Arc 1 Preparing Chapter 2 Part 5: Gaining Templates
OK, that''s it - I now have to use the remaining scout charges to see what templates I can gain.
First however that remaining free template from Bareen''s Quest. I can choose between [Fight], [Magic], [Healing and Crafting] and [Taming and Breeding] as the main focus, but the people I gain will be able to do all four types. Just fewer of the other types than the focus I select. And most probably that means which classes will be available for them.
I already have cores for Ranger and Elementalist classes, so I have some of the areas covered partially - and if this is anyway like the regular fantasy games on earth, healing will be mostly restricted to priests. And I still don''t know why some of the gods try to tame dungeons while others try to strenghten them.
"Booble, how easy or difficult is it to heal someone? Does that require access to temples or gods or whatever?"
<Healing can be done by magic or by caring skills, but both are somewhat limited due to the fact that classes with those skills or spells rarely leave the safety of towns to level up faster. It has no special restrictions beyond that. Some gods give healing powers and other not, and healing magic can also be gained without access to a god.>
"Would a dungeon spawn with healing abilities be similiarly restricted?"
<This depends on the template and the way a spawn gained healing magic, but in general no restriction would prevent them from helping in dungeon defense.>
"In that case healer and crafter should be able to give the best long-term gain. [Select Healing and Crafting]."
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">Filtering Template List
Randomizing
Gained Race Template: Naga</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; background-color: #64c8dd" colspan="2">Naga</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rank and Type</td>
<td>[Very Low] Spawn</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Placement Cost</td>
<td>100 MP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Details</td>
<td>A body of a snake with the upper torso of a four-armed human, the Naga can excel at difficult crafting tasks that require a lot of coordination. They can also become warriors or mages, but their large bodies of ten to fifteen meter length require a lot of space and food and make them unusable as rogues or outside their environments.
Their females developed a natural healing milk due to low breeding rates and very sick children that would die without proper care.
Naga start at a rather low rank and need to gain a lot of experience to reach their maximum potential.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Abilities</td>
<td>
<ul>
<li>[Cold-Blooded] (each rank of cold effect reduces all attributes by one rank)</li>
<li>[Sick Child] (all body attributes, health and HP-Regeneration are halved at birth. 40% chance of losing this ability on each rank-up)</li>
<li>[Caretaker] (female only, can give healing effect outside of combat)</li>
<li>[Defender] (male only, can gain [Berserk] state if defending females or children)</li>
<li>[Swimmer] (immune to effects of natural water, no need for a purifier)</li>
<li>[Evolution (1)] (can only evolve once, usually into something based on titles gained)</li>
<li>[Very High] Mind</li>
<li>[High] Body</li>
<li>maximum Rank [Master]</li>
<li>Chance of one additional Ability, one of the following randomly assigned at birth:
<ol>
<li>[Crafter] (increased speed and quality when creating or using tools)</li>
<li>[Gatherer] (increased chance of finding or growing plants at land or water)</li>
<li>[Three-Eyed] (grows an additional eye that can see magic energies)</li>
<li>[Quickness] (allows first strike on first combat turn)</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hints</td>
<td>Yes, dirty mind, everyone heals by drinking the Naga woman’s milk from their boobs. And that makes them sought out and valuable as slaves as well, because a mage can refuse to cast a healing spell – the Naga woman don’t have that option.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">Quest Completed.
+400 XP.
New Quest Available</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; background-color: #64c8dd" colspan="2">Final Warning
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Questline</td>
<td>Bareen''s Quests
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Details</td>
<td>This is the last of the bonus quests, after this you''re mostly on your own and have to work for all additional rewards. And at the same time this is a demonstration of an effect that has destroyed or devastated quite a number of otherwise promising dungeon cores - use this to be better prepared than they were.
Regeneration is not the only way to regain mana and other energies. In fact, it is not even the most used way. Instead a dungeon core gains most of its energy when adventurers are fighting and dying in his dungeon.
However these energy boosts can go beyond the regular maximum capacity, and when that happens it always causes negative status effects until the problem has been solved. XP never vanish and you''ll have reduced regeneration until you level up, but that is harmless compared to the other four energies.
Excess energy of health, mana,influence and dungeon points is always lost quickly, but while it is still overcharging you''ll be much reduced in your actions. Anything above five times maximum is lost so quickly that it doesn''t count. It takes one second to drop the energy from five to four times maximum, but in that second you''ll be under the maximum pain and penalty.
After that it takes two seconds to drop from four times to three times max and five seconds from three times to double. The last step from double back to normal takes ten seconds with the smallest problems - this is where most cores manage to still use some of the energy.
Concentrate on [Boost] to complete and trigger this quest.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hints</td>
<td>This quest should also give you enough XP for another level-up or two depending on which level you are. Try to level up first as that will reduce the effects and allow you to keep more of the boost.
The better you manage this test, the more of the extra power you can use before it is lost, the better your chances are and it will also gain you some favor if you''re good at it.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rewards</td>
<td>800 XP, Energy Boost (1000 HP/MP/IP/DP), Bareen''s Favor depending on success.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; background-color: #64c8dd" colspan="2">Level UP</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">Level 5 Experience Cap 500/500 reached.
Excess Experience stored for next level. Cost for Level-up to Level 6: 5 MP (61 MP available)
Do you with to level up [yes]/[no]?</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
[yes]
"Nice, and that new quest changes a lot."
"Booble, is there any way I can use up influence points at the moment? I can push Mana into the Floor Crystals and use up DP by purchasing templates with the scout charges, but I have no idea if I can use Influence without a dungeon or without spawns."
<Mostly no, but one possibility is available. Usually you need an object to concentrate on for any changes and if successful you might gain a template or a unique result. That you cannot do at the moment.>
<But that doesn''t count for templates that have no direct body or object to create - which means that at the moment you can try to use the IP to change your modification templates. These are [Loot], [Health Boost] and [Mind-Flexibility Boost].>
"I doubt that I''ll be able to change a [mythical] modification with only 46 IP, so let''s start with the Loot modification. I read that it allows me to improve the traps on chests and other traps in return for some increased value either in the chest or in the construction parts of the trap. Would it be possible to remove that limit so that I could for example improve a room effect by using valuable construction materials?"
<Yes, such a change has been done before and should cost 10 IP. Just concentrate on the Loot template and your changes. Don''t stop concentrating - the points will be lost if you abandon the work.>
OK,here we go.
Why isn''t anything happening? Don''t lose it, concentrate
Concentrate
[ping]
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; background-color: #64c8dd" colspan="2">Loot Modification (modified) [Limited]
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Rank and Type
</td>
<td>[Limited] Modification
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Placement Cost</td>
<td>+20% Target MP cost
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Description</td>
<td>Adding this modification will give the target a +1 level bonus as well as an increase in loot value for adventurers
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2">Template has been permanently changed.
Old variant of Loot Modification is no longer available</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
"Booble? Care to explain? That was 43 IP, not 10 - and the added mana cost to using this modification is nothing you mentioned either..."
<You didn''t add "Room" to the list of allowed uses - that would have been the 10 point cost and without extra mana charge. Instead you completely removed all placement restrictions. This modification can now be used to modify anything to level up for value, no matter what you want to modify.>
"Now THAT has some possibilities..."
...
"Use the next scout charge to send the eye up to the snowed area on top of the mountain - not the absolute top but where there are still plants and animals. That is an area where I''m unlikely to reach with regular scouting, and I would like some beasts and plants for the dungeon. After that I''ll trigger that other quest, and use the gained DP on the more important scouting of the city for items and tools."
A picture of the inside of the scouting eye forms in the General''s mind. It is a part of a snow-covered forest on a mountain side, and once again he is reminded that this is not Earth - the snow is black and only some of the plants are known to him. But beside the picture of the eye''s sphere there is suddenly a window opening with a list of everything he can gain from there, and a countdown of 24 hours like for the first use.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Template</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Type</td>
<td style="text-align: center">cost (DP)</td>
<td>Description</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Snowed Forest</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Environment</td>
<td style="text-align: center">10</td>
<td>[very low]-ranked environment. Requires Adventurers to have cold-resistance/gear or lose health and power. Enables cold-based traps.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Squirrel
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Animal</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5</td>
<td>[Limited]-ranked animal only usable for distraction and as a food-source</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Snow Owl
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Animal</td>
<td style="text-align: center">12</td>
<td>[very low]- ranked animal that is a good predator but requires large rooms and a cold environment</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Black Snow
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Material</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5</td>
<td>Frozen Water</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Granite
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Material</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5</td>
<td>Type of Stone</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Earth
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Material</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5</td>
<td>Earth, usable to grow simple plants</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Spruce
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Plant</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5</td>
<td>Tree, can either be used for wood or for decoration</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Fir</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Plant</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5</td>
<td>Tree, can either be used for wood or for decoration</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Large Grass
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Plant</td>
<td style="text-align: center">5</td>
<td>Plant that can be used as a source of animal fodder</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Wildberries</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Plant</td>
<td style="text-align: center">8</td>
<td>Plant that can be harvested as a source of food</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>White Ivy</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Plant</td>
<td style="text-align: center">7</td>
<td>[Very Low]-ranked plant with cold properties, can be modified to be a trap in cold-based environments</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>White Galindren
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Herb</td>
<td style="text-align: center">25</td>
<td>[Low]-ranked herb that can be used in several healing potions. No direct effect. Usable as Loot.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Green Coln
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Herb</td>
<td style="text-align: center">10</td>
<td>[Limited]-ranked herb that has a vomiting effect. Usable as Loot or in some traps
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Hmm, something usable in there but I hoped for a better... wait a moment.
"Booble, there is a white tail and the hind leg of an animal visible at the edge of the sphere, but it is not in the list. Is there any way to get it included? It''s already partially there after all."
<The size of the scouting eye is based on the core-size value. You still have two free points, adding one or both of them should increase the size of the sphere as well.>
"[One free point to core-size] - YES!"
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Template</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Type</td>
<td style="text-align: center">cost (DP)</td>
<td>Description</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Arctic Fox</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Animal</td>
<td style="text-align: center">7</td>
<td>[Limited]-ranked animal suitable as a low-level spawn</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
"OK, I have 66 DP to use up. Arctic Fox 7 DP (especially as it is a bit larger than the foxes I remember), Snow Owl 12 DP, Snowed Forest 10 DP, Granite 5 DP, Spruce 5 DP, Earth 5 DP, Large grass 5 DP, White Ivy 7 DP, Green Coln 10 DP. And all DP are gone."
[last free point to core-Influence], [all Mana to Floor Crystal 1]
OK, that should be it for preparations - I can''t use up the last 3 IP, Mana and Dungeon Points are zero, health is not usable for now.
I need to remember to first level up with the XP from the quest, put the Mana into the Floor Crystal to speed up the floor creation and perhaps purchase the rest of the templates from the scouting eye. The design for floor two and three is far enough along that I can push 1000 MP there without materialising them, so no problem there either.
[Boost]
"Icks Ouch" Whasch did Eey? Levsch - [Level Up]
Tha Col tascht nisch
Schman to Rystloor
Eye need - whasch?
Push up
Push up
no purchase from upmountain
ouch
....
"Booble, what in the hell happened? What exactly did I do? I remember tasting color and seeing sounds???"
<I suggest you check your History/Log for such details.>
...
OK, Health and Influence Overcharge can usually only happen if I do it to myself by reabsorbing spawns or room structures a lot faster than they were created. Effects to me would be pain or confusion - like being high or stoned in case of Influence Overcharge. The effects on my dungeon and spawns that were not absorbed would be random modifications and mutations - which is why sometimes young dungeons do this to gain new modifications.
But it is rarely done due to the problem of randomness - it''s a gamble only when you''re in a dead end otherwise.
MP and DP Overcharge can happen anytime and be partially controlled by adventurers - that is really bad. Mana is gained when adventurers use their skills in the dungeon, so a large number of adventurers fighting through at the same time is a big problem. Mana Overcharge causes me confusion as well, and the same confusion will happen to any spawns and swarms, causing them to randomly use their skills and spells instead of targeting them.
Apparantly that is a tactic used by adventurers if they want to kill a dungeon, but usually they limit their numbers themselves because this also has risks for them.
Dungeon Points are gained in minor numbers if an adventurer uses a node, or in high numbers if an adventurer dies. So it is not something they try for themselves, but it can happen any time if there are too many deaths in the dungeon. DP Overcharge is both causing confusion and pain and will cause random mutations and evolutions - including evolutions that can turn spawns or the core itself rogue or dormant. Which is another reason why the adventurers don''t want to risk this.
On the good side I managed to get 517 Mana into the Floor Crystals, that is the equivalent of nine days of regeneration that I don''t have to wait.
And I missed that message - I can now set the abilities and core types for the [Very Low] levels 11-20, need to set the reincarnation ability to revive Gunny as soon as possible.
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center; background-color: #64c8dd">Favored of the Gods
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Several gods are pleased about your success and grant you their favor.
Bareen: 55 Favor (Request gained, 1/2 Requests available)
Rolandro: 32 Favor (Request gained, 1/1 Requests available)
Darklight: 20 Favor
Atlas: 15 Favor
Evendar: 5 Favor
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
[Status]
<table>
<tbody>
<tr style="background-color: #00c831">
<td style="text-align: center">Infos/Titles</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Quests</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Gallery/Knowledge</td>
<td style="text-align: center">History/Log</td>
<td style="text-align: center">[Locked]</td>
<td style="text-align: center">[Locked]</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #00c831">
<td style="text-align: center; background-color: #64c8dd">Status</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Storage</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Core Class: The General
</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Defense Values</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Skills</td>
<td style="text-align: center">Abilities</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Name</td>
<td colspan="2">general</td>
<td>public Title:</td>
<td colspan="2">N/A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Level (L)</td>
<td>7/120</td>
<td>Experience (XP)</td>
<td>510/700</td>
<td>Core Rank</td>
<td>mythical</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Floors (F)</td>
<td>0/7</td>
<td>free Attribute Points</td>
<td>1</td>
<td colspan="2">Needs:</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Core-Density (CD)</td>
<td>12/120</td>
<td>Health (HP)</td>
<td>142/142</td>
<td>Mana</td>
<td>219/7</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Core-Power (CP)</td>
<td>23/120</td>
<td>Mana (MP)</td>
<td>219/219</td>
<td>DP</td>
<td>0/0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Core-Influence (CI)</td>
<td>17/120</td>
<td>Influence Points (IP)</td>
<td>177/177</td>
<td>RankedEscapees</td>
<td>0/0</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Core-Size (CS)</td>
<td>18/120</td>
<td>Dungeon Points (DP)</td>
<td>184/184</td>
<td>RankedKills</td>
<td>0/0</td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #64c8dd">
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="6">Regeneration and Gain Values</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>HP (10% CD/day)</td>
<td>1.2</td>
<td>MP (10% CP/hour)</td>
<td>2.3</td>
<td>[Locked]</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>IP (10% CI/day)</td>
<td>1.7</td>
<td>DP (L/Level-Up)</td>
<td>8</td>
<td>[Locked]</td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr style="background-color: #64c8dd">
<td style="text-align: center" colspan="6">Temporary Status Effects</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Name</td>
<td colspan="5">Effect</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td colspan="5"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td></td>
<td colspan="5"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
"OK, free point to Influence and Mana to Floor Crystal. Then use the last scout charge to send the eyesphere to Rivansea to scan for templates. This position here, middle class business district, between two shops. I can''t see which shops they are due to that fuzzy protection, but the eye should be big enough to get something from this street edge to both shops."
OK, there was a sewer system under the street, one of the shops is a scriptorium and the other a fruit trader - a lot of usable things are on the list. I think I''ll reserve 50 DP for other uses and then - wait....
"Booble, what other uses are there for DP? Will I get more scout charges later or what can I purchase with them?"
<You''ll get one scout charge per rank-up every ten levels, and there are rooms where you need DP to purchase upgrades for them. That is what you can do at the moment. The Eye-Sphere can also be upgraded with more than just size if you have the correct skills or abilities or rooms.>
<Some abilities you gain while leveling will give you other DP-Options to purchase. Additionally you can pay DP to turn successfully modified spawns or structures into new templates. Finally you might gain room structures that allow you to convert DP for other gains. This last option will become more important the higher you level as you have no such structure at the moment, but will gain them in time.>
Then a reserve of 30 DP should do for now, that is how much I''ll need to purchase the current room options from the five entrances if I want them. That leaves about 150 DP for purchases now.
"Sewers Environment with sewer rats, Medieval Town environment, Medieval Cellar environment, Materials Textile, Leather, Glass, Soap, Oil, Copper, Silver, Gold; Furniture Simple Table, Simple Chair, Wooden Cabinet, Wooden Bed; Items: Book, parchment, inkwell, writing feather, sealing wax, seal, candle, barrel and basket; Tools: Hammer, Saw; Food: Apple, Oranges, Xav, sausage roll; Potions: Wake-Now, Anti-Alcohol"
What else?
"Booble, one of the items from the random list was a water purifier and now I read about a mass water purifier in this list. What exactly is that needed for?"
<The natural water is slightly acidic and slightly poisonous and can''t be used as is. Living people need to purify it before they can drink it to satisfy their need. There is no naturally drinkable liquid in the Sphere. Animals usually have some resistance, but sapient creatures can''t drink natural water without damage. In case of spawns that is superceded by your mana taking care of needs, but these items make good low-rank treasures.>
“So if I place an exit on the small rocky island just off to the City of Rivensea, they would take some time to get there despite it being inside their country and just half an hour away by boat. That means I can work with an exit there…”
“Booble, why is it that only loincloth is available as a template and very few tools? There should have been a lot more of that in a town.”
<The scout charge in collector mode cannot gain templates on things that are claimed by intelligent beings. Any clothing worn would count as being in possession as such.>
“And why aren’t the loincloths excluded then?”
<Most likely they were worn by slaves – slaves are considered possessions themselves and cannot own anything, not even their clothing.>
“Slavery, huh? Back on Earth that has been declared wrong and illegal centuries ago…”
"OK, so the last things from the template lists will be Animal: Housecat; Items: pet collar, knife, nails, pins, glass jar and rope."
And now to planning where and how to use that on the floors...