u/Informal-Abroad5183

Inspired by the Lambda Fortress mod I've been thinking about what if the mercs were in Half Life 1 and whether they could survive the events of the Residence Cascade. For the scenarios the mercenaries have all their load outs available to them to swap weapons from their spawn point camp when they arrive at the facility. The main objective of the mercenaries is to secure the facility to take out any hostile creatures present. Rescuing or helping scientists and other personnel is an optional objective.

Scenario 1: The mercenaries arrive at the location without any other military forces being deployed. They have to deal with the events of Half Life 1 but also its expansion packs that being Decay, Blue Shift, and Opposing force. The surviving scientists and security guards will be as friendly as is warranted to the mercenaries as they secure the location from the incoming aliens. The mercs do not need to face off with any of the main characters as they make their own way through the facility.

Scenario 2: The HECU and Black OPs are also present at Black Mesa and are hostile to the mercs having opposing goals in regards to the fate of Black Mesa. The mercs will have to fight off not only the aliens and deal with the hazardous environments within Black Mesa but also the US military trying to eliminate them as witnesses and plant a nuclear device in the facility to contain the events of the Residence Cascade.

Scenario 3: The mercenaries have been paid extra to carry out extreme prejudice meaning to kill everyone and everything they encounter within Black Mesa meaning they will not only be fighting the HECU and Black OPs forces but also the surviving scientists and security guards. They're also up against the main characters of the games with all of their weapons and skills.

Do you think the mercs could survive all of these scenarios or would they be forced to pull out like the military when things get too hot for them?

I came up with some ideas on how to make a somewhat difficult challenge of personal rules in Darkest Dungeon 1 without needing to add mods to the game to make it more difficult (though obviously you can add mods to the game to make it even more difficult). What do you guys think about these rules and if they'd make the game impossible or not actually add any more difficulty than what the base game provides already?

1. You have to fill out the entire map and take on all fights during missions. If scouting reveals empty rooms or hallways with just curios and traps you can ignore them. Likewise fights that appear in areas you've already passed through or scouted can be ignored. This doesn't apply to epic quests like the courtyard or darkest dungeon where the map is revealed as you explore because that would take far too long and be far too tedious.

2. In addition to taking on every fight before leaving the dungeon you aren't allowed to retreat from a battle. (If you wanted to leave the dungeon it should have been before you went down the hallway and ran into a shambler at zero torch)

3. Before taking on any of the second tier bosses you have to begin the first courtyard mission and complete it. This is so you have to juggle the crimson curse and require collecting blood instead of building up enough teams of Veterans to clear the courtyard all in a few weeks.

4. For any farmstead endless run you have to keep fighting until you lose all of your heroes going for as high a score as possible (I don't think this one affects difficulty much but I figured having it makes sense)

Do you think these ground rules would make the game actually harder or just more tedious? Are there any rules you'd add onto this set to make the game more difficult? Do you think these rules would actually change your approach to playing DD1?

Hypothetical Crossover Scenario. The Overlord ends up within the Darkest Dungeon universe either via spatial magical nonsense dumping them there or Overlords and minions have always existed in the lands. Do you think the Overlord and his forces could survive in the world?

Scenario 1: The Overlord arrives at the Hamlet in DD1 and is not the ruler of the location for one reason or another but they have the aspiration for taking over the location. They also don't like all the various monsters and bandits calling themselves Evil in the area considering them nuisances and rivals to their goals. The heroes of DD1 also stand against the Overlord so he must defeat or persuade them into giving him control of the hamlet as he takes over. The Overlord has access to all four minion types but only starts off with five of each.

Scenario 2: Via some isekai/inheritance nonsense the Overlord becomes the heir of the estate meaning they can make use of all of the facilities within the hamlet or at least what's left at the start of the game. The local townsfolk and heroes are also allies of the Overlord and willing to help him destroy the various monsters and villains plaguing the hamlet.

Scenario 3: The Overlord manages to survive the events of DD1 reaching the events of DD2 whereupon they set out into the wider kingdom to stomp out the source of corruption seeping into their valley and perhaps seeking to take over more of the world or at least make a positive impact on the Regent Latimer for some tax benefits.

The Overlord's overall goals are to take control of the Hamlet, slay all the bosses and mini-bosses in the game and stop the final bosses from destroying the world he seeks to rule. Do you think the Overlord can accomplish this? If not how far do you think he and the minions can get before failing?

A band of four ogre mercenaries from the setting of Warhammer fantasy arrive at the hamlet after passing through the old road and eating the bandits camping out there. They're quickly hired by the heir of the estate being given a lucrative contract paying them to deal with all the threats to the hamlet and allowing them to eat whatever they kill in the various dungeons (so long as they do their feasting and cooking out of view of the townsfolk). The ogres are susceptible to sources of stress during and outside of combat just like heroes though some specific sources such as the hag fight's cannibalism may not affect them. They also have access to the same facilities within the Hamlet the heroes do in order to relieve stress and cure diseases etc.

The goal of the ogre mercenary band is to eliminate every boss and minibosses like Vvulf who threaten the town including the final boss dwelling within the darkest dungeon itself.

Do you think a team of four ogres can accomplish it?

Scenario 1: The ogres are able to set out on missions on their own or with the aid or to aid the other heroes of Darkest dungeon to cleanse the hamlet of monsters and corruption.

Scenario 2: The ogres are the only capable heroes left as the others have all gone insane beyond saving or perished.

Scenario 3: The ogres arrive just as the events of DD2 begin managing to find a wagon capable of supporting their weight and horses capable of hauling them across the kingdom without dying of exhaustion. They have been hired by the Regent Latimer to destroy the cult on the mountain causing trouble as well as dealing with the various factions in between along with the invasions from Kingdoms mode.

Do you think the ogres could help save the Hamlet/Kingdom from the horrors of the Darkest dungeon or if not how far do you think they can get before succumbing to madness or death?

Scenario one. Mental's hordes appear on the edge of the imperium during the modern age of the galaxy. Mental has access to all of his forces and technology from the games regarded as canon in the series that being. Serious Sam the first encounter, Serious Sam the second encounter, Serious Sam 3: BFE, Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, Serious Sam 4, and Serious Sam Siberian Mayhem. This also includes any portions of the games that count as dlc.

Scenario two. Mental's hordes appear on the edge of the imperium during the modern age but Mental has access to all of his forces and technology from every Serious Sam game.

Mental's goals.

Primary Goals:

Destroy the Imperium of man.

Wipe out Humanity. This includes every type of intelligent abhuman and those who serve chaos along with the leagues of Votann and the gue'vesa of the T'au empire. Mutating them into an entirely different creature is also allowed.

Secondary goals:

Destroy or subjugate the T'au Empire.

Destroy or subjugate the Eldari.

Defend their Empire from the forces of chaos, tyranids, orks, necrons, and any other factions that may threaten them.

Take over the galaxy if possible.

Scenario one. Mental's hordes appear on the edge of the imperium during the modern age of the galaxy. Mental has access to all of his forces and technology from the games regarded as canon in the series that being. Serious Sam the first encounter, Serious Sam the second encounter, Serious Sam 3: BFE, Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope, Serious Sam 4, and Serious Sam Siberian Mayhem. This also includes any portions of the games that count as dlc.

Scenario two. Mental's hordes appear on the edge of the imperium during the modern age but Mental has access to all of his forces and technology from every Serious Sam game.

Mental's goals.

Primary Goals:

Destroy the Imperium of man.

Wipe out Humanity. This includes every type of intelligent abhuman and those who serve chaos along with the leagues of Votann and the gue'vesa of the T'au empire. Mutating them into an entirely different creature is also allowed.

Secondary goals:

Destroy or subjugate the T'au Empire.

Destroy or subjugate the Eldari.

Defend their Empire from the forces of chaos, tyranids, orks, necrons, and any other factions that may threaten them.

Take over the galaxy if possible.