-term abilities available besides golem manifestation.

The most immediately useful quality of mine is that I can sense the earth-pulse and bodies of natural resources, in particular earth-aspected ones. This will make it relatively easy for me to home in on good dungeon sites.

As a dungeon I can create various specialised structures with various effects such as protecting and monitoring my domain, enhancing my minions, and taking care of their needs. Once I'm more established I will be able to learn and cast various spells within my area of influence.

I'm not entirely sure what I can do with this body either. I've never been able to directly implant a part of myself into a mobile body before. Except... ah... no, it's nothing. I hardly have the free mana to experiment much at the moment anyway.

Anyway, this place is beginning to wear on me.

I can sense three possible sites that seem like they might be suitable and unclaimed. Which should I investigate first?

Mountains: The unclaimed cavern systems feel rudimentary, I'd have to carve most of my dungeon out of solid rock but there is a lot of resources to be mined out.

Forest: There's a lot of caves and they go quite deep which means more effective mana generation. There's something else here... ruins or an abandoned dungeon? Possibly a fast-track to success.

Seaside: I can sense a suitable cave system close to the sea. There's a strange fuzzy sensation of a lot of gold on or near the surface close by. Perhaps a town? I'm unsure if that would prove to be a benefit or a downside.

I'm going to vote mountain. We can build deep cave systems but we can't really build resources. Also, there are a lot of fun things you can do with entrances built into cliff faces in terms of trap potential.
The forest ruin sound interesting, but we can probably send a looting party by there later.

Strike the earth!

Mountain. Earth is our element, and there will be resources to work with.

Having to carve out things isn't entirely a disadvantage, either. Being in controlling of the shape of the area, far moreseo than the coast or forest, is a significant tactical advantage.

Mountain sounds awesome, let's do it!

mountain seems a tad overdone. how about the forest?

>>516437
oh i had assumed you meant exploring the cave you are in now in search of a better location. much safer if you ask me. if not that, i vote forest. we'd have to clear out the dungeon but we'll have more to work with. we won't have to reorder much later once we dig because there'll be plenty of room already

I say head straight for the mountain. Should be nice and isolated at first and it sounds like expansion possibilities are endless. Go for the long run.

With appropriate management it should be possible to make a totally awesome dungeon with paths hanging out of cliff faces, mountaintop views and all that. No risk of flooding either.

Mountains, ruins speak to me of powers we aren't equiped to deal with yet

Forest, we might find some knowledge about fixing dungeon hearts in the old abandoned one

>>516438
>I'm going to vote mountain. We can build deep cave systems but we can't really build resources.
We can't? We have some super duper earth specialized magic here. Even if we can't we could field a larger army with more mana and as such acquire more resources via non mining methods

Ahhh no secret volcano lair, oh well mountains second best choice.

>>516437
Could the gold you sense by the seaside be a dragon's hoard, perhaps? I want to go there regardless.

Archivemod 2013/06/12(Wed)18:32 No. 516512 ID: ea4b0b
File 137108712963.png - (957B , 16x16 , dungeon.png )

Made y'all a favicon because DAMN is that some good art

>>516437
>There's a strange fuzzy sensation of a lot of gold on or near the surface close by. Perhaps a town?

Calling it now, it's probably jews merchant bankers

>>516514

We should set up shop right in the middle of civilization. I mean why build a dungeon in the middle of nowhere waiting for punk ass adventurers coming to take your loot?

We should go to the city, find a bank, open an account with the quasi dragon's gold, and then make a deposit with our core inside an iron box. Surrounded by conductive metals and gold I might add. If we make the city into an economic powerhouse that means MORE GOLD gets deposited nearby our core. Any adventurers that try to take the gold powering our core get branded criminals.

BAM instant defenders and the city acts as a sort of self sustaining dungeon with motivated defenders. Honestly why else do you think these human meatbags are so successful?

>>516517
they will investigate when one of the boxes is noticed to be leaking a red ooze.

>>516517
I rather like this plan, BUT: how would you sneak your golem(s) into the vault with you?

I vote forest so your more organic minions will always have something to eat should they get hungry and the random adventure thing is running a little slower then normal, plus people are more likely to run through a forest then through a mountain.

>>516568

Huge identity covering cloaks of course. See these newcomer business men wearing cloaks are concerned about their privacy as they go about their daily business and would like to make their deposits quietly. While the bankers are focused on showing the head honcho their vault one of the smaller golems can find an unused nook to hide the core.

The main concern here is whether or not we have enough seed money donated by the quasi dragon to justify frequent visits.

>>516580
again, we will have an ooze problem, someone will walk in and see this huge ass puddle of red goo. and everyone will know there is a problem. the higher our mana regen the faster it leaks out. basically a bank will give us incredible power... for a little bit, then we get discovered and destroyed.

I vote mountain, more resources means more mana regeneration (because gold), and we can dig real deep if we want to match the efficiency of other locales.

>>516581
We could actually INFORM the bank owner of our intent and cut a deal... or heck, minionize him/her/it

And also, I am not sure everyone can perceive the ooze, it is rather ephemeral (it is mana). We plugged the hole but mana is still leaking out THROUGH the clay so its not exactly solid.

>>516514
I'm going to go with a semi-plausible guess and say buried treasure.

However with the crack, the most important thing we need is security and the most secure place should be the mountains. So mountains gets my vote

>>516514
Im calling haunted shipwreck.
And I dont know what Im voting for.

Mountain. Stronger defences, more resources. Always a plus.

Can I call the big guy DM for 'dungeon master'?

1/1 ??? 2013/06/16(Sun)05:08 No. 517255 ID: 325550
File 137138453557.png - (27.86KB , 600x400 , farewell_sweet_cave.png )

>I vote forest so your more organic minions will always have something to eat should they get hungry and the random adventure thing is running a little slower then normal, plus people are more likely to run through a forest then through a mountain.
Hmmm, food. Yes, I had forgotten about that. I can create small farms, but this is admittedly a potential vulnerability.

>Forest, we might find some knowledge about fixing dungeon hearts in the old abandoned one.
This does make it a very tempting option.

>The forest ruin sound interesting, but we can probably send a looting party by there later.
But this is also very true.

>Mountains, ruins speak to me of powers we aren't equiped to deal with yet.
The mountains may also have powerful enemies such as ogres or even dragons, but you're right, the risk of running into some dangerous remannt left behind in a dungeon ruin is far higher.

>I say head straight for the mountain. Should be nice and isolated at first and it sounds like expansion possibilities are endless. Go for the long run.
Hmm, yes, being able to have almost every inch of the dungeon designed to my preference is indeed very tempting.

>I'm going to vote mountain. We can build deep cave systems but we can't really build resources. Also, there are a lot of fun things you can do with entrances built into cliff faces in terms of trap potential.
>Strike the earth!
I am decided. In terms of known resources and capabilities this is by far the best option.

>We should set up shop right in the middle of civilisation. I mean why build a dungeon in the middle of nowhere waiting for punk ass adventurers coming to take your loot?
An intriguing idea, but things are a little more complicated than that. Dungeons tend to be in remote locations because the earth-pulse creates monsters. A powerful dungeon generally means the area around it becomes deserted quickly. Part of the purpose of a dungeon is to defend its denizens from the wild monsters it's creating.

And attracting sacrifices with the Labyrinth Game is a powerful source of mana. What did you call them? Adventurers?

>We should go to the city, find a bank, open an account with the quasi dragon's gold, and then make a deposit with our core inside an iron box. Surrounded by conductive metals and gold I might add. If we make the city into an economic powerhouse that means MORE GOLD gets deposited nearby our core. Any adventurers that try to take the gold powering our core get branded criminals.
Vaults are usually designed to reduce monster generation, which also tends makes them less effective at generating mana. It's not impossible to work around, but the efficiency will be lower if I was to find such a site and want to avoid revealing my presence.

Do I want to investigate the exact nature of this gold deposit near the sea before I go to the mountains? It's not a huge distance out of the way.

if you are SURE you can see it before anyone could see you then sure. but if risk of being seen gets too high then abort.

yeah, sure.

i see no real problem with this, just make sure you do not attract to much attention while you are there.

All right, we can investigate the gold before heading up the mountain. Keep your forces out of sight, though.

Worst case, we can't get the gold now, and we just take note for a future raid.

I would rather we set up the dungeon in its new location and then go scout while its generating mana/building (with the quasidragon and the golems guarding it) rather then carrying the whole convoy into town.

I meant your minions could hunt in the forest but meh it doesn't matter now

as for scouting out the ocean location just to see what is there sure why not just make sure you can get away quickly should things take a turn for the worst.

>>517255
Let's take a look, sure. It'll be useful information for later regardless.

Well, if building a dungeon means monsters are created nearby, is there any way to control where the monsters appear? Like, make it impossible for them to be created in certain areas?


Because if we could set up in the city and capture the monsters, we could hold some sort of gladiator style arena where adventurers could fight monsters in relatively controlled environments, and either charge for seats to the show, charge the adventurers an entry/monster capturing fee, or endorse and control gambling and bets on the adventurers. It'd deal with the monsters and maybe count as a Labyrinth Game at the same time. Hell, we could even have the labyrinth as a separate attraction altogether. Charge an entry fee and rig it so maybe one in a hundred walk out with a pile of treasure that isn't worth much to us. What I'm saying is we could make the most awesome casino-city ever.

Either way, we get money and mana from the populace (and the dead adventurers), they get dungeon-tier protection, a sweet tourist attraction, and super-fast construction of city buildings/projects.

As effective as the old methods of dungeoneering are, I think we could do far better with a little creativity.

>>517331
i'm pretty sure the dungeon works by the halls acting as the veins and arteries for our heart. we cannot be confined. we need to spread out in an ordered but sprawling manner. and to control the monster spawns would probably need to do something crazy like render everywhere else uninhabitable. simply put, dungeons are made like they are for a reason.

Sprawling yet ordered artery-halls sounds a lot like city streets to me, bro. I'm not saying we would stay within the city, I'm saying we would be the city. The bank would merely be our throne.

We'd just have to keep the monsters away from the civilians. So like, if we could keep them from spawning inside city walls and then just guard the roads leading to and from the city, we'd be good.

Though, if we could force them to spawn in pens or in heavily trapped areas, that would make things a lot easier.

And even if we can't force the monsters into useful locations, a casino-city would still be an awesome way to get money and loot without adventurers actively trying to kill us.

Suggestion 2013/06/16(Sun)22:24 No. 517482 ID: 01531c
File 137144665404.png - (1.01MB , 639x921 , Festival-of-the-Hunt-Prize.png )

>>517349
>We'd just have to keep the monsters away from the civilians. So like, if we could keep them from spawning inside city walls and then just guard the roads leading to and from the city, we'd be good.
>Though, if we could force them to spawn in pens or in heavily trapped areas, that would make things a lot easier.

YOU ARE A GENIUS

i don't think you guys understand. the biggest problem is TRUST. no one would possibly believe us and we would have 'heros' out the ass trying to destroy us day one for "taking over" a town.

Eh, we can just tell some sob story about how we used to do the normal dungeon thing and that ended with us half dead at the bottom of a cave with a hole in our heart. So we're trying something new, and we want to use our special talents to help the city grow and prosper.

And really, we just care about the city (as a structure), the monsters, the adventurers, and the gold. The populace can govern and police themselves. We don't want to be a dictator, we want to be a billionaire.

But right now, we don't even know if there's actually a city there. Investigation is needed.

Not to add to fuel to the fire or anything, but dungeons are typically underground, while cities are typically above ground. I'm sure some kind of agreement could be reached.

My question is how did your heart break in the first place? Was it from doing normal dungeon things, or was it from this very strategy being proposed? Who did it, and are they still at large?

Suggestion 2013/06/16(Sun)23:15 No. 517501 ID: 01531c
File 137144974435.jpg - (321.25KB , 1280x852 , saint-priscillas-catacombs-2.jpg )

>>517500
>dungeons are typically underground, while cities are typically above ground. I'm sure some kind of agreement could be reached.

>>517484
>i don't think you guys understand. the biggest problem is TRUST. no one would possibly believe us and we would have 'heros' out the ass trying to destroy us day one for "taking over" a town.
Why take over a town when you can build a brand new one and entice people to move in?

Of course, define people? A dungeon master is threatened by the monsters that spawn and either kill or tame them, once tamed they serve us. And how many monsters are sapient? We are going to be a town anyways, just not a human town.

If we relocate into a populated area then the current denizens will be beset by our monsters, some would die too which leads to bad blood. They will be faced with a choice of running away from their home and land, or killing us.

If we build up in a deserted area we could, once we have the monster spawning thing under control, entice people to move in who are willing to see things our way.

>>517496
At no point should we ever introduce ANYONE to the dungeon heart. Make no reference to its very existence

We could pretend to be a mage that was cursed to have a stone body then use the body imbued with the shard for any and all interactions with people. We'll have to find a way to suppress information about dungeon hearts to ensure anybody that encounters the core won't know what it is and how it works.

>>517505
That is a good point... an even better point is, what benefit do we get from having humans (rather then our monster servants) living inside our dungeon? Seems pretty risky to me.

>>517507
Humans trade with other humans. Humans work, humans earn, humans spend, humans gamble. We sit on their gold in the bank and profit off of all of this.

If humans work with us, we're less likely to be attacked by other humans.

If we keep our dealings up front and over the table, we never have to worry about humans discovering our secrets, because we won't have any.

If we make an ally of the humans, we will grow like no dungeon has ever grown before.

>>517512
People don't generally keep huge piles of gold in a vault.
Also we could just open banks in several cities around us, and then have the bank's "vault" be reachable via wild roller-coaster ride that leads into our dungeon like the gringots bank in harry potter.
No need for humans to actually live inside the dungeon proper.

Also, conquering a town an having monsters spawn in it and murder civilians is a horrible way to make then your allies. Enticing people willing to put up with your eccentricity is a good way.

Also I don't believe for a second human "heroes" attack dungeon hearts for any reason other then their greed for the gold which powers us.

>>517512
that implies humans form a united front and work perfectly with each other. or that there aren't assholes. we will be minding our own business when BAM we find someone is dead and everyone blames us and we are destroyed. i do not care how 'awesome' you think it is. there will always be an incalculably huge risk of something going horribly horribly wrong when dealing with humans.

>>517517
doesn't even have to be a death. Even if all of humanity believes us to be benevolent. A balanced group of random murderhobos will pretend to be civilian to get close enough to the dungeon heart to assassinate us so they can steal our gold. Heck, afterwards our monsters will go feral and start attacking so they could claim we attacked first.

>>517522
Fuck you, investment bank dungeon is the best plan ever and we must do it.

>>517526
I disagree. Too many things can go wrong.

>>517526
>Fuck you, investment bank dungeon is the best plan ever and we must do it.
Seriously? I am the guy who first came up with the idea
See >>516589 where I suggested that instead of secretly sneaking into a bank vault (as the one I replied to suggested) we take over a bank (aka we are a legitimate bank now)

The post you replied to didn't argue against running and owning a bank, it argued against taking over a city and making our dungeon the city itself, suggesting instead >>517516
>we could just open banks in several cities around us, and then have the bank's "vault" be reachable via wild roller-coaster ride that leads into our dungeon like the gringots bank in harry potter.
>No need for humans to actually live inside the dungeon proper.

And agreed with >>517505 about keeping the dungeon heart a secret (pretend to be the golem and that the vaults are just top security magical bank vaults).

Although I do wonder if the plan is at all VIABLE since humans don't just keep piles of gold in a vault.

any of that can only come after we're strong enough to defend ourselves from most things. including cities.

Set up a dungeon first. Make sure the heart is safe. Then you can go check out that gold near the sea.

See if you can find a mountain spot near a river or mountain lake so you have a stream of water to play with.

At this stage, I am AGAINST the bank idea. We are too weak and ineffective at this point and as is, I am certain no human would trust us with a penny. even if we did, the monsters and heroes would complicate things too much.

Check the shore place on the way to the mountains. Maybe there is so easy to grab gold.

I hereby christen this adventure Immortal Dungeon Jew Fantasy VI: For the Love Power of Gold!

>>517541
Okay then, let me rephrase:

You're awesome, investment bank dungeon is the best plan ever and we must do it.

THe bank idea, while funny, seems very unwise. Best to go with something else.

Also, what is the dragon's name? If we named it I must have missed it. Goddamn that thing is adorable.

We only gain magic from gold that we have ownership off. Would a bank be considered to have ownership of the gold its clients deposit?

>>517672
Why the quasidragon's name is being decided as we speak in this newly minted discussion thread:

>>/questdis/72355

1/3 ??? 2013/06/18(Tue)05:31 No. 517809 ID: 4d9a4c
File 137155866765.png - (36.85KB , 600x400 , obligatory_travel_motage.png )

>All right, we can investigate the gold before heading up the mountain. Keep your forces out of sight, though.
>Worst case, we can't get the gold now, and we just take note for a future raid.
A sensible suggestion. I will take my forces with me but investigate the site alone if necessary.

>Well, if building a dungeon means monsters are created nearby, is there any way to control where the monsters appear? Like, make it impossible for them to be created in certain areas?
The majority are created outside of my area of influence. To do otherwise seriously impacts my respiration.

>i'm pretty sure the dungeon works by the halls acting as the veins and arteries for our heart. we cannot be confined. we need to spread out in an ordered but sprawling manner. and to control the monster spawns would probably need to do something crazy like render everywhere else uninhabitable. simply put, dungeons are made like they are for a reason.
Quite correct.

>As effective as the old methods of dungeoneering are, I think we could do far better with a little creativity.
>If we make an ally of the humans, we will grow like no dungeon has ever grown before.
Do you really think that it is an idea no-one has ever had before? Where do you think the knowledge to design mana-dispersing vaults comes from?

>Investment bank dungeon is the best plan ever and we must do it.
In the interests of being absolutely clear, if this gold deposit does prove to be from money-lenders in a city, it is a possible source of a lot of gold, but trying to set up there does come with a number of drawbacks compared to a conventional dungeon.

>My question is how did your heart break in the first place? Was it from doing normal dungeon things, or was it from this very strategy being proposed? Who did it, and are they still at large?
...

Oh look here we are!

2/3 ??? 2013/06/18(Tue)05:32 No. 517810 ID: 4d9a4c
File 137155873324.png - (12.61KB , 600x400 , hes_here_to_guard_this_gate.png )

>if you are SURE you can see it before anyone could see you then sure. but if risk of being seen gets too high then abort.
Hmm, this is going to be tricky. It seems many people live here in this place, and they have built a wall around this place. There is a human man here who appears to be guarding the entrance.

>What benefit do we get from having humans (rather then our monster servants) living inside our dungeon? Seems pretty risky to me.
Sapience is a precious thing. For example, people with appropriate specialties would allow me to build various things I would otherwise be incapable of.

>I don't believe for a second human "heroes" attack dungeon hearts for any reason other then their greed for the gold which powers us.
Perhaps because there is a power in the human heart that is awakened by such challenge? Or to calm the earth-pulse? To assault my heart would be a violation of the Labyrinth Game. Of course, if I was to place a great number of humans in danger, I suppose they would seek to destroy me rather than merely placate me.

>If we keep our dealings up front and over the table, we never have to worry about humans discovering our secrets, because we won't have any.
Yes, for example I could create a dungeon and invite offerings to wager their bodies in exchange for a chance at greatness, and the opportunity to wrest some of my wealth from my vaults. I am somewhat confused that you believe I have any secrets to hide.

Still, I am vulnerable at the moment and it isn't wise to advertise weakness.

>We could pretend to be a mage that was cursed to have a stone body then use the body imbued with the shard for any and all interactions with people.
Alright, I'm going to try it.

3/3 Deem 2013/06/18(Tue)05:35 No. 517811 ID: 4d9a4c
File 137155893225.png - (17.37KB , 600x400 , lying_level_expert.png )

"Good evening to you sir guardsman! I am Deem and I am a mighty wizard from faraway lands! Do not be afraid of my appearance, for I was cursed by a, a... a demon to have a body of stone and clay."

"Ah." The guardsman pauses. He clearly must be awestruck. "Well good evening then miss. I'm about to close the gate for the night. Are you coming inside?"

An unexpected turn of events, but I think fast. "...Yes. Yes I am."

I may have to spend the night here. Let me think...

The guardsman clears his throat. "Miss, do you need to know where the Golemeter Guild is, or are you looking for somewhere else?"

apparently this world is high enough magic that he didn't even bat an eye at our story.

anyway, everyone else take cover in the woods. this Golemeter guild seems interesting. perhaps we can learn a trick or two of golem construction and make stronger ones or make them using less energy.

yes, golemeter guild, sure.

...that is not staying out of sight!

>do you know where the Golemeter Guild is?
No, because you a perfectly normal person who has not been to this town before!

...learning about advances made in golem tech while you were asleep could be useful. They might have something you could include in improving your own designs!

Although I'm not sure you want to let them study you too closely.

>other dudes
Have your other golems find a safe-ish place to hole up outside with your core. Maybe have one of them hunt something up for the mini-drake. Golems have the advantage of not smelling like an animal, making it easy for them to knab something.

just ask him for the genral layout of the city/town/fort and you'll try and find things on your own as you don't want to take up his time, then see if you can't find where this gold pile is and take in the city sights so you don't get lost and if we have to fight our out we know where to go.

Also why didn't you take the sword with you?

>>517869
Because we look like a young lady, and a young lady with a falchion is significantly more threatening.

>>517811
Alright, if we have nothing to fear from revealing our true nature, we could warn them that we're setting up in the mountain so that they can keep people from wandering around there unarmed. Also it'd get us some publicity for the Game... we might want to tell them that it's gonna be a while before we're ready for business though. Gotta carve out them tunnels.

Maybe we can talk to a mage or something about what happened, and find out what we could do about it. So let's go to the Golemeter Guild.

>>517888
And because it was an expensive falchion. We either end up looking like a threat or a target, neither of which we want.

It's gonna be tricky enough pulling off the right balance as a golem.

>>517890
We have EVERYTHING to fear revealing our true nature. We lied and said we're a wandering cursed wizard, not an "I summon armies of demons to attack you JUST BY EXISTING" person.

Say that you're actually looking for a good vantage point with a view and a nice place to meet people.

Knowing where the Golemeter Guild is might come in handy though. Thank the guard for his useful suggestions.

"Sir guardsman, where may I find the local money-changers?"

1/4 Deem 2013/06/21(Fri)10:32 No. 518509 ID: 256d52
File 137183597351.png - (14.58KB , 600x400 , guards_love_exposition.png )

>...that is not staying out of sight!
This is a different kind of sneaking mission now!

>Why didn't you take the sword with you?
Because I only have two hands, need to carry a bag of gold and a golem with a knife is a golem with a knife.

>Knowing where the Golemeter Guild is might come in handy though. Thank the guard for his useful suggestions.
"Yes, that is right." I tell the guard, "I would like to know where the golemeter guild is and I do not know where it is. Because I have never been in this town before. Thank you for suggesting it."

"I had a feeling." he chuckles. He seems friendly enough, but I'm starting to feel as if there's some joke that I'm not in on.

>just ask him for the general layout of the city/town/fort and you'll try and find things on your own as you don't want to take up his time
I'll keep this brief.

"Could you give me a quick run-down of the sights here? I don't want to take up too much of your time."

"Well, 'most everything is closed at the moment since night is coming on, but there's a few nice inns down near the docks and on the main street if you need a place to stay for the night. Docks might be a little crowded - we just had a ship come in. There's a few shops along the main street." he chuckles again. "Lianna there can set you up if you'd be needing new clothes or anything. Afraid there's not much to see here though. Church might be worth a look? It's fairly old."

Ugh, a church. Probably redolent with the sky-power. I hate it.

>"Sir guardsman, where may I find the local money-changers?"
I interject. "And where should I go if I need to change some money?"

"If you just need to change a little, Lianna's a safe bet. Other than her, best to try the church, or the merchant bank. Both open at dawn."

I thank him for his help and he says it's no trouble, it's good practice. We both go in the gate and he locks it behind me. I must confess it makes me a little nervous, but I suppose I can simply climb the wall should it come to that.

2/4 Deem 2013/06/21(Fri)10:34 No. 518511 ID: 256d52
File 137183605126.png - (14.74KB , 600x400 , time_to_doorknock.png )

>Maybe we can talk to a mage or something about what happened, and find out what we could do about it. So let's go to the Golemeter Guild.
It's getting dark and most people seem to have gone home for the night already. I'll try the guild.

This looks like the place.

>...learning about advances made in golem tech while you were asleep could be useful. They might have something you could include in improving your own designs!
Haha, surely you jest?

>Have your other golems find a safe-ish place to hole up outside with your core. Maybe have one of them hunt something up for the mini-drake. Golems have the advantage of not smelling like an animal, making it easy for them to knab something.
Yes, perhaps I should send some simple-minded golems with no skill at hunting to catch something to eat for the animal which has years of practice at it.

>Alright, if we have nothing to fear from revealing our true nature, we could warn them that we're setting up in the mountain so that they can keep people from wandering around there unarmed. Also it'd get us some publicity for the Game... we might want to tell them that it's gonna be a while before we're ready for business though. Gotta carve out them tunnels.
That's a senselessly risky move. Should I be of a mind to do so, I can always send an emissary here once I am established.

Anyway, I knock.

3/4 Deem 2013/06/21(Fri)10:36 No. 518513 ID: 256d52
File 137183621683.png - (44.75KB , 600x550 , not_impressed.png )

A girl in bulky robes opens the door and just looks at me for a long moment. She's definitely a magus, she's cast recently. I can taste the thaumaturgy still clinging to her. She seems unimpressed.

"Hello, my name is Deem and-!"

She turns and calls out to someone else inside.

"Hey Merud, have you been trying to make your stupid turing golems again? Looks like there's someone here for you."

She interrupted me. How dare she.

"What? Oh, uh - just a minute!" a male voice calls out. There's various noises and a second magus comes to the door.

4/4 Deem 2013/06/21(Fri)10:40 No. 518514 ID: 256d52
File 137183640416.png - (18.87KB , 600x400 , meet_the_golemeters.png )

Despite the lack of respect, I believe this one is higher ranking than the girl, judging by his robes and his hat. He also seems less prickly.

"Oh, ah." he looks at me, confused. "Um, do you have a message for me?"

"I don't know why you insist on these farces." the girl says. Something about all this isn't right.

"What? Why would I have a message for you?" I reply to the taller magus - Merud? This is fast becoming aggravating. "Don't you know who I am?" I bluster and-

Is he looking at my chest? I think he's looking at my chest.

"Wait, how can..." he's still confused but he's starting to look excited about something. "You're not a messenger golem?"

I stamp my foot. "Why would I be?"

"I'm sorry," he says. "It looks like we all started off on the wrong foot. Miss Golem, why don't you come inside and we can sort this out?"

...he knows.

hopefully he was just staring at your boobs.

go inside.

is his hat also eying you?

well he seems interested and hasn't called the guards. if he knows, he wants to know more. step in.

...what's wrong with talking right here?

Oh great they think you are a construct of someone elses. Say have you ever made sentient golems?

>>518514
this turned out to be a terrible, terrible idea.

golems aren't normally sentient, you are. therefore their surprise. this is bad, they might try to pry the stone out. you'll have nowhere to run if you go inside. i'm not sure you'll be able to escape as is.

your best bet is to talk with them and offer trade - their knowledge for an opportunity of studding, unobtrusively, a sentient golem.
the knowledge can come in handy but the main reason is that with such a trade they'll let you leave in one piece.

>Haha, surely you jest?
No matter how good you are, you might be surprised at what others come up with. Besides, you have no idea how long you have slept. Years, decades, centuries, millenia? If if knowledge has been lost, and no human mage can craft a golem as fine as you, there may have been new discoveries or knowledge that may be of use to you.

Do not put ignorant, self-confident arrogance and pride before a potential advantage.

...of course if there's nothing feel free to mock the humanity's puny attempts at golemancy in your own time.

>no respect
>Don't you know who I am?
Bad golem slash dungeon heart! This is a stealth mission, remember? You don't want people recognizing you as what you are!

But well. We're found out now.

>Go in
I suppose. It's that or run, or fight. And I'm not sure we can afford to let this become a violent contest, and I'm not sure how your avatar would shape up in combat against a mage of unknown skill and power.

Keep playing up your assumed identity as a mage. Act indignant as though you're offended that you're being called a mindless construct instead a victim of a curse.

YOU ARE AN OLD MAGE IN A FLOATING TOWER REMOTELY CONTROLLING THE GOLEM

IT'S A COMMON THING, REALLY

ha ha golemquest

>>518601
an old male mage in a young-female-looking golem's body.

what? i'm a mage i do what i want.

>...he knows.
Unless his magic tells him much more than I would think, the most he knows is that this body is built with a fragment of a dungeon heart. If he inquires further, we can say as much, which would not be the same as admitting the body is connected to a living dungeon heart.

>>518601
Basically this (especially since they could probably see any curse). Inform them that what stands before them is no mere messenger golem but a golem of our own devising that can broadcast our own words, senses, and even a portion of our magical power! Yes, its great, no, we are not simply giving away our hard-earned methods behind constructing it.

(Um... what are we trying to get from these guys again?)

>>518617
We are trying discover what we don't know we don't know.

1/4 Deem 2013/06/24(Mon)07:47 No. 519149 ID: 256d52
File 137208522841.png - (17.21KB , 600x400 , they_know_too_much.png )

>Bad golem slash dungeon heart! This is a stealth mission, remember? You don't want people recognizing you as what you are!
>But well. We're found out now.
Sh-shut up! I can still get out of this!

>Oh great they think you are a construct of someone elses. Say have you ever made sentient golems?
I've heard of them, but I've never made one.

>hopefully he was just staring at your boobs.
What. Why would he be doing that?!

>Keep playing up your assumed identity as a mage. Act indignant as though you're offended that you're being called a mindless construct instead a victim of a curse.
No, it's clear they can see I'm a golem. I need something else I need...

>YOU ARE AN OLD MAGE IN A FLOATING TOWER REMOTELY CONTROLLING THE GOLEM
>IT'S A COMMON THING, REALLY
Yes!

"I am really a wizard remotely controlling this golem from a floating tower!"

"...I have never heard of that happening." the girl says. "Next you'll be telling me you eat souls."

>well he seems interested and hasn't called the guards. if he knows, he wants to know more. step in.
I guess I can hear him out.

"I'm quite comfortable here." I tell them.

The man sighs. "Look, I'm Merud and this is Kallia. And you are?"

"Deem." I venture guardedly.

"Well Deem, it's long been a dream of mine to create a sentient golem, or at least one that can give a convincing approximation of that."

>your best bet is to talk with them and offer trade - their knowledge for an opportunity of studying, unobtrusively, a sentient golem.
the knowledge can come in handy but the main reason is that with such a trade they'll let you leave in one piece.
Can I run? I don't know. There's two of them and they're magi. They'd quickly see my body is nothing of great sophistication and that leaves my heart. It's a part of me I can't let them have it!

"Now this might be a bit over-bold of me, but are you really a sentient golem?" Merud asks.

Quesitons question questions. He's nothing but questions.

>Unless his magic tells him much more than I would think, the most he knows is that this body is built with a fragment of a dungeon heart. If he inquires further, we can say as much, which would not be the same as admitting the body is connected to a living dungeon heart.
"And is this connected to the fragment of a dungeon heart in your chest?" he adds.

He really did see it for what it is. What else is he seeing with those wizard-eyes of his?

The other magus whistles softly, apparently impressed. "A real dungeon heart? With adventurers and dungeon crawling and everything? They're supposed to be pretty valuable. What would a piece on one be doing in a random golem?"

"Dungeon crawling?" I say. What an ugly term. "you mean the Labyrinth Game?"

"Actually..." Merud continues, looking at me intently, "the term 'Labyrinth Game' hasn't been in common use since the Age of Calamity and that ended over two thousand years ago... Just how old are you, Deem?"

Why does he keep asking these questions?! He's seeing right through me!

>they might try to pry the stone out. you'll have nowhere to run if you go inside. i'm not sure you'll be able to escape as is.
No, no! I have to get out of here!

2/4 Deem 2013/06/24(Mon)07:48 No. 519150 ID: 256d52
File 137208530541.png - (17.58KB , 600x400 , panic_wizard.png )

"Stay back!" I shout, backing up. "I am a mighty wizard and you have angered me!"

"It's OK, I'm not going to hurt you." Merud says, moving out of the door and reahcing a hand out towards me.

"Get back from her Merud, you idiot!" Kallia shouts, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're going to get yourself hurt! Just use a command seal! She's only a basic golem!"

I'd normally have a mana capacity a hundred times that of a mere magus. I need to get away. I'll ransack my treasury of crumbs and convince them I'm a wizard with spellcraft.

I reach into myself and pull the mana out of my heart. the travelling mana twinges like a thread, a disquieting sensation as it pools in my body.

I draw it through my arm into my hand and -

oh no -

3/4 Deem 2013/06/24(Mon)07:50 No. 519151 ID: 256d52
File 137208540485.png - (19.09KB , 600x400 , broken_hearted.png )

Something shifts inside me. Did moving the mana from my heart to the fragment damage something? It's too thin my mana's collapsing something's burning around my heart no I'm bleeding I'm broken and I'm bleeding and it burns and-

4/4 Deem 2013/06/24(Mon)07:51 No. 519152 ID: 256d52
File 137208547417.png - (36.36KB , 600x400 , blacking_out.png )

it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts...

it hurts it hurts it hurts...

...

it hurts...

...

...

Deem has lost consciousness

1/1 Deem 2013/06/24(Mon)08:22 No. 519163 ID: 256d52
File 137208737376.png - (10.84KB , 600x400 , good_morning_deem.png )

...

gg

...Few questions for when you wake up.
First off, how are dungeon hearts like yours created?
It might be that the orb broke cause you split off of yourself? Like...What's in the golem is a brand new dungeon heart in itself, as opposed to being a part of the big orb.
Could also be a matter of distance-you should keep the big orb close to your golem self at all times, or doing magic will break you.
And also...You're apparently 2000+ years old, from a lost age...This makes things interesting! On the one hand, your golem designs COULD be massively outdated, with humans having honed the craft to the point that just the mana you tried to draw upon would be enough to work a golem twice your size with those advancements...Orr we could have a 'lost technology' scenario where you're actually leaps and bounds ahead of everyone due to lost knowledges. I'm gonna guess the former due to our...'ahem' intrinsic nature, but who knows?
haha, so the author of this quest has read it too!

Oh hey, I just noticed that Merud's ornamentation changes expression with him. Mood-clothing.

>>hopefully he was just staring at your boobs.
>What. Why would he be doing that?!
Many meat-based lifeforms have a biologically driven preoccupation with certain sexual characteristics. This often extends even to non-biological depictions, representations or reproductions of such traits.

Such attention, while potentially troublesome or undesirable, would have been far less dangerous than his understanding your true nature.

>Why does he keep asking these questions?! He's seeing right through me!
No offense Deem, but I do not believe deceit is an art you are well practiced in. And you are almost literally wearing your heart on your sleeve.

>it hurts it hurts it hurts...
Well, nothing much to do except hope the mages really didn't have bad intentions and you wake up okay. I think we may luck out- Merud seems far more interested in understanding what you are (and how you work?) than in trying to steal your heart for power (not that you have much at the moment anyways). I doubt the first thing they'll do is try to take you appart- too much risk of permanently damaging or destroying something they don't understand yet.

Unless we can change perspectives? Shift our consciousness from the damaged avatar-golem to the rest of our heart and our minions?

>>519163
Oh there we go. See? They tended to you. Morning, Deem. Try to be a little more polite to the mages when you see them, as it should now be obvious their intent is less hostile than you assumed.

>>519165
>lost tech versus new advancements
Honestly, I would assume the situation has some of both. It's inevitable that some information would have been lost after a calamity and thousands of years, and it's unlikely that new advancements and research would have followed exactly in the footsteps of the old. There's probably an opportunity to combine the best of the old and the best of the new to devastating effect.

Poke your torso to check if your heart-piece is still there.

>>519170
what? we would be out of this body if the shard was yanked.

>>519177
Then why are there bandages on our chest? That wizard did something.

bandages might be because as far as the other mage can tell, we suddenly started bleeding from what apparently is our heart, and our eyes. No doubt a bit freaky to watch happen!

>>519188
>>519152
we were bleeding like a stuffed pig

Also Deem just how high is that window from the ground? could make a useful escape route if things take a turn for the worst.

Good news. It looks like they bought that lie about being a wizard if they stuck you into a bed as though you were a person. Take a look at your bandage and see how much mana is leaking through.

>>519163
Bandages. That's interesting. Would that work to keep the leaking mana inside you, I wonder? At any rate, it seems they truly did not wish any harm. They may still not realize what you really are, though.

I wonder if there's any way to check in on your golem servants and the mini-drake from a distance. Can you tell if they are still waiting? That's somewhat worrying actually, what if someone came across them and tried to steal the main piece of your heart?

I think we should get up and speak with them. Find out what they know about dungeon hearts, and why nobody's used the term Labyrinth Game in two thousand years. Was the Calamity Age the time when dungeon hearts were still active, and they ALL burst like yours when it ended? Did someone disable all the hearts at once via some massive spell or curse? If that's the case then we are in big trouble.

>>519192
I think you mean a "stuck" pig. A stuffed one would bleed if you stabbed it, but I'd worried if it bled on its own.

Anyway, wake up!

well now, it seems they treated you instead of taking you apart for studies.
And you woke up in a bed instead of chained to a dissection table.
I guess you misjudged them, they deserve an apology.

melt that magus' eyes for what he has done to you.

>>519235
>Bandages. That's interesting. Would that work to keep the leaking mana inside you, I wonder?
They're golemancers, they wear animate clothing. I'm guessing those are no ordinary strips of cloth.

>>519622
Since the gent seemed like a bit of a berk, I'm willing to bet they're ordinary strips of cloth.

1/4 Deem 2013/06/29(Sat)05:11 No. 520198 ID: 256d52
File 137250789455.png - (40.84KB , 600x400 , check_heart.png )

...

The Sun has risen and the wind is blowing. I can hear birds. I feel a cavernous void clawing at my insides. My mana is very low.

>Wake up, you FOOL. Incompetence is not rewarded with pleasant dreams.
Well screw you too.

>Poke your torso to check if your heart-piece is still there.
It's still there. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't.

>It might be that the orb broke cause you split off of yourself? Like...What's in the golem is a brand new dungeon heart in itself, as opposed to being a part of the big orb.
No, I can still feel both pieces of my heart. If I wasn't in both of them, then who would be?

>Could also be a matter of distance-you should keep the big orb close to your golem self at all times, or doing magic will break you.
I think that might be it. I overstrained the connection trying to transfer the mana so quickly at such a distance and aggravated my wound. Moving such a large ammount of my available total didn't help either.

>Many meat-based lifeforms have a biologically driven preoccupation with certain sexual characteristics. This often extends even to non-biological depictions, representations or reproductions of such traits.
>Such attention, while potentially troublesome or undesirable, would have been far less dangerous than his understanding your true nature.
Riiiiight.

>Oh there we go. See? They tended to you. Morning, Deem. Try to be a little more polite to the mages when you see them, as it should now be obvious their intent is less hostile than you assumed.
Trust has never served me well in the past but... I'll try.

>Bandages. That's interesting. Would that work to keep the leaking mana inside you, I wonder? At any rate, it seems they truly did not wish any harm. They may still not realize what you really are, though.
I'm not sure if the bandages would keep the mana in and not feeling game to pull them off and find out. It seems to have stopped.

2/4 Deem 2013/06/29(Sat)05:13 No. 520200 ID: 256d52
File 137250798643.png - (17.71KB , 600x520 , courtyard.png )

>Also Deem just how high is that window from the ground? could make a useful escape route if things take a turn for the worst.
I'm on the second floor. The window opens onto an enclosed courtyard. There's some plants and benches and a few doors leading back inside.

I could jump down without hurting myself.

>...Few questions for when you wake up.
>First off, how are dungeon hearts like yours created?
I don't know. Miracles? I didn't exactly get out much. Early on, there was a lot of people poking and prying at me. It wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. From what I was able to overhear, they were very excited when they did manage to map my functions enough to reproduce them.

>And also...You're apparently 2000+ years old, from a lost age...This makes things interesting! On the one hand, your golem designs COULD be massively outdated, with humans having honed the craft to the point that just the mana you tried to draw upon would be enough to work a golem twice your size with those advancements...Orr we could have a 'lost technology' scenario where you're actually leaps and bounds ahead of everyone due to lost knowledges.
Broken and out of date... what a horrifying thought. More efficient mana use would be very much appreciated at this point though.

>Honestly, I would assume the situation has some of both. It's inevitable that some information would have been lost after a calamity and thousands of years, and it's unlikely that new advancements and research would have followed exactly in the footsteps of the old. There's probably an opportunity to combine the best of the old and the best of the new to devastating effect.
Hmmm, when you put it that way it does sound very tempting.

3/4 Deem 2013/06/29(Sat)05:16 No. 520201 ID: 256d52
File 137250819583.png - (13.72KB , 600x400 , check_big_heart.png )

>I wonder if there's any way to check in on your golem servants and the mini-drake from a distance. Can you tell if they are still waiting? That's somewhat worrying actually, what if someone came across them and tried to steal the main piece of your heart?
My senses as a dungeon are much vaguer and imprecise compared to what I can perceive with my other body and they are dulled since I don't have a dungeon.

But looking at the other side of myself, I'm still there and guarded thankfully.

The mana loss disrupted my golems though. I don't have enough mana to reanimate them presently, particularly since-

!

My gold!

4/4 Deem 2013/06/29(Sat)05:18 No. 520202 ID: 256d52
File 137250833563.png - (14.31KB , 600x400 , noone_stole_the_precious_things.png )

Oh wait, it's over there on that table.

>well now, it seems they treated you instead of taking you apart for studies. And you woke up in a bed instead of chained to a dissection table. I guess you misjudged them, they deserve an apology.
...I suppose you're right.

>I think we may luck out- Merud seems far more interested in understanding what you are (and how you work?) than in trying to steal your heart for power (not that you have much at the moment anyways). I doubt the first thing they'll do is try to take you apart- too much risk of permanently damaging or destroying something they don't understand yet.
I think you're right about him, but those alternatives you present are hardly comforting.

>I think we should get up and speak with them. Find out what they know about dungeon hearts, and why nobody's used the term Labyrinth Game in two thousand years. Was the Calamity Age the time when dungeon hearts were still active, and they ALL burst like yours when it ended? Did someone disable all the hearts at once via some massive spell or curse? If that's the case then we are in big trouble.
Again, I didn't exactly have the opportunity to see much first hand, but there were wars and hmm- the sky. There was something wrong with the sky.

>No offense Deem, but I do not believe deceit is an art you are well practiced in. And you are almost literally wearing your heart on your sleeve.
Well, I will have to hope that honesty can see me through then. I am going to find the golemeters and talk with them to find out about the Age of Calamity, golemetry and dungeon hearts. Is there anything else I should or shouldn't speak to them about?

ask for a pair of pants.

>>520202
Ask about current events, and the state of the world. Is there a lot of war going on right now? Also, how would people react if you set up your dungeon relatively nearby? Would they try to destroy you to remove the source of the monsters, or would they participate in the Labyrinth Game like in ages past? Don't tell them where we'd plan to do it. You might also ask about ways they have to recover Mana. Maybe you can just use something to recover it? Hey, maybe we could... ask them how the bank in town would react if we asked to sit in their vault for a little while to regain some mana.

Maybe you can ask how people dungeon crawl nowadays. It would suck if we designed our dungeon around old concepts that no longer apply, resulting in a dungeon that's too easy to traverse.

>Is there anything else I should or shouldn't speak to them about?
I wouldn't give away the location of the rest of your heart, or how well it's guarded (don't make up obvious lies about how well it's defended, just don't mention where it is).

They don't necessarily need to know how a dungeon works, either. The means of managing the dungeon game, and using it to harvest mana are your concerns, not theirs. To say nothing of the fact that some humans may be upset or disturbed by the death involved in the process.

>There was something wrong with the sky.
What are the normal features of the sky?

>>520209
there WAS. past tense.

you could ask what happened after you blacked out, A brief refresher on what happened since you've been out, just the cliff notes will do, and of course see what they know about golom making/crafting just to see how different it is from yours.

ask if any other dungeons are still active or if they are all shut down.

for now, just announce you're awake. what we'll try to keep from him depends entirely on how much he knows.

1/5 Deem 2013/07/06(Sat)02:32 No. 521965 ID: 256d52
File 137310317685.png - (10.10KB , 600x400 , boldy_explore.png )

>Ask for a pair of pants.
What would I do with those?

>What are the normal features of the sky?
Around that time, moon vanished and there were strange lights in the sky during the night. I did see there was only one moon when I was travelling here.

>I wouldn't give away the location of the rest of your heart, or how well it's guarded (don't make up obvious lies about how well it's defended, just don't mention where it is).
Noted.

>They don't necessarily need to know how a dungeon works, either. The means of managing the dungeon game, and using it to harvest mana are your concerns, not theirs. To say nothing of the fact that some humans may be upset or disturbed by the death involved in the process.
It used to be that as long as one person could get out, they'd be able to revive their companions.

Time to find the golemeters. I open the door and-

"Is that you Deem? We're downstairs!"

...does he have wizard ears as well? That man is frighteningly perceptive.

2/5 Deem 2013/07/06(Sat)02:36 No. 521966 ID: 256d52
File 137310336490.png - (15.37KB , 600x400 , now_is_the_talky_time.png )

I find them having breakfast and take a seat.

>You could ask what happened after you blacked out, A brief refresher on what happened since you've been out, just the cliff notes will do
"Morning Deem, are you feeling alright?"

"I've been better." I say. "What happened last night?"

The girl speaks. "You freaked out, tried to cast a spell and then you fell over bleeding everywhere."

"Kallia!"

"'s true."

Merud takes over the story. "We couldn't just leave you lying out on the street so we brought you inside and tried to treat you. It was touch and go for a while there - we were afraid your body might destabilise completely. Sorry we frightened you, but why did you come here?"

"Frightened? Oh no, I just was, uh, caught unaware." I tell him. "I've only been awake for a few days. When I got here, the guard at the gate asked if I was looking for the Golemeter Guild so I decided to take a look at it."

"Ah, that's probably my fault." Merud says. "I've made one or two golems in the past and sent them around the town trying to see if I can make one that is convincingly human when spoken to."

Well, that does explain that.

3/5 Deem 2013/07/06(Sat)02:38 No. 521967 ID: 256d52
File 137310353992.png - (17.56KB , 600x400 , let_me_tell_you_about_golems.png )

>And of course see what they know about golem making/crafting just to see how different it is from yours.
I mention that I came here to find out whether golemetry had changed since I'd last been awake.

Merud seems more than happy to give a full on lecture. Kallia sighs.

"Golemetry is action. What we do is bring motion out of stillness and make, out of the unalive, something that aspires to life.

"Creating a golem is reifying an order. A golemeter reorganises insensate matter and accrues it together into structures and mechanisms to perform a single task. It's a problem that many apprentices face early on: they exceed the scope of the commands they can create. They might try to create a golem that is 'Do as I say', where they should begin with something simpler in scope."

"The mana provided by the golemeter provides the motive force to the mechanisms of the body, but what provides volition? Where does the golem's mind come from? It's something I've been researching."

"There is a school of thought that holds a golem is essentially mechanistic. It operates on a (potentially very complex) set of laws which mediate between the golem's primary command and its current situation. They can perform some complex actions, depending on the skill of the golemeter creating them, but only within the confines of the task they were created for. Even if this is true, is it possible to create a golem that could convince someone it is a human being? And if so, is it really self aware? Is there some transcendent quality needed for true intelligence, and can it be instilled in a golem?

"What command, what argument, what task is needed to make a golem sentient?"

Interesting but he clearly could go on all day if I let him. Also he's looking at me again and it's making me a little uncomfortable.

"Before you get too excited, I'm not a golem. I created this body for myself when I woke up."

"But that's just as interesting!" he says. "You created a golem that is an interface to a mind? What command did you create it with?"

"I... I don't know." I say. "I just made it."

"You don't know? Is it some sort of innate ability? Can you make other golems? Could you make one right now?"

"I'm almost out of mana."

"Ahem." Kallia breaks in. "Before we go off on wild tangents, what exactly are you Deem?"

"A dungeon of course."

"Aren't you a little short to be a dungeon?"

"Wait, a sentient dungeon?" Merud breaks in. "That, hmmm. I've never heard of that. A dungeon heart is basically a big bundle of magic channels to provide a control hierarchy for a dungeon... but a nervous system? What an amazing thought. You're a pile of impossiblities, Deem."

4/5 Deem 2013/07/06(Sat)02:40 No. 521968 ID: 256d52
File 137310360236.png - (13.24KB , 600x400 , make_him_an_offer_he_cant_refuse.png )

I have an idea.

"Well, you could help me set up a new dungeon and then you'd be able to teach me about golemetry and study my golems as much as you like."

...

I think I broke him.

MERUD EMETTER HAS BEEN RECRUITED

5/5 Deem 2013/07/06(Sat)02:42 No. 521969 ID: 256d52
File 137310373061.png - (13.14KB , 600x400 , girl_talk.png )

>ask if any other dungeons are still active or if they are all shut down.
"You don't seem very surprised by a dungeon heart, so I assume there's still dungeons around?"

Kallia shoots a glance at Merud and then answers. "Plenty of them. It's one of the best ways to gather mana for making enchantments. Not to mention with a little care the monsters it spawns can sometimes be farmed for reagents. There's the money side too. Running a dungeon and adventuring are said to be shortcuts to gaining personal power as well. Dungeon hearts are hard to get though. The Dungeoneer Guild almost has a monopoly on them."

>Ask about current events, and the state of the world. Is there a lot of war going on right now? Also, how would people react if you set up your dungeon relatively nearby? Would they try to destroy you to remove the source of the monsters, or would they participate in the Labyrinth Game like in ages past? Don't tell them where we'd plan to do it. You might also ask about ways they have to recover Mana. Maybe you can just use something to recover it? Hey, maybe we could... ask them how the bank in town would react if we asked to sit in their vault for a little while to regain some mana.
"Well, depends on the dungeon. Some are pretty proactive about managing the monster spawns, while others just want mana at all costs. Not to mention plenty of monsters outside means any adventurers have been softened up. Makes trade tricky though. Obviously one putting a lot of people in danger isn't going to be tolerated and, well, that's when the Harrowers step in."

"As for wars and things, there's a lot of saber rattling going on between the Empire of Leogadia and the Witchocracy of Vaya. They've even been sponsoring adventurers and relic hunters to beef up their elite units and magical armament in case it comes to war. I guess if you were a dungeoneer in these sort of times you'd either be doing very well, or going out of business."

I've talked enough for the moment. I can easily ask Merud about the Age of Calamity later. I suppose I should think about what to do next.

The options that jump most readily to mind are trying to recover mana, exploring the rest of the town, seeing if I can recruit more people to help build and defend my dungeon, and perhaps even spending some of my precious gold - as much as I hate the idea - on things to make that easier. They all seme worth looking into, so I should set my priorities.

>>521969
what is the Dungeoneer Guild?

Few questions to consider. Though these can be done on the journey to the mountains.

1) Harrowers?
2) Dungeoneers Guild?
3) Ask about the locations you sensed, the gold under the city, the ruins and the mountains. As your new recruit IS going to be accompanying you he will most likely tell his friends about your location so revealing it amongst a possible 3-4 other locations won't hurt as much.

>>521969
Kallia isn't technically recruited. Ask what she's gonna do now that Merud's coming with us.

As for what to do next, let's... try to recover mana somehow, first off. You're almost out, and that's a bit of a dangerous situation. Second, explore the town. We don't know if there's anything worth spending money on, and who exactly would we hire to help construct the dungeon? I thought you could just carve out tunnels yourself. Do you need help making traps? Someone who can make magical traps like teleport mazes or shifting walls or illusions would be neat.

does he mind adding his cash to your pile? we only use it passively after all so he could just take whatever he needs out of it. assuming he'll be moving in with us.

ask the gal if she'll also be joining. if not, you don't want to mention the broken irreparable heart thing near her. but I think him you can trust with the information, now that you have his curiosity boner raging, and you need his help with it anyways.

if you are ever to spend gold it would need to be on something that makes an incredible deal or would be extremely rare to just find. like, a mana proof bowl, you place your heart in it and your leaked mana pools in it instead of dissipating, letting your maximum storage ability go way up.

>>521969
Ask him if he knows of a material that can store VAST quantities of mana.

Ok this Dungeoneers guild worries me. Before you fell asleep or whatever were there other sentient dungeons? Or are you the only one you know of?

It makes me worried that someone might be enslaving your fellows or possibly had something to do with what happened to you.

On the other hand if all dungeon hearts are sentient then they might be the real ones in charge of the guild.

So be careful of a nasty union coming after you once we set up shop. If they have a monopoly on dungeons then they might not take kindly to someone outside the guild.

Also do you have any idea where dungeon hearts come from?

try and find a way to restore some of your mana, then explore the town a bit. I mean the whole reason we came here was t find that whatever it was that attracted us here in the first place so we might as well try and get that done.

>>522078
not sure we can recover from this end.

>What would I do with those?
Wear them? Although I'm not sure what practical purpose clothes would serve for your golem avatar. I suppose they might might help you fit in- make you appear more human. The usual practical and social reasons don't apply.

>...does he have wizard ears as well? That man is frighteningly perceptive.
That or the door was warded to watch for you. There is another golem face / ornament above the doors. A simple and sensible precaution. I'm sure you use your own means to keep yourself aware of everything going on in your dungeon- why wouldn't a wizard do the same in his home?

>recruited a wizard
Nice. Well done.

>1) Harrowers?
>2) Dungeoneers Guild?
Yes, ask about these. They sound like external organizations using dungeons for their own purpose, and putting down dungeons they deem a threat.

The problem we may encounter is that we are independent. As such, established powers using dungeons to their own end may wish to harness us, remove the competition, or otherwise make a nuisance of themselves.

>recruiting town to aid the dungeon
Hmm. In some ways having a dungeon nearby (but not too near) could be a boon to the town, couldn't it? You could use the dungeon to harvest mana, but others can harvest reagents and other things from the monsters created. And adventures who travel to participate will pass through the town, bringing trade and business (trade and business you could even invest in yourself, tapping into another source of gold). In many ways, it could be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Much better than competing with, or endangering the settlement.

The tricky bit is setting up things right.

One thing to look into might be the town's library or records. There must be maps or surveys of the nearby mountains. That would greatly aid us in selecting potential sites to set up the dungeon.

The dungeon guild worries me. Guilds protect their monopolies violently. We should avoid their attention until we are better established, then we could look into working with them / against them (depending on what we find out). This means no joint venture with townies anytime soon as it will alert the guild of someone trying to usurp their position.

And it sounds like people actually believe that the hearts are mere tools, a useful lie for the guild to maintain (or maybe their modern hearts are mere tools, or maybe they are enslaved... who knows). We are currently immensely vulnerable to people who specialize in dealing with dungeon hearts and should avoid coming within the sight of any dungeoneer guild member.

PS. remember we came to find out what the deal is with all the fuzzy feeling gold here.

you mentioned that you remember people poking you and figuring out how to reproduce your functions early on right? its likely that dungeon hearts have been reverse engineered, and that the guild is building mindless dungeon hearts. you may be the last living dungeon heart in the world. last of your kind issues aside, hopefully that means we have some unique abilities. You should get a list of everything modern dungeons can, and can't do.

>>522157
This. I think the Dungeon Guild would like try to harvest our Heart for their own means.

1/4 Deem 2013/07/11(Thu)08:52 No. 523710 ID: 256d52
File 137355796938.png - (16.91KB , 600x400 , at_least_three_hands_confirmed.png )

>Kallia isn't technically recruited. Ask what she's gonna do now that Merud's coming with us.
"How about it Kallia? Want to come too?"

"Tempting, but I'm only six months from completing my apprenticeship and finally making journeyman rank like Merud here. Not going to throw that away. Going to be boring until old Master Okum gets back from his trip though, might give you two a hand until you leave town."

>what is the Dungeoneer Guild?
I suppose I should ask a few more questions after all.

Merud seems recovered. "They're a guild who specialises in constructing and operating dungeons." he says. "They're fairly insular. It's quite difficult to get in."

>Harrowers?
"An organisation of adventurers who destroy dungeons. They're fairly respected - they go after ones that are too close to civilised areas or that are being run by would-be evil overlords. Their more hardline elements have a nasty reputation though."

>As for what to do next, let's... try to recover mana somehow, first off. You're almost out, and that's a bit of a dangerous situation.
Yes. This feeling of void inside me is troubling. I don't even have enough mana to recreate my golems.

There is only a small piece of my heart in my golem body so placing it with some gold wouldn't be very effective. I will consider what else might be done. If all else fails I can trudge back outside and bury my heart together with my bag of gold.

>Second, explore the town. We don't know if there's anything worth spending money on, and who exactly would we hire to help construct the dungeon? I thought you could just carve out tunnels yourself. Do you need help making traps? Someone who can make magical traps like teleport mazes or shifting walls or illusions would be neat.
They provide skills and specialties I do not have. Certain traps, mechanisms and other special dungeon effects. Acting as my champions or capturing and taming beasts to serve me. Creation of treasures to stir the earth-power and lure in offerings to the Labyrinth Game. And these all need food and shelter and entertainment when things are quieter.

>Hmm. In some ways having a dungeon nearby (but not too near) could be a boon to the town, couldn't it? You could use the dungeon to harvest mana, but others can harvest reagents and other things from the monsters created. And adventures who travel to participate will pass through the town, bringing trade and business (trade and business you could even invest in yourself, tapping into another source of gold). In many ways, it could be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Much better than competing with, or endangering the settlement.
You certainly make it sound like an appealing idea. I will consider this.

>The dungeon guild worries me. Guilds protect their monopolies violently. We should avoid their attention until we are better established, then we could look into working with them / against them (depending on what we find out). This means no joint venture with townies anytime soon as it will alert the guild of someone trying to usurp their position.
Hmmmm, that is a worrying counterpoint.

>And it sounds like people actually believe that the hearts are mere tools, a useful lie for the guild to maintain (or maybe their modern hearts are mere tools, or maybe they are enslaved... who knows). We are currently immensely vulnerable to people who specialize in dealing with dungeon hearts and should avoid coming within the sight of any dungeoneer guild member.
And that. I tell Merud my concerns and he frowns.

"You might be right." he says. "You'll be found out sooner or later, but it might be best to stay quiet while you're getting set up."

2/4 Deem 2013/07/11(Thu)08:55 No. 523712 ID: 256d52
File 137355811922.png - (12.69KB , 600x400 , this_plan_cannot_fail.png )

>Ask about the locations you sensed, the gold under the city, the ruins and the mountains. As your new recruit IS going to be accompanying you he will most likely tell his friends about your location so revealing it amongst a possible 3-4 other locations won't hurt as much.
Sensible but mana first!

>Ask him if he knows of a material that can store VAST quantities of mana.
You mean like my heart? It's superior to anything I've ever encountered. If the mana inside me was at the same density as the semi-liquid mana leaking out, my heart would be much, much larger.

Still, it's worth a shot. I describe my mana woes. Merud looks thoughtful for a moment then ushers me downstairs into the basement. It's dim and slightly damp. there's a slightly spicy, musty smell in the air. It's not entirely disagreeable. There's some devices scattered around on the benches and dormant golems too. He points out one device to me. There's mana imbued in the fluid? Some sort of potion?

"What is it?"

"It's a mana battery. We keep them down here because they discharge slower underground. I thought you might not have seen one before. This type was invented after the Calamity. They're not a very efficient means of storing mana, but they're useful for making temporary golems without needing the golemeter to be there. It probably will work for you as well. We'd normally design the golem to have attachment points to connect the mana battery to, but you've got some magical ability, so you should be able to concentrate and complete the connection yourself. If we grab some cables you should be able to hold them and I can use the battery to force mana to cycle through your spell channels and let it accumulate in your heart."

>Does he mind adding his cash to your pile? we only use it passively after all so he could just take whatever he needs out of it. assuming he'll be moving in with us.
"Speaking of mana," I say. "Will you be keeping your gold in my treasury once I have created my dungeon?"

"I don't see why not." He's off in a corner grabbing coils of some sort of metal braid off a bench. "Sit on that bench over there and hold these. One in each hand." I wrap the wires around my wrists a few times to be safe and raise myself onto the bench.

3/4 Deem 2013/07/11(Thu)09:00 No. 523714 ID: 256d52
File 137355840264.png - (23.81KB , 600x400 , charging_mah_mana.png )

"Just close your eyes, and concentrate."

He connects the cables to the mana battery.

I can feel it. The mana effuses out of its supended state in the liquid container and enters the cables. They must be alloyed with a noble metal. I close the connection, allowing it to circulate through my spell channel and seek the return path through the other cable to complete the loop. But it needs to pass through the gnawing emptiness in my heart to get there and my hungry heart can pull some of it free, into me. Yes, I can feel the warmth of mana.

It tickles.

>>recruited a wizard
>Nice. Well done.
It was definitely one of my better ideas.

>Ok this Dungeoneers guild worries me. Before you fell asleep or whatever were there other sentient dungeons? Or are you the only one you know of?
Before my long sleep there were other dungeons like me. Not many. I felt them sometimes, when I dreamed. There were other eddies in the earth-power, but they weren't the same. No ghost in their crystal shells.

>Also do you have any idea where dungeon hearts come from?
...

!

4/4 Deem 2013/07/11(Thu)09:02 No. 523715 ID: 256d52
File 137355857636.png - (33.44KB , 600x400 , i_accidentally_the_whole_thing.png )

Oops!

Look what you made me do I slipped up and stopped concentrating and agh that's all my channels and it really really feels weird!

Boss Mode activated, specify transformation details!

I want to say wings, because wings are cool. But claws that can easily chew through stone and metal would probably be a better idea.

darker rock hair extends to appear as though wearing full plate armor, and a crystalline sword grows from the hand. as power increases the toughness of material goes up, such as changing from common stone to stronger harder versions.

>>523717
Wings might be an interesting option, but Deem is connected to earth, not sky. And presumably boss mode is intended to be used inside the closed confines of a dungeon crawl / game.

...golem girl / giant spider hybrid! Grow a little taller, gain claws and fangs, and eight giant spider legs sprout out of our back. Good for mobility, keeping our smaller core and body out of reach, and for reaching and stabbing attacks or acting as a collection of blades for parrying lots of attacks. We can stand either vertically (on our human legs, using the extra limbs as arms) or horizontally (using the spider legs as legs).

...try not to damage the room or Merud in the transformation.

Something tells me we would have encountered this issue at some point in time, we just got it early now.
Hrm.
Wings are oh-so tempting, and they really do look awesome. But they also necessitate a big, grand 'throne room' for you to fight in, to be utilized to their best advantage. But really, isn't that part of the game anyhow?
That said, considering what we already have availible... I'm thinking fast, dodgy, with a mixture of magical tricks and ranged attacks.
I'm thinking either a monkey-ish form, with the earlier claws and tail, suited for climbing, with the caveat that we build a room suited for that sort of battle for this body, or maybe something more 'carnival based' where you're an acrobat or something swinging around, while the adventurers have to navigate around various pre-set traps.

Hows about some extra arms and meaningless glowing symbols?

guys, earth creatures are usually big slow, and absurdly strong. they just tank all the damage some can dish out then turn them into a pancake in a single blow.

No matter the new form, it needs a womanly figure and larger breasts.

Why?

Because.

We also need to be like ten feet tall. Gotta be ready to take on a whole room of adventures at once.

>>523722
Playing strait tanks is kind of dull, though. It's so much more fun to be fast and strong, so you can she that crushed look on their faces when they finally land a hit on you, only to discover you're not made of glass.

I kinda like the drider idea. As long as it can wall-climb for that added mobility.

>>523723
A mature, motherly woman can be perceived to be more powerful than a young lady. It makes sense.

>>523715
Whatever you do, you need more armor plating. Also a crown.

I think taller, curvier with longer hair and more stone armour plates sounds good. Maybe oversized strong arms and a tail to assist fast agile movement? Alternatively a spear of some sort.

Add in some golden runes leading to your eyes for when you have enough mana to shoot eye laser beams.

I want to say you grow about 2 to 3x larger then you are now and become covered in armor that makes you 2x stronger and more durable without sacrificing speed... and then I read that spider idea and I'm thinking we can combine the 2 so your boss mode also gives you far better mobility as well (especially if you can wall clime). Even if it doesn't just make the 'feet' of the spider legs somewhat bladed to it will at least give you 6 more ways to attack someone.

On move-speed, we should probably be able to move at least as fast as a human to avoid that thing where the .

If we are going with extra limbs we should get a second pair of arms while we are at it. Even if we don't have the concentration ourself to normally attack with multiple arms at once, we could probably use golem-magic to make them semi-autonomous. Also, hands are much better to have on arms than blades*, as hands can hold weapons (which then are easier to swap or upgrade) while being much more versatile in general.

*Unless you can get enchanted ones that are significantly more powerful then weapons you could use

>523710
To clarify, I actually hope the dungeoneering guild is on the level and that we could just join them. The do exactly what we planned on (peaceful coexistence and exploiting monster spawning positively)

I am just saying that if they are not, then getting found out early would be fatal.
And if they are on the level then we actually are in a better position for negotiating membership once we are properly established.

Oh, and that harrows info is useful. Avoid establishing a dungeon too close to town or else they go after you.

>>523715
same size, covered in glowy lines, faster/stronger.

>>523715
I suggest a colossus. Too often do Bosses go for the small fast thing. Adventurers ARE small and fast, so you're playing to their strengths. Play to their weaknesses, pick a form too large to be easily injured with light weaponry.

>>523715
>Boss Mode
This of course means 80's Business Suit Mode.

PuddOmega 2013/07/11(Thu)15:55 No. 523783 ID: 00d635
File 137358333040.jpg - (118.67KB , 870x742 , Immagine.jpg )

>>523715
Why not combining all? 4 huge arms that can be used to clinmg, cover and act spidery and a tail to strike quick? also, I'm painfully tired, if wrote weird stuff don't insult me

One 2013/07/11(Thu)16:18 No. 523790 ID: cf49fc
File 137358470006.jpg - (57.27KB , 1024x578 , Berzerker Asura.jpg )

>>523783
Uhhhh... *Ahem*

>>523780
Best armor theme? Best armor theme.

Guys I have an idea

Put the entire dungeon heart into Deem for Boss Mode

Have her be a colossus

Deem becomes the dungeon in Boss Mode


There will be 80s business suits, of course. A giant bank/dungeon genius loci wearing a 80s business suit.

>>523792
I vote for this!

>>523792
But being the dungeon is what we do by default in normal form!
Besides, boss mode implies the adventurers have traveled close to the end of your dungeon, which would make them start the fight right next to the colossus-dungeon's weak point.

>>523795
So move around the insides so the end's further away from them.

Set a point where Boss Mode is activated such a distance from the end. When Boss Mode activates, the rest of the labyrinth moves around that one spot, putting the end further away.

>>523796
Mmm. Feels a bit like cheating. Have the way to the checkpoint be more about battling monsters and the way to the end after the checkpoint more about navigating the maze and avoiding traps.

Monsters drop reagents, so even if they can't get to the end from the checkpoints, they still get their reagents.

Although we'd have to include an option to exit whenever you wanted.

>>523792
Disconnecting our dungeon heart from the proper mounting in a dungeon (when we finally build one) would be catastrophic as it will deny us the majority of our power.

>>523799
So we make the mounting mobile.

>>523802
wouldn't that have the same effect as being taken out of the proper mounting, aka, massive reduction in manaflow?
If you could maintain full mana flow in a mobile platform then nobody would ever have bothered with a non mobile platform.

>>523804
Why? They might fear theft. They might not have thought of it, or considered it beneath their dignity. Alternatively, the other dungeons might already have mobile platforms.

>I should just mention now that I need to remain stationary to gather mana with any effectiveness.
Right near the beginning of this thread.

>>523811
I doubt moving briefly and then staying still again would hurt us much.

Can we not turn into a form bigger than the basement we're in? We've just made friends with these people and destroying their building would kinda be bad.

>>523809
>Why?
This is the biggest vulnerability/problem of dungeon hearts, solving it can't be this easy.
>They might fear theft.
How does being able to move make a dungeon heart make it easier to steal money from their vaults? Or are you suggesting the preposterous idea that someone will steal the dungeon heart itself? Because aside from being ridiculous, not being able to move makes it harder to resist being kidnapped not easier.
>They might not have thought of it, or considered it beneath their dignity.
We were explicitly told that we had to be properly mounted in a fixed location to generate mana properly.
The crippling inability to properly generate mana while relocating is a glaring and well known issue. If deets knew how to do this she would have while we were traveling to this city.
>Alternatively, the other dungeons might already have mobile platforms.
Maybe the dungeoneering guild has mobile dungeons (I doubt it), but in our time and with our knowledge this was impossible, so solving this issue is going to be more difficult and require more inventiveness than a simple "just do it"

>>523790
Oh,I didn't meant to copy, I just conined every suggestion that far...also Ashura is awesome!

>>523798
>Monsters drop reagents, so even if they can't get to the end from the checkpoints, they still get their reagents.
We should have 'vendor chutes' so that adventurers can be stupid and give us free reagents for magical stuff in exchange for a smidgen of our gold, which we get back after killing or robbing them blind or subjecting them to a convincing illusion of an IRS agent.

Guys, we only just unlocked our FIRST Boss Form.
There will be opportunity to design a different Boss Form later, including our Final Form.

>>523927
And then the Final Final Form.

>>523975
And then our True Form.

>>523976
And then the Secret True Final Form only unlockable if you enter the Konami Code by twisting a nondescript statue in a secret room in the shattered ruins of the capital of the old world, which is the only way to get the Golden Ending.

Don't forget the ultra secret optional god mode boss form.

>>524041
Or the DLC only boss form.

>>524052
Whoa whoa. We're not evil here.

>>524081
People want us to be BANKERS.

Of course we are evil.

>>524087
I don't. It's not secure. Adventurers try to steal treasure from the dungeons they raid, don't they?

>>524087
We already decided against being evil 'cos then adventurers actually try to kill us instead of farming us. No.

>>524090
And this.

>if(Boss Mode)=(CEO mode)
>then(interview.new.interns)
>else(summon.board.chairmen)

The adventurers that make it to your chamber can decide to work with you, or suffer the wrath of your "investors".

>>524159
That just sets BossMode's value to CEOMode.

>>524192
Should be
>if((Boss_Mode)==(CEO_mode))
>then(interview.new.interns)
>else(summon.board.chairmen)

>>524197
Actually it should be:
>if((Boss_Mode)==(CEO_mode))
>then(interview(new.interns))
>else(summon(board.chairmen))

>>524198
What Language are we using again? I think I was using a mishmash of C++ and Java.

If we don't at some point say "This isn't even my final form!" I will be sorely disappointed.

>>524459
If we don't, I will be extremely happy.