Guides & Important Information
Table of Contents
Introduction & Rules
North Sea Dungeon is a post-canon Dungeon Meshi / Delicious in Dungeon Roleplaying forum. Please know there will be manga spoilers as well as canon-typical themes and violence.
- You must be 18 years or older to sign-up for this website, no exceptions.
- Do not post porn or engage in erotic roleplay on this website, this is a mandate by our web hosting service.
- Out of character bigotry will not be tolerated.
- Avoid godmodding, powerplaying, and metagaming. More information on these terms can be found further in the guide.
- All posts must be made in English. This is for the purpose of moderation, thank you for your understanding.
The RPG Rating of this website is 313:
- (3) Language: Swearing and mature language is permitted.
- (1) Sex: Mild sexual innuendo and references permitted.
- (3) Violence: Explicit violence is permitted.
Premise
15 years after the Golden Country rose to the surface a small island was discovered in the ocean about 10 miles from its shorelines. The first landing party to venture inland realized that this island contained a dungeon and rushed off to report it to the nearest principality. Dubbed The North Sea Dungeon, this dungeon and its island was claimed as territory by the ruling Monarch of the Golden Country, who has encouraged adventurers to explore and report back with any findings. So far, only three levels of this dungeon have been discovered.
This Roleplay takes place just under a year after the annexation of the Island by the Golden Kingdom. The North Sea Dungeon Island, often cheekily called "The Island" among its residents, is sparsely populated. Just shy of 300 people call it their current home, but a small town has sprung up surprisingly fast and continues to grow everyday as more and more adventurers hear tales of an active dungeon under the jurisdiction of the Devourer of All Things Horrible...
Due to it's distance from the mainland, an Island Overseer has been appointed to administer the day to day operations of the Island. Island residents are under strict guidelines of inclusivity as the King has decreed that people of all races, human or demi-human, are welcome.
It was recently discovered (on accident) that this Dungeon seems to have similar resurrection magic as the previous Golden Country's dungeon, which has spurred a renewed interest in the North Sea Dungeon.
Roleplaying
Roleplaying threads are like chapters or scenes in a story. Each thread represents a specific location or event on the Island. People take turns posting replies to continue the story writing from the perspective of the character they're signed in as.
Roleplaying is a collaborative medium. Roleplaying provides a creative outlet for people to explore different characters, settings, and storylines through collaborative writing and storytelling with each other. Roleplaying doesn't happen in a bubble and you're expected to engage with other characters throughout your adventures. However, you are more than welcome to write a solo-thread to expound upon your character in the confines of the setting. Please see Open, Closed, and Solo Threads for more information.
You're generally allowed to roleplay anything you would like, so long as you adhere to the content rules, use a character that has been approved, and use logic appropriate to the setting.
You can have your character in multiple threads at a time. Players are expected to have a rough mental timeline of what happens to their characters on the Island, but there is no hard rule to track this. Some players may choose to track this in their character sheet but there is no requirement to do so.
Please write in English in third-person. There is no rule on how long or how short a reply should be.
Avoid godmodding, powerplaying, and metagaming
- Godmodding is controlling another player's character without their permission. You should write your posts in an open ended style to give someone else the opportunity to respond to what your character does. For example, if your character throws a punch, you should not conclude in your post that it struck the other character.
- Powerplaying is when a player manipulates their character's abilities, powers or skills so that their character always has an advantage in the situation. For example, your character cannot dodge every punch. Every good roleplayer knows their characters have both strengths and weaknesses and this is where the fun of storytelling happens.
- Metagaming is using outside game information to advantage your character. The most important thing to keep in mind to avoid metagaming is that just because you the player know something it doesn't mean your character knows this information.
For some great resources, check out this link: https://www.springhole.net/writing/general-roleplaying.htm
Character Creation
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Setting & Important Locations
Island Ecology
The island is small and would be more aptly described as a large islet to most, as without the Dungeon it would very likely be unable to sustain any long-term human population. The island surface lacks tall vegetation or big game, with the few small animals that live on the surface being the result of accidental stowaways on boats. The sparse amount of trees on the island are also very young. Most of the soil is not suitable for agriculture, although residents have begun to grow some limited crops in areas closer to town.
Surprisingly, there is fresh ground water (and thus a well in town), the fresh water no doubt an influence of the Dungeon below the surface as the first floor of the dungeon also contains freshwater streams.
In contrast to the island's surface, the Dungeon below ground is teeming with life and sprawling in size. The vegetation on the second floor has been incorporated into much of the dishes of the population and is the only source of fresh fruits and vegetables on the island. It's rumored that a few new species of edible plants discovered here was partly an influence in keeping the Dungeon unsealed, although rumors are just rumors.
Fish is the protein staple on the island. Some residents keep chickens but poultry meat is uncommon. While the mainland is about 10 miles away, any populated towns or ports on the mainland would take at least a few days of additional travel time (either by sea or land) to reach. Grains and other shelf stable ingredients that keep well in travel do arrive by ship, but due to travel time meat from the mainland is salted or smoked. A dish made with "fresh meat" is typically suspect on the island, as undoubtedly some cooks use monster meat in their dishes despite most people still having an aversion to eating such meals.
Important Locations
Your character will arrive to the Island at The Port. New players are encouraged to post here for their first thread/post! They must register at the Registration Office to acquire a Fairy for island communication, but you do not have to roleplay this (you can if you want to, of course). The Registration Office is staffed by a small group of paid employees who work directly for the Island Overseer. The Registration Office also has direct contact with the mainland and can make requests for supplies, etc. The port is mostly small storehouses, but there is a tavern and an inn on the shoreline. The Overseers Home is also located close to here.
The Town is where most of the equipment stores are located. There is a Flophouse near the coast that can provide housing to characters in need of coin. There are a number of equipment stores, inns, taverns, and some local houses that have sprung up. People often gather in the Town Square.
Most residents stay in inns, but a number of investors have built small wooden buildings on the island on the town periphery, hoping that the dungeon will spur economic growth. Many of these buildings remain empty but can be rented via in the Registration Office for those with the coin. Despite being under the jurisdiction of the King, the majority of the infrastructure beyond on the Island was funded by outside investors who do not live on the Island.
The Dungeon is located just outside of town, it has two entrances that lead to the Dungeon Plaza. The Dungeon Plaza is just below sea-level and has some holes that let in sunlight in the roof, while the rest of the dungeon is squarely underground. A makeshift Resurrection Office has been set up on the Plaza floor.
Each floor of the dungeon has an environment and monster guide that details potential encounters for your characters.
The Corpse Retrieval building is exactly that, a place to gather fallen comrades. Corpses from the dungeon cannot be revived once brought here, so it mostly remains empty. There is no graveyard on the Island, bodies that are left unclaimed for too long are typically cremated.
The majority of Residents on the Island are not employed by the Golden Country and do not report to The Island Overseer. Residents on The Island are expected to adhere to the laws of the Golden Country, however being so removed from the mainland this boils down to residents not murdering, assaulting, stealing, or destroying property. Residents are typically quick to shun those who make a negative reputation for themselves and most of those who reside on the Island have accepted (albeit some begrudgingly) the King's decree of nondiscrimination amongst races. Crimes in the town can be reported to the Registration Office to be reported back to the mainland, but since there hasn't been a major incident on the Island since its annexation there isn't much procedure or a response. Residents tend to work out problems amongst themselves. The Island does not have law enforcement or a security detail and apparently it's said that the recent population boom has made the Island Overseer nervous about this fact...
Back to topGame Mechanics
Some specific North Sea Dungeon forum mechanics to be aware of
Party Formation
The current Island Overseer encourages adventurers to switch up their party members to prevent cliques and in-groups from forming and provides free supplies to parties who do so. In-character, this provides an incentive for your characters to seek out new people to adventure with. Out-of-character, it keeps roleplay fresh. Additional Trinkets can potentially be rewarded to dungeon divers who are exploring with a new group.
There's a number of ways to form a party to delve down in the dungeon:
- You can post an OPEN in-character thread in The Dungeon Plaza.
- You can post an out-of-character thread in Seeking Roleplaying Partners
Dungeon Floors & Events
You must complete one thread on each previous floor to post in/start a thread below that one.
After you have posted in each floor once, you can start a thread anywhere in the dungeon, but it's advised that your first post in the thread gives a quick summary of what happened to your character/their party on previous floors.
Dungeon Events are unique to North Sea Dungeon's floors. They are automated posts that have a chance to spawn when someone posts a reply to a thread in a Dungeon forum. Engaging with these posts are 100% optional and are written to help spur ideas in dungeon threads.
Account Switching
You must have one account per character. Each post should be in the perspective of that character. North Sea Dungeon has an Account Linking feature to allow you to switch between accounts without logging in and out to streamline gameplay. If you have multiple characters, switch between accounts to post as them and their perspectives in each thread, do not combine posts.
To link accounts, go to your User Control Panel > Linked Accounts . You can switch between characters without logging out either in the top right of the page OR before you post in a thread. If you accidentally sign-up as yourself instead of as your character (or your character has a name change, etc.)
If you want to use the Fairy Network as two characters simultaneously it's advised to open a different browser (i.e.: one Chrome, one Firefox)
Non-Player Characters
Non-player characters (NPCs) are typically characters within a roleplaying game or story who are controlled by the game master rather than by individual players. You are free to create and use NPCs in your threads to act as minor characters, (e.g. a bartender who serves drinks.) Keep in mind that your characters are the protagonists and NPCs are intended to fill supporting roles. If you want to make a NPC a lead character in your adventures, you can turn the NPC into a full character through character creation.
At this time there are only three NPCs you cannot use in your threads by themselves, these are:
- The current Island Overseer, William Whether.
- The head of the Resurrection Office, Melhera.
- The Lord of the Dungeon, whose details are unknown at this time.
Occasionally Non-Player Characters may make threads, posts, or send Fairy Network messages. You are allowed reference anything an NPC says in the Fairy Network in your posts. You are always invited to reply in-character to a Non-Player Character.
Non-Player Character Subforums
You can request a thread with an NPC and your character by posting a thread with the thread prefix [NPC REQ] in the following sub-forums:
The thread prefixes in each subforum will indicate the kinds of threads that can be posted there — the Resurrection Office in particular can host any type of thread.
Please note the maximum amount of trinkets you can earn from an [NPC REQ] thread in these subforums is one, regardless of length.
Thread Prefixes
An Open Thread can be joined by anyone. These threads are great for newcomers to create. It uses the topic prefix [OPEN]. Players are encouraged to create an Open thread as their first thread.
A Closed Thread should only be joined by those who have been invited to it, typically organized out of character. It uses the topic prefix [CLOSED].
A Solo Thread is for one person only, people can use these threads to write stories involving their characters in the setting. It uses the topic prefix [SOLO].
A Completed Thread is a finished roleplay. Please submit these threads to the Trinket Exchange! It uses the topic prefix [FINISHED].
Trinkets
Trinkets are North Sea Dungeon's progression system. To encourage thread completion any completed thread regardless of location or topic will generate at least one trinket for all players involved. This means if you and a few other characters simply have a chat on the side of the road and part ways, you will all get a trinket. This is to encourage different types of roleplay, not just Dungeon Dives.
Completed threads must be posted to the Trinket Exchange. Please use the topic prefix "CLAIM". Please note Trinkets are added and exchanged manually! Marking your thread as complete will not automatically generate trinkets. Extra Trinkets will be given to longer threads with more people.
Players can pool together Trinkets across characters and with other players. Trinket reward tiers can be found here.
Trinkets can be exchanged for things such as:
- Map Markers
- Events
- Dungeon Level Unlocks
- Subforums
Fairy Network
The North Sea Fairy Network is an instant messaging room that is an in-character, Island wide conversation. You are allowed to use the Fairy Network as soon as your character is approved.
Advancements in magical research in the newly risen Golden Country have resulted in the creation of "Fairy Networks" that can allow multiple people to communicate on one interconnected network as long as their fairy is "active". That is, not locked away in a jar or another sealed container. People tend to store their fairies in jars when not using them as research hasn't advanced far enough to figure out how to silence them and making noise tends to attract monsters (and it's just annoying to hear people all the time.)
Your character is assigned a fairy upon registering as a Dungeon Delver on The Island. Your character does not need to have any mana stores to use the Fairy Network as it is a familiar that is already made. You do not have to use the Fairy Network and you can effectively say your character has put them "forever on silent" in a jar on your characters person, etc. The main purpose of a fairy is to serve as a magical communication line: people who each have a fairy can talk across several floors of a dungeon. However it's unknown how far this 'reception' can reach.
Out-of-character, this functions as a quick way for your characters to interact with other characters without committing to an entire thread.
You are allowed to reference what other characters say in the Fairy Network in your posts. Please be aware that the only identifiable information being transmitted via the Fairy Network is the voice of the other person.
If you're curious, the specific person who grew your fairy is named Buxt and currently resides in the Golden Country. This will probably never come up but it's fun to know.
Miscellaneous
Change Forum Text Size
You can change the size of the forum text in User Control Panel > Board Preferences > Edit Global Settings > My Board style.
Change Forum Style
You can change the forum style at the bottom of the board OR in User Control Panel Board Preferences > Edit Global Settings > My Board style. Please note that some things may display incorrectly in other style other than the default. These styles are provided for those who need to view text on dark mode.
Roleplay FAQ
Q: Do I have to stop posting in my other threads to make a new one?A: Nope! You can have your character in multiple threads at a time. Players are expected to have a rough mental timeline of what happens to their characters on the Island, but there is no hard rule to track this. Some players may choose to track this timeline in their character sheet but there is no requirement to do so.
Q: Who should start a thread?
A: Anyone can start a thread and whoever feels inspired should do so. If you start a [CLOSED] thread you’re encouraged to ping your other party members out of character and let them know you’re starting it.
Q: How do you know who posts next?
A: Whoever wants to post next should do so! Once again it can be good to communicate with your party out of character regarding this.
Q: Once everyone has posted in the thread how do we know who posts next then?
A: The typical posting order is established after everyone has entered into a thread and is based on the first post of each character. There are exceptions to this, especially if you communicate out of character to skip your turn to the other people in your thread. Keeping to a post order makes sure everyone gets a turn to reply and also keeps things simpler.
For example, a “typical” thread posting order would be as follows:
Moe (A) starts the thread.
Larry (B) posts a reply
Curly (C) posts a reply
Moe (A) posts a reply
Larry (B) posts reply
Curly (C) posts a reply
Moe (A) posts a reply
And so on.
Q: We are descending floors. Who should post the new thread?
Discussing out of character is always a great idea, but following post order can also be helpful here! A possible example:
Larry (B): Has found the way down!
Curly (C) posts he is descending
Moe (A) posts he is descending
Larry (B) posts he is also descending
Curly (C) starts the New Thread.
Moe (A) posts in the new thread.
And so on.
Q: How does combat work? Also, how does any of this work in the dungeon?
A: Each floor of the dungeon has an Environment & Monster Guide. A character is free to “spawn in” monsters as they see narratively fit. The same person who spawns in the monster probably shouldn’t kill it, and if you spawned in a monster or a trap you might want to give your fellow players a chance to pick out the next one. Roleplaying is a group creative writing experience—having your characters set something up and giving the other players a chance to respond to that is part of the fun!
An example of an encounter:
Post 1: Moe spies a locked door in a room full of crates with a door at the end of it. “Hang on, give me a second to unlock it.” Moe begins to investigate and pick the lock. He swears he can hear something else chattering in the room, but he’s focused on the lock.
Post 2: Larry turns around. “A mimic!” He tries his best to hit it with a sword, but the hit doesn’t land.
Post 3: Curly: “I got it!” Curly begins to pummel it with his fists.
Post 4: Moe unlocks the door. “Get through you fools!” He leaves the other two.
Post 5: Larry is suddenly pinned by the mimic, he is trying his best to escape
Post 6: Curly is trying to fight the mimic. He yells for Moe to come back.
Post 7: Moe comes back and he is now wrestling with the mimic too.
Post 8: Larry is yelling, screaming, trying to break free. He gets a great kick in!
Post 9: Curly lands the killing blow, starts wondering out loud if any part of the mimic is edible.
Post 10: Moe slaps Curly on the head and tells him to shut up and for the other two to hurry up through the door.
Post 11: Larry makes a comment about how he’s glad he wasn’t the slap receiver, laughs, and moves through the door.
Post 12: Curly makes a frustrated noise, but also moves through the unlocked door.
Please keep in mind the rules regarding
Q: When do I know when to finish a thread?
A: Whenever it is narratively satisfying – when someone gets the inkling that the thread has “run its course,” you’re more than welcome to post your character finding a way down to the next level. If someone else in the thread wants to explore more on that floor your character should do so, but more importantly they should discuss out of character.
Q: What if my character wants to go back but no one else does?
A: This is a sticky situation that could cause some great character conflict and potential discussions and growth amongst your characters! I’d recommend you talk it out both in-character and out of character.
Q: What if I have more questions???
Please feel free to contact Creature with any questions.
Last updated: June 4 2024