Khenal

Chapter One-Hundred Eighty

Despite Tarl’s pessimism, I’m pretty confident the ODA can do something if things really go pear-shaped, even if it only ends up being an early warning.  Of course, I’m still going to do my best to keep things under control.  It’s difficult to not wonder about Tarl’s vision, though.

How much of Earth did he see?  How much did he understand?  How much detail could he glean about the voids?  If they were clear silhouettes, that doesn’t hide al...

Peek: Delver's Digest

As winter descends, most delvers take a break.  While very few fully abstain from delving entirely, most will slow their pace.   They take the time to spend what they gained over the year, repair or replace what gear needs it, and maybe hone some crafting skill or another, or train their combat skills somewhere much closer to a warm drink and warm hearth.

And, of course, they trade tales of delves, rumors of happenings, tips, tricks, and otherwise socialize.  With so...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Nine

I had been considering not bothering Tarl with the weird invaders, since I’m pretty sure he won’t know what they are, either.  But I’m pretty sure he will at least have a better idea of just how bad they are, and might have an inkling of what we might be dealing with for them, too.

I almost need to have Fluffles drag Teemo away from Yvonne and playing with the arrows, but reminding them it’s day now helps remind them how long they were playing with the new toy. &nb...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Eight

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**Honey**

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Despite the cold, Honey is very glad she insisted on joining Leo.  Not only has she had the chance to learn so many interesting new things, but she can help organize everything the scouting wolves bring back, along with the bees that nestle in their fur to provide some extra eyes.

Already, she’s working to create a more accurate map for Leo to plan from, and even the Stag is more respectful of her pre...

Peek: Berdol's Notes on the Manor

The Manor is the most obvious structure in Thedeim, at least so far.  While most delvers will first enter The Yard, The Manor is generally the first destination, even for more experienced delvers.  This is thanks in great part to the first feature of The Manor: the porch.  There are two points of interest on the porch, and the first is the noticeboard.  Any delver would be well warned to check the board whenever they enter, as it tends to have information on various specia...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Seven

The various projects continue overnight, and I think I’m finally ready to give Yvonne the first compound bow once she and Aranya return.  I still don’t know how strong to make it, but it’s theoretically just a matter of swapping out the arms to adjust the strength of the draw.  While that also means having to put the cams back and string it again, I’m pretty sure it’s still a lot more modular than an ordinary bow.  Not that I expect Yvonne will need to swap the arms a...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Six

The next few days are that weird mix of relaxing and busy, I don’t know how else to describe it.  Teemo returns, and spends most of the first day tending to Honey’s notes and the other little things she wanted him to do.  Queen and Coda each even take the time to go over what seeds and clippings were sent back, too, with Teemo letting them know there will be a lot more over the coming weeks.

The lighthouse gets officially underway, with Coda doing a more detailed survey an...

Peek: An Interview

Earlier in the week, I got asked for a quick interview from Ashen Combatant, a member of a writing discord.  I thought they asked some interesting questions, and I hope you guys find them interesting, too :)

AC: I would just like the story of how you started writing Dungeon Life. Starting at the beginning I would like to know

1. How did you discover dungeon core as a genre. What story made you want to start writing?
2. Why did you start posting to r/HFY? A...
   2023-07-30 21:33:44 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Five

I’m not sure if I could be more proud of Coda than I am right now.  I was kinda confused at first why he has artificer instead of engineer, but it’s not too difficult to guess why: engineers are fully mundane, artificers use magic.  At least that’s what my current theory is.

I really like his design for the tension archway, too.  It’s pretty complex, but the shape tickles the engineer part of my mind for both how effective I think it’ll be, and just how cool it ...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Four

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**Coda**

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The bat scion nervously pores over his blueprints, feeling like each glance reveals a new design flaw.  But any fix would require a full redesign!  While he’s confident the structure will hold, he wants it to be perfect!  As his nerves threaten to overwhelm him, he feels the soothing hand of the Foreman through the bond.

It will be fine.  He ran the numbers, Queen has checked his math, and...

Peek: The Southwood

Life this year has been much more active than in a long time.  The large dungeon reflects on his life as he watches the foreign scions dissect the disturbing invader.  When he was first formed, life was quiet and tranquil.  He had a full year or more of growth before any delvers discovered him, and the orcs simply hunted a few of the smaller game nodes before leaving.

He had been confused at the time, trying to figure out what delvers were.  After they left, he categ...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Three

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**Elsewhere**

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Far beneath the surface, far enough where something like the surface is viewed as a myth, lays The Depths.  To those who live there, of course the surface would be a legend.  A cavern so big that the top can't be seen?  What would such a place even be?  Some say it’s a sort of promised land, a place of wealth and opportunity, or perhaps a ripe field to harvest.  Others say it’s a...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-Two

As enlightening as the autopsy turned out to be, there’s still a lot of questions to be answered, and not just about the weird invader.  Well, not directly about it.  I still don’t know who sent it, why, or from where.  It seems like the Southwood doesn’t know, either.

I feel like this is a good example of the difference in quality of scouting with a Marshal and without.  I’m a bit tempted to get Poe up here to organize a few of my own avian expediti...

Peek Q&A Three!

Lots of great questions in the last nudge, and I think a lot will be expanded into full peeks on their own.  Thank you everyone for the replies, lets get to the questions and answers!

Orlando Escobales asks about Coda's architectural style.  At the moment, Coda is very into archways and columns, lending his designs a very roman look.  This partially stems from him being very function over form, and arches are excellent when building with stone.  He'll prob...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy-One

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**Thing**

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The crawling hand scion drums his fingers as he goes over his list of enchantments.  The Master has not quite given him carte blanche on what to put into the planned lava labyrinth, but he does have quite a bit of leeway.  Some of the suggestions are simple enough, and some will require a bit more work on Thing’s part.

While he has what he would consider to be rather standard versions for most of the magical ...

Chapter One-Hundred Seventy

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**Aranya**

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The red kobold does her best to not sigh at the lack of progress, but it’s difficult to hide her frustration.  At least the others seem to be enjoying the process.  While training and even delving a little in Lord Thedeim helped them all grow close, it’s these kinds of longer missions that really show why the trio had stuck together for so long, and it’s gratifying to know she has her own part to play in...

Fresh Nudge for July!

Time for a fresh nudge, and to see if anyone has new things they'd like to see in the peeks.  Also if anyone has any new questions they'd like to see in a Q&A post!  Perhaps you'd like a question answered from the perspective of one of the characters?  Either way, ask away!  That's what the nudges are for!

Peek: Berdol's Notes on the Yard

Inspector Tarl has asked me to practice my notes by focusing on each section of Thedeim and being as thorough as I can about what I see.  In essence, that's what an inspector's job is, so practice is good, I suppose.

I'm starting with The Yard, as it's generally the first section delvers enter.  While there is the cemetary entrance, that's generally more used for mourners or by the church.  A fresh adventurer's first look at Thedeim will usually be the yard around the mai...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Nine

Honey and her small swarm move in to examine the thing as the stag repeats his question.

“Does your Lord Thediem know what it is?”

Oh, right.  Uh…

“Other than something bad, nothing specific.  He has a few ideas for what it could be, I think, but I get the feeling that, even if he could put a name to it, there wouldn’t be much advice for actually fighting them.”  Teemo looks over the weird thing, and Honey is trying to get my attention.

I pee...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Eight

Both Leo and Honey are fighting to not laugh as the stag tries to free his antlers, Teemo still perched on his snout.  It doesn’t take long for his ear to flick and for him to finally sag in defeat.

“I am bested.  Finish me and claim your mana, Voice of Thedeim,” he says, sounding like he finally accepts that Teemo is both my Voice and someone not to trifle with.  Teemo, of course, blows a raspberry at the statement.

“And wait for you to respawn before getti...

Peek: Butterfly Effect

Life for a creature born of a resource node is different form most other life.  While denizens and scions actively work the will of their dungeon, the only real job of a node-born is to be harvested.  However, they also have survival instinct, and so aren't just going to waltz into the arrow of any passing hunter, despite the fact that they'll respawn.

It's this unique blend of natural instinct and dungeon purpose that sees this particular goose resting in a patch of grass, wi...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Seven

I go through a fair few design iterations for the spearheads before I’m satisfied.  While the concept itself should work fine in theory, it takes a bit more practical time to put that theory to paper, and then a bit more to put it to paper so people can actually build it.  Legion are the genius, sleek designs that have to be taken back to step zero because the real world can’t no-clip the tools into the tight spaces to turn the screws that keep it together.

While the spear...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Six

Fluffles and Poe seem to have the tour well in… wing?  Yah, they both have wings, that counts.  With them focusing on the tour, I focus on working the lava tubes.  At the moment, things are at a decent baseline.  The interesting fiery herbs are growing well, my wyrms are wyrming through the rock, fire elementals are being devoured at breakneck speeds, and my cinder and crucible ants are doing their things to make the entire area be a candy store for anyone who works with...

Peek: Power Levels

I can't think of a good way to explain it in-universe, so I'll go ahead and take the time to answer CrazyDud's question about the rough rankings of the power of the various characters in the story.

Violet's scions rest at the bottom of the power levels, at least for now.  While Onyx sees Rocky as an idea to emulate, she's nowhere near his strength.  The others are either still finding their place, or have found places where raw power isn't much of a concern.

For raw powe...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Five

Projects and potential problems presented, pored over, planned for, and possibly even prevented, the meeting adjourns.  Rezlar looks like he’s managed to get Coda to show him some more of his stuff in the public workshop, and I encourage my bat and Architect to do so.  He doesn’t get to show off often, and Rezlar has a deep appreciation for infrastructural advancements.

While the two nerds and Miller head for the workshop, it looks like Poe is going to have more than just ...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Four

When Poe shows up to get the Quartermaster, the albatross is standing at attention and waiting.  Poe imperiously inspects his form, and I‘m pretty sure the only reason the scion isn’t sweating is because he physically can’t.  Poe has mercy on him before too long, giving a caw and letting the albatross relax slightly.

I can feel a bit of nervousness from Hullbreak, too, but I do my best to calm him.  Sure, change can be scary, but it’ll be good for him and his dwel...

Peek: The Fall

The legend of the Fall of the Sanctuaries is not an easy one to tell, but I think that's what makes it important.  Where to start?  Well, not at the beginning, because the legend of our creation is a different one.

Let's start at maybe the beginning of the end.

For a long time, the Sanctuaries spread, and their dwellers spread.  Most dwellers would break contact with their home Sanctuary, wanting to see the world, to shape the world.  Eventually, they learned t...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Three

I try not to listen in on Teemo’s thinking to himself.  I think he’s better at ignoring it than I am, but the distance makes it a little easier, even if some of the things he’s thinking about get my neurons jogging.  Spacial stuff that deals with mass and densities?  That’s some fundamental stuff there, but I don’t want to dump my suspicions about what he’s working towards on him.  I don’t even know if it’s an affinity that can be claimed.

I think he�...

Chapter One-Hundred Sixty-Two

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**Teemo**

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He has to admit, he’s missed doing this kind of work.  He certainly doesn’t dislike being the Boss’ Voice.  In fact, he very much enjoys getting to talk to the delvers and to listen to the Boss’ crazy ideas.  Being able to talk to Aranya and especially Yvonne is an amazing privilege, too.  He enjoys the warmth of thinking of those two for a few moments before putting the thoughts as...

Peek: The Raven

There are precious few moments for the Raven to relax and reflect.  What few he does manage to acquire, he finds he spends on thoughts of Fourdock.  While the Neverrest dungeon was the smallest of annoyances to his sensibilities, it never really warranted his attention.

And then it died.  And shortly after that, Yvonne died.  He would usually not remember the names of those he comes to collect, but she sticks in his mind.  Her situation was one he hasn't seen in...