In the golden age of the realm before Oryx’s reign, this great library hosted a wealth of literature, research, and historical documentation. Eager students studied, esteemed scholars taught, and the realm’s greatest philosophers helped advance their society. When Oryx began his tyranny, he recognized the threat posed by such a capital of learning and intellect. Enlisting the aid of Lord Ruthven’s proficiency in black magic, Oryx unleashed a vicious curse upon the library.
All was corrupted in an instant, transforming those inside into soulless husks of who they once were. Some were lucky enough to retain a humanoid form, while others morphed into eldritch horrors hopelessly beyond recognition. Once a great hub of knowledge, these forsaken archives now hold something far more sinister. Centuries of ancient wisdom, all lost in the blink of an eye. None have set foot on this decrepit site since. Those who dare tread its cursed grounds may find themselves wiser for it, but at what cost?
Introducing the Cursed Library! This is a mid game dungeon that will drop from Beholders, rounding off the godlands dungeon drops because Constructs don’t count. It drops guaranteed wisdom and vitality from the main boss and a guaranteed vitality and attack from the single guaranteed treasure room (max total payout per run is 1 WIS, 1 ATT, and 2 VIT). It is effectively another hybrid dungeon like the Magic Woods. This makes it a good alternative to UDL/Theater/Abyss farming, especially the latter since it gives a double payout of vitality for those who choose to run the treasure room as well. The catch is that the difficulty is closer to that of a Mad Lab, albeit not quite as rare.
Although it can be beaten by a fresh level 20 character, the target audience for this dungeon is characters who are already well potted in speed and dexterity. Think of it as a midgame dungeon for experienced players, offering an alternative to otherwise mundane potion farming. It’s worthwhile to test it with all sorts of different characters (it should still be capable of killing 8/8s if you get too cocky, like a Lab), but it’s most important to test how balanced it is as a semi-maxed character with godlands gear.
Enemies
The Cursed Library features 11 new dungeon mobs (12 if you count the Enlightened Beholder, which is just a copy in the same vein as a White Demon of the Abyss or Native Sprite God). Some are individual, others comes as families, so let’s meet the cast!
Enlightened Beholder
A Beholder that decided to stay in its place of origin rather than wander out into the realm. Remaining in the library has given it time to study the esoteric art of dropping defense potions at better rates.
Identical to a normal Beholder, but has a better chance of dropping defense.
Deholder
As if becoming a grotesque Beholder wasn’t bad enough, this poor soul somehow had his lone eye gouged out at one point or another. Grisly as this fate may be, it’s still less torturous than being in a Candyland.
Moves sluggishly while firing slow parametric shots. Not an issue alone, but the minion he commands can be problematic if not dealt with.
Eye of the Edified
If there’s one thing the Deholder is glad about, it’s how great his peripheral vision has become. Gotta count your blessings, right?
Orbits the Deholder while occasionally getting sent out in a charge like an Ice Sphere. Nowhere near as lethal, of course, but the infliction of Darkness may prove costly for weaker characters.
Lips of the Lost
As a cruel, ironic twist, Ruthven’s curse detached the mouths of those afflicted to ensure they could never share their wisdom. He was real proud of himself for thinking of that one, but failed to consider that the constant babbling of these sentient jaws can be heard all the way from his manor. As if the Hellhounds didn’t already make it hard enough to get some sleep.
Shoots in a constant spiral while shifting around the room unpredictably. One of the more durable enemies, so characters with low DPS may find it easier to simply skirt around them and hope not to get backed up.
Hand of the Helpless
The hands of the library scribes fell off after the curse was inflicted. On the bright side, they perform delightful hand puppet shows every Thursday.
Goes through a sequence of Rock, Paper, and Scissor forms in a random order based on HP. Each form has different attacks, so be on guard for whatever it may throw at you!
Vile Maggot
Maggots hate the negative connotation surrounding their name. So what if they eat decomposing flesh or crawl out from undead appendages? They’re individuals, and determined to make a difference! You have to respect the work ethic.
Only found on their own in dead ends, but pile out in groups from deceased Deholders, Lips of the Lost, and Hands of the Helpless. Their contact damage can add up quicker than you may expect if ignored!
Poltergeist
One of the many spirits forcibly ripped from its owner due to the curse. Wishing to fulfill all the classic tropes of a poltergeist, it hopes to someday find a television to haunt. None of his friends know what a television is, but they play along.
These troublesome spirits deal negligible damage, but their quick shots inflict Curse, adding a further threat when faced with tougher monsters nearby. They’ll go completely invisible at half health, so finish them quickly before you lose track of them.
Soulless Scribe
An ancient scribe who now lives in eternal anguish. Not because his life’s work has been lost or anything, but because nobody ever read his Thessal x Royal Cnidarian fanfiction. This is probably for the best.
Shoots a constant stream of fairly slow shots. They’re hopeless if you simply circle around them, but don’t run straight towards them of you’ll take quite a few hits in quick succession. Provides ranged support for the soulless trio.
Soulless Scholar
He may not be able to teach anymore, but he’s committed to making sure you still get schooled.
Fires wide, long distance shots like the Staff of Esben while circling players from afar. Their shots are heavily telegraphed, but inflict Slow if you fail to dodge. Serves as the trapper of the soulless trio.
Soulless Student
Most would find it tragic to see such a brilliant young mind be deprived of a future. Truthfully, he’s just glad to be free of his student loan debts.
Chases players quickly with a dangerous short range slice. These guys are effectively the Abyss Brutes of the dungeon, and they’ll put on the pressure quickly unless immediately addressed. They act as the close range aggressor of the soulless trio.
Bookwyrm
Despite his passion for literature, the Bookwyrm has never advanced beyond a second grade reading level. All he reads are bad joke books, which surely gave him the inspiration for that terrible name of his.
Moderately rare monster that heals other enemies and repels players with slow, wide Stun blasts. Weaker characters will not be able to overcome their heals against other monsters, so they are crucial to defeat first. They possess a mini rage phase in which they become even more defensive, so finish what you start or your problems will go from bad to worse!
Headless Specter
And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren’t for you meddling players and your pesky pets!
Patrols back and forth, then proceeds to slowly chase players while shooting square novas. They’re slow enough to outrun at first, but their rage phase is considerably more aggressive. This is potentially a very high threat, and sometimes better left alone if it can be helped.
Boss
Avalon the Archivist
Former head of the great atheneum, now a crazed paranoiac trying in vain to protect his collection. They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but in his case the pen IS the sword.
Navigates around a 3x3 map of square rooms connected with hallways. Players must give chase and use the halls to get ahead. He is also capable of unleashing Bomberman-esque waves of books with narrow dodging holes, as well as spawning Book Bombs for supplemental waves. He is also the first ever boss to use fully animated front and back frames like players!
Treasure Room
Corruption Phantom
Ruthven’s macabre menace sent to plague the library. The damage has already been done, but you can at least try to free whatever it may still be inhibiting.
Appears in a circular room behind the spawn area, whose passage only opens once Avalon has been defeated and the corrupted pressure plates in each dead end have been discovered. When attacked, he sends out fragments of himself in four different waves, sacrificing some of his own mass in the process. Once depleted, he’ll become vulnerable and take you on himself. Those who dare to take on this bonus encounter will receive more than just loot for their troubles.
Bonus
The Realm Eye
Any resemblance to actual websites, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
If you go the extra mile and vanquish the Corruption Phantom, the Realm Eye will be freed. As a show of appreciation, this highly knowledgeable entity will share information on anything you ask him. Bosses, encounters, dungeons (even the obscure ones), every tiered weapon, and even some miscellaneous bonuses, he’s got it all. For any lore junkies out there, look forward to exploring a monumental 250 recognized prompts.
I hope you enjoy the dungeon! Make sure you leave feedback in this thread to ensure I see it! Oh, and as a small side note, this dungeon features multiple flashy new particle effects. Leave particles master enabled for testing if you want the full aesthetic experience!
Feel free to also check out the Lair of Draconis rework here!
