Darkstone (e)

Darkstone FAQ Version 1.0:
Guide and partial walkthrough  


This FAQ is not to be used for profitable/promotional purposes; this includes 
being used by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. or being 
incorporated into magazines, etc. in ANY way without my permission. This FAQ 
was created and is owned by me, Reuben Kee . All 
copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged that are not specifically 
mentioned in this FAQ. Please give credit where it is due.

Welcome to a land where mythology and legend clash to bring you an exciting 
world of action/rpg, this is the world of DARKSTONE. This FAQ will guide you 
through many areas of this incredible game; any questions, feedback or 
additional info will be greatly appreciated and acknowledged. Contact me at 
Reuben@psxrocks.com


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|_____INDEX_____|

Notes
Version Info
Characters
Village and map guide
Skills list and explanations
Spells list and explanations
Quests
Credits




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VERSION INFO
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Version 1.0 date: 7-25-99 
I got my EXTREMELY early release of Darkstone, heeheehee, first version up, 
enjoy!






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NOTES
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There are 22 scenario-led quests in total. Each time you start a new game, 
you will evolve inside eight of them, which are chosen randomly. This ensures 
that every time you replay the game, the quests are different, the placement 
of the enemies and objects are different and this leads to great 
replayability and longevity ... Items are important in the game as there are 
20 secondary quests in the game which entail you finding special items. These 
items are richly rewarded and offer the player the chance to be able to 
afford the serious weapons, armor and spells. [From VaultNetwork interview]
 
The game contains 31 levels of dungeon, arranged into seven 4-level chunks 
and one 3-level endgame chunk. Technically, it's all one dungeon, as the 
levels are sequentially numbered and each chunk is tougher than the last, but 
they're not connected. So you'll have to explore more of the outdoor region 
if you want to find the next dungeon entrance ... Both the main-path and the 
incidental quests are randomized..." 



The first thing you want to do when you start the game is to set the run lock 
on, take the town tour, practice in the training grounds. Next, talk to all 
the villagers to receive your quests, then venture out of town, explore the 
land area, the proceed to level 1, try to complete your town quests, as they 
will usually give you about 10000 gold per quest, and get your skills as soon 
as possible. Know now that you can recharge your hp and mana in the dungeons 
or anywhere by pressing the 'r' button on the keyboard. The 'l' button will 
bring up your locations list, just in case you're lost.

Good character pairs are also important, you do not want to have two of the 
same class, trust me, its better to have a warrior and priest etc than a 
warrior and amazon etc.





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CHARACTERS
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_THE WARRIOR_

The finest warriors are born in the heart of Ardyl's forests. From their 
earliest years, they have to become tough and develop absolute physical 
strength to be able to confront the dangers lurking in their region. As 
children, they learnt to survive in the most hostile of environments, to 
overwhelm wild beasts with their bare hands and, above all, to fight the 
goblins and skeletons, which abound in their land. They have also put their 
many expeditions to the various villages to good use by acquiring the mastery 
of swordsmanship. They usually end up as mercenaries or masters of arms. 
These warriors are now the strongest men alive. Their powerful, yet agile 
muscular frame makes them formidable opponents in direct combat. Their 
strength fills the lords with dread and few dare challenge them in single 
combat. They stalk their enemies with the patience of a hunting cat, and can 
swoop down on them with the speed of a hawk. They do have once weakness, 
however: they dislike magic because they consider it a demeaning means of 
combat. They prefer by far the incisive cut and hard steel of the sword to 
the use of spells.


_THE AMAZON_

Amazons are fierce horsewomen who live in the region of Ardyl. They are 
entrusted at a young age to a Mother and soon become formidable warriors, 
showing no fear of either physical strength or magic powers. They learn as a 
group to compensate for their lack of physical strength through their agility 
and flexibility. Guided by their Mother, they must continually undergo a 
serious of stern trials with the aim of strengthening their spirit and making 
them a match for any warrior. The worst of these "character-building" trials 
involves them venturing into the goblins' den and bringing back the skull of 
their leader… The Amazons gain the upper hand in direct combat thanks to 
their agility and the way in which they can anticipate their opponent's 
blows. Their enemies describe it as being involved in a relentless dance of 
death. Similarly to the warriors, the Amazons have mastered the use of the 
sword, demonstrating impressive accuracy. It is, indeed, very rare for them 
to use magic.



_THE WIZARD_

The greatest wizards come from the region of Marghor. Tradition has it that 
the ancient wizards always come to Marghor to choose those who have the Gift 
to become apprentice wizards. This happens when candidates are in their 
adolescence. Their whole life is then turned upside down. They return with 
their master to his tower, a solitary place conducive to reading and 
learning. These young wizards spend most of their time immersed in the spell 
books of the ancient wizards. For years on end they wear their eyesight out 
poring over scrolls, spending endless nights in their master's library. And 
then gradually, they begin to master increasingly difficult and complex 
spells. Unfortunately, however, the wizards' towers have now disappeared 
since the lizard and rat men invaded the region. They carried out attacks on 
the towers; killing may apprentices in the process…. The young wizards have 
now been left with no alternative other than to fight for survival. But as 
they have never handled weapons they can only rely on their magic powers to 
defend themselves, as they have always preferred to concentrate on developing 
their minds, rather than their bodies. But, despite their lack of any 
physical strength, they have managed to impress their enemies with the 
intensity of their spells.


_THE SORCERESS_

Very little is known about the sorceresses' early years. Rumor has it that 
they learnt their magic by themselves in the shady clearings of Marghor's 
forests. Others allege that the goddess Kaliba, herself, took them under her 
wing. The source of the sorceresses' power is Nature itself. And indeed, they 
have no match when it comes to knowing the right plants to combine in order 
to create terrible spells. But their most terrifying power, which may be seen 
as either a gift or a curse, is lycanthropy, which transforms them into a 
beast, half woman, half wolf. The sorceresses are universally feared on 
account of their potent magic. However, for some time now, the ingredients 
that make up their strange concoctions have become more difficult to find. 
Worse still, the rat and lizard men have overrun their territory. The 
Sorceresses realized that they wouldn't be strong enough to confront them, so 
they had to leave the safe cover of the trees and venture further out towards 
the villages. The village inhabitants still eye them with mistrust, even 
today, but the sorceresses pay little heed to this as it is vital for them to 
keep on the move, roaming the land of Uma in search of new ingredients that 
will enhance their magical powers.

_THE MONK_

In the past, before the darkness descended, many monasteries were established 
in the region of Ormar. The prospective monks were sent to these monasteries 
where they became good men, enjoying the respect of all. The monks spent many 
years in this place of prayer, learning various combat techniques and spells. 
Although less accomplished than wizards or warriors in these respective arts, 
the monks have the advantage of being highly competent in the complementary 
disciplines of war and magic. Isolated from the rest of the world in their 
peaceful haven, they have had years to master the use of blunt weapons (i.e. 
those weapons other than swords). The staff has become their favorite weapon. 
They have also studied white magic, so that they can use it to help their 
neighbor and conquer Evil. There are now far fewer monks than there were in 
the past. Nearly all of the monasteries have fallen under attacks from the 
wyverns sweeping across the region. Monks now represent good, as well as life 
and its combat. They are still held in high regard because of both their 
skills with a staff and their ability to heal wounds.  

_THE PRIESTESS_

As with the monks, the priestesses have divided their lives between religious 
devotion and learning the arts of combat and magic. The source of their 
strength is their faith and they fight in the name of the gods. In a world 
increasingly threatened every day by the Darkness, they stand out as beacons 
of Good and Life. During their travels they offer assistance to beggars, and 
they are quite prepared to take on thieves in direct combat, or use their 
magic to alleviate the suffering of the sick.

_THE ASSASIN_

In order to survive, assassins often begin their careers by relieving 
merchants of their purses. From their youth, they know how to move around in 
the dark without making a single sound and steal from sleeping travelers. 
Their exploits always end up attracting the attention of the Thieves Guild in 
Serkesh. The assassins have settled in this region, so that they can benefit 
from the lessons of more accomplished exponents than themselves. In time, the 
most able of the young apprentices can even surpass their masters. As they 
are cunning and nimble, assassins often use projectile weapons when attacking 
their opponents in combat. Even if they are capable of engaging in direct 
combat, they actually prefer to kill their enemy even before he has had the 
time to draw his sword or use his magic. This tactic is very effective 
against the serpents that are rife in the region. The assassins have also 
mastered a number of spells.  

_THE THIEF_

The thieves' reputation precedes them in the region of Serkesh. All of these 
women have demonstrated at one time or other that they have the stuff of 
which thieves are made. Thus, they became members of the renowned Thieves 
Guild, where they could develop their natural talents further. Within the 
guild they learnt to use their skills to break into merchants' lavish 
residences to steal gold and precious jewels. They also learnt how to kill 
sentries using projectile weapons and to set traps for travelers at 
nightfall. Their skill set is considerable and makes them very dangerous 
opponents, both in direct combat and when using long range weapons.




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                                                                VILLAGE AND 
MAP GUIDE
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_THE VILLAGE_

Welcome to the village, which is the gateway to the outer realms of despair, 
Here, you will find a guard who served under your late Father, talk to him 
often, he will provide you with much information on survival and tactics. The 
first time you encounter him, he will assign Murray, his right hand man, who 
will give you a tour of the village; I will explain the shops and locations 
in order of his tour.

GUNTHER THE BLACKSMITH

Here, you can buy or sell weapons or armor, upgrade or repair your weapons, 
it really is important to have good armor and weapons, although you will more 
often than not find better ones in the dungeons you explore for free.

MADAM IRMA

The town magician, Madam Irma will heal and remove curses for free, but 
identification of equipment comes with a price.

PERRY THE PUBLICAN

Perry not only runs a grocery store, but an inn as well, here you will find 
foods of all sorts to satisfy your hunger when needed and torches to light 
the way in dark dungeons. The inn will cost 100 gold, although he will let 
you stay for free if your broke.

LARSAC THE USURER

Welcome to the walking talking bank machine, you can leave your huge sums of 
money if you're finding them a drag to carry around, or course, you can 
withdraw it later. If only he paid interest. :P

MASTER ELMERIC

You can buy spell books, scrolls, and potions from Elmeric, at a ghastly high 
price, though. He also recharges weapons or armor, which can cast spells and 
have their own mana supply.

MASTER DALSIN

You MUST MAKE SURE you come here as often as skills are available to you, 
skills play a very important and extremely fun part of the game.

TRAINING GROUNDS 

Welcome to the training grounds, besides being a warm up for the real battles 
outside, this serves as a much needed frustration venture, slaughter some 
poor creatures here if you wish.



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                                                                   MAP GUIDE
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Ardyl 
The region of Ardyl has traditionally served as a refuge for Uma's fiercest 
warriors, as well as for the renowned Amazons. It is now being threatened by 
the presence of goblins and skeletons.

Marghor
This region has long been the preferred haunt of Uma's most powerful wizards. 
They used to live in isolation from the rest of their world, in towers hidden 
away in the depths of Marghor's forests. There used to also be sorceresses, 
but now Marghor is under threat from the lizard and rat men, who have already 
burnt down the wizards' towers and massacred many sorceresses…

Ormar
Ormar was home to the most loyal servants of the gods, and many monasteries 
were built in the region. Monks and priestesses came here for training, as 
well as to strengthen their faith and learn the arts of magic and combat. But 
with this region now being taken over by the Wyverns, the monasteries have 
gradually begun to disappear…
Serkesh
This land instills fear and dread in Uma's merchants. Its roads are far from 
safe, despite being patrolled by village police and guards, and there are 
very few that would dare travel along them unaccompanied. Serkesh is the most 
barren of Uma's lands. Only recently, serpents-snakes have begun to occupy 
the land at a quite astonishing rate. According to some rumors, dangerous 
thieves also inhabit it, but who can be sure?






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                                          SKILLS LIST AND EXPLAINATIONS 
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Warrior & Amazon	Wizard & Sorceress	Monk & Priestess	Assassin & Thief
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Trade Repair	Identification Lycanthropy	Perception Exorcism	Identification
Forester	Learning	Learning	Trade
Learning	Concentration	Medicine	Perception
Concentration	Recharging	Prayer	Defusing
Orientation	Detection	Master of Arms	Learning
Master of Arms	Communion	Communion	Theft
	Language		Silence


LEARNING
Ability to quickly increase your character's experience.

TRADE
Ability to bargain over the price you want to buy or sell an item at.

COMMUNION
Ability to recover mana stocks more quickly.

LANGUAGE
Ability to decode coded messages (Multiplayer mode only).

MASTER OF ARMS
Ability to increase speed of attack and chances of a successful hit.

PERCEPTION
Ability to detect traps.

CONCENTRATION
Ability to enhance your character's physical attributes temporarily (strength 
and dexterity)

DEFUSING
Ability to undo traps.

DETECTION
Ability to detect magic objects.

EXORCISM
Ability to remove spells from cursed objects carried by another player.

FORESTER
Ability to find food by fishing.

IDENTIFICATION
Ability to identify all unknown objects.

LYCOCHATION
Ability to change your character into a werewolf. (All the mana magic points 
are used for strength).

MEDICINE
Ability to heal others.

MEDITATION
Ability to temporarily increase your number of mana points.

ORIENTATION
Ability to display the entire map for the regions and dungeons for a given 
period of time.

PRAYER
Ability to increase your character's armour class.

RECHARGING
Ability to recharge the magic objects you have.

REPAIR
Ability to repair the weapons you have.

SILENCE
Ability of your character to move around without being noticed by his 
opponents.

THEFT
Ability to rob the characters you meet.



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                                               SPELLS LIST AND EXPLAINATIONS
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ABSORBTION
Absorbs the enemy's vital energy during combat. The player can pick up life 
points using this.

ANTIDOTE
Is used to heal characters that have been poisoned.

BERSERKER
Increases the character's armour class, speed of attack and chance of gaining 
a hit during a certain period of time. You can also win life points.

CONFUSION
Plunges an enemy into total confusion, making him go and attack his comrades.

DEATH DOME
Creates a protection dome around a character. Anyone who tries to break 
through it will be injured.

DETECTION
Helps detect magic objects, which are then highlighted in blue.

PANIC
Causes panic amidst the enemy lines.

FIREBALL
Launches fire balls.

FLAMETHROWER
Launches huge flames at enemy targets.
FOOD
Provides your character with food.

FORGETFULNESS
Causes you to temporarily forget spells for monsters and erases the enemy 
players' pre-selected spells.

HASTE
Allows you to move faster.

HEAL
Provides healing.

INVISIBILITY
Makes a character invisible to everyone, but he may be given away by his 
footsteps.

INVOCATION
Invokes a fire golem, which attacks your enemies.

LIGHT
Creates a luminous aura around your character. Its power depends on your 
character's experience level.

MAGIC BOMB
Is similar to a mine and explodes on contact with the opponent or when a 
certain period of time has elapsed. It can be used to booby-trap chests.

MAGIC DOOR
Creates a door that allows your character to go back and forward between the 
dungeon and town.

MAGIC ARROW
Launches magic projectiles.

MUTATION
Turns the enemy target into a chicken.

INFRAVISION
Allows you to see the enemy better in dark areas.

POISON CLOUD
Produces a green cloud that poisons anyone who approaches it.

LITANY
Is used to heal characters that have been poisoned.
REFLECTION
Rebounds any spells cast or projectiles thrown at you onto your aggressor.

RAISE DEAD
Allows you to revive your character.

SLOWNESS
Slows down your enemy target's speed of movement and combat.

SPARK
Throws sparks at a target.

STONE
Turns the target creature to stone.

STORM
Pushes back any enemy at close range to the thrower. Any enemy touching a 
wall gets damage points against him.

TELEKINESIS
Can be used to open up chests, pick up objects and pull levers from a 
distance.

TELEPORTATION
Allows your character to move instantly to anywhere he chooses. Please note 
that some places are not accessible via teleportation.

THUNDER
Throws lightning bolts at the enemy.

TRANSFORMATION
Turns the enemy target into a chicken.

WALL OF FIRE
Creates a wall of fire.


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QUESTS
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===============
VILLAGE QUESTS
===============

*Please note, there are over 20 quests and I am still playing the game and 
finding new quests everyday, therefore this is not the complete list. Please 
send the quests that you have encountered. Note that quest items are found 
randomly in stages.

Quest items from the villagers can be found anywhere in the dungeons; the 
rewards are very generous, about 10000 gold per quest? And that's only in the 
BEGINNING of the game! 

Dragon scales
Holy Grail
Shield of light
Medallion of melchoir
Bard's Music score 
…… that's all I've found out so far.




=============
LAND QUESTS
=============


THE JEALOUS OLD WHICH
Many years ago, an old which cast a spell, whomever woman dared be more 
beautiful than her would be turned to stone, years passed, now she is an old 
woman, and the women in the village have all been turned into stone.

First, talk to the husbands, they will tell you of the curse, then talk to 
the which, man is she old, next, go search the dungeons for the mirror of 
lies. This mirror is special, it will make all those who are ugly seem 
beautiful and all those who are beautiful seem ugly when they gaze into the 
mirror. 
 
Bring the mirror to the old hag and she will remove the curse. Talk to the 
wives, then husbands and a Crystal is yours.

THE SICKLY HUSBAND
A Husband has poisoned his wife for a will, now he regrets his actions.

First talk to the husband, then look in the treasure chest located near a 
tent, open it, you will find a letter, pick up the letter and click on the 
man and he will admit to it. Now you must bring him to the wizard, this 
wizard will give you a cup, and tell you to fill it in the fountain of light, 
so enter the dungeon.

In the dungeon, you will have to seek out the 4 crystals, then place them 
around the fountain of light to direct the purple light into the fountain, 
once done, fill the cup and lets go.

Give the full cup to the sickly wife, she will thank you and give you another 
crystal.

DRAKUS THE SLY BUSSINESSMAN
When you approach Drakus, he will tell you his wheel of the sun, a prized 
artifact was stolen by the clan of Kaliba, and promises to reward you might 
you return it.

In the dungeon, you first have to pass a test to become a member of Kaliba, 
in order to get into the temple and retrieve the sun orb. 

Approach the old man, he will tell you to enter the room, do so. Now, it's a 
test of luck, look for a key, in order to do so, you have to flip the right 
lever, or monsters will be released, the worst monster was the spectre, who 
kicked my ass a couple of times. Once you have the key, proceed through the 
door. 

Now, you will be tested to kill a captured criminal, I'm not sure if there is 
an alternative way, but I killed him :P
And lots of spiders came buzzing out, but they're no problem, now, get the 
key behind the torture rack and get to the next room, now you may choose 
weapon out of three, I chose the disciple's sword, which isn't bad., now you 
are officially a member of the Kaliba, you will be given a amulet from the 
old man, now wear it and enter the temple, around the temple, you will notice 
a dead body, check the body and you will notice a note, read it, it will say 
something about a secret passage in the temple, heehee. 
Enter the temple, you will have 2 choices to get the orb, 1, grab it on the 
table, all the monks will turn into skeletons and attack you, or 2, look for 
a lever on the left wall, pull it and enter the secret passage. Look in the 
tomb and kill that guy, he will pop the orb when he is dead, now get back to 
Drakus.

Drakus will thank you, then morph he and his minions into monsters, kill them 
off, then retrieve the crystal.

DISSAPEARING NEIGHBORS
A couple will tell you about their neighbors disappearing, their will being 
dry, and hearing strange noises from the well, enter the well to proceed to 
the dungeon.

In the dungeon, you will find some nests, but leave them alone for now. 
Proceed to the area where the skeleton is,  
Click on it, and it will come to life! Kill it off and retrieve the armor of 
fear, now go back to those nests, wear the armor and CHARGE! Cast fear once 
and all the little spiders will run away from you, perfect opportunity to 
destroy the nests, once you destroyed them and rescued the neighbors. Once of 
them will give you a sword, telling you it is the only weapon which can 
destroy the queen spider, so, here we go.

Next level, you will find some cobwebs, slash through them to enter a room 
where there are a couple of nests, same tactic, fear, destroy, now for the 
big momma. No use killing of the small spiders, the queen will just shoot 
more out of her big fat a**, so just equip the sword and slash away, after a 
while, she will die. Yay, go back up now.

Hardy harhar, the neighbors will thank you and you will get a crystal. Yay!





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CREDITS
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Many thanks go to the Unofficial Darkstone site 
(http://redrival.com/darkstone/index.htm)
Delphine soft, DSI, 3D realms, ritual, epic megagames, gathering developer 
For creating the kickass game!
And last but not least me, Reuben for slaving typing endlessly hour after 
hour for YOU GUYS!

Questions? Comments? Input? Personal problems? Contact me and I'll try to 
help.
ICQ = 28726882 Email: Reuben@Psxrocks.com

God bless y'all! :p