Faction Wars officially begins, and Chapter One wastes no time setting the tone. Carl and Donut arrive in Larracos, the City of Dreams, and are immediately confronted with rules, countdowns, and shark sushi.

We break down how Faction Wars is structured, what makes this season different, and why it feels less like a competition and more like a trap. Between new class decisions, unresolved consequences from previous floors, and an AI growing increasingly comfortable pushing boundaries, it’s clear this floor will move fast—and mistakes won’t be survivable.

This week, we crawl into Porthus’s prologue in This Inevitable Ruin; the first Cookbook author and founder of The Open Intellect Pacifist Network. We unpack his nightmare exit from the sapient-object filled nightmare of his final floor in the dungeon and his exit-deal negotiations.

Join us as we discuss how dungeon exit-deals work, why Porthus chose 100 seasons as a game guide, and the similarities between himself and Carl.

Episode 3 dives deep into the Paulie Prologue from Inevitable Ruin. We break down key entities like the Apothecary, the Eulogist, and both types of residuals that we learn throughout the entire series. We revisit Carl’s original conversation with Paulie in Book 6 before unpacking the secret second half revealed in Book sevens prologue. This episode is a full-spoilers analysis of hidden agendas, cosmic politics. Carl now has the power to end everything?