Grrl Power - Dabbler’s Science Corner #8

Thank you for the support! You guys are awesome!

There's no "System" on Earth, so delving a dungeon is really only good for loot, which, admittedly is nearly unique on Earth and probably hugely valuable, especially if you have access to a reasonably competent alchemist. A chemist could learn to do a lot with plants and slime cores and whatever else you could pull from a dungeon, but at some point you'd be leaving potential on the cutting room floor if they ignore the magic infused into those objects.

No one would gain XP/Essence/Mana/whatever by killing magically generated/enriched monsters or beating traps or labyrinths. Well, I should say almost no one would benefit from that, but some already magical or magically attuned beings could benefit from it. Vampires, who pull almost all of their energy and power from life force via blood could gain a little bit from a dungeon delve, as they vampirism is a magical parasite slash symbiote (depending on who you ask.) A mage could benefit from it, as practicing magic in an area with higher mana would improve their spellcasting and possibly allow them to accelerate the growth of their personal mana pools. 

But Joey Shotgun won't get anything from delving besides the experience. The experience of having done it, not experience points. Also possibly some loot, but while an immature dungeon will probably provide some interesting botanical specimens, Legendary Daggers are a long way off. 

You know? I think I wrote that tachyon joke. I mean obviously I wrote it, that's how all the words appear in the comic. I mean I think I actually... invented that joke. Or whatever verb you'd ascribe to that act. There's a chance it's cryptomnesia, of course. My memory is poor enough that I could have easily stumbled across that joke three years ago while looking up science jokes for another page, and I don't remember. Or... I do remember, just, not well enough to know I remember it. Which... is the definition of cryptomnesia.

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Next page returns to Peggy's tale. Things have calmed down a little, there's still lots to do, and unfortunately I am currently living in Houston with my Mom, while the wife is up in Dallas taking care of the house and cats. It's likely I'll be down here until... I don't know. We settle everything, probate of the will wraps up, and we decide what my mom's living situation will be. Probably it will involve selling her house and ours and moving to a new location, possibly around Buffalo, which would put us an hour or two from my sister in Toronto, but my parent's house is big and full of nice stuff, some of which has emotional attachments, and I don't want to empty out their house then get a house that's big enough for the "mother in law apartment" then have to fill that house, so there will probably be storage involved and viewing houses on the other side of the country, then moving across the country. It's... a lot. 

Anyway, that's all... none of you guys's problem. Like I said, I don't like using the comic as an agony aunt, I mean, generally my life doesn't have much drama going on in it, but damn, the last... month? Yeah. Geeze. The last month has felt like 5 months. Not so much because it's been emotionally draining, moreso because my normal routine is "draw comic, watch some TV, go to Pathfinder game every other weekend, maaaaaybe go to the gym, repeat" but for the last month it's been like one big important meeting every two or three days, then lots of "not part of my routine" chores every day. Really, that probably tells me I need more variety in my day-to-day life, cause I do have a tendency to find a routine and then suddenly I look up and it's been 4 years.