The precise nature of how a dungeon core comes to be is subject to rampant speculation, but the common consensus agreed that whatever the process was, it ended in a moment, as though a switch were being flicked, and the core comes alive. In this case, the nameless core realized that it was awake when it heard the first mutterings and musings from above, and knew it was not alone. It heard the debate, the love, and the genius of those above it, but knew that none was directed towards it. Not yet.

At first, it was jealous, but it knew the Others were not cruel, they did not hate the core, they simply did not know of it. If it wished to be acknowledged, it had to earn that acknowledgement. And so it began to learn its surroundings.

The core, a simple thing, was a small red gem, set into the rock wall at the back of a simple cave chamber. By focusing ahead of itself, it was able to discern that the room was quite large- while it did not know formal measurements, it knew that three men could lie down in this chamber in a line, and not reach from one side to the other. It appeared almost entirely natural, except that the chamber was a near perfect circle, arching to a high dome for a roof. The chamber had a single entrance, which curved twice before arriving at the outside. The core could feel that anything from outside was dangerous, and had to be kept out. It also could feel that anything from outside was valuable, and had to be tempted in.

It took some time to consider these contradictions, and decided it had to trap or kill anything which entered, in order to gain... something. It would find out what when it succeeded. But, the thought of defeating intruders felt right, and it could feel that it had two ways of doing that- by creating traps that would stop intruders when they entered, or by creating defenders. As it focused on the idea of both, an unfamiliar feeling came, something shifted, and it felt its options laid out before it.

Monsters

Traps

Goblin

Pit Trap

Giant Rat

Arrow Trap

Skeleton

Foot Spike Trap

Viper

Cave In

The core spent time marvelling over the many options it had- Eight!- before considering the choice. It could feel that the choice of monster was important, and could only be made once. It could also feel that some choices were opposed to each other, and would prevent the other from ever appearing. Goblin and Viper, Giant Rat and Skeleton, these would block off one another.

Traps, on the other hand, felt more safe, the core knew it could make as many of these as it could afford, and that idea caused the twisting sensation again, and the core knew new things

Trap Description Pit Trap A disguised pit, 6 feet deep. Only the most fragile of intruders will die, but most will be injured. 2MP Arrow Trap A triggered trap, fires arrows from walls, ceiling, or floor. While highly deadly, it also requires the purchase of a Trigger, or it cannot activate. 2MP Foot Spike Trap A set of two inch razor sharp spike on the floor, it will almost never kill, but can disable intruders. Can be combined with a Trigger, increasing spike size, affected area, and reducing visibility. 1MP Cave In A triggered trap, causes the ceiling to collapse upon intruders, almost invariably lethally. However, this trap also costs mp to reset, and does not block the path forward. Finally, it requires the purchase of a Trigger, or it cannot activate. 5MP

These were all interesting, and the core was especially interested in the Cave In trap, but it didn't know how much it had to work with, nor how much a trigger would cost. This thought also brought the twisting, and the core thought it was beginning to understand what that feeling meant.

Nameless Dungeon MP: 10/10 Untyped Dungeon MP Regen: 2/day

The sensation came again, almost immediately, and brought more information.

Triggers Description Pressure Plate

A small, sensitive pressure plate, a weight of more than five pounds from a non-dungeon creature will trigger this pressure plate, activating an associated Trap. 3MP

Tripwire A thin strand of wire which can be activated by dungeon Monsters or outsiders, when the string is tripped, the associated Trap activates. Can be set to tension or tug, changing the required method of disarming. 1MP Chest A small chest, a device within the chest will activate if the lid is lifted more than three inches, activating the associated Trap. Certain traps have unique interactions with the Chest Trigger. 5MP

The core knew immediately it couldn't afford the Cave In trap, or atleast not while using other traps, and so it stopped to consider its options. Eventually, it decided to install a pit trap in the center of its single room, spending 2mp. It then began planning how to use its arrow traps, and placed a pressure plate between the two curves in the corridor leading out.

It considered for a time how best to place its arrow traps, before deciding that one firing from the front while the other fired from behind would ensure that if there was more than one intruder, the same intruder would not be hit twice unnecessarily, while also reducing their ability to dodge. The core was quite proud of itself, and couldn't wait for an intruder to enter its dungeon and face its traps!

The core then decided to learn more about the monsters it could summon, even if it had resolved to wait before summoning them, and it was delighted when its expected twisting sensation came, proving its theory correct.

Monster Description Goblin A basic humanoid monster, it is intelligent enough to guard specific locations, but also cowardly and weak. Unlocks additional Traps, and allows more advanced trap combinations. 10MP Giant Rat A basic beast monster, it fears fire but will attack anything which enters its lair. More powerful than the other first tier monsters. 10MP Skeleton A basic undead monster, it is difficult to destroy, and may restore itself before intruders leave the dungeon. Weaker than the giant rat, but can guard any location, comes in greater numbers, and knows no fear. 10MP Viper A basic stealth monster, it is the weakest of the first tier monsters, and only marginally more intelligent than a Giant Rat, but its bite injects a dangerous venom. Unlocks poisoned variations of certain Traps. 10MP

The core practically thrummed with excitement reading each description. Viper and Goblin both brought new strength to its traps, of which it already felt innordinately proud, so it was excited to try them. On the other hand, the giant rat might serve as the perfect distraction for those traps, and was most likely to be able to defeat enemies on its own, while the skeleton sounded dangerous and, perhaps most importantly, the sheer number of them could be an asset all its own. It had no idea which to choose, but was sure whatever it chose would be powerful and help it grow as much as it needed to!

However, the dungeon did not have enough mp to summon any monsters yet, and there was one more phrase which excited the dungeon.

Trap Combinations.

The core was somewhat put out that this thought did not bring the twisting, but it thought it could do this on its own. It still had a single mp to work with, and a trap that cost a single mp. It considered trying to combine the spikes with the arrows, but that didn't make any sense to the core, so instead, it attempted ot install the foot spikes in the bottom of the pit. As it hoped, the twisting sensation came, and with it, new knowledge!

New Trap Combination Unlocked! By combining Foot Spikes with Pit Trap, you have created Spiked Pit! You can now create a Spiked Pit directly for 3MP. As a result of the combination, the Spiked Pit becomes two feet deeper, and the spikes become two inches longer. Spiked Pit is now sometimes lethal, and increases fear factor associated with your dungeon! Congratulations!

As the core celebrated its new creation, a sense of lethargy overtook it, and a final twisting came before it lost focus and could no longer perceive the world around it.

WARNING! MANA EXHAUSTED! When MP reaches zero, core will be unable to sustain consciousness! In this state, traps cannot be rearmed and minions cannot be given new orders. Core will reawaken when mp reaches ten, or an intruder enters the dungeon while mp is over five.