Dungeons are pocket dimensions[1][2] created by dungeon portals in each Hex to bleed off excess magic.[3]
Each party that enters a dungeon portal encounters a unique dungeon created for them.[1]
The power level of a dungeon is roughly proportional to the level of magic in use in the surrounding hex[3] as well as the elevation of those entering (approximately 1% of the collected magic per elevation is used in each dungeon.)[4] Mismatched elevation among a party can result in very difficult dungeons for them.[5] Other "scaling factors" may contribute as well, and there is a great deal of variance.[1] For example, a very high-level party doing a dungeon can cause side-effects for another party that tries to use the same dungeon at the same time.[6]
The very large dungeons found in crowded cities are known as megadungeons. Some "places of power" have what are known as infinidungeons, without any clear limit to their size. [2]
Sinc eleveation is unaffected by the amount of mana that a Wizard brings with them, this can allow a well-stocked wizard to explore dungeons at somewhat lower risk.[7] Nor does it take into account Entads, animals brought by a Druid, etc.[8] Ideally, a party will acquire enough gear to at least keep pace with the increasing difficulty of the dungeons they explore.[9]
Because a dungeon is created using the excess mana of the surrounding area, their contents are heavily influenced by whatever magic exists around them,[3] and they generally draw on their surroundings for "inspiration" (copying architectural styles etc.)[citation needed] Countless factors influence each unique dungeon.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 “We need to start with the basics,” said Alfric. “A dungeon is a half-created world, one spun up largely from ambient mana within a hex, created on an individual basis for a party, in accordance with all kinds of things, which we won’t go into here, because again, basics.” Mizuki’s hand went up. “Er, yes?” “But it doesn’t matter whether someone else has been through that same dungeon before?” she asked. “It does, and it doesn’t,” said Alfric. “Doing a dungeon does drain off some of its potential, but there are scaling factors in play, one of which is elevation. When we did the Pucklechurch dungeon at second elevation, we would only have had a minimal impact on the actual magical potential it held, and because we were lower elevation, we had less access to potential riches, though there’s a wide variance. Good question.” Mizuki beamed at him. “But in general, elevation rises with the number of dungeons done, and elevation increases both risks and rewards, though variance ensures that you’re not going to necessarily be able to tell, especially at the lower elevations, where we are now.” He paused, waiting for a clarification from Hannah, but it didn’t come. Elevation wasn’t bunk, but it was often subtle and uneven. - Chapter 44: Care Package
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 “People try to go beyond the dungeons sometimes, and there’s never anything there. It’s a little false, half-created world. All a small one like this needs is four rooms and a handful of monsters. This is the Pucklechurch dungeon, not one of the megadungeons of a city, or an infinidungeon that you’d find at a place of power. Fewer monsters than I’d expected, and fewer rooms, but much tougher, which is the trade-off sometimes. All that’s left is to loot as much as we can.” - Chapter 6: Henlings
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 “The dungeon portals are old magic, one of the anchoring techniques that keep rogue magic from building up. [...] So, if left unchecked, magic builds up, and when magic builds up, bad things happen. The dungeon portals drain off that magic to keep it below a baseline within a hex, but part of the exchange is that the dungeons take on the flavoring of whatever magic they’re draining.” She hopefully knew all this. “In an enormous city like Dondrian, there’s heavy magic in use, some of it harvested from other hexes, some from all the magic users, some from the wide variety of magic items, some from the leylines, all swirling around with cast-offs and residue. All that gets eaten up by the dungeon portals, which makes them exceptionally dangerous. The portals out here have a lot less magic to work with, which makes them safer. It’s a better place to start out, in relatively unsettled lands.” - Chapter 2: Big City Energy
- ↑ “Doesn’t that run down the dungeons?” [...] “At low elevation, no,” said Alfric. “The rule of thumb is that each party of a certain elevation will reduce mana charge by that percentage, so running through twenty-five parties of second elevation would mean a reduction in power by approximately half, which would still be likely to be well worth it. And it reduces the risk as well.” - Chapter 69: Undone II
- ↑ “Mismatched elevation would be a problem,” said Alfric. He was very aware that Mizuki was standing there next to him, hanging on his words. “And team dynamics would also be cause for concern.” “Elevation mismatch tends to go away,” said Grig. “Over time, anyway.” “I know that,” said Alfric. “But we might face some brutal dungeons early on. And that would leave the issue of the team. I don’t have the entads that you do.” - Chapter 69: Undone II
- ↑ “Two teams can go into the dungeon at the same time, they just end up in different instances of the dungeon.” “That doesn’t sound right,” said Mizuki. “Well, it is,” said Alfric. “Assuming that they’re not at a very high elevation, it’s unlikely to impact us. Normally I would say it’s better for us to wait, but given some of the difficulties we’ve had, and the fact that we’re going to be facing down another dungeon tomorrow, I think it would be best if we just have at it. Except … well, I wouldn’t want them to lock us in.” - Chapter 47: Down the Dungeon
- ↑ “Most things will die to a single beam of concentrated power, or a blast, or whatever else I have configured. And it’s less dangerous for wizards, because the elevation metric doesn’t take into account our mana load.” “I don’t even know what that is,” said Mizuki. “It’s, ah, sort of the basic unit of wizardry?” he asked. “Our overall ability to have a large pool and good constructions? Though there are elements of personal skill that limit it too.” Mizuki shook her head. “Mana is like … a currency,” said Kell. “There are large stones that are pulled up from the ground and given out to wizards, or in some cases purchased, which is where we get our power from. We can spend that currency on either constructions, which do things on their own, or on power for the pool of available mana, which is the, or a, reservoir. So the currency ends up having ah, two sections, I guess.” “But it doesn’t matter how much you bring into a dungeon?” asked Mizuki. “It doesn’t affect elevation?” “You’d have to ask Alfric,” said Kell. “He’s the dungeon guy, right? Even Vertex seems to think so.” - Chapter 91: Liferaft
- ↑ “I don’t think that I’ll bring an animal into the dungeons,” said Isra. “It doesn’t feel fair to me.” “It’s not necessary,” said Alfric. “With your bow being as good as it is, I’m hoping that we’re well on our way to outpacing the dungeons.” “Meaning?” asked Verity with a frown. “Elevation makes the dungeons harder,” said Hannah. “Goin’ by what Alfric said, we were all second elevation, ay? But after the dungeon, perhaps not.” “We should all still be second,” said Alfric. “Unless someone was right at the cusp and got taken over it. Checking with the censusmaster is on my agenda.” - Chapter 19: I Suppose You're Wondering Why I Gathered You Here
- ↑ “Ideally,” said Alfric. “You accelerate in terms of gear. There are some graphs for expected difficulty, but it’s a lot of math, and depends on a few too many things. Twenty dungeons down the line,” he held up a hand in Verity’s direction, “Not that we’re committed to that. But if we ever got there, or if I got there with another group, I would hope that I was at least keeping pace, going into a dungeon with a much better entad weapon, ideally a spear, full plate armor, and a few other things.” - Chapter 22: The Journey More Than The Destination