Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #24

Hiya there!

I hope everyone is doing okay! Hard to believe we're almost halfway through October already, gosh. Time has really flew by in the last few months. And, we're fast approaching a very special day--namely the first anniversary of Quest Failed: Chapter One. I would like to try and do something fun for this day, but this will be dependent on if I can get the latest alpha build by then or not, otherwise I want to devote my full attention to the alpha before this. But rest assured, we'll celebrate the anniversary some way or another!

Also, for those that aren't actively following me on Twitter, I just wanted to share a couple of moments I teased of some small video footage from Chapter Two. Essentially just some random parts that I felt were too small to warrant dev log posts of their own on here:

https://twitter.com/Frost_Works/status/918192513382567937
A chance encounter with Ren and Cynthia at the bar, showcasing Ren's more...animated movements. (Ren and Cynthia's old sprites will still be in the next alpha build, but after that they'll be fully replaced with the new ones.)

https://twitter.com/Frost_Works/status/911369453409054720
A small snippet from a possible interaction with June at the church. This also showcases a bit more of her voice acting, and the 'donation' feature possible with the gold system. As for what happens after, well...

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Now, moving along to the main focus of this dev log, I wanted to do another lore post focusing on a type of monster girl just a liiiittle bit more fearsome than a slime girl. A winged beast able to bring an entire squad of adventurers to their knees with just one puff of its fiery, volcanic breath. I am of course talking about the legendary fire-breathing pigeon--

No--today we'll be talking about dragons, of course! Perhaps one of the fiercest known monsters to roam the land, at least in terms of pure, raw strength.

Dragons are a high level, high-functioning species with intelligence on par with that of a human, if not better. Meaning that every dragon develops differently, mentally, depending on their circumstances, and don't necessarily have an inborn set of instincts they feel they must follow like a lower level, less intelligent monster might be a slave to. Though, with this in mind, there is one thing that all dragons have in common: pride.

Pride burns like a raging firestorm deep down inside a dragon's very core and defines their existence, fueling the decisions they might make in life. To mock or challenge a dragon's pride is as good as issuing one's own death sentence in most scenarios. This pride, however, manifests itself in a variety of different ways depending on the dragon's own personal development. (Based on how they were raised, their surroundings, and so on) It can lead to a dragon becoming incredibly arrogant and cocky in their abilities, or conversely it can develop in a far more positive, level-headed manner, creating an almost valiant mindset where the pride is more of a boon than a negative trait. As there's nothing wrong a little pride of course.

Alongside their pride, as one might expect, many dragons do indeed have an eye for treasure. And much like their pride, this hoarding mentality can develop in many different ways. Some dragons may consider less valuable objects that instead have a far more sentimental value to them as a 'treasure' and keep these in place of far more traditional treasure such as gold, jewellery, and so on. But, of course, on the flipside, some dragons are serial kleptomaniacs and will desire to hoard everything remotely shiny that they can get their claws on. Much like pride, questioning a dragon's attachment to the objects they hoard will more than likely end with dire consequences. So it's generally not a good idea to hold an intervention with this kind of thing.

Dragons have typically chosen to lead far more solitary lives in recent years, using their innate advantage of flight to live far beyond the reach of human civilisations, high up in the mountains where they might reside peacefully. Little is known about internal dragon politics, beyond the fact that they've formed a variety of different clans that are dotted throughout the mountains, generally consisting of a small handful of dragons. Though, with dragon sightings become increasingly rare with every passing year, one can only wonder what they may be planning, if anything.

Biologically, dragons are gifted with an incredibly versatile set of tools at their disposal. Claws sharp enough to cleave through stone, scales as tough as steel, wings capable of agile flight, and of course to top this all off, the natural chemicals churning away inside of them able to generate an explosive reaction, allowing them to spew forth devastating torrents of fire on a whim. Though the ability to breathe fire does have a limit and once used excessively, the dragon will have to wait for their body to generate more of the chemicals before it can be used again. It's said that consuming copious amounts of alcohol can help hasten the return of these volatile fluids. Though given the types of dragons that have sworn by this method, it's possible they were just looking for an excuse to drink more.

In terms of combat potential, dragons are extremely well-rounded fighters with no discernible weaknesses. Blinding speed, bone-crushing strength and with muscular bodies capable of shrugging off the sharpest of blades, a lone dragon can often prove to be a colossal task in taking down, even with the most seasoned of adventurers at hand.

Like all monster girls, dragons, too, require human essence to sustain themselves. Though unlike most monster girls, it's rare for a dragon to extract said essence in the 'usual' way of forced intercourse. Not wishing to debase themselves with acts that they deem lewd and demeaning, they often opt to instead consume the humans in a far more violent and bloody manner, their sharp, jagged teeth able to make quick work of flesh and bones alike.

In fact, even if a dragon were to engage in the more 'usual' act of taking a human's seed rather than drinking their blood, they would more often than not rend the human apart afterwards anyway, having no desire to engage in any meaningful kind of relationship with a species they view as entirely inferior.

Some dragons may take to humans on an emotional level, but these are often outliers from the established communities of dragons who otherwise just view humans as little more than livestock for food and/or breeding purposes to keep the dragon lineage going, however small it may be now.

So, to conclude, dragons are powerful creatures that possess monstrous strength, speed and can decimate a small army with their fire breath alone if desired. Coupling this with their sense of pride and hoarding mentality, this can tend to lead to dragons ending up with rather...'quirky' personalities.

As for why a certain red-headed dragon doesn't have wings...well, have you tried asking her? Oh, you have, and you got punched into orbit? I guess there's a reason nobody knows yet then, huh. Maybe we'll find out one of these days!

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Whew, this took me a bit longer to write than I thought. There were a lot of parts I kept re-writing because I wasn't happy with how they were worded, but I think I've got it at a good place now.

I may come back and edit/amend parts in the future though, as I believe there's still parts I can expand on relating to dragons and maybe more elegantly describe other parts. As I would love to include these in the game in some manner (like a journal for example) though in a slightly more polished manner. So feedback is greatly appreciated! (I also went over this when extremely tired, so I may change up some stuff once I've had a chance to sleep and go over it again tomorrow!)

But if there's anything that may confuse you in this massive wall of text, or something else you want to know about the dragon species in Quest Failed's world (within reason and nothing that might spoil things with Ruby!) please don't hesitate to post in the comments!

Thanks again for reading, and until next time!