Pantheon / Video Game Stages

Dominions Expansion Index
Administrative Centers | Astronomical Bodies | Dimensions and Multiverses | Establishments And Districts | Fantastical Settings | Fictional Settings | Military Installations And Battlefields | Video Game Stages

What would be a video game without stages? This expansion, partly connected to the House of Gaming, is a massive matrix of pixels, each forming every land, air and sea particle before loading it into a proper stage. It has it all, from 2D platformers, First-Person Shooters, Strategy Games, Simulations and the occasional hidden dungeons and limited-time events. Manifesting as a large sandbox, it is one of the busier parts of the expansion, mostly due to the amount of video game related characters in the Pantheon, hoping to see their own homelands in here.

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Green Hill Zone

Green Hill Zone, Divine Scenic Grassland Introductory Level

• Description: A serene grassland with checkered soil, loops and ramps
• Symbol: A photo of the place with Sonic's signature written on the corner
• Theme Song: The OST from the first Sonic game
• Alignment: True Neutral
• Portfolio: The Green Hill Zone, Scenery Porn, Re-Used For Nostalgia, Mainly Found In Platforming Tiles
• Domains: Starting Levels, Scenery, Greenery, Loop-de-loops
• Sacred to: Sonic the Hedgehog and friends
• Unholy to: Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik (more like he's unholy to it)
• Ah, Green Hill Zone. Sonic the Hedgehog lives in a world with many lush and varied environments, and the first recorded fight he had with the notorious Dr. Eggman was in Green Hill Zone. It's a nice, quaint little grassland with different paths and wide-open areas for Sonic to first test his Super-Speed. Among its notable features include palm trees, crumbling cliffs, some spikes, and various ramps and loops. Be it nostalgia Sonic has revisited Green Hill Zone on a number of occasions. You can find it on the simply-named South Island.
• Green Hill Zone's exact appearance varies depending on the game and era, and Sonic always loves revisiting it; there are at least 26 versions of it in the game canon alone. The House of Musicality has a fondness for Green Hill Zone because its theme song is popular to remix. They've been given permission to compose songs there, however they stubbornly refuse to let Team Chaotix feature in their concerts. Yes they're aware of the irony because they're from the same universe, but it has more to do with their horrible singing.
• It's possible to recreate the Green Hill Zone in Minecraft as its grassy elements are easily mimicked by the blocks available in that world. Steve, Alex and (Insert Name Here) have proven capable of making replicas of the area, and eventually Green Hill Zone made an official appearance in their world via DLC. Sonic and Tails visited to see how close it was to the original, only to find Dr. Eggman there. Rather than fight, Eggman explained he's there for the same reason they are and not interested in a fight. He's a scientist after all; he wants to do some tests to compare and contrast the Minecraft version with the OG.
• Normally the Green Hill Zone is a safe haven for the less aggressive members of the House of Beasts and Fauna. The wild critters there became Sonic's friends, however they also became target of Eggman's first known villainous schemes: turn the animals into power sources for his robots. On occasion he'll try to cause trouble again, so fair warning to any deity of the aforementioned House who wants to chill; do so right after Sonic and his friends have kicked Eggman out. Also, there's always a piece of music accommodating the area so if you don't want it stuck in your head don't stay for too long-it's really good.
• Many of the gods who originate from video game universes found Green Hill Zone reminiscent of nice and peaceful grasslands they've visited before. Link has been in a number of grasslands like Hyrule Field, which recently functioned as a Hub Level. Mario might have had the most experience with Green Hill Zone-like locations, which given how long he's been in the business isn't surprising. It's enough that Mario can almost "play the game" in Green Hill Zone as well as Sonic despite being the latter's home turf. Wario felt that this was all wasting time because he wanted to make money by building ramps and stairs and bill slower deities to use them.
• Eggman has sometimes messed with the environment of Green Hill Zone. During his six month takeover his factories led it to be part desert. That particular incident brought some environmental protectors to that zone due to it being in every bit of danger as other places and they have taken watch of it in case deities who like to cause environmental damage for fun and/or profit do anything to it. For example, while Captain Planet loves to vibe there after the Resistance cleaned up Eggman's damage, Hexxus absolutely hates how there's no urbanization or grime to be found.
• Recently got some modification so LEGO deities like Emmet can take advantage of the area. In some corners of the multiverse it is a base of operation for the Freedom Fighters to fight against Robotnik. Upon the Green Hill Zone's re-installation into the Trope Pantheon, the House of Sports has commissioned more loop-de-loops and speed sections for bicycle rides, skating and skateboards. Dr. Eggman attempted to scam the Court of the Gods into buying his material to prep it for sports, but they know him and vetoed any outsourcing to him or evil-aligned deities in general.
• Among other uses of this place, Sonic used it to race cars with others a few times, Amigo has used it as a dance zone on occasion and has been used as a fighting arena on separate instances. It's sort of understandable why Sonic would use it as an arena for battling Mario and other Nintendo characters, but why the hedgehog would let people he doesn't even know about loan Green Hill to fight on is anyone's guess. On an equally weird note, it might have been used as a golf course as well, and leased out for tennis.
• The House of Sports managed to buy a spot of land in Green Hill Zone to be used as an all-purpose sports zone, and want to make money from it because they made the mistake of investing in the Green Hills in Montana by mistake; due to its prior usage in Smash Bros and over sports games, it was considered attractive locale. A lot of deities originating from videos games like Shantae, Gex and the Chosen Four are reminded of a similar area from their own setting when they play sports there.
• Even if sympathetic any Knight of Cerebus villain is usually discouraged from entering Green Hill Zone because the Court of the Gods think it'd be "tonally inappropriate" for them to cause trouble in the first, easy-going level. More lighthearted and comedic villains can enjoy themselves in Green Hill Zone, such as Eggman himself who admits that he's grown nostalgic for the zone and will sometimes fight heroic deities there just for the sake of a fun fight. He invited Wile E Coyote and the Roadrunner to continue their rivalry in Green Hill as they've raced across similar looped terrain; they might just enjoy a grassier version.

Minecraft

Minecraft, Holy Seat of Sandboxes

The Overworld

The Nether

The End

• Description: A set of three infinite worlds composed out of blocks. This includes the Overworld, the Nether and the End.
• Symbol: A block of grass
• Alignment: True Neutral
• Portfolio: Wide-Open Sandbox, Refining Resources, The Overworld, Classical Hell, New Dimension for the Final Boss
• Domains: Blocks, Exploration, Creation
• Sacred To: Steve and Alex, Zombies, The Creepers, Endermen, The Wither, The Ender Dragon, Piglins, Herobrine
• The land of origins of Steve and Alex, this world is quite different from the classical Earth-like dimensions. Not only is it composed out of blocks, but it is actually flat, and stretches infinitely on the horizontal axis. On the vertical axis, however, it is only a couple of hundred of blocks tall, with an endless void existing both above and below it.
• This world is actually comprised out of three connected yet distinct dimensions: The Overworld, a relatively normal world with forests, oceans, deserts and other natural structures, The Nether, a hell-like cave filled with lava and undead monsters, and The End, a series of islands floating in the void, with the central one hosting a dragon in it. People can travel between the Overworld and the Nether by creating a Nether portal from obsidian. Traveling to the End requires people to locate an End portal using the Eyes of Ender and activate the portal.
• There exists actually a nigh-infinite number of variations of the Minecraft world. Some of them only have small geographical changes, while some have outright different laws entirely. The world linked to the Pantheon is just one of them, created specifically for the Pantheon (although it isn't much different than the others like it).
• Steve and Alex are always eager to explore the world of Minecraft, however they soon got annoyed when they saw the ascension of Herobrine, since he had wrecked Steve's house in their world and has given them nothing but grief. Herobrine seems to enjoy tormenting so much, that he wrecked his house again. Herobrine's personality seems to vary time and again, but the one thing he keeps is his enjoyment of Steve's suffering. Steven and Alex are onguard whenever Herobrine makes himself known, doing everything they can to fend him off.
• The residents of the Land of Ooo (or at least some version) had once gone through a similar Minecraft experience. Finn and Jake are eager for more exploration into the world of Minecraft, Lemongrab dislikes it due to having grown an apple tree instead of a lemon tree, Lumpy Space Princess is disliked by the Endermen due to how annoying she is, while Simon has subconscious fear of the Endermen.
• Because of the nature of this world, explorers of all kinds enter Minecraft for various reasons:
  • Edward and Alphonse are alchemists who are interested in the resources, hoping to use alchemy to create new items from the materials there. However, the Homunculi, Father, and Dante also show interest in the Minecraft world, hoping to use its resources to their advantage. The Elric brothers recruit the aid of their fellow alchemists to stop the Homunculi from achieving their plans, especially when Father hopes to use his perfect alchemy to ascend to godhood.
  • Naofumi's party are interested in collecting resources from the three dimensions in Minecraft, so Naofumi can absorb them into his Legendary Shield to gain new powers for it. Of course, Naofumi is when willing to share with his fellow heroes, who had learned they can absorb materials into their Legendary weapons. Results varied from a diamond shield, obsidian sword, wooden arrows, etc., but they all had their uses, and fighting bosses in this new world allowed them to collect better quality materials.
  • Annabeth Chase had always wanted to be architect, and she now has a world where she can build as much as she wants. Using the experience she had as Mt. Olympus' architect, Annabeth has constructed countless buildings, using the valuable materials she can acquire in Minecraft, and even manages to build a villa for herself and Percy. Percy is impressed by Annabeth's skills in the new world, and he's able to use the water cubes as his main weapon due to his hydrokinesis.
  • Link had once explored Hyrule 100 years after Calamity Ganon devastated it, so he has plenty of experience exploring, fighting, and cooking in another land. Because of this, he's able to fend off most of the enemies that attack him in Minecraft, hunt down game for him to eat, prepare food for himself, and also build a house for himself. He's invited Princess Zelda to explore the Realm of Minecraft, where she can study the landscape and local fauna to her heart's content.
  • Recette Lemongrass tends to visit Minecraft to gather resources to put on for sale. Her wares have increased since then, allowing her shop to prosper and catch the attention of more potential customers. Recette has set up a second shop in Minecraft to sell any goods she's acquired in Minecraft with her allies, as well goods she already gathered for the Minecraft deities.
  • Both the Chosen One and the Second Coming had multiple adventures in a Minecraft-based world, allowing them to befriend Steve as the 3 explore the world around them. They also befriended Sackboy, who was amazed by how the Second Coming could use Minecraft to create stuff out of the computer. The Chosen One and the Second Coming were able to get rid of Herobrine from the animator's PC, earning Steve's gratitude as he hopes they'll still be around to help him if Herobrine ever comes back.
  • The Lego deities, especially Emmet, enjoy the world of Minecraft because it uses building blocks like their world does. Naturally they have no problems collecting materials and resources and using them for constructive purposes. Emmet has so far enjoyed creating anything he can with all the possible materials in the Overworld, the Nether, and the End.
  • The world of Minecraft has been chosen by Master Hand to be one of the many locales that the Smash tournament will be fought in. Steve managed to become it's representative as he became a playable fighter in the Smash Bros. tournament. Many deities were astonished by this development, especially since Steve's fighting style is unusual even by Smash Bros. standards, but at the very least they're eager to fight him as a worthy challenger.
• Deities from the world of Terraria don't seem out of place in Minecraft, most likely because they've come from a similar world themselves:
  • The Lunatic Cultist began his plans to summon the Moon Lord, gathering allies and followers to form a new Apocalypse Cult. Minecraft's similarity to Terraria allows them to gather as many resources as possible, with the Lunatic Cultist controlling the countless monsters that plague the world. He is also able to gather the materials to recreate the Mechanical Bosses feared in Terraia, as explained below.
  • The Mechanical Bosses are feared in Minecraft just as much as the Wither, since they caused so much havoc in their homeworld. Naturally, people dread having to fight both of them at the same time due to all of them being a force to be reckon with. Especially since they are encountered only at night like most enemies in the Minecraft world, and if they're defeated by daytime, they may instakill the player.
  • The Duke Fishron is an flying aquatic creature comparable to the Phantoms, undead manta ray-like monsters that can both fly and swim. Since the Duke Fishron can also darken it's surroundings with a dark blue fog, this can allow the Phantoms to hunt down anyone who hasn't slept in days. Some people believe the Duke Fishron has essentially become a King Mook to the Phantoms as a result.
• The Etrian Odyssey guilds have taken to explore the world of Minecraft for its vast resources, despite the fact that the Overworld, the Nether, and the End aren't as varied as the Yggdrasil Labyrinths. Making maps is a little difficult though, considering that the landscape tends to change often as a result of visitors' efforts. There are also enemies to worry about, but thanks to the guilds' experience, that isn't much of a problem, even if ghasts and archers might be the most annoying. Only the Wither and the Ender Dragon can provide a real challenge to the guilds, more so if they're unprepared, which is why the strongest members with the best gear are deployed to face them.

Moo Moo Farm

Moo Moo Farm, Holy Seat of Joke Levels (The Cow Level)

The portal that leads to Moo Moo Farm

• Description: A large pasture filled with hordes upon hordes of evil cows which walk on two legs
• Symbol: The head of a cow
• Alignment: Chaotic Evil
• Portfolio: Joke Level, Green Hill Zone, Ascended Fanon
• Domains: Cows, Demons, Portals
• Similar Places: Whimsyshire and Whimsydale
• Sacred To: Diablo, The Goat
• Unholy To: Otis, Napoleon, Dag, The Farmer, Miltank, The Three Birds, Applejack, Steve, Earthworm Jim
• The realm known as Moo Moo Farm, once thought to be an Urban Legend, became accessible through the merging of the peg leg of a dead man named Wirt, who was found washed up along a river one day, and a tome. Combining these two items caused a portal to appear near the entrance to the Pantheon. Upon entering, those who traveled through were assaulted by hordes of cows wielding polearms, lead by a larger cow known as the Cow King. It is said that killing the Cow King would close off the realm, and while that was considered at first, other deities protested that the cows dropped loot off of them when killed, and so it was decided that Moo Moo Farm would remain open for plundering.
• Diablo claimed responsibility for turning all of the cows in the realm evil, hence why they attack anyone on sight. For their part, none of his lieutenants claimed they had anything to with Diablo’s bizarre idea. Still, Diablo has, on occasion, been speaking with the cows and ordering them around, but how he can communicate with them is a mystery to the ages.
• Otis once traveled through the portal to see if he could reason with the cows to stop trying to kill people. However, the cows couldn’t talk like he could (only saying "Moo" and not even like a proper cow would) and thus they forced Otis out of the realm. Otis has since made sure none of his friends should try to get to Moo Moo Farm, for fear the cows will attack them.
  • Hearing of Otis's attempt to travel to Moo Moo Farm, Dag went there as well to see if he could try to have any of the cows for a meal. This backfired horribly, as soon enough he and his coyotes were overwhelmed by the cows and forced into a retreat. To add insult to injury, one of the coyotes did manage to kill and drag one of the cows back- and found that he tasted horrible due to being corrupted.
• The Farmer foolishly believed that Moo Moo Farm was a legitimate business venture, and sent some supplies there and expected the cows to trade. The cows responded by having Diablo tell the Farmer himself that this was, in fact, not a legitimate farm and the cows handled themselves. The Farmer has never made that mistake again, and has stayed far away from the portal, noting that he has no combat skills with which he can fight the cows.
  • Miltank wandered into Moo Moo Farm one day and was quickly beset upon by the cows, who did not take very kindly to her intrusion. She was eventually rescued by some of the other Pokémon and their partners, and the incident has made the Farmer even more disliking of Moo Moo Farm. Not that any of the cows seem to care, since they attack anyone they can.
• Napoleon learned about Moo Moo Farm, and was initially pleased that the cows stood on two legs instead of four. However, after he determined that the farm could produce nothing of value, he decided to leave it alone. He has, however, been considering asking Diablo to allow him to use some of the cows as guards for Animal Farm. Diablo has thus been forcing the cows to try to curb their instincts if they want to act as good guards.
• The Goat is one of the deities who often comes to Moo Moo Farm to take loot from the cows. Deities found that it had encountered a similar level while taking part in an MMO, although the cows there shot lasers. Of course, seeing as how the Goat has gotten into some crazy shenanigans on its own, no one is really surprised, although Diablo's home realm is certainly not a MMO and thus the Goat has fewer grounds there.
  • Similarly, Steve has claimed that he also encountered a realm full of evil cows during one of his adventures. These cows were much different than the cows of Moo Moo Farm due to the fact that they looked more like normal cows that had been corrupted by mushrooms. He also claimed that instead of the Cow King, the final opponent of the area was a giant golem that shot mushrooms and summoned more cows.
• The Three Birds firmly believe the farm is fully evil and have often periodically tried to make the farm peaceful by force. These usually result in many cows being killed, but they’re usually fought off before any of them can kill the Cow King. This hasn’t stopped them from continually trying, though, but they fail every single time they try.
• On one occasion, Applejack wound up in Moo Moo Farm after mistaking the cows for helpful bovine. She did attempt to tie some of them up, but others cut her lasso and forced her into a retreat, adding her to the list of farmers who don’t like the domain of cows. It doesn’t help that there no one is attempting to harvest apples at Moo Moo Farm, which is the main crop of Sweet Apple Acres.
• Occasionally, Earthworm Jim comes here to steal one of the cows. When asked why, he claims that a good deal of the events involving him involve a cow falling on someone at the end, and he thinks this is the best place to get cows from. It helps that he seems to be able to handle the hordes of cows much better than other deities can.
• This is not to be confused with Moo Moo Meadows, a cattle farm occasionally used in Mario Kart events. The key difference is that Moo Moo Meadows is a much more idyllic farm and the cows there are certainly not murderous demons who enjoy attacking trespassers. The only issue the cows have at Moo Moo Meadows is that they cross the track while the race is ongoing, but they can at least be driven around.

The Neverhood

The Neverhood, Holy Seat of In-Game Extensive Lore (The Overhood, the Everhood (formerly))

• Appearance: A floating landmass made of Klay
• Symbol: Hoborg's head and shoulders
• Theme Song: The Neverhood Theme; alternatively, Klaymen Shuffle or Southern Front Porch Whistler
• Alignment: True Neutral
• Portfolio: Beautiful Void, Bottomless Pits, Chekhov's Guns everywhere, Cloud Cuckoo Land, home to some REALLY difficult and even weird puzzles, Rule of Symbolism, Teleporters and Transporters
  • The Hall of Records: Ingame Novel, Bigger on the Inside, Narrative Filigree, Overly Long Gag, literal Walls of Text
• Domains: Clay (or rather, Klay), Puzzles, Strangeness
• Sacred to: Klaymen
• Years ago, a being named Hoborg created a world that he called The Overhood, then the Everhood. After that, when he realized how lonely he was, he created a living being to be a friend. Sadly, this creature, named Klogg, coveted Hoborg's crown, and some time and some time later — before Hoborg created a second being — Klogg stole the crown right off of his head. As a result, Klogg became a truly evil being, Hoborg fell into a state of suspended animation, and the Everhood became the Neverhood. One of Hoborg's friends that he didn't create, Willie Trombone, found a Life Seed, and planted it in a room far away from the castle that Klogg now called home. This seed grew into Klaymen, who would go on to save the Neverhood and Hoborg.
  • Some time after Klaymen saved the Neverhood, he ended up getting launched into space. Though he managed to save the planet Idznak — the planet of the Skullmonkeys — he would continue to float through space, and the Neverhood certainly noticed his absence. Hoborg used his divine powers to pilot the Neverhood like a ship in order to find Klaymen, the savior of the Neverhood. This resulted in the Neverhood encountering the Pantheon. Hoborg quickly realized what powerful beings existed there, and beseeched a member of the Court of the Gods to bring Klaymen home. The deity agreed on one condition; allow the Neverhood to stay close to the Pantheon, alongside the rest of the Dominions, for they found in the Hall of Records an excellent example of the trope Ingame Novel. Said hall contained miles and miles of lore, but according to some newly-added lore, it was important that Klaymen go through there to pick up an important disc…
  • Hoborg agreed to the deity's terms, and in the blink of an eye, Klaymen was standing in the midst of them all. Well, technically, he was flat on his back, but regardless, the Neverhood welcomed him back with open arms. Thus, the entirety of the Neverhood celebrated with Hoborg's declaration, "It is now time to goof off!"
• When the Skullmonkeys — led by Jerry-O — volunteered to be among Klaymen's heralds, he and the other residents of the Neverhood were initially wary of them, but once it was made clear that the Skullmonkeys meant no further harm, they were welcomed with open arms. They can even be found visiting the Neverhood, thanks to a portal Hoborg created for easy travel between his world and Idznak, and goofing off with any Neverhoodians.
• Now that the Neverhood is a dominion of the Pantheon, its residents make frequent visits to its various houses.
  • Sometimes, one or more of the residents of the Neverhood will visit the House of Sports to play a bit of air hockey, or a different take on the game called "Gun Hockey", a game they came up with before Klaymen was taken to Idznak. Like a lot of things to come from the Neverhood, many deities find it very strange, but considering that the House of Sports has had versions of golf that include driving around and beating up weird creatures, it's something that many visitors would get used to.
  • Willie Trombone is often found pigging out at the House of Food. He even came to befriend other Big Eater types of characters, like Kirby, Shaggy, Scooby-Doo, and Monkey D. Luffy.
  • If Big Robot Bil's teddy bear is ever damaged, several deities in the House of Craft are happy to stitch it back up and replace any lost stuffing. He also finds kinship with robotic deities, most of whom enjoy his company, even though they regard him as "a bit simple". (That said, it's highly recommended that nobody messes with the Good/Bad switch inside Bil, and DEFINITELY don't mess with the teddy, unless you want a good pummeling!)
  • Hoborg gets along well with other good-aligned creation deities, even discussing new ideas for people, places, and things to create. He was initially a bit perturbed at the idea of deities of destructions — such as Beerus and Yveltal — but came to understand after some explanation. One thing he could say either way: the Omniverse was a fascinating place. He wondered when Father or Quater were going to tell him about all this...
• Likewise, deities often visit the Neverhood for various reasons. Perhaps one of the more common reasons is the music, which several critics in the House of Musicality have described as "charmingly cartoonish and fun". Of course, there are also those that like to challenge their puzzle-solving skills — such as Professor Layton — and thus, like to try their hand at the various puzzles littering the Neverhood.
  • And of course, seeing as the Neverhood was ascended for its Hall of Records, more studious deities have visited that area, too. They love the wealth of knowledge they manage to glean from the writing on these walls, and as the Hall of Records updates itself automatically, these "bookworms" find themselves coming back regularly.

The Tower of Heaven

The Tower of Heaven, Holy Site of The Game Boy Green Aesthetic

• Symbol: A butterfly
• Theme Music: Stairway to Revelation and Indignant Divinity, Luna Ascension (when just outside the tower's walls), Atop The World
• Alignment: Lawful Neutral
• Portfolio: Intentionally Green Atmosphere Like The Game Boy Color To Invoke Its Old Aesthetic, Which Disappears When The Tower Falls Apart, Giant Treacherous Tower To Climb, Turning Harmless Things Like Grass, Butterflies, and Even Walking Left Into Instant Death, Extremely Perilous Platform Hell, Required A Loophole To Bypass, Associated With Butterflies, Including The Tower's God Itself
• Domains: Towers, Butterflies, Danger, Rules, Heaven, Retraux Theming
• Sacred to: Those who conquer the tower's challenges
• Unholy to: By default, anyone seeking to climb the tower
• In a realm said to have evaded the eyes of God, there stood an ominous tower tall enough to extend past the clouds and into Heaven itself. There were very few souls who dared to enter, and none of them lived to describe the perils within. But change was inevitable, and it came in the form of an odd humanoid traveler that mystified those who wanted to describe him. Some say his name was Eid, but many know him as the one who scaled the Tower of Heaven, endured its daunting trials, and found the fortunes waiting for him at the top of the Tower of Heaven. It was said that Eid had to survive all sorts of challenges where almost anything, from the touch of life to even yellow surfaces would have him smited instantly. And yet, the Book of Rules that empowered such rules did not stop Eid for good. It was said that once the traveller reached the top of the tower, the Tower of Heaven collapsed, perhaps with the tower's god no longer deeming it necessarily, and down did the tower crash leaving only ruins behind, with even the antique presence it exerted fading away.
• The Tower of Heaven used to be not much more than interesting gossip among the deities in the Pantheon, who in a sense had made their own heavens with its own fortunes. But change was once again lurking among the gods. It started with rumors of a black humanoid that wandered the Pantheon, perhaps they were simply a follower of another god. Then some deities remarked seeing a field full of more butterflies than typically expected. A few biologists arrived to discover more than just some more butterflies, with their view of the sky being poked at by a large tower that extended above the stratosphere and beyond. Immediately, explorers would visit the tower and be met with a divine voice greeting them to question their intentions to climb the tower. Showing them the Book of Rules, all the explorers who didn't leave already attempted to scale the tower, but none would survive the death course that was the tower of heaven, all of them taking a trip to the House of Death and Postmortem instead. Getting the Pantheon's deities involved, the Pantheon discovered that the Tower of Heaven was really within their premises now, and some flew to the top to be met with a lone butterfly and an odd humanoid traveler, presumed to be Eid themselves. The butterfly introduced himself as the tower's god, who had found themselves in the Pantheon, and decided that even if the Pantheon's heavens little needed a tower, the Tower of Heaven could still stand to test the endurance, determination, and skill of those willing to handle what the Tower could throw at them head-on, and so began a grand surge of deities arriving to scale the tower the hard way.
• Given that the tower was only ascendable in the first place due to a loophole that allowed those climbing it to bypass rules by exiting the tower, the Book of Rules and some rooms were gradually amended to make climbing the tower more and more feasible, but not easy. One can still exit the tower and reach the top the same way that Eid had (or just fly), but people aren't going to get any more kudos from it. That and the god is planning to just smite those relying too much on flying for his own amusement. The tower's god is also finding more and more ways to expand how high it can go considering that the Pantheon's worlds allow for that. Of course, after complaints from several adventurers like the Kosugis who were used to traversing through worse to find that most of the earlier treasure chests were already looted, this also meant all sorts of treasures in the Pantheon's equivalent of the tower were added, to the glee of those willing to risk a ton of lives for such spoils. While the greatest fortune of completing the Tower of Heaven was never meant for mortals in the first place, the Pantheon is full of so many ascended mortals that whatever that reward was, only the god and Eid, the one who claimed it, know to this day. The tower's god may be considerate towards those who are willing to go through with the tough ascent of the tower, but certainly not forgiving enough to shy away from smiting them at the smallest fumble. After all, the challenge is what the god considers to be the true value of this tower in the Pantheon.
• The Book of Rules is the Tower of Heaven's obligatory list of commandments to be obeyed when ascending the tower, or else they will be fatally smited. Rules can be added by the god at any time, and it will stack up with older rules to make for a deadlier experience for those tested by the tower. Among the rules that crept up on the tower's first conqueror, Eid:
  • "Thou shalt not touch golden blocks": In the tower where everything else is greenish, yellow blocks are highly distinct (assuming colorblindness is not a factor), just as much as they are deadly to touch.
  • "Thou shalt not touch blocks or walls from the side": When this rule is active, touching vertical surfaces is instantly fatal, which is more than a great detriment for deities that rely on abilities that utilize walls, including wall-jumping.
  • "Thou shalt not walk left": A self-explanatory rule, introduced by the tower's god in a room where one needs to go left in threat of a deadly saw. It takes quick wits to find the saving loophole to this rule- going left while jumping or in mid-air is not forbidden.
  • "Thou shalt not touch living things": Anything that can be considered alive cannot be touched, from the plants to the butterflies, which happens to trouble those who attract or passively summon such living things if they decide to climb the tower.
  • "Thou shalt not check the book of laws": A petty rule from the god that forbids the challenger from checking previous rules, it becomes a test of one's memory to flawlessly remember the rules lest they end up experimenting with their life on the line.
• When it comes to constructing more challenges for the Tower of Heaven to test those climbing it, the Tower's god was not exactly known for patience, and the god's creativity could only go so far. When it comes to finding more collaborators to contribute to the new Tower of Heaven in the Pantheon, there have been a few deities willing to bring their own tests to the tower and see to its completion. The Blue Avatar, aka Gautham, was a game designer for a similar kind of game and was always enthusiastic in the optimal game experience, so he tends to come by and give out some ideas and designs for the god for adding to the tower, and even new additions to the Book of Rules for those with more capabilities of traversing the tower than Eid did. Additionally, Sackboy, also known for building new platformer challenges as much as going through them himself, became a welcomed guest to the Tower of Heaven as well, being an incredible designer and tester in one package.
• As the site of a difficult platformer game, the Tower of Heaven has been visited by those who have endured similarly sadistic and challenging platforming. Some like Madeline who had traversed a mountain filled with grueling challenges, or Eryi who was used to being killed by just about anything had came to the tower out of natural interest, and had eventually climbed the tower with a lot of patience and practice. Some like Meat Boy were transported here for hostile reasons by third parties like Dr. Fetus, but he too managed to endure death enough to learn the tower's ways and escape, though we don't know why his nemesis Dr. Fetus brought him here, but at least he left some additional rooms to challenge future climbers. Though they're full of buzzsaws and deadly obstacles, even those who have tried to climb while not being bound to the Book of Rules. The Kid was used to avoiding organic entities, commenting on how the apples in his world taught him that lesson too well. Suddenly, it led to (green) apples appearing in rooms to attack him out of nowhere. All the tower's god could do was chuckle.
• The Tower of Heaven had precedent for being outside its usual world before, with one particular game having been graced with the Tower of Heaven's presence. The outside of the Tower of Heaven in particular has been used as a fighting stage to satiate the need for a High-Altitude Battle with Eid and the tower's god watching the brawl. The former does get himself killed by the action sometimes, but Death Is Cheap even there, and especially in the Pantheon. Sometimes, those trying to kill Eid for fun there have been killed by a sudden rule induced by the Book of Rules. That was when several deities realized in horror that the Book of Rules' limitations to being inside the tower were already patched up and now no longer necessarily shattering by leaving the tower, but the god assured them that the Book of Rules didn't apply when far enough from the tower itself. And it hasn't stopped people from using the tower's outskirts as a fighting stage anyway.
• Twenty-Fifth Bam had gained interest in this place, him having traversed a much greater tower in his own world known as the Tower of God, full of entire civilizations and monsters to deal with. Unlike the Tower of God, Bam had no means of resisting the smiting from disobeying the Book of Rules, and the tower's trials would end up testing his abilities to take on challenges without relying on his increasing powers, not that it particularly bothered him a lot. While not a big fan of some of the sadistic designs of the tower's god at first, he came to appreciate the practice and change in pace, and eventually even befriended the butterfly after a while after eventually reaching the top itself. The god himself did find Bam's stories about the Tower of God intriguing in comparison, and even considering using it as inspiration for future challenges within the tower.
• There are some heavenly deities in the Pantheon who were not particularly amused by the Tower of Heaven as it was. The more selfish gods like YHVH and Zamsu found the idea of giving mortals a chance to breach into heaven by sheer determination and skill offensive. A few other gods of equivalent power like Chuck Shirley and Wick found the spectacle of smiting foolish and reckless challengers repeatedly more than entertaining enough to really care, though. That said, when comes to deities being obsessed with order, the Tower's Book of Rules appeals to them due to the power it could have, should its bounds to the Tower of Heaven be removed. Of course, for such gods, the ability to instantly smite heretics for breaking rules automatically is just asking for potential abusers, but the tower's god is more than aware, and isn't going to let the Book of Rules be distributed to the hands of corrupt divinity.
• Given the attunement to butterflies in the Tower of Heaven, the tower had eventually developed its own butterfly sanctuary not just outside the tower's fields, but in a hidden room below the tower for deities to simply relax among the butterflies. It ended up making the tower more popular even for those not here for the dangerous obstacles of the tower, and it's also said that Count Bleck and Tippi, the latter having a butterfly form herself, have been found resting here. There were some who noticed a second butterfly sanctuary when climbing the tower, but didn't really know why it was there. Eventually, some challengers that ended up relying a lot on personal powers to traverse the tower would find out the hard way that the Tower of Heaven had developed a counter to powerful deities attempting to traverse the tower by relying too much on their power alone, and ended up being attacked by a butterfly that ended up being Morpho Knight of all deities, who posed a great threat to such deities and responsible for hundreds of more deaths. When asked about this development, the tower god responded that he needed more restrictions to challenge the stronger deities in the Pantheon aside from just smiting them instantly. Not to mention that Morpho Knight's ability to absorb even powerful deities made him blend in with the other butterflies really well.
• One day, when the tower's god was busy with collaborating with other deities, the Tower of Heaven got covered with pizza, and some were lucky enough to find out that the perpetrator was none other than Pizzahead who decided to turn the Tower of Heaven in a "Pizza Tower" of Heaven, and already tricked Peppino into entering the tower to go through its divine challenges, which brought Peppino's stress to extremely high levels due to the pressure of being smited by doing pretty much anything he'd usually do. Soon enough, it got Peppino enough that he went berserk enough to burn up the Book of Rules bound to him from sheer rage and launched himself upwards through the tower to get high enough to find a clone of Pillar John stationed at the top. Doing what he did best, he destroyed the clone and ended up causing the tower to collapse again, and narrowly escaped, and caused the green-aesthetic phenomenon to disappear in the process, granting a rare lifetime opportunity in the Pantheon to see the land around it without such a filter. By the time the god came back, the tower was already in ruins, and since then, Pizzahead was permanently banned from the Tower of Heaven.

"May heaven grant you fortune."

Yggdrasil Labyrinths

The Yggdrasil Labyrinths, Celestial Mega Dungeons

The Yggdrasil tree at the bottom of Etria

Lagaard's Yggdrasil Labyrinth behind the city

Armoraoad's (and the Deep City's) Yggdrasil Labyrinth

Arcania's Yggdrasil Labyrinth

• Symbol: Themselves
• Alignment: True Neutral
• Portfolio: World Tree, Leading Upwards (for Lagaard's and Arcania's) Or Downwards (for Etria's and Armoroad's), Scenery Porn, Early Game Hell, Very Violent And Lethal Wildlife (Marine Life Included (And Not Just In Armoroad's)) Of All Strange Sorts That Drop Body Parts As Loot, Backtracking Shortcuts, Cosmic Horror Reveal, Engineered To Restore Earth But Is Going Berserk, Postgame Content
• Domain(s): Trees, Dungeons, Restoration
• Similar Places: Maure Castle, Tartarus, Tristram's Cathedral, Mazes of Menace
• Related Dominions: The Abyss
• Sacred To: The Etrian Odyssey Guilds, all explorers of all stripes
• Unholy To:
• When it comes to dungeons in video or tabletop games, they're usually sized just right for a short-ish segment of it. However, there are those that span the entire game. Those are the Mega Dungeons.
• The Yggdrasil Labyrinths in Etrian Odyssey are a set of labyrinths across the games that its nearby cities live nearby and from which its economy is run off of. As for how they came to be, it's thanks to something called the Yggdrasil Project.
  • The world prior to what it is now in the setting used to be Earth, but pollution was bringing it to ruin, not to mention the arrival of the Abyssal God. The Yggdrasil Trees (two of which are at Etria and Lagaard) that now hold the titular Labyrinths were made to clean the planet's atmosphere and restore its climate, making it once again a place suited for life. However, the process would take too long for mankind, and billions died during it. However, life did flourish again, but technology know-how had been lost and was pushed back to medieval times, in addition to magic becoming available.
• Unlike the above two, Armoroad's Yggdrasil Labyrinth has a different story, and has no involvement with the Yggdrasil Project. The tree it was from was actually a great, powerful sentient being that has traveled the outer space for eons seeking to destroy the Abyssal God, an alien creature that travels the universe conquering worlds. It had fled to Earth, and found refuge on its vast oceans. But the tree soon followed, landing on the planet's surface and quickly growing roots, sealing its nemesis within what is now known as Armoroad's Yggdrasil labyrinth. Years later, however, the god had created a new race, the Deep Ones, and sought to wage war against humankind. Also, humans eventually settled on the land where the tree had landed, and there founded the city of Armoroad.
• The one for Arcania also holds a different story, since it's not situated on Earth at all, but a terraformed Mars courtesy of a forest born from the Yggdrasil Tree that somehow landed there. It's not known how the races that reside in Arcania eventually came to be, though.
• While there are seven known Yggdrasil Labyrinths in the setting (if you also count Etrian Mystery Dungeon and its sequel), only four count for this trope: Etria's, Lagaard's, Armoroad's (and the Deep City's by extension), and Arcania's. Tharsis instead has lands between itself and the tree which all have their own series of dungeons, and the same roughly applies for Maginia, due to ancient Lemuria borrowing power from many Yggdrasil trees across the world.
• The dominion entrance takes the form of a giant tree with four giant portals on its sides that will take travelers to each city. For the sake of protecting the world order, the Court of the Gods has assigned checkpoint guards (overseen by some of the ascended guild members) tasked with screening anyone who wishes to enter, and the following rules have been mandated.
  1. All loot acquired from the labyrinths has to be sold in the native city in order to support its economy. This especially applies for Etria, which is allegedly at risk of becoming a ghost town with all its mystery gone. The House of Commerce has a conversion system for Ental, the world's local currency.
  2. Store-bought commodities and equipment are allowed to be brought out into the Pantheon.
  3. Special permission must be requested to acquire any specific item(s) from the Labyrinths. And only those items may be brought out.
• As for what exactly the Yggdrasil Labyrinths look like, they are divided between strata.
  • Etria's starts off with following:
    • The 1st Stratum is the Emerald Grove, a "standard" deciduous forest.
    • The 2nd Stratum is the Primitive Jungle, where even the plants start trying to kill adventurers.
    • The 3rd Stratum is the Azure Rainforest, which was never reached until Etria's guild covered it. A giant ant nest (both in scale and in ants) is also found here.
    • The 4th Stratum is the Sandy Barrens, a desert with dead trees and was once home to the Forest Folk before Etria's guild put as many of them as possible to the sword under the orders of Visil, though thankfully there were survivors as far as Armoroad, as well as another tribe at Maginia.
    • The 5th Stratum is the ruins of Lost Shinjuku, a destroyed modern Earth city. So far, only two linked skyscrapers have been explored by the Etria guild. The base of Etria's Yggdrasil tree can be found here.
    • The 6th Stratum is the Claret Hollows. A disturbing cavern system, with walls made of flesh and skeletons around the floor, is home to the strongest monsters of the labyrinth.
  • Lagaard's labyrinth Strata are as follows:
    • The 1st Stratum is the Ancient Forest, set in an eternal state of summer, and home to a diverse ecosystem.
    • The 2nd Stratum is the Auburn Thicker, set in an eternal state of autumn, and mainly home to fire-elemental monsters.
    • The 3rd Stratum is the Frozen Grounds, set in an eternal state of winter, and mainly home to ice-elemental monsters as well as a great number of flying creatures.
    • The 4th Stratum is the Petal Bridge, set in an eternal state of spring, and unlike the previous strata is not mainly a forest. It's more like a high-hanging garden, with plenty of stone bridges, moving platforms, and a huge risk of falling off and all the way to the ground (and a few FOEs that actually do). Regular pruning of the tree's many extensive branches is done in order to ensure that sunlight continues shining on Lagaard. There's also a tribe of Bird Folk who keep their distance from most except the Lagaard guild and a select few from High Lagaard itself.
    • The 5th Stratum is the Heavenly Keep, the famed flying fortress of the legends, which seemed to be akin to a Noah's Ark for people of the world before. High-tech machines can be found all over, as replenishment (read:vending machines) and as perimeter defense. There's also a combat simulator that may or may not have been broken.
    • The 6th Stratum is the Forbidden Wood, a group of floating islands far above the Heavenly Keep, a place never meant for humans, and served as a prison for the late Overlord's most powerful creations. Thankfully for Lagaard, the most powerful one there, the Ur-Child, has been vanquished by the Lagaard guild. That said, accessing the portal on foot is impossible without the approval of the Bird Folk's chief Canaan, and so far only the Lagaard guild has access.
  • This is for Armoroad's:
    • The 1st Stratum is the Waterfall Wood, located on the outskirts of Armoroad. Located beneath the Yggdrasil tree, these tropical woodlands contain many cataracts and waterfalls surrounding a deep chasm.
    • The 2nd Stratum is the Undersea Grotto, an underwater designed for sea life to swim free yet also allow terrestrial explorers to breathe air. At the bottom of this maze is the Deep City, a section of Armoroad that fell into the ocean during a Calamity long ago. Relations between it and Armoroad are still building up, so Pantheon explorers cannot use its services (except the Napier's Firm branch office run by Edie's sister) and must return to Armoroad for resting.
    • The 3rd Stratum is the Molten Caves, which are located in deep sea volcanic rifts, requiring the utmost caution for adventurers to navigate safely.
    • The 4th Stratum is the Abyssal Shrine, which also used to be part of Armoroad before sinking to the ocean. This temple is overrun by the Deep Ones, piscine horrors that dwell in the oceans.
    • The 5th Stratum is the Porcelain Forest, the sacred grove of the Armoroad royal family, also known once as the Mirror Forest. Access is restricted to Armoroad and Deep City soldiers, their royal family, as well as the Armoroad guild itself.
    • The 6th Stratum is the Cyclopean Haunt, a forest seemingly themed after the Abyssal God (rumored to be this world's Cthulhu) that used to dwell in the bottom, sealed there by the Yggdrasil tree itself until the Armoroad guild discovered it there and vanquished the deity once and for all. As the only way in is through a portal deep in the Porcelain Forest, access to this place is generally prohibited as well by extension.
  • Arcania's has the following:
    • The 1st Stratum is the Tutelary Forest, an ordinary deciduous forest with a calm atmosphere, despite being filled with a variety of vicious monsters eager to end an overconfident explorer's life.
    • The 2nd Stratum is the Jagged Reach, an almost barren land with sheer cliffs and stone spires, and is prone to rockfalls.
    • The 3rd Stratum is the Fetid Necropolis, a large graveyard, crawling with undead and filled with poisonous tiles. When the sun is up, its poison becomes active but the sunlight provides some solace against its denizens. When night falls, the poison becomes inert but the monsters turn more aggressive.
    • The 4th Stratum is the Lucent Hollows, a cave rife with giant crystals, both as harvestables for money, and enchanted ones that can teleport those who touch it to different parts of the labyrinth.
    • The 5th Stratum is the Untamed Garden, which is found in a Torus-shaped biodome situated in the stratosphere above Arcania, and accessed via a large elevator in the Lucent Hollows. Scattered around the stratum are devices that can toggle gravity, altering the movement of both the party and FOEs.
    • The 6th Stratum is the Empyreal Bridge, which is outright set in outer space. Teleportation devices that move the party a set distance (depending on their colour) litter the area, and act as a means of progress (and reverse of it). Escape Rope items are extremely recommended here. It's also a possibility that some of the enemies encountered here are actually alien races from different planets.
• Every city has a "starter mission" where the burgeoning guild needs to retrieve an item from the labyrinth, and learning how to map it out is extremely recommended. Borrowing maps of others is not allowed for this mission.
• Parties who have been braving (or sending forces to) The Abyss have taken an interest in the Yggdrasil Labyrinths as well, seeing them as being comparatively easier, which is helped by the fact that the Labyrinths have been technically conquered already while the Abyss has yet to as far as anybody knows.
  • These parties include the Monster Hunters, The Highwayman and the Flagellant, Yomi and Ceri (plus their recruited monsters), and Team Charm. The Court has prevented corporations like the Corpus from muscling in on foreign territory, but they don't stop them sending operatives as long as they adhere to the rules.
• Kirito and his friends, upon checking out Arcania's Yggdrasil Labyrinth, were reminded of the World Tree, the centerpiece of the VR game ALfheim Online. As for becoming semi-regular explorers of the Labyrinth, that's yet to be seen, though it's unlikely.

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