Dungeon Life Quest – Review by Observer

By: Observer !!QOJy9sRsTEX
Originally posted: 08.06.2016
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QUEST REVIEW

Premise:

Dungeon Life Quest: written by Vox, with the noteable achievement of writing consecutive threads every day from November until February where it encountered its first hiatus.

You play as Brianna la Croix, journeyman necromancer, and her story begins after she has been arrested for reviving a guard with necromancy in the city of Glen. Brianna has been sentenced with being exiled to the Dungeon, a 13 floor mega dungeon underneath the city, and tasked with either finding lost Crown Jewels or living out the rest of her life in the floors of the Dungeon. What at first appeared to be a dungeon exploration quest is quickly revealed to be something else entirely.

Instead, Brianna is sucked into a plot concerning a faction called the Chainbearers that has subjugated each floor, each individual Chainbearer acting with their own goal in mind while also participating in an unknown Master Plan that required the binding of an Angel.

Said Angel has told Bri that she is the new “Heritor” of the Dungeon, and discusses with her every night in her dreams. Lora, the name the Angel gave because she was not able to reveal her true name, attempts to assist Bri with ousting the ruling Chainbearers and freeing her from the chains that bind her to the will of the Chainbearers.

Along the way Brianna encounters characters, makes friends, finds love, and gathers allies to free each individual floor. As of this current point in time, Bri has liberated 7 of the 13 floors, so there is still plenty of the quest to participate in, and plot to likely be revealed, as time goes on!

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Mechanics:

Dungeon Life Quest, as Vox himself states multiple times is meant to be a narrative story, so the majority of decisions consist of a majority vote for a course of action without the addition of dice rolls by the readers. In rare instances a hidden roll on the part of the QM would supplement a particularly difficult action.

Because of this lack of emphasis on dice mechanics, the metaphysics surrounding magic in DLQ is also not as thoroughly explained as you might expect in a fantasy setting. Necromancy is not explained by spells and their descriptions logged in a pastebin, but rather the magic and its effects are shown through Bri’s use of it in the narrative.

Despite how this may appear, I do not find that the story of DLQ was in any way lacking due to a lack of directly explained magical metaphysics. Instead the story focuses on what is easily the strongest aspect of Vox’s writing: his characters.

Before I dive into analyzing the writing, it is important to note that the story is divided into Arcs that signify the clearing of each Floor of the Dungeon, with interludes in between that marks the passage of time, characters being able to relax, slice of life scenes, etc. The archives have them clearly listed, though I will suggest that you do not approach the interludes as unnecessary to the quest as a whole. They are definitely relevant.

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Writing:

Of course only the good aspect of Vox’s writing is not just his characters – the fight scenes are quick and vicious – but the quest is driven by its characters and how they interact with each other as much as the actual plot.

The primary example of this that you will encounter as you read the quest is how Bri’s Heart of Gold and her task to be the person who Does Something when Something Needs to be Done has guided the entire tone of her time in the Dungeon. Looking back now afterward, I can imagine how different the story could have been if the readers had voted for Bri to feel wronged, bitter, and wanted to get revenge for the unjust treatment she received for helping people. The readers had plenty of opportunity to determine the personality of the character in whatever direction they may have wanted her to be, and the Bri of right now in the quest is the product of those early decisions.

Another aspect of the early arcs of the story that have influenced the quest as the whole is Bri’s relationship with Nathan Bookchild, a militia trainee who she killed and revived so that he would be cured of a deathly illness, and Amy or Falling Knives, a half harpy woman who she saved from a cage in a trapped room shrouded by illusions and was forced to slice off her infected wings to keep her from dying. These two are the first examples of Bri going out of her way to save others as dictated by the readers, who both ended up joining her adventure deeper into the Dungeon. Because of Bri’s selfless efforts, both of them came to fall in love with her.

This led to one of the most interesting and mature relationships I have ever encountered in most novels, let alone a quest: a situation where they all decided to be polyamorous lovers with each other. I will not spoil how the relationship develops as the quest progresses, but I will state that it has created plenty of cute and memorable moments while adding a much appreciated slice of life aspect to the down times of the quest.

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Writing Part 2:

Another important narrative decision on Vox’s part arises near the beginning as well: the full point-of-view shifts between characters. Giving the readers direct control over a character who isn’t the MC is not uncommon in quests, though DLQ takes this narrative trick and uses it masterfully in foreshadowing and character development. Many major moments in the plot are also paired with a character shift vote, providing the story a unique view that comes with the readers becoming more interactive with the story and its characters.

Because of this prolific and well implemented shifting between characters, most of the playable characters carry the same, or at least similar, importance as Bri to the story. While no “minor” character feels entirely flat, the major characters that are given these POV shifts (whether the scenes are explicitly reader dictated or not) feel all the more authentic as people. While it is obvious that Bri’s actions impact people’s lives, side scenes and the interlude periods between major arcs show us just how important these actions and their consequences are.

If a character is given attention to be written into Vox’s story, you can bet that they will have depth and be complex enough to form a real and lasting connection with them as a reader. Even the brief glimpses that the players are given concerning the Chainbearers and their interactions with each other create a perfect mixture of foreshadowing and authentic characterization that makes you want to face them as Bri and crew in the story proper.

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Writing Part 3:

Playable characters each are paired with a “theme” that describes their life and how playing as them impacts the story and the decisions made. Bri’s theme is “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished,” as seen in the beginning by her arrest and exile into the Dungeon, but during a close analysis of the story through her POV (i.e. the majority of the quest) you can see this theme arise time and time again. The theme not only surmises the character, it also guides the potential courses of action that the readers can perform as them. While it could be argued that a stated character’s theme may simplify them to only act along that theme, I find that Vox’s characterizations paired with their themes furthers their complexity.

If I were to briefly explain each major and semi major character and their theme (either stated or speculated upon) in this quest, it would not only be thrice as long as this whole review with the sheer amount of detail each character has, it would also be spoiling the fun of getting to know them. This depth of character is paired with an emphasis on a “less is more” style of writing. This allows for the characters to show how they are as people through their actions and their dialogue without being burdened down by too much surrounding prose.

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Writing Part 4:

Another intriguing way that Vox explains the world of DLQ is through the use of stories told mainly by Bri, but also by other characters as well as meta-setting tales. Due to the focus of the quest in the Dungeon and its floors, we the readers are not able to see as much of the world at large as some might like; so, when a character shares with each other the things they’ve experienced and the stories they were told as a child, we the readers are also taught about it in an organic and entertaining way. Examples include the history of the La Croix family being explained through Bri’s stories, as well as the history of Necromancy as a whole.

There are plenty of world-building explanations in supplementary google docs that are, while not necessary to the enjoyment of the quest, greatly heightens the reader’s understand of the particular cultural/social/magical reasons why things are occurring as they do in the quest. A warning to future archive bingers: The main google docs page has been kept well enough updated, meaning it contains major spoilers that may lessen your enjoyment of the story and the twists and turns it may take. Read them at your own risk.

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Conclusion:

If you are looking for a fantasy quest with a defined and interesting plot, well-developed characters, a mature and authentic feeling romance, and plenty moments of humor and emotional intensity, I highly suggest this quest. The characters and how they are portrayed are worth examining for anyone having trouble with giving their own characters depth and a feeling of authenticity. Especially for Vox’s first quest, as he openly admits in the first couple of threads, the success of the concept and how the characters developed into participating in an engaging and exciting story is hard to deny.

The quality of the writing is always consistent and feels fast paced, though there are certain arcs where mistakes were made and can be considered mild bumps in the road. Despite this, the quest has the sense of being in an upward swing towards a climatic and intense reveal. This is crossing into my opinion as a reader rather than my perspective as a reviewer, but Brianna La Croix’s story is only beginning.

And, as of right now, DLQ is on hiatus and is stated to be returning sometime in July, so now is the perfect time to dust off the archives and catch up!

I will be around to field questions if there are any, clarify/expand upon certain pointed if needed, etc.

Thank you, Vox, for writing such a fun little quest.