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[NUKE9.13]

Featuring a host with thicker skin than someone with lead lining, which is impressive.

So you are a Dungeon. But not just any Dungeon- you are a FRACTAL DUNGEON. Where other Dungeons have some sort of Dungeon Master, Core Crystal, Demon Lord, or whathaveyou at their centre, you just keep going. Forever. Technically you get smaller as you spiral inwards, but anyone exploring your depths wouldn't ever notice, as they are shrunk at the exact same pace (and grow again as they leave).

Which is well cool, except that currently you are just a straight stone passage (the spiral curve is again not noticeable from within), with no traps, diversions, monsters, or anything. Makes it a bit hard to consume the energy of adventurers, since no one is interested in exploring you.
Fortunately, someone stumbles into your entrance- not to explore, but to get away from some bandits outside. They discover the cave they entered was not a great hiding spot, and are quickly finished off by the bandits. The bandits take their stuff, but their dying body is left inside. As their lifeblood spills onto the floor, you are able to absorb a modicum of energy from it. Not enough to make sweeping changes, but enough to make at least one:

A: Improve Layout. You might not contain anything interesting, but your maze-like layout will make people think that there's treasure to be found within.
B: Improve Appearance. Changing your entrance from a rough cave into a nice ominous portal of obsidian bricks will improve your allure to adventure-seekers.
C: Summon Monsters. You conjure up some weak monsters, who can at the very least make trips outside to gather resources, and might induce humans to try and eradicate their nest.
D: Something Else.

Note that adventurers do not actually have to die for you to absorb energy from them. Even if they make it out alive, they still leave behind residual emotions and mana, which whilst not very filling will eventually build up.


By the way, every update, except for the first (which is a few posts below this), contains the word "TURNTURNTURN", so if you type that into the thread search function, it will pull up all updates without any of the posts in between.

[Man of Paper]

B

We can turn ourselves into a tourist trap in the most literal sense!

[EuchreJack]

B

We can turn ourselves into a tourist trap in the most literal sense!

Hard to resist that.
+1

[chubby2man]

B

We can turn ourselves into a tourist trap in the most literal sense!

Hard to resist that.
+1

+1
Between this or monsters, but a nice portal is hard to say no to.

[Demonic Spoon]

C: Summon Monsters. You conjure up some weak monsters, who can at the very least make trips outside to gather resources, and might induce humans to try and eradicate their nest.

No matter how alluring we look, it won't help us if we're deep in wilderness, where there aren't much people to get attracted by that. We are apparently in the wilderness because bandits.

As such monsters seem the most useful since they can spread out over a large area to potentially attract human attention, plus allowing us to actively drain their lifeforce once they are drawn in.

[Maximum Spin]

C

[Man of Paper]

All the ancient wonders and remnants of North/Central/South American empires and cultures would like to have a word with you



edit: mt. everest just called and told me you've offended it

[Strongpoint]

B

[A_Curious_Cat]

C

We need mana.  Fancy entrance can come later.

[King Zultan]

B

[NUKE9.13]

A comfortable lead for B. Don't worry, I didn't suggest an option that is entirely unviable. Bandits are not known for living deep in the wilderness, they tend to be found near roads. Where there are people to rob.


The hillside rumbles. The cave that grants entrance to your passage begins to expand, chunks of earth and rock breaking free from the walls and ceiling and dissolving into nothingness. From the ground emerge rough flagstones, the surrounding rock pouring off of them like sand. Bricks of glossy obsidian materialise on either side of the entrance proper, forming a circular arch, a snarling demonic visage carved into the keystone. To either side of your entrance, pillars (obsidian) sprout from the ground, spiralling towards the roof, inscribed in all manner of intriguing runes and hieroglyphics (none of which actually mean anything, but they look ominous). Three pairs of shorter pillars sprout before the first two, guiding visitors from the mouth of the expanded cave to the foreboding portal. They stop growing at chest height, topped with indentations in which unnatural red flames burn.

Nice. It's all meaningless, but it looks good.

You don't have to wait long for your investment to begin to pay off. A few days later, the bandits return- you overhear them discussing the use of the cave as a stash or shelter. Upon seeing the renovations, however, they flee in terror. A few days after that, one of the bandits returns, guiding four humans- two heavily armed, one armed with a bow, and one wielding a staff. They smell like adventurers, and you are grateful you didn't include the ability to drool in your modifications.
Upon seeing your entrance, one of them hands the bandit a purse- whereafter he promptly flees the area. They study your entrance for a while, with especially the staff user intently investigating the pillars. They discuss the situation, and agree to make a brief expedition into your dark depths.

Smoke! Fire! A torch, born aloft by trembling hands! The cadence of unsteady breathing, the echo of cautious footsteps! And, of course, apprehension, curiosity, anticipation- meagre, but infinitely more filling than nothing at all.

With the modicum of energy gained by these trailblazers, you could make their exploration more interesting... what will you do?

A: Spawn a small pile of coins.
B: Spawn a weak monster.
C: Spawn a locked door.
D: Save it for later.
(You can always suggest your own course of action)

[Maximum Spin]

B

[Magmacube_tr]

C. We can kill all four of them by dehydration.

[Demonic Spoon]

I assume, baselessly, that we cannot spawn things behind intruders, as that seems against the principles of fair play dungeons in fiction usually adhere to for whatever fiat reason, but if we can, that is definitely a good idea yes.
If possible, spawn a locked door behind the adventurers, blocking off their path of retreat. Otherwise, weak monster.

B

So, we seem to be dealing with a "standard" adventuring party, whatever that's supposed to mean. we seem to have 2 fighters, one is possibly a tank and one a damage dealer, but we can't really tell from the current description, one healer or mage, and one archer. At least one of them can probably pick locks, and they should be able to defeat a single weak monster fairly easily. Here is how I see the current options playing out

Coins: Either this is assumed to be abandoned bandit booty, meaning there is no incentive to continue exploring the fractal dungeon, or the dungeon is making money, while having no perceivable threats, meaning the adventurers will treat it as their personal gold-mine, tell no one about it, and probably kill the bandits to keep them quiet. As such, this seems the worst possible choice.
Weak Monster: While it's doubtful it will actually be able to cause much damage to the adventurers, it will indicate that there is some sort of monster presence here. The adventurers will thus presumably keep going deeper, until getting tired of infinite featureless corridor, and go back to town and report us. The best option I think.
Locked Door: A long featureless corridor ending in a locked door. I think this is supposed to mystify and entice, but if they manage to easily unlock it only to find more featureless corridor, they'll probably get annoyed with us, and leave and warn other adventurers we are just an annoying corridor with no xp or loot. The second worst choice imo.
Do nothing: A perfect valid choice. We can try to save up for when they're about to leave, or simply keep ourselves spookily mysterious without becoming too annoying by throwing in harmless passive dangers like locked doors without any actual challenge or rewards.

[NUKE9.13]

I assume, baselessly, that we cannot spawn things behind intruders, as that seems against the principles of fair play dungeons in fiction usually adhere to for whatever fiat reason, but if we can, that is definitely a good idea yes.

Well, if you'd set it up beforehand, you could obviously have a trap that locks them in (or attempts to). But no, in this instance, as the adventurers pass through the corridor, they weaken your grasp over it (automatically, they're not doing it on purpose- the mere presence of untainted humans is a sort of sanctifying force). So you cannot spawn stuff behind them.

Note that this is not an excuse I made up on the spot. Who would do such a thing?