Elite

"If you come across one of these egomaniacs, they will either want to fuck you or kill you. Either way, they will always want to use you. They tend to think this whole production is all about them." -- System AI[1]

Elites are NPCs created by (as in: designed, printed, and programmed by), licensed to, and owned by private production companies for the sole purpose of appearing in tunneled shows set inside the Dungeon.[2]

Overview

On each season of Dungeon Crawler World, multiple new shows and storylines launch when the Third Floor opens, and thousands of Elites are spread across the third, sixth, and ninth floors. Elites can freely travel between the three floors. Some shows, all centered on the ninth floor, include stories that have spanned multiple seasons of Dungeon Crawler World.[2]

While Elites are not directly controlled by the System AI or by their showrunners, they are not autonomous. A full team of writers and producers are attempting to steer the Elite through a prepared story, and may "hot patch new instructions right into the elite's mind." Furthermore, the Elites are typically powerful and protected by plot armor, and the rules designed to keep things "fair" for crawlers tend to be treated more loosely when Elites are involved.[2] As Mordecai explains:

If it comes down to saving the life of a single crawler or blowing an entire drama that’s been building for weeks, what do you think is going to happen? I’ve seen it a dozen times. A hot shit crawler comes across an elite, and instead of trying to solve the quest, he decides to go all murder hobo and kill the NPC. Something always happens. Something bad. Most of these elites have very thick plot armor, and in those stories, you’re the extra. The red shirt... And if they can write in the death of a popular crawler, all the better. It will guarantee their show gets more viewers.[3]

Meeting an Elite

Elites initially appear as regular white or red dots on the minimap, depending on the character's friendliness. The first time a crawler meets an Elite, the crawler receives the Meet an Elite Achievement, and all Elites will be marked with a black cross on the minimap going forward.[4]

Elites are typically quest givers.

References

  1. ↑ Dinniman, Matt. Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Chapter 6) (p. 70). Kindle Edition.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dinniman, Matt. Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Chapter 7)
  3. ↑ Dinniman, Matt. Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Chapter 7) (pp. 83-84). Kindle Edition.
  4. ↑ Dinniman, Matt. Carl's Doomsday Scenario (Chapter 6)