The core boss should be something like the voidish thingies I always forget the name of in the shadow realms. And the room should have the same theme. The boss could be a shapeshifting black mass of goop.

+9001

At the mission, the arcade gate should explode and haven should become a battlefield.

Finally, a more detailed suggestion about the core without ending the story. Nice job!

+1

Alpha Squad should be taken over by the swarm and should be a mini-boss in the core.

What do you think of my idea?

IGNORE THIS

As much as I like your idea (it really is unique and awesome! I wouldn't mind something like that in game!), I think the whole Core situation would be better if it made use of something Kora mentions during a mission briefing...

She mentions that the way the Clockworks are built, it seems more like the Gremlins are trying to keep something "in" and not keep us out. This is just my personal opinion, but I think the Core should actually be a malevolent entity. Powerful enough to provide power to our fallen Skylark, but extremely dangerous, which is why the Gremlins created the Clockworks and sealed the Core away. The "architect" King Tinkinzar, seeking to keep everyone away from the Core at all costs creates the Swarm, which traps and turns around any party trying to get into the Core by replicating parts of the Clockworks. In the end, Tinkinzar is actually trying to protect Cradle from the Core, which is why he's so dead set on wiping out the Knights who are adamant about taking the Core for a power source.

It seems more fitting to battle Tinkinzar and the Swarm right outside the Core. Upon his defeat, the Swarm is weakened and the Core can finally open letting in the victorious party. There they meet the Alpha Squad and learn the true nature of the Core whereupon it begins fighting the Knights as they try to hold it back themselves. The final boss fight would be the Alpha Squad, on a pure white battlefield. Controlled by the Core, they'd have pure white armor and white primatic colors, as well as enhanced abilities for a Knight. They'd be different from other boss fights in that they don't have an attack pattern. Their sole goal is to strike you down. They'd move like Phantoms and make use of their own sets of equipment that fits their role in the Squad. They'd all be invincible, save for Rulen, who was infected by the Swarm before entering the Core...

...I'll stop there. Kind of went of on a rant there, sorry. >__>
Anyways, love your idea. Especially with giving the minerals an actual use. In your idea, when all the Knights in the party fall, maybe that would be the cue for Alpha Squad to come in like total badasses and save everyone. That or maybe Vaelyn can come in with her twin Flourishes?
But don't forget Tinkinzar and the Swarm! Maybe they can be the final boss in your scenario?

@Fehzor
I was thinking that maybe the Core was just to unstable and violent to be taken as a power source, but you are right that it is pretty cliche. :/

And I never thought about what Kora said like that. I was always took the entity to be the Core, not something else entirely. They should really do something with that.

Then there's all these hanging loose threads elsewhere, too.
- The ancient generator(?) thing that we try to steal from Razwog in the Rescue Camp.
- The rest of the Crimson Order and Tinkinzar himself.
- A certain snow capped mountain housing a volcanic god.
- More on the Kat Tribe. Nick said we'd be hearing more about them later.
- The Owlites still have a lot of potential to affect the story, even if they're all dead.
- The statues in the wall on Owlite themed levels (Crimson Fortress, Candlestick Keep, Arenas, etc.) have these odd statues embedded in the wall that look similar to Devilites with a more cylindrical head. In their pursuit of knowledge and the Devilites advanced "modern" tech, could the Owlites have been the ones that brought the Devilites onto Cradle?
- Then there's those odd face statues on Aurora Island levels. Though, I wouldn't mind if those stayed mysterious.
- And like you said about there being possibly more Royal Jellies, what's stopping there from being a Lichen King/Queen?
- Tortodrones.
- That final secret that Nick mentioned in a thread somewhere. Something we all apparently see everyday, but don't know its true significance...

@Zopyros-Il, clearing up some lore:

Echo Stone #3 from UIMF:
"This world was created to protect me.
Vulnerable in slumber, worlds were drawn to shield me from the darkness.
This world has become my prison.
In his madness, the architect betrayed the pact. Twisting his creation into a game of death, it now devours all who enter its iron embrace."

"The Architect" is presumably Tinkizar, which indicates that The Core was inside Cradle in the first place, why Cradle even existed, and why the Gremlins are there would be for the core's protection. Then Tinkizar, for whatever reason, turns on the Entity inside the core, and prevents it from leaving. This would also explain why all the monsters are hostile to us, as they would be there to stop us from reaching the core. So, the Core is good and Gremlins are evil. Not the other way around.

Aye, that's what I think, too.

Anyway, immediately before a workout, I came up with some ideas for the Slime themed Core bosses.

SLIME: Doom Cube
(He likes to have a blast)

A Doom Cube is an enormous green glowing blast cube, slightly bigger than the Royal Jelly. He comes in by falling from the ceiling, and immediately proceeds to attack. Did I mention it contains radiation?

Before I list his attacks, I must point out that the Doom Cube CAN'T BE KILLED by normal means. Instead, he explodes after a set time. The trick? You have to get him to a low enough HP to weaken the blast. At his highest stage, anything in range is automatically killed; however, as he takes damage, he'll shrink, and his explosion will be reduced in power and radius. It can be reduced up to ten times, at which point the Doom Cube is reduced to the size of your everyday Ultra Blast Cube.

But enough on its death, let us talk of its life. Doom Cubes, of course, have all the attacks a Royal Jelly has, with the added effects of Poison and Fire as well as an explosive exponent (globs of goo explode and its other attacks create explosions). Nuclear radiation burns you AND poisons you, and it doesn't make you immune to non-melee attacks either. (That was a TF2 reference.) It can Rage from the get-go, too. And then there's its Jump Attack, where it leaps into the air, stays up for a few seconds, then lands where its shadow is, creating an explosion twice its size. It will target players, but it can hurt the Mining Box, so keep it away from said Box. And its Minis? They explode on contact with a Knight. Hope you brought a gun.

Once enough time has passed, after its current attack, the Doom Cube will start a 5-second countdown timer. You can shield bump it during this time, and it's recommended you do so to keep the Cube far away from the Mining Box. Then it'll finally explode, during which time it is recommended to be really far away from the Doom Cube!

Beware. The Doom Cube is a species.

SLIME: The Overlichen
(Yeah, okay, so this was originally Incoherrant's idea... but w/e)

This purple Lichen comes in from the path, taking up half the room. It's so big you can't see all of it, and it's covered in spikes! Fitting for the most powerful Lichen on Cradle.

The Overlichen will immediately begin by summoning minions. Four lit Toxoils, two Silver Polyps, two Polar Polyps, and two Giant Lichen Colonies will be the most immediate threat. Aside from that, the Overlichen will lend them support by shooting spikes and Thorn Roots at you. The Spikes of the Overlichen are capable of causing Shock, while his Thorn Roots will freeze you. And the Overlichen can tense up, then release a knockback wave that pushes Knights away and break Freeze effects on his minions.

Attacking the Overlichen will cause him to release various Lichens and Polyps, so it's recommended you kill the Lichens already active. As you attack the Overlichen, he'll move backward.

As you damage the Overlichen, he'll get new abilities. At 75% health, the Overlichen will begin moving vials through his body from who knows where, then throwing them at you during his normal attack chain. Every Vial except the Sleep Vial can appear, even the Curse Vial. At 50% health, the Overlichen spits slime all over the field that gives you MSD: Medium while you're in it; this persists for the entire Overlichen fight. And at 33% health, the Overlichen flings CLUSTER spikes; the Spikes and Thorn Roots fire out two more spikes in perpendicular directions at the end of their life, making the field especially dangerous!

Once the Overlichen is damaged sufficiently, he'll retreat in shame, leaving you to deal with his remaining minions. He will be back.

"seance" -.-

If you RP as a gremlin, then I would assume you were part of the Emberlight tribe, because you're obviously not serving in the Gremlin Army. And if you don't believe in Tinkizar's twisted mission, wouldn't that mean you thought the core was good? And don't forget, Tinkizar "the architect" has apparently "betrayed the pact", turning Cradle into the Core's "prison" and "a game of that [that] now devours all who enter". Most likely, the Core contains an object of immense power and Tinkizar, being assigned to guard it, got greedy somewhere along the way and wanted it for himself. Also, the stronger monsters being placed nearer to the core is easily explained by Cradle's role in it's protection - put the strongest guardians nearest to the thing that needs protection. And it has been said that our weapons deal more damage as we get nearer to the core because the core is powering them, so that could also apply to monsters and explain it in a third way.

Thanks for the input!

I'll add some more.

FIEND: Lumbe'gh
(President of the Undercorp disInformation Technology Department)

Obviously there was going to be a Devilite boss attacking you, but you probably expected something huge and deformed with glasses and a suitcase. Nope. This nasty little jerk has small glasses, glowing red eyes, a PDA in one hand, a business suit, and a black cape with the Fiend logo on it, but otherwise he's pretty scrawny. He has various electronic office equipment floating around him. Rumor has it that Lumbe'gh, when he's not using his vile hacking powers to steal credit cards, acquit serial killers, and send Tier 1 Knights into Tier 3, likes to while away the hours griefing people on video games and spamming message boards.

Lumbe'gh has multiple different weapons that must be destroyed. Destroying a weapon prevents Lumbe'gh from using its attack, but powers up the other attacks! Lumbe'gh's weapons are as follows.

-The Printer creates Devilite runes on the ground, creating an Overtimer spawn pad of each status variant until the rune is destroyed. To destroy a rune, hit the glowing orb in the center. More powerful Runes will respawn the Overtimers faster.

-The Mini-Fridge summons a spread of nine cursed pastries that will cause a lethal combination of Curse and Freeze on hit. As Lumbe'gh loses weapons, the Mini-Fridge gains a larger spread and even extra layers to the spread.

-The Computer will turn the room into an arcade game screen showing a Galaga-like screen. It will then show Galaxian-esque enemies heading from the upper portion of the room to the lower portion. Touching one will cause it to explode, causing damage and Stun. As Lumbe'gh loses weapons, more enemies come, eventually including the dreaded Super Boss, which is easily recognized as dangerous; it causes a little more damage than the regular enemies, Stun, Shock, Fire, Poison, and Curse.

-The Microwave charges up power for a few seconds, then unleashes a giant Poison/Fire blast. As Lumbe'gh loses weapons, the Microwave charges slightly faster and hits a larger area.

-The Garbage Can isn't electronic, but Lumbe'gh took it anyway. It hurls a rain of exploding garbage on Knights, much like a Roarmulus Twin missile storm. As Lumbe'gh loses weapons, it shoots more garbage.

-The Mouse is swung back and forth like a whip at the nearest target. It causes Shock, has a respectable arc, and hits many times. As Lumbe'gh loses weapons, the Mouse's amount of swings, swing speed, and chance of Shock all increase. Up to eight swings will happen in one attack.

When Lumbe'gh loses all his weapons, he'll shake his fist at you and teleport out of the area in a swirling electrical vortex. Beware; this final move is like, well, an Electron Vortex, except with much more damage.

(The name Lumbe'gh was actually based on Bill Lumbergh, the antagonist of Office Space. Lumbergh wasn't as bad as Lumbe'gh, but he was a jerk.)

FIEND: Cirrkee
(Freakin' parasites!)

Cirrkee doesn't really fight you much directly. Instead, she turns a knight into a puppet and attacks you! Cirrkee herself is a slightly larger Silkwing with a swarm aura, black eyes, longer antennae, and longer legs, which are normally on a Knight's head. The Knight can be in any different kind of armor; this has no bearing on the battle, as the Knight is technically invulnerable; he or she will carry a shield like Arkus's shield.

The Knight and Cirrkee attack independently of each other. The Knight has four weapons. One is a Gran Faust, which the Knight will swing like an Acheron. The Knight can also opt to Charge Attack, creating a massive arc, and three cursed Sword Beams, without any negative effect. The second is an Umbra Driver, which the Knight can fire as many times as a Sentenza, with a bit of warning. Alternatively, the Knight can charge up, then fire an Umbra Driver charge shot with two more bullets that come out the sides; each bullet from this attack bounces two extra times. The third weapon is a Dread Venom Striker charge attack with added Shock and five MORE swings; the Knight can move and turn freely during this ten-swing killing spree and, once hitting one target, will hit again and then rush the next target. The final attack is a Dark Retribution bomb; this is laid down with very little charging, and acts differently. It will make four slow-moving rows of orbs, but the orbs hit much harder.

Cirrkee herself can fire a spread of five bullets, or charge up a fast Curse bullet much like a Phantom's. She can also lash with her antennae, causing Shadow damage and Fire. Alternatively, she can heal the Knight or focus energy to boost his or her attack power. At 50% HP, she can call on four Greavers if she's in danger.

Cirrkee has a massive HP pool. The Knight does not. However, Cirrkee can't be hit while she's on the Knight's head. How do you hit Cirrkee, then? Simple: you knock out that Knight. Hitting the Knight is tricky, but if you knock him out, Cirrkee will be nearly defenseless while she heals the Knight. Beware, though; she'll knock you away with her Antennae or a Knockback Pulse move to heal the Knight, and will gladly call in four Greavers and 50% health and under.

Once Cirrkee is damaged sufficiently, she'll screech and fly away, while the Knight collects himself or herself, thanks you, and exits by way of an elevator. Now don't you feel good knowing you saved that Knight's life?

Whew! That was a lot. I should be in bed right now!

Alright, i liked your post so now for my response.
To the part of Grizwald being the architect who made it the idea of having a way in or out or even to open it would go agents the reason it was made as it is a prison. I think what ever is in the core is some sort of living energy that was floating about the universe and then found the Clock Work and tried to take over. The gremlins barely managed to contain it and would have failed if not for the Shadow, a different living energy that is notably younger but agreed to consume the radiated energy being created by the Core in attempt to escape the prison by destroying it from the inside out. The Swarm I bleave is a third Living energy organically created by the Shadow to help it contain the Core's energy levels but in the creation process was altered by the Core causing it to be a bit more.... trouble some. Kinda like a 5 year old, it will do as its father tells it to do most of them time but every now and then it has a temper tantrum. (and that is why there are swarm seeds.)

Two words:

Tier. 4.

Sorry if I blew your mind.

Hmm. I guess it's time for some more bosses!

GREMLIN: Vinn'Zi, Silent as Death
(Head of the Ghostmane Clan)

Completely separate from the Crimson Order, Vinn'Zi, the head of the Ghostmane clan, is just as menacing as they are, if not more so. It's said Vanaduke himself fears this hateful creature! Vinn'Zi is a Gremlin that's slightly larger than a Darkfang Thwacker, dressed in Ghostmane Stalker's garb, with a slit in his hood to reveal glowing red eyes. His battle music is a slowed-down, more dissonant version of Creepy Battle.

Vinn'Zi's strategy revolves mostly around stealth; like other Stalkers, he'll remain invisible between attacks for one to ten seconds. His cloak has a 1.5x longer pulse time, but a somewhat larger radius, and it instantly Deathmarks! His basic attack is a saw strike, starting almost immediately from stealth and happening quickly, that deals out nasty Normal Damage. Another attack, Flash Blades, causes blades to be thrown at Vinn'Zi's target from at least six different positions; a small flash will indicate a saw blade's about to fly from there. As he takes damage, the number of blades increases, and the throws will be staggered a little to catch people who dash at the wrong time. Immediately after Flash Blades, Vinn'Zi will be visible for two thirds of a second.

Vinn'Zi is a Ghostmane Stalker, and his cloak will break after enough successful hits. Once he's visible, he'll dodge like a maniac, throwing blades three at a time in an attempt to keep Knights away while he runs around. Vinn'Zi will avoid bombs, which can be used to his detriment if your teammates are aware. However, be warned- after five seconds Vinn'Zi will be ready to cloak again!

At three-fourths of his health, Vinn'Zi will get a new attack: Razor Spread. Whether he's cloaked or not (if he is cloaked, this'll show him during the attack and about one second before it fires) Vinn'Zi can throw saw blades in sixteen directions.

At half health, Vinn'Zi also gets Ghost Clones, which appear when his cloak is broken and fight just like him until it refills; their HP is one at first, but later battles increase the HP.

Another new attack at half health, Voltaic Assassination, has deadly potential. Vinn'Zi will show up behind his hapless target, and after a second's wind-up time, will cause Strong Shock in front of him and then immediately pull out a rotating saw that gets around 20 hits. If you don't move away or shield, you'll get shocked, which removes your invincibility frames, allowing Vinn'Zi to get up to 20 successful hits on you. Even in the first fight, the only thing that'll survive a successful Voltaic Assassination is a knight in Plate Armor that's not Marked.

At one-fourth of his health, Vinn'Zi will drop haze bombs before or after attacks, almost offhandedly. These bombs can cause Shock, Fire, Stun, or in the third battle and on, CURSE.

Upon defeat, Vinn'Zi will appear on top of the mining box, point at the Knights as if vowing revenge, and vanish. He'll be back. And he'll be coming for you.

GREMLIN: Entropy, the Secret Weapon
(He's nuts!)

Entropy is an experiment gone horribly right; while recognizable as a gremlin, this giant has tinted red fur, ridiculously sharp teeth almost always shaped into a grin, a body size slightly bigger than a Gremlin Incinerator, extended glowing claws that have long since poked through the fingers of a pair of metal gauntlets, and eyes that seem to say, "I'm insane and murderous, wonder how you taste?" His armor suit looks like a Gremlin Thwacker's, but he doesn't have a shield. Did I mention the Gremlins that made him into a deformed monster wanted him that way? Or that he gets his kicks from killing his victims? I should have pointed that out earlier.

Entropy's battle style, like Vinn'Zi's, is fast. However, where Vinn'Zi focused on striking suddenly from stealth and making you soil your pants, Entropy's style is insanely feral, focused on so quickly tearing you limb from limb that you soil your pants anyway. His main attack is a claw lunge that deals heavy Normal/Elemental damage and Fire; this attack works like a Kat's bite, but faster and with a larger arc. Then there's Whirlwind Attack, which is like the Thwacker's Spin Attack, but stronger, and after the first spin, Entropy moves a little and spins again.

And he can leap, too. When Entropy leaps, he generally aims to latch onto a Knight's head WITH HIS TEETH, where he then proceeds to claw the Knight repeatedly until the Knight dies or he takes damage. It's like the old Zombie leap on psycho serum. And did I mention that, in place of a shield, Entropy will eat bullets and spit them back out in the form of A HUGE FREAKING CONE OF FIRE BREATH? Yeah. He's completely nuts. If you want to shoot him, shoot him from behind, or in mid-attack.

Then there's the matter of his adds. At the beginning, the only thing coming with Entropy are a few Gremlin Knockers of random damage types. Entropy can pick one up and hurl him at a Knight; the Knocker engages his super attack mid-toss, causing extra damage, before landing and continuing to do his thing. At three fourths of Entropy's health, the Knockers are joined by two Demos, who will gladly donate bombs for Entropy's Fire Breath, and at half health, two Thwackers show up.

At half health, Entropy also gains the ability to roar, causing Stun in a massive radius. And at one-quarter health, in addition to getting a Mender as an add, Entropy's roar can boost attack power and his Whirlwind Attack does four spins in the same amount of time it took to do two spins.

After Entropy's health hits zero, he stumbles to the ground, and a glowing Gremlin symbol appears under his feet, teleporting him out of the arena. As he warps out, he growls at you menacingly, because he's coming back, and next time he'll try to eat you alive.

i just thought it'll be cool if we got the ship running and we can go back to Isora but we can still stay in Cradle if we want.we can just come and go.in Isora,there will be more dungeons and the enemies are different than the enemies in Cradle.just an opinion.no need to lash out. peace Knights. :D

Inside the core is the sanctuary

/laugh

Yay!

this is by far the best thread i have read in ages

Seeing as we have AI knights of various kinds now, what if we enter the core, and alpha squad has been fighting wave upon wave of enemies all this time. Players fight alongside the alpha squad, and if they die and quit they won't get heat or tokens. When parties are ready to leave there is an escape elevator in a safe location. If individual players want to leave, then there's a secondary elevator for that too so that they get heat and tokens. Full party leaves give bonus tokens to encourage team play, but individuals can meet their limit too. The swarm infected alpha squad member will be near the elevator, and trade you wares for the tokens. They also are in a quick cutscene when players leave, a different one plays when parties leave.

Also, you can only access the terminal from the core in the arcade. A single fight may go on for hours with different players swapping out, but if an entire team leaves or is wiped out, then that round is over. The original party might not even be there anymore, but the fight went on.

Also, elite + this = yes please. It would be awesome if we could buy rarities with these tokens thus it acts like an artificial treasure box.