Nothing I can think of besides how she developed her own dungeon like she did, how she got INTO the dungeon business, or how people get into it normally, since mary kinda got forced. Other then that, give her a thank you for answering the questions.

Oh, oh! Here's what we could do for the graveyard!
Have the graves all be humorous first of all. Like, "Here lies Wet Willy, liked to drink so much he drowned."
Here's the key though, have particular letters capitalized or underlined or otherwise made obvious. Have a crypt or mausoleum with a door that says, "Only those that observe well may pass." Directly below, letters that can be pressed. Should they press all the letters that the graves made obvious, it opens, leading to the passage!

You need to ask about the dungeonmaster halo!
That's about it though.

>>1046545
Ask if she has any suggestions on a rune for yourself? You're still not entirely sure you want to go through with transforming yourself yet, but it'd be nice to have some ideas on what rune others think would be a good choice for you.

1/3 Mary 2022/10/14(Fri)15:50 No. 1046565 ID: 08229c
File 166578784963.png - (153.82KB , 800x600 , 52.png )

>>1046553
I have friends. I have...
....

. . .

Hmm.

Well, my roommate counts, right? And some of my old coworkers.

"Actually, I've been looking at your halo flare up for a bit. What's with that?"

"W-what?" She glances upward, flustered, and shoos the halo away. It breaks apart and dissolves. "Sorry. It's meant to pop up during periods of intense emotion. Sorta like a cool powerup looking thing. It doesn't actually do anything but it can appear if we're feeling passionate about something. Like fighting. Or designing puzzles."

"You really like puzzles then."

"It's a... Hobby of mine."

"Well, maybe you can come check out my dungeon when it's finished and see what new puzzles I've made. Though, it IS mostly fighting."

"Perhaps I will."

2/3 Mary 2022/10/14(Fri)16:14 No. 1046566 ID: 08229c
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>>1046565

"Oh, uh, one more thing before you go. How did you get into this? I mean, how is it usually done. I was kinda forced into this gig."

"Oh boy... Man, this would have been... 50 years ago?"

"50 years? You... Don't look like someone over 50."

"I'm 82. I still look pretty good for my age, huh?"

>She leans back on her chair and grins.

"I... Yeah, I wouldn't have guessed that. Go on."

"Hehe. Demons don't age. So, as I was saying, like 50 or so years ago Lord Savage actually introduced me to it. I used to be an adventurer and challenged his dungeon. I was a glass conjurer and struggled during the fighting parts. We reached him, mostly through luck, and were basically obliterated.
After the battle he messaged me and asked me if I'd like to work for him in his dungeon. He saw my experience as a puzzle breaker and wanted to add just a bit to his own stuff.
I worked for him for... About a year. After that he asked me if I'd like my own dungeon. I said yes and... Here I am."

"Wow. Yeah, I remember Lord Savage saying you two were friends."

"He is a very kind man, don't let his looks fool you."

"Oh, no, I've had nothing but good chats with him."

>A ding is heard from Glass Spinner's side.

"Ah, perfect timing. I gotta go, Mary. Let me know how your puzzle goes."

"Of course."

>And with that, the call ends.

>>1046566
That ding is either a adventure party or she's about to get frisky with the girl running in the background.

Mary 2022/10/14(Fri)16:23 No. 1046568 ID: 08229c
File 166578978258.png - (198.83KB , 827x600 , 54.png )

>>1046566

>Mary sighs and pulls up her dungeon map.

We're no closer to solving what's going on with Dungeoneer... But, at least we can work on the dungeon a bit more. I will keep a very close eye on her, however. Just in case anything else happens.

>She zooms in on the graveyard and calls up the Carpenter.

"Yes'm?"

I think the secret tunnel is a great idea, but how should we go about crafting it? And, what do we attach it to exactly?

>>1046568
I think the simplest solution is the best, lets have the secret path be a tunnel that leads to the ruins beyond the forest. It can be used as a speedrunning tactic for what I think will be a boss or mini-boss room in the future.

As for the how, I agree with Glass Spimmer and others that it should be hidden as a tombstone. I like the idea of it being a specific code phrase that is said to open up the tunnel.

The phrase can be learned through exploring the hamlet or maybe something said by our ghostly/chaotic minions during combat.

The other option is through a section of hidden buttons to press to activate it. Perhaps in a pattern or something similar.

We are a dungeon that thrives on environmental storytelling, so lets lean into that so that it also rewards the adventurers that really get into it.

>>1046568

I agree with tacking on humorous sayings per headstone, like (>>1046559) suggested. I'm not sure what the best puzzle mechanic is for the mausoleum to open up and allow for entry, but I'd say putting Lightning Slime there to zap wrong attempts would be a good idea. He can also be part of the cinematic to take them to the ruins, powering the cart rails that take them there.

>>1046568

I have an idea. Maybe the graveyard has a gust flowing through it. Certain tombstones have a top ornament that catches that wind and produces a sound. When all of them are aligned correctly, they play a piece of sheet music written on the tomb, an Antiquated Slimecrown Sonata. When properly aligned, the ornaments can glow briefly during playing their tone.

>>1046568
You have to push a specific gravestone that reveals a stairway down into the path. If they try to push the wrong one, make it summon a skeleton or something.
Also, put a pithy message on the right gravestone like "Here lies Link."

Dig the secret tunnel out to the forest. Make parts of it meandering and round, like it was carved out by a giant worm. Or, gummy wyrm.
Somewhere in that tunnel, put hints about a certain tree. Then, on a certain tree, give instructions to order a certain tea in the castle. Then on that teabag, include a symbol that appears when soaked in water. Finally, hide that symbol on a loose brick in Jeffrey's lair. We can figure out what's behind that later.

Secret entrance/exit to the dungeon end is preferable, though it obviously needs security. But our legion isn't exactly Vigilo Confido - deathtraps need to be scaled down or we're going to waste an entire turkey of phoenix downs.

How about a compromise? Each door leads to a minor trap which appears to scale over time to lethal, but doesn't. For instance, have one trap door slowly open to the hot spring. It'll close half-way so none of your klutzes get themselves killed if they can't find the way out, but the slowly rising water level will freak any adventurers out. Another door has a golem that will give chase and even speed up over time, but realistically doesn't do more than a power walk. And of course, at least one ticking timer that secretly speeds up when it detects stress in nearby observers, looks like a complex detonator hooked to a giant barrel with gunpowder accents, and signals an alarm when it reaches 0 instead of exploding.

Wire the passage so you can change which doors open to what traps each day. Put a single epic-tier chest here, but have a real threat ready to ambush the adventurer if they open one more door after finding the chest.

>>1046565
>Well, my roommate counts, right? And some of my old coworkers.
The people who never checked in on you ever since you ended up here? No, that doesn't count as a friend.

>>1046568
I think one other thing we could add in, just because I think it does make it be a minor challenge is that the secret tunnel does still have a monster or two in them. But something relatively simple. Like the primordial Ochre Jellies. And you could evem add a trap where its a pressure plate spike or arrow trap, but when it activates it doesn't do anything to the slimes because of their core never getting hit, but attacking flesh because they are trying to keep the fleshy types away.

I would count Curi as your friend, Mary, you made her a uber boss and she makes sure that you get all the love she can give!

>>1046565
>I have friends...
Girl you have minions and underlings, yoy need a some fellow boss bitch girl friends to have wine and spa days with.
Or just give in and embrace the slimes desire to have you in their cuddle pile...
Hmmmm does having a secret key for a treasure hidden at the bottom of the comfy slime moat count as a puzzle inside a trap?

>>1046565
>I have friends...
Girl you have minions and underlings, yoy need a some fellow boss bitch girl friends to have wine and spa days with.
Or just give in and embrace the slimes desire to have you in their cuddle pile...
Hmmmm does having a secret key for a treasure hidden at the bottom of the comfy slime moat count as a puzzle inside a trap?

We need a slime room trap. The trap will dump them into the room where the slime lives in the walls with its core safely hidden. Then put a sign saying the slime only eats people who die or are sleep. The slime then starts expanding in the room to grab the adventurers. If they attack it it'll back off, but it'll heal back rapidly. Eventually they'll either discover that the only exit is covered and the lock is one of the many holes the slime must be coming out of but too far for anyone with bones to reach.

If they give up and let the slime take them (without passing out of exhaustion or something) it'll pick them up and spit them out of the room. If they don't give up or kill the slime somehow they're stuck and can die in there, whenever they run out of rations (or ability to stay awake if the slime is awake)

Why doesn't it help them if they're attacking it? It's a slime we'll make from a heal, pain, and water rune to make a masochist slime that heals when it's hurt. It stays in the room because it creeps the other slimes out.

>>1046568
I think that a secret tunnel in a graveyard should lead to a royal crypt with a memorial in it that holds some lore about the initial war with Jeffrey and a relic like a one-time use Fusion Goo limited to the current run of the dungeon. It’s our coolest item and we should really feature it so that adventurers are tempted to run the dungeon multiple times to try and pull it from the final boss drop pool.

Pushing the wrong graves can activate the restless dead victims of the war with Jeffrey to spawn, like chaos slimes, chaos creatures, and zombies.

>>1046621
I also think maybe there should be a decently strong guardian in the crypt or before it. Either make the graveyard a miniboss room or make the crypt one and move the gummy wyrm down there. Dragons make great ancient guardians and wyrms are supposed to be underground anyways.

>What kind of trap
This seems pretty obvious when you have a giant map staring at you.

Carve out a box of dirt equivalent to the size of the graveyard. Place switches right above the graves. The adventurers need to select the correct sequence of switches based on the corresponding graves. Each wrong answer causes the water level to rise. Finally, put up a sign in the graveyard to tell adventurers to read every grave.

Make the correct sequence something admirable; have the trigger graves be about activists who fought for the poor, the unfortunate, and the discriminated, yet were killed off and erased from history to stop their causes.

>>1046625
One idea here could simply be a vibe check like Ms.Bloops, but village wide?

>>1046568
On the contrary, I think we've completely solved it. Dungeoneer is a copy that's diverged so heavily that she developed the desire for freedom. Yet, she can't break free from the construct summoning system on her own, and in fact that system has rules in place that destroy any construct actively attempting to escape. Actively in this case meaning, telling other people that she wants to be free. She wanted the Soul rune most of all because it reinforces her free will and independence. Well, that's my current theory.
An alternate, less likely theory, is that she is the original Dungeoneer, trapped in the construct system she helped create. But that wouldn't explain her desire for the Soul rune.

Anyway Mary... the Soul rune is an important foundation for any human becoming a Demon, it seems. It's like reinforcing your personality so it doesn't get affected by other runes much. After all, our glassy friend has Deceit as a rune yet she isn't a habitual liar, and I believe the Soul rune is responsible for that. Then again maybe it was because her intent behind applying the rune was the most important part, and she wanted it to signify a focus on puzzles and traps? It's something to ask our rune specialist I suppose.
...didn't we have a human minion who was being indecisive about runes? I forget if we gave her one yet. Soul would certainly be a good starter rune, but she still needs to decide what she wants to focus on... we can at least explain that general concept to her.

1/??? Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)11:16 No. 1046751 ID: 08229c
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Let's try... This for now. Now, the graveyard has a few tombstones marked with witty little passages. However, certain letters are highlighted. If you gather them all and speak the phrase to a crypt it opens, revealing a tunnel that leads deep into the woods.

I wanna put something nice there. Maybe Gummy Wyrm eggs?

Yeah, and then if you touch them you have to fight the creature.

I like this idea. And since it's technically not a trap it doesn't cost us anything extra. We will have to spend more gold to make the Wyrm fight at full power but... I think we can hold off on that. It's supposed to be a relatively low level area.

2/??? Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)11:22 No. 1046752 ID: 08229c
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Also... Wow I guess I really uh... Don't have any friends, huh? I mean... There's Curi but she's more like a daughter to me. And there's my staff but they're... I know they care about me but I'm not sure if I can consider them friends.

I never really thought about it until now. I was so focused on my work, so focused on moving up in the Bank...

I guess I sorta put all that behind me.

...

>>1046644
I need more information from Dungeoneer but she's unwilling to give it. I'm not sure how many runes she needs for whatever it is she's doing but... You may have a point. I am curious what would happen if we finished giving her more runes but I don't want to put the dungeon at risk too...

Oh, I forgot about Alex.

>Mary summons the girl.

"You called?"

"Alex... Do you have friends?"

"Uh. I have some coworkers I liked. I didn't really have much time to hang out or anything like that."

Dear god. It's like looking in a mirror.

>Mary sighs and rubs her face.

"Listen, I was wondering, we got some powerful runes. Did you still want to become a demon?" Mary displays the Soul rune. "This is Soul, one of the six Fundamental runes. It should help stabilize you so you don't teeter too far off base by taking in any other runes."

"Really?"

"That's the theory. I know you were interested so I just want to present this as an opt-"

"I'll do it!"

"Oh. You sure?"

"Yes. I'm tired of... Of being weak and pushed around. My boss, who I've dedicated so long to, disposed of me. I don't ever want to feel like that again. That way... Even if I decide to leave here... I can still do something! I can be an adventurer or make my own dungeon!"

>Mary nods.

"Alright, I'll ask Dungeoneer if she ca-"

>>1046752
>I'm not sure how many runes she needs for whatever it is she's doing
way back when, she said 5

3/5 Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)11:31 No. 1046755 ID: 08229c
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>>1046752
"HEY MARY, couldn't help but hear you needed some rune infusion done!"

>Dungeoneer walks into the room, looking clean but slightly different. She walks over to Alex and places an arm around her shoulders.

"Going demon, huh? I'm glad you have come to see the benefits of it. What runes am I putting into you?"

"I want... Soul. And Law. And Mythril."

"Why not Adamantine? Less magic than Mythril but far stronger. Gonna go for a sorta Paladin vibe?"

"Yeah. And... I want a cool outfit."

"I'm the best at cool outfits."

...

"Okay. I'm ready. Let's do this."

"Mary, do we have enough runes?"

"Uh..."

>Mary checks the screen. They, in fact, do not have enough runes.

"It's gonna take a few minutes." Mary admits.

"No problem. We can wait, right Alex?"

"Yeah."

4/5 Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)11:35 No. 1046756 ID: 08229c
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>>1046753
Five... So she's almost there.

>The group waits a bit, Alex and Dungeoneer chatting about designs as they do so.

>Soon they have the three runes needed to rune Alex.

Only five... I wonder why that's the limit? We have seen monsters with more runes and they funct-

>Dungeoneer inserts the runes into Alex. The girl screams as magical energy shoots out in intense waves.

Oh... Oh that looks painful.

>>1046755
>Mary checks the screen. They, in fact, do not have enough runes.
>"It's gonna take a few minutes." Mary admits.
I've been thinking: is there anything stopping us from, say, buying a box of paperclips and runing each one individually? That could get us a bunch of runes in a hurry.

5/6 Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)11:44 No. 1046758 ID: 08229c
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>>1046756
>Alex has become a demon of Law and Blade. Her stats have risen. Her class has changed. She has gained new abilities.

>Alex can be placed anywhere within the dungeon and is not constrained by room limits.

6/6 Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)11:54 No. 1046759 ID: 08229c
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>>1046758

"Man," Dungeoneer folds her arms under her chest. "Am I amazing or what? Look, I have taken your meek and weak Alex and turned her into a strong, proud, sexy demon!"

"Isn't this outfit a bit... Uhm..."

"Don't worry, it's made so that it won't actually show your nipples no matter how hard you jostle it. It will, however, give the impression that one is ever so close to seeing it. This will distract the enemy and help you fight."

"I... I don't know if uhm... What do you think, Mary? Do I look uh.. Strong? Tough? Scary, maybe..?"

I think I should have seen this coming.

But, this is a big moment for Alex. I don't want to make her think this was a bad choice. What do I say?

>>1046759
She looks good! Not scary, but definitely strong. And tell her not to worry about the outfit, she can still equip stuff if she feels the need to cover up a bit.

>>1046759
Tell her she's strong and beautiful. And has cute horns.

>>1046759
I think she looks very powerful! I can understand if she doesn't like the outfit though. We had to remodel Mary's outfit. Alex did want more paladin, less barbarian. So we can always make some alterations!

As for how this works for her and how she can be used. Maybe for now she could work as a NPC ally you could recruit at the bar. It allows her a chance to try out the adventuring side of things if she want to explore that.

And it also can work as a test to see her power scale. Think about it, we know humans turned into demons can be quite powerful, but we don't know how powetful. And this is important for you Mary if you did decide to rune up in the future.

>>1046763
oh, I like this idea

>>1046759

I like this idea (>>1046763). The outfit can be changed if she doesn't feel comfortable. I'd actually encourage it, and tell Dungeoneer if she thinks having her naughty bits almost exposed to an audience makes someone better at their job, well, you can come up with an outfit for her to match.

>>1046759
You ought to check if the horns are a part of the outfit, or a part of her noggin.

Give Dungeoneer a thumbs up, though, no demonic tail?

>>1046759
The outfit is... admittedly something that isn't unpleasant to look at, but it doesn't do enough to convey the 'law' side of 'law and blade.'

That's just clothing, though. She can change that all she likes; what's important here is her form, and she looks absolutely fantastic! Those horns go really well with her glasses, and help accentuate her hairstyle wonderfully. She looks confident, able to assert herself without coming off as frightening!

>>1046765
>>1046759

To punctuate, rune Dungeoneer's clothes to make new clothes for Alex

>>1046760
>>1046765
>>1046767
we have a smithy, Magnus and Flit can make whatever armor she wants

>>1046759
so... what powers does she have? I don't think we've made anyone with Law yet, which is weird cause one of our best fighter's whole thing is laying down laws. It's one of those things where you don't need an exact rune to get to a specific concept if you have enough runes to approximate it.

You look great Alex. And, as a bonus, your horns curled in such a way that they won’t disturb your sleep!
We should consider where she will do best in a dungeon if not as a wandering boss. She could run the complaints department and gets to fight anybody who makes silly complaints.
But first, get her used to fighting in that outfit. Rosalyn is the perfect sparring partner!

>>1046759
She looks powerful. Though, see if you can get Dungeoneer to give her a more standard set of armor. A form-fitting set of platemail can look pretty damn sexy too, even without boobplate. Defining curves while hiding flawed, vulnerable flesh.

>>1046759
Oh wow, she looks super nice. No need to change anything, but maybe add some glyphs/tats to make her seem even more hardcore would work well.

>>1046757
It's considered an 'exploit', doing it too much might result in administrative penalties. The Dungeon Master and his loyal staff are known for 'patching the rules' if people abuse them too much, so everyone's doing their best to avoid antagonizing them.

>>1046789
if the Big Guy hasn't noticed what we're doing with the slimes yet, I doubt he'd notice that

>>1046763
seconding this.

>>1046790
That's not the same as "he'll never notice". We shouldn't push our luck more than we have.

>>1046757
IIRC, low value items have a very low chance of giving a rune.

>>1046759
While Alex does indeed look good, I just have to ask Dungeoneer something real quick, over here in a corner.

Dungeoneer, please tell me that armor isn’t soluble when covered in slime.

1/3 Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)16:28 No. 1046799 ID: 08229c
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"Alex, I think... I think you look strong. And beautiful. And your horns are very cute and look fairly practical."

"R-really?"

"Really. I would love to place you in the dungeon. Maybe you can accompany the adventurers if they need some help?"

"I'd... I'd really like that, Mary."

>Alex gives the brightest smile Mary has ever seen her give. There are tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

Oh.
My heart.

She is really cute.

"Now, let's see if we can get our smiths to make you some better armor."

"Aw, what!?" Dungeoneer cries out.

2/3 Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)16:34 No. 1046808 ID: 08229c
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>>1046799

"It's a great outfit!" Dungeoneer complains.

"Is it? She's half exposed."

"Yeah! She's letting them see! One final beautiful vision before they die!"

"Ah, I understand. A kindness to others."

"Yeah!"

"Maybe I should rune your outfit and have my smiths make something similar for you."

"W-what..?"

"You know. To make you more efficient."

"W-www-w-wah.. I.. I mean... It's uh... You know, I never liked armor like that, really. It just is so... You know. Not cool."

"Really?"

"Y-yeah... I'll uh.... Go help the smiths make something more practical. And still stylish."

"I expect to see you displaying the results."

"Fff..... Y-yeah, of course boss. You got it."

Okay, Dungeoneer has been bullied. All is well.

Now, let's see her stats...

>>1046808
speaking of: Dungeoneer's now a 3 rune demon, just like Alex. She should be pulling double duty as a fighter, too.

Ask about the difference between Demons and Monsters while Dungeoneers here, what Runes do to them and why Demons seem to have a cab and monsters don't

3/3 Mary 2022/10/17(Mon)16:52 No. 1046814 ID: 08229c
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>>1046808

Wow. That's an impressive jump...

Alexandrai du'Bryna

Level 16 Auditor
Level 1 Law Demon (Demonic Paladin)

Skills (Auditor):
Analytical abilities
Math
Existential dread stare
Enhanced Alcohol Capacity
Weapon Proficiency: Letter Opener/Stapler
Lower Spell Cost (Auditing Magic)

Spells (Auditing):
Audit: Takes 1 item from target. 10 Mana
Calculate: Tells the worth of target. 5 Mana
Multiply: Temporarily creates a copy of an object. 10 Mana
Summon Lawyers: Summons a lawyer to distract target. 10 Mana.

Skills (Demonic Paladin):
Know Law
Judgement (Banishment)
Judgement (Penance)
Judgement (Law)
Judge Good
Judge Evil
Silently Judge Neutral

Weapon Proficiency: Adamantine Sword
Armor Proficiency: Heavy

Spells (Demonic Paladin):
Smite Good: Deals damage to Good aligned enemies (Free)
Smite Evil: Deals damage to Evil aligned enemies (Free)
Not-Smite Neutral: Doesn't smite them but honestly doesn't care for their fence sitting way of life.
Unholy Blade: Forces the Unholy alignment onto sword for extra damage. Heals demonic allies if the blade is pointed at them. (Free)

Interesting. And this is just her starting out too...

I'm almost tempted to rune myself but... Eh... There's no going back if I do so.

Well, unless you find someone else who would run this dungeon well, and you were willing to leave all you have created behind, you're here to stay, so unless you DO have a reason there really is no reason NOT to rune yourself aside from permanence and not knowing which Runes to use

>>1046814
>I'm almost tempted to rune myself but... Eh... There's no going back if I do so.
hold off until you get Almighty at least, then decide

>>1046814
Look, I know you have been hesitant about making a big change like this. But there are a few reasons to consider it now.

First of all, there is the aspect that whether you like it or not, you may have to fight adventurers. The problem is, you said yourself you don't have insurance. If things go wrong, they will go really wrong. Demons at least seem to have a natural healing ability after they get conked.

Second. You have a family of sorts now. Your various monsters love you, and you have a new group of friends in the guild. Its a nice life. And its also a job that you have become very good at it.

You don't have to do it now since you have to gain runes. But it might become more important much sooner than later.

>>1046814
Also, speaking of runes, may I direct your attention to this chart? https://questden.org/w/images/7/79/Audit_Quest_rune_opposite_chart.png
There are 28 unknown opposites right now. Most of those are probably bidirectional, but still, we better try and get all the runes we're missing.

I think that your subordinate has proven a successful testbed for runing. That was the point, after all. If it's good for her, it's good for you!
Sleep on it, there are many many runes for you to choose from and you want to get it just right. But you are definitely getting something, now.

>>1046814
It's a great powerup. Doesn't this also come with immortality for dungeon masters? The only reason to not rune yourself is if you're missing a rune you really want.
Glass Spinner had everything she wanted in three runes, and she's the happiest she could be.

>>1046814
>I'm almost tempted to rune myself but... Eh... There's no going back if I do so.
I still firmly believe that you'd look great with a Dragon rune in you!

Note for the future. We could make a trap room where the adventurers need to climb to the top of Slime Peak, upon which Slimecrown is settled, to get a special item to progress in the dungeon. Little did they know if they don't replace the legendary Golden Ruth with a similar sized slime (available wherever slimes are bribed) then they will trigger an avalanche of slimes from the top of slime peak. This slimepede may be individually weak but with the power of gravity and numbers on their side many adventurers will meet their doom!

can you infuse runes without becoming a monster/demon?

i got an idea for a new friend:
Bone+Soul+Study

>>1046808
While I, and I'm sure almost every other voice in this fashionable headwear, do approve of bullying Dungeoneer, you should compliment her new hairstyle. A bit of sweet helps balance out sour, and it'd be good to remind her that we only bully when she goes too far...or lewds people that wish to remain unlewded.

>>1046814
Try to get all the Fundamental Runes and make yourself a god-emperor!

The real question over becoming a demon is what runes you need and what runes you have, because while you can only have five runes, one rune seems near needed to go into Soul to keep a mental stability and ignore and bleed over from the runes you are putting in yourself.... so you have 4 runes of power to place within, which isn't a lot of choices or options.

>>1046827
We have Dungeoneer II, we can do 6 runes. And for 5k we can go up to 7.

>>1046814
Soul, water, dragon and law
Turn yourself into slime law dragon >_<
The gummydragon judge of SlimeCrown

I think we wait until we have foundation, it seems like it could also help stabilize being a Demon greatly, and really what are you, but the foundation of your dungeon

>>1046814
Personally, I'd keep myself runeless too. All of the other Dungeon Masters are demons, so it's good to see you keep this job field open to non-runed humans.

That being said, we should talk about the elephant in the room... You've been neglecting your own training to become a boss. If you're trying to remain runeless, it's time to start learning the physical requirements. Perhaps you should call some previous adventurers for some assistance in choosing a secondary class?

>>1046831
A secondary class is a good thing to think about, while we have gotten a surprising amount of utility in the civilian class you hold at the moment, a more combat oriented class would help. Not to mention that you should probably get the peasant/villager class off of the tiny girl you adopted/kidnapped, and get her some sort of profession that isn't "lives as a peasant".

So, uh, forgot a detail. Was rune #1 perma or were all?

Either way - no rune self. Why limit your options? Probably saw how low flexibility messed up dungeons you've audited. Plus, life outside of this may still be good to have.
Even if you did rune, would probably be worthwhile to build creatures out of those runes before you did. Have to be sure you'd favor the form or else you'll have to live with one you have disdain of.

How about you get rune infused equipment instead?

>>1046837
They're all permanent, at least for now. Dungeoneer III would be able to alter all the runes in a demon, but only once.

>>1046814
Translations, from top to bottom:
Cute
Still Flat
Law
If you want to translate, use a pigpen cipher.

Now whisper in Alex's ear "You can still wear that in the bedroom if you like"

Well first of all it's neat to see she has the same Judgement Law skill Rosalyn has, we've seen how potent that skill is when our own Slime Paladin has had to fight. I'm curious about Penance and Banishment though, I wonder how those will work.

Secondly, I would like to remind you that you had a rather close call when Aberration and Keeper challenged Slimecrown, and the only reason you got out of it alive was because the former was at the verge of death.

...Speaking of which, you do have that Purchase Order spell to get items with gold at any time. Maybe consider taking a look at that to see if it's worth using.

>>1046814
If I were you, I wouldn’t rune myself until:

1: You’re confident you know what all the runes are. With a max level Demonologist I bet you’ll be able to see all your options.

2: You have a clear picture of what you want out of demonizing and some concept art drawn up that you’re happy with for a while. You could try it on with an illusion or costume for a while, like how some people get temporary versions of tattoos before getting them inked.

3: You’ve seen how all the runes you’re interested in manifest in practice, so you know for sure what they’ll do.

4: Personally, I don’t think my pride as a human would let me do it until after I’ve escaped the clause that trapped you here. I think it’s better to choose to become a demon over going back to your old life when you’ve actually got the option to go back to your old life.

5. You should be confident that the things you want out of becoming a demon aren’t things you can get from, say, rune-infused items or leveling up normally.

I won’t pretend that immortality isn’t a sweet gig. But as far as I’ve seen, you’re the only dungeon master representing humans. And you’re successful to boot. There’s pride to be taken in that. If I could, say, make a fountain of youth out of water and eternal runes, I would probably stay human indefinitely. If not, I’d probably try to turn myself into an angel. An angel demon?

You’re an adult, and just like Dungeoneer and Alex, you get to decide what to do with your own body. But ontologically editing yourself is a big choice, and I’d sit on it for a good while before making any final decisions.

Also, I consider you to be my friend, Mary.

1/2 Mary 2022/10/18(Tue)21:11 No. 1046913 ID: 08229c
File 166615266107.png - (159.43KB , 800x600 , 64.png )

...

Aftering hearing everyone's opinions... I firmly believe that this is something I just... Don't have to do.

I like being a human and the freedom it offers me. As good as a power boost would be, I don't want to become a demon. At least not yet. I have all the time in the world to decide and far more runes to uncover.

And if I stay human? That could be my draw, you know? Mary, the Human. I kinda like that sound to that.

Although, I will have to find some means of making myself stronger. I think once we get the artificer we can get that ball rolling. Immortally IS a pretty nice trade off... Or, at least, effective immortality.

Honestly, if I could find a way to achieve that then I would hardly consider being a demon. Come to think of it, most of the people who enter my dungeon are just humans who have gained power... So it can't be that hard.

I just haven't really put my mind to it.

"Hey, Dungeoneer."

"Yes?"

"Is it possible to have aspects of being runed but not ACTUALLY have runes in you?"

"Oh, uh... An artificer could."

She seems sad. Probably because I denied her.

"Understood. Also, Dungeoneer... I like your new look. Your hair is really cute."

Critical Hit! Dungeoneer's heart has taken 999 damage

... I think that worked. She looks less sad.

>As she contemplates her frozen Dungeoneer, Alex returns. She is wearing a new set of armor and has a cape.

"Mary! What do you think?" She strikes a pose.

>Mary gives a thumbs up.

"Much better. I like it."

2/2 Mary 2022/10/18(Tue)21:11 No. 1046914 ID: 08229c
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So if we put Alex over here...

Excellent.

Alright, is there anything else we should do or are we good to open?

>>1046914
Make dungeoneer wear the outfit too.

>>1046913
>"Much better. I like it."
Yup, looks great. Hey Dungeoneer, did you make sure that if she takes over half damage, that'll be transferred to the new armor, effectively turning it into the old armor, right? I mean, it's only natural to prefer armor to be damaged rather than the person it protects, right?

>>1046914
The only thing I could suggest is maybe some room classification. Do we want to make Colt's area a mini-boss room? And do we need to code in checkpoints or anything if we wanted to make this a skippable section in the future?

Other than that, I feel comfortable giving this area a test ride and then expanding from there.

should be good to open...
also: add a "bad ideas" tip jar that adventurers can put random bad ideas into XD

>>1046914
Not much that I can think of. Maybe a few musical slimes to provide background ambiance, or another metal slime for the new section, assuming that it's only limited to one dungeon at a time?
Also, did we ever hear back about whether Yum will allow BRAWNDO, THE THIRST MUTILATOR™?

>>1046919
I think the benefit of having a 5-rune musical slime is that it can add music anywhere

>>1046914
The only thing I would change is to make the empty room a place for Slimon and his guard so they have their own spot.

Does that well do something special yet? we could sneak a bonus in there that could help with one of the areas which branch off of it

>>1046922 in fact, and this is still assuming the well doesn't already do something, we could have the gummy wyrm guard a special coin or treasure that does something when thrown into the well, maybe give one face a picture of the well and the other a picture of some cool item

>>1046914
Is there something we can do to make an image of the citadel proper visible from every room outside it? I’m a little confused as to how we make a “room” feel like it’s the countryside underneath the big blue open sky.

>>1046914

I think we're good unless we want to reach out to apologize to the Dragon Tamer. A half star review will seriously knock our ratings, but it might be best to wait until they visit again so they can revise their score in an organic fashion.

End of Chapter 10.5 Mary 2022/10/19(Wed)16:09 No. 1046974 ID: 08229c
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>>1046917
I think we'll avoid making any mini-boss rooms for now. This should be a low level experience for the first run at least.

>>1046921
We just happen to have some empty space.

>>1046936
Actually, when you enter it DOES look like you... Are outside. It's weird. You can see the citadel proper no matter where you are outside just due to how big Slimecrown is.

>>1046959
Hmm... I'll write a letter explaining that he caught the dungeon at a bad time. I'd love to have him again.

We'll figure out what to do with the well later.. I suppose dropping some simple loot in it for now will be enough.

...

I think that's it. We're ready.

"Alright, everyone! The Dungeon is open!"

=To Be Continued=

>>1046974
Was good to get everything in order and finish the expansions.

Do I recall rightly that this is running on commission now? Any way I can chip in to that pot?

Calalen 2022/10/21(Fri)11:01 No. 1047108 ID: 08229c
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>>1047096
It's not even close to set up but I have a kofi thingy over here - https://ko-fi.com/calalen

You can also follow me on twitter at - https://twitter.com/CalalenArt for updates on that, my own art, and just life in general. It is filled with NSFW art so beware.

>>1047108
Okay, just to be clear here, this quest will only continue if we pay for it, correct?

I am not judging, I am just asking so we know what we are paying for.

Like, the ko-fi page says it is a tip jar, which is also fine, but giving money as a tip and giving money as a commission have different connotations and obligations.

I also apologize if this is not the place for this. I am just confused.

>>1047110
>>1047111

Sorry if it's confusing, as I said it's not ready yet. Essentially, I make a living off of art and am dealing with a hand injury. So I can really only dedicate my time to one or the other. If the tips help cover my expenses I can dedicate more time to running my quest. Otherwise, I have to focus on doing commissions and the like.
Audit is able to run so much this month due to a donation that allowed me to focus almost purely on my personal works. I hope that clears things up!

Please feel free to reach out to me on twitter if you have anymore questions or use the discussion thread over on /questdis/.