____ __ ____ __ __ ____ ___ _________ ____ ___ __ _________ | \ / \ | \ | | / / / /|\ \ / /|___ ___| / \ | \ | || _____| | _ \ / _ \ | |> | | |/ / / / | \ \ / / | | / \| \ | || |___ ||_> | / /_\ \ | / | \ | | | | | \ \ | | | () || | \| || ___| | / / \ | \ | |\ \ \ \ | / / / / | | \ /| |\ || |_____ |___/ /___ /\ ___\|__|\_\ |_| \__\ \ \|/ / /__/ |_| \ ____/ |_| \___||_______| Darkstone FAQ Version 2.1: Faq and 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 Negativedge@ignmail.com _________________ |_____INDEX_____| Author Version Info Notes Characters Village and map guide Skills list and explanations Spells list and explanations Quests Draak! Tactics and hints Frequent questions Credits Links Ending Quote ======== AUTHOR ======== Reuben Kee, Alias Negativedge is a 15-year-old student studying in the class of Secondary 3 Science of San Yu Adventist School. I spend most of his time at home on the Playstation or the Computer. Every alternate week, I would hoard about 3 new PC or PS games back home to play and review. I surf the net for long hours, too, checking out message boards, E-mail, chatting, surfing the top gaming sites like IGN and stuff. I have a poon-black belt in Taekwondo and go for training every Saturday night and Sunday. I am a Seventh-Day-Adventist too. I go to tuition at Mr Chua's class and I think I've writing a wee little bit too much. That's enough for now. If you REALLY wanna know more about me (:p) E-mail me. ============ VERSION INFO ============ Version 1.0 date: 7-25-99 I got the Beta release of Darkstone, heeheehee, first version up, enjoy! Version 1.1 date: 7-27-99 More power to The Unofficial Darkstone site (http://redrival.com/darkstone/index.htm) They have got lots of stuff there, anyone interested in the game should check out the site! Version 1.2 date: 7-28-99 BWAH!!! Found a new tactic! It's incredible! Solve the lack of money problem! Check it out in the Tactics section Added how to set spell shortcuts in tactics/hints section Added a few quests, tweaks here and there. Version 1.3 date: 7-29-99 RUSHED UPDATE! EVERYONE PLEASE TAKE NOTE, MY E-MAIL ADDRESS HAS BEEN CHANGED TO Negativedge@ignmail.com SORRY TO ALL THOSE WHO E-MAILED ME AND COULDN'T GET THROUGH, MY PREVIOUS E-MAIL SERVICE WAS TERMINATED, HENCE ALL MAIL SENT IN THE LAST 6 DAYS I DID NOT RECEIVE. PLEASE TAKE NOTE Version 1.4 date: 8-3-99 Been playing the game over to get the earlier quests. Added them in the quests section. Version 1.5 date: 8-4-99 VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE: If you do not know how to make your computer-controlled character cast spells, check out the frequently asked questions section or tactics/hints section. This is a very important feature of the game! Do not miss out! ASCII art, please work this time.... Added in few more quests. Please E-mail me your quests and maybe shortcuts and secrets about the quests. Version 2.0 date: 8-5-99 :) Guess what, I made such a stupid mistake. I forgot to add in the tactic I mentioned in version 1.2's update, (Why didn't anyone tell me?!) Version 2.1 date: 8-15-99 Corrections here and there, Added a ton of quests thanks to Mordruk :) Also added a Draak section. ====== NOTES ====== 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. =========== CHARACTERS =========== _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. ====================== VILLAGE AND MAP GUIDE ====================== _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. BEGGERS These duo will play 'The Darkstone shines' the Theme song of Darkstone if you give them some gold. ========== MAP GUIDE ========== Village North 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. North 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… North 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? ============================= SKILLS LIST AND EXPLAINATIONS ============================= Warrior & Amazon Wizard & Sorceress Monk & Priestess Assassin & Thief ---------------- ------------------ ---------------- ----------------- 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. Gain levels faster TRADE Ability to bargain over the price you want to buy or sell an item at. Make better profits and cheaper buys COMMUNION Ability to recover mana stocks more quickly. Mana regenerates at an accelerated rate LANGUAGE Ability to decode coded messages (Multiplayer mode only). Eavesdrop on conversations more easily MASTER OF ARMS Ability to increase speed of attack and chances of a successful hit. Better fighting ability PERCEPTION Ability to detect traps. Crates or chests that have been rigged will be a bright red CONCENTRATION Ability to enhance your character's physical attributes temporarily (strength and dexterity) Important for though battles DEFUSING Ability to undo traps. Untrap the traps DETECTION Ability to detect magic objects. Magical objects are bright green EXORCISM Ability to remove spells from cursed objects carried by another player. Irma is no longer needed FORESTER Ability to find food by fishing. Fishing time! IDENTIFICATION Ability to identify all unknown objects. Irma is no longer needed LYCANTHROPY Ability to change your character into a werewolf. (All the mana magic points are used for strength). Amazing skill for the sorceress MEDICINE Ability to heal others. Others only! MEDITATION Ability to temporarily increase your number of mana points. Yeah, for a short time. ORIENTATION Ability to display the entire map for the regions and dungeons for a given period of time. Wow! Did you see that? PRAYER Ability to increase your character's armour class. Aren't the gods nice? RECHARGING Ability to recharge the magic objects you have. About time. REPAIR Ability to repair the weapons you have. Fails often at low levels SILENCE Ability of your character to move around without being noticed by his opponents. Great skill for Thieves and Assassins! THEFT Ability to rob the characters you meet. Help others carry their equipment ============================= SPELLS LIST AND EXPLAINATIONS ============================= 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. Note: You can cast lay bombs across walls where you have no access to, but there are monsters. 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. ======= QUESTS ======= =============== 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 Other town quests include quests to kill something/someone for a measly around 6500 gold. Dragon scales Holy Grail Shield of light Medallion of melchoir Bard's Music score Unicorn's horn Celestial harp Storm Flower Broken Vase Claw of Sargon Path book Royal Diadom Sacred scroll Cursed sword Magic Anvil ============= 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 a mirror. You will then come accros a man complaining about his uglyness, give him your mirror and he will give you 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/FOUNTAIN OF LIGHT A Husband has poisoned his wife, Genna for a will, now he regrets his actions and asks you to help him. 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 revealing his evil plot with a druid. 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 of the trials of Kaliba, 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/ARACHNOPHOBIA/HIVES A couple will tell you about their neighbors disappearing, their well 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! **Note that another way to complete this quest making more money is to sell of the armor of fear, and just use the reflection spell when encountering the small spiders and they'll kill themselves! ================================================================================ ======= CELESTIAL SWORD/DISSAPEARING CRYSTAL You will notice the path to the Celestial sword is being blocked by a barrier, go talk to Shadire and he will tell you a new breed of lizard/monsters is being hatched as eggs, Well, enter the dungeon already. Somewhere in the level where you start, you will find a room with big eggs, if you try to attack them, your character will say something like you need the celestial sword. Look around the level, you will find a prisoner, he will give you the Celestial symbol, run back up to the place where the Celestial sword is and place the symbol on the stone. Run in, you will encounter a few monsters, then get the sword and head back down. Using the celestial sword, destroy all the eggs, then proceed back up to talk to the old man. He will praise you and give you the Celestial dagger, Do not throw it away, you need it to get the crystal. After heading down a few more levels, you will find a crystal on one out of two pedestals, everytime you try to get the crystal, it teleports to the other pedestal, so, stick the Celestial dagger into one pedestal, and you can get the crystal. ================================================================================ ==== PRINCE RAMAL'S QUEST/TEMPLAR You will Encounter Melchoir and Prince Ramal, they will tell you that Ramal's sister, Jasmine was kidnapped by an evil wizard. Journey on down. Once down, you will encounter a room where magic missiles are shot out of walls at and extremely fast rate, you may want to go solo one at a time through here. Just stick to the edges of the walls and you'll do fine. You'll see a door very soon, go on in. Here you will encounter 3 sisters (?) and an evil Wizard who constantly fires magic missiles at you, just cast reflection and you'll do fine. Once you've slain him, talk to the sisters, you will find that 2 of the sisters have been brainwashed and one was about to be when you saved her, she requires an object to free her sisters' minds. So go down a level. On the next level, you will encounter Melchoir, almost dead he gives you the key to Ramal's Prison. Go down a level, you will find a broken down gate, use the key from Melchoir on it, kill off the Gomnsters inside, and rescue Ramal, he tells you to give a symbol to his sister, go back up, give it to her and she will free her sister's minds and give you a horn of the Eternal warrior. Go back up to the land map and head for the cemetery, place the horn on the Eternal warrior's tombstone and he will awaken, kill him, take the helmet and go back to the dungeons. At the lowest level on this quest, you will encounter magic bombs which only characters who are wearing the helm of the Eternal warrior can see. You will have to skillfully maneuver around the magic bombs to switch of the 3 levers. This will remove the magic bombs around the Crystal. Get your characters ready, grab the crystal and get ready to either fight the 4 huge statues or run like mad. ================================================================================ ======== POOLS OF POISON A man named Eraldus will tell you that he has discovered a powerful sword, and that his wife is trapped inside the dungoen where there are tonnes of spiders, which he would go in by himself but is afraid of spiders. He makes a deal with you to give you the swrod if you free his wife. So head on down the dungeon. His wife is on the first level, but the key is far down. You need antidote potions to empty into the pools of poison. When all pools have been neutralized, a crystal will appear. Shocked? No, if you want the sword so badly, go and free his wife, it's the better thing to do. BTW, the sword isn't that great. ================================================================================ =========== CITY OF THE DAMNED Firstly, you will encounter a guardian, who is actually a spectre. Talk to him once, he will tell you that no one is allowed to go in where the damned are tormented forever. Now you can either steal the key from him, or talk to him again, Either way, get ready for a rather tough fight. Get the key of the damned and proceed down. The next few levels you will need to retrieve the 3 marks, the mark of punishment, pardon and um... I forgot what else, in order to retrieve each mark you will need to pass through spiked rooms, just take some time to notice the pattern in which they spike up and down or just charge in and make sure you are NOT in the center when the spikes come out, they can cause up to 80 damage if so. Once you have the 3 marks, go down some more, you will encounter the damned spirit. Give him the three symbols and kill him and free his spirit and he will give you a crystal. ================================================================================ ========= THE HORN OF PLENTY/RIKEN'S GHOST A village's only supply of food called the Horn of plenty is stolen, they village sent a man to recover it but he has not returned, Proceed down the ladder. On the first level, you will encounter the spirit of Riken who was sent down, he will ask you to retrieve the Horn of plenty for him and return it to the Village. Okies, head down some more levels. You will find the lair of the Fire golem, but before you can enter, Riken will warn you, and ask you to get the sphere of fire element from him. If you find him too tough, :p You can steal the sphere from him or just kill him. Get the sphere and we're off. Down somemore, you will find the lair of the ice golem, once again, Riken will ask you to retrieve the sphere, either kill or steal, again. Once you have the sphere, go down. You will come to the hideout of the Evil wizard, the spirit will talk to you, asking for the orbs of fire and ice to make a cloak. Give it to him, wear the cloak and you may walk through the wall and encounter the wizard. A good reflection spell would make short work of him. Retrieve the horn of plenty and return it to the villagers. Upon leaving the village, you will encounter the spirit again, he will thank you and give you a crystal. ================================================================================ ======== FREE THE UNICORN You will come across a fairy and a Unicorn. The fairy says that her friend, the Unicorn was trapped with a padlock by an evil Wizard, and asks you to free him and take her with you. On the first few levels, you will come across a steel gate, you cannot get in without the Fairy. If you click on the gate, the fairy will tell you that she can fly to the edge of the room and flick the switch on the door. Click on her, then click on the door, she will fly in, flick the switch, and come back. Now there really isn't much in this room, but you will need to repeat this in the next room where she can only open. Down 1 level, another room where only she can open, do the same thing and 'EEEEEKKKK!!!!' What the! She gets kidnapped and an angry Wizard comes charging toward you. Kill him, and retrieve the poor fairy in a cage on the right side of the wall. She will tell you that she got the key whilst in his pocket (?) and will disappear after giving it to you. Next, go back to the land map and use the key on the padlock, then talk to the fairy, she will give you a crystal. Cheers! ================================================================================ ======== SONG OF THE SNAKES / REEDS SONG You will come across a pond with a small drum. Click on the drum to play it and a fairy will teach you to play the song of the snakes using the reeds. Simply keep venturing down the levels until you find all the 5 reeds and then search for a green glowing room with the multiple heads called the mouth room. Stick the reeds inside in Ascending order (smallest to biggest) and the snakes will freeze, only for a while, so hurry up, click on the wooden plank to lower it and then hasten into the room. Now you can safely enter the room and retreive the artifact. **Note that you can just kill off the snakes if you find it too troublesome to search for the reeds. ================================================================================ ===== Here down goes to Mordruk for letting me refer to his quest guide. ================================================================================ ========= MISSING BABY You will come across a run-down village, a woman who tells you that lizard men have stolen her baby. Head towards the dungeon and you'll find her husband. Alsmost slain, he will give you an invisible scroll in return for a healing potion. With the scroll head down to the dungeon and make your way to the last level. When you get there use the scroll and enter the temple. You can remain invisible and retrieve the baby silently, or charge in and kill of all the lizards, either way when you are done, head to the mother and she will give you another crystal. ================================================================================ =========== HORGAN/BIG ORCISH BULLIES You'll start this quest when an old man complains about a bunch of orcs. Leave and go to find the orc camp which is located somewhere on the land area. Kill all the orcs and get the crystal they drop. Head back to the old man and give the crystal to Horgan and he will give you an amulet and instructions for entering the dungeon. If you wanted a challenge and didn't make two characters just place a sword or something heavy on the seal while you go to the door. Enter the dungeon. On the first floor you will come to Gartol's Lair. You will need to kill all the skeletons then kill Gartol and take his sword. Go down and you'll eventually find another skeleton named Digmar. After you kill him take his sword. I really wanted to keep these swords but alas you have to use them in the quest. Go to the last level and stab the two skulls with the swords. Kill the last skeleton, Hassen and get the crystal. ================================================================================ ========== TREASURE/GOLDEN STATUE/BROKEN BRIDGE You will come across a poor blind monk needs your help to cure his vision. Go in the dungeon and find the Ocular Globes in two chests. Put them in their place on that level to get a statue. Go down to find only one globe. Go down again and find two globes. Go back up and put two in their place to get another statue than go down to the last level and get the last globe. Go back up and put them in to get the last statue. Go down to the last and discover that it is like a clock. If you read the clues you find out you must place the gold statue on the seven o'clock position, the silver on the ten o'clock, and the bronze on the three o'clock. The chest opens up to give you the Eye of Ra. Give the eye to the monk. He will give you a magnifying glass. If you ever played Zelda for the N64 then you know that magnifying glasses come in handy:) Go to Gar and get some of his fish. Take the fish and give them to Rhino who will fix anything you want. Take him back to Gar and make him fix a bridge to the island. Read the sign. I didn't know there were mines back then???? Oh well, use the magnifying glass to read the sign to get specific instructions that you must follow to get a bible. Go to the Temple of Eras and put some of your food in the plates. Give Eras the bible and then take the bible to the monk. Go back to Eras and he will give you the crystal. ================================================================================ ========= CITY OF THE DEAD/CIRCLES Enter the dungeon which is the City of the Dead I think or the Gate of the Dead. You will come to several teleportor blocks. Keep going around them until one transports you to a small room with a Flower of Shade. There is one flower on the first 3 levels. You get all of them the same way. When you get all three go back and put one on each of the circles of death which are just outside the dungeon entrance. Go to the circles of life and pick up each of the flowers that appeared. Go back in the dungeon all the way down to the last level. Place one flower in each little pyramid and you'll receive the crystal. ================================================================================ ========== **LANGOLIN/IMMORTALITY QUEST You'll find a little house where a wife and a wizard are standing. Talk to Langolin to find out he is trying to save the woman's husband. Anyways whatever you do DON'T give him the crystal of wisdom. He is really that spectre guy again. Go in the dungeon and find the fountain of youth. Kill all the spectres and click on it. You get a potion of youth and a potion of immortality. You can drink the potion of youth yourself to make you one year younger if your growing old. Go down to the next two levels and do the same thing to find the potions. Go down to the last level and find Langolin. Talk to him and he will reveal himself. Kill him and any of his goonies. Use the crystal of wisdom to get the other crystal. ================================================================================ ========== MYTH OF MEDUSA Near the dungeon you find a friends spectre(yeah right) that says he'll help. Go down in the dungeon and go in the library ignoring the spectre's warning. There you will find Atenus who will tell you some information. Go down a level and find the room where the spectre is. Go to the door at the end and get the elixir of youth. Go down again and kill the medusa's in the vial room to get the two elixirs Atenus needs. Go back to Atenus to get the vial of spirits. Go to the last level and get the crystal. The spectre will take it.(so much help he was)On that level is the spectre's tomb where you will use the vial of spirits to make him appear so you can kill him and get the crystal. ================================================================================ ========= THE THREE DEMONS You'll come across a camp of goblins that you must kill. One of the goblins will drop an axe that you must return to a guy named Gaetan. He will give you the shield of deamons which you will need for the dungeon that you are about to enter. When you enter go towards the the center of the dungeon called the Road to Reason. Hit the switch then run really fast until you get across so the mines don't kill you. Hit the statue to get a gem then either kill the snakes for experience or go down to the next level. In the center is a maze you must dodge fireballs then hit another statue to get another gem. Go down to the next level and find the huge worm in the center of the stage. Kill it then hit the statue to get the last gem. Again snakes come out so be careful. Now go down to the last level towards the center and put the gems in the pillars. Put on the helmet and Shield of Deamons to get the crystal. ================================================================================ ======== A WIZARD'S LAST WISH/HOLY BOW Go down this lone dungeon in the land and make your way to a room with a beam of light and a dying wizard. He will give you the Holy Bow(which you don't need if you have a long range weapon) and tell you to stop the evil druids. Go down a level and find a statue and destroy it to make another beam of light. Go down again and wake up the skeleton guard if you want some experience but make sure you destroy this statue as well. Go down and find the last statue with all the druids. Kill them and destroy the statue. Go back to the first room and get the crystal. ================================================================================ ========= LUXORIOUS THE VAMPIRE Talk to the guy outside the entrance and get a torch. Enter the dungeon and find a room with a hammer that can break rocks. Go back up and find a camp full of rats. Use the hammer on the boulder and kill the rats to get a scepter. Go back down and find another room via teleporter where a guy turns into a vampire. Simply kill him and go down to the last level of the dungeon. You'll find the vampire's lair and then give him the scepter. For your kindness he decides to kill you! Kill him and take the crystal when he dies. ================================================================================ ========== THE HOLY NUMBER Get a scroll from a monk and then enter the dungeon. Now you have to go through a maze to find the crystal room. The crystal isn't real though:( Go down to the next level and try to get this crystal via trip plates. This will give you 4 potions. Go down and go into this crystal room. Again, a fake but you do get something:) Go down to find a guy's body and find the holy number. Go to a statue and make the number 540, then retrive the crystal. ================================================================================ ========== ====== DRAAK! ====== The last boss of the game, Draak is harder to beat than it is to write about. Firstly, you need to remove about 1/4 or more of his life, use the time orb on him, which you should place in your belt inventory so you don't waste too much time swapping menues. After using the time orb on him, hit him with everything that you got! Watch the beautiful ending movie of Draak's defeat. :) Hey! Don't run off yet! Get the key and unlock the door to the right, to get the ultimate treasure! Take the astral hand and magic door back to the village and use it upon the darkstone to save the day! Now watch the game end and a music video of 'The Darkstone will shine'. ================= TACTICS AND TIPS ================= 'Multi-Millionaire' tactic Different combinations of characters can compliment together very well, take a Warrior/amazon, and a thief/Assasin, and you can get rich really fast. First, have your thief's steal skill be reasonably good (doesn't fail so often) And you warrior's repair skill reasonably good (doesn't fail too often) And proceed to the dungoens below. Since the equipment you steal from the Monsteres are usually better than the stuff bought in the blacksmith, all you have to do is repair the second-hand equipment with your warrior and sell them off to the blacksmith! Know that the furthur you progress in the game, the more money you will be making, but the tougher the enemies. Hence, you will have to find out ways and tactics to keep alive and steal. Happy hunting! Note: Stealing from the NPCs will get you nowhere, you need to be daring and steal from the monsters for the good stuff. Tell you computer-controlled character what spells to cast. First, temporarily switch to the character you want the computer to use, select the spell from the spellbook, next click on your blue bar, your mana bar, it's right beside your red bar, or hp bar. Notice a line? The top part of the line is how much mana you want to allow your computer controlled character to cast with, the bottom part is reserved, just incase you have a spell which consumes HUGE amounts of mana. That's it, switch back to your character and let the teamwork begin! Eat! If you get too hungry, your characters will start losing hp. Know that the value of armor or weapons decreases as the max duration and current duration decrease, always repair if you have the skill before selling equipment off. Characters can grow old. You start of at 20 years, you must find ways and means to prolong their youth. Every monster has its traits, meaning each monster has its own pattern in attack, movement, etc, knowing your enemy well will result in more efficient kills. Use your skills! Each class features its different skills, use them well, they can really help a lot! To set spells, simply press the numbers 1-5, bring up your spell book and hold shift while clicking on the spell you wish to place under the number. THE 'CROAK' TACTIC If heavily overpowered by a ungodly powerful enemy, use a long range offensive spell or weapon to keep our of harm's way, if he has long range offensive capabilities as well, attack, dodge, attack, dodge, etc Croaking will get you through the harder parts of the game. ============================ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ============================ How do I get rich REALLY REALLY fast? Check out my Multi-millionaire tactic in the tactics section (above) ----------------- Hey, the computer-controlled character isn't casting any spells! No problem, you have to tell him how much and what to cast. First, temporarily switch to the character you want the computer to use, select the spell from the spellbook, next click on your blue bar, your mana bar, it's right beside your red bar, or hp bar. Notice a line? The top part of the line is how much mana you want to allow your computer controlled character to cast with, the bottom part is reserved, just incase you have a spell which consumes HUGE amounts of mana. That's it, switch back to your character and let the teamwork begin! ---------------- My character is growing older! What do I do? First: the quest of immortality Second : In the last level, after the dragon's skulls who breath fire ( 1 potion ) Third : and most easy : You can buy some at town when you will play at master settings ! Fourth: In the third region, the land Ormar, you can buy them at 100,000 and sell them at 33,000. ----------------- How do you set spells to numbers? To set spells, simply press the numbers 1-5, bring up your spell book and hold shift while clicking on the spell you wish to place under the number. ------------------- My ****** skill is at level ****, but how do I use it? Is it automatic? You have to press the 't' key on your keyboard, this will bring up your skills list, from there, select the skill you wish to use and execute the skill just like a spell, by right-clicking your mouse. -------------------- Help! I'm lost! No problem, if you get lost ANYWHERE in the game, just press the 'l' button on your keyboard, this will bring up your visited locations list, select the location and you will automatically begin walking to that location. --------------------- The characters are to small/big! I can't see what's going on! Use your arrow keys, left and right to rotate, and up and down to zoom in and out I was wondering if anyone knew if the Internet multiplayer would be like battle.net? Darkstone will be played on heat.net. It will be a bit like battle.net. Darkstone multiplayer will work as follows. In Multiplayer mode you can control only one character, but the objective of the game still remains the same: to re-create the Time Orb and overcome Draak. At the beginning of a multiplayer game, one player should be made game master. He is responsible for starting the "session" and can allow other player to join in the game. Playing a game in Multiplayer mode 1. If you are the game master: First of all, click NEW GAME, then MULTIPLAYER from the menu that appears. Select or create your character, then confirm your choice. A screen appears displaying the services available. You should then click on either of the two communications protocols offered: TCP/IP or IPX. Note: IPX is generally for LAN connections only, whereas TCP/IP can be used for both LAN and Internet. Once you have selected the connection mode the "Session" menu appears. Click on Create a session if you wish to start a new Multiplayer game. • You should then select the difficulty level. As in One Player mode, there are three levels available: Novice, Expert and Master. Your character's experience level determines the difficulty levels that you can access. • The game will then begin. You can either wait for the other players or carry on the game on your own. Click on Load a session game if you wish to resume a game which has previously been saved.. • The last game played in Multiplayer is loaded and the game begins. 2. If you are not the game master: You initially follow the same procedure specified above for the game master: • Click NEW GAME, then MULTIPLAYER. • Select or create your character. • Select the communications protocol. Then, when the Session menu appears you should click Join a session. For games using only TCP/IP, you will be prompted to enter the IP address (a series of numbers separated by points) or the standard Internet address (starting, for example, with www) of the server or game master you want to connect to. Note: The game master can ascertain his IP address by running the Windows 95 or 98 winipcfg.exe program, which he should then pass on to the other players. A screen will appear with a list of the sessions available. Please note that the game master selects the difficulty level of the game on the basis of his character. If this is a level that you cannot access, you will not be able to join that session (it will not even be listed on the scroll). If there are sessions available that you can join, select the one you wish to join, confirm and the game will begin. You will then be connected to the game master and the other players. ======= CREDITS ======= 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! YOU GUYS! For E-mailing questions, hints, corrections, quests, general stuff. And last but not least, Mordruk, for giving me permission to use his quest faq for reference. :) and his hark work to guide through all the quests. Questions? Comments? Input? Personal problems? Contact me and I'll try to help. ICQ = 28726882 Email: Negativedge@ignmail.com God bless y'all! :p ===== LINKS ===== You may want to visit the Unofficial Darkstone site at http://redrival.com/darkstone/index.htm DM has put a lot of effort to supply anyone in need of info on Darkstone to access it easily. Forums, Links to other good Darkstone sites and more. ENDING QUOTE: Thief: "Damn! Lost my crystal of virtue again!"