As I woke up I felt a massive pain in my head, opening my eyes I see a screen in front of me.
*WELCOME TO PAOLAMA*
"Paolama huh, interesting name" as I say that the screen flickers away and a new one takes its place.
*SAY "Status" TO OPEN MENU*
"Status"
*Name:???*
*Race: Dungeon Core*
*Mana: 500/2000 (+50/hour)*
*Current Delvers: 0*
*Floor Management*
*Boss Management*
*Monster Management*
*Research*
*Upgrades*
*Dungeon Rules*
"Why do I have no name, my name is" as soon as I try to remember my name the sharp pain in my head returns.
"Ouch, really, fine then, I guess i'm getting a new name." I say, trying to shake off the pain. "I'll think of one later, when I actually need one."
The race makes sense as that is what I picked and mana seems self explanatory, 2000 is my current maximum and I currently have 500 and get 50 per hour. I also get a nifty clock built in so i'll know when an hour passes.
The rest are harder to understand, I guess that delvers would be people who come to my dungeon to fight and get resources but I could be wrong, i'll only know for sure when a delver turns up, hopefully when i'm ready for them and not before then.
"The rest of the status screen seems to have more to it." I guess I have to say the names of sections and a new screen will appear.
"Floor management"
*Floor Management*
*Number of Floors - 1*
*Number of Rooms - 1*
*Room Customisation*
*Add New Room*
*Add New Floor (Requirements not met)*
"So I can alter existing rooms then. Now that I think about it where even am I?" I say, looking around at the room surrounding me.
I seem to be in a cave of sorts, there's a hole in the ceiling letting light in and illuminating the room. In the centre of the room is a tree that seems to be glowing, looking closer at it causes a screen to show up.
*Glimmering Tree*
*This tree is native to Glimmerhallow and glows due to the excess mana given off by the Ley Line. Wood from this tree is sought after due to it's magical properties.*
*Delvers close to this tree will regenerate mana 20% faster.*
"Useful, both the tree and the screen, I guess that focusing on something will show me what that thing is. I try testing my theory and focus on the hole in the ceiling.
*Dungeon Entrance*
*The entrance to the Glimmerhallow dungeon.*
I guess my theory was right but that isn't a very good entrance, there's no way down to the floor. As I think this a new screen appears in front of me.
*Dungeon entrance has been blocked until first floor completion.*
*Completion Requirements*
*At least 3 rooms*
*At least 30 monsters (Can be passive or hostile)*
*At least 1 resource node*
*1 room must contain a boss enemy in it that must be defeated before delvers can move to the next floor.*
That is useful, I don't have to worry about anyone coming to attack me before I am ready, it will also give me time to get used to the system and build my first floor.
"I guess I should change the current room i'm in to be more dungeon-like" I say as I click the Room Customisation option on my screen.
*Select room to change*
*Floor 1*
*Room 1*
As I click the Room 1 option a new screen appears.
*Room details*
*Monsters - 0/25*
*Resource Nodes - 0/1*
*Room Type - Nature-Filled Grotto (Room type cannot be changed)*
*Room Features*
"Room features? What are those?"
*Room Features*
*Mana Dense - All mana regeneration in this room will be increased by 20%. All spells have 20% increased effectiveness*
*Overflowing Nature - All nature affinity spells will have 20% increased effectiveness. Natural wildlife such as insect and birds will appear here, these creatures are completely passive and only exist to add to the dungeons atomosphere. These creatures do not count towards the passive monster cap.*
"So basically just a passive effect for the room, good to know, I hope I can add more of them." I say, clicking on the Resource Node option.
*Resource Nodes - 0/1 (Resource node capacity will increase by 1 every 3 rooms.)*
*Available Resource Nodes*
*Mana Stones - Mana Stones are a crystallised form of mana that naturally occur in mana rich environments. Mana stones that form naturally usually take on the affinity of their surroundings, however, due to being located on a Ley Line inside of a dungeon these mana stones can form as any affinity. Affinities unlocked by the dungeon will be common and affinities not yet unlocked by the dungeon will be much rarer.*
"Now that I think about it what affinities do I have?"
*Unlocked Affinities*
*Nature*
*Water*
*Earth*
"3 starting affinities, looks like I chose the right dungeon type" I say, looking back to the resource node screen.
"So how do I add resource nodes, do I pick somewhere to place it?"
As I click the button to place mana stones the cave i'm in starts shaking, looking around I see parts of the walls open up to reveal what I assume are mana stones. Looking closer at them makes another screen appear.
*Mana Stone Node*
*Mana Stone Nodes will respawn 24 hours after being depleted. Mana Stone Type will change randomly when it respawns. Chance for locked affinity type to spawn is 2%.*
*Mana Stone Type - Water*
*Resources Available - 20/20*
"That's much easier than having to choose where to put it. I guess I can only have one resource node for now. At least that increases as I make the dungeon bigger."
After selecting the resource node I move onto the last option I have, Monsters.
*Monsters*
*Up to 10 hostile monsters are available per room*
*Up to 15 passive monsters are available per floor*
*Hostile - 0/10*
*Passive - 0/15*
*Once selected monsters cannot be changed for 24 hours. When a monster dies it will respawn once all delvers have left the dungeon*
I guess i'll start with hostile monsters.
*Available hostile monsters*
*Lesser Elemental - Elementals are monsters formed in areas with a high concentration of mana. Elementals vary in each area, taking on a form fitting of the mana that surrounds them. Lesser Elementals are newly formed Elementals and are very weak compared to their more matured versions. Elementals grow stronger based on the amount of mana in the area they reside.*
"Are their affinities randomised or do I get to chose them?"
*One Elemental may be selected as a leader of the room. This Elemental's affinity may be chosen. All other Elementals in this room will have the same nature as the leader.*
"I guess i'll go for Nature for the leader then."
*Nature affinity selected. All Elementals in this room will have the Nature affinity.*
"I guess i'll fill the rest of the hostile monster slots with my elementals." Once I select elementals for all my hostile monster slots I take a look at my hostile monster screen.
*Hostile Monsters*
*Nature Elemental Leader - 1*
*Nature Elemental - 9*
Not a bad amount but I wish I had more hostile monster slots.
Moving onto the Passive Monster screen I look at my options.
*Passive Monsters*
*Lesser Spirit - Spirits are monsters formed in areas with a high concentration of mana. Lesser spirits have no offensive capabilities and often roam around aimlessly until they meet someone to bond to. A bonded spirit will grow in strength based on the mana provided to them by the bond they form. When a spirit bonds with someone they gain the ability to use the same affinity as the person they bonded with, this allows them to assist their partner with spells, increasing the spells power and efficiency.*
*All spirits made by the dungeon start with a bond with the dungeon. These spirits can also form contracts with delvers, allowing them to leave the dungeon and explore. Things discovered by these spirits will be given to the dungeon to research. This includes, but is not limited to, new types of monsters, floor features and room types.*
"Wow, okay, these spirits are very useful and are currently the only way I have to gain more things for my dungeon. I will definitely be using those, if I have to have 3 rooms to get a new floor I guess i'll put 5 in each room." I say, adding the 5 spirits to the room.
"Lets have another look at the Room Customisation screen"
*Room Details*
*Monsters - 15/25 (10 Hostile/5 Passive)*
*Resource Nodes - 1/1 (Mana Stones)*
*Room Type - Nature Filled Grotto*
*Room Feature*
"Looks good to me, I guess i'll add a new room now." I say, clicking the Add New Room button.
*Select Floor to add room to.*
*Floor 1*
Clicking Floor 1 a new screen appears.
*Select New Room Type*
*Nature Filled Grotto (500 mana)*
*Bayou (250 mana)*
*Cave (200 mana)*
I guess I get new room types depending on my affinities. I got Nature Filled Grotto for my nature affinity, Bayou for my water affinity and Cave for my Earth Affinity.
"I guess i'll go for Bayou next." I say, clicking the option on my screen. As soon as I click it the screen disappears and the room starts shaking again. This time, instead of my resource node appearing a tunnel appears, presumably leading to my new room.
As I move down the newly formed tunnel I notice everything slowly getting wetter, reaching the end of the tunnel I can see that there is a massive root connected to a tree, forming a natural path. Around the root is deep water that I can't see the bottom of.
Looking around the rest of the room I notice that everything is light despite being underground, I guess that everything is illuminated inside of the dungeon. Dotted around the landscape are massive trees towering out of the water, their roots making natural bridges around the room, occasionally I can see natural platforms forming where many rooms cross over each other.
After looking around the new room I open the room customisation screen.
*Room Customisation*
*Floor 1*
*Room 2*
*Room Details*
*Monsters - 0/25*
*Resource Nodes - 0/0*
*Room Type - Bayou*
*Room Features*
I guess i'll check the room features first.
*Room Features*
*Mana Dense - All mana regeneration in this room will be increased by 20%. All spells have 20% increased effectiveness*
*Bountiful Waters - The waters of this room have naturally spawning passive fish, these fish can be caught by delvers. These fish do not count towards the passive monster cap.*
"Wait, fish?" I say, looking down into the water, now that i'm taking a closer look I can see them moving around under the water. There are quite a lot of them so I don't have to worry about them all being fished up. Even if they were they would respawn anyway.
"I guess i'll move onto the monsters screen next."
*Monsters*
*Hostile - 0/10*
*Passive - 0/10*
"Guess i'm gonna speed through it this time." I say selecting lesser elementals as my monster and choosing the water affinity for their leader. After that I add the lesser spirits to the room and take another look at my screens.
*Hostile Monsters*
*1 Water Elemental Leader*
*9 Water Elementals*
*Room Details*
*Monsters - 15/25 (10 hostile/5 Passive)*
*Resource Nodes - 0/0*
*Room Type - Bayou*
*Room Features*
"This goes a lot quicker the second time around" I say, simultaneously pleased and disappointed at how easy setting up this room was. I was hoping for more customisation options but being able to easily create these rooms and monsters is useful.
"I guess i'm moving onto room 3" After saying this I click the Add New Room option and select cave as my new room type. Once again the room starts shaking and a new corridor appears connected to the root paths and leading to the new room. I wonder if the corridor appears randomly or if it is predetermined.
After walking down the corridor I get excited by what I find. A massive open cave dotted with rocky pillars going from the floor to the ceiling. On the walls of the cave I can see the occasional shiny spot on the wall, I don't get my hopes up just in case but i'm pretty sure that's a new resource node. I'll open my menu and see if I am right.
*Room Details*
*Monsters - 0/25*
*Resource Nodes - 1/1*
*Room Type - Cave*
*Room Features*
"YES!" I couldn't help but shout out, a new resource node will be useful. I'll look at the room features first before I add the monsters and look at the resource node.
*Room Features*
*Mana Dense - All mana regeneration in this room will be increased by 20%. All spells have 20% increased effectiveness*
*Natural Iron Ore Veins - A natural occurring metal ore. Finding this Ore Vein unlocks it as a researchable resource node.*
"I can research it to unlock it as a resource node? I'll have a look at that after I finish this room." I say, opening the resource nodes screen.
*Resource Nodes*
*Iron Ore Vein - Iron Ore is a common metal often found underground and in caves. Iron Ore Veins will respawn 24 hours after depletion*
*Resources Available - 50/50*
This one respawns as well, that's good, I don't have to worry about it running out.
"Let's speed through the monsters again." I mutter under my breath. Quickly doing the exact same as I did in the last room except this time picking Earth as the affinity. Hopefully I will unlock more options in the future.
"Okay now that's all done I can look at the other options on my menu" I say, looking at the Boss Management, Research, Upgrades and Dungeon Rules buttons on my screen. I start with the research screen to look at the Iron Ore Veins I found earlier.
*Research*
*Available Research*
*Iron Ore Nodes - 1000 mana*
"Can't afford that yet." I say, looking at my mana.
*Mana 200/2000*
"I guess it's been 4 hours since I arrived in this world, just another 16 before I can afford the research" I say, moving onto the next screen.
*Upgrades*
*No upgrades available. Complete research to unlock more upgrades.*
"Okay is there anything I actually can do yet?" I say, pushing the Dungeon Rules screen.
*Dungeon Rules*
*No dungeon rules can be set until floor 5 is unlocked.*
"I guess the answer is no, there isn't anything I can do yet. Onto the last screen I guess."
*Boss Management*
*Bosses - 0/1*
*Manage Bosses*
*Create new Boss*
"Finally, something I can do. Time to make a boss." I say, getting excited. Hopefully there will be more options for me this time.
*Create New Boss*
*Available Boss Type*
*Elemental*
"... I don't know what I expected, it was obvious that this would be the only option." I say, clicking Elemental, once again my only option.
*Choose Elemental Affinity*
*Nature*
*Water*
*Earth*
Since the cave is the last room of the floor I guess i'll choose Earth.
*Choose Room*
*Nature Filled Grotto*
*Bayou*
*Cave*
Once again, cave is the last room of the floor so I'll go stick with that.
*Boss Created*
*Boss Monsters are powerful monsters found most commonly in dungeons. These monsters are always 1 tier higher than the monsters around them.*
"I think that should be everything I need to make a new floor." As I say that a new screen appears.
*5 delvers must visit the dungeon before a new floor can be created*
*2000 Mana is required for a new floor to be created*
"Or not, well that's annoying. I have to open my dungeon to grow it further." I spend a while thinking about it and then finally decide on what to do next.
"Well then, I guess it's time to open the dungeon."