NPCs

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Some floors contain non-hostile NPCs. Interaction with different NPCs will vary from simple one liners, to trade, to mini-quests. While the main determining factor of NPCs is their type of interaction with the player, they also vary in consequence.

Interaction Types

Villagers

Some NPCs are fellow villagers who are trapped in their own labyrinths that happen to 'cross through' player labyrinths. They tend to be losing their fights against the labyrinth, so player interaction is focused on helping them.

  • Failed Soul: He is dying his last death. This villager cannot be helped, and the only interaction he provides is one snippet of dialog. The dialog delivered maybe either a memory, confession, revelation about the alchemists, or warning of potential danger. If this villager gives a warning, the monster he speaks of may be present on the current floor, although it is not guaranteed. Finally, a failed soul could be a player character that has run out of lives. In this case, he will recount some bit of information that he learned in his trials.
  • Barterer: She has two items that she does not have a use for, and is looking to trade for useful items. The items she owns are of roughly equivalent power to those that would be found on the current level. The player can trade any item his character owns that is not a key item or ammunition. Although it is not displayed to the player, bartering value is based on actual gold value of items.
  • Beggar: A villager who is in desperate need of something. Types of beggars are categorized by what they ask for. Helping a beggar may flag the character for a positive consequence, while denying the beggar may flag the character for a negative consequence. Some beggars may do nothing. The effect of the beggar may or may not be revealed at the moment of player choice, but when it is, the connection to the beggar is explicit or heavily implied. The choice to help is made when interacting with the beggar, but denial is not determined until the character leaves the current floor. Beggar consequences will not be flagged if the player's character never encounters the beggar. The first time player character enters the same room as the beggar, the beggar will call out for help. If the beggar ever enters the view of the the character, then he will be counted as interacted with. From this point on, if the character leaves the floor without helping the beggar, the beggar will be considered denied; whether or not this produces a negative consequence is dependent on the specific beggar. When attempting to leave floor with an unaided beggar, the player is reminded and asked if he would still like to leave the floor. If the character dies before helping the beggar or leaving the floor, the interaction is discarded. The value of what is asked for determines the level of consequence. Moderate value associates with moderate consequences while great value associates with more powerful consequences. Requests of little value link to consequences differently. Usually they are associated with minimal consequences, but 15% of the time, they associated with very powerful consequences.
    • Money Beggar: He asks for gold from the player to buy supplies from the next shopkeeper. Value of request is determined by the desired amount of gold compared to the player character's current wealth. This requested gold amount cannot exceed 3/4 the character's wealth when first seeing the beggar.
    • Inventory Beggar: Asks for an item that the character has in her inventory. The value of the request is based on floor the item was found on .
    • Quest Beggar: Asks the character to find and item or kill certain monsters on the floor. Difficulty of the quest determines the value of the request.
Value Base Low Moderate High
Money Beggar Portion of Character Wealth 5% to 24% 25% to 49% 49% to 75%
Inventory Beggar Floor Item was Found on 5 or more floors ago 4 - 2 floors ago 1 floors ago - current floor
Quest Beggar Difficulty of Quest Easy Moderate or Hard Very Hard
  • Thief: When the thief is spoken to, he steals an unequipped item from the character and runs away. After stealing the item, the thief takes a step way from the player to get a head start. The thief always initially spawns in a room that allows for an easy escape, and if he reaches the end of the room, he will disappear. Because the thief keeps one space between himself and the player character, melee weapons cannot reach him. The thief has enough health to survive a couple hits from a ranged weapon balanced for the current floor. If he gets away, the thief reappears up to 3 times through out the next 5 floors. The first two times the thief attempts to escape the player, but is not guaranteed a room with an easy exit. The final time the thief is encountered, he is found either sleeping or crippled by a monster, so the player is given the choice to kill him and take the item back, or spare him. Killing the thief may flag the character for a negative consequence, while sparing him may flag a positive consequence. The consequence levels of the thief follow the trend of the Inventory Beggar. While interaction is limited, it is important to characterize the thief as desperate so that the player has any motivation to spare him, besides understanding that the she could get a reward for doing so.

Alchemists

Alchemists are part of the clan that brought this plight to villagers. They appear in the labyrinth by choice and seek to taunt the character. Although they offer help, they do so because they enjoy watching the character struggle.

  • Boatman: Guides souls (players) to bodies (characters). There is only one boatman and he always appears in a deep purple, hooded cloak with golden trim. Upon a character's death, he ferries souls to bodies for free but charges to leave recently acquired items on the body. He also sometimes appears on a floor that the player is on and allows the player to send items to previous characters. He is strongly related to the written story of Web of Lives.
  • Shopkeeper: Sells health potions, ammunition, and two items. The two items come from highest tier possible on the current floor and are given generous attribute modifiers, but are very expensive. If the player interacts with a trickster and gets an item stolen, a shopkeeper is guaranteed to spawn within the next 7 floors to sell the item back to the player character. The stolen item will appear along with the shopkeeper's usual wares. If he possesses a stolen item, the shopkeeper will make sure the player knows it, likely in a condescending way.
  • Quest Alchemist: Like the quest beggar, she asks the player character to complete a mini-quest for her. She, however, cannot flag the character for negative consequences and will always provide an immediate positive consequence if the quest is completed.
  • Trickster: Like the thief, he steals a non-equipped item from the player character. The trickster also leaves behind an item of approximately half the value of the stolen item. After stealing the item, he teleports away, not giving the player a chance to retaliate. The next shopkeeper to appear has possession of the stolen item. Unlike the thief, the trickster steals for sport. In fact, swapping items may slightly help the player progress, if the stolen item was of no use.

Consequences

Positive and negative consequences can be flagged by interactions with NPCs. Not all NPC interactions flag consequences, and severity of consequences vary between low, moderate, high, and very high. Some consequences happen immediately, while others happen within a range of upcoming floors.

Consequence Happening Positive or Negative Severity Time of Occurrence
No Consequence Nothing Happens Neither None Never and Always
Reward Item Positive Low - Moderate Immediate
Replenish and Restock Positive Low Immediate
Unique Enchantment Positive Low - Moderate Immediate
Blessing (Stat Boost) Positive Moderate - Very High Immediate or Within 5 Floors
Curse (Stat Reduction) Negative Moderate - Very High Immediate or Within 5 Floors
Boss Monster Negative Moderate - Very High Within 5 Floors
Strong Monsters Negative Moderate - High Within 5 Floors
Lootless Floor Negative Moderate Within 5 Floors
Cleared Floor (Loot left behind) Positive Moderate Within 5 Floors
Lose a Life Negative High Immediate or Within 3 Floors
Gain a Life Positive High Immediate or Within 3 Floors
Happy Barterer Positive High Immediate or Within 3 Floors
Discounted Shopkeeper Positive High Within 5 Floors