Dungeon Keeper 2 чит-файл №1

Level 1 Warcry at Smilesville

The first order of business is the accruing of finance. You will see
that a tile of gold flashes, ready to be tagged. Tag the flashing gold
with the left mouse button. This will instruct your Imps to dig it
out, and you may watch them take the gold back to your Dungeon Heart.
The Dungeon Heart will store a maximum of 16,000 gold. Any gold that
exceeds this amount will be left on the ground where it is mined.
Keepers of the original battles take note: gold may now be stored
in the Dungeon Heart, not just a Treasury. Once you've successfully
mined one tile of gold, netting you 3,000 gold, you are advised
to continue to mine gold until your Dungeon Heart holds 12,000 - an
ample sum for your needs in this simple land. You'll have to get your
Imps to tunnel through the rock which separates them from the rest
of the gold: just tag where you want them to dig. You'll find that the
impenetrable rock which surrounds your dungeon cannot be tagged: it's
not possible for you to dig this out. Once the princely sum of 12,000
gold is yours, the Mentor will congratulate you and tell you that you
are now ready to recruit more creatures. A Portal is revealed and
a route towards it highlighted: tag this and let your Imps dig to the
Portal and claim it by jumping up and down. Why do Imps claim in this
way? Who can say, but it keeps them amused. Once the Portal is yours,
your first creature will emerge. He's a Goblin, a useful grunt trooper
although he fights best in large numbers. He needs somewhere to sleep,
so the Mentor flashes an area 3 tiles wide by 5 high, just to the west
of your Dungeon Heart. Tag this so that your Imps will dig it out.
Once this has been excavated and claimed, you must build a Lair for
your Goblin to make his bed in. The Rooms panel tab will sparkle
(unless it's already open). Click on this and then on the Bed icon
to select Build Lair. Now click and drag within your claimed cavern
to build a nice big Lair for your Goblins to sleep in. Your Portal
will allow 15 creatures to enter your realm, and each of them needs
a tile of Lair to make his bed on. Your Goblin now goes into the Lair
and makes his bed, and more Goblins begin to enter through the Portal.
Your next task is to feed your hungry minions. To do this you need
to build a Hatchery. A suitable area will flash - dig it out and build
the room in the same way you built the Lair. You will need to build
a hatchery at least 3x3 in size. Once your basic dungeon
is established, some local heroes notice your evil presence and
attempt to eliminate you from their land. Two pathetic Dwarves tunnel
down from the north, and your Goblins should make short work of them.
Give your Goblins a little time to rest after the fight. Soon you will
have 6 or more Goblins and can easily take on the feeble Lord
Antonius, who is ill-prepared to battle with even your minor army.
Tunnel northwards, beyond where the Dwarves broke into your dungeon.
You will pass a single tile of gold: dig this out before going any
further north and you will find an Increase Level Special. As soon
as your Imps have claimed the land underneath it, click on this golden
box and all your creatures will advance a level in experience, thus
gaining extra strength and skill. Now dig through the last tile
of rock separating your dungeon from Lord Antonius' keep. On seeing
your Imps, he will rush into the fray, confident that he can
single-handedly slaughter your Goblins and destroy your Dungeon Heart.
But fear not, your Goblins will overpower him and the Portal Gem will
be yours.

Level 2 Enchantments at Sing-Song

Begin by ordering your minions to excavate suitable caverns and
building a Lair and Hatchery, just as you did in the previous realm.
Grab the initiative and command a tunnel dug to the west and claim the
Portal so that creatures can enter your realm. Your basic dungeon
is complete, but that is but a foundation to the full glory you can
achieve. Demand a four-by-four chamber and establish a Library. This
will be large enough to have four bookcases, and each of these will
attract another Warlock into your dungeon. Your first Warlock will
arrive shortly after your Library is built, and after conjuring a bed
in the Lair he will head off to the Library and devote himself
to proactive support of evil and destruction. Your growth strategy
should next include a four-by-four Training Room. This will motivate
your Goblins will go into the Training Room and start practicing
against the dummies in the center. The number of such targets which
determines how many creatures can train. The more, the better.
However, once a creature reaches level 4 it will be unable train any
further. After that, only the experience gained through real
blood-and-bone combat allows a creature to progress to higher levels.
Training creatures costs gold, and you will probably need to mine some
of the gold near to your Dungeon Heart. Such is the nature of finance.
Train, research, mine ... and oh yes, reinforce the walls. It's your
dungeon of Depravity, not a hole in the ground. It's best not to break
out into the open area to the north until you're sure you're ready.
So keep your creatures at work training and researching for the time
being. Your researching Warlocks will discover the spell Create Imp
for you. Finally you can snap your fingers and summon a servant from
thin air! Open the Spells Panel by clicking on the sparkling tab, and
then click on the symbol of the Imp's Head. Cast the spell by clicking
on any of your claimed land (this includes rooms). An Imp will spring
forth fully formed and scurry off to find something useful to do.
Shortly after discovering Create Imp, your Warlocks will discover the
spell Thunderbolt. Ah, the power! Who says research can't
be market-driven? This is a sizzling spell, expensive on the Mana but
most satisfying as it allows you to strike down enemies with a bolt
of lightning. Not only does it damage them, but also they will
be stunned for a time, allowing your creatures a window of opportunity
to attack them unopposed. Now it's time to concentrate on the
opposition. Finally the short-sighted Heroes of this realm begin
to notice you. A band of hopping, screaming Dwarves will break into
your dungeon from the north. As soon as they step onto your territory,
give the Thunderbolt spell a go. Smite a Dwarf with your spell. Then
let your eager Goblins finish the little pest off. A new area is now
exposed, containing pools of water and some more gold, which might
be useful if you've built extra large rooms or if many Pay-Days have
passed. More is more, that's your motto. Meanwhile, your Warlocks will
continue to Blue Sky research. Although there are no new spells to be
discovered in this realm, extra knowledge improves your existing
spells. In fact, given enough time, they'll upgrade Create Imp so that
the icon turns gold and level 4 Imps will be created. The improved
Thunderbolt spell will do extra damage at no extra cost. When you and
your slavering hordes are ready, tunnel northwards again to find Lord
Darius' keep. It's well defended by a nest of Dwarves but by using
your trained Goblins for close quarters fighting and placing your
Warlocks a little further away, you'll defeat them. Don't mind
casualties, that's in their job description. Of course, you shouldn't
drop your creatures too close to the enemy, since they will be stunned
for a few seconds and unable to defend themselves from the stumpy
enemy berserkers. As soon as the Dwarves have been dealt with, drop
some Imps up there to claim your new acquisition. There's an Increase
Mana special which is located to the south-east of the keep. Activate
this as soon as the land beneath it is claimed, and your Mana reserve
will be boosted. Once most of the Dwarves defending the keep have been
defeated, Lord Darius will appear through the Hero Gate leading
another herd of Dwarven warriors. Wait with the patience of a snake
until he's solidly onto your land, then stun him with the Thunderbolt
spell while your creatures attack him. Finally he will fall and you
can claim the Portal Gem as your rightful possession.

Level 3 Greed at Ramshackle

As mundane as it may seem, first you're going to need to do a touch
of housekeeping. Dig out a series of chambers to hold all your rooms,
and send miners to dig out the handy bit of gold to the east of your
Dungeon Heart. Use the four land-bridges to connect your rooms to your
Dungeon Heart, since your Imps can only claim land which is adjacent
to land you already own. Obviously you'll need to build a Lair, and
immediately thereafter a new Workshop. Keep in mind it needs to be at
least 3x3 so that it will have an anvil for your workers. This will
attract a Troll, who is a skilled artisan and can be set to work
building all manner of useful and unpleasant devices. Once you've
claimed your Portal, a Firefly will be recruited. He's a fragile
creature, true, but a highly valuable scout when it comes to exploring
dark tunnels. Once you've got your Trolls brewing up some grim
gadgets, open up the Workshop panel and select Sentry Trap. You can
place a S.T. blueprint by clicking on any claimed land, but a little
forethought will buy extra benefit. For instance, between your Dungeon
Heart and Portal is a good spot since then it can defend both areas.
Now a Troll will head off to the Workshop and build the trap, and then
one of your Imps will drag it to the blueprint. Meanwhile you can
concentrate on designing and building your dungeon. Keep in mind the
Mana usage of a Sentry Trap. Three or four is a sensible number
at this point. No point in getting carried away and running out of
juice. Next on your agenda is to get your creatures training and your
Warlocks researching. When you enter a new realm, you lose the
advanced spells which you had developed in the previous realm
(a phenomenon is commonly referred to as Brain Drain) and thus will
need to be researched again. Meanwhile, back at the front ... the
first of Lord Avaricious' subjects, a Dwarf, will break into your
dungeon some time around now. If you've been preparing at all for your
conquest and subjugation of all the light and good, your Traps and
fighting creatures will obliterate him almost instantly, but this will
open your dungeon up to the lake to the north. Here you can see three
pillars of gold. Nice, yes? If you dig those out, you're sure to lure
Lord Avaricious out of his miserable, cowardly hiding. Although
patience is a virtue, it's still worth exercising here. You're not yet
strong enough to challenge Lord Avaricious. So your best move is to
mine out the pillars to either side and the gold just north of your
Portal, but leave the gold which separates your land from the Hero
area to the north. That will give him a warm, fuzzy and false sense
of security and keep him at home. Build up your minions and train them
well. Keep an especially watchful eye on your Fireflies: if they get
into trouble with the Hero Sentry Traps you should pull them out and
drop them in the Lair to heal. Make sure to train them up before
sending them out, otherwise you're just wasting resources. A plan
recommended by the Committee of Chaos is to build five or six Sentry
Traps at the entrance to your dungeon, and place a Wooden Door or two
to slow the Heroes down. As your Dungeon Heart gets filled with gold,
you should put in a Treasury near any main gold supplies. Time
is money. Time and money are both strategic resources. Any dungeon
Designer who does not take this into account will be short of money,
short of respect, and inevitably short of lifespan. Once you've got
a good strong force, your Sentry Traps are lined up ready to go, and
your Thunderbolt spell has been upgraded, then it's time to go. Dig
out the last few tiles of gold, then pull your creatures back and wait
for Lord Avaricious to come within range. When he comes encounters
your Sentry Traps, drop your Goblins and Trolls just far enough away
that they'll recover before he reaches them (you do know how long
it takes them to get back up, don't you?), and drop your Warlocks
at the limit of their range. Between your hand-to-hand fighters, the
barrage of fire from your traps, your Warlocks' rapid fireballs and
your own Thunderbolt spell, poor Avaricious doesn't stand a chance.
Don't forget your maniacal laugh at this point. It's required.

Level 4 Snipers at Shadygrove

Roll up your sleeves and do the job right. This kind of schedule
doesn't occur very often: no milestones to hit, no deadlines to pester
you. Things can progress with a slow and steady pace, bringing death
inexorably closer and closer to your enemies. Mine out all of the gold
around your dungeon; build nice big Training Room, Lair, Hatchery,
Workshop, Library and Treasury. Make them as large as you like,
provided you don't oversize anything to the point you can't build one
of everything. Once this is done, claim the portal to the north
to entice a nice range of creatures to your dungeon. Encourage the
Warlocks to research and your Trolls to build a few Sentry Traps. It's
recommended to place a few by the portal and at least two by your
Dungeon Heart, this will ensure that any errant heroes are assured
of a warm welcome. It's not a party without fireworks, is it? Once
your dungeon is thusly secured, tunnel out to the west and to the
east. There lie the Guard Rooms, and once you secure these areas
it will be easy to attract Dark Elves into your dungeon. Just before
you reach the Guard Rooms you will notice two convenient alcoves;
these can best be used for a remote Lair and Hatchery, thus allowing
any guarding creature to sleep and eat without straying too far from
its duties. Now sit back and listen to the sounds of progress. Hmmm.
You can actually hear evil incorporating into the very foundation
of Shadygrove. Now, enough of that, it's time to head north. Beyond
the Portal is a solitary block of gold. Send your minions to mine this
and they'll reveal a third Guard Room. Claim this, of course, and
train your Guarding creatures up. Mine the gold. Beware the two hero
gates in this area. These will spew forth opponents for you to face
... and unless you've been remiss in your preparations, they'll
encounter a few carefully placed Sentry Traps as well as any loyal
servants buffing up in the Guard Room. You did put Sentry Traps near
the hero gates, didn't you? These miserable excuses for an away team
should never even set foot into your dungeon proper. When you acquire
a Possession spell, try your hand at directly controlling a creature.
Possession is a marvelous pastime for an evil overlord. Not only does
it confirm your absolute control over the lower life forms, you also
gain a considerable bonus in speed and damage when you attack your
foes with possessed fighters. Even handier, you will be able
to collect them together with the Grouping Skill. Once your defenses
meet your standards of excellence, concentrate on the hero-owned door
to the north. Direct your imps to claim all the territory up to it,
and then amass your creatures at that point, ready to attack. Beyond
lies a new type of foe, the Guard. Whilst this over-muscled mercenary
does not possess any special power (as does the Wizard or the Thief),
he is a fearsome warrior that will require a few goblins before
he goes down. The result of all of this effort is well worth it:
a second Portal. This will allow additional five creatures into your
dungeon. Make sure they have everything they need to be satisfied with
their new workplace. Now it's time to do a bit of "financial
exploration" in other words, mine out the gold and then skirt your way
along the water. You will eventually discover seams of gold running
through impenetrable rock, and that's where you should begin to dig.
(Set up a Treasury nearby, to keep things rolling smoothly. Before
long you will spy Old Bob, who guards the entrance to Lord Ludwig's
fort. Keep your enthusiastic creatures at bay and possess a Dark Elf.
By selecting her long range weapon (Number 2 Key) you can take him out
quickly and silently. (Pressing Insert will allow you to zoom in and
ensure an easy kill.) If Old Bob should escape your servants he shall
call in some powerful reinforcements ... and it is more convenient
to avoid these at this point. Once the Guard is dead you will have the
problem of the moat separating your land from the Hero Keep. Your Imps
cannot claim directly across so two options lie before you. The most
direct method is to Group a band of your strongest creatures together
and lead them across the moat, there to face and destroy the lord
of the land. That is quick, to the point and eminently satisfactory.
Another effective attack is to mine through his walls. On the other
side there is a path which leads to the back entrance of the castle.
You can slip in, surprise the heroes in their own home, and slaughter
them at your convenience. However you get there, Lord Ludwig should
fall beneath you minions attacks, and the Portal Gem will be yours.

LEVEL 5 FEAR AT ELM SHADOW

Keeper. Your first order of business is to recruit creatures into your
domain. That means that you'll have to instruct your Imps to carve out
a tunnel to the nearest Portal. Bear in mind, however, that the good
people of Elm Shadow are not the types to hide from your presence,
as did the cringing crusaders of Lord Ludwig. No, they will strike out
at you at their earliest opportunity. Prepare for this by digging
a 3x3 space beside the Portal and establishing a Guard Room. As the
early heroes make their first forays, your Guards will dispatch them,
earning easy experience points in the process. Now you have some time
to devote to building a suitable fortress of your own. Build a Lair,
Hatchery and Workshop, perhaps to the south of your Dungeon Heart.
As you excavate and mine gold, you'll discover that there is land
north of your Guard Post which is inaccessible to your imps. Build
a Bridge to that place, and command that about Sentry Traps
be established there. Arrange them closely together, and have them
remain close enough to your Guard Room that they will receive
immediate back-up support. You can expect raiding parties of Dwarves
and Thieves to begin fairly early. Lay down plans for the rest of your
rooms. There should be at least one of each, no smaller than 3x3. Send
an exploration party to the south of your territory. Beware of any
open areas. Should you find (and you should find) some territory that
belongs to Lord Constantine, immediately claim enough territory
to place a few Sentry Traps, and then have your Imps claim the rest
of the area. There have been reports that this land has Wizards that
will confront you. Expect these to have powers unlike any you have
faced before. Find and claim the neutral Prison to the east of the
hero area. Be prepared for resistance ... in fact, hope for it, as any
enemies killed on your land (or bridge) will be dragged to your
Prison. Therein, their corpses will be imbued with your malign
influence, and once the unwilling flesh has rotted away, the skeletons
will rise as your loyal troops and go off to seek battle. Your task
will be to defend your fortification until your troops are seasoned
enough to manage a frontal attack. For this backwater territory,
twelve or so creatures at levels two or three will probably suffice.
At that point, build a Bridge to the enemy stronghold. Because the
simpering do-gooder has done some rudimentary studies of your arts,
he will seek to paralyze your minions with the same power you
frequently use: fear. Your troops will encounter Fear Traps, but if
you are quick, you can disable them by dropping skeletons near them
and commanding them to attack. Fear is a frailty of the flesh, and dry
bones are immune. When those traps are dispatched, encourage your Imps
to claim as much territory as they can, as quickly as they can. This
will enable you to drop creatures close by any Knights you encounter.
These canned pests will offer strong resistance, but nothing you
cannot control with careful resource management (i.e., dropping
in more creatures as necessary). Constantine will remain put until
he actually sees proof of your forces in his realm. As your Imps claim
land closer and closer to him, he will not fail to see them and react
to the threat. He will first call for reinforcements before racing for
your Dungeon Heart. Regroup your troops in your main area and wait ...
by the time they've battled past the Sentry Traps, they'll be so weak
that you'll be able to scythe them down like brittle hay. You may pry
the gem from his cold, dead fingers. Such is the fate of those who
oppose your rule.

Level 6a Besieged at Sweetwater

The first order of business is to bridge out in every direction. Your
dungeon is surrounded by small islands, which must be claimed
immediately. This will both provide you with precious mana, and
provide you with a buffer area. The immediate goal is to give you
a fighting area, so you can drop your creatures into battle against
the heroes outside of your dungeon, minimizing the damage they do to
it. Command your Imps to mine the gold to the south east of the
dungeon; this will keep your finances in good order while you attend
to business. Once done you can attend to the matters at hand,
torturing and converting the heroes. You will have noticed that
in your prison are a number of already-captured heroes. How
convenient. Simply pick these up and drop them onto the torture
devices in the Torture Chamber. The sturdy heroes will take a fair bit
of damage from the their harsh treatment (which is of course the
point), and although you can expect some to die from your
ministrations, you'll usually be able to squeeze information about
their territory from them. Even better, however, is what can be done
after your researchers have perfected the Heal spell. By allowing your
torturers to prolong their agony indefinitely, their spirit will break
and they shall join your side. Capture and convert as many heroes
as come within your grasp, until you have a sufficient force to storm
Lord Ironhelm's Keep. Meanwhile, a little reinforcement is called for.
Seal off the entrances to your dungeon with barricades. These are
relatively cheap and will slow the heroes down considerably. Keep
in mind, however, that while barricades are effective in stopping
creatures engaged in hand to hand combat, creatures with ranged
weapons are able to fire over the top. A wise dungeon keeper places
Sentry Traps behind the barricades this make a lethal combination.
Don't forget that Sentry Traps cost mana, though, so you'll have
to keep an eye on your resources to keep everything balanced. You may
or may not have discovered from your interrogations of the enemy
fighters that there are three methods into the Keep. First is the
front entrance, which leads up centrally to the heavily defended
Dungeon Heart. This path is not recommended unless you wish to get
your hands dirty with constant warfare you'll be fighting every step
of the way. The second and third routes are to either side of the main
entrance: two forts that are linked to the castle by bridges. Within
these forts are hero gates from which pour out Lord Ironhelm's forces,
and additional rooms. The prudent method of conquest is to claim all
of the land around these hero gates and closing them down. This
ensures that your dungeon won't be hassled by inconvenient flank
attacks. In addition, the rooms of the hero gates contain valuable
items, an Increase Level special and some Sentry Trap Crates are
located in the workshop, and the Treasure room holds much gold and
a Make Happy Special. Claiming these rooms and closing down the hero
gates, ensures that you are only attacked from the southwest ... and
these few heroes can easily be dealt with and converted to the cause
of darkness. Once you have built a solid army of converted heroes,
combine them with the most useful of your original creatures and
attack the Keep of Lord Ironhelm. You can either take the direct route
over the hero-gate bridges, or enter through the secret passages that
lead directly into the heart of the Castle. These secret passages are
to the east and the west of your dungeon: the eastern passage
is marked by a small section of Hero Owned wall near a gold seam, the
western passage leads from the south-western Hero Gate. Remember that
while these passages are the easiest way to reach the Castle, it isn't
a stroll through the cemetery. Fear Traps and Guards will hamper your
progress, but these you can easily destroy. Both passages emerge in
a prison containing an additional mistress, from here it is only a few
swift strikes to Lord Ironhelm. Don't expect him to just surrender
or run away. Although he doesn't have the iron strength of evil
to give him backbone, Lord Ironhelm is not entirely without sense, and
has been recruiting heroes to serve as his personal bodyguard. The
longer you leave your final assault on his castle, the more heroes
he will have amassed to protect him. Lastly, remember that the first
part of the Horny Talisman is yours to use on this level and on this
level alone. If you find yourself in difficulty or if you just feel
cranky, summon him and he shall massacre any foes which stand in front
of you.

LEVEL 6B ROUT AT SWEETWATER

Your loyal minions have captured an enemy Wizard. Put him to good use
and torture the whereabouts of Lord Ironhelm out of him. Time
is essential, and knowledge is power. Once you have revealed the Lord
of the Lands location place the Wizard back into the Prison, he will
die and serve you well as a skeleton. This realm is essentially
a warren of maze-like tunnels and caverns. You will need to know what
is going on nearly everywhere, nearly all the time. Use the mini- and
full-scale views to keep track of your domain ... and your soon-to-be
domain. Omniscience is one of the most important skills to develop for
your reign as Dark Lord. Begin your Grand Construction. Your first
priority should be a Library for your warlocks to research the Heal
Creature Spell. Unfortunately you'll discover that the portal is
a long way off, and you cannot afford to lose too many creatures
before it is claimed. Therefore a workshop is vitally important, as it
will allow the manufacture of traps and a new type of door, the
Barricade. This shall prove very useful in Sweetwater as it is
comparatively cheap and acts as an effective impediment to Lord
Ironhelm's flight. Know that it is not a wall although it impedes
flight and stymies hand-to-hand combat, ranged and projectile weapons
can cross a barricade unhindered. Wherever you build a Barricade, you
should consider placing a Sentry Trap behind it, if you can afford the
Mana. These two tools, used in combination, are a lethally effective
force. Once your dungeon is constructed to your satisfaction, and you
have one of every room you think you'll need, take your troops out for
your first sortie. You will discover a hero bridge leading to three
doors, with a small group of heroes patrolling the bridge. Capture and
torture these heroes as per standard procedure, and they shall reveal
numerous bonuses scattered throughout the level, including a group
of neutral Tolls, gold seams and piles of manufacture crates, all left
here by Lord Ironhelm should he have need of them. Well, he's going
to need them, and that's too bad, since you're going to have them.
Sinister laughter echoing down the corridors is quite rewarding
at that point. Back to business. Seek out and secure these areas and
use the items found therein to stockpile for an ambush. Once your
Warlocks have researched the Heal Creature spell, your captured heroes
can take on another use. Even standard methods of torture conflict
savage amounts of damage to Heroes and being the fragile creatures
they quickly perish. However, if you Heal them whilst they wither
in prison or are tortured, their suffering is prolonged and despair
will set in. Their spirits will break, and they will convert to your
side. There are few threats like unrelenting, never-ending suffering
to make someone see reason. Higher-level corporate meetings are based
on this axiom, as well. You do not need these extra fighters
indefinitely, but they definitely make a welcome addition to your
forces until you can locate the outside portal. Not be long after you
have captured a few heroes, you will notice that time becomes
a critical element. A countdown appears, and the numbers begin to tick
away. This indicates that Lord Ironhelm has begun preparations for his
escape, and you must thwart his plans. Before the timer reaches zero,
you must have prepared your defenses. Located between the Castle and
the Hero Gate lies an ideal killing ground. Send your minions in to
fight their way to the front of the enemy fortress, with Imps claiming
land as the fighters progress. Once you've reached the killing field,
fill the entire area with barricades and all manner of traps. You'll
find that the manufacture crates you have amassed will ensure the
speedy construction of this ambush. If you complete your preparations
before Lord Ironhelm bolts, you might have to wait for the Lord
to flee. How tedious. If you grow impatient, simply send in an imp or
a few creatures to lure Lord Ironhelm out, once he realizes he is
surrounded, he will take flight. After that, it is merely a matter
of watching the panic and confusion of the forces of good as they
flail about in your traps, crash against your barricades, are toasted
by your Sentry Traps and finally the survivors are slaughtered by your
forces, some of whom are their own ex-comrades converted to the
furtherance of darkness. The whole thing is utterly delightful, don't
you think?

LEVEL 7 CAVERNS AT EMBERGLOW

You start out with a respectable number of minions, which is good
because you're going to need to be able to both defeat anyone who
attacks you in the beginning, while simultaneously building a workable
dungeon. Don't spend too much time in sinister contemplation, it's
time to roll up the ol' robe sleeves and get those whips cracking.
Right off the bat, a lone hero Giant will head to your dungeon to make
trouble, but don't be too concerned ... reinforcements will arrive
in time to clobber him. What you should be primarily concerned with
is your growth statement: quickly dig out the area to the south and
build a Prison and Torture Chamber. You'll need these as your forces
begin to take a toll on the enemy ranks. Waste not, want not. In these
troubled times it would be a shame to simply kill something
as valuable as a Giant just because you didn't have the means
to convincing him it is a good time for a career change. Still, you're
going to need more troops. Command that a small Lair and Hatchery
be built. Without these, you'll find it impossible to recruit
creatures in and you've got a serious headcount shortage to make
up before you can take on the other Giants that guard the empty
dungeon. Now comes time for a management decision. You want to clear
out the "excess" Giants. The most conservative course of action would
be to place traps at all the entranceways to your dungeon, and wait
for the Giants to come to you. As natural-born pounders, they'll
eventually be drawn to your halls by the opportunity of making your
loyal subjects go squish. One by one they'll come to you, and you
won't have to go to the trouble of finding them. On the other hand,
you can close down the Giant's Hero Gates by bridging across to their
barracks (you did know you could use the neutral "stepping stones",
didn't you?), claim all the land around the gates, and then close down
the gates themselves. It has the attraction of being more proactive
and straightforward, but it's more dangerous to your workers. If you
decide on this method, be sure to send some fighters along with your
Imps, to protect them from any wandering Giants who might be offended
by the invasion. Your next project is to break through to the Guard
Room. Once again, claim all of the neutral path leading up to it
(killing/capturing any of those pesky hero who get in your way) and
then launch your attack. You can either smash down all three doors
at once of you only attack one door, they'll come around and flank
you, not a good tactic or dig through a block of hero wall between
2 doors. If you decide to knock down walls, don't skimp. Break a large
whole to allow yourself as much room as possible for getting your
minions into the fight. Once you've hit your Guard Room objective,
you'll want to find the best route to Lord Sigmund. This is where
Sight of Evil comes in handy. While you're peering into the private
world of Sigmund and company, you might also find routes that, while
not so direct, do offer specials or more creatures to convert. It's
entirely up to you to determine the path you think will be most
beneficial. There is an obstacle to due consideration. There is an
enemy Wizard who is wise enough to fear you, but goody-two-shoes
enough to try to face you down. The sniveling sneak hides behind
barricades and fires spells at your fighters. Your best option in this
situation might be the judicious usage of a combination of Possession
and Salamander. Try it .. it's eminently gratifying. Your next major
milestone will be to take on the strike force waiting for you a group
of heroes (4 Giants, 2 Wizards and a Knight) have designs. Destroy
them utterly and continue to Lord Sigmund's Castle. There is a level
increase special 25 on the way, of which it is highly recommend you
take advantage. Now it is time to destroy the enemy and claim
everything they hold of value. There are two different venues
of attack front or back. The plan should hinge on whether you have
plenty of fire-walking creatures (or you have an unhealthy faith
in the strength of your bridges). If so, then simply attack through
the front door, watching out for hero reinforcements that appear
through the castles hero gates. If your troops are the more tradition
sort, you can claim territory all the way around to the back of the
castle. Then use a wooden bridge and an Imp to claim the neutral tile
and break through the back door. This will mean a bloody battle with
a large bank of Sentry Traps, but the benefit is that you will be able
to use all of your creatures in the final battle, not just the
fire-proof ones. Then all that is left is picking up the gem, and
there you have it: the only thing this this miserable place called
Emberglow has to interest you.

LEVEL 8 AFTERMATH AT SNAPDRAGON

You begin with a few creatures, a Troll, two Mistresses and three
Salamanders. Now, while being aware that under most situations,
individual lives mean nothing to one of your stature, you are obliged
to protect these creatures most carefully until you have claimed the
Portal, for if they die your plans are doomed. The first order
of business is to dig out the tile of gold just north of your Dungeon
Heart, and use the gold to build a Stone Bridge across the lava to the
Lair. Your Mistresses must now help your Salamanders kill the Heroes
who guard the Lair. Now allow your creatures to heal in their beds and
you'll be ready to move on. Phase two is to dig through the gold
to the west and take the Hatchery, again slaughtering the Heroes who
guard it. You'll still be very short on Mana, so place injured
creatures in the Lair to heal. Don't get too complacent, though. Yes,
you have a Hatchery and a Lair, and are nearly set to claim the Portal
and begin recruiting creatures from the outside. Nearly. Use Stone
Bridge to reach the Bridge in front of the door leading to the Portal.
Smash down the door but then pull your creatures back: as soon as any
of your minions sets foot upon the Portal, the level 1 Wizard in the
room beyond will be alerted by a Hero Alarm Trap. Your best plan is to
send an Imp to claim the neutral territory leading up to the Portal.
This will lure lure the two Dwarves just inside the Portal onto your
land. Kill them. Send any injured creatures back to the Lair to heal
whatever you do, don't grow impatient. Now it's time to make our next
sortie against the Portal. Let an Imp start trying to claim the
Portal. The level 1 Wizard will rush forward with his Guards and
Dwarves, and once they're out in the open you can use your minions
to ambush them. If any of your creatures falls over lava, build Stone
Bridge and drop an Imp to rescue them. This is not kindness, this
is stark necessity. Inhuman resource is at a premium, especially until
the Portal is officially under your control. Once you have the Portal
you can take a breather. Sack any Fireflies who arrive: you need
Fighters not Scouts in this land. There's no use in wasting space.
Smash through the door to the east of the Portal so that you can mine
the gold and take the "Make Happy" Special. Don't touch the Fear Trap
for now: if you destroy it and send creatures past it, that will alert
the level 3 Wizard who guards the land beyond. So leave it alone for
the moment, and when you've got five or six Goblins, prepare to attack
the level 2 Wizard to the west. Build a Stone Bridge to the door west
of your Hatchery. Break the door down and take out the patrol beyond
it. Then move west again and claim the Treasury, which is only guarded
by one level 2 Dwarf. Now, although in general you can't afford
to sell a room you've claimed and build another, this is an exception.
It's a good investment to sell the Treasury and build a 3x3 Prison
here. (If you can afford it, also build a 3x1 Torture Chamber in the
passage which leads off to the north.) This will allow you to start
making use of the Heroes you've defeated, generating at least a few
Skeletons and with luck converting a couple of Guards for your own use
as well. It'll take a bit of planning since Mana is hard to come by in
this land, but you should be able to cast Heal enough to convert a few
selected Heroes and this will make your quest easier. Take the Guard
Room which lies at the end of that corridor and build a Wooden Bridge
leading up to and along the Hero Portcullis and Hero Barricades.
Behind these is the Level 2 Wizard who thinks he is invulnerable. Use
all your creatures in one mass assault and you should dispatch him.
Use Heal judiciously and you should win without too many casualties.
It's a very good idea to pull your creatures out before they knock
down the door leading to the Training Room. It's vital that you heal
your creatures in their Lairs before tackling the Guards in the
Training Room. There's gold beyond the Hero Gate. Building a Wooden
Bridge to surround the Hero Gate will allow you to retrieve any gold
which has fallen upon it. As soon as your creatures have had a chance
to heal up, take the Training Room. Although you may feel you're too
short of gold to afford a Training Room, it's a nice addition if you
can afford it it attracts Salamanders, and these are a useful addition
to your army of Goblins. Once you've consolidated your forces after
taking out the level 2 Wizard, it's time to take out the level
3 Wizard who is beyond the Fear Trap. Bridge to the Fear Trap and
destroy it. This will alert the Wizard and he'll summon a party
of level 3 Thieves and Dwarves to try your defences. Make swift work
of them, and of the second party which follows shortly afterwards.
Don't be afraid to commit all your forces to the fight: it's better
to crush them utterly than to give them any chance to kill your
precious creatures. Again, get all your creatures into tip top
fighting shape and then lead them into the attack against the level
3 Wizard. Use Call to Arms to start a massed attack and keep a close
eye on the fight, since this is your toughest challenge so far and
there are a couple of nasty traps in wait as well. Build Wooden
Bridges around this Hero Gate as soon as possible, so that your Imps
can retrieve your fallen creatures you're bound to lose a few in this
fight. See if you can capture the Wizard: he'll make a very handy
convert to your army. Now you can take time to recuperate and build
up. Make sure that the little things get attended to: mining gold,
torturing captives and taking the only-lightly guarded Workshop. Place
a couple of Sentry Traps on the tiles overlooking your Dungeon Heart,
and some Gas Traps in place of the doors you have destroyed. You'll
find an Increase Mana Special hidden behind some of the gold. That's
a sweet present for them to have left for you, don't you think?
Meanwhile, take the Casino which lies between the 2nd and 3rd Wizards'
areas. It might look tempting, but don't break through the northern
doors of the Casino as yet that would alert the level 4 and 5 Wizards
and they have tough followers. Set the Casino to generate gold for
you, and you'll be able to fund your Training the old-fashioned way:
by cheating your creatures out of their wages. The Casino will attract
Rogues to your dungeon. Possess one and you'll be able to move unseen,
and stab enemies in the back. In addition, he's the one creature who
can pick up gold from land which you don't own. When you have a good
strong force of full-health creatures, you're ready to enter the level
4 Wizard's territory. Break down the door in the northwest corner
of the Casino and head west so that you can take the Prison. This
isn't easy: you'll have to defeat a hefty patrol of 4th-level Dwarves,
but by now they shouldn't cause you much trouble. Besides, the rewards
are considerable: a decent-sized Prison and a couple of neutral Dark
Elves who will be delighted to join your side once they're freed. Then
push north from the Prison and take out the level 4 Wizard. This will
yield you a couple of Increase Gold specials, some handy captives and
a very tasty Torture Room. The Mistresses held captive within it will
join your army and set to work converting your captives with their own
special skills. Attacking the level 4 Wizard alerts the last Wizard,
and he'll occasionally send level 5 Giants to try to soften you up.
It's a good idea, but since each one is sent out alone, you should
be able to pull them down and convert them. Consolidate your new toys
and when you're ready (or when you start to feel a bit strapped for
cash again), break down the door in the northeast corner of the Casino
and bridge to the second Hatchery. Take out the level 5 Guard and
claim it, then bridge to the Level 5 Wizard's Hero Gate and take him
out. Take the Library and gloat over the Specials within it. Make
haste and make ready: Lord Titus will attack you soon. It's up to you
whether to prepare your creatures to withstand his attack, or to push
forward and assault him directly. Either way, he doesn't stand
a chance.

LEVEL 9 AMBUSH AT SILVERSTREAM

First you want to get the basics covered. Do you have a Lair?
Hatchery? Library? Are they all up and in working order? Good. Once
your basics are up and running, you can start off building some
of your secondary rooms. If you've been watching, you know that the
next most important thing in a realm like this is to build a Prison.
You're going to be fighting, and it's a sad waste to have to kill
enemies who, were they snug behind sturdy steel bars, might at the
very least rot away and become loyal skeletons. Definitely get that
underway. Meanwhile, start your Imps digging both to the east and
west. To the east lies a neutral Torture Chamber, and you've got to
admit that's always an advantage ... in combination with the Prison
it makes a sinister ensemble. The westward-digging Imps are, in fact,
preparing for an attack on the second outpost. Here's a secret,
there's a patch of diggable rock alongside some impenetrable rock
(near the neutral Torture Chamber) that actually is supporting the
solid-looking but weak impenetrable rock. Dig it out what you can by
commanding the Imps to dig a 3 by 1 Torture Chamber into the wall.
This will cause the nearby impenetrable rock to collapse, giving
a neutral path to the 3 by 3 Chamber and a neutral Mistress. Make sure
she feels welcome, and claim all the territory your Imps can get to.
Turn it all in to one large Torture Chamber, the better to win friends
and influence people later. Now it's time to get ready to invite
guests over. Take some time and do it right. Despite what the common
misconceptions are about the unhallowed Armies of Darkness, it's
a rare situation where you actually have enough minions to completely
overpower the massed forces of sweetness and light. By this time, the
happy people of Harmonia are aware of the blight spreading throughout
the land, and they've got a bit of an attitude about it. You've
noticed that you don't sneak up on them while they're singing happy
songs and dancing around in group hugs. No, they're all armed to the
teeth and pretty snarly about invasion forces of evil digging around
in the bedrock. So what you need to do is this: dig out all the rock
except the last block leading to the middle outpost. As you dig, get
your people busy placing traps all the way down the corridor. In case
you haven't tried it, you can throw a vicious little one-two punch
by a gas trap placed in front of a few Sentries. The plan is to lure
the Guards onto your territory, where they'll have to face your
defenses before taking on your fighters. Once you have a favorable
lay-out of traps you can dig out that last block, bridge to the
closest wall of the Outpost and dig through it. They'll answer your
friendly knock, you can be sure. Don't try to face them there, but let
the Guards chase your Imps into your traps. Then, of course, capture
their bodies and convert them to your cause. Don't miss an opportunity
to use their own against them. It's one of those little occupational
perks that gives a dungeon keeper the warm fuzzies. When you've taken
care of business thus far, claim the rest of the second Outpost and
fortify it with Barricades, Sentry Trap, Gas Traps, etc. Move on to
the third Outpost, luring any opposition you meet back into your
death-trap killing ground. Repeat this for the third Outpost but this
time be wary of the extra traps that surround it. They're getting
tricky, so you'll need to be careful. In fact, you should place only
a few traps on this Outpost, as a precautionary measure, since you'll
actually be trying to stop him at Outpost 2. You do understand that
if a trap or barricade is destroyed in the course of a battle, you'll
need to build it up again before heading out to stir up more warriors.
You don't want to let a hole be punched through your defenses when
a little extra time will repair the cracks. As you breach Outpost
3, Voss, the Lord of the Land will be notified, and like the good
ruler he is, will arm himself and lead the attack personally. Let him
come to you, all the way through to the barricades at Outpost
2. Whatever you do, don't build bridges between the Outposts and then
try to Thunderbolt him. He's a bit nervous, and if he sees that kind
of firepower, he'll start running and won't stop. Which may not be
a stupid reaction, but it is definitely inconvenient when it comes
to going through his pockets looking for Portal Gems. When the Lord
reaches Outpost 2, he'll try and smash his way through any barricades
that are in his way. If you've prepared properly he'll be getting
fired at the entire time he's battering the barricades, which has got
to hurt. Once he gets a distance into the Outpost, drop creatures
behind him so as he has nowhere to run. Let your minions shred him,
and then take the prize.

LEVEL 10 SMASHING WOODSONG

Don't dally around in Woodsong, you've got better things to do than
stroke your chin and plot out your atrocities. You must be proactive.
Immediately have your Imps dig out 4 5x5 chambers, and one 6x6, off
your Dungeon Heart, one for a lair, one for a hatchery, one for
a training room. The other two are slightly different. The fourth
is to become your well, let's call it a "Converting Chamber" shall we?
This would be an all-purpose room where the walls are lined with
Torture Chamber and the middle is a Prison. This works fine, and it's
beautifully convenient when you want to pick up a captive from the
Prison cell and drop him on one of your patented devices. Reinforced
the wall furniture and you'll get extra torture devices. Now that's
interior decorating! The final chamber, the 6x6, is a combined Library
and Workshop each 3 x 6. Once these areas are carved out and the rooms
laid down dig to the Portal to the south and claim the Neutral
Mistresses. In addition there is a Make Safe special, activating this
will add wall furniture to all of your rooms allowing them to become
fully functional. To the north of your dungeon is a broken seam
of gold. This is where you're going to build your killing ground. The
goal is to make a place so deadly that even a large incursion of enemy
Heroes will be stymied by it, giving you breathing time. Command your
workers to mine out this area and fill it with Spike Traps, Barricades
and Sentry Guns. This little playground will protect your Dungeon
Heart whilst your minions are attacking Asmodeus. Additionally claim
the second Portal as early as you can to ensure you get the full
compliment of creatures. Slow creature particularly Bile Demons will
only slow you down, ensure that plenty of Mistresses and other
fleet-footed creatures populate your dungeon. You can expect to be
attacked from the left and right by heroes flooding from hero gates.
Whilst useful to convert, especially Giants who make excellent
manufacturers in your Workshop, these will need to be closed down else
eventually they will overwhelm you. Keep an eye on the clock, as you
will not remain undiscovered for long. Closing down the hero gates
is a prime opportunity to possess a creature and lead your troops
yourself, if that's the sort of thing that appeals to you. It'll be
a fight, that for certain, but nothing you can't handle. Send in your
shock troops first, then send in your ranged-weapon fighters. Drop
them at the right distance so they use their weapons to the maximum
advantage. Make sure your Imps remain motivated to claim all the
territory around the gates, because that's the real purpose of the
whole battle claim all the land around the gate to destroy it. Once
you have closed down all of the Hero Gates you will need to prepare
for your assault on Asmodeus. The heroes, once they realize that you
are there, will launch a full scale attack on your dungeon, and it is
through this that your creatures will have to charge to reach
Asmodeus' dungeon. Cast a Call to Arms just by your second Portal and
drop all of your creatures so that they are ready to go. To the east
and west of Asmodeus defenses are weak spots, neither re-enforced nor
claimed; these provide an excellent opportunity to avoid the well
crafted walls of Asmodeus' dungeon. Mine the last section of rock that
separates your dungeon from the heroes and place the Call to Arms
by the Weak Point in Asmodeus' dungeon, drop a few imps at there
as well and instruct them to dig north into the rock. After only
a little while they will enter a cavern which allows you to skip most
of Asmodeus' dungeon, cast Tremor to weaken his walls and instruct
your imps to dig through the now weakened rock. Asmodeus dungeon
is now exposed so now place the Call to Arms at his heart. Meanwhile
your creatures will be trying to break through the heroes lines trying
to reach the call to arms, they will need some help, heal them as much
as possible to ensure that they are at their best when they reach
Asmodeus' dungeon. The Heroes, having seen their Siege broken will
attempt to attack Asmodeus themselves, thus you must destroy his
Dungeon Heart before the heroes do, and quick enough before further
heroes can destroy your Dungeon Heart.

LEVEL 11A CARNAGE AT SPARKLYDELL

The first and most obvious step is to claim the Portal near your
Dungeon Heart followed immediately by build your rooms as quickly
as possible. Get your creatures training at once and make sure
to recruit a good range of fighters you do this by building different
types of rooms of the right size (for the best minimum size, see ??,
p. XX). After you've got that underway, claim the second Portal to the
northeast but otherwise remain within your walls of stone until your
creatures are well trained. Of course, those interlopers are going
to be trying to make inroads on your own territory, so make sure
to defend your dungeon against invasion by placing a judicious mix of
traps and doors around it. Sentry Traps are an old favorite but since
they drain Mana it makes sense to place each one carefully places most
likely to be attacked or that you want to defend and use Spike and Gas
traps widely, especially along corridors. Your new traps allow you to
plan your defenses well: remember though that Boulder Traps will
damage your own creatures as well as the enemy. They are best used
as offensive traps, since you can build them at the edge of enemy
territory, then slap them to set them off when a good number of enemy
creatures are in sight. Trigger Traps can be coupled with Sentry Traps
to take out even high-level foes. Keep an eye on the mini-map: you can
tell by the color of the Portals which Keeper they belong to. Drako
(green) will eventually defeat one of his neighbors and take the
Portal most likely it will be Morgana (yellow) to fall to his forces,
though it may be your near neighbor Belial (blue). In the latter case,
watch out for an attack by Drako. Once you've got 20 creatures and
most of them have reached level 4, it's time to make your move. One
route would be to launch an attack on Raksha's exposed Portal in the
top center of the map. The benefit is that as you take this, you'll
capture a good number of Raksha's creatures, and get a good foothold
in her territory. Get to work converting the captives and then start
bridging towards her Dungeon Heart. However, be aware that Raksha has
mined her territory with traps: if you lose too many creatures to them
you could be in real trouble. If you don't happen to have a high-level
Salamander, you could always dig a path along the south side
of Raksha's territory until you can tunnel into her southern cavern
... that's where a level 10 Neutral Salamander has his home. It's
a good way in, and if you convert the neutral Salamander, you've more
than made up for the hassle. Watch out that you don't get into a scrap
with Drako on the way though you're not ready for him until you've
taken over at least one other territory so if you encounter his
territory it's best to bridge around it. Once you've defeated Raksha
and taken her rooms and Portals, you can strike south from her Dungeon
Heart. Take Drako's Portal and then work down to his Dungeon Heart.
Finally, you may or may not have to deal with Belial (depending
on whether Drako has killed him) but you should be able to manage him
without any real problems by now.

11B

Again, get your creatures training as fast as possible and make sure
that your force comprises a well-balanced mix of fighters build
different types of rooms of the right size (for the best minimum size,
see ??, p. XX). Protect the entrances to your dungeon with traps and
be on the watch for threats or invasions. Mine the gold in the
southwest corner of your land and build a bridge so that you can claim
the Neutral Mistress. Once your creatures are well trained and you are
ready for some action, Kronos is a good choice. He has only one Portal
and no really high-level creatures. Order your miners to dig out the
gold in the northwest corner of your caverns, and make a strike for
Kronos' Dungeon Heart. Next target Belial ... defeating him will bring
you great rewards in the form of Portals, rooms and territory. With
three Portals (you will, of course, claim the neutral one to the
northeast of Belial's Portal) you will soon be ready to assault Drako.
Don't underestimate him, he a tough one. Use Stone Bridge to get your
creatures to his Dungeon Heart quickly, and make sure to neutralize
his traps before they can do too much damage. Drako has several
high-level creatures which will make excellent converts if you can
only capture them. When you're against Drako, be fairly free with
Healing your creatures. Once you have taken Drako's land you will also
be able to claim the land which Drako has taken from the feeble
Morgana. This will give you an excellent platform to strike directly
at Raksha's Dungeon Heart, bypassing all Morgana's traps. Don't forget
to explore a bit ... there's a Level 10 Salamander that would
be prudent to add to your forces. Finish your conquest the
old-fashioned way with brute force and no quarter.

11C

Your first priority is to attack and attack wisely. That means
ignoring Belial (blue) although he may look like a tempting target,
and instead focusing attention to the feeble Morgana (yellow). Bridge
to her Dungeon Heart and set your fighters to attacking it. Meanwhile,
while your warriors are hammering on that, send some Imps and
a fighter over to her Portal and take that from her. Granted, you'll
have to withdraw one of your fighters from the attack on the Dungeon
Heart in order to secure the Portal, but this is well worthwhile as it
will allow you to start recruiting all the sooner. Morgana's measly
forces should not prove too much of a hassle. It will, however, take
some time. However, while your fighters are hammering on her Dungeon
Heart, you can start building up your dungeon. Place a Lair in the
empty space to the west of your Dungeon Heart, and get your Imps
digging out some more rooms so you can start recruiting a better class
of creature. Time is of the essence ... you will not have long before
you are yourself attacked by a greedy neighbor. Once Morgana is taking
a dirt nap you can start building up in earnest. Get your creatures
trained and recruit a strong and balanced force. Set your Imps to work
on the Gem block and your money problems will be over. Tunnel north
from there to recruit the Neutral level 10 Salamander, who will be
a most valuable minion. Get some traps up just in case, especially
on the north side of your dungeon since that's where Raksha (purple)
will attack from. By the time Raksha attacks you should be reasonably
well prepared with a good strong force. Hold her off and make sure
to capture her best creatures, and then begin a drive towards her
Dungeon Heart. Stone Bridges will allow you to bypass most of her
traps and break straight through to her Dungeon Heart. Keep Healing
your creatures and you should be able to destroy her. After this epic
battle you should be able to move in on Belial and finally across
to Kronos (green) without too much trouble. Thus ends anyone who dares
stand against you.

LEVEL 12 SCAVENGE AT GOLDENGLADE

It's not a secret that you will have to create an army of Undead
to serve you in your quest to destroy rival Keeper Malachai and take
his Gem. The trick is how to go about it. Your first order of business
is to find out what is available in the neighborhood. To this end you
can either randomly explore, or else go the omniscient route and
simply dig directly to the west and claim the three neutral Skeletons
there. It's not much, but it's a start. The skeletons will be enough
to ward off the first wave of Dwarves, which you can expect to come
around in short order. Set your Imps to work claiming the graveyard
so their bodies don't go to waste. (Remember it takes five bodies
to make one Vampire.) Meanwhile, allocate some Imp resources to build
a Prison. Since your actual goal is to make Skeletons, you won't want
to be taking too many Heroes prisoner: dead bodies are actually a bit
more valuable here. The Prison is, however, quite useful as a Skeleton
pen. Skeletons tend to wander and stir up trouble around here, and if
you drop them in the prison, you know where they are. Oh, and don't'
forget to lock the Prison door, otherwise bodies will be taken here
rather than the Graveyard. Vampires are the goal: they're much tougher
than Skeletons. Don't even bother with converting Dwarves ... they're
next to useless here. Just kill 'em and plant them in the Cemetery.
Directly after the Prison, start work on a Lair, Hatchery and Library.
These will keep the Vampires happy ... and although terror is an
excellent managerial tool in keeping production high, job satisfaction
is what keeps them around. Next on your list should be a Training Room
just to help everyone along. Once you have a Training Room, drop your
Skeletons in for as long as it takes to get them up to Level 4. Since
they can't get higher than that on mere practice, pick any Level
4 Skeletons out of the Training room and drop them back into the
Prison until you need them. Once you've got those offices finished,
do some more excavation and dig a little farther out to the other
caves near you. There you'll find yet more neutral Skeletons, which
you can recruit and either Train or imprison ... another Dwarf attack
will probably happen while you're doing this, just send your Skeletons
and any Vampires to deal with them.

You now have a choice of three options:

1) Dig up the left-hand side of this realm. This is a medium-dangerous
run, but interesting. The terrain has a few Specials to offer to the
cause, and there is a fair number of neutral Skeletons. Even better,
you'll be slaughtering all the Dwarves you find and dragging them
to the Graveyard. When you've cleared out the side, you'll simply
launch a full-scale siege on either the back or the front entrance.
This is good for Keepers who prefer to have a large army at their
backs.
2) Mine out the right-hand side of the realm. It's a bit less exciting
than the previous option, definitely more cloak-and-dagger. For one
thing, there are fewer Skeletons and Specials, and not quite as many
Dwarves. The good part is that there is an interesting secret passage
into Malachai's dungeon. Look into your soul and decide if you're
feeling sneaky, and confident in your abilities without overwhelming
numbers.
3) Charge straight up the center of the realm. Without a doubt, this
is the most straightforward, sword-in-your face scenario. This
is where there are heroes to be killed and lots of them, which is good
for experience and fairly useful for stocking up the cemetery, but can
be dangerous to your oh-so-important headcount. Heroes really hurt.
You'll also find extra rooms in which to build, a higher-level neutral
Skeleton in the mausoleum and a variety of ways into Malachai's
dungeon. Whichever option you decide to take, you must make the choice
of whether to destroy the Hero Gate. This deserves a little though:
the constant attacks are more than a little annoying, especially
because you have no way to build traps. If you kill the Hero Gate,
you've shut down your best source of new minions. You don't have
a gate of your own, you have to depend on finding neutral creatures
or making your own which is either conversion (which doesn't give you
fighters strong enough to overcome your opposition), skeleton-creation
(much more effective, but takes a long time and gives you only
a first-level skeleton) or growing Vampires (takes a long time and
a lot of bodies). If you kill the Hero Gate, though, your people have
a much longer life-span. If you do decide to take out the Hero Gate,
then probably the best route would be directly attacking the castle,
ransacking it of all useful loot and using the bodies of those who
lurk there as fodder for the undead. Train up the creatures as high
as possible, then dig out the route to Malachai's Portal and
simultaneously attacking from the fronts at once: front, back and
secret. Kill everyone and then make yourself at home among the
corpses. You've got to admit there's a feeling of satisfaction in
a job well done.

LEVEL 13 CONVERSION AT CHERISH

Once again, it is the business of setting up house that takes priority
over leading your people into battle. You will no doubt be tempted
to take the Portal to the north, but it is guarded by a group
of Monks. As they stand, they're too tough for you and therefore the
Goblins with which you begin the level will need to be trained as much
as possible before you send them out to the Monks. Therefore build for
them a Lair and a Hatchery, followed by a Training Room. As soon
as possible, "encourage" them get work on their fighting techniques.
Meanwhile, mine all of the gold you can. You're going to need it. When
you can, build a Prison and Torture Room close to each other. Also,
of course, build a Library and Workshop. It's a good idea to build
an entire area solely for the converted heroes (Lair, Hatchery, etc.),
as you shall be relying on these greatly. This will ensure that they
do not become angry by working and mingling with your own creatures
whom they hate. Take your level 3 or 4 Goblins and send them out
through the northern entrance of your dungeon. Command them to destroy
the door separating your dungeon from the Monks. Make sure they allow
the monks to wander onto your land before attacking them because it is
vital that you capture them (you can only kill them on their own
territory) and put them in your prison. Torture them until they "see
the dark" and join you. Meanwhile, take some time to look after your
finances. Send your Imps out and mine the individual blocks of gold
that line the path leading south. (The holes in the rock made
by mining the individual blocks of gold now form alcoves, perfect for
placing sentry traps.) From the Portal chamber you'll see a seam
of gold heading east ... follow this until you find a large deposit
containing a gem block. This will take care of any monetary problems
you might encounter. Vampires are unable to cross water, and if forced
to will take considerable damage. There are two routes leading from
Malleus' dungeon to yours, one across land, the other across bridges.
It's a good idea to take both routes, but then sell the bridges.
By destroying the bridges control where the invasion will occur ...
and it will all be vampire-friendly. More than that, you can then trap
and barricade this route, which can only help. In fact, barricades are
an absolute must. Eventually you'll find an area dominated by twin
Hero Gates. Resist the temptation to bridge around these (thus closing
them down) as only monks appear from them. Remember, an enemy monk
is only two steps away from being your own creature of comfort. (If
you capture the Hero Prison and Torture room you can craft your own
patented Monk Maker.) There is something important about the Gates,
though. The easternmost Hero Gate has a single piece of ordinary rock
making up one part of the wall, by mining this and following
it through the solid rock, you will reach the back of the Hero
Battery. Two doors lead of this chamber: don't go into the one to the
north yet. The one to the east leads to a Hero Treasury containing not
only another Gem Block but also the Secret Level Special for this
level. Ha! Following the Path that leads from the Monk Maker will lead
you to a Hero Gate from which the annoying patrols have come. Close
this Hero Gate down and prepare to siege the Monastery. Numerous high
level monks reside here and if captured quickly they can be turned
before Malleus launches his attack. To the southwest of the Monastery
lies a Hero Battery it's nearly impossible to destroy it, it's
actually best to just leave it alone. There are some elves nearby that
while not your allies, are more than happy to attack Malleus' Vampiric
Hordes. Let them. By the time Malleus launches his attack, there
should be only one route for his Vampires to follow and that should
be well defended. If you've done that, you're on the path to victory.
You'll notice the Vampires move quickly, far quicker in fact than your
Monks, so be prepared to use Thunderbolt to slow them down long enough
for your monks to fall upon them. Don't forget to practice your
newly-researched Turncoat spell. Once the Vampires have been killed,
Malleus' Heart will be exposed, but be warned he has saved a few of
his minions for its defense. That's not a problem ... just a few monks
should be more than enough to seal your victory.

LEVEL 14 REAP THE PEACHTREE

When dungeon Keepers get together and chat about business before
trying to poison, spell or stab their competitors, the talk often
turns toward gold. Sometimes Gems, but usually Gold. As well they
should ... it is perhaps one of the most complicated tasks involved
with carving your realm from empty ground: gold management when there
just isn't much gold. Such constraints may seem annoying, but
successful villains just think of it as an opportunity to work
themselves into a towering frenzy. That's where quality evil
is crafted. Nevertheless, this pestiferous land is very short of gold,
and your business plans will have to revolve around that fact. This
means no unnecessary building, and judicious use of fortified walls
to provide the chamber furniture that you usually only get with wide
open spaces. It also means being a bit picky about who you accept into
your employ (Skeletons are always a good budget brawler), and being
quick to sack anything you have too many of, or don't suit your
current business goals. Putting this philosophy into action, you'll
need to build up a very basic dungeon. Very basic. Start off with just
a Lair, Hatchery and a Workshop. (For minimum effective sizes, look
at ??, page XX.) Try not to build a Training Room, as this will
deplete your gold too much. Dig out the gold near the Portal and build
a Prison and a 3x1 Torture room against solid rock or fortified wall
to get yourself a torture wheel. It's okay to scrimp as long as your
captives still scream is a good rule of thumb. Unfortunately there
is one little catch ... more of a snag really ... don't dig to the
east. Yes, it's true that every Keeper's heart yearns to conquer and
destroy every inch of space ... but this will lead you into a Hero
gate that will leave you prone to attacks at this early, vulnerable
stage. If prudence is annoying, just weight it against ignominious
defeat. If it is left alone, you will not be invaded. If you really
feel you must raze everything in your path, at least try to put this
off until you've got the monster-power to handle the invasion forces.
Instead, dig north through the gold (you should have been doing this
anyway), and build traps along the narrow passage. Paranoia is as
effective a character train as viciousness and cunning, and twice
as important. As you suspected, a party of shining, well-intentioned
Heroes will attack, but unless you've been neglecting your duties,
they'll be so battered by your traps that your creatures should
be able to knock them senseless with a minimum of fuss. Imprison and
convert as many heroes as you can. Cheap labor is a good thing. If you
can afford a separate lair, that's good, if not, don't pamper the
starch-pressed crybabies. Don't spent time and resources fighting the
Magic door. Instead, build a bridge to one side of it, and tag the
rock next to the door so your Imps can dig it out. That's real
management. Once inside the hero area, quickly claim the tiles
surrounding the Hero Gates to collapse them. That's priority, after
which you can claim the 2 mana vaults nearby. No time for
back-patting, though. Press ever onwards, stopping long enough to put
a Boulder trap along the corridor to protect yourself. (It's that
prudent paranoia thing again.) Once in the central section, bridge
to the Sentry traps and get your creatures to attack them. It'll
be painful and carnage will be terrible, but with the Mana from the
two vaults you should be able to keep your fighters Healed enough
to make it through okay. Once you've gotten those traps taken down
your path is pretty clear. It's not a bad idea to go get the Specials
to the west, but you can keep going north, in the direction of Lord
Tiberius. Truth to tell, you don't really need to take out the second
Hero Gate to the east, but you will be able to claim 2 more mana
vaults and stop all hero attacks. That's worth something, if only
to get that feeling of accomplishment. Also, going to this area will
allow you to dig south and find more gold and the neutral Salamanders.
Neutral Salamanders are one of the happy things in a D.K.'s career.
Just be sure you keep them happy. Once you have enough mana to cast
Summon Horny, he will let you know. You should try to wait until you
have maximum mana (200,000) before you cast him, as this will make him
stay longer. Once you feel ready, cast him towards the north towards
Lord Tiberius. As he progresses keep your Imps busy claiming the land
behind him, enabling you to drop your creatures down to help him. Yes,
sometimes even Horny can use an extra hand or twenty. Once Horny has
battled everyone, he should find Lord Tiberius. Sit back, and savor
the carnage. You earned it.

LEVEL 15 FLUTTERSHINE
A
This is one of those "limited resources" challenge that seem
so prevalent in this, your chosen career path. The good news is that
you actually have the upper hand: the heroes are reactionary and
straightforward, and you are charismatic and evil enough to be
irresistible to all the local talent ... and ladies and gentlemen,
these locals are talented. Crack the whip and get those Imps moving:
it's digging and polishing time. You need to claim all the territory
to Prison 3 as fast as you can. This is mostly a precautionary measure
that you're familiar with ... and thus you understand that while
actually tunneling speed is most important, it's really helpful if you
can stop those little diggers from breaking through any time you see
a reason to believe they're about to go through a last line of bricks.
That's when you stop them and send them to help their brethren make
the rough corridor fit for your domain. Anyway, back to the work
at hand. You'll pass a Mana Vault on the way, and while that's
definitely worth a detour to claim the vault and the Mana therein, you
can do that just fine with one Imp. Give the Imp a fighter-escort
if you think it's necessary. Give it a slap if you think it's fun.
Welcome the Black Knight into your band of miserable monsters, and
head back for home. Return to your Dungeon Heart. Don't take the time
to try any interior decorating, just send your Imps digging south.
You'll find Knud the Mad Troll, who may or may not be enjoying his
life of solitude, no matter what he says, and recruit him. If Mad
Troll can't be happy with you, what's the world coming to? He'll
be useful in your Workshop, and that's what's important, anyway you
need traps, and he's the troll for the job. You know what they say:
"A corridor without traps is just a Hero Highway", and should
be avoided whenever possible. This next breakout will take a bit of
finesse to do right, although it can be done quite handily with simple
brute force. Keep an eye out for the Guards of Prison 2. The best time
to break in is when the begin to head to Prison 4. Have your Imps dig
on your command. With luck you'll be able to claim the Prison before
you're discovered, or if that's not possible, lure them onto your
claimed territory before you kill them ... then claim the Prison. Next
on your list is Prison 4 and the Combat Pit. You've just got to love
the way Combat Pit sounds coming off the tongue. Who'd have thought
these flighty fairies would have such a rec room? The whole thing
looks kind of homey, so claim the Prison and the Pit. Also,
a rudimentary exploration should reveal a mana vault and (upon
a slightly closer look) a secret area. Now another Black Knight and
unlimited wealth are yours! Gold at last! Now that you have resources,
use Knud to start cranking out traps and barricades back on your home
turf, and command the Black Knights already under your command
to rescue the rest of their kin from Prison 1. Remember, when you
command what traps should be used in setting up your dungeon Defense,
that your own people will likely need to go down those corridors
themselves. Only place those traps that are lethal to your own kind
in places where you're pretty sure they won't wander. By this time the
secret of your presence is no longer a secret. Fairies and other
assorted Heroes will begin to attack, coming out of the castle like
a swarm of angry bees. Let them buzz ... if you've already established
your traps and barricades your Dungeon Heart will be as safe as you
can make it. If fighters get past you and head toward your Heart, make
sure that someone goes to finish them off after the Traps knock the
holier-than-thou look off their faces. It shouldn't take much backup
power at all. Push forward at a slow pace, claiming the rooms one by
one. Go ahead and assign each claimed room a use so your creatures
don't have to trek so far away to get fed, get rest, get paid, etc.
Also important would be a Prison/Torture Chamber. Meanwhile, try to
kill/capture your enemies on your own territory whenever possible,
so that your new Prison and Torture Chamber is put to immediate use.
One would like to think that the nearby screams of their comrades
would incite the Fairies & Friends into foolish actions, but there has
been no documented evidence of this to date. Now it is down to the
wire. The best method to take with a cowardly Realm Lord is to be
quick and decisive. If he gets enough time to call in reinforcements,
you'll be in the midst of a major battle right when victory seemed
most sure. Get in, gut him, get gem. If you think there's going to be
any trouble doing it quickly, try to have an Imp claim enough land
that you can drop in reinforcements as quickly as possible. The Heroes
have access through numerous secret doors into Lord Volstag's room,
and you'll be surrounded before you can say "Curses."
                               
B
Your first task should be to order the necessary forces to move north
to Portal 1. This is the only unguarded Portal, and there is plenty
of gold en route to build up an excellent foundation for your
fledgling dungeon. After you have that under control, leave most
of your Imps to do the tidying up, but take a few and the bulk of your
fighting force and head to the southern Portal closest to you. This
one has two Fairies guarding it ... and these can come as a real shock
even if you're expecting them! Kill them both, take care of your
creatures and then take a short breather. Invest in a Combat Pit as
soon as you can afford one at this point. That it will attract Black
Knights is reason enough to spend the time and money. The added bonus
that it can train your troops up to Level 8 without needing actual
combat time is equally valuable. Once you've got that underway, send
your miners out to the north and south to the Portals that are farther
out. Claim territory as you go, because you can expect to encounter
some random Fairies, just fluttering around for the exercise
or whatever it is that Fairies flutter for. Kill or capture them, and
then oke around and claim the Mana Vaults and neutral rooms as you
come to them. All this time you should be claiming the Portals and
doing general housekeeping. Housekeeping means [putting in traps and
doors and barricades and what have you because once you crack that
fortress, you're going to have a Fairly flood on your hands. There
should be no passageway going to the castle that isn't one long death
walk. Now to the attack ... if you're thinking of just knocking down
the front door and barging in like malevolent missionaries, think
again. Do not attack through the main entrance, attack from the sides
and avoid the main Fairy army for now. The textbook flank attack is to
avoid the rounded rooms that are directly to the north and south
of the main entrance and aim your legions instead for the square rooms
that are to the west of them. Nice and out of the way, where they're
not expecting a full force attack. Once there kill the Heroes within
and get your Imps claiming as fast as they can (being careful of any
doors they're Spike Trapped). Once you break through the locked braced
doors that lead to the rest of the castle, all of the Heroes in the
eastern half of the castle will be alerted to your presence ... and
they're prepared to do something about it. This is where those traps
you've been putting down come in handy. Crushed the Heroes as they
fight through the traps, and close down the eastern Hero Gates. Next,
head around to the western side of the castle killing all who dare
oppose you. Claim the western Hero gates and use main force to smash
down the Magic Door that blocks your way to Lord Volstag's chamber.
Now only the Lord and his few remaining knights remain between you and
the Gem. (Yes, yes, you could take an easier and much more boring
route claiming the tile at the front of the secret route and then
attacking only from the western side of the fortress, avoiding all
contact with those heroes that await you in the east. But then that
looks an awful lot like either cowardice or mercy ... and we wouldn't
want that. Of course not.) Time for the sinister laugh again ...
remember to use the diaphragm for projection.

LEVEL 16 CREEP INTO STONEKEEP

Prepare yourself for a challenge ... even though this realm will
be won more by skulking and hiding than smashing and hitting, 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, and 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
Castles 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 so desire so long as the secret door remains 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 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 and 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.

LEVEL 17 ANGELIC MOONSHINE

This is another one of those "watch the clock" realms ... with speed
equating to survival on a very real level. The problem, of course,
is that everyone knows how important speed and timing is. In other
words, you have enrolled in a carnage competition and there's no time
to dilly-dally. Tunnel to the east and west to reach the Portals, and
direct your Imps to carve out a series of 5x5 chambers around each
Chamber. Mine all of the gold as quickly as you can (having a Treasury
nearby is useful), and create all of the Imps you can. A good goal
is to have a separate mini-dungeon around each Portal to minimize the
amount of time your creatures spend wandering around. Rooms such as
a large Combat Pit and Training Room serve well on one side, whilst
your Library and Workshop can be constructed at the other. Each
separate dungeons will obviously need their own Lair, Hatchery and
Treasury. On the other hand, you'll only need one Prison, Torture Room
and Graveyard, so you can build these closer to your Dungeon Heart,
but remember ... these rooms are for converting the enemy Keepers'
creatures, not the Heroes. Heroes must be killed: blood and death are
the only things that attract Dark Angles. Do not forget to construct
a killing ground, full of traps and barricades, near every entrance
to your dungeon. You have to fight a battle on more than one front,
and you'll lose just as quickly if the enemy Keepers convert your
creatures than if they kill the Heroes first. In the interest
of speed, take not of the two Mana Vaults that lie to the north of the
eastern Portal. With this extra Mana you will be able to create many
more Imps ... and more Imps mean bringing your dungeon to its maximum
efficiency quicker. In addition, north of the western Portal lie two
gem blocks, which will fund your endeavors. Be sure to keep these
areas as safe as possible with traps, etc. Meanwhile, you should
be keeping your goals firmly in mind. You're in luck, because at each
corner of the Temple Complex you'll find a guard room containing
numerous heroes. Slaughter these as soon as possible, and you will
gain an advantage over the other Keepers. Every bit counts. But take
note: these Heroes are inevitably at a higher level than your
creatures, and they'll be very difficult to kill. You're going to need
to cheat before you can be assured of your troops ... you're going
to have to "pre-damage" them as much as possible. Therefore, in front
of your dungeon, construct Boulder Traps that can be slapped into the
Temple Complex to soften up any marauding good guys. Any time your
rivals gain an upper hand in the race to kill twenty heroes, this same
boulder-slapping technique can be used to keep their creatures to
a minimum. Eventually your minions will be of sufficient level so that
you can attempt to take the Temple for yourself, instead of merely
luring Heroes out and killing them. Be warned, though, that it is
guarded by The Royal Guards. These staunch and muscular warriors will
prove to be a tough challenge even for a group of battle-hardened
Black Knights. As your troops take on the Guards, try to have your
Imps claim as much territory as possible. Even more effective, once
one patrol of heroes has been killed it may well take some time before
their replacements arrive. Take advantage of this time claim as much
of the Temple Complex as you can. The more of the Temple you control,
the more you can cast spells down on the Heroes and Heal your own.
This obviously means that you are going to need as much Mana as you
can get, so back on your own territory you should make sure that
praying creatures are racking up as much mana as they can. This is, in
fact, a decisive tactic. You haven't forgotten that More is More, have
you? Remember your goals are, and don't lose track of the priorities.
Kill Guards, keep Keepers from killing guards, keep Keepers from
killing you. Don't spend too much time fighting the enemy Keepers
unless they are engaged in fighting the Heroes. Once twenty heroes
have been slain by your minions the Dark Angels shall be yours.
Essentially, once you get these, you've won. Allow them to establish
homes in your Lair and then put the to work. Their power is immense
and they should be able to take the rival Keepers on their own,
although the sheer carnage of letting all your creatures wreak havoc
is heart warming. Combine your forces and lead assaults on the Hearts
of the enemy Keepers which the Dark Angles have revealed, and another
Portal Gem will be yours.

LEVEL 18 THE BROTHERHOOD OF CHERRY BLOSSOM

Frankly, Keeper, if ever you desired to just let your evil
inclinations have rule, this is the realm for you to follow through
on your impulses. Everything and anything is possible ... there are no
spell or room restrictions, no time constraints, nothing but
admittedly difficult opponents to crush before they crush you.
However, if advice would make you feel more comfortable .... The first
targets for your acquisition are whatever's in the neighborhood. You
could set your eye on any or all of the nearest rooms, which include
a Portal, a Neutral Prison and a Torture Chamber. Sequence is not
necessarily important, although that order is as good as any.
A Training Room is a good thing to make, as you can start increasing
your creature's experience, and will also be ready in the event you
find any Salamanders. When you have a few creatures, claim the second
Portal. It is next to a Hero Gate. You can expect a few hero parties
of Elven Archers to arrive periodically, and probably an elite unit
of a higher level Knights and a couple of Royal Guard before the Gate
collapses. Recruit the neutral Salamanders (good thing you have
a Training Room, yes?) and bridge across their lava expanse to the
entrance to the small Hero Fort. Expect heavy resistance from the
Warriors there. If you can sneak in and claim the first chamber before
you're attacked, it will certainly help matters. Not only can you
place Traps to your heart's content as many as you can conveniently
fit, anyway but you can provide instant backup and Healing where
necessary. Don't forget to convert them. Claim as much of the Fort
is convenient, and then dig through the eastern wall of the fort into
the watery area populated by Fairies. Vanquish them, and then bridge
to and claim the neutral Temple. Dig to the Gems and build a Treasury
close by. That's always a happy thing! Meanwhile, explore as much
of the river as possible. Time is now on your side ... you've got an
infinite supply of money and enough rooms to be attracting all sorts
of mighty minions. Crack your knuckles and get to work exploring the
possibilities of the 4 possible breach points into the "Dons"
territory. Keep in mind that you only have to kill Nemesis the Keeper
in the center: he is the one who holds the Gem. There are several ways
to take the enemy Keepers, and it's worth taking the time ... just
keep your ultimate goal in mind. Training Rooms good enough for doing
preliminary work, but Combat Pits are almost necessary for you to
actually tackle Nemesis at the end. A recommended approach is to first
attack Fabian by bridging as close to him as possible and then
building a bank of Sentry Traps. When those are in place, knock
an entrance through his walls about three "holes" wide. Then drop your
creatures behind the Sentry Traps and place a Call to Arms on his
Dungeon Heart. Your creatures should stream into his dungeon, taking
on all comers and wreaking general havoc. It will be especially
aggravating to Fabian if you send in your Imps to claim his land while
his creatures are still fighting their final battle. This, of course,
increases the chances of your being able to capture your opponents.
On Fabian's destruction, his father and brother will move in to
attack, this is actually quite good news. It is obvious to any
tactician that the more creatures sent on away-missions to attack you,
the less there are guarding their respective dungeons. Claim all of
Fabian's rooms and give your creatures time to rest an recuperate.
When they're all feeling refreshed and ready to rumble, it's time
to launch an attack into the side of Nemesis's dungeon. Bridge to his
western most Barricades and drop a few creatures down to break through
as soon as they are destroyed, drop some Imps in and command them
to dig through. Your goal is to cast Tremor. You can also cast
whatever else seems appropriate and affordable, but get at least one
Tremor in to rattle him around a bit. Once Nemesis' walls are
breached, place Call to Arms on his Dungeon Heart and drop creatures
as close as possible. The overall effect is even more deadly if can
place them so they arrive at roughly the same time. This may sound
easy, but don't forget that while you are doing this both Nemesis and
Faust (if he's still around) will be attacking your troops. To ensure
an easier victory, try leading a Black Knight and a few other Grouped
creatures straight to Nemesis's Heart while your other creatures fight
off his forces. Don't forget to use that Heal spell ... that can mean
the difference between a successful battle. If you have the Mana for
a summon, Horny is always a welcome arrival at this point. There.
A job well done. Congratulations, Most Sinister One!

LEVEL 19 BUTTERSCOTCH INTERCEPTION

This is your penultimate challenge ... grab the Princes, break their
tender hearts, twist their shiny souls. How can you help but love your
job? First off, you start off in a dungeon that already has plenty
of space ready-dug and claimed by your industrious Imps, including
a Prison, Torture Room and Treasury. That's an excellent beginning.
It's entirely up to your own inclinations when to bridge over to the
Portal at the center of your dungeon. It really doesn't matter much,
as long as you get to work mining gold and building your choice
of rooms first. However, be warned that as soon as you open up your
dungeon to the lava that surrounds you on three sides, a group
of Fairies will attack you. That's going to hurt, so make sure you've
got some strong fighters first. In fact, it's a good idea to go
introduce yourself to the Neutral level 10 Dark Knight who resides
to the west. Your absolute, number one, no-jokes-about-it priority
is to not lay a finger on any of the three Princes until you are sure
that you are completely ready to stop them from escaping.
Unfortunately, you've got a band of blood-thirsty, trouble-making
leg-breakers working for you, so it's not a bad idea to sack all your
Fireflies (you don't need random exploration around here) and to lock
all the other creatures in your dungeon to prevent them from starting
anything when you're not looking. That's what they do, and it would
be disastrous under the circumstances. Meanwhile, now that your
creatures are happily Training and eating and sleeping or what have
you, send an Imp out to collect the Specials. Keep your eye on this
creature. All you want is the Specials, not a chance encounter with
one of the skittish Princes. The Specials in the lava that surrounds
your dungeon are all Increase Levels: these are obviously very useful.
The Giants to the north are guarding a Reveal Map this is invaluable
for watching the movements of all those Princes. Information is the
key word here. Omniscience is one of those really, really useful
skills. Take a look at your dungeon: ignore your brute squads and
death dealers for the moment and look at your manual laborers. Doors
and bridges are going to play a large role in the upcoming battles.
Do you have a good supply of strong doors? Do you have a lot of Imps
ready to put things in place? Do you have enough money to build stone
bridges wherever you want? That's what you want to concentrate
on right now. When you're ready, carefully send out some Imps, and
make sure they do only what you want them to do. Consider Prince
Balder. He patrols the south of the realm, and can be rendered
helpless without too much effort. Build Stone Bridges over to the
Bridges that the Prince patrols. Claim the Hero Bridges. Then all you
have to do is wait until he is on the island between them, and sell
the bridges. It's almost pathetic how easy it is to cut him off from
all the Hero Gates. He's apparently not very popular either, since you
can leave him there for as long as you like and no one will head out
to build him an exit. Tsk tsk. Now turn your attention to the other
two Princes, Felix and Tristran. You've got two main choices here:
attack them both at the same time (preferably at the point where their
patrols intersect) and hope that you can bring them both down, or cut
them off from their Hero Gates. There are a variety of ways this can
be accomplished. For instance, you could lure them out onto spurs
of your own Stone Bridges, and then sell back enough to cut them off
from the Hero Gates. That's always satisfying. You could also block
their routes with locked Secret Doors. Trapped like rats in a box,
they'll no longer be able to find their way to the Hero Gates. Once
you've got them all trapped, you can move on to the next stage. Send
out an army of Imps to stand by, drop a fighter in with each Prince
and allow him to knock each one out. Then set your Imps to work
building any necessary connecting bridges, and don't forget to unlatch
any locked doors. Drop an Imp on each one to drag them back to your
Prison. The fun is just beginning. Now torture them with tender care
and lots of Heal spells, and the secret of the Portal Gem will
be yours. Note that once a Prince has converted to your side, he has
told you all he knows and if he dies after that (say at the hands
of his brother) it will be no loss to you. Now it is time to face the
ultimate task!

LEVEL 20 REGICIDE AT HEARTLAND

This is not only one of the most difficult realms to conquer,
as befits the last bastion of right and goodness, but you can expect
it to be one of the longest ones, as well. Initially, you can expect
to spend most of your time just surviving. There's no reason to hold
anything back, and they know it. There are going to be waves
of assaults, which you'll have to not only fight back, but you're
going to have to fight forward, pushing the Heroes back until you're
finally fighting near the Hero Gate, hoping against hope that your
Imps will be able to claim all the way around the Hero Gate before the
next wave appears. Heal as many as you can, but expect to lose many
a brave Imp. Swear to avenge them or simply shrug them off as
acceptable losses. You'll get your revenge as you capture whatever
Heroes are unfortunate enough to be captured and "persuaded" to see
things your way. Then turn your attention northwards, toward the next
Hero Gate. As your Imps begin their work, a party of level 10 Guards
will try to prevent. Your minions will probably outnumber them, but
they will have considerably less experience. It will be a bloody
battle, but with your occasional intervention, your forces should
emerge victorious. Once you have disabled all the Hero Gates, slow
your pace and consolidate your dungeon. Try to ensure that your
dungeon is as comfortable and accessible as possible, and that it is
running smoothly. Your search will now be to accumulate as much
treasure as possible in order to finance further expansion. What you
need, obviously is a Gem block. Sadly, there are none convenient. Keep
an eye on your finances, train your forces up as much as possible, and
place Traps and Barricades in preparation for an invasion. Boulder
Traps are always a useful choice, so make sure they're in the mix.
When your redecoration is complete, it's time to strike directly for
the King. Beware the traps! As you tunnel around both sides, be at
least forewarned that they are aware of the likeliness of an invasion,
and have left defenses. Whenever faced with an enemy territory that's
probably mined, dig a path down the of the corridor to avoid any
death-traps. If that's not possible, the best tactic is usually
to posses a low-level Imp and run down the path. Soon you'll see the
objective circle that is your target. There's a very angry King on the
other side, and when you break down the walls, he and his warriors
will charge your minions. You can use this to your advantage,
by picking up your Imps and placing them down the corridor a ways,
then as the King gets closer, picking them up and dropping them even
farther. Eventually he will no longer be on his own land, but on
yours. When your Boulder Traps roll down upon his Guards, it will
knock them flying. As they pick themselves up, use your hand to roll
the boulder back in their direction, again and again. And again. When
used with skill and a blood-thirsty intent, one boulder can wipe out
not only King Reginald but his entire retinue. Thus you'll extinguish
the last flicker of light in Harmonia. Of course, there is the more
direct approach of taking your entire horde to the King's fortress for
one grand battle, but that is more risky, and why be forthright when
you can be conniving? Meanwhile, you still have work to do, although
there is not much of a time constraint upon you. Place a Call to Arms
in the King's Chamber and let your minions swarm there. There will
be traps, there will be some casualties, but they will be minor
compared to the much sought-after final conclusion. Now you will face
the Stone Guards that are all that stand between you and the lands
of light above. These are the greatest enforcers for the cause
of good. They can withstand all your spells, all your warriors, all
your efforts to drive past them into the world you have rightfully
won. There is only one force strong enough to defeat them only one
slayer who can shatter the rock that the gentle world above
is depending upon. This moment calls for the great one himself, the
demon Scythe-man, a pestilential devil in humanoid form, the
awe-inspiring ... Horned Reaper. When Horny appears, the Stone Knights
are doomed. Smashed into a thousand pieces, they'll leave the path
open for you and your fledgling reign of terror. The Gem The Final Gem
will appear. You are the victor, there is nothing left to hinder your
progress in the conquest of all things. Congratulations, you've won.