🚪 The Hidden Staircase
Descending floors in the Dungeon Registry is never automatic. The dungeon places a hidden door on a page somewhere in the registry, and only you can see it — each crawler gets their own door, on their own page.
What it looks like
When you land on the page holding your door, a full-screen overlay appears:
- 🚪 A large door emoji at the top
- “A Staircase Appears” in gold lettering — the sign you’ve found it
- “You found a hidden door leading deeper into the dungeon.”
- A panel showing which floor awaits: “Descend To Floor X: [Floor Name]” and your current floor
- Two choices: ⚔️ Descend (gold) or Not Yet (outlined)
When it appears
- Your HUD shows a pulsing hint: “🚪 A staircase awaits… explore the dungeon to find it.” when your door is placed
- Floors unlock with account age. Each floor has a minimum age, counted from the day you registered — not from your last descent:
- Floor 2 · The Tutorial Guild — 3 days
- Floor 3 · The Overcity — 7 days
- Floor 4 · The Boroughs — 14 days
- Floor 5 · The Tangle — 30 days
- Floor 6 · The Hunting Grounds — 60 days
- Floor 7 · The Demon Realm — 120 days
- Floor 8 · The Nothing — 240 days
- Because the clock runs from registration, a crawler whose account is already older than the next floor’s requirement can find their door immediately — and may descend several floors in quick succession. There is no cooldown between descents; only the age gate above.
- Still waiting? Your HUD shows a live countdown of the days remaining until your next floor opens.
- The door is placed on a random page after you log in, and it stays until you find it
- Your staircase is always on a page you can reach from the main menu — Home, About, Stats, Codex, Hall of Readers, Quizzes, Forums, ID Card, Contact, or your HUD. You will never be sent hunting for a page with no way in.
What happens if you decline
Choosing Not Yet is completely safe — there is no penalty for waiting. The staircase disappears and will reappear on a different page the next time you log in. You can stay on your current floor as long as you like.
The catch
Once you descend, that floor collapses behind you (as the AI loves to remind you). Choose wisely, crawler — and when the door appears, remember: it may not wait forever in the same place.
🛠️ Dungeon note: Descent grants 25 XP × floor, fires a loot box, and sends an achievement email. Crawlers who have not yet found their door can see their eligibility countdown in the HUD.