Darkmoor Dungeon - Adam Perry
Readme, FAQ, Introductory Comments
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Darkmoor Dungeon is the champion of the traditional RPG battle engine. Pick a party of four given your choice of six different warriors, then fight a series of battles. There are no random battles, there are no level-ups. Just you, strategy, and battles.

This game is a 2005 entrant for both the Epic Marathon and Human Day contests. Its plot is tied into the Epic Marathon in ways that are explained in the secret ending. As for the Human Day contest, the question posed by the contest theme is also only answered in the secret ending. It is not too well hidden and the other ending really, really sucks.

Every element of the game is my own work except for some of the music and the final boss graphics. Music not of my own composition is either public domain or property of Square-Enix (Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, and the Final Fantasy and Seiken Densetsu series). The final boss graphics were drawn by my brother. I then scanned and colored the images.

Onto the FAQ (well, more of a pre-emptory FAQ).

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Q. How can I skip a character's turn?

A. You will need to do this in several battles, so listen up. To skip one player, push ALT or ESC. To continously skip all players, hold ALT or ESC.


Q. Which character is the best?

A. Of the six heroes, each is suited to a particular purpose and is the best at that purpose. I recommend you pick heroes according to your play style: if you like dealing a lot of damage, pick Wizard or Barbarian; if you like disabling enemies, pick Witch; and so on. I highly advise not choosing two of the same character on your first game. Any party of four different heroes is able to complete the game.


Q. Does that mean any party can complete the game?

A. No. In particular, four Priests or four Berserkers won't get to the first boss.


Q. I heard there is a secret character.

A. True, and she is more powerful than any of the others, but if you pick her, you have to solo. Haven't playtested with her; some battles may not be possible with one character. Drop me a line if you beat the game using her.


Q. What I meant to ask was, how do I get the secret character?

A. Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a secret character? Figure it out! Or play with a normal party (recommended)!


Q. How do I make my heroes more powerful?

A. The short answer is that you don't. The longer answer is that you can find equipment at the end of the game, but don't expect much.


Q. How do I beat _____?

A. I will write up a strategy guide when this is all over, which will include several strategies for beating each boss. Until then, half the fun is figuring out how to beat these bosses! The game is rigorously playtested, so rest assured all battles are possible.


Q. How do I get the secret ending?

A. Those familiar with the Epic Marathon contest should figure this one out fairly easily. Everyone else should have but little difficulty. You can ruin your chances of getting the secret ending, but the information is presented to you before you need it, so that's your fault.


Q. If you wrote this game, it must have lots of plotscripting!

A. No, it only uses a script for the party select and endgame. It really doesn't even need that.


Q. How can I make _____ in my own game?

A. I could tell you, but wouldn't you rather come up with your own enemy concepts? I know I'd rather you did.


Q. Isn't that a little hypocritical, given that many of these battles are duplicates of battles in commercial games?

A. No.