Lizard Lair, Mana, and Royal Jelly.

>>1041092
Curse? What curse? There is no curse! *wink* ;)

1/3 Arhra 2022/08/20(Sat)02:11 No. 1041378 ID: 87a35c
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>Way of the Hammerai. It's the most pressing denizen issue we have at the moment.
>Your dreams have been plagued with worries about Moriko.
>Well, we've got her mystery shadow at hand now - as a wannabe disciple of her school, which has to be somewhat disconcerting to her. We're due for a new chat, I'd say.
Moriko and I have circled this topic every week or so since the night of my clay gathering expedition. It seems like it's never the right time or that something else always comes up.

>Lizard Likes. Mainly because Chakarchelou is cute and we haven't done much with his development in a while. We can't put this off because the potion and spitter meat could degrade...
>Nostalgia must be tempting you to make this lizard week
He's about to get his own lair, I need to put some effort into ensure he's developing well, and happy. And this is an experiment that doesn't leave much wriggle room for timing.

>Slime Lair. Giving Alkaline her own room is a gesture that will speak volumes, and allow her to achieve the power she clearly desires. Also, it will look nice, for the visit.
>Making sure our good slime girl is in a good mood, especially at such a major stage of development will be huge in avoiding future issues and we haven't really interacted properly with her recently.
>For the upgrade, a slime lair. Alkaline has a lot going for her but she's still inexperienced and young. A room of her own will help with her independent streak, and give her a little more room to go. Having many slimes is one of the tactics that make them effective, and this should be more true with Alkaline's slimy mixed tactics.
Doing it this week will mean plenty of time for extra slimes to spawn and hopefully do something about her moodiness. It should help make up the losses from the frog attack too. I'll let her manage her own space, hopefully she appreciates being given the extra responsibility.

>If we keep putting it off, we're gonna give Olan something shoddy. Do the job first, make sure we have something of quality, then we can do internal stuff later. Procrastinating on this is silly and unprofessional.
I need to conserve mana for Delving to get my dungeon into its final configuration, so it will have to be next week.

>We don't have enough time to have a talk with each of our denizens directly - we can't neglect Chak or Alkaline but we could postpone Reisarf and Stargazer's discussion. Merud's golem designs are of interest to Olan, so we may want to have that talk before he gets here. A new potion recipe would also be of interest.
They're all nice to have but what I agreed to with Olan were a tour of a functioning dungeon, and to make a demonstration item. I make sure to have dinner with my less focused denizens.

"Hey didja miss me?" Hin says to the orange slime. It vaguely burbles as she bounces its pot on her lap, perhaps in protest.

My wizards are talking about golemetry, independent action, mana-rich broths, salt crystals, cake, potentia and cogent voids.

>We've been neglecting following up on Merud for a bit, and I have a niggling suspicion he might now have continued working on Centaur despite our best warnings. Let's get ahead of a crisis for once!
He's excited about trying and examining some new things with golemetry but no, he's not doing any work on Centaur.

>MANA... yes, yes, I'm sure it's annoying, but it'll go back to normal on its own. Walk it off.
Fiiiiine I'll continue shambling about my dungeon then.

2/3 Arhra 2022/08/20(Sat)02:13 No. 1041379 ID: 87a35c
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I approach my hammerai in the Meditation Chamber.

"Moriko, we need to talk." I say.

"Has your new pet broken something?" she says, eyeing the imp in my arms.

I sigh. "In a manner of speaking, yes. There's something between us that we've kept circling around, for fear of what might happen should that final step be taken."

I set the imp down. "I know you have demonic blood, Moriko. I have always known this. Whatever stigma it had in your homeland, it doesn't matter to me. You travelled a long way to get away from that and I suspect - " I shake my head. "No, that would be disingenuous of me, I know that this origin has has cast a long shadow over your family and its unique skills."

Moriko steps back. "I never told you that."

"I am more than just the golem you see in front of you." I remind her. "I am more than just some cave in the wilderness too. Just like you, I listen and the earth-pulse whispers to me. I know things."

She eyes the slimy fruit ripening on my branch-antlers. "We've been here before. Is this some new curse putting strange ideas in your head?"

I would say this was unworthy of her if she wasn't speaking the truth. I am getting angry but that won't help either. My poor, bruised pride can handle a few more wounds.

"Listen to me." I say, and she tenses at the edge in my voice. "You are approaching a crisis." I point at the imp, where it's poking the pool's still waters with its makeshift hammer to see the ripples. "It's something that's been creeping up on your your entire life, but here things have been hastened. You aren't happy with your demon blood but at the same time you know it's the foundation of an art you cherish. Your spirit is riven. That imp has somehow ended up hosting the piece you want to hide away."

Moriko blinks rapidly at this claim.

"But nothing will change for the better if you don't acknowledge it!" I finish, feeling a vague twinge of hypocrisy.

3/3 Arhra 2022/08/20(Sat)02:14 No. 1041380 ID: 87a35c
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"I see that creature and it's like watching a parody of myself." Moriko says slowly. "And yet, sometimes I see it practicing and I think of myself as a little girl. There was one special thing I could do and I didn't want to give it up for anything." She laughs shakily. "What do you want from me? Would I be any use to anyone if I do give it up?"

"I want my denizens to be their best selves." I say. "There is a wound to your soul and it needs treatment." I wave a hand at the imp. "Humans aren't meant to live split in two."

The imp looks up at her. "Moww!" it says.

Moriko frowns. "So I have to kill it? Is this some test?"

"No!"

She sighs in relief. "So you're not like my grandfather."

"I'm probably far worse."

Moriko laughs at that.

I need to encourage Moriko on whether she should reject or reconcile with her heritage. She seems more torn on it than I had initially thought. Should she reject it, she will be weaker but would be at peace with herself and on a better footing to advance in the future. Should she try to reconcile, she'll likely have more of these struggles in the future.

I feel something loosening already. Something forming that was hidden... It's better and worse than I thought.

----------------------------------------
New Malus
----------------------------------------
Mana Vacancy: A surrender of self-definition. All magic affects Moriko with extra strength. The prevailing nature of the areas she spends time in affects her.

OR

Jealous Shadow: Jealous comparison to others. Potentially mimic and recombine abilities of other dungeon denizens, with a shadowy twist.

OR

Moribundance: Bleeding essence stains the earth-pulse. Moriko is steadily weakening. Monsters with Moriko's aspects will start to appear.

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

These developments are all double-edged, Moriko's essence has been silently squirming about trying to take on a new direction. She might take in new influences, steep herself in old ones or lose her way entirely. There's the possibility of exploring aspects of shadow or descending into hollow and envious imitation. She could cleanly expel her demonic side, gather it up again once its been tempered in the earth-pulse or bleed out too much of her strength.

A choice needs to be made here too.

Okay, Alkaline, Chak and Moriko are accounted for, that leaves Hin, Merud and the commission. And that leaves time to do one thing for yourself! Good.

Urge Moriko to reconcile. People are afraid of the unknown, but you are here to nourish and cultivate unique and rare talents.
Boosted magic effect, like Hin, but without the protection from negative effects... I like this effect, but choosing it would be selfish.
I feel like Moribundance is the key to a redemption arc. Fighting aspects of herself, defeating them to become stronger. The dungeon will support her while she picks up the pieces. And if she does bleed out too much demonic essence, well, that part of her will always be with you, and she can try a path apart from it after all.

>>1041380
Mana Vacancy!. It will allow her to attune herself to your dungeon (or anywhere else that would be useful to attune to), and she'll be more easily affected by POSITIVE magics! Think of the potential! You can just avoid sending her against magic users, or get her some antimagic gear to compensate. There might be a psychological change paired with it but I'm not sure if it'd be a bad thing at the present moment. She needs to redefine herself anyway.
Jealous Shadow sounds useful but also sounds like it would cause conflict between her and others.
I don't see how Moribundance is a good idea at all. Picking that would be like giving up on her as a denizen, and instead using her power to recruit stronger monsters, except we still can't do that effectively. On the other hand it sounds like it doesn't come with a psychological problem...?

Can we fix the downsides of the malus, eventually?

>She could cleanly expel her demonic side, gather it up again once its been tempered in the earth-pulse
Hold on, that second part sounds very interesting. Can she separate herself from it, give it to you, and allow you to reform it into something she's more likely to accept? Something stronger, perhaps?
So basically, REJECT, but without destroying it, to allow her to reclaim the power later once it's in a form that better suits her desires. To allow her to become what she truly wishes to be, rather than the struggle to accept that which was given to her at birth.
You could do the same, you know. Become something more than a dungeon.

I wonder if Moribundance is like an extra-strength version of this plan, assuming we can clear the negative side effects in time... Well, I don't want to pick it without knowing ahead of time.

>>1041380
Moribundance seems like the only generally bad one for the short term, though more tsundere monsters could be interesting.

I'd lean most into Mana Vacancy. Against foes that do limited, or no spells, it'd just enhance buffs further, as well as potion effects.
My concern with it is that redefining herself could be a lengthy and harrowing ordeal.

I'm in favor of mana vacancy too.

>>1041380
Well, it's good to see she's more open to this than we thought. And talking about not wanting to give it up... to ask her to reject it would break her. Encourage reconciliation instead.
As for the Malus, Mana Vacancy sounds like the only one where we can actively manage the downsides; keep her away from harmful magic and it's all good.

Rejection feels like surrendering, so I'd suggest reconciling. And Moribundance.

I've always thought she should reconcile with her dark side. Of course it will in the future lead to more drama, but the best past is rarely the laziest.

But for what's developing... mana vacancy seems obviously advantageous to you with your penchant for reinforcement magic, but the suppression of self-definition is... honestly not something I agree with. Definitely not with Moriko. It's the same sort of self denial her culture wanted her to engage in, not embracing her nature so she can be the best her.

Jealous shadow too seems like offloading her issue to those around her, and again sounds like no solution to her problem.

And moribundance... is what we feared, her letting her essence bleed into the environment until she's too weak to fight at all.

All of these seem not just bad, but specifically self destructive to Moriko as an individual. Perhaps the world simply inflicting her metaphysical pain on her as a physical aliment.

Inasmuch as it's vastly the worst thing that can happen, assuming whatever journey Morkio ends up taking ends with her overcoming it, I'd say moribundance is the answer here.

I'm not sure, but we don't seem to be picking some new power here, we are choosing a path Moriko will use to overcome the rift in her soul.

Feeling the actual essence that's dripping out of her, dealing with the bits of her soul that are missing as monsters that... frankly will be a huge pain in our ass is preferable to suppressing Moriko's personality or making it everyone else's problem.

>>1041407
Choosing something because it's the worst option is... a choice. I don't know if I would take it for granted that this will be completely overturned at some point, and making her weaker is just gonna make it the more likely that she'll feel like giving up. We should be choosing something she can live with, not something that will end up destroying her.

You really think she'd prefer nullification of self, or fits of random jealousy?

It's not that we're selecting the most destructive thing because lol, funny. This isn't a choice of some cool new power, Moriko has a problem that has torn a hole in her. A problem she had LONG before she ever met us. Now, the... literal way people's dramas tend to play out around deem has made it into a little fucking imp running around causing grief.

I don't think it's really up for debate we want to reconcile Moriko's shadow side. Getting there looks like it's going to be a painful process, with negatives popping up.

It's not like I want to condemn Moriko to bleed out her essence till there's none left in her. She can shut down and stop being herself, push others away, or she can continue to feel the pain of having a piece of her missing until she's dealt with the rift inside.

All of the options are bad. One of these options doesn't subsume Moriko's personality or ruin her relationships with the rest of our dungeon. I'm not saying it's good, I'm saying we'd be doing Moriko a disservice by taking the easy out Mana Vacancy represents, and the same can be said for Jealous Shadow, in the long term.

Gotta say, the similarity of Moriko bleeding energy through a hole in her soul to Deems situation is pretty stark too.

>>1041425
I think you're reading "surrender of self-definition" as something way more sinister and deadly than it already is. If that said "nullification of self" it'd be WAY higher in the scale of danger... but it doesn't. She was already losing her self-definition in the first place, what with her analysis coming up as human, pretty much denying a part of what defined her.
Meanwhile, literally bleeding her essence and getting weaker, those are huge red flags. She's not a dungeon, she can't take it like Deem does, and even for her it was and still is a very big deal.

They're all bad choices in a way - that nevertheless offer a way to cleanly come through and recover, whether it's from the rejection point of view or the reconciliation one.

Moriko is afraid of a change that will turn her into someone or something she does not want to be. In that sense, rejection gives her more of the control she craves - she'll never have to deal with the other side of her blood again if her essence expels it once this trial is over with. But any option but Moribundence seems like swapping one problem for others that also risk changing and twisting her nature. Moribundence at least 'only' weakens her, which is change too, but more on her terms.

Reconciliation will definitely change her and her outlook as she learns to tap into - even lean into - that part of her in the future.

With respect to Moriko's will, Rejection and Moribundence seems to be closest to what she'd prefer - bleed out the essence she does not want and then cut off the flood, without, ideally, weakening her to such a degree she's permanently crippled and unable to train herself up again. Probably this would mean a greater denizen becoming a lesser one, but her future potential should remain high. She's quite driven if put on a path she's willing to commit to, after all.

Either option with Mana Vacency could also work if she's allowed to steep herself in the influences of her choice for a period - probably meditation chamber and training areas - but it would probably be tricky to hit the right confluence of influences. Probably there'd be spillover from other things. But replacing or remolding her essence through the influence of something else might not be the worst of options for her as this will, in a way, finally allow her to take charge over the power in her blood, whether to mold it or to replace it with something else that can, at least partially, be of her choosing.

I've already said more than my fair share, but I will say respecting Moriko's desire to expel the demonic aspect from her is a terrible idea. She'd probably just be a hammer swinging brute without the demonic contamination, and while we need that part of why Moriko is so important to this operation is that she's the only denizen who can feel the earth pulse, which might simply go away if she loses that aspect of herself.

>>1041378
After we make Olan’s commission, we should attempt to talk with Alkaline to see if she’s enjoying her new room and to see if we can talk to her.

>>1041380
Have her reconcile with her heritage.

And Mana Vacancy should be fine.

Oh, and I'm guessing as usual, she has no opinion on what Malus to take?

Hmmm... is it just me, or are these Maluses somewhat related to your own fears and problems? Leaking power, envy, and loss of self?

Hmm. I suspect that most of us headvoices are inclined to support reconciliation, due in part to cultural emphasis on being true to yourself etc. On the other hand, growing means changing means not being what you are right now. So I could see this going either way. Does Moriko hate her demon blood, or does she merely feel she's *supposed* to hate it? The former leans me slightly towards rejection, the latter strongly towards reconciliation. Perhaps you should talk with her for a little longer about it; hardly seems wise to base a lifechanging decision off 30 seconds of talking. It's also of note that reconciliation having more future trials just sounds like more opportunities to grow - though on the other hand, not all trials are necessarily good for you, I'll grant.

I was originally considering Moribundance, But I realized, having her fight, or watching others fight monster caricatures of the part of herself she already has complicated feelings about will quite possibly just lead her to further distance herself from it, and inspire more self-loathing or hatred. Its also VERY close to what she just said her Grandfather told her to do, which is killing that shadow part of herself and thats something we dont want to feed.
Whether she reconciles with it or lets it go, we dont want Moriko to hate or fear her nature, I think is the main thing.

With that in mind, Im going to vote towards Mana Vacancy, with hopes that she can reconcile, but even if she cant, at least we can guide her to have a better, REAL understanding of what shes giving up.

>>1041493
Oh you've got a point.
We don't actually know Moriko's true feelings on the matter, because she hasn't spoken about it directly until now! Maybe we should have a proper conversation before deciding on how to move forwards?

I think that the most important thing with Moriko is that whatever she chooses, she keep Morimpko around as a magical companion which she can combine with in a magical girl transformation.
Just think about all you'll save on textiles when she gets a new outfit for free every season!

Moriko's "demonic side" is apparently fully manifest as its own being. This is a chance for Moriko to get to know it, to come to terms with it, in a far more familiar and easily-compared way than "soul searching" can usually manage. She should spend some time training this imp, in order to better understand what it represents of herself.

>The prevailing nature of the areas she spends time in affects her.
She would be affected by the prevailing nature of Deem? Interesting...

I vote Jealous Shadow. Jealousy feels like the aspect to do the least permanent damage to Moriko, and most easily mitigated by diligent management of your staff's relationships.

>>1042842
begone, bhot

1/3 Deem 2022/09/17(Sat)23:43 No. 1044059 ID: 2a9875
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>Urge Moriko to reconcile. People are afraid of the unknown, but you are here to nourish and cultivate unique and rare talents.
>Whether she reconciles with it or lets it go, we don't want Moriko to hate or fear her nature, I think is the main thing.
"I think you need to plumb your own nature." I say to Moriko. "No matter where a part of your skill and strength might have come from, it is something you deserve to make completely your own. You have a rare talent and, if you accept, I would like to nourish and cultivate it."

>Moriko's "demonic side" is apparently fully manifest as its own being. This is a chance for Moriko to get to know it, to come to terms with it, in a far more familiar and easily-compared way than "soul searching" can usually manage. She should spend some time training this imp, in order to better understand what it represents of herself.
I pick up the imp and hold it out to Moriko. "You won't find some ancient evil, or great darkness in here."

"Moww!" the imp complains at the way I'm holding it.

"I'd like you to keep this imp with you, to train it. So you can find out for yourself what it represents of you, and hopefully get the answers from it that I haven't been able to."

Moriko awkwardly takes the squirming imp off me.

>Does Moriko hate her demon blood, or does she merely feel she's supposed to hate it?
I ask her.

"I don't know." Moriko says, trying to keep a hold of the fidgeting imp. "It feels as though I was always pushed to shun it completely, or to wallow in it..."

"You don't need to do either of those things." I tell her.

>It's not like I want to condemn Moriko to bleed out her essence till there's none left in her. She can shut down and stop being herself, push others away, or she can continue to feel the pain of having a piece of her missing until she's dealt with the rift inside.
These are all symptoms of wounds to the spirit and they are not easily healed. It's difficult to decide who you want to be.

>I feel like Moribundance is the key to a redemption arc. Fighting aspects of herself, defeating them to become stronger. The dungeon will support her while she picks up the pieces. And if she does bleed out too much demonic essence, well, that part of her will always be with you, and she can try a path apart from it after all.
It has a certain romance to it, does it?

>I was originally considering Moribundance, But I realized, having her fight, or watching others fight monster caricatures of the part of herself she already has complicated feelings about will quite possibly just lead her to further distance herself from it, and inspire more self-loathing or hatred.
But I don't know if I have the heart to put someone through the same slow bleed I am experiencing, and Moriko having to fight through a hall of distorted mirrors to claim her true self is perhaps too cruel.

I must be getting soft.

>Mana Vacancy!. It will allow her to attune herself to your dungeon (or anywhere else that would be useful to attune to), and she'll be more easily affected by POSITIVE magics! Think of the potential! You can just avoid sending her against magic users, or get her some antimagic gear to compensate. There might be a psychological change paired with it but I'm not sure if it'd be a bad thing at the present moment. She needs to redefine herself anyway.
Undue influence is more widespread and more pernicious than you seem to think. All the same, my denizens have thrived so far by opening themselves to the world around them.

>This will, in a way, finally allow her to take charge over the power in her blood, whether to mold it or to replace it with something else that can, at least partially, be of her choosing.
Yes, I think that might be it. That is the shape this hole in her spirit will take. She can choose what she will seek out and that will guide her steps in the future.

"There is something else." I say to her. "Because of this rift in your spirit, there's a hollow within you. Your foundation is unsteady and foreign magic can easily seep in to influence you. This is a threat and an opportunity."

Moriko blinks. "An opportunity?"

"You will be extremely vulnerable to magic. You must be careful around me as well, the essence of my Heart and my dungeon can be overwhelming. But this applies to positive influence as well! You can seek out things that you desire and you might be able to make a part of yourself going forward."

Moriko stands there. "I see. I'm sorry, this is a lot to think about it. Can I have some time to myself?"

"I understand." I give a short bow to her. "Good night Moriko."

She bows back. "You too."

2/3 Deem 2022/09/17(Sat)23:44 No. 1044060 ID: 2a9875
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Moriko spends some time in the Meditation Chamber and then takes a long soak in the bath, putting some effort towards scrubbing the imp clean as well. I content myself with wandering the halls of my dungeon and the occasional snack.

No absurd dreams for me tonight.

>Hmmm... is it just me, or are these Maluses somewhat related to your own fears and problems? Leaking power, envy, and loss of self?
Those fears and problems are hardly unique to me.

...

Also I'm not afraid of them.

>You could do the same, you know. Become something more than a dungeon.
There is nothing that is 'more' than what I am.

>She would be affected by the prevailing nature of Deem? Interesting...
It would be very difficult to avoid contamination if she spends time in my dungeon, yes.

>This isn't a choice of some cool new power, Moriko has a problem that has torn a hole in her. A problem she had LONG before she ever met us. Now, the... literal way people's dramas tend to play out around Deem has made it into a little fucking imp running around causing grief.
Hopefully this will clean the wound and give Moriko a basis to move forward, but I will have to keep an eye on her, and support her.

>All of these seem not just bad, but specifically self destructive to Moriko as an individual. Perhaps the world simply inflicting her metaphysical pain on her as a physical aliment.
You had it backwards. She's strong enough to move the world, for herself anyway.

>I think that the most important thing with Moriko is that whatever she chooses, she keep Morimpko around as a magical companion which she can combine with in a magical girl transformation.
>Just think about all you'll save on textiles when she gets a new outfit for free every season!
Where do you get these ridiculous ideas?

3/3 Deem 2022/09/17(Sat)23:45 No. 1044061 ID: 2a9875
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In the morning I seek out Chakarchelou! In the place of his breakfast he gets potions and spitter steaks, at lunchtime he gets potions and spitter steaks, and for dinner he gets the last of the potion and spitter steaks. I have a little of the leftover meat as well.

The next day shows some results.

----------------------------------------
Chakarchelou
Lvl 1 Cave Quasidragon
----------------------------------------
Power: C
Vitality: B
Accuracy: D
Speed: D
Wits: C
Skill: E
Spirit: D => C
Luck: C

Deem's first companion in this era and proud of it. A cave dwelling lizard that might someday become a dragon. In the mean-time hoards gold and chin scratches.

----------------------------------------
Detected Abilities
----------------------------------------
UPDATED - Dragonish Blood: Chakarchelou has a small amount of dragon blood, giving him a boost to his physical attributes, mana regeneration and honing his draconic qualities if he is allowed to hoard gold. With a large hoard, he will grow permanently stronger.

UPDATED - Torch Breath: Chakarchelou can breath a cloud of choking smoke and burning sparks or a narrow, short jet of more intense flame. He can't use it immediately in a fight as he needs a while to stoke his flame.

Tough Scales: Strong armour with a small chance of resisting hostile effects.

----------------------------------------
New Ability
----------------------------------------
Blast Gasp: Chakarchelou can supercharge his Torch Breath by swallowing something volatile shortly before using it. Can be hazardous to overuse.

OR

Slime Hoarder: Chakarchelou's tougher depending on how much slime he has with him. Based on the nature of the slime he's hoarding, Chakarchelou can slightly tweak his abilities such as making his Torch Breath sticky or making his Tough Scales rubbery.

OR

Bulk Diet: Chakarchelou can consume a wide variety of technically edible objects. A diet rich in slime will help Chakarchelou steadily grow larger.

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

Good job Chakarchelou.

"Gnnrrr!" he agrees, rolling on his back and wriggling against a rock.

His time spent in Hin's forge has helped him learn how to focus his breath, and he's internalised the concepts of the Covetuous Ring. That ring doesn't do anything for him now, I should think about who else might benefit from it.

As for the new options, Blast Gasp would work well with the bomb flower that's to be planted in his new lair. He might be holding a grudge over that cat bombing him into oblivion. Slime Hoarder would work well with Hin's new Gelforging or simply carrying some of Alkaline's slimes around. And finally Bulk Diet is an easy path towards terrorising invaders with a giant lizard. I would estimate he'd be of a size with those giant spitters we encountered within two months.

Which might suit him best?

>>1044061
Slime hoarder so he can get pampered by slimes all day while one of them rides him into battle!

Blast Gasp is the most dragonish, it's crucial to encourage his dream.

Bulk Diet! Hey, another use for all that orange slime you left lying around! We'll have to take him on walkies to the orange crags soon.

>>1044060
>Where do you get these ridiculous ideas?
Children's Super Puppet Shows. They were created after the end of a decades-long War of Oppression, so you had all these Chaos-aligned artists letting loose and stuffing as much weird into the brains of children as they could get away with.

>>1044061
Bulk Diet. Let's see if we can get him on some kind of mana-keto regimen.

>>1044060
>There is nothing that is 'more' than what I am.
Have you ever heard of another dungeon attuning themselves to a golem body as closely as you do? Perhaps you are already evolving, and in a way you are correct. There is nothing 'more' than what you are, because you are at the forefront.

>>1044061
>covetous ring?
You could give it to Moriko if she wants to become more dragon-like. I'd imagine Mana Vacancy will trigger and intensify its effect on her.
Alternatively, can you wear it? You're certainly hoarding gold already.

>drake abilities
Well, Blast Gasp is strong but adventurers will be able to predict when he's using it.
Slime Hoarder is great with our slime-themed dungeon.
Bulk Diet looks good but only has short term benefits. Once he's reached a certain size you wouldn't want him to get any bigger! Wait, how are you going to design the dungeon in the long term to allow him to traverse passages once he's fully evolved?

I vote Slime Hoarder. It's also the most flexible perk available, since it can do various things and of course Hin can give him equipment.

Slime Hoarder works well with the fecund theme of this dungeon, your slime minions and your gel-forging smith. It'd be my preference.

Blast Gasp not only works well with the bomb plant, but could let him take advantage of our slime queen prodigy's unstable core in a pinch. It's a nice ability and would be my second choice.

Bulk Diet making him big - while we've seen the power of this in Hin - seems like it could backfire. We're already having to deal with Hin's increased appetite (and yours), let's not push our resource needs too far until we're sure we can meet them. Unless that's not an issue, in which case, this is a fair upgrade as well, but still my third choice.

Oh, and put the Covetous Ring on Hin. For one, she's gained a dragon-like aspect so that might match well with it, for two, as your smith she'd have to keep raw gold and such on hand as a workable material, so that can be added to count as her 'hoard'.

Blast Gasp seems like it would have lots of opportunities to use, and is the most dragon like affinity

>>1044061
Bulk Diet is a trap. We'll end up hitting the same problem as we did with Hin these days, not enough room. We'll either end up having to waste resources in having enormous rooms for Char to fit, or having him roam outside; and in either way there will be a point where it won't be worth it to continue using it.
Blast Gasp is... okay? It only buffs one of his abilities, that he can't use at will, and using up resources every time. Oh and it has a drawback. It's not bad, just underwhelming.
Slime Hoarder is the way to go. Really, with a slime queen and a gelforger in the dungeon, it's a no-brainer, and it encourages teamwork.

>>1044066
>There is nothing that is 'more' than what I am.
>Have you ever heard of another dungeon attuning themselves to a golem body as closely as you do? Perhaps you are already evolving, and in a way you are correct. There is nothing 'more' than what you are, because you are at the forefront.
This is correct. You may be weaker in power, but in concept you have already surpassed any dungeon that has ever existed. Don't put a ceiling above you that doesn't need to be there. Don't hold yourself back.

>>1044061
Slime Hoarder

I like Bulk diet more, but I can't deny the inmense power value of Slime Hoarder. (Vote for Bulk diet anyway)

>>1044061
I really want to get Bulk Diet to help him start growing bigger because of how tiny he is. But it might be better to get something else this time and hope there's another opportunity to help him grow later.

Let's get Slime Hoarder.

>>1044061
Bulk diet seems good

I think our life already has enough slime in it. We aren't a slag pit of castoff slime after all.

So lets go with blast gasp. We can probably feed him a stead diet of coal to make it better, and... I'm serious, do not turn Chakarchelou into a slime spitter dragon. No. NO.

Lets make him a proper, fire breathing dragon, with Blast gasp. If that's just, off the table, then Bulk Diet is vastly superior (think about how much of the excavation castoff he can just straight up eat).

>>1044122
I don't think he's going to be spitting slime. He can just make his torch breath sticky. Like, sticky fire/smoke. Napalm dragon!

Slime hoarder > Blast gasp > Bulk diet

Slime hoarder is by far the most thematic for the dungeon, the most strategically flexible, and the one that encourages cooperation the most.
Blast gasp is useful but doesnt have a whole lot of potential.
Bulk diet could ultimately become a *problem*: we dont want to encourage our lizard to start eating slimes.

Slime hoarder

>>1044061
Slime hoarder
And ring on Hin

>>1044061
Slime Hoarder makes sense for getting everyone's abilities to work together.

Blast Gasp sounds great. Makes the bomb plants in his lair feel like they belong there, and an interesting fight for sure.

Flexibility is nice and all, but sometimes having a lot of options is less useful than having one option that works really well. Also, honestly getting tired of slime upgrades on every denizen.

>>1044061
Bulk Diet will help him start getting to a proper dragon size.

Also, you better not forget about doing Olan's request! He's not going to be happy if you don’t have anything to give him when he comes over.

While Blast Gasp might be more on theme- I cannot deny the allure of giant lizard so Bulk Diet all the way!

>>1045468
I cast thee out