1,000 Games (Collectors Edition)

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Section 4. General gameplay hints and strategies The game is a first-person 3D real-time dungeon exploration game. Fighting is real-time, using the mouse, but not too fast. There are a number of different types of strategies that will work, and experienced gamers can somewhat mold the character to suit their playing preferences. To bypass the opening sequences, press the ESC key after each one starts. NPC's play a real and fairly important role, setting minor tasks, sharing information, giving items, and sometimes accompanying the player. Up to 3 companions at one time can join the quest, but the player has little control over who joins or leaves the party. There are many dirt piles/snowbanks found on most levels. Attacking them may reveal useful items, and improves combat skills. There is nothing found in any of them that is *critical* to finishing the game, but one or two very important items can be found. When attacking things, the white 'cross-hair' cursor will shrink and dim after each blow. When it brightens back to normal, the weapon has been 'reset' and you can strike again. This gets faster as you improve that specific combat/weapon skill. To read a scroll, touch it to your character's image in the mirror. Bring up inventory (which automatically displays your character and the NPCs), then touch the chest of your character with the scroll. Shargas aren't really the 'bad' guys in this game. You will need to kill many of them, but definitely not all. A sharga that is cowering in fear (or drunk!) is a harmless one. There are three 'modes' used in gameplay. Regular mode - time passes, monsters move, you can move & fight. Journal mode - journal is open, time is suspended. Inventory mode - inventory is open, time is suspended, you can take/drop items and shuffle inventory. If you want to get through an NPC's conversation quickly, press the space bar to bypass that bit of the speech. You may have to press it several times to complete a conversation. Pressing the ENTER key pauses the conversation (lets you read what's on the screen). Press SHIFT-F8 to turn on/off the exact location display. The display shows (compass heading, X-coordinate, Y-coordinate, level number). I use this a lot when creating the items list and the hints. (I don't remember who posted this to the newsgroup, but thanks!) The map page numbers in the journal are not fixed - they will change themselves to match the levels you have been on. Use the level descriptions or the <F8> level number for absolute reference. Afri's orb can be used by placing it on the next map square, in front of you, and getting into regular mode (get out of inventory mode). Your inventory scroll can hold almost anything (except NPC's?) with no encumbrance or weight problems (slick solution). You might as well grab and hang onto everything you find. Sorting the items into categories (like weapons, potions, armor, etc) makes things much easier to find when the scroll gets crowded. Keep the most-used items, like throwing axes and runestaffs, at the top. Paying for weapons in the shop. I don't think it's possible to get the coins out of the bag, and it's not necessary. You pay for the items (one at a time) by placing an item on the table beside the dwarf, then handing him the sack of gold. He will give you back your change. Sometimes chairs/tables get in the way (blocking access to secret panels, buttons, or objects). Smash them with your weapons to get through to what you want. Green slimes sometimes pick up items lying on the floor. These can range from weapons & armor to gems & keys. Kill them all, because one *may* be carrying something you really need. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 5. Advanced strategies, levels list There are several objects in the game that can be attacked many times to improve weapon skills and stats. One is the forge in the armory in the upper keep (when the flame is on). Another is the giant stone thingy in the smithy in the dwarf hall. There may be others. Afri's orb projects a floor map of the immediate area, in real time. All floor tiles are displayed, whether mapped or not, including hidden and secret areas. Most monsters are also displayed as small dots, moving in real time. Use this orb often to find hidden rooms, false walls, and illusionary walls. The power for this orb doesn't seem to drain. Some of the orbs have their own unique powers and attributes. All but Afri's and one other are activated by touching it to your character in the mirror. All but Afri's and Saffrini's have a limited amount of energy that drains quickly. This energy is replenished over time, making the orbs re-usable. For each of the wall patterns, all the secret panels and the push-buttons appear on the same point on the wall. Once you find one, all the rest are located on the same place. For searching purposes, place the mouse cursor to where the secret panel would be - the cursor will change to a hand when you are facing the panel. Buttons are easier to see. Personal stats and weapons skills do not go up in a stepwise fashion, as the 'circles' would indicate, but go up on a gradient (1-100?). The circles indicate certain points along the slope. This means that weapon speed, chance to hit, shield skill, spell skill etc go up gradually, rather than in big jumps. Use lots of magic as soon as you find your first runestaff and manna circle. Magic skill goes up with every spell cast (even healing spells). The higher your magic skill, the fewer spell points casting spells cost, and the faster you can cast spells. It may even be worthwhile 'wasting' spells while at a manna circle to boost your skill. You CAN use two weapons in this game, seemingly without any penalties(??). My favorite is to use a hammer in one hand, and either the magic throwing axe or the dagger of piercing in the other. Each hand is on a separate 'reset' timer, allowing you to get in many more blows. The shadow weapon doesn't take the form of a regular (1-handed) sword. Make sure you are advanced in another weapon skill, or are willing to occupy both hands with one weapon. LEVELS LIST Note: The map page numbers in the journal are not fixed - they will change themselves to match the levels you have been on. Use the level descriptions or the <F8> level number for absolute reference. The page numbers given are those used in the journal when the game is almost complete. I *think* I have visited all of the possible areas, but if not, let me know. Any I have missed are not needed for finishing the game. The levels are listed in the order I first visited them, not in the journal page order or the <F8> level number order. They do not need to be done in exactly this order to finish the game. JRNL <F8> PAGE LEVEL DESCRIPTION SHORT DESCRIPTION ---- ----- ------------------------------------- ----------------- 1 15 Entrance to Stonekeep Entrance 2 1 Ruins of Stonekeep, 1st level Upper Keep 3 2 Ruins of Stonekeep, 2nd level Lower Keep 4 3 Sewers beneath Stonekeep Sewers 5 4 Sharga mines, 1st level Mines1 6 5 Sharga mines, 2nd level Mines2 7 6 Entrance to the Temple Temple1 8 7 Temple of Throggi Temple2 9 8 Feeding grounds, 1st level Lower FG 11 10 Dwarven Fortress Dwarf hall 10 9 Feeding grounds, 2nd level Upper FG 13 12 Ice Caverns Ice Caverns 12 11 Faerie Realm Faerie Realm 14 13 Gate of the Ancients The Gate 15 14 The Pits The Pits 16 16 Palace of Shadows Palace 17 17 1st level Khull Khuum's Tower Tower1 22 21 Lair of the Dark Dwarves Dark Lair 19 18 2nd level Khull Khuum's Tower Tower2 20 19 3rd level Khull Khuum's Tower Tower3 21 20 4th level Khull Khuum's Tower Tower4 18 22 Thera's Temple Thera's Temple ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 6. Hints for each level / area 6 <P1/P2> <L15/L1> Entrance to Stonekeep / Ruins of Stonekeep 1st level - You start in one of the four corner towers of the keep. Downstairs is the upper keep level. Three of the towers can be reached from the upper keep (including the one you start in), but the fourth tower's door is stuck and can only be opened by coming down from the tower (the first time). - There are many locked doors, hidden rooms, and secret niches on these levels, but no secret buttons or illusionary walls(?). There are three keys needed, a brass key (you might find 2 of these), a bronze key (might find 2 also), and a steel key, in that order. You also need to find (and keep!) Afri's Orb. - There are two sets of stairs leading down to the lower keep. Unlock them both, but go down the eastern one first. - The Fountain of Thera heals. When you find it, use it often. - There is a full set of armor and several good weapons to be found - leather uppers & leggings, one wooden and one metal shield, a dented helm, a broadsword, a hammer, a staff, several throwing daggers, lots of rocks and arrows, grenades (oil flasks), and a dagger of piercing (a.k.a. a very sharp knife - almost impossible to find without help). - If you find the drunk sharga, just ignore him. Talk about harmless, he can barely stand up straight! - There is one door on this level that can't be opened from either side. - Arrow trap. You can put something on the floor plate to trigger the trap. If you do this several times, the trap will run out of arrows. A button in the room past the trap disables it. 6 <P3> <L2> Ruins of Stonekeep, 2nd level - There are many locked doors, hidden rooms, and secret niches on this level, but no secret buttons. There are two keys needed, an iron key and an ivory key. There are also several illusionary walls. - There are two sets of stairs leading down to the sewers, and one set of stairs leading back from the sewers that can only be reached from the sewers. - The Fountain of Thera heals. When you find it, use it often. - You will need two drain control cylinders (one for each switch) before you can drain the sewers. - The exits to the sewers and to the next level after that are both on this level, but the door to the level after the sewers can only be reached by going through the sewers. - Wahooka wants gems in exchange for clues. He wants 1 gem for the first clue, two gems for the second clue, three gems for the third clue, and so on (Get the picture? He's a greedy sot!) His clues may or may not be of any use to you (I found them useless). - The first runestaff and magic circle are on this level. - There is one door on this level with a lock beside it that is already unlocked. - Place objects on the pressure switches to trigger the traps. Skulls work fine (there are lots of them around). Pick up the arrows fired, you can use them later yourself. - You don't have to jump into the pit. You can get to the button on the other side of the pit with a long detour (through some illusionary walls). Jumping in is not a big deal, though. - You must find Farli. He has the only key to get through a door later on. 6 <P4> <L3> Sewers beneath Stonekeep - There are two control cylinders under the water here somewhere. One is found in each of the two different areas of the sewers. Drake stubs his toe on the cylinder when you walk onto a square with a cylinder. - Much of the stuff here can only be seen once the sewers have been drained. - Wahooka will give you a key to a hidden chest in exchange for the heads of three men long dead. - Once the sewers are drained, then you must kill the tentacle beast. - When standing beside an illusionary wall you will hear the wind whistling. For one of them, you will hear this only when NOT facing the wall. - The exit to the next level (back through the lower keep) is through a secret passage near the tentacle beast. 6 <P5> <L4> Sharga mines, 1st level - Don't attack the wasp near the start of the level. He calls all his buddies, and you can't kill all of them no matter how hard you try. - There is some good stuff hiding down a hole. - You can't kill the ettin. Try 'silence' to keep from waking him up. - Most rock falls can be cleared, but not all of them. - Aquila's orb is on this level. - There is a manna circle, runestaff, and several runes here. - There's another NPC dwarf here. 6 <P6> <L5> Sharga mines, 2nd level - Attack only sharga who attack you. Some sharga on this level are friendly. - Keep trying to get through the locked door - eventually you will guess the password. - You need a key from the last level (mines1) to get through the door to the next level. 6 <P7> <L6> Entrance to the Temple - Wahooka wants a gem, but he's getting picky. - Take the direct route through the arrow trap zone. The exit is directly across from the entrance. - There's a shortcut you can use from the stairs to temple2 to the manna circle (only after you've been through the arrow trap zone). - The south half of the level can only be reached from the next level 6 <P8> <L7> Temple of Throggi - You need an orb and Dombur to exit the level - You do not need to kill the priest to exit, but it helps - Talk to the Throg hermit - he will give a clue in exchange for gems - There are two god statues, one of which has the orb. The other is a fake, but can be useful anyway. - Do not get greedy when taking from the gods' statue - If you fall (or jump) into a pit, be prepared to fight 6 <P9> <L8> Feeding grounds, 1st level - You can get to the dwarven halls and the upper feeding grounds from here. - There are several nasty traps here, especially the rolling boulder - The puzzles here stretch over the Lower FG, Upper FG, and the Dwarven Halls. - The throg shaman has an item to let you through the rune-guarded doors without harm. 6 <P11> <L10> Dwarven Fortress - There are no secret doors, buttons, or panels on this level. There is one illusionary wall. - All the dwarves will leave the party in here. One will join again. - Get Karzak to join you (SE) before you talk to Grak (N). - There is a fountain of Thera here (somewhere) - In a hidden room are lots of rune scrolls - Read all the scrolls in the library. Make note of the ones listing the orbs. - Give Geldor a feather rather than money if you want something from his shop. - Dombur is looking for three pieces to build the secret weapon. - Sardin the blacksmith will repair the key if you retrieve a piece of magical flint for him. He gives you a magical chisel to break off a piece. The magical flint looks a lot like the big rock he's standing beside. - The only thing of interest behind the locked door near the elder is a scroll with a bad joke. 6 <P10> <L9> Feeding grounds, 2nd level - You can get to the faerie realm and the ice caverns from here - You need to free Vermatrix Goldenhide, using the two parts of the key (repaired) - A primrose will open the passage to the faerie realm. Follow the faeries (blue bubbly things) - The magical flint is here, looks a lot like the rock in the dwarf smithy - There is a second stairway down to the lower FG 6 <P13> <L12> Ice Caverns - You need to kill the ice queen to open the passage to the next level. You need the coldfire to kill her. Do NOT take the coldfire off this level as it will melt and disappear. If you need to exit the level (for manna recharge, etc) put the coldfire back in the firepit. It'll be there when you return. PS: I heard that the Ice Queen CAN be killed without the coldfire, but it is quite difficult. - The Sharga leader will help you find the Ice Queen after you find the coldfire. - There are a number of weak, breakable walls. - The frozen dwarf can help find the coldfire once thawed. - The elf (the frozen guy with the bow) will join your party once thawed. - The Ice Queen carries one of the orbs. It can be used to thaw out the dwarf and the elf. (Also possible with the warming rune, or a single-strength fireball) - Several items are buried in snowdrifts. - You may or may not need to fight the skeleton. If you do things just right, walk up to him. He will see something he likes, and literaly fall apart on the spot. - The 'scroll' the sharga woman is looking for is a ripped fragment of parchment hiding in a snowdrift. It looks blank to you. 6 <P12> <L11> Faerie Realm - Make sure you've braced yourself for this level. The place is so sickeningly sweet, I almost lost my lunch! Only the dwarves' comments and the songs by the faerie players kept me going. - There are no secret doors, buttons, or panels on this level. - Entry is through the Upper FG. The blue bubbly things are faeries. A flower is the key to entry. - The Faerie players are looking for flowers (and other things) for payment. Different items get you different performances. - Faerie players repertoire The Song of Wahooka (my favorite) I'd Rather be a Dwarf How Come, Khull Khuum, How Come The Story of Lament War of the Ice Realm For Whom the Bells Troll (Others?) - After several performances, try paying them with a mushroom. You'll get a weird rune. - You need 2 keys to get through the spear gate into the courtyard. The lock is right beside the gate, at ankle level. - To see the queen, you need to place one primrose in the proper square (in front of the blocked passage), then walk twice around the loop to open the way (clockwise only?). - Talk to the queen a number of times. - You can't kill the trolls if you can't see them. You need a four leaf clover in your inventory to make them visible. One of the faeries will give you a four leaf clover in exchange for something she has lost. - Try wearing the faerie clothes when attacking the trolls. The iron spike is also useful. - The altar in the faerie courtyard heals any damage taken. - If you give the queen a portrait of herself, she will give you something good in return. You need a blank piece of paper and a piece of charcoal, then ... - There are two different daisy chains. One is made of primroses, and one is made of daisies. Guess which one you need. - The real daisy chain is near the faerie court (spear gate) hiding among some flowers. - One of the trolls is carrying an orb. 6 <P14/P15> <L13/L14> Gate of the Ancients / The Pits - These two levels are overlaid on top of each other. The way in and the way out are both on the Gate level, but you need to go through The Pits to get from one to the other. - Use the orb you find here to help get from one level to the other. - There is one floor plate switch in The Pits that you have to jump on (from the floor above) to activate. - The X-Y coordinates for the two levels line up exactly, but the auto map is offset by one square. - The first key you need is in a strange puzzle area - there are three doors (N, E, S). Look for the key BEFORE you take anything from behind the doors (shades of Monty Hall). If the doors lock before you have the key, you will need to restart from your last savegame (see bugs for more details on this). - If you levitate up into a 1x1 room, look for an illusionary wall. - There are lots of buttons, secret doors, floor plates, and false walls. Some buttons and floor plates don't appear to do anything. - There is a *great* runestaff here somewhere. - There is a button hidden in The Pits that heals the party. - Skuz leaves at the end of this level. 6 <P16> <L16> Palace of Shadows - You may have Sparkle leaves the party, and have Farli and Wahooka join the party. - This is a large, complicated level. The east half is a mirror- image of the west half. - The east half is populated by ghostlike duplicates of the monsters on the west half. - Place both halves of the yin-yang onto one of the frames. - It is very difficult to destroy any of the monsters with normal weapons, standing toe to toe. Try using the crossbow against the normal skulls and fireballs against the ghost skulls. Also, try the throwing axe or flame spell against both types of skeletons. Oh, I almost forgot. The black death arrows do some really nasty things to the skulls and skeletons. The spoilspell rune also works against some of them. - Take the helm & skull from fallen skeletons to prevent them from regenerating. - Scourge is tough to kill, and he drains your magic (I think he's immune to magical attacks). Use the shadow weapon on him. If you have a very difficult time killing him, try luring him through the mirror to the west side. If you then take the long route back to the east, he'll stay in the west. It isn't required that you kill him to win the game. - There are quite a few buttons scattered around. - Most of the mirrors are teleporters. Walk into them. - Two of the mirror teleporters take you through a shadowland. Go through them at least twice each. (Anybody out there know what this is about? Especially that bit about his father?) - Two of the mirrors take you to other levels. - The non-mirror teleporters take you to different places, depending on the direction you enter them from. - Place the shadow weapon on its base to transform it into a variety of different weapon shapes. - You need 7 orbs to continue on to the next level. - Use a fireball to open up the passage where it's cold. - Use Marif's orb to give you the strength you need. 6 <P17> <L17> 1st level Khull Khuum's Tower ** Clues for entire tower - This tower is riddled with illusionary walls and teleporters. - The flashing symbols on the walls indicate teleport gates. You need the appropriate silver item(s) in your inventory to be able to go through them. - You get different help from your NPC's, depending on who is in your party (Enigma/dwarves/Sparkle/Wahooka). ** Clues for 1st level Khull Khuum's Tower - You need 7 orbs before the Gatekeeper will let you through. Say 'no' to wanting to enter (press red sqare), then 'yes' to needing to enter (press green triangle). It will then give you some good advice. - Do not take the direct route to the top of the tower. You cannot defeat Khull Khuum without the items scattered in different places in the tower. If you do go straight up, Wahooka leaves (this may not be all bad). - There is a puzzle behind a secret panel that unlocks the trapped door. The solution to the puzzle is on a scroll in the evil dwarves lair. Read the scroll from L to R, top to bottom, using 'O' for pressed, and 'X' for not, ignoring dots. It can be solved using logic, as I solved it myself, without any hints (except from the evil dwarf leader). - There is one large invulnerable spinning spike cylinder. Cast shield and protection on your party, then you can use the thing for target practice as it can't hurt you. You may also be able to trap it. - The spear gate is opened by pressing the button right beside it (yes, there is a button right beside it, to the left). - There is a white tablet behind a secret panel that is rumored to do something to your health or the manna in the runestaffs. I couldn't get it to do anything for me (my HP were at 220). - The route to the evil dwarves lair is in the NE. You can get in there whether you kill that dwarf or not. If you kill him, you need the metal bar he is carrying, and a dwarf NPC to open the secret passage. The lever has nothing to do with getting into the dwarves area. - Use the 'wind' spell to remove the dust from the plaques, or water from the well in the evil dwarves area (you still have that bucket, don't you?) 6 <P22> <L21> Lair of the Dark Dwarves - You don't need to kill the dwarves. Destroying the altar will restore them to normal. If you do kill them all, oh well. - You need a scroll from here, either from a secret passage or from a dwarf, giving you the solution to a puzzle upstairs, on the first level of the tower. - There is a manna circle here. 6 <P19> <L18> 2nd level Khull Khuum's Tower - There are 5 different teleporters on this level. - Two areas can only be reached from other levels. - The fire elementals are particularly vulnerable to *very* sharp weapons and to freezing spells. 6 <P20> <L19> 3rd level Khull Khuum's Tower - There are 2 different teleporters on this level. - One area can only be reached from other levels. 6 <P21> <L20> 4th level Khull Khuum's Tower - There are three exits - one stairwell, one teleporter to tower level 3, and one teleporter to Thera's Temple. - You cannot kill Khull Khuum (he is, after all, a god). - You can finish the game regardless of whether you trap Khull Khuum or not. You can use the 4 silver object to trap him. 6 <P18> <L22> Thera's Temple - You need to place the 9 planetary orbs (exclude Khull Khuum's orb) onto the pillars, in order, from Mercury to Pluto. The pillars light up in the correct order. When you first enter, the pillar for Mercury is lit. When you put an orb on the pillar, the next one lights up. (If you need help matching the pictures with the names of the orbs, see the list near the end of this document). - You can get the correct order for the spheres from the scrolls in the library in the dwarven fortress (not the evil dwarves area). If you don't want to go back there, read the book Thera's Awakening. The (almost) correct order is given there - it skips Afri. Insert Afri's orb into the middle of the list, where you think it should go. - You do not need to do anything with Khull Khuum's orb (if you even have it). - You can take the orbs off the pillars in the reverse order you put them on. - When the orbs are all placed on the correct pillars, you will know it.