Other Literature Even Darker-er: The Re-Darkening: Zero

Tsuki

Party Girl

Introduction

So, you might be wondering what exactly this is supposed to be, as the title doesn't lend itself too much to explaining the concept here. First off, Darkest Dungeon is a gritty, turn-based RPG where not only do you have to deal with surviving in combat, but your party members will be subjected to several other factors than just immediate danger. Stress, for one, plays a huge role in the management of your party. I'd describe it almost like a dungeon crawler mixed with a management simulator, in that you have to help your party members and team recover from stress, diseases, personality quirks, and other such nonsense. All that on top of the usual stuff like upgrading their weapons, armor, and abilities, while managing the amount of money you make.

It's a very fine balance of risk vs reward, this game. For those of you interested in reading or viewing the game, you can find it here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/262060/

That being said, what's this thread about then? Well, the idea came to me when I wanted to play X-Com: Enemy Unknown / Within. In games where your characters can die after so much investment in them, after you've named and customized them, you can't help but start to feel an attachment to them. What I wanted to do for X-Com, was a playthrough told from a highly narrative standpoint. That is to say, not only would I be playing the game to the best of my ability, but I would put a narrative / story-telling spin to whatever I was doing at the time. However, before getting around to it, Darkest Dungeon came out of Early Access, and I decided to give it a go with this game instead.

So, what will that entail? Well, for starters, I'll be using several mediums of storytelling in order to bring a more fluid sense of action and life to a game that, at its core fundamentals, is simply turn-based. While playing the game, I will note key occurrences and situations that happen, and will use my writing to bring more life to them. A party member that survives a dungeon may have written a Journal entry telling of the horrific death of his friend he witnessed. Or a later party visiting the same dungeon may have found clues that hinted at what happened to the party before them that never returned. Or I may write from the perspective of someone recounting a fierce battle as though it were real time. Many different formats will be used to give the reader a sense of involvement and wonder, thanks to the chaotic nature of this game.

Member Involvement

Speaking of involvement, however, what better way to get involved than to have your party members named and loosely based after real people? The game offers many varieties of classes, each with their own playstyle and skills, each having a certain finesse that they can bring to a dungeon. As such, I've decided to name my characters after both friends, and people on the forum when I inevitably run out of friends. I've posted on my profile, asking brave users to heed the call to adventure, and have a hero named after them. In this game, you start off with two Heroes, and recruit more. Most of the time, the heroes will be completely random which class you get, so for those of you who volunteered, I'll briefly explain how it works. If you were the first one to volunteer yourself as a Jester, in this case, Matsu, the very first Jester that I encounter and recruit will be named after him. If he dies, and he probably will, the next Jester I recruit will be named after the next person who volunteered.

How to get involved in this, you may ask? Well, if you visit this link, http://darkestdungeon.gamepedia.com/Heroes#Classes , you can see the available classes, and see if one strikes your fancy. If you do find one, you can post it right in this thread, with the name you'd like them to be known by. Now then, if you're worried about there not being enough slots in the end, don't worry so much! This game is known for being terribly unforgiving, especially with RNG, and has a unique mechanic known as "Light Level" (Or Torch Level). The higher your light level, the easier the game is. The lower, the harder the game gets, but the more rewards you get. As such, in the interest of making things interesting, I've decided on a few options, putting them in a poll for users to vote on.

This should help to make things both dangerous and interesting. But also worth noting, is the actual end goal of the game. The final dungeon in the game is unique...you have to do 4 different quests there. Sounds easy enough, right? Well, the issue is that when a hero completes a quest there, they will never go back. That means that, at very least, I'll want 16 max level Heroes by the end of the game. And to add another interesting element to this, is I'm playing almost completely blind. I played the game for a few hours about a year ago in early access, and haven't touched it since its full release. There's so much in the game I don't know anything about, things that could probably cause an instant party wipe if I make a mistake on.

What to Expect
Well, I'll be posting pretty regularly here, doing several "weeks" at a time. A week in the game, is literally one dungeon. So every installment I make here will include several dungeons worth of content and story. Not only will I be using narrative tools to illustrate the story and happenings, but I'll also be providing such things as screenshots, snippets, and maybe even videos on some of the more important dungeons / boss fights, so people will get to watch their namesakes suffer or succeed in real time. This first post exists as an explanation to what I'm accomplishing, but the next post is where we get into it. The next post will serve as a general "Progress tracking" hub, where I'll list what goals we've accomplished, the progress of our upgrades, our current party members, memorials for our deceased party members, and more. For now, just sit tight and that post will be up soon...until then, if you feel like joining in, you can visit the previously linked "Classes" page on the wiki, and post on my profile. I have 3 "Weeks" / dungeons recorded that I'm editing and writing, which will also be up relatively soon too. But I won't play any more until these 3 weeks are posted, so it'll very much be a lengthy ordeal.

Just wanted to get the intro post up while working on the second post, and after that, we'll get right into the flesh and blood of the story. The two posts after this will be reserved, one for the "Hub" of our journey, and the next as a very "Super just in case" post, though I don't have any immediate plans for it...or maybe I do and thankfully haven't had to put those plans into effect yet...
 
The Hamlet

Even the hardiest of adventurers need even the briefest of respites. Unfortunately, this decrepit hamlet doesn't provide much other than a meager break between expeditions into what lurks around and below. The Nakata estate houses several buildings, though shambled as they are. Maybe even more ambitious than braving the perilous ruins, is bringing a sense of sanctuary and breathing some manner of life into these structures beyond a last ditch resting place. Or a final resting place for those unfortunate few...​
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The Stagecoach
Aspiring adventurers are brought to the hamlet via stagecoach, hoping to aid the cause, find fame or fortune, or simply to test themselves. But even manpower is limited. As new heroes are brought in, old heroes will fall. Blood in, blood out. The Stagecoach is upgraded with Deeds and Crests.
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Upgrade Progress

Stagecoach Network: ○○○○○
Each level increases the amount of Heroes the coach will offer you after every mission

Hero Barracks: ○○○○○
Each level increases the amount of Heroes you can have on your roster at any time

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The Blacksmith
A warrior without a weapon is either dead, or no warrior at all. Thankfully, through a fiery forge, new weapons can be made and old weapons can be improved. When the strongest of weapons seems nary able to even put a scratch on the twisted creatures of the weald, our heroes will seek the Blacksmith's guidance and expertise to strengthen their arms even further. However, his services are not free, and at times, vital provisions must be sacrificed in favor of stronger steel. The Blacksmith requires Deeds and Crests to upgrade.

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Upgrade Progress

Weaponsmithing: ○○○○
Each level allows our heroes to upgrade their weapons and damage at the cost of hard-earned coin.

Armorsmithing: ○○○○
Each level allows our heroes to upgrade there armor, and thus reduce damage taken, at the cost of hard-earned coin

Furnace: ○○○○○
Each level reduces the amount of gold our heroes need to pay in order to upgrade their weapons and armor.
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The Guild
If the Blacksmith's interests are building a better weapon, the Guild's specialties lie in building a better person. At the Guild, a Hero can train further in their abilities, or by sheer determination and an undying will, they can learn entirely new abilities. These will be vital to the success of an expedition, as the trickle of new Heroes slow, and as the veterans grow even stronger and need to specialize. The Guild requires Portraits and Deeds to upgrade.

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Upgrade Progress

Instructor Mastery: ○○○○
Each level allows our Heroes to further upgrade their skills, which can improve damage, accuracy, or other factors.

Training Regimen: ○○○○○
Each level reduces the cost of training and upgrading Heroes' skills.
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The Tavern
Stress. It eats away at the mind like a poison that eats away at the heart. However, the tavern provides poisons of a different kind. A poison that enters the stomach and numbs the mind, so that it may stave off the gnawing thoughts at the back of our Heroes' heads, allowing them to partake in simple pleasures and maybe get a decent night's sleep. The Tavern presents several opportunities for our Heroes to rest and relax, pushing away the terrors of the dungeons for another time. Any Heroes that are allowed to recover stress here will be out of action for a week at least.

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Upgrade Progress:

Bar: ○○○○
Each upgrade improves the Bar, whether reducing cost required, or increasing stress relief.

Gambling Hall: ○○○○○
Each upgrade improves the Gambling Hall, whether reducing cost required, or increasing stress relief.

Brothel: ○○○○
Each upgrade improves the Brothel, whether reducing cost required, or increasing stress relief.
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The Abbey
The Abbey: It's the closest thing we have to a sanctuary here. Especially when it comes to those of a religious persuasion. The stress of Eldritch horrors, as well as unholy monstrosities, can drive the god-fearing man to seek respite in this holiest of buildings. However, searching for a god in a godless place is nothing but a fool's errand, despite putting their mind at ease. If only temporarily.
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Upgrade Progress:
Cloister: ○○○○
Each upgrade improves the Cloister, whether reducing cost required, or increasing stress relieved.

Transept:○○○○
Each upgrade improves the Transept, whether reducing cost required, or increasing stress relieved.

Penance Hall: ○○○○
Each upgrade improves the Penance Hall, whether reducing cost required, or increasing stress relieved.
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Ancestor's Memoirs
Lest we forget the deeds of our Heroes. To die is part of life. To be forgotten is true death. This is where we will remember our Heroes' valiant battles. With each passing week, their deeds become more and more heroic as we sit around the campfire, retelling their tales.
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The Heroes
A mixed bag of heroes from many different backgrounds. They flock to the hamlet, like lambs to the slaughter. Or maybe like moths to a flame. Maybe like sharks to blood in the water. They unite under a common cause, under a common banner, at least it would appear. There Heroes are the lifeblood of the Hamlet, and its only hope. The only hope that exists in this gods-forsaken place.

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The Roster


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Future Heroes
This is the list of the Heroes that are awaiting a glorious Stagecoach ride to the Hamlet. As a random set of Heroes arrive by stagecoach, if you are on this list, that means the next Hero of your chosen class that arrives via Stagecoach will be you. If there is no spots available on the roster, you will be signed onto the team whenever there is a spot available. Keep in mind that the order of Heroes in this list does not necessarily indicate the order that these heroes will be recruited. And if there's too many of a class already (2 or 3) then you will have to wait until someone of your class die to be recruited, so I don't fill my roster up with too many of one class. (Or I might just do it anyway because sometimes I roll like that)
 
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Matsu the Jester is going to be the hero the party needs. Calling it now, he will solo the final boss.
 
I'm gunna be too busy hugging Tsuki to fight and relieving party stress with my cuteness and innocence. Is my prediction.
 
I'm gunna be too busy hugging Tsuki to fight and relieving party stress with my cuteness and innocence. Is my prediction.

I dunno, I think if you don't at least throw a dagger or two we might end up dying.
 
First "Episode" will go up tomorrow, soon after I get home from work.

I decided to put a decent amount of effort into the occurrences of Week 1, and the intro. Which proved to be a bit difficult, since the intro of the game is essentially a semi-scripted, two battle tutorial dungeon.

Tomorrow I'll post Weeks 1, 2, and 3 (Three dungeons essentially), as the first "episode." They'll probably be told primarily in story / journal format, but the episodes after that will have lots more screenshots, first-person accounts/recalling of battles, and other stuff. The first episode won't be as flashy, since I'm still working on the format I wish to go with, and half of Episode 1 is going into making the 2nd and 3rd posts of this thread spiffy.

Episode 1, tomorrow. Find out who my starting adventurers will be, find out who dies, find out how dangerous the dungeons will be, and more!

Also, for the Heroes of this story: I recruit people based on the classes that appear to be recruited, and in the order people requested their classes. Said list will be updated
and added to the 2nd post of the thread. So if there's 5 people that want to be Arbalest, the first Arbalest I find will be the first person who asked to be it. 2nd arbalest will be 2nd who requested, etc. But if I have too many arbalests, I won't recruit another until one dies.

Also: The 2nd and 3rd posts will be updated with every episode, as we unlock / upgrade more stuff, and as more things happen, so make sure not to forget to check them out~
 
Yeah, absolutely! I want to try and give people as much control over their character's behavior, appearance, and skills as possible. The more you guys wanna get involved, the better it'll be, I think. Within the realm of possibility, of course. The goal is to make you guys get as attached to your characters as possible.

I might even allow you guys preferences about who you want to avoid / prefer partying with, just to throw some interesting dynamics in. Really, I'm kind of just the dungeon master here.
 
Yeah, absolutely! I want to try and give people as much control over their character's behavior, appearance, and skills as possible. The more you guys wanna get involved, the better it'll be, I think. Within the realm of possibility, of course. The goal is to make you guys get as attached to your characters as possible.

I might even allow you guys preferences about who you want to avoid / prefer partying with, just to throw some interesting dynamics in. Really, I'm kind of just the dungeon master here.
Never ever put me in a party with Omnir.


I kid, I trust your judgement.
 
I'm super lazy, so I haven't finished Episode 1 yet. Since I had the idea to do this "Let's Play" after I'd already done a few missions, I didn't have the chance to grab a lot of screenshots, and thus, have to fill most of Episode 1 with dialogue, story, and other stuff by memory. This will definitely change for Episode 2, as I have a better idea of what I'm doing.

However, even though I didn't finish Episode 1 (yet), I can give you guys the intro! For all intents and purposes, this is Week 1. An Episode will be made of a few weeks. This is the very intro of the game, and involves taking two pre-made heroes through a small tutorial dungeon. Kind of difficult to write something engaging about such a short, content-less encounter, but I think I did well. I think this might give you guys something to do while I finish the rest of Episode 1, still to be posted later today, as I promised. (I was too lazy to do any spellchecking or grammar editing, so whatevers)

The forest was silent, except for the seeming echoes of footsteps. Whatever paths that were once laid out had long since been taken over by the local flora. This wouldn't stop the owners of these footsteps, however, as they attempted to traverse the eerily quiet location.

"Dismas! Look alive, will you?" Barked the creator of the heavier footsteps, clad in armor. He looked back at his comrade who, despite wearing much less inhibiting gear, was trudging through the dirt, clearly having thoughts of places he'd much rather be at the moment.

"Uh huh." Came the uninterested retort from the one known as "Dismas," who was dressed in a trenchcoat and pants, looking much less battle-ready than his peer. A scarf also decorated his neck, though currently pulled over his nose, protecting his senses from all matter of dingy, unpleasant scents.

The silence lasted a bit longer, until Dismas suddenly took the lead over the other, his footsteps seemed to suddenly quiet to nearly nothing. The armored individual had scarce begun to open his mouth, before Dismas put a finger to his own lips, quickly shushing the other.

"Reynauld, silence." He scolded with a whisper, before turning his attention to the side of the path. Ducking low, he peered past a small wall of shrubbery. Less than a hundred yards away, he saw the figure of a man, perched near a disheveled excuse of a camp. "Bandit." Dismas continued, noting the unmistakable outfit and colors.

Reynauld did not know how Dismas immediately identified this figure as an enemy, and thought it best not to question his companion's judgement, however hot his curiosity burned. Dismas gestured, and Reynauld knew this to mean he should resume the lead. As they slowly approached, the bandit seemed to have a similar disposition as Dismas did to this forsaken forest: He simply seemed uninterested in being there.

The click of Dismas' pistol, once they closed in, was enough to snap the bandit out of his daydreams. The shot fired from it was enough to put him to sleep. Reynauld had enough time to pull out his sword, before quickly stowing it away, scoffing quietly, having piqued his appetite for battle. Dismas was already rummaging through the bandit's camp for coin, though the noise from his shot combined with their voices, was enough to bring some unwanted attention.

"Well, well, what do we got here?" A deep voice boomed from just behind a tree. As he came into view, Reynauld and Dismas saw a behemoth of a man emerge from the brush. Shirtless but wearing a suitable amount of scars, the duo of adventurers figured they should not trifle with the likes of him. Backing this monstrosity up was a man of a much smaller form, though wielding a firearm of his own. However, when battle ensued, it became evident that the large man's stature did very little in the way for speed and agility. Even Reynauld, with his heavy armor, could move much faster than the massive bandit, who failed to land even a single blow.

His partner, however, was able to get several shots off on the duo. By some will of a greater good, the shots were naught but grazing blows, the likes of which weren't even close to inhibiting Reynauld and Dismas, who focused their attention on the gunner. While Reynauld was engaging in physical combat with the behemoth, Dismas and the gunner were trading shot for shot. Dismas was the better marksman, by far, and the bandit fusilier soon fell to the dirt, motionless. Reynauld had struck the remaining bandit in the head with his pommel, which disoriented him long enough for Dismas to finish him off with another well placed shot, right between the eyes.

Dismas stowed his pistol before the massive bandit had even hit the ground, and was already rummaging through the gunner's corpse, then the other one. A look of disgust on his face made it clear that there wasn't anything really worth taking, and he began walking away to his destination, Reynauld close in tow. It was a couple more hours before they reached their mark; the Hamlet. It was a husk of a town, the buildings were in shambles, even the air itself seemed heavy with despair. It was as if every sign was trying to sway potential visitors away from coming, and yet, it was a sight for sore eyes to Reynauld.

He quickly surveyed the buildings, doing a small lap around the outskirts of the town. As he glanced about, he saw a small stagecoach. He wasn't in the least bit surprised as he approached the carriage, which itself was slightly tattered. He heard movement in the back as he approached, but felt in no danger at all. After a very brief silence, a head poked out from the carriage, the voice pretty calm and pleasant in contrast to the heavy silence otherwise.

"Reynauld? Is that you?" The head, covered in a hood, spoke.

"Yes, yes, Haru, it is I. Reynauld, your noble courtier. The gods were good to me, and I pray they were good to you as well?" Came his reply.

"As good as a god can be in a godless place..." The one called Haru spoke, a woman of religion much like Reynauld.

"And Sera, how could I not comment on your radiant face, as well?" The crusader questioned, a hint of teasing in his voice, speaking to a second figure in the carriage, clad in robes and hood. The figure wordlessly made a gesture with her head, which Reynauld immediately recognized as annoyance, given that the figure also wore a beaked mask, making it impossible to see her face through it.

"And Dismas? Did he...?" Haru's voice trailed off, betraying a bit of concern.

Reynauld looked around briefly, but gave a small shrug. "Well he's not dead, though he might be tired from all the work he didn't want to do."

Haru sighed exasperatedly as her and Sera both stepped out of the stagecoach, glancing around. "Well, welcome home I suppose. There's much work to do, Reynauld...though for the life of me I can't figure why you two insisted on walking here instead of riding in the coach with us..."

Reynauld tapped his chin in thought, briefly looking as if he never even considered this an option. "At any rate" he said, as if skipping over Haru's musings entirely "We should find Dismas. A small respite is earned, but next week, we begin our task."

Do keep in mind not all weeks will be this heavy in writing, or even in this style of writing. The game is very much a dungeon crawler, grinding game. I'll write about special battles / occurrences, and embellish other details to make them more interesting, but each dungeon can have around 4-7 battles, and to write each one in such massive detail may be both boring, and too difficult.

Again, rest of Episode 1 later today, along with more edits to the hub, but for now, enjoy the intro teaser to get everyone sufficiently in the mood.

Weeks 2 and 3 will be told from a mixture of perspectives, and I decided that on boring dungeons, I might just skip talking about those, and instead, create interesting side-stories or journal entries from Heroes that did -not- participate in that dungeon.
 
If I can get involved I would like to be the Plague Doctor (Even though I am a guy), after all you might need someone to help cure/deal with that blight.
 
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