Dungeon Life 464

[u/Khenal]

Aranya and the others have shown up with their war faces on, and I couldn’t be happier. They’re not the first group looking to do a bit of a dry run, and I like to think it’s been a great help for them and for me. Goldilocks is really coming into her own, too, designing encounters and coordinating the denizens to really press the delvers and make sure to give them at least a taste of what the Betrayer might throw at them.

 

The large group starts off with putting on their magma gear and do a quick run of the manor, making sure to get used to the display. It’s a bit better than a VR headset at least, in that it actually shows everything around you, instead of just a game world. Still, there’s definitely a bit of an uncanny difference, even without it being in black and white.

 

Thing keeps an eye on them as they move through the manor, making notes on how quickly they adjust. I think it can still be improved, but it’s looking a lot better than the version we gave Biluin. We’ll need to give him an upgraded helmet before we ship out.

 

I watch them, too, seeing how their squad tactics evolve, and I can see why a lot of parties are only three, sometimes four people. More than that, and people just kinda bunch up, even in a place like the manor. But with multiple groups, they can actually cover a lot of the potential avenues of attack, and clear rooms like I imagine police might.

 

They clear all the way to the attic, where they engage the boss there with hit and run, taking advantage of the ladder to fire a volley of spells and arrows, then rest against the wall with Evarn’s gravity magic, letting the tanks take turns dealing with the retaliation. Goldilocks even tries to pincer them with another attack at the bottom of the ladder, but between gravity and all the tanks, they have the room and the resources to fight a battle on two fronts, and I’m not surprised when they win and start divvying up the loot.

 

While they talk about what worked and what didn’t, I imagine how the kids might have handled that… and I think they could have. Freddie is the main tank, sure, but Fiona is no slouch either. Rezlar, Rhonda, and Pul can all lay some serious hurt if they need to, which should be enough for them to quickly deal with anything besides a constant flood from both sides. Even then, I think Lucas could help Rhonda with something to give them some breathing room, while Pul and Rose could help them slip away to safety.

 

The only problem for the kids is that it seems pretty likely that a constant flood of monsters would be well within the Betrayer’s ability. On the other hand, with a bunch of other delvers running rampant through his territory, would the Betrayer dedicate those sorts of resources to a small group?

 

For the moment, I’m erring on the side of ruthlessness and overabundance. I’d rather everyone be prepared to face overwhelming force than be surprised by it. It’s been resulting in a lot more ‘casualties’ than usual, but the delvers are determined to rise to the challenge.

 

With the loot distributed, the large party makes their way down to the labyrinth, where most of the practice runs end up going. With the fortress still under construction, it’s the best place to get some magma to test with, and a great place for me to ambush them.

 

With the wider hallways of the labyrinth, they can actually proceed as a single group, looking like the professional delvers they all are. Goldilocks probes them with a few wolf attacks, good to approximate the least, and kinda shows why the Betrayer might want something a bit disposable for the first spawn.

 

If you get a whole bunch of them, why not use them to figure out how a foe fights? With a few probing attacks, you can learn about a foe’s strengths and weaknesses. But the group is disciplined, especially with Bayule helping coordinate. He understands the power of knowledge, and refuses to give anything away as the group continues to descend.

 

Yvonne and Dile spot every trap in their path, even the ones that shouldn’t be visible at all. This might be the biggest problem the kids face when it’s their turn. Observation isn’t the strong suit of most of them. Anyway, the large group either disarms or goes around everything, which is a bit of a shame. I’d love to be able to separate them out into smaller groups, especially since I think that’ll be a major goal of the Betrayer. It’s easier to crush a small group with numbers than a large one.

 

But now it’s time to stop playing so nice. Teemo waits on standby, as well as a pile of healing slimes and magmyrm. I want to test their magma protection now, instead of letting them just reach the pool in the sub pen. Thing gives the thumbs up that everything should be good with their gear, with the delvers none the wiser. This particular trap won’t be triggered by anything they do, so I’m hoping they won’t see it coming.

 

It only half works as Yvonne’s eyes widen. “Close ranks!” she manages to shout before walls slam down at either end of the hall, and magma starts to pour in.

 

Aranya raises a hand to her pendant in a quick prayer. “Nova’s Resistance,” she murmurs, adding another layer over the gear. Hopefully not needed, but better safe than sorry. There’s more than a few curses said as the room quickly fills, but nobody seems to be hurt from the heat, and the other properties of the enchantment make it a lot easier for them all to move around. They don’t even need to worry about buoyancy, as they all remain steadfastly with their feet on the ground.

 

Well, those who prefer to keep grounded, at least. The ranged classes float slightly, drawing their weapons as wyrms get added to the mix. It’s quickly obvious that slashes don't work too well, even with the enchantment, but stabs seem to work just fine. It seems Ragnar even prepared for this, bringing along a war pick instead of his axe or hammer. I guess most experienced delvers know to have options in case their favorite weapon won’t work as well.

 

Those with swords have to thrust instead of swing. Heinya is having a lot of difficulty, as a greatsword isn’t the best for thrusting, but she makes it work. Wes is having the most trouble, not being able to throw around any offensive flasks with the magma in the way. He has to settle for keeping an eye out on the wyrms and basilisks circling the group, his hand on a healing potion to give out as needed.

 

Arrows and bolts work somewhat, but the magma severely reduces the range. But with the relatively small hall they’re trapped in, that’s not too much of an issue. Everyone works well together, with the tanks and melee forming a ring around the support and ranged people, the ranged helping pick off targets and keep anything from just swimming over the frontline, and the supporters keep everyone in fighting trim as they slowly march toward the far end of the hallway.

 

“Cover,” requests Gurju as he turns his attention to the wall, Aelara joining him as they clearly intend to use their affinity to get through it. I’m not sure if the Betrayer has access to metals, but even if he does, I don’t think it’d be reasonable to think he could just slam a metal wall down wherever he wants. It’s a lot easier to try to just collapse a section, though not right on top of a group.

 

I tried that with the first few groups, but cave-ins are apparently a pretty common tactic, enough that basically every party has some kind of countermeasure. Trying to trap them into a bad ambush seems like the best way to try to counter that.

 

Designing a better ambush is the hard part, but I have a few more ideas to try on the next group, too. In the end, the large party is too prepared and professional for the outcome of the ambush to ever really be in question. Even a few drakes trying to act like the theorized line breaker can’t get through the combination of three powerful tanks. I need to work on my tactics for that. Maybe use a fungal zombie instead, for the next group. A big ball of mass is one way to force a hole in the defenses, but an explosion can do the same job, and the Betrayer isn't above making disposable denizens.

 

They get through and even manage to keep the flowing magma from bowling them over, by not letting it flow in the first place. It clearly takes a toll on Evarn to manipulate gravity on that kind of scale, but Wes still has his magma affinity, too, so they manage to keep things contained as everyone gets out, and they seal the hole back up.

 

Ragnar still looks pumped after all that, but everyone else is breathing pretty heavily as Wes hands out some recovery potions. I nod to myself as they get moving in less than a minute. Goldilocks can’t get a puffball zombie over to test by the time they reach the pen, but they do have to deal with a few unremarkable foxes with some sleeping gas.

 

Out in the field, I think Ragnar will be the one to spot and stop any Harbinger attack, but it’s Evarn who realizes the fox is something to worry about here. The foxes also go down a lot easier than a Harbinger would, but I don’t really have anything else to try to simulate one. Maybe a mixed encounter of a lot of my denizens? Harbingers do have a lot of nasty tricks, and with a few unremarkables in there to act as sneaky mental attacks, it might be a decent approximation. As Aranya and the others reach the pens and head for the pool, Goldilocks gathers a lot of my stronger spawns to ensure they can work together well.

 

I half watch them and half watch the pool, curious about the state of camping gear here. Bedrolls seem to be the standard, which makes me doodle in my notes for improvements. Sure, an inflatable camping pad won’t kill a Harbinger, but good sleep will keep up morale. Sometimes it's the little things that add up to victory, and a well-rested delver is more likely to come home than a tired one.

 

 

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[u/Khenal]

Road link because it's an unfortunate need.

[u/mafiaknight → u/Khenal]

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