Heretic 2022/09/23(Fri)04:48 No. 1044537 ID: 2eaeea
File 166393369068.png - (3.22MB , 2995x1635 , Blinding Gas.png )

>Down from Cannon Outpost
5 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (19 Treasure)
5 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+12 Treasure)
11 Treasures (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+18 Treasure)
(31 Materials/74 Treasures)

A miner's pick strikes down onto stone and a geyser of gas spews from the crack. Thankfully the gas is not poisonous nor flammable, but it is thick and makes the eye's water.
Blinding Gas: Ranged units cannot target creatures behind or in the gas

That'll make things harder for the gunners and cannons.
We can damn it up wit' a barricade. Can't do anything about the gas source but, boardin' it up'll do us good if we gotta.

>question about the kitchen, it says it affect connected rooms, does it means it affects any room in the hold as long as there is a path to the kitchen?
Small change for clarity
Kitchen (8 Materials): Units in adjacent rooms connected to a Kitchen get 50% STR during combat.

>Can you do some extra research on investments? I get the feeling we could have done even more with those emerald mines.
Investments? Every room we build in this hold is an investment isn't it?
Invest in the charity of Bozbun
You get paid for your work Bozbun I'm not giving you extra money for nothing
Worth a shot.
If you have any ideas I'm all ears, but for now are we building anything?

>Tear Gas
@#$%.
Let's just... mine somewhere else for now, shall we?
Place the barricade in the gas vent, then dig left from that.

Here's the plan: The elevator will open up on odd-numbered floors. We redistribute our forces to center around the elevator, and any alternate footpaths will be held by chokeholds with high-defense barricades and traps.

Let's build a level 1 barricade to stop the priests and canon operators from choking on their tears.
And if the kitchen works like that I think we should build one next to the top of the elevator to help defend it. Let's dig left from there.

>>1044542
I agree with this.

>Gas, and other dangers
We should be careful what we dig and where we place buildings and troops. Wouldn't want recent investments to get covered in poison gas or lava, do we?

>Kitchen errata
Important piece of clarification required. Does the Kitchen only offer buffs to troops next to the Kitchen, or troops STATIONED next to the Kitchen? This matters a lot for suggestions of Kitchen placement.

>Build
Build a Level 1 Barricade over the gas source. It's worth it - but we should beware anything smashing that barricade and totally invalidating our cannons placed there.

>Dig
Dig LEFT from the open Level 3 room next to the elevator. Would be a fine place to plonk down a Temple or a Museum next turn (or another cannon outpost to say hello to anything coming up the elevator shaft) and we really need to spend this treasure wisely before it all has to be traded away for Material. Hm. I don't think we really want the extra attention a second Treasury would bring. At least... not until we have a Museum and could benefit from stomping on the intruders.

>Make a Wish
Maybe we SHOULD dump some treasure in that wishing well. We're fairly well positioned to deal with the consequences of any Bad Magic at the moment, with no ongoing crises.

>>1044547
I like the idea of building a museum and doing that "treasury & taxidermy" combo at some point once we have the kitchen.
Building lots of treasuries and filling them could lead to a hubris-induced downfall if it attracts more attention than we can deal with, but if it works...

Heretic 2022/09/23(Fri)17:18 No. 1044576 ID: 2eaeea
File 166397870419.png - (3.03MB , 2995x1635 , Fortify.png )

>Barricade
(-10 Treasures)
The builders get to work right away to spare the cannoneers and clerics from being blinded by the gas. An iron barricade is constructed, sealing the gas into the chamber. Barricades and traps do not count as full day building projects. A room may still be built.

>Important piece of clarification required. Does the Kitchen only offer buffs to troops next to the Kitchen, or troops STATIONED next to the Kitchen?
As long as the unit is in an adjacent connected room they will get the effect of the kitchen applied to them. They do not need to be stationed.
(31 Materials/64 Treasures)

>Maybe we SHOULD dump some treasure in that wishing well.
Yeah maybe you should…I've had nothing to do down here for so long, no one makes wells for me anymore and I'm bored…
I-Why can I hear you in my office?
I'm magic baby.
GET OUT!
Fine! Jeez.
Oh I gotta hire a magic expert to deal with that…Anyway, we've still got time to build more if we want, but if we want to get right to digging it sounds like we have a few suggestions for directions already. Also, sure decide if we wanna actually use that well. Keep in mind that can go poorly for us too if we're unlucky.
Man, I didn't think my gambling problem would follow me down here...Fifty/fifty is good odds, we should use the well.

I don't care one way or another about the well.

DIG DEEPER. How about we dig down from the elevator? Or the cavern next to it on the bottom.

>>1044576
Dig down from the upper emrald room
I'm curious if there's some sort of emrald "core" between those deposits and if it's something nasty it will come up into a room protected by canons

>>1044579
Wait first add a door to the cannon room

>50/50 is good odds
Kamev, you need math classes.
50/50 is average odds. It is literally the human-standard definition of average. Partitions of favorable and non-favorable outcomes are perfectly equal. And since you're paying a fixed sum to gamble in the first place, you are expected to lose money in the long run.
I won't say it isn't fun, but this gambling streak is not expected, on average, to have a happy ending.
Speak to me later when we find a scientific breakthrough that increases the odds.

>Build
Throw down a second cannon outpost at the bottom left, then transfer our cannons there. We'll need the firepower to deal with 5th-tier opponents.

Heretic 2022/09/23(Fri)21:31 No. 1044603 ID: 2eaeea
File 166399387425.png - (2.86MB , 2995x1969 , A Message from the Capitol.png )

>I don't care one way or another about the well.
Dude. I am right here. That's just plain rude.

>50/50 is average odds. It is literally the human-standard definition of average. Partitions of favorable and non-favorable outcomes are perfectly equal. And since you're paying a fixed sum to gamble in the first place, you are expected to lose money in the long run.
Nah nah nah. Look it's not about the numbers it's about the feeling. It's all mental, you gotta have the winnin' mentality or else you're bound for failure.
I'm not a big gambler…but that's 100 percent incorrect. Kamev for your safety and everyone else's stay away from the well.
Okay, but one of these days my winner's mentality will rub off on you.

>New Cannon Outpost
(-10 Materials)
A second cannon outpost is constructed in the depths of the hold, the artillery is wheeled down easily with the help of the elevator

>Dig Down from elevator
8 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (25 Treasure)
8 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+15 Treasure)
15 Build materials mined at depth 6 (+21 Materials)
(44 Materials/ 100 Treasures)(4 Treasures traded for 2 Materials)

The courier comes by once again. Hezug takes the opportunity to send out the fire wasp larvae along with his note while Bozbun gathers a letter from the Capitol
Dear Overseer Hezug Zhromor, your reports show steady progress in the expansion of the hold along with a considerable amount of resources being excavated and traded. The flow of precious ores and gems, namely emeralds, have been useful for trading overseas, especially now when the Yisnan continue their threats. As the threat of war looms we plan to use to resources gained from holds like yours to improve their equipment. The builder's division along with the prospector's guild have recently developed new tools that allow for subterranean building to be done easier. Along with this message the tools should also be arriving in a separate much larger shipment.

Please continue the good work

The builders get to work unboxing crates of brand new equipment, along with receiving schematics for building minecarts and tracks
Your builders can now construct in unexplored spaces without digging empty caverns into them

Tracks (5 Materials):Instantly move units along the length of the tracks. Tracks can be placed through other rooms.

I love the smell of new buildin' equipment.
It sounds like the Yisnan aren't letting up, wonder if they'll call me back to help if war does happen? Though, from what I can tell most of it'll be naval incursions and I have no experience in that field.
Depending on our performance here they may deem us more valuable providing materials for the front line. If they do need me however, I'm no stranger to guerilla warfare. Hit and run, real stealthy operations and the like.
They're gonna work my ass off for cannons if I end up goin' to help. I like working in the hold.
We're doing good work as it is. Let's stay productive and I'm sure no one'll have to go anywhere. We interested in building anything orb?

So building without excavating is perfectly safe?
In that case, let's build a kitchen at the top left of the hold, and then dig right from the empty room under the elevator.
Also this "winner's mentality" is rubbing off on me and I am now in favor of trying the wishing well.

Lay down a full set of tracks on the top layer, so our infantry can quickly sortie to the elevator. In general, we'll set down tracks and elevator doors on odd-numbered floors, so most of our infantry can get anywhere within a maximum of 7-8 turns. This gives us enough guards protecting the warehouse stores while increasing their mobility, so they'll be effective in medium-long scale battles.

>>1044604
We don't get the materials and it's possible the area may be compromised. But if we need quick defensive deployment in a starting branch, this will be a huge boon.

>Dig
For now, just dig right of the Masonry (seriously, that's a bad position, we should find a way to salvage and move it) and build a Treasury there. We'll get thieves and raiders soon, but we're armed and ready. Later on, we should build a kennel nearby for whatever kaiju-class monster we can tame to act as a dedicated defense unit who will maul anything trying to heist the hoard.

>>1044607
The Mason being up there out of the way is a good thing. It gains nothing from being near the front lines.
I'm voting against a second Treasury. Nothing costs over 100 treasure.

>>1044604
Supporting kitchen next to the top of the elevator. No need to even dig there since depth 1 sucks for rewards anyway.

I do want to dig to the right of the current bottom of the elevator, to see what's under the emeralds.

Build tracks to connect all military outposts to the elevator.

Dig to the right of the lower emerald deposit.

>>1044603
>We interested in building anything orb?
We were thinking of building some naval experience for Ludzid, but I don't think anything we'd teach to gap tooth will stay in his head!

...yes, we're still upset about him calling us a hand-me-down.

>>1044611
This is a good idea.

More treasuries won't hurt, trading treasure is a waste, and if we lose a lot of troops or rooms we will need funds to hire and repair. But right now I suspect we will be spending a lot of treasure on tracks so it's not a priority.

1/3 Heretic 2022/09/24(Sat)03:52 No. 1044620 ID: 2eaeea
File 166401675480.png - (2.99MB , 2995x1969 , Second Treasury .png )

>We were thinking of building some naval experience for Ludzid, but I don't think anything we'd teach to gap tooth will stay in his head!
I know you're really trying but I don't think I've every taken a glass paper weight's insults seriously and I won't be starting today

>Mine Tracks across first layer
(-25 Materials)
The workers get to laying down tracks through the corridors of the upper most layer. Though their main purpose is transporting troops between bouts of fighting materials and other goods are also loaded and transported this way, and lazy workers from time to time.

>Build Kitchen
>Build Treasury
Another tie hmm…This time I'm not so sure about either option honestly. Placing a kitchen up in depth 1 means that 3 potential zones for empowering units are unusable, and it's next to an elevator so that's 1 or 2 more depending on where the elevator is. As for the Treasury, I don't think trading in treasure for build materials is that much of a waste and I'm worried about what all that wealth sitting there would attract.
I guess the Treasury wins in my mind. We do have the fortifications to deal with thieves, and I'm sure as we go facilities we gain access to will become more expensive.

A new Treasury is constructed to the right of the mason. 2 Treasures are traded for the extra 1 Material needed to complete the project
(-19 Materials/-2 Treasures)

(0 Materials/98 Treasures)

2/3 Heretic 2022/09/24(Sat)03:52 No. 1044621 ID: 2eaeea
File 166401677355.png - (385.12KB , 1500x1060 , Quick Thinkin'.png )

>Dig right from bottom of elevator
8 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (25 Treasure)
8 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+15 Treasure)
(0 Materials/138 Treasures)

Miners work their way through the rocks of the lowest cavern, one miner lowered deeper in by a rope harness. As the miner digs he begins to feel heat radiating from the rock around him, at first he simple believes he is just hot from working but soon finds the heat becomes unbearable. As his pick hits the wall one last time the miner hears rumble. Quickly, he signals the miners holding his harness to pull him up. Just before the torrent of molten rock gushes from the cavern wall the miner is pulled to safety, just barely burned alive by the lava.

3/3 Heretic 2022/09/24(Sat)03:54 No. 1044622 ID: 2eaeea
File 166401685905.png - (2.88MB , 2995x1969 , Lava.png )

Surprised it took us this long to find lava. We can drain this right Bozbun?
Yup. That'll be 20 Treasure though, stuffs a bitch to clean up. Luckily it's just in an empty cavern, don't gotta worry about fixin' any room.

> this "winner's mentality" is rubbing off on me and I am now in favor of trying the wishing well.
Yeah baby! See orb agrees!
That's just one voice in the orb. Orb, please don't encourage her.
Hey does the orb have like a name or are we just gonna keep calling it the orb?
I-I never thought to give it one? or ask really.
Oh! Let's call it Orbie! Would you like that Orbie? Would ya?
Kamev it's not a dog. I probably should've asked this sooner. Do you uhh...have a name?

Would we ?! Would we ?!
Who is a good orrrrrb... nah I'm kidding.

As for a name, do you have something like a legendary wise mentor or something ? Some historical figure who happened to be an advisor ?

Oh, and don't drain the lava. Beside giving us a place to dump things it's costly to do and having lava around is always !!fun!!

Let's dig down from the bottom canon outpost. The cannons will be able to shoot down and if things get out of hand we will be able to flood the place with lava. Is there any sort of room like the pump but with lava?
And can several unit be in the same place? Could every unit pile in the same room?

>>1044622
Call us "Ponder"
And can we please dig to the right of the lower emerald cavern I think we'll find something interesting there

>>1044622
We’ve been focusing a lot on the left, let’s go the other direction. Dig to the right of the Wishing Well.

>name?
Are we supposed to have a name?

>>1044623
>As for a name, do you have something like a legendary wise mentor or something? Some historical figure who happened to be an advisor?
That’s a terrible idea! With the way we act, that would be very disrespectful to whoever we’d be named after!

>Could every unit pile in the same room?
We’ve been told that Soldiers and Gunners don’t get along with each other if they’re in the same room, so I’m pretty sure there are also other units that don’t want to share rooms with each other.

>Name
We have many names. There's many of us in here. Think of something based on that.

I think this might actually be a good development. Once we reinforce this room, the lava will act as a barrier between the base and anything below us. We can then use the lava as an emergency supertrap, in case anything below us is demon-overlord tier and using our mine shaft to climb up from Hell. It'll destroy our mining operations, but that's a small price to pay for not dying to a Balrog.
OR
We could perform a long-term mining strategy to use the above river. We have the schematics for a basic geothermal plant - a form of storing energy of sorts. You can then use this energy to rotate various stuff, like cartwheels or mills. Dig a pump line from above to below and use a combination of the river and the steam ventilation to power a spring turnstile.

>Dig
Left 1 of elevator. Let's plonk a Kitchen there later, so the elevator turns into a dumbwaiter. Hee.

>Build
Museum, right of the Wishing Well (or left of elevator on level 3 if mining equipment doesn't allow us to build two slots). Trade in treasures as necessary. Like, if we're gonna HAVE 3x Treasuries, let's at least make sure we can benefit from extra enemies showing up from goodness knows where.

>Lava
Drain lava. If it's per room, drain only directly below elevator. Shame we can't harn... actually.

We could just leave it be and dig down from the cannon outpost, right? Then, if push comes to shove, we can break down the wall between the lava pool and pour lots of lava down on whatever's coming up at us. If that's doable, then hey, let's do that. Sure, would've been nice to continue the current elevator shaft, but, well, safety first!

>Buy
2x Cannons to replace the ones you emptied out from that room. That was supposed to be a fallback thing that covered the exit - at least as I intended it.

>>1044634
Oh, and don't bother with names. Or, well, you're not gonna get one answer from us, so you might as well use your own.

So Orbie, I guess?

>>1044634
+1 to all of that.

>>1044631
>disrespect
That's a very good point... I'm out of ideas for a name then. Maybe we should wish for one?

1/2 Heretic 2022/09/24(Sat)18:48 No. 1044665 ID: 2eaeea
File 166407050171.png - (1.14MB , 1500x1060 , The Slab.png )

>We have many names. There's many of us in here.
>Are we supposed to have a name?
>you're not gonna get one answer from us, so you might as well use your own.
...Orbie it is I guess

>We have the schematics for a basic geothermal plant - a form of storing energy of sorts. You can then use this energy to rotate various stuff, like cartwheels or mills. Dig a pump line from above to below and use a combination of the river and the steam ventilation to power a spring turnstile.
That sounds very interestin'...if that is possible it's a bit out of my league with out current equipment. Though, maybe if we get some better facilities we might be able to work on n' use that power we're harnessin'

INVENTOR’S LAB (100 Materials + 50 Treasures)(Requires a Forge, Library, and Stockpile): By studying the works of engineers and mages, your inventors are able to make great improvements to your hold. While you have an Inventor’s Lab, you may pay 50 Treasures to have them research inventions to use. Though usually helpful, keep in mind there's a always a chance for catastrophic failure...

>Dig top left
9 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (27 Treasure)
9 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+16 Treasure)
(15 Materials/ 150 Treasures)(30 Treasures traded for 15 Materials)

The miners dig through the stone at the top layer. A wall is broken down by a miner's pick revealing a large slab of stone sitting in the middle of the cavern. Before the miner's draw closer the slab begins to shack and crack, the fissures in the rock forming lines, runes, letters in an illegible language that glow with a horrifying energy. The miner's flee before anything bad happens. Though none of them could read what the slab said, they did not need to...

2/2 Heretic 2022/09/24(Sat)18:49 No. 1044666 ID: 2eaeea
File 166407054781.png - (3.29MB , 2995x1969 , A Bad Omen.png )

The oracle orb crackles and shakes, and in it's eye the number 3 is shown.
Oh. Uh. This plus that recent report leads me to believe something really bad is about to happen soon.

Hezug heads up to the dig site to see what's been discovered, but once he get's there the slab is blank. No writing, just regular rock.
How much time is "3" exactly?
My best guess? Not enough.

>Build Museum
We have the materials to do so, but with the recent discovery I've halted the build just in case we want to change course. I don't know what this is about, but I feel we have cause to worry. We still have building time...I think? Might as well, pick where to dig next too.

Use the well already, we could really use a wish right now (wish right now wish right now)!
Dig above the cannon outpost.

>>1044666
Hey! First layer rule! Nothin’ bad so close to the surface!

Scoot, ominous countdown! Shoo! Git!

...sometimes that works.

Dig left from layer 3 (prep for museum space). Build that kitchen left of elevator on layer 1.

No wishes unless we’re sure it’s do or die.

Buy those dang cannons for the outpost on layer 3!

Hm...
Okay, now we connect the remaining forces with tracks. Make it so everyone can reach the elevator in a single combat turn.

Dig to the right of the wishing well. Set up a Hospital in the top-left room; we'll also set up extra hospitals on other floors that also have treasuries.

>>1044622
What happens if we pump water into lava?
>>1044666
Oh great. Time to make some offensive barricades. Can we make one at the top of the elevator? And also that kitchen where the slab was. (considering what happened with a similar slab in cirr's quest, I'd suggest quarantining the miners, but the miners don't exist as a unit so I'm guessing we can't)

Has everybody forgotten Fortune shrines? Endless bonanza, all that stuff?
Oh well, guess we've got bigger issues for now.

Dig down from the well.
Let's see, 15 materials plus up to 75 (90) if traded...
Get tracks to the cannon outpost on L3, move the L5 cannons to L3. Well worthwhile, do that regardless of other details. -15...

Other stuff, let's see...
Extending to the mages would be -10 (-20)...
Fortune shrine would be -20 (-40) plus the 8 to staff (-20/8 converted to -48, pays for itself with 16 digs, 6 with the bonus emeralds)...
Stockpile moving would be -20 (-40) for the new one, plus 8 (-16) for the food buff (-56 overall) or -20 (-40) for a defensive shrine (-80 overall)...

Hard to justify those costs with that !!3!!... perhaps zero building, wait to dig up materials. Offensive barricades might be a better use.
Get at least 1 at the foyer as well as the stockpile.

Oh, it's too early for a lab, but for later, get a storehouse before the lab itself. Storehouse is 20, but saves 50 off the lab, so saves 30 overall. Hm, though that also goes for a museum, it would save 5 overall...
Or a storehouse for a row of fortune shrines would lower the costs so we could get more $$$...

Huge text wall? Huge text wall. STRATEGY QUESTIONS!
Limited number of barricades per turn or unlimited? Limited number of barricade *levels* per turn or unlimited?
Do barricades have a max level? Do we get to move barricades (outside of combat, of course)? Do elevator shafts block barricade building?
Def barricades. Says they block ranged sight, does that apply to units stationed inside? Would make them fairly useless outside of gas/liquid stoppage if so.
Secret passages. Do they replace passages? Do ranged units get to shoot through? Why does the description say dwarves lol?
Defensive shrines. Does a cleric get to leave during combat, or does the cleric have to die for the trap to activate?
Protection temples. How many shields per temple, is it unlimited? One for every unit we have? Would a unit be allowed to have multiple shields from one temple? How about multiple shields from multiple temples? Does it add to offensive power, or is it just a damage sponge? (Great deal for 20 sponge HP regardless!)
First Khashusivni, now this, WHAT IS THIS BASED OFF OF? Gotta get myself a copy, this is really fun stuff!

We have time, and we have a lot of units. If something causes our fall, I doubt it will be a lack of raw power. That said we are rich enough to afford two more cannons si build them.
then build that kitchen on the top left. With it, either the mineshaft is secure or it will never be. Next dig left of the kitchen and build a hospital for the first floor. I fear we will need it.

Next we should worry about where exactly the danger will come from. The elevator is secure, the area around the crystal caverns is too. The entrance and the est side are not. We need to place a couple stopping traps at key places like the entrance, and tracks the second floor.

>>1044682
it's based on a game named "Delve"

1/3 Heretic 2022/09/25(Sun)04:45 No. 1044687 ID: 2eaeea
File 166410633893.png - (293.69KB , 1500x1060 , questions.png )

>Limited number of barricades per turn or unlimited? Limited number of barricade *levels* per turn or unlimited?
You can build and upgrade as many traps and barricades per turn as you can afford

>Do barricades have a max level? Do we get to move barricades (outside of combat, of course)? Do elevator shafts block barricade building?
Yes the max level for barricades and traps is 3. Outside of combat you can pay half the price of a barricade or trap to move it to another space. Elevators do block barricade building

>Def barricades. Says they block ranged sight, does that apply to units stationed inside?
Yes, ranged attacks from inside the barricade are blocked.

>Secret passages. Do they replace passages? Do ranged units get to shoot through?
No, Secret passages can be installed along side corridors and stairways. No, secret passages are winding and cramped, making for bad firing spots. Ranged attacks cannot be made through secret passages

>Defensive shrines. Does a cleric get to leave during combat, or does the cleric have to die for the trap to activate?
As long as a cleric was stationed in the shrine at the beginning of combat, the shrine's defensive traits activate.

>Protection temples. How many shields per temple, is it unlimited? One for every unit we have? Would a unit be allowed to have multiple shields from one temple? How about multiple shields from multiple temples? Does it add to offensive power, or is it just a damage sponge?
One shield per temple. The shield is permanent until destroyed. Multiple temples can provide a single unit or troop multiple shields. Shields are only defensive and do not add to offensive power

>What happens if we pump water into lava?
The lava solidifies becoming too hard to dig through and impassable.

2/3 Heretic 2022/09/25(Sun)04:46 No. 1044688 ID: 2eaeea
File 166410636309.png - (291.60KB , 1500x1060 , Mama Clover.png )

>Kitchen top left
(-8 Materials)
Pots and pans are moved into the newly constructed kitchen. Bags of fresh produce are wheeled in from the hold villages' farms. A large cauldron containing utensils and other items are dragged in by a Nubru woman, she quickly gets to directing chefs and other workers were things go and what they're for. She's clearly the head chef of the kitchen; however oddly enough, after she's done she rides the elevator down to the library and begins to order the mages, who in turn listen and follow her orders. After her affairs are in order the lady heads to Hezug's office to introduce herself.

Overseer! It is a pleasure to finally join your hold! I planned to come much later but when I was told the kitchen needed a head chef of course I needed to come by right away!
It's a pleasure to have you miss-
Madam Clover! Or Mama Clover! Lady Clover! Chef Clover! Any of those'll do!
I hope just Clover is fine…Wait you have a High Mage's badge, are here to run the kitchen or lead the mages?
Both! I'm a great multitasker! Besides some say my cooking's almost like magic.
Well. I look forward to trying it! I'm a bit sick of the basic rations we get sent…Oh but that may take a while since we have a situation on our hands.
Yes, I can feel the collection of dark energies pooling around your hold, I joined at a fun time didn't I?

3/3 Heretic 2022/09/25(Sun)04:46 No. 1044689 ID: 2eaeea
File 166410641177.png - (3.43MB , 2995x1969 , Countdown.png )

>Tracks
(16 Treasures traded for 8 Materials) (-15 Materials)
The troop rooms on the second layer are connected to the elevator with minecar rails
Do remember that not all of those rooms are CONNECTED to the elevator, and that making corridors and staircases between rooms is free but takes a full building action.

>Buy Cannons
(-60 Treasures)
More cannons are stationed at the depth 3 cannon outpost
(0 Materials/ 90 Treasures)

>Dig?
Stalemate. I'll dig up from lowest cannon outpost

9 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (27 Treasure)
9 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+16 Treasure)
6 Materials mined at depth 4 (+10 Materials)
4 Materials (+3 Fortune Shrine) mined at depth 4 (+11 Treasure)
(10 Materials/ 144 Treasures)

The number in the orb ticks down to 2

Okay, not the optimal strategy, but this allows us to lay a strengthened melee chokepoint at the entrance of our primary base. Even so, that's still two spaces of damage boosts wasted.

Whatever, we'll capitalize on the kitchen. Dig left of it and setup Barracks or a cannon outpost, then lay down tracks.
OR
In the empty room on Floor 5, Build a Storehouse. We're going to lay down the advanced buildings around here, so we may as well develop an investment.

>>1044689
Dig to the right of the lower emerald deposit

Build a door to connect the upper cannon outpost to the elevator

This countdown is worrying, do you think we are going to explode when it reaches 0? That would be bad, I think... How resistant to damage are we supposed to be?

If we connect any room to the elevator the elevator will stop being a chokepoint. Same thing if we connect together the rooms to the left of it, it will be quicker for invaders from the depths to use (and damage) those rooms than climb the elevator shaft. Beside with those tracks it's not really necessary to connect the mages or cannons to the elevator.

Anyway, let's build a hospital left of the kitchen, and dig left of that room above the cannon outpost. That will make room for that museum and inventor lab once this crisis is dealt with.

>Dig
Dig an opening between the fortune shrine and the exit so the cannons can actually shoot up at anything aiming for the exit.

If that's not required for shooting in this direction: dig left of kitchen so we can later build a barracks and do indeed lay tracks there. It is an excellent location for another set of Gunners, which we can also connect to a dorm beneath it, later.

>Drain
Drain the lake to the east. We need the room. (-5 treasure)

>Build
A hospital (-10 materials, -10 treasure) over the lake to the east. One of the major troop losses holding the elevator chokepoint can then be recovered. Should be helpful for morale in a more general sense too.

... though it's not unlikely the initial - and most valuable - sacrificial troop will be the fire bees. Tell the kitchen to stock up on honey and the hospital on tiny fireproof bedding for their apiary care unit.

>Barricade
A bit nervous about that gas barricade should anything bust through from below. Let's reinforce it to a level 2 barricade (-10 treasure), just in case.

>Delve
For those not wanting to remain blind:
Heretic is clearly doing an adaptation of an existing game called Delve - and I love it and him for running it here. Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmEh1xAqBgo or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egU3-sPmFUw if you want to know more. Or just buy the game. Right now it's part of a bundle with a couple other similar games: https://blackwellwriter.itch.io/delve-a-solo-map-drawing-game[/spoiler]

First priority is a lvl3 offensive barricade for the foyer, because if we lose that, we lose.
Past that, tracks over the elevator would be good if allowed, but if not, oh well. Our forces still have the ability to mass up for overwhelming force very rapidly regardless.
Expanding the rails to the library as well as the cannon outpost would be nice as well.

Dig to the left of the top level. Would like to set up a firebase as follows:
B-K
| |
D-B

30 gunners.
With rails, it'd have the ability to rapidly move to protect either the elevator or expansions to its left.
Perfect setup for westwards economic buildup. Once we have a solid economic juggernaut, we'll be difficult to stop.
Plus it'll help with whatever is about go off.

Have to admit, bit tempted to say we get a kennel to capture the fun that's gonna hit the base.

It's nice that everyone's making plans to defend the left side. My issue is that our right side is vulnerable.

We don't know where this bad stuff is going to spawn in. If it's on the left, then we'll be fine. But if it shows up on the right, then we might be in trouble.

>>1044698
We have the tracks to move troops so the top right is probably going to be okay.

But just to be safe we could build some stopping traps in each treasury and in the wishing well room. Level 1 or 2 is okay, but not 3 or else we won't be able to use those rooms anymore.
Digging between the cannon outpost and the wishing well room so the cannons can shoot there could help too.

>>1044689
>countdown
Ow! It hurts every time that number goes down!

>>1044692
>do you think we are going to explode when it reaches 0?
Oh no! We don't want to explode! Hezug please don't let us explode!

A Hospital to the west of the Kitchen would work just as well as covering the lake. Not sure we can actually build on the water source itself anyway, it's not a normal room.

1/3 Heretic 2022/09/26(Mon)00:03 No. 1044799 ID: 2eaeea
File 166417581172.png - (2.48MB , 3328x1969 , Mendicant.png )

>Do you think we are going to explode when it reaches 0?
>Oh no! We don't want to explode! Hezug please don't let us explode!
You won't explode!...probably.

>Drain Lake to east
That ain't a lake, it's a river, can't drain that.

>Expanding the rails to the library as well as the cannon outpost would be nice as well.
Rails can only connect rooms long-ways. They can't go down stairwells.

>Build Hospital
(-10 Materials/-10 Treasures)
Miners clear out a cavern and ready it for a hospital. Until now injuries were being by the healing monks stationed in the hold's surface village, and though good for treating minor injuries it would've been difficult to transport more grievously wounded troops up in time. With an on site hospital it's possible to resuscitate troops after combat, and the workers will appreciate being able to get bandages quicker. Once the facilities are built the healing monks enter, lead by the Master Nurse Lanka
Hello Nurse Lanka, It's a pleasure to have you here with us. I know our worker's will appreciate having you here too.
Yes, I'm sure an onsite medical site will be necessary with everything down here.
Oh we haven't run into too much trouble, Just a few beasts and a dimension rift but nothing we couldn't handle.
I meant your workers. I walked in on a soldier having a fist fight with one of your gunners, and in my experience having clerics next to mages is hardly ever a good idea.
Ah, well it's yet to be a problem for us yet.
Well, when it is, and I get the feeling it will be, My monks will be the ones treating bruises and magic burns in addition to monster bites, so make sure it stays in control. That being said. I'm glad to be here.
Good!...Say do you know how to treat animals?
…Well-
Fire Wasps in particular
…I will see what the monks can do.

2/3 Heretic 2022/09/26(Mon)00:03 No. 1044800 ID: 2eaeea
File 166417583401.png - (1.47MB , 1500x1060 , Spatial Anomaly.png )

>Level 3 Barricade for Entrance
Good Idea.
-30 Treasure

A nice defensive point for our soldiers. Gunners and cannons may not be able to shoot from barricades, but Soldiers can spear out of them!

>Dig further left of depth 1
9 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (+27 Treasure)
9 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+16 Treasure)
10 Treasures (+3 Fortune Shrine) mined at depth 1 (+14 Treasure)
(5 Materials/ 150 Treasures)(10 Treasures traded for 5 Materials)
The timer ticks down. 1

The miners dig further to the left of the hold. As the rock of a cavern wall crumbles a blue light shimmers from behind the crack. Rocks and stone begin to flicker and shift out and into sight as a path is opened up toward a spiral vortex of raw magic.
Mmm, that looks like a good ol fashion spatial anomaly to me!
Is that bad?
Could be! Luckily you've got a head mage here with you to tame it!

Clover calls for the mages down stairs to come to the kitchen. Her group walks towards the glowing vortex until she's only a couple a feet away from it.
Oh this one's not so scary! I've seen worse! Alright mages! Focus!

The mages raise their staves and chant, the vortex writhes and wobbles like clay being kneaded.
Alright the boys have the thing wrangled, can't keep it that way though. With a little work we can use this anomaly to benefit the hold. All we gotta do is tamper with space and time a little to do it.
Is that dangerous Clover?
If I wasn't here than yes!

Pick a room in your hold to copy to this cavern

3/3 Heretic 2022/09/26(Mon)00:04 No. 1044801 ID: 2eaeea
File 166417587004.png - (3.27MB , 3661x1969 , Current Hold.png )

-UNIT ROOMS-
Barracks (8 Materials): Houses 10 Soldiers OR Gunners (They always get into arguments when they're in the same room for some reason)
Cannon Outpost (10 Materials): Houses up to 2 Cannons
Forge (15 Materials + 7 Treasures): Allows Traps to be made and can house 1 Cannon
Mason (20 Materials): Allows Barricades to be made
Kennel (5 Materials): Can hold 1 captured monster or 5 Hounds
Library (15 Materials): After building, cause a Good Magic effect to take place. Can house 5

-UNITS-
Soldier (5 Treasures): Strength 5
Gunners (5 Treasures): Strength 3; Ranged
Mage (7 Treasures): Strength 4; Ranged
Hound (5 Treasures): Strength 3; Can move 2 spaces per round
Cannon (30 Treasures): Strength 30; Ranged; Can only be fired once per combat
Cleric (8 Treasures): Strength 1; Applies Strength 5 Shields to adjacent units for every cleric in troop

-BUFFING ROOMS-
Dorms (5 Materials): Increases the maximum number of units each adjacent connected room can house by 50%
Hospital (10 Materials + 10 Trade Goods): 1 Troop of your choice defeated while on the same row as a Hospital is revived at full STR after combat.
Kitchen (8 Materials): Units in a room connected to a Kitchen get 50% STR during combat.
Overseer's Office (15 Materials): Any trade goods mined when exploring in the same column as an Overseer’s Office are worth double.
Museum (50 Materials + 50 Trade Goods) (2 Grid Spaces): After defeating an enemy there is a 1 in 4 chance an trophy will be added to the museum to commemorate your victory and gain +10 STR against that type of enemy (Beasts, Undead, Constructs, etc.) in future combats. Each Museum can house four of these trophies.
Stockpile (20 Materials): Increase your maximum build material supply by 50. if you have more than 100 resources inyour supply there's a small chance to attract hostile creatures every turn.
Storehouse (20 Materials): Rooms built on this floor cost 1/2 the build resources (does not effect trade good costs.)
Temple (20 Materials + 20 Treasures) (2 Grid Spaces): Choose the temples purpose: Protection or Purity. A Temple of Protection allows you to pay 5 Trade Goods and place a Shield with 20 Strength on a unit or Troop. A Temple of Purity allows you to ignore a Bad Magic result by trapping it within the temple. Temples can house three Clerics and need at least one Cleric to activate their effects. If all the Clerics of a Temple of Purity are defeated, the trapped Bad Magic is released on the hold.
Treasury (20 Materials: Increase your maximum trade good supply by 50. If you have more than 100 trade goods in your supply there's a small chance to attract hostile creatures every turn .

-INFRASTRUCTURE ROOMS-
Pump (8 Materials): Liquid cannot move through or damage this room. A Pump can be activated to flood if desired
Elevator (5 Materials): Instantly move units up or down the elevator’s length. Enemies take 2 rounds per grid to ascend an Elevator shaft
Drawbridge (15 Materials): When you build a drawbridge, it is open. During combat, you may close the drawbridge to prevent enemies from crossing. Enemies take 50 STR of damage for every open grid space they fall should the drawbridge close while they’re in its grid space.
Tracks (5 Materials) Instantly move units along the length of the tracks. Tracks can be placed through other rooms.

-TRAPS-
(Require a Forge to make. Once tripped cost 5 resources per trap level to reset. Level 3 Traps are impassable to your troops)
Damage Traps (20 Materials): Any trap that does damage falls under this category. Deals 10 damage per level. Starts at level 1, upgraded at a cost of 20 Materials per level to a max level of 3.
Stopping Traps (15 Materials): Stops an enemy’s movement in the room containing the trap for a number of rounds equal to the trap’s level. Starts at level 1, upgraded at a cost of 15 Resources per level to a max level of 3.

-BARRICADES-
(Require a Mason to make. Can be repaired for 15 Treasures for every 20 Strength lost)
Defensive Barricades (10 Treasures) Each level of a defensive barricade has 50 strength. Barricades cannot attack, but enemies must destroy it to pass through. Starts at level 1, upgraded at a cost of 10 Trade Goods per level. Defensive Barricades block line of sight for ranged units and can be used to stop gas and liquid from spreading.
Offensive Barricades (20 Treasures) Each level of an offensive barricade has 20 Strength. Like defensive barricades, enemies must destroy it to pass through but take damage equal to the barricade’s strength. Starts at level 1, upgraded at a cost of 20 Trade Goods per level. Offensive Barricades do not block line of sight for ranged units and do not stop gas or liquid.
Secret Passage (50 Treasures) These special barricades will allow your units to pass through the hold while keeping your enemy’s options limited. However, be aware that enemies with TRUESIGHT can use these passages. These barricades only have 10 strength and cannot be upgraded.

-ADVANCED ROOMS-
Inventor's Lab (100 Materials + 50 Treasures)(Requires a Forge, Library, and Stockpile): By studying the works of engineers and mages, your inventors are able to make great improvements to your hold. While you have an Inventor’s Lab, you may pay 50 Treasures to have them research inventions to use. Though usually helpful, keep in mind there's a always a chance for catastrophic failure…

>Tear in the space-time continuum
... I'm going to level with you, Hezug. We have seen comets up close. We've seen chemical reactions that look like pure magic but aren't. We've even known about holes in spacetime that devour everything in their path and consume light itself within a specific radius.
But we've never seen this. This is not supposed to be normal, even if you give unlimited magical resources to an insane cabal of super-mages. Rips in space time... they don't stay stable and linked to planets for more than a few microseconds. What the hell have we been digging through?

>Copy Room
If we can lay off copying it right now, I'd rather we keep it like this until we find something really valuable. But if we must copy it immediately:
1) Treasury - Question: What happens if we copy a full treasury right now? In fact, overstuff one of them with treasure and expensive weapons and stuff before you clone it.
2) Ancient Library - Data is a precious thing. Moreso since we don't have printing presses invented yet. If we copy the entire contents of the room, we can quickly and haphazardly harvest the copy library and send it back to the surface, where scholars can pore over it.
3) Emerald Room - This one's a smart cookie. These emerald mines have been going strong for so long. It's a gamble. but one which could effectively boost our emerald generation to an insane degree.
4) Wishing Well - For Science. I wonder what happens; does one well lose its power? Does the djinn get copied? Or only the magic? Hopefully the latter...
5) Fortune Shrine - You probably needed this built a week ago. Plus, we already have a second cleric on staff!

>Final turn before disaster
Okay, let's be smart about this. Dig down from the hospital, build a hospital extension there.
I don't know what's going to happen, but if it involves massive casualties, we'll want to save who we can on both levels. That means getting a second hospital ready and waiting.
And if something comes up the elevator, we can set up a secondary choke point on the second floor and let the soldiers tank before the horde can spread and damage rooms.
Finally, if you have extra time, place a stopping trap inside the elevator shaft on the third level. Reinforce the elevator with armored walls, and then have wall spike traps pierce anything climbing up.

I think we should copy the crystal cavern, it's the only one we can't easily build.

About that barricade at the entrance, doesn't it cut us from the outside? Also now the gunners are cut off from the elevator, we need to do something about that. We could build secret passages, or extend the tracks in the dorms. The first option is less secure, the second is noisy...

Then build another hospital under the first, for the second floor. And dig a passage between the wishing well room and the cannon outpost, in case something happens in there.

>copy room
One of the Crystal Caverns, duh. Keep the economy going. Also doesn't copy more than dead material, which is probably good. Uh. Maybe make sure the miners are out of the mine when you copy.

Or if that can't be done (or we don't want to flood the market with more emeralds and devaluate our primary trade good), copy the Fortune Shrine and hire a cleric. (-8 treasure)

>Drain
Lava room below elevator so we can prep for further deep excavations. (-20 treasure)

>Build
Temple of Purity (-5 mat, -50 treasure, incl. conversion) - Purity in case what's coming comes with Bad Magic - in the two slots below the hospital and kitchen - or the free slots beside the elevator shaft if this can't be dug fast and easy. Buy a cleric. (-8 treasure)

>Dig
An opening between exit foyer and fortune shrine so the cannons can shoot that way.

>Barricade
A... river you say? Ah. That's a defensive weakness indeed. Plonk a Level 3 Offensive Barricade over the treasury next to the river. Anything coming up outta there should get torn to shreds by it. (-60 treasure)

>Defensive barricade, not offensive
...Huh. Got mixed feelings. While it's good that non-ranged units can hit outside whose idea was it that that was obvious? (does that apply to wasps/hounds?), plus the defense vs gas/liquid, still has limits vs offensive barricades. Weak non-ranged hostiles would be easily killed by gunners before they got there, which is what the def barricade would be best vs. Hostiles with, say, 100 HP would kill it with 2 hits, so the troops would get 50 HP dmg before the barricade dies. Were it offensive, the barricade would do 60 dmg by itself, plus the 25 dmg the troops do, so 85 dmg. Oh, that also discludes gunner fire support dmg. Hostiles that have range would laugh as they shoot the defensive barricade without dmg. So there's all that, not to mention repair costs, those are way out of proportion when compared to offensive barricades.
We can at least move our troops through... or at least it seems that should be the case...

>Stairwell tracks
Well. Quite surprised clever miners like you guys never figured out spiral slopes for mine carts. File that with the other stuff that would have been nice to have noticed...

>>1044807
>Get emerald room copied
...Outside the box, but that would be quite good. Should that fail, well, while a barracks would be useful, it'd be a waste to use for a low cost room, so go with Fortune shrine.

What else...
Dig? Eh, will leave that to others.
Oh, we're down to one? Guessing we are. FORTIFY HARD! Do we have the ability to shoot down the shaft at the edge of the stockpile? Lvl3 *OFFENSIVE* barricade there if so, otherwise put it at the overseer's office. Extend rails to the dorms. Would it be better to have a second lvl3 offensive barricade at the barracks, or the dorms...? Leaning dorms, but could be persuaded otherwise.

>>1044801
BUILD a door between the upper cannon outpost and the elevator
That cannon and the firewasps currently do not have good access to the rest of the hold.

DIG to the right of the lower emerald deposit

>>1044825
Building a door between the outpost and the elevator would allow ennemies to bypass the room at the top that's reinforced by the kitchen.

>>1044576
Could we not bottle condense and sell this gas or make into smoke bombs also nice i like a lady with meat makes the best steak

>>1044829
Yeah but as it is those cannons and firewasps are so far from any entrances that it's going to take forever to get them involved in any fight thus making them kinda useless

>>1044871
With the tracks I think it's fine. We could extend the tracks, of course, that's always useful.

1/2 Heretic 2022/09/27(Tue)16:05 No. 1044880 ID: 2eaeea
File 166431992392.png - (3.26MB , 3661x1969 , Crypt.png )

>Copy Crystal Cavern
The mages tug on ethereal threads of time and space, and the room flickers to be an exact copy of one of the caverns.
Perfect! I might have to get me an emerald bracelet.

>Build Hospital
(-5 Materials/ -20 Treasures)(10 Additional Treasures traded for 5 Materials)
Right below the first, a second medical site is constructed.
Good, now I can expand my office. I need room for the brandy cabinet

>Level 3 Offensive Barricade at River Treasury
(-60 Treasures)
That oughta shred any thieves that think about pinchin' our treasure.

>Build/Connect/Dig Between
Making a connecting corridor/staircase requires the builder's work time, not miner's work time, and we've already build the hospital for today. Making a connector between two prebuilt rooms requires carefully considering how both rooms connect and is a builder's job.

>Dig right of lowest crystal cavern
6 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 1 (+10 Treasure)
6 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (+22 Treasure)
6 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+13 Treasure)
5 Materials are mined at depth 4 (+9 Materials)
(9 Materials/ 115 Treasures)
The countdown ticks down to 0

As the miner's dig through rock they soon begin digging into laid brick, and break into the stone halls of a long lost crypt, as the miners look around one comes face to face with a large monstrous skeleton leering beck at her. The miners flee, the colossal skeleton is unleashed.

Just for clarity, this and the countdown are unrelated

2/2 Heretic 2022/09/27(Tue)16:06 No. 1044881 ID: 2eaeea
File 166431996499.png - (3.46MB , 3661x1969 , Crypt2.png )

The colossal skeleton moves into the crystal cavern, the prospectors inside flee to safety.

Doesn't look too tough, we still need to be careful. It's in a pretty defensible position now, just remember that ranged unit's can't shoot through other units.

>>1044881
Mages are ranged, right? Just move ‘em into the crystal cavern to the right, then cannonball and spell the skeleton down.

>>1044881
I don't think our mages getting stuck in a corner is such a good idea if the cannon crossfire doesn't take out the skeleton. We might want to keep retreating some more.

Move the mages up into the outpost then shoot down the skeleton with cannonballs and fireballs. If ranged units in the same space can't fire then move them right into the crystal caverns.

Heretic 2022/09/27(Tue)17:00 No. 1044892 ID: 2eaeea
File 166432325680.png - (3.47MB , 3661x1969 , Crypt3.png )

>Mages are ranged, right? Just move ‘em into the crystal cavern to the right, then cannonball and spell the skeleton down.
[Cannons (Ranged 30) vs Skeleton (30 => 5)]
[Mages (Ranged 20) vs Skeleton(5 => 0)]
Mages retreat and prepare. The cannoneer arms their cannon and fires upon the encroaching skeleton, the mage's follow up with a magic blast reducing the pile of bones to ashes. After the skeleton's been defeated, the mages continue into the crypt to investigate.
That crypt looks like it's just brimming with necromantic energies! The spirits of death coagulate in this room!
Oh that's awful.
No it's great! We can use this room to raise dead soldiers to fight for us!
I'm sorry. Are you suggesting we use necromancy for our own purposes? Not only is that immoral but there's no way we should employ disease ridden corpses to work for us.
Brutal
Nature is often brutal. The dead aren't using their bones anyway.
If we don't wanna we don't have to, but just know the dead can be very useful!

Skull Dwarf (5 Treasures): Strength 1; On defeat, 50% chance to revive after combat

The count down has reached zero, though nothing has happened.
So what? Was the glass bowling ball just messing with us?
I didn't know Orbie had a sense of humor. I played a prank like this once on my sister, she still won't talk to me.
I'm not so sure we're out of the woods yet...let's not get comfortable yet
We jus' gonna sit around waitin' fer somethin' bad to happen?
We can't just do nothing. What's our next move?

Well, we can dig right from the bottom of the elevator shaft. If anything spawns, we shoot it with the cannon. This move also won't interfere with whatever the countdown is about.

Please do not raise the dead. They are not worth the cost. Also, it will scare everyone and smell horrible.

About the countdown... I don't know, inspect every room, make sure nothing horrible happened somewhere when nobody was looking?
Upgrade the barricade around the tear gas room to level 3 just to be sure it's not gonna leak, and extend the second floor's tracks to include the dorm and mason.
Them wait for a couple of hours and if nothing happens... Errr, sorry I guess ?

Can you dig any deeper? Perhaps whatever spawned did so where you can't see it yet.

>>1044892
>Was the glass bowling ball just messing with us?
No, we were not! We honestly thought we were gonna explode when it hit 0! But since that didn't happen, the best guess we have is that something happened in a room and we didn't notice because we were fighting that skeleton. Or something happened in an area we haven't dug to yet and we'll eventually run into it when we keep digging.

Let's check all the rooms first and make sure everything is normal.

>Was the glass bowling ball just messing with us?
No, we make funny jokes.

We should check all the rooms and see if ther were any changes. If not, the countdown must have been for something else. Keep your eyes peeled.

Dig under the kitchen? Just in case, put some soldiers next to it.

>necromancy
It's a context-sensitive issue. Is there a soul in that skeleton? Could they be hacked? In general, necromancy is little different than golemancy, just less respectful of the dead and more about understanding the concepts of biology and how to subvert them with magic doo-dads. There are even sanctioned forms of necromancy in civilized countries that involve ensuring the dead souls have moved on, or using the dead material and spirits within living bodies to enhance their combat powers. I even witnessed a Master-level necromancy-based healing spell that cures high-level magical diseases by performing a half-death on its targets and then healing the hell out of them to fully reset their lives.
I'm all for it; all we need to do is make feeble, sensory-deprived drones to do all our trap-tripping for us, or carry our wallets, or act as morale supporting jesters. Make sure to do frequent tests for sapience.

>The count down has reached zero, though nothing has happened.
Hm. Maybe there was something important we could have achieved. But, what with us only beginning to scratch the surface of this enigmatic place, that was more of a lottery than a challenge. Oh well.

Okay, dig down from the central crystal cavern or left of the cannon outpost, and stick a Storehouse there.

Gotta side with Lanka here. Disease ridden corpses? Who needs those?

>Zero
...Slightly worried we require truesight to see the hostile or whatever is going on here...
Would be quite happy to be wrong...
Perhaps the hounds could sniff out the base?

Dig left of the new hospital. Would like to build a barracks to have basic security before going full economic power over there. Little tempted to get an overseer's office for the emeralds, though...

>Counter reached 0
Maybe something happened somewhere else and the news has yet to reach you. That slab sure was ominous, though!

>>1044919
>DIG left of level 2 hospital, BUILD overseer's office there
Left of hospital and overseer's office is a good move. Lots to dig still on that column. and boosting the emeralds would be a welcome bonus.

>Drain
That lava below the elevator, already.

>>1044892
How many skulls can we garrison at a time?

We should make sure the top left part of the hold is well defended before expending there.
I think we should dig down from the kitchen and build a kennel there. That way when we inevitably unearth a monstrosity we will be able to tame it and feed it kitchen scraps and use it to entertain the wounded in the hospital.
And drain that lava room at the bottom of the elevator. We will need to start digging down again at some point.

Dig to the right of the Wishing Well.

>>1044925
Makes sense +1

>>1044925
>>1044927
Note that putting a kennel below the kitchen doesn't lead to any clear specific advantage that just moving a troop next to a kitchen would give. Only the troops next to the kitchen will get the boost, so if you move them away to face an enemy elsewhere they lose the bonus - I think.

You'd want troop quarters next to dorms primarily, since that increases troop size capacity. Kitchen is just a stationary strength buffer, the buff doesn't come with if you move away.

>>1044928
The idea is mostly to have something on the left side, and that place made sense to me. They will be able to get quickly to rooms on that side and, at least for now, they will likely fight around the kitchen. A monstrosity should be dangerous enough to not need the kitchen buff anyway, probably ?
And if we tame monstrosities, we better make sure we can keep them well fed.

Our left side seems to be well defended, but our right side doesn't have much on it. We should put something on the right, but I just don't know what to put.

1/3 Heretic 2022/09/29(Thu)03:34 No. 1045002 ID: 2eaeea
File 166444769676.png - (202.42KB , 1128x910 , Mining.png )

>How many skulls can we garrison at a time?
I'd say we can fit about twenty in the crypt there.

>Gotta side with Lanka here. Disease ridden corpses? Who needs those?
Y'all 're no fun. A little necromancy never hurt nobody!
Wrong, just plain wrong.

>Dig under kitchen
6 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 1 (+10 Treasure)
6 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) (x2 Overseer Bonus) mined at depth 3 (+22 Treasure)
6 Emeralds (+3 Fortune Shrine) Mined at depth 4 (+13 Treasure)
13 Materials are mined at depth 2 (+15 Materials)
(+15 Materials / +45 Treasure)
(29 Materials/ 150 Treasures)(10 Treasures traded for 5 materials)

2/3 Heretic 2022/09/29(Thu)03:35 No. 1045003 ID: 2eaeea
File 166444774377.png - (793.41KB , 1500x1060 , Ancient Monstrosity.png )

A coastal town is flooded as the ocean rises
A wave crashes into a fishing boat, drowning the sailors on board
A young man falls into a rushing river, unable to escape

The cave walls become damp as the miner dig away at the rock. The briny smell of ocean water leaks out from the cracks in the cavern.

From the darkness of the caves a monstrosity lumbers out, an ugly thing dripping with water and constantly emitting a low gurgling noise. The miner's run in terror as the ancient monstrosity crawls out into the corridors of the hold. The sound of crashing waves fills the halls.

Yorzzyll The Deluge Strength 105
Deluge At the end of each round this monstrosity acts as a source of water
Regenerating Each round, instead of moving, this horror may regenerate. If no damage is dealt to it while regenerating, it regains 50 lost Strength
Humid Air Cannons and Gunners only deal half damage while on the same depth as this monstrosity

3/3 Heretic 2022/09/29(Thu)03:36 No. 1045004 ID: 2eaeea
File 166444778039.png - (3.53MB , 3661x1969 , The Deluge.png )

Yorzzyll moves from it's lair into the kitchen. Tables and chairs are trampled as the beast moves through the dining area.

OH HELL!
MY KITCHEN!
Okay now it's serious
Oh Sisters...can we even kill that thing?
We've sure as hell gotta try!
Cannon's ready and loaded!

SEE? SEE? Stuff like this is why we should have had a lvl3 offensive barricades at places like the overseer's office close to the elevator outlets! Perfect spots here were next to the top. Post battle, the elevator gets heavily fortified, but for now...
EVERYBODY MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS!

Gotta say, tactical situation is bad.
We've got a few problems here, the biggest is that it's already top depth, so non-mages get half offense.
Were it at a lower depth, we could blast it from above, but as it is, troops below will just be drowned. Possibly at the depth it's at, too! Detail that is key is how bad this thing floods.
Obviously, it's going straight to the exit, so we have to stop it dead.

Depth 1, we have 40 melee power to use. Gunners have 45 ranged, but that's halved to 22-ish.
Depth 2, we have 40 melee power to use, plus 30 ranged halved to 15.
Depth 3, we have 80 ranged, though only the cannons get halved, so 50.
Depth 1 has the ability to engage now. Depth 2 forces take 1 turn to get to depth 1. Depth 3 forces take 2 turns to get to depth 1.
Our cannons at depth 5... well, they might be dead. Go to elevator? Possibly drowned. Stay in place? Possibly drowned. Still, should they get their singular shot off, or better yet, get to melee, would help the tactical position we have. Have to be ready for worst case, though.

Strategic analysis? We've just barely got this, the elevator as well as the rails have saved our collective asses. Plan formed!

First is to get all forces we have the ability to mobilize to get to the overseer's office. Or, should the melee troops have to be behind the ranged for them to fire, those go to the barracks. Should be the foot troops, the gunners, 1 cannon, plus the wasps. Hostile will move to the elevator, so its water will fall to the lava at the lowest depth, pretty much nothing we can do about that one. However, because the water falls, it will not flood adjacent to stop the troops.
From there, our ranged forces fire a barrage for about 37. 105-37=68. From there we use the rails... for a charge of the light brigade. Foot troops 25 + hounds 15 + wasps 40 = 80. Should kill the thing, though casualties will be bad. Still, it's a victory over a deadly foe.

Were we sure this thing would not flood adjacent, we could wait to have all forces massed. Still, we have a hospital to mitigate losses.

For the future, do gunners/mages/cannons have melee offense, or are they strictly ranged?

>>1045011
Oop, forgot a detail. Have to ask, because this depends on how "free" using rails is.
Should our gunners have the ability to use the rails as well as fire before the turn ends, the plan improves. Head to stockpile, fire at hostile. Following round, link up with the cannon at the overseer's office for salvo 2. Extra 22 dmg may lower casualties.

However, if it has to be one or the other, nevermind. Gotta say though, if using rails is totally free, kiting would be a tactic that may be used. For other hostiles, that is. Hard to shoot through a flood.

>>1045004
The fuck is something like that doing at depth 2!?

We can do better.

Turn 1 : monstrosity gets to elevator.
lower the lift so it has to climb to get to the other side, gaining us 1 turn.
Move lower cannons up. They will have to site this one out. If they stay where they are they will drown because the lava-flooded room will turn to rock.
Priests put a shield on the wasps, cannons from the forge and wasps get to overseer office, other troops start moving toward overseer office.

turn 2 : monstrosity still climbing
cannons shoot for 15 damages. (90/105 hp)
Cannons from the forge and mages get to overseer office.

turn 3 : the remaining cannons shoot for 30 damages, the mages shoot for 20. (40/105)
The wasps then charge for 40 damages, their shield from the priests save them. (0/105 monstrosity HP).

Expected casualties : none.

Please double-check everything, though. I would hate to doom everyone.

Oh wait, forgot a second detail.
Food buffs! We assault the elevator, melee troops get x2! So... wasps are 80! Hospital should heal up all damage, so we got this!

Is the kitchen still usable? There is a big monstrosity sitting in it after all.
I hope it's not too badly damaged or we will have a hard time eating the monstrosity once it's dead.

>>1045013
Not being as tough as something from a deeper depth, that's what!

>Battle Plan "Shafte 'Em"
And this lack of toughness is to our advantage. Here's the general order of things that I see could work out.

Turn 1: Elevator goes down to Depth Level 5 (DL5). Yorzzyll begins entering Elevator Shaft (1/2), presumably beginning to flood lava rooms down below.

DL1: Gunners rail-move to Overseer's office - opens fire (for 45/2 = 22 damage).

DL2: Fire Wasps moves to Overseer's Office. Forge Cannons and Shrine Clerics move to Fire Wasp Kennel.

DL3: Mages move to Forge. Outpost Cannons move to Shrine. If rail-move can take mages and cannons to Fire Wasp Kennel this round too, bring them over.

DL5: Outpost Cannons move into elevator.

Turn 2: Yorzzyll heals or fully enters Elevator Shaft (2/2).

DL1: Gunners open fire (22 damage).

DL2: Everything in Fire Wasp Kennel moves to DL1 Overseer's Office. Ranged units fire at Yorzzyll (90/2=45 + 20 = 65 more damage if Outpost cannons and mages could rail-move last turn). If move->rail-move of Turn 1 doesn't work, Cannons and mages move to Fire Wasp Kennel.

DL5: South outpost cannons move up elevator to DL2, then fire at Yorzzyll (-60 damage to Yorzzyll: despite being drizzled on from above, they're not on the same depth, so their gunpowder won't be as damp!)

At this stage, Yorzzyll should be dead (from 109 total damage), but it could've stopped to heal or move->rail-move doesn't work, in which case it would still be alive.

(hypothetical) Turn 3: Yorzzyll heals or enters Stockpile. Water source flooding occurs from stockpile to unknown effect on units, if it spreads onto them. To avoid those effects, Gunners can move a step to the right to keep firing unmolested. Mages and cannons will either have to hold or move into it.

- Ranged units move into position and fire (variable damage, pending on situation)
- Cleric-Shielded Fire Wasps engage (40 damage, 10 protect)

And that should be it either way. If it's not, additional units - like warriors and dogs - can be ordered to engage by rail-move to finish it off.

Essentially, we want to shoot it blue and bloody while it's in the shaft. If it pauses to heal, between our gunners and mages, we've got the strength to (almost) keep pace with its regen and rail-move should make it easy to get all melee troops into the fight if need be.

>Oh Sisters...can we even kill that thing?
Anyway, follow our advice and you've got this. Really, if it weren't for wanting to mitigate the effects of flooding (and not knowing if units below are affected badly), I'd even just suggest keeping Gunners and 90 damage's worth of cannons in the Fire Wasp Kennel and shoot it for full damage when it passes. Boom, boogey bugger's dead.

>>1045024
>(from 109 total damage)
Sorry, from 169 damage. Forgot the 'shaft' part of the calculations from Battle Plan "Shafte 'Em" there.

>>1045024
We can't move through the entrance, there is a level 3 barricade in the way, and ranged units can shoot or move but not both on the same turn.
It will take a lot more turns to move everyone into position AND shoot.

>>1045004
If only we could get some of our cannons at a depth under the monster, then we could blast it at full power, without getting our attack cut in half.

Could we make a connection between the Stockpile and the Forge? That way if the monster manages to get over here, the cannon in the Forge can blast it at full power!

>>1045026
>Level 3 Traps are impassable to your troops
Barricades are passable.

>Ranged units cannot move and fire
I cannot find where this is referenced.

>>1045029
My bad, it's the lvl 3 traps.

*We have two hospitals. We can capitalize on this by having Yorzzyll waste a turn attacking an opponent below them. We should also 'expend' a unit, most notably the hornets.
* Sorry, little doggos, but this hulking angry supermonster is worth far more in military strength than you. Even more importantly, Yorzzyll's deluge is a game-breaker that can easily neutralize the lava rooms. Once we've defeated Yorzzyll , replace the hounds. Alternatively, if Yorzzyll's deluge kills the hornets outright, have them replace those. Or, perhaps it will take a liking to the river.
We have a better chance than it looks, but the true danger is any hidden abilities that we don't know of. Have a reserve force ready for additional reinforcements, and this should be a general success.
C5 (Cannons at Depth 5): Get into the elevator, immediately ride to Depth 2 to reach D2, Unleash everything (Projected Health: 105 -> 45)
E2 (Cannons at Depth 2): Move to F2 and prepare to unleash a barrage.
E3 (Mages at Depth 3): Move to E2.
F2 (Fire Hornets at Depth 2): Move to F1, have them act as a bulwark or at least get them away from potential flooding.
G1 (Soldiers at Depth 1): Okay, this one's complicated. Move to D1 and drop down to D2 as the elevator moves the cannons up. Defend the cannons from the monster, and prepare to aggro or flank.
G2 (Clerics at Depth 2): Hold position.
H1 (Soliders at Depth 1): Move to E1, fire all (Projected Health: 45 -> 23).
I1 (Hounds at Depth 1): This will be the sacrifice. Move to D1 and attack (Projected Health: 23 -> 8).
Yorzzyll: Will unleash a deluge that causes water to sink through the elevator, thereby ensuring we at least deal with the bottom layer of lava even if Yorzzyll dies entirely, attack and decimate a unit (which can then be healed by the hospital).
Kill or Capture on next turn.

I'm sorry for the kitchen! I didn't know that thing was there! I swear!

>>1045032
I like this sequence. Let's hope it goes as planned!

>>1045032
Just need to injure it so it does not grow stronger and milk it for its water