Cinderhoard
Be the grumpy old dragon. Word's got out about your hoard, and now they come — knights, scouts, clerics, cloaked sneaks, gold-thieving pack-mules, enraging zealots, shield-bearing bulwarks, banner-waving heralds, leaping vaulters, burrowing tunnellers, the occasional Hero of Legend — delving toward your gold. You can't be bothered to actually fight anyone (so messy), so you arrange the lair against them instead: a slick step here, a fog-venting geode there, a lullaby chime to nap the stubborn knight, a cinderjet that keeps them burning after they pass, a spike-shelf to snap up under a sprinter, a rockfall to pen the whole party. Hold seven winding tunnels — some folding back on themselves so a single trap bites twice — each with its own path, its own delvers, and a new tool to earn. Waves now arrive in surges with a lull between, so drop a fresh trap mid-fight before the heavy push lands. Then dive into the endless Deep Delve. A daily Raid + a leaderboard of the realm's grumpiest dragons.
About Cinderhoard
Cinderhoard flips tower defense on its scaly head: you are the monster. You are Old Cindermaw — ancient, comfortable, deeply territorial, and frankly just trying to nap on your gold. But word has spread of the hoard in the Ember Deep, and so they come: knights, scouts, clerics, cloaked sneaks, shield-bearing bulwarks, burrowing tunnellers, the occasional famous Hero of Legend, all delving toward the treasure. The heroes are the wave. You win by being the most annoying lair in the realm.
Deter, never destroy
You don't fight anyone — fighting is so much effort, and such a mess. Instead you arrange the lair against the delvers. A slick step to send them skidding (and a slowed hero takes more from your next trap — that's the combo). A fogpot to set a whole crowd sneezing. A cinderjet that keeps them burning long after they stumble through. A spike-shelf that snaps up to chunk a sprinter. A rockfall to pen the whole party while your traps do their work. Every deterrent chips away at a hero's Resolve — their nerve to keep going. Run a hero's resolve dry and they don't fall: they throw up their hands, turn on their heel, and trudge back up the tunnel, dropping gold in their panic. Nobody's hurt — just singed eyebrows and bruised pride.
Seven lairs, then the endless deep
The campaign winds through seven distinct tunnels — the Long Gallery, the Switchback Stair, the Whispering Warren, the Ember Causeway, the Bulwark Bridge, the Coiled Deep, and the Dragon's Doorstep — each with its own winding path shape, its own buildable nooks, a brand-new foe, and a new tool to add to your shelf. Some tunnels fold back on themselves into hairpins, and a nook on the bend covers both stretches — one trap, two bites. And waves no longer arrive all at once: they come in surges with a lull between, so when the tunnel falls quiet, that's your cue to drop a fresh trap with the gold you just earned before the heavier push lands. New delvers keep you honest — gold-thieving Pack-Mules, Zealots that charge faster the more you hurt them, Heralds that heal the whole party, Vaulters that leap clean over a single trap. Hold every wave of a lair to claim it and unlock the next; hold all seven to keep the hoard. Then dive into the endless Deep Delve, where the raids never stop escalating, and see how deep you can go.
Hold the Gleam
The glow of your hoard is your lifeline. Every hero who slips past and reaches the gold pockets a fistful, and the Gleam dims. Let it gutter to cold grey ash and the lair is lost. Spend the gold fleeing heroes drop on more deterrents and timely upgrades, bank a little between rounds to earn interest, and outlast the wave. There's a daily Raid of the Day on a seeded lair, the same for everyone, with a streak to keep; a leaderboard of the realm's grumpiest dragons; and a Lair Ledger that fills in as you turn back each kind of hero.
How to use
You're the dragon defending its hoard from delving adventurers — by deterring them, never harming them. Pick a tunnel from the Lair Map; each of the seven levels has its own winding path, its own foes, and unlocks a new tool. From the carved shelf along the bottom, tap a deterrent — a Slick Step to slow heroes (a slowed hero takes MORE drain, so pair it with a damage trap), a Glare-Gem to dazzle one, a Fogpot to drain a whole crowd, a Drowse-Chime to nap the toughest, a Warm Updraft to shove them back, a Mimic Coin-Pile to fool sneaks, a Cinderjet to set them burning, a Spike-Shelf to chunk a fast one, or a Rockfall to pen the party — then tap a glowing slot BESIDE the winding road to drop it. Each trap covers a wide RADIUS around where it sits — so a slot tucked in the bend between two stretches of road catches the heroes on BOTH passes, and neighbouring traps overlap into a kill-zone. Ring the bell (or tap the Dripping Stalactite) to send the next party in. Heroes file in carrying a Resolve pip-bar; your deterrents drain it, and when it empties they turn on their heel and flee, dropping gold. Heroes who reach the hoard pocket coins and the Gleam dims. Waves come in surges — when the tunnel goes quiet, that's your window to drop another trap before the heavier push. Watch for Clerics and Heralds (they heal the party — quiet them first), Sneaks (cloaked until fog or a mimic reveals them), Pack-Mules (slow, but steal a big bite of Gleam), Zealots (the more you wound them the FASTER they charge — burst or nap them), Bulwarks (their shield shrugs frontal drain — shove or pen them), Vaulters (they leap one trap — overlap your zones), and Burrowers (they dig under — catch them surfaced). Hold the Gleam above empty through every wave to claim the tunnel; clear all seven, then chase your record in the endless Deep Delve.
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