AnnouncementHello everyone! I don't want to add even more game windows into this chapter. Since most of the stats are more or less intuitive and not needed to understand the chapter, I'm going to put them here in a spoiler bubble.

  Here is the descripton of each stat:

  SpoilerDynamic stats

  These stats change during combat and represent the wellbeing of the unit. The numbers written in the unit’s stats window represent the maximum amount that unit can have.

  HP (Health Points)The health of the unit. Reduced when taking damage and increased slowly over time or with healing skills. If a unit reaches 0 HP, it dies.STA (Stamina)Represents the energy reserves of the unit and how capable it is to stay active during long periods of time. STA is slowly replenished automatically over time and is used to replenish EP. If a unit has 0 STA, it dies.EP (Energy Points)The current energy that the unit can use before having to rest. EP is needed to attack and use skills. Its rate of recovery is proportional to the current STA. The higher the STA is, the faster the EP recovers.SOU (Soul)The soul is the source of mana and the unit’s knowledge about the mystical arts. SOU is slowly replenished automatically over time and is used to replenish MP. A unit dies if it has its SOU reduced to 0.MP (Mana Points)The current amount of mana that the unit can use. Needed to cast spells and use skills. Higher MP means the unit can use more powerful spells and skills. Its rate of recovery is proportional to the current SOU. The higher the SOU is, the faster the MP recovers.Static stats

  These stats don’t change during combat and represent how well the unit performs when doing certain actions.

  STR (Strength) How strong the unit is. Increases the damage the unit deals with physical attacks and skills.SPI (Spirit) How well the unit can use its own mana. Increases the damage the unit deals with magical attacks and skills.CON (Constitution) How sturdy or capable to ignore damage the unit is. Reduces the physical damage taken.WIL (Willpower)How good the unit is at stopping other's mana. Reduces the magical damage taken.AGI (Agility)How good the unit is at optimizing its movements and at creating instantaneous speed. Increases the unit’s attack speed and evasion.DEX (Dexterity)How coordinated the unit is, especially when other objects are in the mix. Increases crafting skills, manipution of machines and contraptions, and helps in aiming.SPD (Speed)How fast can the unit move and run. Increases maximum movement speed. Units can move at any speed lower than the maximum, and consume less EP than slower units moving at the same speed.[colpse]The next thing after selecting the faction is creating the pyer’s avatar. It is called Champion. As I’m thinking about it, a screen pops in front of me.

  Champion Creation

  You now need to create your Champion. When inside the game, this is the unit you will be pying as. Champions are very powerful units and are mostly used as the principal force to invade other pyer’s dungeons, though they can also be used to defend from other’s invasions. In the Dungeon Battles, the Champions are the cornerstone of each pyer’s strategy.

  For health and comfort reasons, only humanoid units can be turned into Champions. *Warning! Werebeasts are permitted for Champion selection but we warn pyers to avoid extended use of their beast forms, or to avoid using them altogether.

  A Champion costs more or less depending on the unit it is based on. You can ter improve your Champion and make them more powerful, but keep in mind that, except in very specific cases, a Champion can’t obtain new innate skills after creation.

  You currently have 1000 cp (creation points) for creating the dungeon. The Champion’s costs will be reduced from those points. We recommend that you spend between 100 and 200 cp in your Champion.

  It will be possible to create new Champions ter on, so don’t worry if the Champion you want is too expensive to create right now.

  “That’s nice information to know. Especially the part about the creation points. Then… let’s see what options I have.”

  I remove the screen from view and find myself in another bck empty space. Only that, this time, in front of me there is a human-shaped… slime? Don’t judge me! It does look like one! It has the same body proportions as humans but is made of a strange transparent substance. Also, it doesn’t have any defined features: no face, no hair… not even hands or feet. But if I move, it mirrors whatever I do. So I py with it. Only a little, I promise.

  *Khm, Khm* “Ok, that’s enough fooling around” I interrupt myself an undetermined amount of time ter. I don’t know how much time has passed, but it surely isn’t ‘only a little’. “Let’s actually see what options I have. This time for sure." I say as I open the menu.

  I kind of expected it. The Flesh Monstrosities only have two options: Stitched and Hybrid. Though there is a note at one side.

  Important Note

  For bance purposes and to help pyers with their first Champion creation, we have disabled all advanced humanoid units for the Flesh Monstrosities.

  To compensate, once you unlock those units, you will be able to use your current Champion as the base, effectively upgrading it in a way the other factions can’t do.

  Well, there is nothing I can do about the blocked units. But if I can ter upgrade the Champion, doesn’t it mean I can keep using this Champion forever?

  “No surprises about the units I can use. Also, there’s no way I’m making my Champion a damned Stitched. Still, I’m going to look at them first anyway, to compare them to the other units.

  StitchedHP60STA5SOU3 EP50MP30STR5CON7AGI2SPI4WIL4DEX1SPD3 Cost: 20 cp“Well, I can’t say how weak or strong they are, but at least they sure are cheap. That is, compared to the 100 to 200 recommended cost.” I select the Hybrid next and open its info screen.

  HybridHP?STA?SOU? EP?MP?STR?CON?AGI?SPI?WIL?DEX?SPD? Unit 1: ?Unit 2: ?Cost: ? cp“Everything’s a question mark? … Oh, yeah! It’s because I haven’t selected any unit to use. The stats must be updated after selecting the units.”

  I press the ‘Unit 1’ slot and a list of all avaible units to select appears, sorted by cost. It seems I can choose between all the units from the other factions. With the exception of non-living units like the undead, of course. The Flesh Monstrosities can only use living units. I press on the human’s basic unit and immediately a screen shows its stats.

  FarmerHP50STA5SOU5 EP50MP50STR5CON5AGI5SPI5WIL5DEX5SPD5 Cost: 20 cpIt was already expined in the faction selection, but the Stitched really are weak. The Farmer unit has better or equal stats in almost everything and costs the same. Also, it seems the default value for the stats is 5 (50 for the HP, EP and MP). Nice to know. I mean, it is the human basic unit, of course it is going to have the most basic and average stats! I return to the unit list.

  The range of selectable creatures is incredible. The weakest are the 20 cp units, but it continues to grow until past the 1000 cp I have for creating the dungeon. Wow, hello!? Demigod!? What the hell!? And it costs 10,000 cp!! …what the fuck… its stats are insane! What faction has this unit? ... I can’t see their factions in this list…

  “Focus, focus!” I say to myself, again. “Let’s be reasonable and don’t waste time looking at useless units or units I can’t use.”

  I am setting a cp range for the units I’m going to pick. Between 50 and 200 cp is reasonable. This way I won’t spend too much time, but also not miss on any reasonably-priced good units.

  “I like pying spellcasters, so first I’m going to find a suitable unit to make a spellcasting Champion.”

  After a few minutes of looking at the units, I pick the High Elf unit (I swear, I wasn’t distracted by fooling around, not this time!). It is going to be the central point around which I am going to build my Champion. High Elf has decent stats for a spellcaster and an amazing innate skill called Manna Attuned.

  Mana Attuned (Innate passive skill)Reduces mana costs by 10% and increases the damage of skills that use MP by 10%The High Elf costs 100 cp. I assume that the units with 100 cp costs are the ones most pyers are going to use as their first Champion. I can see a lot of decent units with 100 cp cost: the human’s Soldier, the dwarf’s Bcksmith, the orc’s Hunter… I select the High Elf as the first unit and return to the Hybrid creation screen. It now shows the stats of the High Elf.

  HybridHP100STA7SOU9 EP80MP120STR8CON8AGI9SPI12WIL10DEX10SPD6 Unit 1: High ElfUnit 2: ?Innate skills: Mana AttunedCost: 100 cp“Quite a decent pick for a caster, if I say so myself. It cks a little on the physical stats… but that’s not really needed to cast spells.”

  “Now for the second one! What should I choose…? Some unit with a hiding skill? With a hiding skill, I can work around the ck of physical stats. And make a mage-assassin that surprises enemies by bsting them with magic!”

  “Or maybe take a physical focused unit to compensate? Hmm… no, definitively no. If I do so, I won’t have a spellcaster, I will have a hybrid unit and I don’t want that.”

  “And a werebeast? The game does warn about their transformation skill, though… Well, let’s take a look at them anyway!”

  I look through the werebeast units and find only two within the point range I set for myself: the Wererat and the Wererabbit. The skill to turn into beasts must be quite good because werebeasts are expensive. The Wererabbit is focussed on speed while the Wererat is quite banced, with a slight focus on magic stats.

  WereratHP120STA8SOU8 EP100MP100STR9CON9AGI10SPI10WIL9DEX10SPD7 Innate skills: Rat TransformationCost: 120 cp“The Wererat’s stats are in the same range as the High Elf. But it is more expensive at 120 cp.”

  “With the Rat Transformation skill, I should be able to scurry away in case of need, or to make unexpected ambushes.” For now I select the Wererat and see how the stats of my Champion look like.

  HybridHP220STA15SOU17 EP180MP220STR17CON17AGI19SPI22WIL19DEX20SPD7 Unit 1: High ElfUnit 2: WereratInnate skills: Mana Attuned, Rat TransformationCost: 220 cp“It was true that the Hybrids have the stats of the two units added! Except for the Speed… which makes kind of sense because otherwise I would be moving absurdly fast.” I imagine myself moving so fast, that I sptter myself in a wall. “Still, the final Speed takes the highest value between the two units.”

  “Hmm… Other units in the 200 cp range have simir stats to my current configuration.” I say while taking a peek at those units. “This means that Hybrids are actually banced, contrary to what I thought at the beginning.”

  “So, do I want to py as a High Elf and Wererat hybrid? It has decent stats for casting magic, a spellcaster innate skill and the possibility to turn into a rat for utility. It is, though, a little over the recommended cp range… But I don’t think 20 cp will make that much of a difference.”

  I imagine a scene where a humanoid rat-headed monstrosity is leading a bunch of flesh abominations while casting spells from the back. “Yes! Yes! That's good! And it also fits the faction’s theme!” Not wasting more time, I press the done button. Now is the turn for the Champion’s looks.

  Champion Design

  You can customize the aspect of your Champion here.

  After the Champion is created, only a few minor changes will be allowed, like hairstyle changes. Don’t create a messed up Champion!

  Note: ter, normal units will be able to be customized too, but the options will be severely limited. If you pn to coordinate how your Champion and units will look, think about it now.

  Special Customization: Hybrid

  You have selected a Hybrid unit as your Champion. As a Hybrid, you can choose which of the two unit’s model you want to use for each body part.

  The parts are [Body], [Head], [Arm] x2 and [Leg] x2.

  Between the parts that are from different units, you must choose a “type of union”. This way, it will clearly show that the two parts are not from the same creature. You can also do so for parts that are from the same unit, if you wish to do so.

  “So I have extra customization options since I’m creating a Hybrid… It makes sense.”

  “It’s already settled that the head must be from the wererat. And for the rest of the body, I don’t want to be confused with normal wererats, so I don’t have any other choice than to use the elve’s extremities.”

  Why do I have to use elf parts for the extremities to not be confused with a normal wererat? Because wererats are furred and have cws in all extremities. If all the visible parts are from a wererat, there won't be any visual difference between my champion and a normal wererat.

  “Now, for the torso… Elf too? Hmm… Yes. This way the difference between the head and the body will be more noticeable.”

  As I make the changes, the figure in front of me, the one that previously looked like a humanoid slime, changes. It now looks like a skinny human with a giant rat’s head. ‘Why does it look like a human?’ you may ask. Well… the principal difference between humans and elfs is in the head (you know, the pointy ears and good looks). Soooo … yes! You guessed it right! With a rat head there is no visual difference between the two. I wonder if other pyers will know it is actually based on an elf without inspecting my Champion.

  I continue with tweaking the details while the Champion in front of me changes.

  “I think this looks good. It has this nasty and crazy look that I wanted.”

  The figure in front of me is slightly hunched. The rat head is big and all its teeth are twisted. From its slightly open mouth saliva slowly drips to the ground.

  “It’s funny that there is an option to set how much saliva drips from the mouth.”

  The eyes look in different directions and there is a huge scar in its left eye. It covers almost half of the head. Part of the right ear is gone, which, together with small patches of fur that are missing and its dirtiness, makes one feel the rat must have been tormented for a long time. The head is grotesquely stitched to a skinny human-looking body. Its arms, though, are too wide to belong to the same creature. They, too, are stitched to the skinny body in a disgusting way.

  “It’s done! Took a little long but I really like its final look!”

  I confirm the Champion’s aspect. Now, it asks for the starting equipment the Champion is going to wear. I obviously chose the ‘Mage’ equipment. And the st step is, as anyone could guess, the Champion’s name.

  “It has a rat’s head and it looks like it’s crazy…” I don’t think too much about it and immediately introduce the Champion’s name.

  Champion Name: Mad Rat

  "How to reach the top rankings with your dungeon, you ask? Well, of course the dungeon has to be good, and a little bit of luck is helpful. But the most important thing is that it has something that attracts the pyers.

  For example, some of the top ranking dungeons are simply there because by conquering them you obtain a lot of resources. There are also ones that are incredibly beautiful and detailed, which make you feel like you are in a real fantasy world.

  But in my opinion, the most important thing is originality: to have something that the pyers haven’t seen before.”

  - Excerpt of an interview to a high ranking DMA pyer.