Game Guide

“Guildmasters prepare for years for each new dungeon world. Kid, I have been preparing for this longer than you have been alive. The advance team arrived in your 1930s, I believe. Whenever that book came out, The Hobbit. I left the last system and entered the prep phase in your year 1964. I know this world and your customs just as well as you do. I even once got to shapeshift into a human and go out into the world. I went to a Blockbuster Video and stole a bunch of James Bond tapes. I was so happy once you guys started digitizing everything.” -- Mordecai^[1]

Game Guides are noncombatant NPCs who serve as guildmasters of Tutorial Guild Halls on the First, Second, and Third floors of the Dungeon.

AI Description

When a crawler meets a Game Guide, an infobox pop-up provides the guildmaster's name, race, class, level, and description, formatted as:

Mordecai – Rat Hooligan. Level 50.
Guildmaster of this guildhall.
This is a Non-Combatant NPC.^[2]

Description

Game Guides are typically former crawlers who took Exit Deals in one of the production company's previous Dungeons. While the details of these deals vary from guide to guide, they generally seem to involve 100 cycles or seasons of service^[3], and time may be added or removed to the contract based on how far their crawlers progress inside the dungeon.^[4][5]

When a new Dungeon opens, Game Guides are installed inside Tutorial Guild Halls on the First Floor. When a new crawler stumbles into their guild, the guildmaster walks the crawler through the Tutorial and use of the Heads-Up Display (HUD) and Crawler Menus. Once a guildmaster successfully trains a new crawler, the guildmaster is registered as that crawler's Game Guide. Any time the crawler enters a training guild on the first three floors, the crawler will be transported to their Game Guide's guild.^[6]

Game Guides have access to the Dungeon Codex, but do not have access to the chat.^[7] They are able to share limited information about the Dungeon, but are restricted by a specific set of rules to prevent cheating. After their crawler engages in a boss battle, they can review the fight notes and give tips to help the crawler improve.^[8]

Game Guides cannot be seen by live viewers, but can be seen by viewers with press passes.^[9]

Unlike Managers, Game Guides are not covered by protections and can be permanently killed. As a result, they tend to stay in Safe Rooms and Guildhalls.^[10]

Third Floor Class & Race Selection

Beginning halfway through the Second Floor, Game Guides may begin instructing Crawlers about the Third Floor and race and class selection.^[11] On the Third Floor, Game Guides must help crawlers through the selection process without overtly telling them what to do.^[4] After the selection process is complete, the Game Guide, dressed in formalwear, exits the guild hall and formally presents the crawlers to the live viewers:

“I’d like to present Dungeon Crawler Carl, the Level 13 Compensated Anarchist Primal. Welcome, Carl, to the third floor.”^[12]

Crawlers lose access to their Game Guides as soon as they descend to the Fourth Floor.

Preparations

Guildmasters in Borant Corporation-run Dungeons spend years preparing for each new season of Dungeon Crawler World. In Carl's season, which takes place in either 2017 or 2023, the advance teams arrived on Earth in 1937 and Mordecai began the prep phase in 1964.^[13]

Preparations include consuming popular media and learning the planet's customs. In previous years, Guildmasters received a newsletter every few cycles; however, Borant discontinued the newsletter to cut costs and did not notify Guildmasters that the season was opening two years early.^[14]

Notable Game Guides

• Mordecai
• Mistress Tiatha
• Odette (former)

References