Stonekeep

Stonekeep. At last the King has decided to move against you, here in the realm of Stonekeep. He is amassing a mighty force to stand against you led by his most trusted General Lord Pureheart. A vast fortress has been constructed in which to amass this legion, but a weakness lies within the castle’s defences, use it to gain access. Hide your black hearted realm from the Heroes and take Pureheart’s kingdom from under his blind and trusting gaze.

Use Secret Doors to conceal the areas you’ve taken over. Hide from patrolling Heroes until REEP INTO you’re strong enough to kill all who oppose you. This realm requires a great deal of patience and stealth … strong opponents vastly outnumber you. Only the Secret Door will protect you from the Heroes whose castle you must take piece by piece without the Lord’s Knowledge.

Business Model

Prepare yourself for a challenge … even though this realm will be won more by skulking and hiding than smashing and hitting, that doesn’t mean it’s going to be any easier than others. This will truly test the mettle of your soot-black soul. First off, lock the door. By ensuring that the Wooden Door to the north of your dungeon is locked, you will keep any errant Imps from wandering into view and causing an alarm to go up. Keep them busy, instead — command them to mine out the two areas of rock and gold and put down a Lair and Hatchery. Remember the old dungeon adage “An Imp in the hand is worth two in the bush” — Imps do not become angry when picked up, so this is the best way of ensuring that they do only what you tell them to do. Have them mine out the lone bit of solid rock, and then onward to the Workshop. Therein are two neutral Trolls who will prove to be invaluable. Do not let the Imps mine into the castle, as the Heroes who patrol the castle’s corridors will notice them, and concentrate on destroying you and your dungeon. Claim the Workshops — you’ll find several Secret Door crates in the Workshops. These will be enough to keep you going for a while. Take one and immediately seal any dungeon entrances that Heroes might possibly stumble across. You will now need to recruit some of the local talent. Gnashing his fangs in Prison is a Goblin, which you can reach from the eastern Workshop through a passage dug through ordinary stone … there’s one that snakes its way through the impenetrable rock. When you dig up to the Prison stay alert: the Prisons are patrolled by Guards. If they see you, they will hunt you down and you probably don’t have the ability to take them on yet. (Sight of Evil proves a very useful method of keeping your eye on things.) Claim the cell and replace the Wooden Door with a Secret Door. Lock the door. From this first prison, mine east to reach a second cell containing a Mistress. Repeat this process until all of the cells are yours. Don’t get careless … you cannot afford to be reckless and have a do-gooder poking his nose into your affairs, so always replace the Wooden Doors on the cells with Secret Doors. Once this is done, this area is secure and can be used for whatever purpose you desire, so long as the Secret Doors remain locked. Gold will probably have been fairly scarce up to now, but now you can fix that. To the north of your Workshop lie two Hero Treasuries. Wait for the Hero patrols to go past before launching an assault and claiming the rooms. An alarm may be raised, but as long as the patrols are nowhere near at the time, your new-found creatures should take care of any Heroes they find. Use the gold to finance a Torture Chamber so no good Hero goes to waste.

Of course, these deposits of gold will only last for a short time (what with wage demands, room construction, etc.), so another solution must be found. From the western Workshop another passageway snakes away towards a Library. A lone Wizard researches there, but as long as you ensure that the Hero patrol is nowhere near, he’s an easy mark. Sight of Evil is an absolute necessity from now on in as you move into unknown territory. (You did set a Secret Door at the entrance to this Library, didn’t you?) Once you’ve recruited a Warlock, set him to researching. Once he discovers how to Create Gold, you’re set for life. Notice that there are channels of ordinary rock and lava skirting the exterior of the castle, which provide a safe route between rooms. Follow these and capture the Graveyard and the Combat Pit — with these you can recruit some truly powerful creatures. If you ever feel in doubt, wait: there is no time constraint. If your creatures get into a fight it is best to pull them all out — enemy reinforcements will soon arrive and you may be faced with a battle that you cannot win. Furthermore, you can only afford to be spotted a few times before Lord Pureheart grows suspicious and calls in extra patrols. When you complete your circuit of the castle, you’ll find a Portal. Claim this, and slap a Secret Door on it. Take your time — mine out the rock to the north and allow your minions to build Lairs in this new area. Your dungeon should now be complete and you will be able to train your creatures to a sufficient level to slay Lord Pureheart who resides deep within his fragile, compromised castle. When you’re ready, flood the corridors and leave no one alive.