Peek: The Dungeoneer's Primer on Dungeon Thedeim

Official Dungeoneer Guild Primer

Dungeon name: Thedeim

Affinity: Fate

Classification: Cooperative

Spawners: Rats (resource), Spiders (phyical), Ants (resource), Bats (resource), Birds[corvids] (resource), Snakes (magic), Undead[fleshy] (resource), Undead[hands] (magic), Undead[skeletal] (resource), Bees (unspecialized), Elementals[earth] (unspecialized), Slimes (resource), Wolves (magic)

Scions: Teemo (rat, Voice), Tiny (spider), Queen (ant), Coda (bat), Poe (raven), Fluffles (quatl, Conduit), Rocky (zombie), Thing (hand), Grim (skeleton), Honey (bee), Slash (earth elemental), Jello (slime), Leo (wolf)

Enclaves: Ratkin (friendly, Crypt Complex), Spiderkin (friendly, Caverns)

Overview: While many of Thedeim's spawners are specialized towards different resource production, all delvers should expect to engage in combat. Thedeim forgoes a rigid room structure to focus on several zones of varying difficulty and rewards. These zones include: The Manor, The Hedgemaze, The Tunnels, The Gauntlet, The Caverns, The Cemetery, The Crypt Complex, The Arena. There are more in-depth primers available, and the Dungeoneer's Guild recommends purchasing those pamphlets once you decide which you wish to focus on. A brief description of each follows.

The Manor is designed for beginner delvers and the encounters are generally made up of low level rats, spiders, snakes, and crows. The interior has many cabinets, chests, and other locations for traditional loot, as well as several fungus nodes. The belfry has a Garden, where herbalists may discover rare seeds, though they will need to battle past a boss in the attic to get there. Outside the manor are many herbalism nodes, as well as a selection of quests from the dungeon itself, available on the porch.

The Hedgemaze is one of Thedeim's special attractions, and one of the few times a scion is a direct obstacle. The spider scion, Tiny, is a gigantic tarantula that runs the maze. Inside are several chests and rare lumber nodes, with the more valuable of each being available deeper within. However, the longer one stays in the maze, the more likely they will be captured by Tiny, or potentially picked clean by dire rat thieves. Being caught is not a hazard to one's health, but a tax of valuables will be extracted before a delver is deposited outside the maze. The Hedgemaze is appropriate for any level of delver, though inexperienced ones should make their trip as brief as possible, if they do not wish to be caught.

The Tunnels are a series of passages and small caverns below the manor, reached either by the basement of the manor, or by the cave in the yard. Snakes, bats, slimes, and spiders are the most common encounters, with occasional earth elementals. The area is a step up in difficulty from the Manor, and it is highly recommended to bring antidotes as well as lightning resistance for the fights. Widows are not uncommon, as the spider spawner is located in the Tunnels. Mining nodes are common, with occasional subterranean herbalism nodes as well. Delvers should be familiar with combat, and may need to flee from widows if they are not confident in defeating the potent spiders.

The Gauntlet is a special attraction in the Tunnels which consists of a series of challenges meant to test abilities besides combat. The first half is designed to test strength and agility with many unique challenges to be overcome. The second half is designed to test the mind with riddles and puzzles, with a valuable chest at the end as a reward. There is also a version designed to test parties, with the challenges and reward increased appropriately. While there is little danger to even the newest of delvers, the challenges are tough enough that ones will need moderate experience to expect to pass the entire Gauntlet.

The Caverns are below the Tunnels, and can be accessed either by exploring through them, or taking the access shaft located not far from the cave entrance in the yard. The access shaft rarely has encounters, and what ones are there are generally limited to bats or slimes. The Caverns themselves are several large caverns and the most common encounters are elementals, slimes, spiders, and snakes. This zone is another step up from the Tunnels, and should delvers wish access to the abundant mining and herbalism nodes, they should either be accomplished adventurers, or hire accomplished adventurers from the Adventurer's Guild. Of special note are the twinsnakes, which are often alchemically enhanced with metallic scales and lightning affinity.

The Cemetery is on the surface, separated from the Manor by a significant amount of Fourdock. It used to house a murderous dungeon, but Thedeim subsumed it and has taken over the territory. The Cemetery itself is rather quiet, though wolf encounters can be had near the back wall. For the most part, the Cemetery should be treated as any mundane cemetery; a quiet place to remember the dead. Do not attempt to engage the scion that oversees the Cemetery. Grim is an exceptionally strong skeleton scion with both life and death affinities. He maintains the grounds and endeavors to keep a quiet and peaceful atmosphere for mourners, and is not a scion that should be engaged in combat, especially not when making his rounds.

The Crypt Complex is reached either through one of the mausoleums in the Cemetery, or through the Tunnels. The Dungoneer's Guild recommends using the Cemetery entrance, as it is much simpler to access than navigating the tunnels. The Complex is full of the various types of undead available to Thedeim. Their particular resource specialization of the large undead makes them highly resistant to turning and other magics meant to directly counter the energies of undead. Should they be defeated, the corpses are effectively herbalism nodes. There are some few herbalism and mining nodes available as well, but the Crypt Complex is generally a place designed for fighting undead. The challenge level is similar to the Caverns, though the denizen type difference requires very different preparations.

The Arena is Thedeim's latest special attraction, and is the only one that features combat with one of his scions: Rocky. The zombie scion should not be underestimated, though fights are not to the death. If one wishes to challenge the Arena, the Dungeoneer's Guild highly recommends purchasing the pamphlet on the section, which includes the rules of the Arena, as well as more detail on Rocky's abilities. In addition to the fighting floor, there is ample seating to observe the fights. All challengers are welcome, and though Rocky remains undefeated, challengers are usually rewarded even for a defeat.

Aside from the zones, Thedeim also has a myriad of scions, and most should be allowed to continue with their duties uninterrupted. While they can be approached and questioned, they will have limited ability to answer. The exception is, of course, Teemo, the Voice of Thedeim. The simple rat is personable and friendly, and his spatial affinity means that, should one have a detailed question of a scion, he will not be far away to provide an answer, should Thedeim be willing to give one.

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Yes, I know there's no Nova nor the lava labrynth, and that's deliberate. I'm considering using this as the first chapter for book three, as a bit of a review of what is going on so far. There's a lot to summarize from the first two books, so while I don't want to just dump everything on a reader at once, I do want to remind returning readers of the story so far. Feedback will definitely be appreciated on this one, and I hope you all enjoyed it :)

Khenal