As a Dungeon Core, you may define one or more Entrance Anchors—the methods or mechanisms by which adventurers enter your domain.
Your entrance options may include narrative or metaphysical pathways because you possess both a Legendary Concept (Roguelike) and a Mythic Theme (Dominion of the Dragon Queen).
Predicted Question: May I choose more than one
Additional Options can be gained as you progress.
- Dreamscale Gate: Those who dream of adventure may find the gate to your dungeon. While within the dungeon, they remain unconscious.
- Draconic Ruins: A draconic shrine will appear in the integrated world. At the center of the shrine will be a portal to your dungeon.
- Courtly Quests: Each Court has the potential to create a gateway to your dungeon. The first three courts created will instead be able to offer system quests to invite Classless users to your dungeon.
- Standard Entrance: A path from your dungeon to the surface will be created.
“I can even unlock more options later. Interesting, well, for a starting point, I don’t want to be boring and go with standard, and I also don’t want to have a bad rep for kidnapping people. Pretty sure Dreamscale would get me into trouble. Which means until I know more about the courts, I can’t really do the quest option, even though that sounds like the most fun. Especially since it would make me non-regional, ah, Courtly Quests, how I want you.”
Courtly Quests Entrance Path Confirmed
All Courts will now be able to establish a gateway under specific conditions unique to that court.
Invited Arrivals will appear somewhere on the first floor, usually via a door, arch, stairwell, or alley that would make a good transition without distracting others with distorted space.
“Fuck, System that was not a confirmation that was wistful sighing. Give me my portal, it's safer and less problematic. Ahh! Fine, fine, it's not a problem. I kinda wanted it anyway, this just means I don’t need an actual entrance. Also gives me extra reason to turn this floor into a town. Hmm, if the first three courts create quests, I should probably place them on this floor. Also means I don’t have to worry about adding thrones to the first couple unless I want to. Let's think about this logically. The first floor is somewhere within the domain, and considering how the courts are, I really want to make floors dynamically scale in difficulty. That would create reasons to visit other areas at the start of a run and really let each run feel different. So what if we make this place the center of the dominion? That gives me tons of room to play around with other floors, and if I can get the Life Tree to be special, I should be able to get the courts to treat this as some kind of neutral territory. “If I can make whatever I want here, then starting strong on the Myth is going to make this place really sell the adventure.“
“Let's make this town out of the 'Dragon Queen’s' bones and make her massive.” As I envision it, the space expands, and the stone walls become a forest boundary. Massive bones rise like monuments, jutting from the soil as if her body had been resting here all along. Fangs become towers, and her spine, shattered but still huge, becomes the foundation for pathways, spires, and buildings. Ribes and other bones that probably don’t exist in reality become arches, bridges, and more. Wood and stone line the newly forming town. My crystal is floating in the center, while a collection of wing bones creates a tiered plaza at the east edge of town. The dragon’s skull on the north edge is turned into a large marketplace. Then the roots begin to grow out of the ground under my core. Wrapping around and creating a massive tree. Its roots grow around parts of town, creating smaller trees, moss, vines, and flowers all over town, creating an overgrown feeling. The leaves of the Life Tree take on a scaled pattern; all around it, I generate hatchling eggs and Rebirth Fairies. I carve little nooks into the Life Tree to act as homes for the fairies and do the same for some of the smaller trees around town, though I design them to be homes for people or maybe kobolds.
The Heartwood Confirmed
Your core cannot be removed from the Heartwood, but is protected by its trunk.
Your dungeon core has become the heart of this Life Tree, and its roots encompass the entirety of the first floor. All other Life Trees are connected to this one. Rebirth Fairies can turn trees connected to the Heartwood’s roots into Life Trees.
Due to your core’s energy feeding the Heartwood, it and other Life Trees have a higher chance of producing rare resources.
Only sapient creatures may attune to the Heartwood.
Dragons attuned to the Heartwood return with full memory, but cannot attune to another Life Tree.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
Non-Dragons attuned to the Heartwood return with full memory and no cost; other Life Trees may provide less, but at a minimum, must return the creature to what they were when they attuned.
“Take that, crusaders and villains. You can’t enter with a class, you can’t enter with an item above level 1, and to top it all off, you have to destroy the trunk of an ancient magical tree while in a safe zone if you want to kill me. Good luck. With that out of the way, I am kinda worried about the whole random Life Trees thing, and adventurers are generally going to only want to attune to the Heartwood since it's free and has no drawbacks, though that's kinda the point since coming back here is a full reset. What else do we need to do on that opening day checklist again?
- Design 2/3 creatures
- Create 1/3 landmarks
- Hide your Core - Done
- Name the Floor
- Concept Mandate: Create a Life Tree - Done
- Concept Mandate: Design 5 Classes
- Concept Mandate: Establish one reward that can leave the dungeon
- Theme Mandate: Design Dragon Queen Myth - Done
- Theme Mandate: Relate First Floor to Dragon Queen Myth - Done
- Theme Mandate: Place Hoard
“Weird, I expected the plaza and market to be landmarks. Also, the Name is easy. System I dub this floor Nestroot. Also, what are the requirements for a landmark?”
First Floor Designation - Nestroot
Safe Zone Settlement
Generating Thrones at Desired Landmarks
Selecting Court Envoys
Gilded Talon Envoy - Snaggletooth the Greedy
Grovekeeper Envoy - Esme the First Tender
Fangs of Peace Envoy - Thalia, The Princess of Unity
“Wait, just a second, that sounds like a big deal. Don’t just do stuff without asking System. What do these courts even do, and what the heck is an envoy?” I ask all of this knowing its just going to give me the system page for something but hopefully it answers enough.
Active Courts
Gilded Talon:
This court is primarily run by kobolds and dragons interested in collecting treasure. They don’t care much about politics or the ascension to Dragon Queen. For them, it's all about the treasure, and they make bank off the other courts.
Active Envoys: Snaggletooth the Greedy
Current Court Leader: Snaggletooth the Greedy
Territory Rules:
- Life Trees in our Territory will have a small market.
- Life Trees in our Territory cost ten Dominion Gold to Attune to.
- Life Trees in our Territory cost one Dominion Gold to use. Paid in advance.
Grovekeepers:
This court is primarily run by Rebirth Fairies and Dragons, who believe the Life Trees should be safe places and their power shouldn’t be abused.
Active Envoys: Esme the First Tender
Current Court Leader: Esme the First Tender
Territory Rules:
- Life Trees in our Territory are free to use.
- Life Trees in our Territory are Safe Zones.
- Creatures in our Territory grow faster.
Fangs of Peace:
This court is run by dragons who don’t want to fight and wish to pursue other paths to power.
Active Envoys: Thalia, The Princess of Unity
Current Court Leader: Thalia, The Princess of Unity
Territory Rules:
- Life Trees in our Territory will always have a crafter of some kind.
- Life Trees in our Territory prevent the use of violence for one hour after Attunement or use.
- Banners of Parley can be found throughout our Territory. They create a space that blocks violence from inside or outside.
“So that answers some of my questions, but what about my landmarks? Oh, never mind. They count now. Hmm, the Heartwood counted immediately, but the others didn’t. Probably needs a function to count as a landmark? The markets don’t actually sell anything, yet, and the plaza didn’t do anything. I'm not sure why the system felt the need to answer my question by generating thrones to place in those locations. Or why it put one in the heartwood as well. Speaking of which, the only actual throne here is the one in the plaza, but magically, I can tell the markets and heartwood also count. Thank the system that magic feels instinctive, or at least reading magical energy does. Well, I can see kobolds in my markets now, and a bunch of hatchlings are all running around the plaza now, so I guess the courts caused some updates. Landmarks are done, thrones are built, and it looks like the kobold counts as a creature design even though I didn’t do it. That’s convenient, I guess. Now I just need a hoard, classes, and a meta reward. Why the heck do I need to reward them for a safe floor? Guess even magic-powered systems can have a few bugs.”
“Well, the meta reward doesn’t need to be complicated since there is no danger here. The Hoard is easily the simplest thing since I already have a marketplace and a whole faction that loves gold.” The marketplace is suddenly flooded by a few hundred silver and copper coins with a dragon’s eye on one side and a throne on the other. “Dungeon coin crest done, and the hoard will sort itself out in a few minutes once the kobolds stop panicking over where to place their sudden wealth. Hmm, how do people leave the dungeon? Oh, that works.“ I say as a rift in space forms between two fangs on the south side of town. “The exit portal makes things easy and looks like it's just an illusion; the System is actually just taking them back to where it pulled them away for now.“
“Father, I did not expect to hear your voice today. Is there anything I can do for you?” says a small voice inside the Heartwood. Looking within, I can see a fairy with a crown-like set of horns moving about the space and using magic to create furniture from the wood of her home.”I didn’t realize I was thinking out loud. Are you Esme?” The fairy finishes her chair and places some moss on it, sitting down as she continues speaking. “Yes, I am, and don’t worry about the thinking, only those with a deep connection to the Heartwood could hear you like that. Though most attuned to a Tree could probably tell your mood if you are focused on them.”
“Hearing a weirdly cute little fairy call me father is weird. Though I can’t really deny it, and it's leagues better than master. But, of course, you just heard all of that, and I want you to know it's not a bad weird. Just something I need to get used to. Can you call the others over? I’d like to speak with them as well.” Esme jumps to her feet happily. “Of course, Father, I’ll go get them now.”
Personal Preference