Subject: This is amazingly perfect.
Author:
Posted on: 2016-03-08 16:57:00 UTC
One of the best things that can happen when you make what's basically a story-concept generator is that someone turns it into an actual story. ^_^ Thank you!
We fought, his music sucked, I won.
hS
If you were on Livejournal back when Livejournal was a thing, you might remember thesurrealist.co.uk's LiveJournal Dungeon Adventure (and the related LiveJournal Space Adventure). It's basically a procedurally-generated text adventure which creates monsters, items, and scenery from your LJ friends and interests.
I have long thought that the PPC Board would be a brilliant source for a similar dungeon, but that would be virtually impossible to do, right?
Right?
Mmmmnope. Do not underestimate the insanity of a hS.
The Dungeon of the Board
There are differences to the LJ Dungeon. The key one is that you have to copy/paste the text of the Board into the text box to give the game its information. There's helpful images to show you where, but it's actually just about robust enough to handle 'Ctrl-A, Crtl-C'.
Random comments:
-There is no save function, but if you paste the same input in, you'll get the same output.
-You have no inventory other than the items you're using, but will get a description of whether a new weapon or armour is better/worse.
-There is no map. >:D I suggest a piece of paper. Oh yes, we're going old-school.
-Monster levels and weapon/armour strength are both based on how many posts the user named has. So if you pick up a weapon of Iximaz, it'll probably be pretty strong. ;) Watch out for username typos, though - a sword of desdendelle is a very different matter to one of Desdendelle.
-The dungeon has been tested on Chrome, IE, and a Nokia phone with Opera Mini browser. There's a 'Mobile Mode' which aligns the table into a vertical column, and pre-pasted text in case you have no copy function.
-You may see certain very old Boarders creeping into your maze. I'd be wary of them if I were you.
I really hope people enjoy this. It took quite a lot of code-wrangling to get it to work, and being based on something from a decade or more ago, it has quite a bit of nostalgia value for me, too. Comments are very welcome (and bug reports especially so!); if people like it enough, I might see about adding a Sci-Fi version to go with it.
hS, probably a level 73(!!!) Hobbit on the current front page
There are now two themes. You can choose whether to 'Generate Dungeon' or 'Generate Space-Station'.
The space station is mostly just a reskin, though there are some differences - some idol powers add-ons obtained from weapons lockers are changed. The generation seed is also tweaked, so the dungeon and station for a given text will not be identical.
I hope people enjoy playing about with this; it's been a lot of work putting the whole thing together, and a lot of testing to get the sci-fi theme working right.
Thanks everyone for the positive reaction so far.
hS
...literally all I could think of was this.
Might as well give both of these a try sometime. Hopefully I'll last a bit longer with the whole front page to work from.
It's the Dungeon of the Board IN SPACE!
*runs off to see how her mapped-out dungeon looks now*
There are now two monster lists that the program chooses between. I've also made all scrolls permanent, fixed a bug that reduced scroll power if you used them while nearly healthy, and gotten rid of the reliability/consistency part of item descriptions (since it wasn't useful and was highly misleading).
hS
...A Mage of Ice, when encountered as a monster?
It's alphabetical. Mattman the Comet is a Mage of Ice.
At one point I considered giving the code multiple options for each monster, but I can't really retcon that in without breaking pre-existing worlds.
Unless... hrm. I'll think about it.
(The trouble, for the record, is that it's all using the same random number generator; if I stick in new random things, that means anything further along in the code will be different.)
hS
"Archangel","Balrog","Catperson","Dragon","Elephant of Wrath","Farmer","Gelatinous Cube","Hobbit","Imp","Jester","Knight","Land-Squid","Mage of Ice","Normal Person","Ocelot","Piranha","Quetzalcoatlus","Reverse Elf","Serpent of Cruelty", "Troubadour","Uber-Worm","Vampire Watermelon","Wraith","Xylophone","Yeti","Zebra Skeleton".
(That's ripped directly from the code, hence the bizarre formatting.)
Still considering whether to add a second list.
hS
If you ever let one get an attack in, you'll discover that they use their bows to draw arrows out of your body and bring them flying back to the bow.
Reverse-elf!
hS
How did I not see that coming?
...
What would happen if one decapitated you?
Make minor edit to text, gen whole new dungeon
... the generation seed is based on the number of posts and the time of the top post (and possibly the date of it as well? I forget). So change the hours or minutes of that very first post, and voila!
hS
I didn't make a real map, but I managed to get pretty far I think.
Wand of Laburnum
Helmet of Miss Cam
Storm Warning
Health: 2 Gold: 101 Kills: 15
I think that went fairly well. :)
And attempts to clear a single dungeon after repeatedly wiping to various monsters!
My original map with scratches and mistakes.
The cleaner looking map with interest points circled.
I = Idol
W = Weapon
+ = adds health
- = takes away health
X = dead end
The little dashes between rooms show doorways, and the numbers indicate the level of the monster.
Dot with arrow = one-way teleport.
For anyone who's interested in giving it a go, I copied the PPC Pokémon Tournament thread twice as my generator.
The way I went through always started the same frustrating way: Head west, then south to pick up my first weapon, return north, kill doctorlit the level 2 dragon, then go west to kill (or be repeatedly killed by, depending on the RNG's mood) foofooman3 the level 6 farmer. Ironically, my brother was the second-hardest thing to fight in the entire dungeon because of his roadblock nature; he must've killed me about thirty times from whenever I'd be forced to restart.
Once that was done, though, it was head west, ignore Irrelevant the level 4 imp in favor of praying at the Idol of Sedri (which granted an attack bonus in the form of curare), before going on to slay Larfen J. Stocke, esq. the level 2 land squid and proceeding on my merry way to what I discovered to be my best find ever: the idol of Leto Haven. This thing granted me the ability Vulgar Tongues, which allowed me to communicate with dungeon monsters. And boy, did I put this to good use.
I found it was consistent which monsters could and could not be reasoned with, so I put together a complete list:
JulyFlame the Jester (level 2)
Irrelevant the Imp (4)
SkarmorySilver the Serpent of Cruelty (6)
SeaTurtle the Serpent of Cruelty (6)
Voyd the Vampire Watermelon (8)
DCCCV the Dragon (8)
Araeph the Archangel (10)
NenyaQuende the Normal Person (10)
Desdendelle the Dragon (16)
Hardric the Hobbit (18)
Huinesoron the Hobbit (32)
Iximaz the Imp (33)
Every other monster encountered had to be fought; for those I would make a return trip to the Idol of Sedri for the poison buff.
Anyway, the only weapon worth mentioning is the Sword of Thalia Weaver, located to the west of the Idol of Sedri. It was the best of all the weapons I found--which, unfortunately, isn't saying much. Still, an upgrade is an upgrade.
The Fountain of Doc Filth (+5 to health whenever drank from), though a little out of the way at the kinda-sorta-not-quite-bottom-left, was an absolute blessing while derping around in the dungeon. Get hurt? Just go back and heal up! I had to use it quite a bit while fighting the two level 12s in the dungeon—I had to chip away at their health, run, heal, come back, and repeat until they died. Which took forever, especially since I died to both of them several times. (Darn you, Mattman the Comet and the other Boarder who I unfortunately can't remember now!)
I was feeling pretty good about clearing the full dungeon when I ran into this:
And now I'll never know what the last four rooms of the dungeon were and I'm sad. At least I got an interesting puzzle out of it in the meanwhile.
Ouch - no armour at all? That's a seriously handicapped dungeon. I am delighted that you drew maps. ^_^ There's several of the blighters scattered about my desk, so I know bot useful and tiresome they can be.
I think I've figured out why you had such good luck with Vulgar Tongues, by the way: it's because you doubled up the input. That means most monsters came out with an even-numbered level. The calculation divides the level by the accuracy (from 1-6), and then lets you commune if the first digit after the decimal is zero... yeah, 1 or 2 will always work if your level is even, and there's a good chance of 4 or 6 working too.
I am also very pleased someone found a Curare idol. I've not run into one, and I was worried they weren't appearing.
Just a shame you lost, really. :-/
hS
... is that Snakegrace, the Lvl 1 Serpent of Cruelty, now shows up in dungeons... :D
(Vulgar Tongues, by the way, is determined by the monster's level and accuracy; you'll always get a hit on your first try if it'll ever work. Weirdly, it was only supposed to work on 1/6 of monsters, not 1/2... not sure what's going on there.)
hS
Monsters find me very charismatic and stuff.
I haven't found myself yet, but I did find 'desendelle' and a...farmer...
A level 4 one, to be exact. Hmm.
You are standing on the ceiling of a broom cupboard. Words work their way into your mind without involving your ears: 'Not gonna lie.'. There are exits to the North, East, South, and West.
The Bow of Mattman The Comet lies at the bottom of a shallow pool. Directly in front of you, you see Iximaz, a Level 35 Imp.
You stab Iximaz with your dagger of JulyFlame. Your attack is imbued with the power of Inferno! You hit Iximaz for 20 damage! Iximaz the Imp has 65 health remaining.
Iximaz the Imp chitters at you! Iximaz hits you for 51 damage!
You have been slain by Iximaz the Imp! Oh, well, better luck next time.
...to be fair, I did stab you with a flaming dagger of JulyFlame, so I probably deserved it. ^_^
State of thread when used:
The Dungeon of the Board — Huinesoron, Mon Mar 7 9:16am
Ixi, how could you? :( — TheShyIon, Wed Mar 9 12:10am
A Maze of a Board — Hieronymus Graubart, Tue Mar 8 6:05pm
Not sure if this is a bug or not... — Iximaz, Tue Mar 8 5:26pm
It's not a bug, it's a cheating feature. — Hieronymus Graubart, Tue Mar 8 6:09pm
Cheating? I thought that was just how the game worked — Cat-on-the-Keyboard, Tue Mar 8 8:46pm
...never mind. — Iximaz, Tue Mar 8 6:07pm
The game is updated. — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 10:16am
The second preset is now dubbed the "Worst Book" preset. — TheShyIon, Wed Mar 9 12:24am
A second (better) update. — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 11:45am
Though Purify doesn't seem to work yet. — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 2:23pm
Buggy, you say? — Desdendelle, Tue Mar 8 3:00pm
... quite. — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 3:21pm
My current favourite moment: — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 10:03am
A dungeoneer's tale — Phobos, Tue Mar 8 12:08am
This is amazingly perfect. — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 11:57am
Glad you liked it. — Phobos, Tue Mar 8 4:32pm
This is the best. — Larfen J. Stocke, esq, Mon Mar 7 11:33pm
Ack. — Hardric, Tue Mar 8 3:02am
I never replaced it at any point in the session. (nm) — Larfen J. Stocke, esq, Tue Mar 8 3:14am
You were actually only a level 70 Hobbit for me. — Cat-on-the-Keyboard, Mon Mar 7 11:18pm
That does sound like a bug. — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 2:19am
It happened a couple of times, but not every time. — Cat-on-the-Keyboard, Tue Mar 8 12:18pm
This is Beautiful — sjosten , Mon Mar 7 9:59pm
Right off the bat: — Fasoula, Mon Mar 7 9:43pm
Wow. — DCCCV, Mon Mar 7 6:42pm
The DCCCV/Inferno idol... — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 2:38am
This is the true blue roguelike experience. — Larfen J. Stocke, esq, Wed Mar 9 12:03am
Board pantheon. — Larfen J. Stocke, esq, Mon Mar 7 11:47pm
This is an equal-opportunity dungeon. — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 2:34am
If we're all gods... — Larfen J. Stocke, esq, Tue Mar 8 3:12am
If we're all gods... — Phobos, Tue Mar 8 10:43am
No, we're all pocket monsters. — Scapegrace, Tue Mar 8 2:56pm
Well, people from other online communities wouldn't be gods — Cat-on-the-Keyboard, Tue Mar 8 12:24pm
Consider it done. — Larfen J. Stocke, esq, Tue Mar 8 11:57pm
Found this, seemed relevant. — Iximaz, Tue Mar 8 10:50am
At the end of mine.... — DCCCV, Mon Mar 7 7:15pm
Fun! — firemagic, Mon Mar 7 6:31pm
I died to DML, a Level 5 Dragon. — SkarmorySilver, Mon Mar 7 6:21pm
It will work best... — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 2:29am
I encountered myself. I'm apparently a level 4 dragon (nm) — Dorano, Mon Mar 7 3:01pm
Just tried it. — Hardric, Mon Mar 7 12:29pm
Level 147?! — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 2:42am
This page. — Hardric, Tue Mar 8 2:50am
I do not have 147 posts on this page. ^_~ — Huinesoron, Tue Mar 8 4:20am
No I really meant the front page. — Hardric, Tue Mar 8 4:25am
Desdendelle was a Lv21 dragon. — Voyd, Mon Mar 7 10:21am
I had a somewhat similar experience fighting you. — Badger421, Mon Mar 7 8:29pm
Snippets of my Adventure! — Matt Cipher, Mon Mar 7 10:13am
I had the Dagger of SkarmorySilver and the Helmet of Acacia (nm) — Matt Cipher, Mon Mar 7 10:23am
So far: — Iximaz, Mon Mar 7 9:27am
In mine, I was the idol, and [EvilAI]UBEROverlord... (nm) — DCCCV, Mon Mar 7 6:49pm
Continued: — Iximaz, Mon Mar 7 9:31am
:D — Huinesoron, Mon Mar 7 9:39am
Well, when you put it like that, now I look silly. — Iximaz, Mon Mar 7 11:00am
...I was a level 2 troubadour. My singing was no match for my punching.
Worst fountain. Too many Balrogs and damage. 3/10 would not drink again.
Skarmory, that other fountain was also terrible. Serpent of Cruelty indeed.
"You pick up the pristine book and read out the text: The second preset is now dubbed the "Worst Book" preset.
You find yourself surrounded by mystical energy and flung through a shimmering vortex!"
Well, that was ironic.
On his flight from Baron Thanasius Ampelius's wrath, Hieronymus the hermit found himself standing on the ceiling of a broom cupboard, as he often appears in unlikely places at unexpected times. He heard an eldrich voice whispering, 'Which might explain your disrespect'. Startled, Hieronymus looked around and noticed three archways leading from the high-ceiled chamber to other places. From the southern exit, Voyd the Level 14 Vampire Watermelon glared at him.
Voyd bared its fangs, and Hieronymus turned around and fled into a maze of twisty passages, all alike, where he easily might have been eaten by a grue. 'It... that... what?' called Hieronymus out; then he stopped and wondered why he had so inexplicably done this. Finally, he found the exit that led to the East, and stepped through...
…to enter a maze of twisty passages, all alike, where he easily might have been eaten by a grue. Here, however, a strange carving on the wall read in ancient letters, 'Indeed not'. Silently wondering what a grue might even look like, the hermit explored the maze and found exits leading to all cardinal points, but the eastern exit was blocked by Desdendelle the Level 42 Dragon. He also found a tightly-rolled scroll that had been hidden in a corner. On reading out the text, 'The Shipfest cares little for orientation', Hieronymus felt a surge of wellbeing. Blinking letters appeared in mid-air, telling that his health had just increased by two to twelve.
Since he looked this direction anyway, the hermit went northward into a darkened sitting room. For some reason, the only sofa had been turned upside-down. Above it, a helmet floated mysteriously in the air, engulfed in flames. Another eldritch voice – or may it be the same as before, thought Hieronymus – whispered, 'Cat-on-the-Keyboard/Data Junkie: computers ship'. Seeing that there was no exit in front of him, and that Phobos the Level 31 Piranha lured to the right, Hieronymus grabbed the Helmet of JulyFlame, surprisingly not burning his fingers at all, and turned left.
Behind this archway lay a sunlit open courtyard. On a pedestal sat a coffee mug with a label reading, 'I know heaps'. The silence was broken by a sudden scream of, 'Aipom can work'. Hieronymus picked up the coffee mug and downed it. He felt a surge of wellbeing, but not as strong as from reading the scroll.
Against a door in the opposite wall of the courtyard leant TheShyIon, a Level 1 Troubadour. Seeing that there was no other way, Hieronymus went straight forward and punched her with his bare hands. 'This punch is super effective!' exclaimed a loud, annoying voice. 'You hit TheShyIon for 4 damage! You have slain TheShyIon the Troubadour! You gain 1 gold!'
Stepping over the limp body*), Hieronymus entered a well-lit sitting room. There was a strange carving on the wall. In ancient letters, it read, 'Don’t feel like this'. The Wand of Tomash leant against another wall. Since this was apparently a dead end, Hieronymus picked up the wand, turned around and walked straight back through the courtyard to the darkened sitting room. Phobos grinned at him from the pool in the next chamber, but Hieronymus turned right and walked into the central maze again. There he picked up the tightly-rolled scroll and read out the text, 'The Shipfest cares little for orientation'. Slightly surprised, he felt another surge of wellbeing, and blinking letters told that his health had just increased to fifteen.
Hieronymus wondered briefly whether he should go back and try to drink from the coffee mug twice, too, but considering that there were still unexplored places, he rather wiggled his way back through the adjacent mazes, turned left into the chamber with the broom cupboard, and then, ignoring the glaring Vampire Watermelon, right into a darkened sitting room. In the dim light that fell through the archways from adjacent rooms, the only sofa was barely visible, but Hieronymus could still see that it had been turned upside down. May I have been gone in circles? he thought. Nah, that can't be. The other darkened sitting room didn't force me to inexplicably call out, 'And may his beard grow ever longer. XD Happy B-Day!' And what's that thing hanging from that rope? And what's that over ther— Arrgh!.
Realizing that Scapegrace, a Level 54 Serpent of Cruelty, dwelt beyond the room's only other exit, Hieronymus left the Atlatl of Huinesoron behind**) and retreated far back to the central maze. There, he got another look onto the scroll, and two more health points. Desdendelle the Dragon growled at him from the eastern passageway, but there was still one door left to the right.
Thus, Hieronymus entered another well-lit sitting room. This one's strange carving on the wall read, in ancient letters, 'Fallouts'. There was also a sword somebody had abandoned there, and a dragon growling from the eastern passageway. Hieronymus examined the Sword of Elcalion, but found it weaker and less reliable than the Wand of Tomash, so he left it alone. Having run out of options, the hermit returned to the central maze and prepared for the inevitable, reading and re-reading the Scroll of Health until an annoyed voice told him, 'Your health is already full'.
Hieronymus stepped back into the well-lit sitting room and pointed his wand at DCCCV the Level 11 Dragon. 'Sectumsempra!'
'You hit DCCCV for 6 damage!' boomed the loud, annoying voice. 'DCCCV the Dragon has 27 health remaining.'
The Dragon roared and breathed a firestorm.
'DCCCV hits you for 22 damage! But your Helmet of JulyFlame takes 21 of the damage! You have 19 health remaining.'
Nice, thought Hieronymus. Who would have expected that a flaming helmet is an efficient protection against fire. But I'll need a really strong spell to bring this dragon down. He braced himself for the terrible blow he had to deliver and shouted, 'Avada Kedavra!'
Alas, Hieronymus the hermit was never a hateful person, or maybe his aim was just too bad.
The dragon roared again. Fire met fire, and the loud, annoying voice boomed, 'DCCCV hits you for 12 damage! But your Helmet of JulyFlame takes all of the damage! You have 19 health remaining.'
Hieronymus jogged his brain and remembered the mightiest spell he had ever heard of. 'Expelliarmus!'
'You hit DCCCV for 10 damage! DCCCV the Dragon has 17 health remaining.'
And for the third time roared the dragon and breathed another firestorm, and the flaming helmet failed its trusting bearer, and then...
It's dark here. And cramped. I can't barely move. The floor is not flat. I can feel it rise smoothly on all sides, right up to the ceiling. There aren't any edges or corners, just this … globe? What the— did somebody put me into a pokéball?
HG, who apparently is a level 5***) dungeon crawler.
*) I'm so sorry, Shy.
**) I guess that was a mistake; although less reliable than the Wand of Tomash, the Atlatl is (probably very much) stronger.
***) Based on the front page about eight hours ago, before Huinesoron updated the game.
Baaaad decision. There's so much of me on the Board right now that you'd've been a walking massacre...
I should probably change that 'reliable' description, it's a bald-faced lie. All it means is that the range of damage the weapon can do is smaller... but I'm pretty sure the range only goes up to about five, so it's pretty much always better to take a stronger one.
I may just remove it from the description entirely (unless you have Dice-Vision, of course); it's just misleading.
This story, on the other hand? Absolutely fantastic. :D I hope you had fun!
hS
Well, if I had taken your atlatl, I wouldn’t have had fun casting Harry Potter spells, and if I had explored much more of the dungeon, I would still be writing the story. Maybe the decision wasn’t too bad.
HG
When I went into this thread, I was a level 2 troubadour. Which I punched. Apparently I am a very punchable musician. ^_^
While running through a dungeon generated by the shipfest thread, I came across a "tightly rolled scroll" that, when read, grants me 2 health. I discovered that by exiting and reentering the room I could continue to gain health each time I read it. It let me get up to 20 health at which point it said my health was full.
I know fountains are supposed to stay put; I know potions are meant to vanish; but I can't remember what I intended to do about the scrolls. Leave them because of the teleporters? Let them vanish because of the health ones?
... hmm, it looks like it's coded to do exactly the opposite of that - wipe the teleporters and leave the health effects. I think I might have it leave both, which will make fountains basically reskinned (and stronger) scrolls.
Or I could have them all vanish, but that would make dungeons without healing fountains nigh-impossible to beat...
hS
I found the same scroll. You must not even leave the room, just read again.
HG
Otherwise, you'd die so quickly! How else would you get through fights against powerful monsters?
--Key
Apparently you can just keep clicking the thing. Still don't know if it's intended or not. :P
Also, what does the gold do? Increase your attack power as well?
Or, more specifically, gold is your score. You get one GP for every monster-level you take down. So (in the event that you manage to win) you can see what the combined total of levels you defeated was.
hS
Changes:
-Two options for sample dungeons.
-A readout telling you what's in the dungeon.
-Actual buttons, not just red text, for mode-changes.
Sample 1 is the one that came pre-loaded. Sample 2 is new (and nearly current); it has six idols. I recommend seeking out the idol granting Mage-Sight - it'll help with all those scrolls lying around.
Also: don't read the book in the starting room. Just... take my word on that.
hS may next add more blessings from idols, having had a few ideas...
I *might* not have seen your warning.
There are no longer four blessings obtainable from idols.
Now there are nine.
Ever wanted to talk to monsters? Or see the precise strength of your weapons? Ever wanted to be healed by poison? This update is for you.
And also everyone else, because, y'know, it's not exactly optional. :D
hS
:-/ Bother, I thought I'd fixed that.
Will look into it (later).
hS, buggy
(Fixed now, along with a lesser bug with Dice-Vision.)
hS
You kneel before the idol of Mattman The Comet and intone the sacred words: Can the Nameless Admin be shipped?
Mattman The Comet grants you the power of Mage-Sight, which lets you see the magical power of objects.
Powerful words, indeed. ^_^
hS
(This map has six(!!!) idols on it; I'm making it a second sample dungeon just for that. Checking it first to see if it's doable, though.)
I was told there was a dungeon that needed exploring. I've been out here for days looking for this place, but there's nothing but more jungle in every direction. I'll give it one more day and then I'm out of here.
------
I'm in a lot of pain after the fall. I was looking for a place to set up camp and the jungle floor gave way underneath my feet. I fell about 30 feet into a sitting room of some sort. I really didn't expect couches in a jungle dungeon, but I sure was glad to find this one when I landed on it. Someone has been here before, too. They left weirdly precognitive graffiti on the wall. It says. "Well hello there!" Kind of creepy. There's no climbing back up there, I guess I'll have to find another way.
-----
I came across the legendary Idol of Lonely Star. It's situated on top of a tower in the middle of a cave; an odd arrangement. Still, I thought it best to pay my respects with the traditional DawnFire/Pottery prayer. I was rewarded with the power of Inferno.
-----
I found a holy relic today. The Gauntlet of DawnFire was thought lost forever. How it ended up in this jungle I may never know, but I feel that my earlier devotion was rewarded with some protection in this dangerous place.
-----
Got into a couple minor skirmishes. I ran into an Elephant of Wrath, called Elcalion according to its collar, that was not much of a threat. Later, a Troubadour named Tomash got in my way and wouldn't let me pass. We fought, his music sucked, I won.
Those fights wiped me out. I've set up camp next to a fountain with a statue of the mythical hero Sergio Turbo. I don't have a way to purify the water, but it looks clean and my canteen ran dry mid-yesterday.
-----
That was a mistake. Never again.
-----
A dead-end today. I walked into a rainy courtyard and over the sound of the rain I heard a scream. "The real question..." and that's where it stopped. What is the real question? I need to know!
Time to backtrack.
-----
Another room full of comfortable furniture and graffiti. This time they wrote "Anything I currently have claimed is something I want to kee". I didn't have to wonder why they never finished, though. My fellow explorer looked freeze-dried on a pile of pillows.
I have to get out of here before the same happens to me.
-----
Another fight today. Some gray-beard Hobbit threw mushrooms at me. I was able to deflect them with the Gauntlet, but he was more of an annoyance than a real threat. Seems he had a book with him. I'll see what I can glean from that before I turn in for the night.
-----
The first page of the book said "*points down* Cough Cough". The next thing I know, I'm falling through a magical portal. I hate magical traps. Now I'm even more completely lost than I already was. There's a shallow pool here that had a wand at the bottom of it. The wand is inscribed with runes that I believe translate to "Poor Cynic". I have no idea what it means, but at least I can stop punching things.
-----
I've really stepped in it now. I should have realized this was a holy site from the artifacts I'd seen so far. I ran into an Archangel by the name of Alleb. I tried to get some help from her, but she thought I was a thief because of the Gauntlet. Gods help me, I had no choice but to fight her.
-----
Found another sitting room. This one had been ransacked by someone or something. There is graffiti reading "Huinesoron/Shipfest". A common prayer where I'm from.
-----
Found another book. I am not falling for that again. I'll explore further and, if I have no other options, I'll come back and check this one.
-----
Sure. I pass up that book only to fall victim to the exact same trap on a folded up piece of paper in the next room. this one dropped me back at the Fountain of Sergio Turbo, which I have no desire to be near. I think I can retrace my steps to the first book, if I need to, but I think there may be another path to explore.
-----
(The final entry is penned in a different hand.)
Foolish man. He thought his magic wand and his Power of Inferno made him a match for the great Ice Mage Mattman the Comet. Not even the Gauntlet of Dawnfire could save him from my wrath. Take heed of his plight and leave my dungeon now, before you meet the same fate.
((Alas, poor Phobos. He will be missed. -Phobos))
One of the best things that can happen when you make what's basically a story-concept generator is that someone turns it into an actual story. ^_^ Thank you!
We fought, his music sucked, I won.
hS
I rather enjoyed playing through the game. I had a 3 page map of the place and a page of room/idol/item descriptions.
I cut a few things (mostly low level fights) for time, but a lot of the reactions in the story are almost exactly how I felt while doing all of this. This is especially true where teleport traps are concerned. The screw up my map, and I don't like them.
-Phobos, who should have kept the Mage-Eye bonus from the Idol of Huinesoron
First item seen - Chainmail Bikini of Hardric.
Was it useful, at least?
Favorite moment: "You are in a mouldering dungeon. Words work their way into your mind without involving your ears: 'We tried to warn you but oh dear!'."
***
A funny thing happened one time when I was playing it. I kept coming across all these Level 1 monsters, and when I tried to attack them, all it said was 'There is nothing to attack." But they showed up as kills. So I'm ambling along, right, with 9 Health, and then (like an idiot) I read a tightly-rolled scroll and lose 5 Health. . . which apparently kills me. Is there a nuance to the game I'm missing, or is this a glitch?
The health-issue sounds like it wasn't updating your health total after battles, which makes sense if the battles weren't running properly... what browser are you using, and did this only happen once, or is it a recurring problem?
I love some of the scene-phrases; the Board is apparently a really good place to get that sort of text.
hS
I was on Chrome.
The phrases are fantastic; thank you so much for thinking to make this.
--Key
Within five minutes, I took JulyFlame's dagger and got a healing potion that was labeled as a belated birthday gift after fighting a reverse elf.
What I'm trying to say is, hs, you're a blessing on us all.
The Dagger of Iximaz lies on the floor. To the South, you see DawnFire & Autocorrect, a Level 1 Dragon.
I think I'm set.
I have an idol, and grant people "Inferno". That's very nice. Will you be providing an encyclopedia of sorts to show how this sort of thing works?
... is the reason I chose that page as the sample. It gives you a nifty attack boost right off the bat, exactly when you really need it.
As to an encyclopaedia... I could, I guess, if people want one. I figured it was more fun to wander around being confused, but I suppose over time people might want to know more about what they might run into... ^_^
hS
If you want to muddy it up with your 'encyclopaedias' and 'tutorials' and your 'regenerating health,' then so be it.
Casuals.
I know you're a god in here. (I worshipped you.)
I know I'M a god in here. (I worshipped myself.)
I know that there are other idols in this game, for certain. (Consider them pre-worshipped.)
We need to put together a board pantheon.
There's a whole mythology just waiting for us to create it.
Also, I want to be a god.
Anyone can be a god. :D The code pulls names from the name-list... last of all, actually, right after fountains.
So keep searching new dungeons, and you can find idols to anyone!
I'm tempted now to run a bunch of pages until I find an idol-heavy one, then adding it as a second preset. They're only 1/3 as common as weapons and the like, though, so it might prove tricky...
hS
Does that mean that we don't exist to atheists, and only might exist to agnostics?
...are any of us?
-Phobos
So if we were all gods, that wouldn't make godliness meaningless. Look at Greek mythology: that pantheon is HUGE. Was everyone a god? No. Were all the people who hung out together on Mount Olympus gods? Yeah. Therefore, we can all be gods if we can convince Tumblr to worship us.
--Key
I'll get started right away.
23 kills, 75 gold, with the Helmet of theskylarksings, and my own blessing of Inferno (Hah, pyronomicon!) I was slain by Iximaz, the lvl 35 Imp, after I ran out of places to explore.
This is amazing.
I'm using the text of the Shipfest thread! This is pretty fun.
I copied the first three entries of the front page to start with, and I got trapped by BeautyID, DML, and Tough Cookie, so I just went "screw it" and charged at DML repeatedly until I dropped.
... if you copy the entire front page. Just giving it a little bit to work with will result in...
... hang on, let me check the code...
... a lot of repeated Permission Givers (the PGs who've left are the backup names) and... I don't think there's a safety mechanism for running out of phrases. No, it just sticks in 'undefined', which makes for a rather dull dungeon.
Also, the full front page will mean more Level 1 monsters. ^_~
hS
I died against a lv 14 Balrog Bramandin, with 50 Gold, 10 kills, the Bow of Fasoula, the Breastplate of Iximaz and Mage Sight gifted by Bramandin.Most poowerful monsters were lv 76 Dragon Desdendelle, lv 147 Hobbit Huinesoron and lv 54 Normal Person Neshomeh.
What did you paste in there?!
I'd forgotten about Mage-Sight. That's a really useful blessing if you find it early enough that you haven't, er, randomly drunk all the potions anyway... pair it with a healing fountain and you've got a good chance of storming the entire dungeon.
Unless you meet a level 147 Hobbit, I guess. ;)
hS
I also had two healing sources, but I was trapped behind monsters for all of the exits. Bramandin the Balrog was the weakest one and he one-shot me.
I'm guessing you pasted it in in addition to the sample that's already there? You'll have better luck if you wipe the sample and paste it in clean.
hS
More or less at the moment I posted. and I pasted it over the other page. Although that an accident could have been possible. Don't mind though, that was funny.
I was a Lv1 fool.
Dracarys.
You were a level thirteen vampire watermelon. I never stood a chance.
I posted one of the older pages of the Board. From early February
"To the West, you see Scapegrace, a Level 21 Serpent of Cruelty."
"Directly in front of you, you see [EvilAI]UBEROverlord, a Level 1 Dire Gerbil."
"You are in a large circular room with a glowing ring inscribed on the floor. From somewhere above your head music drifts down, featuring the refrain 'Happy Birthday! *tosses Spikes*'."
"To the East, you see eatpraylove, a Level 2 Elephant of Wrath."
"Directly in front of you, you see DawnFire, a Level 3 Dragon."
"You pick up the folded scrap of paper and read out the text: Re: OT: My cat can open doors. I live in fear.
You feel terrible!"
"To the North, you see Iximaz, a Level 7 Imp."
DCCCV is a level 1 Dire Gerbil. Even after praying to an idol of [EvilAI]UBEROverlord that granted me a fire attack I still lost. Darn gerbils.
*cakefetti* is an ominous whispering echoing through the room. Am I haunting myself?
I ended up killing Random Silverfish the reverse elf for the Dagger of July Flame. Yay experience points and a weapon!
*cakefetti* is still haunting me. Jeez. Let's see if I can get out of here.
Aw shoot, ran in a circle back to the Dire Gerbil. But this time, I'm armed. >:)
After defeating the Dire Gerbil, I came across the resident Greybeard's left sock. Naturally, I looted it.
After indulging in the dungeoneer's habit of taking everything not nailed down, I came across another idol, this one dedicated to the Dire Gerbil I had just slain. It feels almost blasphemous to pray to it...
Shortly after looting the Greybeard's left sock, I came across Miss Cam's Chainmail Bikini. This being an upgrade, I naturally had to take it.
And that was when I encountered Huinesoron, the level 21 Hobbit. And died.
So, Iximaz with a flaming dagger, wearing a chainmail bikini festooned with evil grinning faces (one assumes over her normal clothes), died to a mushroom-chucking hobbit-elf.
Adventure!
Somewhere I have a map of the pre-loaded example dungeon. I don't think I ever managed to kill everything...
(You get +1 to your attack with every kill, by the way. So murder is good for you! I think?)
hS
...I am completely okay with this. 'Tis a silly game. :P
*runs off to kill more things*
