Featuring a host with thicker skin than someone with lead lining, which is impressive.
So you are a Dungeon. (http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=179561.0) But not just any Dungeon- you are a FRACTAL DUNGEON. Where other Dungeons have some sort of Dungeon Master, Core Crystal, Demon Lord, or whathaveyou at their centre, you just keep going. Forever. Technically you get smaller as you spiral inwards, but anyone exploring your depths wouldn't ever notice, as they are shrunk at the exact same pace (and grow again as they leave).
Which is well cool, except that currently you are just a straight stone passage (the spiral curve is again not noticeable from within), with no traps, diversions, monsters, or anything. Makes it a bit hard to consume the energy of adventurers, since no one is interested in exploring you.
Fortunately, someone stumbles into your entrance- not to explore, but to get away from some bandits outside. They discover the cave they entered was not a great hiding spot, and are quickly finished off by the bandits. The bandits take their stuff, but their dying body is left inside. As their lifeblood spills onto the floor, you are able to absorb a modicum of energy from it. Not enough to make sweeping changes, but enough to make at least one:
A: Improve Layout. You might not contain anything interesting, but your maze-like layout will make people think that there's treasure to be found within.
B: Improve Appearance. Changing your entrance from a rough cave into a nice ominous portal of obsidian bricks will improve your allure to adventure-seekers.
C: Summon Monsters. You conjure up some weak monsters, who can at the very least make trips outside to gather resources, and might induce humans to try and eradicate their nest.
D: Something Else.
Note that adventurers do not actually have to die for you to absorb energy from them. Even if they make it out alive, they still leave behind residual emotions and mana, which whilst not very filling will eventually build up.
By the way, every update, except for the first (which is a few posts below this), contains the word "TURNTURNTURN", so if you type that into the thread search function, it will pull up all updates without any of the posts in between.
AD,K
TURNTURNTURN
What self-respecting dungeon would be without traps or monsters? And what better way to fulfil both requirements than kobolds? Well, there are probably a bunch, to be honest, but this is the best within your price range.
With a minor fanfare in the form of arcane sparks and a cloud of blue dust, dozens of kobolds materialise in the shallower reaches of your corridor. Short, reptilian humanoids, pre-equipped with crude pickaxes, shabbily dressed in vaguely-clothing-shaped rags. Unperturbed by being thrust into existence, they split into small groups, with some headed outside to forage for food and supplies. The remainder you direct to assist in the creation of traps- though they may look stupid, sound stupid, and be stupid, kobolds are remarkably skilled at trap-making.
With kobolds helping out, traps are quickly established along the length of the corridor leading up to the spinning maze. There are spikes that emerge from the walls, spikes that emerge from the floor, spikes that swing around corners... there's a certain spikey theme. Okay, not the most inspired, and the tripwires and pressure plates are not exceptionally hard to notice and disarm, and even if they trigger, the average adventurer is not going to be killed- but they certainly add a little variety.
Time passes. The kobolds keep themselves fed (although technically they can subsist on dungeon prana, actual food is more filling, improving performance), and build up stockpiles of wood, furs, and shiny rocks- what passes for treasure amongst kobolds. They also maintain the traps- again, not technically necessary, but it improves performance. Unfortunately, no adventurers arrive. Two weeks after the last party left, you begin to wonder if they've forgotten about you. You could try doing more to lure in adventurers, perhaps?
A: Send kobolds further afield to attack humans.
B: Make the kobolds build ominous totems throughout the surroundings.
C: Have patience; you're not in a rush.
To help keep track of things, I'm adding a Status spoiler:
ENERGY RESERVE: Very Low
KILL COUNT: 0
REPUTATION: Barely Known
DUNGEON DETAILS
LAYOUT (Applies to entire dungeon due to fractal nature): Corners & Alcoves.
ENTRY: Modest but intriguing.
FIRST SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Matt, Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: None
SECOND SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: Spinning Maze
FURTHER SEGMENTS: Unexplored and unmodified.
TURNTURNTURN
Your influence doesn't extend very far from your entrance, so you need to employ monsters to build things further away. The kobolds are... let's say 'enthusiastic' crafters, because it's good to be kind (except to adventurers). Still, ominous totems don't have to be masterpieces to freak people out. Crude carvings on upright logs, effigies of sticks and fur, and cairns littered with animal skulls, strategically placed in view of the nearby road, soon have their intended effect. The kobolds spy human soldiers tearing down their work, and before long one of their patrols ventures deeper into the hills and encounters your entrance.
[5]The one leading the patrol sighs. "Another one. Like we didn't have enough adventurers making trouble already. Mark it on the map, and let's get back to town."
A day later, a new party of adventurers arrive. Unlike those encountered before, this trio appear to be amateurs- young, optimistic, poorly equipped. Still, you never know. Every great adventurer has to start somewhere.
[1] And every terrible adventurer has to end somewhere. The fools stumbled into several traps in a row, before kobolds charged at them from further down the corridor. On the one hand, their suffering and eventual death energises you. On the other, there's only so much to be gained from such weaklings, and it was over rather quickly. On the third hand, you could potentially use their corpses for something- or just consume them for energy.
A: Have the kobolds mount them on spikes outside.
B: Let the kobolds have the flesh and equipment, then store the skeletons deeper down.
C: Omnomnom (+3).
With this recent influx of energy, is it time to make more changes?
A: Elevate a kobold to a kobold chieftain (-3).
B: More monsters (suggestions welcome) (-depends).
C: Add some small side rooms (-5).
D: Scatter some treasure in a few alcoves (-3).
E: Save it.
(Other suggestions are always welcome- for convenience, assigning it a letter would help)
I just can't stop myself from adding complexity over time, so now your energy is tracked numerically.
ENERGY RESERVE: 6
KILL COUNT: 3
REPUTATION: Newly Located Dungeon
DUNGEON DETAILS
LAYOUT (Applies to entire dungeon): Corners & Alcoves.
ENTRY: Modest but intriguing.
FIRST SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Matt, Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: None
SECOND SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: Spinning Maze
FURTHER SEGMENTS: Unexplored and unmodified.
TURNTURNTURN
The corpses of the three unwary adventurers glow faintly, before dissolving into motes of magical energy that are absorbed into the walls and floor.
Subsequently, side rooms sprout along the length of your corridor- small, square, and featureless. The kobolds quickly move their camps into nearby rooms, and Matt gratefully redeploys as a side door- marginally reducing his chances of being cut down, as some adventurers may decide to ignore side rooms. Within the rooms in the first and second segments spawn some crude chests, sacks, and vases, containing a medley of copper and silver coins (likewise crude, and not actually recognised as currency anywhere, but the metal is worth something).
A day after the demise of the novices, familiar faces- the two mages are back, with a larger escort this time. Broadsword, some sort of exotic glaive, bow and arrow. Party of five, filled with determination.
[5] The traps and kobolds are no match for the seasoned adventurers. They ransack the side rooms, grumbling at the meagre spoils, but are spurred on by the mages who promise the prize of a dungeon core if they persist.
[3] With care and preparation, they overcome the spinning maze, with one of the mages charting it out, before leading the rest through. Though triumphant, the meticulous approach takes time, during which the party's exuded emotions- greed, impatience, and many more- energise you (+3). Which is good, because once they get past the spinning maze, they will quickly run out of things to do. It is clear you don't have the resources to string them along indefinitely, but with their enthusiasm to find your end, they could be lured deeper by even meagre distractions. Or perhaps you could get them to turn round with a particularly fiendish challenge (and a little luck)?
A: Bring forth the biggest monster you can. (-4)
B: Bring forth a stealthy monster, and have it lure them deeper. (-4)
C: Whip up a deadly trap- one not so easily avoided as the spikes. (-3)
D: Another puzzle, perhaps? (-3)
E: A big, bulky artifact might persuade them to cash out early. (-4)
F: Nah.
ENERGY RESERVE: 4
KILL COUNT: 3
REPUTATION: Newly Located Dungeon
DUNGEON DETAILS
LAYOUT (Applies to entire dungeon): Corners & Alcoves.
ENTRY: Modest but intriguing.
FIRST SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Matt, Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: None
SECOND SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: Spinning Maze
FURTHER SEGMENTS: Unexplored and unmodified.
BE a Mimic Core. With a pedestal base and floating crystal as the monster's core, with the floor actually being tentacles that will sprout up to distract and spear them. And while they're distracted they'll get their legs chomped off. Since the core of the monster looks like a dungeon core, they'll be less likely to smash it. (Of course if they do manage to kill it the monster will just break apart and will just drop out from underneath them, right into some spikes, beCause the penalty for killing our Mimicore is you don't get a floor.)
+1 (Wait do we even have the energy reserves to pull this off?)
Nooope.
TURNTURNTURN
A brilliant, flawless, foolproof plan- if you had more energy. You do what you can with what you have.
[4] The adventurers encounter your faux-core. They are briefly excited, but quickly realise the deception, on account of the core being a piece of glass- a fact which is obvious from a considerable distance. They toss a rock at it, which sets off the mimic- deadly tentacles feeble tendrils emerging from the ground, grasping at nothing in an attempt to ensnare the intruders. The bemused adventurers destroy the 'core' from a distance, which causes the floor to collapse- into a pit about a foot deep, the spike budget being spent on half a dozen around the location of where the core was.
The adventurers are unhappy, but not in the sense that they are suffering, just mildly peeved. Their emotions wouldn't even make for an appetizer. (+0)
After stepping out of the pit, the adventurers continue onwards. As you have no more energy, you can only watch as they delve deeper. They continue on through the empty corridor and barren rooms for quite some time, actually- the mages certain that the real core must be around the next corner. Eventually, however, even the mages give up. They leave dissatisfied, with not even a good story to share at the bar- the epic fight versus the feeble mimic is not going to be one for the history books. At least their stay is long enough for you to gather a bit more energy from them. (+2)
You should probably recycle the faux-core. But technically you could keep it around.
A: Get rid of it. (+2)
B: No, no, this can be salvaged, really. This isn't gambler's fallacy.
And after that, there's the question of how or if to salvage your reputation. If the only thing you're considered good for is farming kobolds and gathering meagre coinage, you're not going to be able to extract much from visitors- there's not much emotion in routine extermination and treasure-gathering. What to do?
A: Add a somewhat powerful monster. (-4)
B: More weak monsters- a bit of variety would make you less monotonous. (-4)
C: Boost the deadliness of the spike traps. (-3)
D: More treasure. (-3)
E: Seal the entrance and slumber for a few years. Start fresh-ish.
Note that you cannot afford any of the above suggestions without recycling, except for E obviously. But other suggestions are always possible- just try to keep your energy reserves in mind, yeah?
ENERGY RESERVE: 2
KILL COUNT: 3
REPUTATION: Worthless Near Empty Dungeon
DUNGEON DETAILS
LAYOUT (Applies to entire dungeon): Corners & Alcoves.
ENTRY: Modest but intriguing.
FIRST SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Matt, Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: None
SECOND SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: Spinning Maze
THIRD SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Faux-Core Mimic
FURTHER SEGMENTS: Unexplored and unmodified.
TURNTURNTURN
The faux-core is quickly recycled (+2). Nice idea, perhaps worth revisiting in the future. But not now.
Subsequently, you seal your entrance, and collapse the cave leading up to it. The kobolds go into stasis. Matt probably does as well, but since he spends most of his time as a stationary object anyway, it's hard to tell.
You can vaguely sense things happening outside. Over the next few weeks, humans occasionally visit, but none of them make a serious attempt to excavate the collapsed cave. The last such visit is after about a month. After that, nothing. Time passes; seasons change; you slumber.
It is around two decades later that something startles you back to awareness. Some sort of magical catastrophe occurs- you're not sure how far away it happened, but the reverberations are powerful enough to reach you, and you are even able to extract some usable energy from them (+2). You decide to open up, in order to send some kobolds out to see what's going on.
Through the eyes of the kobolds, you can't see anything significantly different. There's no sign of massive devastation in the surroundings, or any mushroom clouds on the horizon. But there is a... feeling. A bad feeling. The kobolds are set on edge, baring their fangs and chittering in agitation as they mosey around. There's obviously something going on out there. The question is, is this an opportunity for you, or a threat? You don't think you can be completely destroyed... but then again, you don't really know what the world is capable of. Whatever caused the magical catastrophe might be powerful enough to kill a fractal dungeon. What to do?
A: Grand reopening! Send the kobolds out to attack humans- vent their aggression.
B: Modest reopening. Have the kobolds do their totem thing again.
C: Quiet reopening. Just restore the entrance and wait.
D: Recall the kobolds, reseal the entrance, and slumber for another couple of decades.
You have a bit of energy you could spend. Perhaps an upgrade is in order?
A: No changes.
B+: Changes (suggest something, assign it a letter).
ENERGY RESERVE: 6
KILL COUNT: 3
REPUTATION: Forgotten Dungeon
DUNGEON DETAILS
LAYOUT (Applies to entire dungeon): Corners, Small Side Rooms, Alcoves
ENTRY: Modest but intriguing.
FIRST SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Matt, Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: None
SECOND SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: Spinning Maze
THIRD SEGMENT:
No notable features.
FURTHER SEGMENTS: Unexplored and unmodified.
Add interconnecting side passages that rejoin the main corridor further along, so that it looks like there is more dungeon to explore than there really is, helping adventurers get lost. Train the kobolds to remove any traces that adventurers might leave behind to mark their way.
TURNTURNTURN
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But then with the main passage having turns in it. Yeah, the pattern is pretty regular- the intersections are all equally far apart, and which is the 'correct' way can be deduced once the pattern is grasped-, but in the dark, with traps and monsters to worry about, it could take even canny explorers some time to figure it out. (-6)
The kobolds do not need much encouragement. Surprisingly, they are quite effective- there seem to be more people on the road, and less guards. Half a dozen casualties and many more injuries later, a party of adventurers show up to investigate. Sword, bow, staff. Second-hand equipment.
[6] They appear young, but not unskilled. They are able to surprise a group of kobolds, and make quick work of them, but let one escape- so they can follow the trail of blood to you. Upon encountering the restored cave and ominous
entrance, they react cautiously. They delve only until the first trap- which they spot before it strikes, and disarm-, then retreat. Nevertheless, this brief incursion provides a modicum of energy (+1).
A day later, they return. They again enter cautiously.
[4] They defeat several kobolds, avoid several traps, and smash several pots (and slay one Matt). They take some damage in the process, but the staff-wielder is able to heal their minor injuries. Though they are not significantly challenged, they have a certain vibrancy of spirit that belies their young age, and their emotions (apprehension, pain, excitement, determination) are all worth consuming (+2).
[1] However, your new layout proves too overwhelming, and the tendency of kobolds to sneakily scrub out the chalk marks they leave on your walls lead to them going in circles several times. As the realisation dawns that they have become lost, a wonderful bloom of fear is exuded (+2). Though still healthy in body, mental exhaustion starts to build, and subsequent fights with kobolds see several mistakes made, resulting in more serious injuries (+1). They eventually opt to pause in a side room for a while, to rest and calm their minds.
This presents an opportunity to make some quick changes. You could try to finish them off... or help them escape. You could place something in their path before they resume.
A: A big monster- have it hunt them down while they are shaken. (-4)
B: A sneaky monster- have it trick them into delving deeper still. (-4)
C: A horde of monsters- wear them down. (-5)
D: An artifact of some sort, to make it all worthwhile. (-4)
E: A friendly spirit to guide them out. (-2)
F+: Other.
ENERGY RESERVE: 6
KILL COUNT: 9
REPUTATION: Kobold Nest
DUNGEON DETAILS
LAYOUT (Applies to entire dungeon): Corners, Regular Side-Passage Bypasses, Small Side Rooms, Alcoves
ENTRY: Modest but intriguing.
FIRST SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Matt, Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: None
SECOND SEGMENT:
Inhabited By: Kobolds
Traps: Spikey
Features: Spinning Maze
THIRD SEGMENT:
No notable features.
FURTHER SEGMENTS: Unexplored and unmodified.