Lord of the Dark Castle - Game Manual

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

To play the game, you need the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed on your machine. Download here: http://www.java.com

Game Play Screenshot, Level 5:

Game Features

The main purpose of this game is to be a fun fast-paced turn based casual dungeon crawler with a bit of strategy, lots of randomness for added replay-value and some good old skool 'Hard Core'-mode (death is permanent!) for extra tension. Here are the main features of the game:

Casual style, simple game play, fast to get started.
100% flat skill tree with skills that make a difference! Try out a completely different skill-build-up next time - no limits on combinations!
Random monster spawns: you never know, an Elite Fire Dragon might spawn already on level 1 (althouth the chance is small).
Random item attributes, e.g. weapons can be enchanted with lots of different skills and combinations of skills. Greater replay value.
Randomized level maps. All levels are randomized, including amount of rooms, amount of items, amount of gold, amount of monsters, etc.
Monsters are unique. There are no standard easy kills. Even a small and weak rat can suddenly downcap your max hitpoints from 500 to 100 with a disease!
The game is NOT perfectly balanced. This gives a promise of big variety.
Every hit counts! If you just storm forward towards all monsters, the monster may get the first hit... which could cause disease/fear, etc. Be careful!

With a bit of luck, it SHOULD be possible to complete the game at normal difficulty within 1-2 hours! Then why play again? You get points based on number of turns used to complete the game. Fewer turns to complete the game => more points! Have you found the optimal choice of skills? Probably it won't matter that much, because next time you play, you may get a super weapon already on level two that boosts your progress big time. And then you get slain on level 4 by an Elite Orc that happens to be equipped with an extremely powerful ring... You never know what will happen! :-)

Goal

Cleanse the kingdom from the Dark Castle's black magic corrupting the land. Reach the lowest Dungeon Level and destroy the Corrupting Orb of Black Magic, guarded by a terrible monster. Find items to help you along the way:

Gold to buy equipment.
Buy new equipment from "little gnome shops". Sometimes items can be found in the dungeon that will have an associated cost (the little gnome's price). If you have the gold, you can buy the item!
Free loot in chests, barrels and boxes. If you open a container, like a chest, the loot inside is always free!
Light sources: torch and lantern will increase your view distance.

A good advice is to build some strength and equip yourself before going further down into the Dungeon...

Difficulty Levels

Since the game is rather short - only 7 levels - to get a fun challenge, the game is intended to be played on the harder difficulties. However, younger/inexperienced or easily frustrated players should keep to the more simple levels until enouch achievements has been collected. Below is a description of the difficulty levels.

Children	Starting with 750 gold in the shop. Equipped with an excellent lamp. Some monsters are easier. Cannot earn achievements.
Easy	Starting with 500 gold in the shop. Equipped with a good lamp. Some monsters are easier.
Gamer	Starting with 350 gold in the shop. Equipped with an excellent torch. Monsters are at normal strength, e.g. thieves can steal ALL.
Geek	The hero starts in the wilderness (no shopping!). Equipped with a torch. Monsters are at normal strength, e.g. thieves can steal ALL. No bonus gold from achievements.

Hero

You have one action per turn: MOVE or ATTACK (often the same as moving towards enemy square).
Killing monsters gives experience points based on monster difficulty.
Each time you level up, you get some character boost, and you also get an opportunity to pick a reward (skill or item).
Click on the ground/monster to move/attack, or use arrow keys to do your actions.
Move the mouse pointer over Creatures or Items to see information about them.
When standing on an item, you can click to Buy/Pick up. Treasures are picked up automatically.

Controls

To move, use either Arrow-keys or 'WASD' (W=up, S=down, A=left, D=right) or just left-click a square in the Map View.
You can also left-click somewhere on the world-mini-map to 'fast travel',
but then it has to be non-blocked and DISCOVERED territory.
It can be risky to 'fast travel' by clicking on a distant squares. You never know what could turn up during your movement...

ESCAPE = Clear Selected Item
Move Mouse pointer over Map View to see detailed information about items and creatures.
Map View: Left-Click on empty space/item to move there. Left-click on Monster to attack it. Right-Click on Item/Monster to select it.
Inventory: Left-click to SELECT an item. Right-click equips/swaps out item.
Stacked items: Left-click the stack-number value to 'rotate' items in the stack
Some Magical Scrolls requires that you select something and then use the scroll.

Weapons

There are lots of different weapons, and they all have their own strengths (and sometimes weaknesses). The majority of weapons are melee weapons and require that you stand next to a monster to attack it. There is also a bow that can be used for ranged attacks. Right click a monster to shoot it with a bow from range. Note that a bow only lasts for a certain number of turns. Then, it has been worn out (/out of arrows) and you need to buy/find a new bow. Therefore, it may be wise to save the bow for certain nasty foes.
Below is a detailed list of all weapons in the game:

One-Handed Axe (Dmg: 1-7) Cleave	Battle Axe (Dmg: 1-13) Two Handed Weapon Mighty Swing	Bow Two Handed Weapon 0.5 x Damage against Skeletons. Can attack from range 5. Can NOT be used for melee combat (adjacent squares). Arrows/Durability Left: 18 Armor Piercing
ChainMace (Dmg: 1-9) Lower efficiency of enemy armor. Crush	Club (Dmg: 1-6) 2 x Damage against Skeletons.	Dagger (Dmg: 1-5) 0.5 x Damage against Skeletons. Causes 4 x Damage when attacking undetected. Armor Piercing
Flail (Dmg: 1-10) Lower efficiency of enemy armor. Heavy Hits Crush	Halberd (Dmg: 1-12) Two Handed Weapon Reach	Morning Star (Dmg: 1-8) Lower efficiency of enemy armor. Heavy Hits
Scythe (Dmg: 1-12) Two Handed Weapon 1.5 x Damage against living humanoids. Reaper's Blade	Staff (Dmg: 1-12) Two Handed Weapon 20% for immediate counter attack. Counter Attack	Sword (Dmg: 1-8) 1.5 x Damage against living humanoids. Equip two swords for 35% Double Strike chance. Dual Wield
Iron Spear (Dmg: 1-12) Two Handed Weapon 0.5 x Damage against Skeletons. First Strike Armor Piercing	Wooden Spear (Dmg: 1-9) Two Handed Weapon 0.5 x Damage against Skeletons. 3 x Damage against Vampires. First Strike Armor Piercing	War Hammer (Dmg: 1-12) Two Handed Weapon 2 x Damage against Skeletons. Knock-Back

Monsters

Monsters will try to hinder your progress to complete the game. They all have their own racial abilities. Monsters exist in one normal version and one Elite-version. Elite monsters have more hitpoints and additional skills. Some monsters, humanoids and undeads, can also buy/pick up equipment from the ground, so be careful to leave powerful equipment on the ground!

Some monsters are more vulnerable to certain weapons. Try to find the perfect weapon to slay a certain kind of monster! What works best against a vampire? A wooden spear or an axe? Below is a detailed list of all normal monsters at level 1. Note that monsters of higher levels, elite versions and monsters with various equipment may have different attributes. This shall only be seen as a hint of what you may encounter.

Bat Hitpoints: 15 Protection: 0 Damage: 1 - 6 Racial Skills: Flying	Rat Hitpoints: 15 Protection: 0 Damage: 1 - 5 Special Attack(s):Disease	Angry Brown Bear Hitpoints: 35 Protection: 1 Damage: 2 - 7 Racial Skills: First Strike
Spider Hitpoints: 25 Protection: 0 Damage: 1 - 9 Special Attack(s):Poison(2) Racial Skills: Lay Traps(4%)	Kobold trapper Hitpoints: 20 Protection: 2 Damage: 1 - 6 Racial Skills: Lay Traps(4%)	Goblin Bandit Hitpoints: 25 Protection: 2 Damage: 2 - 7 Racial Skills: Thief(25%)
Orc Hitpoints: 35 Protection: 7 Resistances: Disease(50) Fire(10) Cold(35) Damage: 4 - 15	Troll Hitpoints: 55 Protection: 2 Damage: 4 - 14 Racial Skills: HP Regen(1)	Ogre Hitpoints: 65 Protection: 6 Damage: 4 - 14 Racial Skills: Knock-Back(45%)
Wizard Hitpoints: 30 Protection: 2 Damage: 3 - 19 Special Attack(s):Cold(3)	Fearsome Zombie Hitpoints: 25 Protection: 0 Damage: 2 - 6 Special Attack(s):Fear Racial Skills: See Invisible	Skeleton Hitpoints: 20 Protection: 0 Damage: 1 - 7 Racial Skills: See Invisible
Skeletal Archer Hitpoints: 20 Protection: 0 Damage: 2 - 17 Racial Skills: See Invisible	Vampire Hitpoints: 40 Protection: 2 Damage: 3 - 20 Special Attack(s):LifeDrain Racial Skills: See Invisible	Ghastly Avenger Hitpoints: 50 Protection: 1 Damage: 1 - 13 Racial Skills: See Invisible
Poisonous Hydra Hitpoints: 75 Protection: 3 Damage: 3 - 13 Special Attack(s):Poison(2) Racial Skills: Double Attack(75%)	Frost Dragon Hitpoints: 85 Protection: 3 Damage: 4 - 14 Special Attack(s):Cold	Fire Dragon Hitpoints: 100 Protection: 3 Damage: 5 - 15 Special Attack(s):Fire(2)

Armor, Shields, Amulets and Rings

Use armor, shields, amulets and rings to increase your overall protection, and maybe even to gain some extra resistances and skills! The main properties of these items are:

Protection: reduces incoming damage
Detection Modifier: big and noisy armor increases detection range and global monster aggressiveness.
Other magic properties, such as resistances or skills.

There are different types of armor:

Cloth Armor: dark and silent. Will actually reduce monster detection range!
Leather Armor: medium armor, makes some noise and attracts more monsters from longer range.
Plate Armor: strongest armor, but makes a lot of noise. Works like a monster magnet!
Round Shield: some protection.
Tower Shield: good protection, but makes some noise.
Amulets and Rings: some protection, silent.

Below are some examples of armor:

Amulet Mysterious amulet with 1 protection.	Plate Helmet This strong helmet gives 2 protection. Enemies will detect you easier...	Leather Helmet A sturdy leather helmet that gives some protection.
Plate Gloves These gloves give 2 protection. Enemies will detect you easier...	Plate Armor This plate chest armor gives 3 protection. Enemies will detect you much easier...	Tower Shield A huge shield that gives 2 protection. 30% chance to avoid ranged attacks and spells.
Ring A ring that gives 1 protection.	Leather Leggings These leggings gives 2 protection. Enemies will detect you easier...	Thief's Sneaky Boots Silent boots that makes you harder to detect.

Skills

Many skills/abilities are available to boost creatures (hero or monsters), and the "skill tree" is 100% flat. There is no need to have a certain skill to "unlock" another skill, although some skills are reserved for monsters only, and some skills are given only through magical enchantments on armor and weapons. The chance percentage values given in the list below are approximate and may vary a lot depending on creature level or item enchantment.

Bow Master	50% increased chance to hit. Better precision and hit rate from long dinstances. You are able to craft +15 extra arrows per bow.
Axe Master	Doubles chance for multiple hit. This skill works on both One-Handed Axe and the two handed Battle Axe.
Sword Master	70% to Double Strike while dual wielding two Swords To benefit from this skill, you need one sword in Weapon-hand in one in Shield-hand.
Staff Master	Doubles a staff's chance for immediate counter attack. A counter attack takes place during the enemy's turn.
Stinging Poison	20% for piercing attacks to poison target X(1) damage/turn (1-15 turns). X is the current dungeon level. Piercing weapons include Daggers, Spears and Bows.
Shield Bash	30% to stun an enemy during 1 turn with a shield bash. Skill is active during melee combat when shield is equipped.
Charge	Charge to a distant enemy and do an immediate attack. You need a minimum distance of ~3 squares to charge an enemy.
Pick Lock	A chance to pick any locked item in the game. Some locks are harder to pick than others. Patience is the Key...
Detect Traps	Detects trapped items and disarms damage traps. Dangerous damage traps are disarmed by walking over them. Other types of trap triggers cannot be disarmed, but the trigger is detected and can be avoided.
Lightning Reflexes	25% to avoid attacks and triggered traps.
Agile	Equipping/switching inventory items will not end your turn. When caught in Spider Web, your minimum chance is 35% to break free.
Sneak	75% to remain undetected while in enemy detection range. Attacking undetected/invisible causes a critical hit: 2x Damage. When detected, you must wait 15 turns before you can sneak again. You cannot start sneaking when an enemy is following you. The skill 'See Invisible' has no effect on Sneak.
Steal	50% to steal an item from adjacent enemy while undetected. 25% for Perfect Steal. You get target item and remain undetected. 25% for Thievery. Caught in the act, but snatched a random item. Failure will always break Sneak/Invisibility. Note: 1 free Backpack slot is needed to use this skill.
Scout	+2 View Distance.
Tracker	Detect fresh tracks of the nearest enemy. Effective on all enemies, including Sneaking/Invisible ones.
Alertness	Always on the watch, it is very hard to sneak on you. An enemy's detection modifier can never be negative.
Treasure Hunter	30% more gold is found in each gold stash.
Alchemist	Convert an item to half its value in gold.
See Invisible	Detect invisible creatures, spider webs and hidden items.
Improved Invisibility	Neutralizes other creatures' ability: 'See Invisible' Creatures with 'See Invisible' can no longer see through your Invisibility.
Ghost Vision	Can see through closed doors.
Strong Soul	40% to resist a Fear/LifeDrain attack.
Holy Wrath	All attacks has 25% chance to fear Undeads (1-10 turns).
Giant's Health	25% increased Maximum Hitpoints.
Stone Skin	33% increased Protection
Heavy Hits	Enemy protection is 50% less effective. Not cumulative if same skill exists from multiple sources. The skill source with best value is applied.
Survivor	50% to avoid a deathblow, including effect damage.
Armor Specialist	Total Detection Modifier cannot be higher than zero. You have learned to move more silently with heavy armor.
Elemental Resistance	+25% to Poison/Disease/Cold/Fire. After a successful enemy effect attack (Poison/Disease/Cold/Fire), you have a resistance chance (max 90%) to completely avoid the effect.
First Strike	First Strike if turn ends adjacent to enemy square.
Armor Piercing	Ignores the target's protection value, including armor, shield and racial protection. This skill is not applicable on Effect Resistances, such as Resistance to Fire, etc.
Reach	Long reach melee attack. 1 extra square distance.
Flying	Can fly over obstacles (lakes, stones, logs, tables..), excluding walls.
Crush	25% chance to destroy random armor piece on attack. Remember though, if you want a chance to loot the enemy's armor, crushing it may be a bad idea.
Lay Traps	X% chance to place a trap on the ground. This gives the creature an ability to put trapped gold sacks on the ground.
Thief	29% to snatch an item from an enemy during combat. Steals a random item from an enemy DURING combat, both equipped and backpack items.
Cleave	75% to strike all enemies on adjacent squares. Adjacent squares are the 4 squares to the north, east, south and west. Only applicable for melee attacks.
Mighty Swing	75% to strike enemies on all surrounding squares. Surrounding squares include the 8 squares around the center square. Only applicable for melee attacks.
Knock-Back	25% to knock back enemy 1 square.
Dual Wield	Equip two swords for 35% Double Strike chance.
Double Strike	25% to attack twice (on the same target).
Double Attack	20% to attack twice (different targets allowed).
Counter Attack	10% for immediate counter attack during an enemy's turn. Counter attacks are done in an enemy's turn. Multiple enemy attacks yields multiple counter attacks.
HP Regen	X hitpoins is regenerated (healed) per turn.
Reaper's Blade	X% Life Steal per hit. When performing an attack that causes damage, Reapers Blade adds X% of that damage to your hitpoints. Undeads are not affected by Reaper's Blade or other Life Draining attacks.

Effects

There are a number of negative effects/conditions that can affect a creature, typically started by an attack. Some monsters have effects as racial skills. Weapons can also be enchanted with effects. Below is a list of all effects.

Poison - during X turns, the target takes Y damage.
Disease - during X turns, the target takes Y damage and max hit points is down capped to Z%.
LifeDrain - during X turns, the target is drained for Y damage, and the caster is healed for the same amount.
Fire - during X turns, target takes Y damage. (Usually stronger base damage. Cannot easily be cured...)
Cold - during X turns, the target cannot move/attack.
Fear - during X turns, the target is panicked and runs around randomly.
Web - target is stuck in spider web and has X% chance to break free every turn.

Resistances

From skills or equipment, a creature can have resistance to a certain effect. Resistances apply to the following effects: Poison, Disease, Cold, Fire. The resistance is only applicable on the chance to affect a creature. Once a creature has got a negative effect, the resistance value will not affect amount of damage taken, etc.

Potions

The game has a range of different potions that can be consumed. Below are some examples of potions. Some individual properties (e.g. healing percentage) is assigned randomly.

Health Potion (75%) Healing 75% of max hitpoints.	Cure Disease Potion Cures disease.
Cure Poison Potion Cures poison.	Cure All Potion Cures all damage effects (excluding Fear/Web).

Enchantments

Magical enchantments can be used to perform certain actions or boost the hero for a limited time. Magical scrolls and even armor pieces can be enchanted. Below are some examples of magical scrolls. Some individual properties, such as durations, will be assigned randomly.

Invisibility (30 turns) Scroll A scroll with a Magic Spell inscribed on it.	Speed (+1, 20 turns) Scroll A scroll with a Magic Spell inscribed on it.	Regeneration (+1, 100 turns) Scroll A scroll with a Magic Spell inscribed on it.
Teleport Scroll A scroll with a Magic Spell inscribed on it.	Summon Scroll A scroll with a Magic Spell inscribed on it.	Freeze Time (100) Scroll A scroll with a Magic Spell inscribed on it.

View Distance, Detection Modifier and Sneaking

Every creature has a basic 'View Distance'. The typical view distance is 4 squares, although it can vary a bit among different creatures. A light source, like a torch or a lantern, or the Scout skill will increase the view distance some squares.
The View Distance plays a key role as the game is played in "darkness" using the concepts "fog of war" and "line of sight":

Fog of War: unexplored areas. These are completely black on the map.
Line of Sight: areas that are currently blocked from view, maybe because of a tree or a wall, or because they are too distant (outside the View Distance) and it is too dark! These areas are marked as shadowed with a '?'.

A long view distance is useful for exploring new terrain 'Fog of War' and detecting enemies early on. Note that even if you have previously explored some terrain, and it may look empty, there can still be creatures lurking there if the squares are not within 'Line of Sight', i.e. outside of your view distance or your view is blocked by obstacles like walls or trees.

The ability to detect other creatures is also affected by a creature specific value called 'Detection Modifier'. Some creatures move silenty and try to sneak on you while others are big and noisy. The default Detection Modifier is typically 0. It is the creature's general noise/sneak factor. A high Detection Modifier (typically from noisy armor) makes it possible to detect the creature from long distances, because it's loud and noisy. Low or even negative Detection Modifier makes it easier for a creature to sneak up on other creatures without getting noticed.
This value is usually increased by Leather and Plate armor, while it is reduced by Cloth Armor. Some skills affect your own Detection Modifier: 'Armor Specialist' lowers your own value, while 'Alertness' ensures that enemy Detection Modifier is always >=0.

The Sneaking skill benefits from a low Detection Modifier, because every time you move, there is a 75% chance that you become detected IF you are within the view distance of an enemy. With a low Detection Modifier, you can get really close to the enemy while still being outside of its view distance. And with a negative detection modifier, maybe the 75% chance Sneak-check is not done until you are adjacent to the enemy!

Example: Our Hero has basic View Distance = 4. He also has the scout skill (+2 view distance) and a torched equipped (+2 view distance) = 8 view distance.
A Kobold with the Sneak skill is trying to sneak on the hero. The Kobold has full cloth armor, giving a Detection Modifier of -5! The hero can now see the Kobold when it is 8 - 5 = 3 squares from the enemy.
When the Kobold is at 3 squares from the hero, the Sneak-skill-check 75% is triggered first time. The Kobold succeeded, and he is still undetected.
At 2 squares from the hero, the Sneak-skill-check 75% is triggered again. The Kobold succeeded, and he is still undetected.
At 1 square from the hero, the Sneak-skill-check 75% is triggered again. The Kobold was unlucky, the Hero detected the Kobold!

Other General Items

Other items in the game worth mentioning are containers, doors and keys. Containers can be opened for loot and some containers and doors require a Key to be opened. The locked item indicates the name of the Key to be used.
Monsters can hide in these shadows or unexplored black areas. Therefore, a light source is a great thing to have, for example a torch or a lantern. Torches have shorter duration and works on smaller distances, where a lantern provides longer sight for longer durations. Light sources helps you explore faster and detect enemies further away. Below are some illustrations of these items.

Wooden Barrel An old barrel.	Dusty Old Box A dusty old box.	Big Wooden Chest It must contain something valuable.
Rusty Key This Key will unlock something....	Torch Visibility range +2 during 60 turns.	Lantern Visibility range +4 during 100 turns.

Achievements

You can unlock certain special in-game 'Achievements' which gives you permanent rewards - bonus gold - for all new games.
Examples on achievements:

collect a certain set of skills
use a certain number of magical scrolls
deal a really high amount of damage

Achievements cannot be partly achieved, meaning you can not earn part of an achievement one game, and then restart the game and complete the rest. The whole achievement condition must be fulfilled during the same game to unlock it. Every time you start a new game, bonus gold will be calculated for all your completed achievements, and this bonus gold will be added to the normal starting gold amount. The more achievements your complete, the easier it will be to complete even more achievements - and to complete the game! Note that achievements cannot be 'completed' on easiest difficulty, and bonus gold is not given out at hardest difficulty. You can choose Achievements in the main game menu. Non-complete achievements will give a secrent hint on what you should achieve to unlock that achievement. Completed achievements will show what you have achieved in clear text.

Some Final Words and Hints on the Way

Don't give up too easy! You may have a couple of hard starts with fast or immediate deaths. This is completely normal. Try again a couple of times and you will see that one turn can differ a lot from another! Note that you can choose a 100% Healing potion as level-up reward - or why not a weapon (somtimes even magical!) to accelerate the monster kills. Then don't be too cocky once you get a good start. Long fingered theives will easily ruin your day... And there you go again... cursing yourself for feeling overpowered and making too many fast moves in a row without noticing what's happening on the screen. Been there, done that. :-)

Have fun!

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