Our defensive magic specialist was a bit small for her shield but with magic that stuff isn't as important. Talents don't really care about your body type. And her Traits were excellent for her role:

Intelligence Focus Might Thaumaturgy Resistance Endurance

Her Talents were more interesting although not entirely dissimilar from ours:

Shields Fortitude +3 Will +2 Tenacity +2 Brawn +1 Roboromancy Attunement +4 Retention +1 Fortitude +2 Tenacity +1 Contegomancy Attunement +4 Will +1 Tenacity +1 Fortitude +1 Retention +1

Contegomancy actually unlocked the ability to take Roboromancy early, otherwise the shieldmaiden would be short 1 Attunement. She actually didn't meet the requirements so Aleatory Talents for the save yet again.

Shields Shield Bash 20dmg 2s Stun Single Target Touch Strike Time 1s Shield Wall Block DMG <40 Self Passive Strike Time 1s Mana Shield Take Mana DMG DMG ABS 5 AoE 4m Passive Cast 2s 20 mana + 5mana/s Spell Reflection RFLCT 20 DUR 5s Self Cast 2s 40 mana Roboromancy Absorb DMG ASB 20 DUR 5s Quadruple Target Range 20m Cast 2s 50 mana Force Stakes 2xMOVCost DUR10s AOE 5m2 Range 10m Cast 2s 40 mana Ground Wall 80 Health BAR 10m linear Range 20m Cast 2s 40 mana Force Traps Root 2s Trip Once 10m linear Range 20m Cast 1s 40 mana Contegomancy Magic Resist(TYP) ABS(TYP)10 - 10s Single Target Range 20m Cast 2s 50 mana Protection +40 Temp Health Single Target Range 20m Cast 2s 50 mana Extend +2sDUR PROTMAG Permanent Passive Harden +20%EFF PROTMAG Permanent Passive

While you couldn't trait Knowledge skills after adulthood you could get them from Dungeons. With the mana costs involved the shieldmaiden could really benefit from Manasophy. Of course going for higher tier Talents with cost reductions was also an option.

We still couldn't send in a frontliner to stall but combining Quicken/Accelerate with the Fortification magic of the Roboromancer was an option. We still had ~5 party members to pick up and it was going to be practically a quest all it's own. Most adventurers had one or two people they knew right away from their youth, unless they were mediocre and then they may pick up a whole crew at a non-specialized adventuring academy. We still needed to pick up a healer, a support focused on offensive buffs, at least one burst or aoe caster and 2 front liners. True control mages weren't common, especially early on, it would be interesting to see if my theories on Chronomancy were wrong and wasted my good fortune. Of course I know now, and you do since this book is still in print, that they turned out pretty well.

We had several hard decisions to make about utilizing our time. With a third protective member and upgraded gear we might want to go for a dungeon clear and Tier up something. The Academy dungeon could tier up Manasophy and a few Low Magic Talents. Miasma, Chronomancy, and even Contegomancy would have to wait unfortunately. At least Physical skills like shields could Tier up anywhere. Sadly you could only tier up once per *Challenge* dungeon. Most adventurers never maxed any of their Talents. Even maxing Manasophy would be difficult. The Academy was aware of one more dungeon with the capability across the kingdom but it was a very difficult one. We'd be on our own for the last tier. Party members who weren't magic focused were even worse off. Equipment Talents could be Tiered anywhere but didn't get as big of a boost. Parties often had members tier up Equipment Talents in dungeons that only one or two members had specific need of.

Getting a summoner could be awesome as well atlthough they are a bit susceptible to the *Chaff Problem*. For now I'll discuss a fight we had, just the three of us testing early dungeon floors. Skip to the second subsection to see the descriptive report of the fight. The first subsection goes into mathematical detail.

We had ground through the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors. Rats are rats, aspect be damned. But then we came up against 8 of these guys:

Stone Rat lvl 2 Hp 100 DMG ABS(Phys) 20 Mana 40 MOV 10m/s Flint Claw 40dmg 2s Quartz Chomp 80 dmg 2s 40mana Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Health 68 Health 68 Health 100 Mana 222 Mana 218 Mana 160 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s

50 meters is a common engagement range due to dungeon size and tier 1 and tier 2 Talent ability ranges. As usual Miasma works best under a *Shroud*. I led off the fight with with a 38 mana Quicken followed by 2 Accelerates. Shroud started going up the after second second of the fight. My second Accelerate hit the shieldmaiden. I was quickly down to 114-12=-102+222=120 mana. Enough for 3 more spells. I had one second of Haste remaining. The Miasmist was down a mere 38 with 2 seconds of Haste. The Shieldmaiden began to cast Ground Wall in front of us. I cast Slime pool. After 1 second Shroud, Ground Wall, and Slime Pool were all down and Quicken ended.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Health 68 Health 68 Health 100 Mana 86 Mana 184 Mana 120 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s

3 seconds had passed since my cast of Quicken ended. The Stone Rats had closed 30 meters when they were hit with Slime Pool. They had 10 meters to go at 5m/s. Then they'd hit the Ground Wall in the middle of the pool and then have another 5 meters to go. The Ground Wall could take 2 hits from Flint Claw. It was 10m long but each 1 meter section fit 2 rats side by side. They'd claw through 4 sections and then when they crossed the gap each of us would be targeted by 2 rats plus an extra rat for the flanks. That would give us a solid 2+2+2 seconds to live. The rats were in range of the Miasmist and she was ready to cast with 1 second of Haste Remaining. The Shieldmaiden had 2 seconds.

I Quickened myself again leaving me with 44 mana. Due to physical damage absorbtion I'd lose the 10 base damage from a mana strike attack but I had a better plan. It was time to abuse Mana Leech. The Miasmist popped off her Acid Splash. A solid 20 damage with a 5/5 DoT which conveniently has a max diameter at the center of 8m. Under the *Shroud* from Dusk there was an extra 5/1 on the dot. Acid splash would max at 50 damage. It also deployed the first mark. The Shieldmaiden dropped Absorb on the Ground Wall. For the next 5+2 seconds the 4 key sections of the wall would Absorb 20*1.2=24 damage. 1 second of Haste left. I had regened 12 more mana putting me at 60.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Health 68 Health 68 Health 100 Mana 60 Mana 140 Mana 80 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s

I could now cast Mana Leech once a second. Although I could only cast it 3 times. The rats would be forced to cast their mana-boosted attack but they'd break the wall. 80-24=56*2=112. They were 8 short of half the rats saving the mana. Lucky as always. But Mana Leech was here to save the day. 5 seconds of safety remained. I cast my Mana Leech onto the leftmost rat headed for the wall segement infront of me. The Shieldmaiden could afford to take some hits. The flank rats were providentially positioned on her side of our formation.

Mana Leech bled a rat dry. Now it would take a minimum of 4 seconds for the wall to come down in front of me. One rat could chomp but the other would need to bite. Claw damage was 40-24=16. 56 from one chomp meant 72 in the first 2 seconds so they'd need another claw.

The Miasmist could throw Acid Splash again but the damage over time wouldn't stack it would just impact the duration. The AoE damage was nice but ticking up the marks would probably be better. 10 more mana spent, for a total of 20, from maintaining Dusk. Infect costs 24 mana and hits 3 Targets adding a dot for 2/10 +1per mark and adding a mark. She could get my 2 rats plus 1 of hers. 20+5+5(soon) from Acid Splash, with 3 marks, meaning they'd take 5 from the acid and 2 from the infection in 2 seconds. Additionally they had 5 rather than 4 seconds on the acid and 12 rather than 10 on the infection timer. The Shieldmaiden blew over half her remaining mana for Force Traps. This was a 2 second linear 10m snare that luckily for us would trip on all the rats. Well since I was short the mana for a 4th Mana Leech it would have to be cast offset. The flanking rats would hit the Shieldmaiden.

Chronomancer Miasmist Shieldmaiden Health 68 Health 68 Health 100 Mana 45 Mana 76 Mana 30 MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s MOV 5m/s

I prepped my next Mana Leech cast to hit the rat closest to me on the Miasmist's wall section. The Miasmist had run out of Haste and was still casting Infect. The Shieldmaiden had spent her last Haste second on the Force Traps. She couldn't actually cast anything with 30 mana but her 1 per second regen would kick in before the walls were down and let her pop 1 last spell. I was now at 26 mana. 1 second later I was at 30 mana and the Miasmist was ready to cast again. She prepped Fester to cast on the 2 most marked rats. The non-leeched rats rats chomped the wall. It would fall next turn. The flanking rats got through. The acid slowly did its work. Every rat had lost 35 health, down to 65. But 3 special rats had lost another 3. Fester began to cast.

The rats were at 65, 65, 65, 65, 65, 62, 62, 62.

I cast Filth Spray on a rat about to be festered. Both flankers ran another 5m/s. 1 second to be in range which meant damage was coming down in 3 seconds. The Shieldmaidan cast Shield Wall from her shield. She was very much in danger with the early claws coming down. The Miasmist lost her next 10 mana. Down to 70-24=46+8=54. I cast Filth Spray on a rat headed for the Miasmist.

The rats brough down the other 3 wall sections. Fester went off. The 2 most marked rats had 4 marks each. They took 5+6 as did a non-festering rat while everyone else took 5.

The rats were at 60, 60, 60, 60, 60, 51, 51, 51.

I was out of mana to cast.

The flankers arrived in range of the Shieldmaiden. Well 1 did. The other 6 rats closed the distance to 1s. The Force Trap line triggered *Roots* for 2 seconds on 6 rats. The Shieldmaiden prepped a Shield Bash on the nearby rat. The Miasmist fell to 48 mana and cancelled Shroud. She then cast Acid Splash on all 8 rats again. Fester kicked in on 2 rats.

Acid Splash DoTs would trigger next turn while Infect did 6 to 3 rats and Fester did 8 to 2 rats..

The rats were at 40, 40, 40, 40, 40, 25, 17, and 17.

6 rats had 1 second of *Root* and were 5m/s away. Shieldbash hit a flanker rat. It went from 40 to 20 and was stunned for 2 seconds. Another Shield Bash was prepped for the flanker rat on 40. It began to attack but would not finish before the stun. The Miasmist prepared to cast Gloom, which had a casting time of 1 second, on the non-festered rat across from her. I needed 1 more turn of charge before I could cast Filth Spray to *Mark* and *Distract* the non-festered rat across from me.

6 rats cleared their root. One rat got Shieldbashed while one remained stunned.

2 rats were at 15 and stunned for 1 and 2 seconds. 2 rats took 5+6+8=19 damage and died from infected and festering acid burns.

2 rats fell to 35 health and prepared to move. One rat took a Gloom to the face getting a 1 damage 10 second dot, a new mark, and a 1 second *Distract*. I cast Filth Spray on the remaining rat in front of me. The Maiden began a Shield Bash on one of the 15 health rats.

The rats were at 0, 0, 15, 15, 20, 35, 35, and 35 health.

3 rats arrived at their targets and began to attack. 1 died to a Shield Bash. Filth Spray went off. One rat cleared the distraction of Gloom. The distracted Rat in front of me had 5 marks and took 5+7 damage to land at 8 health. The Miasmist began to cast Envenom cleaning out their mana. I was out of mana and couldn't cast. The Maiden prepped a bash on a 35 health rat.

The rats were at 0, 0, 0, 8, 10, 30, 30, 30.

1 30 health rat arrived and began to attack. 1 rat died 12 dot damage when it only had 8 health. I had recharged enough mana to cast Filth Spray on a 10 health rat. The 10 health rat began to attack. One 30 health rat went to 10 and was stunned for 2 seconds. The Maiden took a hit that cancelled her Shield Wall. Another hit put her to 60 health.

The rats were at 0, 0, 0, 0, 10, 10, 30, and 30.

The rats all took 5 damage. The Miasmist took 40 damage but Envenom was cast. The rat began to attack again. A rat cleared the distraction of Filth Spray. A rat at 30 got hit by Bash. One rat remained stunned.

The rats were at 5, 5, 5, and 25.

3 rats died to acid. One rat went to 20 and took 17 damage from Envenom going to 3. It died from dots the next turn. We had won.

The fight started out with buffing while the rats closed in. These were lvl 2 monsters with high speed and a lot of durability. Meanwhile only 1/3 of our party really dealt damage. I deployed first Quicken on myself and then Accelerate on my allies. The Miasmist cast Shroud which would latter turn out to be relatively unimportant but she had nothing else to cast until the enemy was in the Tier 1 Talent 20m engagement range. The Shieldmaiden deployed a Ground Wall and a damage absorbtion boost to 4/5 of the wall plus Force Traps which provided a Root. I deployed my Slime Pool as well to slow the approach to the wall and the move from the wall to engage us.

The rats began to break down the wall, forced to burn their high mana abilities due to the damage absorbtion buff. The Miasmist cast Acid Splash into Infect. Using Mana Leech to prevent a rat from using the bite ability kept part of the wall up another 2 seconds. I cast Flith Spray twice to stall 2 rats while the Miamist began to cast Fester. With Filthy Spray, Acid Splash, Infect, and now Fester all providing marks that was a huge buff to the DoT damage that would be coming with Fester.

The wall came down as I ran out of mana. The rats that had the unbuffed wall section flanked the Shieldmaiden who had cast Shield Wall to shrug off the first hit. The 6 rats who hd just broken the wall tripped Force Traps. A 2s snare was a sweet effect. The Maiden prepared a Shield Bash to stun the rat approaching her while the Miasmist canceled Dusk for mana reasons and dropped another Acid Splash. The first Bash went off and the Maiden prepared a second Shield Bash for the other Flanker. The Miasmist prepped Gloom while I wanted another second for the mana to cast Filth Spray.

The second flanker was stunned while 2 rats died to their afflictions. I prepared Filth Spray to stall for time. One of the non-flanking rats was bashed with a shield while The Miamist prepared to cast Envenom clearing out her mana. Eventually the Maiden blocked one hit with her Shield Wall and took another hit to stick on 60. The Miasmist took 40 to land on 28 but Envenom applied. I got off my final Filth Spray. Filth Spray, and Gloom, apply *Distract* which does not prevent movement but must be cleared somehow before using actions. Gloom is basically a blinding effect while Filth Spray needs to be wiped off the eyes.

Finally acid damage and other damage over time effects won the day. Envenom did a whopping 17 Dot damage.

Envenom did not apply marks and only impacted one enemy but it dealt high base damage per tick and 3 extra damage per mark. Some people described marks as conditions like poisoned or diseased. I preferred the simplified marks nomenclature. I was an adventurer not a scholar.

It was an incredible close fight where the Miamist was a second from death, I had 2 hits in me, and the Maiden had 2 as well. We all lacked the mana to cast spells. We were in no way ready to clear the dungeon.