Magma caverns

[Pet Rock]

I loved the concept the devs had for the magma caverns and now would be the perfect time to add them, since the rift's tremors could cause volcanic activity. Obviously any implementation of this biome would be great but this is my idea.

The magma caverns would replace the red mushtree forest (since that place is really boring), resulting in frequent earthquakes in the area while the caverns are forming. Also, there could be some sealed off volcanic vents and pyroclastic rocks (containing gems and fossils) in the biome before the rift's activation to explain the sudden change and make the biome generally more interesting.

Once the rifts are activated, the biome is swallowed by pools of magma. These will block of access to the main biome and only be accessible by boat. Any boats on the magma will smolder and burst into flames if left unchecked. Additionally, the magma can bubble and shoot globs of it flying. These globs remain on the ground for a bit before disappearing and will slow and damage players caught within them.

The main biome is always as hot as in summer. Vents of magma are now unsealed and spit the same globs of magma around them as the magma pools. Streams of magma will come down from the ceiling during earthquakes. Charmeleons and ember flies can be found roaming the caverns.

Charmeleons are saladmander's distant relatives, bearing cracked/scorched skin and a flaming mane that burns anything around it. They deposit their eggs in lava where they hatch after a few days and swim to shore becoming adults after another few days. While the eggs are hatching, the parents become more aggressive towards players, slowly moving towards them and spitting a fire in a ~45° radius. Charmeleons can watered to stop their fire for a bit and slow their movement but making them aggressive. On low health they will become partially invisible (like shadow creatures) and walk away from threats. They can even be tamed with a steady diet of ember flies but extinguishing them will lower their domestication if they are not fully tamed. Flaming charmeleons will also deal more damage.

Ember flies can be found in swarms that aimlessly wander around the biome, will damage players in them, and are invincible, or alone where they will attempt to attack the player with a dash and can drop charcoal or be caught. Caught ember flies can be used to refuel fire sources/lanterns/miner hats 100%.

Why would anyone want to go here though? Pyroclastic rocks will regenerate infinitely after the rifts are activated. This makes the caverns a renewable source of fossils and a decent way to get gems. A watering can can be used on smaller puddles of magma to turn them into obsidian, a new resource (yes I know it was in shipwrecked but ignore that). This could be necessary for progression later on but I'm not trying to suggest the entire ark. One could also fish in the magma lakes to catch scorching sunfish, bone-itoes (Drop bone shards), and chardines (drop charcoal and cooked fish). As mentioned before charmeleons can also be tamed for an ally in combat and their eggs can make any dish heat-producing.

 

Everything here is mainly a collection of ideas and obviously the devs would have better ideas but I'd love to see the magma caverns added in someway or another, especially since it would be fitting now.

[DSTUser]

I love the idea of biomes getting replaced by new ones once rifts open so it has permanent world changing consequences 

[Creatorofswamps]

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