Difficulty
Difficulty determines enemy strength, combat rewards and the consequences of death. The game has five standard modes and a configurable Custom mode. Difficulty can be changed through the bed's Difficulty command.
Standard modes
| Mode | Enemy stats | Enemy EXP | Enemy gold | Flee roll penalty | Death outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cozy Game | 50% | 200% | 100% | None | Return home; lose 5% of gold |
| Easy | 75% | 150% | 100% | None | Return home; lose 5% of gold |
| Normal | 100% | 100% | 100% | None | Return home; lose 5% of gold |
| Hard | 120% | 100% | 80% | −1 | Autosave erased; progress returns to a manual save |
| Nightmare | 140% | 100% | 80% | −2 | Autosave erased; progress returns to a manual save |
Enemy stat, EXP and gold values are multipliers relative to Normal. They affect different parts of combat: a lower enemy stat multiplier does not necessarily reduce the gold reward. The flee penalty applies to the escape roll described in Combat Calculations.
Death and recovery
Cozy Game, Easy and Normal return the player home after death. The ordinary gold loss is 5%, rounded to a whole amount. An equipped Opal Ring +2 can break in place of that loss. Hard and Nightmare end the game and erase the autosave; manual saves remain available through Saving and Loading.
Custom mode uses its selected gold-loss and autosave-erasure settings. Its gold-loss recovery does not use the standard Opal Ring protection branch. Death during the introductory tutorial has a separate recovery sequence.
Custom mode
| Setting | Available values | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Enemy stat multiplier | 50%–150%, in 10-percentage-point steps | Changes enemy combat stats; custom enemy EXP and gold multipliers are 100%. |
| Gold lost on death | 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% | Percentage removed by the custom death-recovery branch. |
| Erase autosave on death | Yes / No | Yes removes autosave progress and returns to the last manual save. |
| Disable bathing | Yes / No | Blocks bathing when enabled. |
| Sleeping interval | Every 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 days; No limit | Sets the delay between eligible uses of the bed for sleeping. |
| Saving interval | Once per day; once per 2, 3, 4 or 5 days; No limit | Restricts manual saving through the bed. |
The enemy-stat selection is independent of the other restrictions. Custom enemy EXP and gold multipliers are both 100%. Returning to a standard preset clears the custom sleep, save and bathing restrictions. The current Custom menu does not offer a farming-disable setting.
Changes during a game
Changing difficulty records an autosave checkpoint. Changing the current setting does not restore a higher difficulty qualification for Stone Tower achievements: the game tracks the lowest standard difficulty used. Any use of Custom qualifies the save for the Custom Tower achievement instead of the standard difficulty series.
Related mechanics
- Combat and Combat Calculations — combat rules and escape rolls.
- Sleep and Bathing — recovery actions affected by custom restrictions.
- Saving and Loading — manual saves and autosaves.
- Achievements — completion requirements.