The Big Six
Overview
The Big Six is the dungeon AI's categorization of the six major factions competing for control and survival within the dungeon. Revealed during the Mitch Fiorelli confrontation at the Desperado Club in Book 8, delivered as one of the AI's story-time messages.
First Appearance
Book 8, Chapter 84
The Six Factions
| # | Faction | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Crawlers | Includes both active crawlers and former crawlers (Herot, Forkith, etc.) | Active |
| 2 | Standard NPCs | Mostly united; includes Juice Box, Hamed's dungeon revolution, etc. | Active; several splinter groups |
| 3 | The Gods | Most fractured group; "a dorm full of college freshmen at an academy where the only programs are drinking, philosophy, and weird fetishes" | Active; fighting each other; unaware of what's coming |
| 4 | Sapient Mobs | Shadow Mimics, Ogre Imperium, War Mages, Krakaren Prime, etc. | Active |
| 5 | Demons in Sheol | Most organized despite infighting; a closed system — the AI cannot directly see inside | Active; status uncertain |
| 6 | Outside Intelligences (OIs) | AI systems created by the mantids and then abandoned (ejected into stars). Some have found their way onto the playing field and seek revenge. | Active; revealed at start of Floor 12 |
Notes
The AI itself clarifies these groups overlap extensively:
- Some mobs work with former crawlers
- Some NPCs work with gods
- Some demons work with Outside Intelligences
- The list is a rough guide, not absolute
The dungeon AI also excludes "rich asshole tourists driving gods" and Syndicate security from the Big Six — describing them as "rats on the first floor. A necessary but loathsome nuisance."
The Ascendency Game
The AI revealed that the Ascendency battles — traditionally a minor political game — now have existential stakes. The winner of the Ascendency will be "supreme motherfucker number one." If the wrong faction wins before the crawlers reach Floor 18, the dungeon collapses around them.
Citations
- Book 8, Chapter 84 (revelation)
- Book 8, Chapter 101 (OI / Outside Intelligence identification)