Line #10 Main/ADungeonIsYou


1	[[SelfDemonstratingArticle Greetings, new Dungeon Core!]]
2	I am your friendly [[FairyCompanion Dungeon Helper]], here to [[MentorMascot get you started]]!
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4	What's that, you say? You're [[TrappedInAnotherWorld from another dimension]] and have no idea how you got here? Don't worry, that happens all the time! We blame the Gods.
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6	(Popular ways to become a Dungeon include [[CallToAdventure Divine Recruitment]], [[SummonEverymanHero summoning rituals]] GoneHorriblyWrong, {{Necromancy}} GoneHorriblyRight, [[{{Reincarnation}} reincarnees]] getting misfiled by the CelestialBureaucracy, or simply people dying while in contact with the right kind of [[AppliedPhlebotinum magical rock]]. Usually all those are done as FirstEpisodeResurrection and usually ReincarnateInAnotherWorld. Oh, and occasionally some Dungeon Cores are [[TheTeamNormal just created without any soul shenanigans at all]], but those guys are kinda stupid and uninteresting.)
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8	Where was I? Yes, from now on, you are the GeniusLoci of a {{dungeon\|Crawling}}. Inside your {{domain\|Holder}} -- which you can expand, with effort -- you can rearrange your corridors and place [[BoobyTrap traps]] for unwary intruders! You can also summon {{mon}}sters to guard yourself, [[EvolutionaryLevels evolve them into new forms]] and promote some of them into [[MiniBoss Bosses]].
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10	As you grow in power, you will be able to unlock more [[GameLevel Floors in your Dungeon]], each of which can be given its own theme. A high-level number may unlock additional options. As you dig down, the increasing Mana concentration will allow for placing [[SortingAlgorithmOfEvil ever-better traps and monsters]]. Remember to keep your [[SoulJar vulnerable]] [[GemHeart Dungeon Core]] in the very bottom of your Dungeon, guarded by your [[FinalBoss most powerful Boss Monster]], to [[AchillesHeel keep it safe]]!
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12	The downside is that your editing power [[WeaksauceWeakness fizzles out in the vicinity of intruders]], and also you will be metaphysically unable to wall your core off -- there must be a traversable path from the surface to your core. (Of course, it can be made [[SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom arbitrarily]] [[DeathCourse unsafe]] [[NoOSHACompliance to travel]]...)
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14	Now, typically, the three [[ResourcesManagementGameplay resources]] of a Dungeon is your {{Mana}}, which is absorbed passively from the world and used to perform work, your Mass, the elements you absorb from the world and used to build with, and your [[ExperiencePoints Dungeon Points]], which grow as you absorb items and bodies, and can be used to research new creation options.
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16	Dungeons often have particular overarching themes; this can affect the type of monsters, loot, and challenges available -- and naturally, the type of adventurers they attract. Picking a starting monster type is usually the first step toward picking a theme, though sometimes [[NotActuallyCosmeticAward Titles]] and [[SkillScoresAndPerks Skills]] the Dungeon Core earns via consistent effort will be just as important.
17	Note that picking [[TheUndead Undead]] or [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demonic]] starter monsters -- or just [[HordeOfAlienLocusts starting to expand on the surface]] instead of digging straight down -- is a good way to be marked as a threat and purged by the local inquisition!
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19	You're probably going to [[VillainProtagonist be at odds]] with [[AnAdventurerIsYou Adventurers]], but don't go thinking you're some kind of [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Absolute Evil]] because of that. See, Dungeons are [[NecessarilyEvil important structures in the world]], essential for proper {{Mana}} circulation, and they are also [[AdventureFriendlyWorld convenient places for humans to practice adventuring]]. Well, the humans you don't manage to kill and recycle into Dungeon Points. It's a symbiotic relationship, kinda.
20	Dungeons [[MonsterOrganTrafficking provide vital resources]], and [[MilkingTheMonster attract adventuring tourists]], so expect a [[DungeonBasedEconomy city to form]] around your Dungeon, and surrounding countries to try to [[{{Greed}} claim or conquer]] that city!
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22	There are [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon ancient and powerful Dungeons]] in the world, with uncountable floors, able to [[AFormYouAreComfortableWith take human shape]] to interact with visitors, and [[RealityWarper change the laws of physics themselves]] within their corridors. Some say that the [[FantasticSapientSpeciesTropes sapient races]] were originally created as Dungeon monsters, escaping and multiplying. Others say that the world itself is but a floor in such an ancient Dungeon, the Gods its Mini-bosses.\
23	This is what you can aspire to -- but that is only if you don't get crushed by a RagtagBunchOfMisfits with rusty swords in your first week of existence!
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25	So, be sure to [[DungeonMaintenance keep the traps ready, the chests of gold filled, and the monsters hungry!]]
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27	----
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29	Originally pioneered by ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' and similar games, A Dungeon Is You is by now a staple literature genre on Website/RoyalRoad, and also occurs in various [[ForumRolePlays Quest Threads]].
30	The concept shows up in [[LightNovel Light Novels]] as well, but there the MC is usually a Dungeon Master controlling the Core, rather than the Dungeon Core itself, and as such these stories fall under the DungeonMaintenance trope.
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32	The genre is generally referred to in the {{LitRPG}} community as [=DungeonCore=], a pun on the characters being Dungeon Cores, and on terms like "hardcore".
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34	Dungeons are usually a Fantasy Trope, especially prevalent in LitRPG settings, but there have been the odd one here and there based on alien technology or [[NanoMachines nanobots]].
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36	SubTrope of DungeonMaintenance, SoulJar, GeniusLoci - and in case of games, ConstructionAndManagementGames and SpaceManagementGame. Compare to TowerDefense.
37	----
38	!!Examples:
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41	[[index]]
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43	[[folder:Fan Works]]
44	* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'' places Ami from ''Anime/SailorMoon'' in the world of ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'', where she is forced to take on the job of a Dungeon Keeper. She still has her own body, but gains substantial powers over her claimed territory, in exchange for dying if all her Dungeon Hearts are destroyed. Unfortunately, dungeons in this world ''aren't'' considered to be important parts of the ecosystem, but rather manifestations of the dark gods, to be terminated with extreme prejudice...
45	%%** Also the AU fic, ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperOfLoveAndJustice''
46	* ''Fanfic/DungeonHulk'' centers on a Dungeon Core reincarnate that suddenly appears on a chaos-infested shipwreck pile-up in the ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' universe.
47	* ''Fanfic/IWokeUpAsADungeonNowWhat'' has [[Literature/{{Worm}} Taylor]], after the events of Golden Morning, wake up as a dungeon all of a sudden. It turns out that bug control and terrain control have ''excellent'' synergy.
48	[[/folder]]
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50	[[folder:Literature]]
51	* ''Literature/AncientDreams'': The main character, a summoned demoness, is bound into a crystal by a summoner with a grudge and left to slowly fade away. Hundreds of years later, she manages to make herself a Dungeon Core, having only dim memories of her previous life.
52	* ''Literature/BioDungeon'': A sickly young thief inadvertently swallows a lost dungeon core, which begins fighting off the surprisingly intelligent disease that has been ravaging his body in its attempts to take it over.
53	* ''Literature/BlueCore'': The protagonist is mysteriously transported to a fantasy world with [[RPGMechanicsVerse explicit RPG elements]] as a Dungeon Core. The concept takes a more organic twist here with dungeons literally growing rather than popping rooms into existence or having them carved out by minions.
54	* ''Literature/{{Bunkercore}}'' is a science fiction example, with the main character expanding his base with nanobots following LitRPG rules.
55	* ''Literature/TheConcubinesTomb'' is set in Fantasy Egypt, where the MC toils for ten years on building a tomb, only to be [[ShootTheBuilder killed by the Emperor]] afterwards. Resurrected as a Dungeon Core by the God of Retribution, he sets out to get revenge... Released as a commercial novel as ''Tomb: Stone and Blood'' by Michael [=McClung=] in 2019.
56	* ''Literature/CoreOfFear'' has Clive Logan, a prolific serial killer, sent up from Hell as a "Spirit Core" to torment the living in the form of a haunted house. Unlike most examples of the genre, he does not have a single place which may be attacked, but rather needs to be banished room by room (and he tries to avoid his targets even being aware of his existence). Also unlike most cases, he does not have direct control of the house itself.
57	* ''Literature/ADearthOfChoice'': The protagonist is reincarnated as a dungeon core and ''wants'' to peacefully coexist with humans, but he keeps inadvertently stacking up bonuses to death magic and necromancy...
58	* ''Literature/TheDiscardedHalfEatenAppleCoreNewLife'': The world is invaded by demons, and the protagonist has his soul sucked out, before being accidentally reincarnated into an apple. And ''then'' the System finally catches up with him and tries to figure out what to do with him.
59	* ''Literature/TheDivineDungeon'' sees a victim of necromancy bound in a crystal develop Dungeon Core powers and become a Dungeon core.
60	* ''Literature/DoomedDungeon'': The main character is made by a high-level Necromancer intending to come back and harvest him for materials in a few years. If he wants to escape that fate, he needs to power up A LOT before then...
61	* ''Literature/TheDungeonCallsForASage'': The one reincarnated as a Dungeon is... a former Dungeon Core. Disillusioned with existence, the core decides to make itself attractive to wise men and sages, so as to meet someone qualified to solve its philosophical dilemma and find a purpose to its life.
62	* ''Literature/DungeonCoreChatRoom'': A dungeon core awakens and quickly finds that it isn't alone. The other dungeons are sometimes helpful, sometimes sarcastic, sometimes downright dangerous, but when you're facing the world, it's good to have friends.
63	* ''Literature/DungeonCoreTrilogy'' focuses on a wizard who has been transformed into a Dungeon Core.
64	* ''Literature/DungeonEngineer'' features a reincarnated engineer, who uses his GeniusLoci powers to build interesting dungeon structures, design deadly creatures, and start a major rock quarry operation supplying the nearby city with building stones.
65	* ''Literature/DungeonHeart'' sees a dying Dwarf's soul merging with a Dungeon Core crystal, inhabiting it after death, and starting a Dungeon with the intent of making sure his exquisitely crafted items will only go to the worthy from now on.
66	* "Literature/DungeonLife" Reincarnated soul takes up the title/name of "Thediem" and does his best to develop a friendly symbiotic relationship with the town the dungeon spawned in.
67	* ''Literature/DungeonRobotics'': After he dies, Regan's soul is sent to another world and lands in a dungeon core. He then moves his core to the mountains and sets about building automation and eventually robots as he expands his dungeon.
68	* In ''Literature/FactoryOfTheGods'', and the coreverse in general, dungeons are source herocores and the mana they need to replenish and rank up. When a soul combines with a mana core it becomes a dungeon core and must set about building a dungeon to lure adventurers in so they can also grow stronger, generating mobs for them to fight. [[spoiler: This happens to Pholma when he dies, which causes him to lose most of his memories.]] [[spoiler: Later Julain has a dungeon core implanted in him while he is still alive, becoming a weird version of a dungeon.]]
69	* ''Literature/IWasReincarnatedAsAMagicAcademy'': A [[WizardingSchool Magic Academy]] experiments with making an artificial Dungeon Core from core shards, in order to lower maintenance costs. The main character's soul somehow ends up inside.
70	* ''Literature/LairForRent'' is a rules-light superhero universe example, with Walter controlling the resources of a former office building largely built underground, and in the middle of a prominent supervillain's territory.
71	* ''Literature/LazyDungeonMaster'' has a lazy young man who becomes co-opted into being a Dungeon Core, and succeeds largely through his laziness leading to him finding the most expedient solution to any problem so that he can go back to sleep.
72	* ''Literature/TheMisplacedDungeon'' has irresponsible Gods clone human souls and mindwipe them to function as Dungeon Cores. The main character manages to escape the mindwipe and establish a link to her clone-self on Earth, making her a PatientZero for infectious LitRPG magic, with global consequences.
73	* ''Literature/SagaOfTheSoulDungeon'': The main character's soul is summoned and fused with a Dungeon Core as part of a magical experiment, meaning that, in order to found a Dungeon, he must first escape a Wizard's laboratory.
74	* ''Literature/SilvergladeADungeonsTale'' has an extreme introvert reincarnate as a Dungeon Core, decide that this is the life -- she never has to leave her room again -- and then proceed to screw up in interesting ways.
75	* ''Literature/ThereIsNoEpicLootHereOnlyPuns'': A girl is reincarnated as a dungeon core, and after having a serious FreakOut, settles on creating a place of learning and adventure instead of a murder machine. Just be nice to the spiders, leave Waddles the duck well alone, and remember, the giant Abyss Worm is actually quite friendly! Have fun!
76	* ''Literature/TravelersBlueCoffeeJava'': A group of friends are transported to a Fantasy setting by a Scrying spell gone wrong, and one of them is made into a Dungeon Core.
77	* ''Literature/NoNeedForACore'': One ancient dungeon core, recently unsealed to get a Do Over. One kitsune girl recently reincarnated as a new dungeon core. One half-elf warrior monk. And an unusual relationship to bind them as a single dungeon.
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80	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
81	* ''TableTopGame/SwordWorldRPG'': The second edition of the game has an interesting variation: In the world of Raxia, there exists an untold number of [[EmpathicWeapon powerful sentient magical swords]] who are capable of creating their own dungeons to hide themselves away in, filled with traps and monsters that are attracted into living there, specifically to [[StrengthEqualsWorthiness test the worthiness]] of any adventurers who might enter to find someone strong enough to wield them. They can do this because they were originally cloned from the Swords of Genesis, the three (or maybe four) magical swords that created the world of Raxia itself centuries ago. Being swords doesn't mean they don't have personalities either. In the city-state of Granzale, there's one particular Sword Labyrinth that is used as both a form of execution and a final chance for [[OnlyGoodPeopleMayPass the convicted to prove their innocence]] because the sword at the center of it hates injustice so much that those it finds guilty of crimes will disappear never to be seen again if they wander its halls too long.
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84	[[folder:Video Games]]
85	* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'': The player controls a "Keeper", a bodiless SorcerousOverlord whose only physical presence is an immobile stone Dungeon Heart that [[SoulJar sustains your life]]. Your minions claim territory in your name, which you can [[RidiculouslyFastConstruction instantly furnish]] into various dungeon rooms that attract and support a force of evil minions. You can build rooms and traps, cast spells within your territory, and relocate your own forces, but otherwise rely on your minions to accomplish your goals. Some levels [[EvilVersusEvil pit you against rival Keepers]].
86	* ''VideoGame/DungeonMakerHuntingGround'' and its sequel ''VideoGame/DungeonMakerIITheHiddenWar'' both subvert the trope, casting the player as an architect who builds and furnishes a dungeon [[HunterOfMonsters specifically to hunt the monsters that are attracted to it]], with the goal of eventually luring in the most powerful and dangerous monster in the setting.
87	* ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'': Dungeon Man is a strange and humorous UnbuiltTrope take on this. It's a dungeon with a vaguely humanoid outer façade that was built around a dungeon-obsessed man named Brick Road with help from Dr. Andonuts. Brick Road himself serves as the "Dungeon Core" in the sense that he has embedded himself in the center of the dungeon with his head sticking out of a wall -- and once the player finds him there, the Dungeon Man will follow the party as a powerful GuestStarPartyMember. The dungeon itself is a BreatherEpisode as far as difficulty, being full of weak enemies and numerous hint signs; Brick Road was more concerned with showing off his creativity than challenging adventurers.
88	* ''VideoGame/SuzukuriDungeonKarinInTheMountain'', a loose spin-off of the ''VisualNovel/KoihimeMusou'' series, features an adventurer tasked with building dungeons to finance the Demon Queen's resurrection, mainly by luring and shaking down adventurers, alongside romance with the female characters and {{eroge}} elements.
89	* ''VideoGame/WarForTheOverworld'': As a SpiritualSuccessor to the venerable ''Dungeon Keeper'' series, it uses the same format as that game (as well as the originally planned name for the third game in the ''Dungeon Keeper'' series).
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92	[[folder:Webcomics]]
93	* ''Webcomic/{{Dungeoneer}}'': An ancient Dungeon Core finds herself forced to start a new Dungeon from scratch, recruiting partners from a nearby city to do so. She has ongoing problems with her damaged core but it has allowed her to embed a shard of herself into a golem body and in the process is slowly learning how to be a better person.
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95	[[/index]]

Context Main / ADungeonIsYou