Darkstone

Darkstone is a computer role-playing game created by French developer Delphine Software International and released in 1999. Darkstone has many similarities to Diablo, particularly in the user interface.

Gameplay
The game can be played single player or multiplayer. Multiplayer games may be cooperative or competitive. Multiplayer games can be played over a LAN (using TCP/IP or IPX) or the Internet. The game includes its own server, so it is not necessary to locate a dedicated game server - any player can initiate a multiplayer session which other players can then join.

The user interface is similar to that of Diablo. (The developers of Darkstone acknowledge the earlier game as an important influence.) Characters can be moved around by simply clicking on a location. Clicking on an enemy initiates an attack. Clicking on an item picks it up. Each character has an inventory that can be opened. Items can be rearranged or removed.

A unique feature of the game is that in the single player game the player can control two characters. At any given instant, one character is directly controlled by the player. The other character will act intelligently for the most part - it will follow the other character unless ordered not to and will defend itself against enemies. The player can switch between characters with a single click.

The Lands of Uma
The game world is divided into the town (where you can trade weapons, armor, magical items and so on) and four Lands - Ardyl, Marghor, Omar and Serkesh. Each land contains the entrances to two dungeons, as well as other features associated with the various quests. Each of the first seven dungeons is associated with a quest and all of these have four levels. Completing a quest will result in your character recovering one of the seven crystals. The last dungeon leads to Draak's lair.

Dungeons contain many corridors and rooms. There are also many crates, vases and chests that can be opened or broken to reveal useful items. Wells abound, where characters can restore health or mana (see below).

Object of the Game
The evil Lord Draak, who has the power to transform himself into a dragon, has recovered from earlier defeat and returned with his minions to the world of Uma bringing death and mayhem. Players attempt to find their way to Draak's lair and slay him in combat. On their way they must locate the seven crystals and use them to recreate the time orb, without which Draak can not be defeated.

History
"Draw closer and sit beside me and listen to the tale I have to tell about your land, the Land of Uma."

"Today, you are called to play a vital role in the future of our universe. Your hearts burn with a fire which darkness cannot quench. For you are the Pure of Heart, whose destiny is to fight Evil. But before you engage in battle you must learn about Uma's history and, therefore, come to understand why the threat of darkness still hangs over the people of this planet, even today."

"The Land of Uma was created in the mists of time by Life. It was, indeed, Life which fashioned this land, sculpting its every contour, providing the blood coursing through the veins of its animals and the life-giving source for its vegetation."

"But the balance of the universe was under threat and Death had to be created to re-establish some degree of harmony. After all, this is why Life cannot exist without Death. Consequently, the plants began to wither and bloodshed broke out amongst the animals, thus perpetuating the cycle of life and death."

The Primeval Battle

"Thus elapsed thousands of years which passively witnessed this unending, titanic struggle between Life and Death as it transformed the peaceful Land of Uma into a battle-field. This period was known as the Primeval Combat. It came to an end with Life emerging victorious, but the Land of Uma had now become one huge mass grave. Out of the ashes of this destruction rose Mankind, representing the ultimate challenge to Death. It went forth populating the world, imbuing the land and sea once again with Life. These men, your forbears, created villages, tilled the fields to produce corn and planted trees and bushes yielding fruit and flowers. This marked a golden age, an age of peace and harmony, but at the same time Man continued waging a relentless war against Death. As a token of her gratitude for Man's toil, Life decided to assume human form as the goddess Kaliba, the goddess of nature, and gave our ancestors magic powers."

The Dawn of Kaliba

"Our ancestors called this period the Dawn of Kaliba. The magic powers helped our ancestors to triumph over adversity. They also used them to create magical creatures, the Dragons of the Dawn, which became Kaliba's invaluable allies. They would protect the villages and castles, light the furnaces of our craftsmen's forges and, with their sacred fire, would help the population through the harsh winters by warming up the air."

"The Dragons of the Dawn were not the only creatures around. There were others, just as gentle, which are now extinct. Among these were water-sprites, whose songs sounded like a babbling brook; fairies, whose beating wings created rainbows, centaurs, pixies, imps, and many more…. But the Dawn of Kaliba was followed by the Wars of Darkness, which swept all these creatures aside like straws on the wind."

The Wars of Darkness

"The Wars of Darkness marked the decline of Mankind. The Grim Reaper had licked his wounds and once again, wielding his scythe, started to shed blood. He began to gnaw at the hearts of men, fuelling their greed and spreading jealousy and lies among them..."

"When I think back to this time, I can still vividly remember the deep distress which gripped the hearts of men, the outbreak of bloodshed among them and the tears of the goddess, shed in great sorrow as she contemplated the havoc wreaked by Death, as men killed each other in the pursuit of a scrap of land, power and money..."

"This period of the Wars of Darkness also saw the demise of the magical creatures, especially the Dragons of the Dawn. Others were doomed to become creatures of Evil as imps were transformed into goblins and fairies into gorgons. But Evil's triumph over Life was not quite complete. Our goddess, Kaliba, overcame the distress which burdened her heart and offered one final message of hope to mankind. As part of this, she called upon the assistance of the druids who lived in the great forests of Uma. These druids were the devoted servants of Nature and would willingly sacrifice themselves to ensure that Life would triumph. And in order to make it a more equitable contest and help the druids to drive Death beyond the confines of Uma, the goddess Kaliba gave them the gift of the Time Orb, fashioned from the Tears which dropped from her cheeks. The druids were now ready to bring the Wars of Darkness to an end and men wept when they realised the madness which had possessed them."

The Age of Harmony

"The Wars of Darkness ended about a thousand years ago. Following this, the druids who had survived this battle against Death decided to break up the Time Orb to prevent it from being used for evil purposes. And so, the Orb was broken into seven crystals, the seven tears of Kaliba. Each of these crystals was entrusted to an anonymous guardian whose mission it was to watch over the crystal and to pass it on to a new guardian, worthy of their trust, before their death. But all the guardians knew that the day would come for them to be parted from their crystals. And this day arrived when the Pure of Heart came to them."

"During the course of this last thousand years, known as the Age of Harmony, the druids gradually began to die out as men learned to co-exist in peace. Everyone then believed that Death would give up the fight and its creatures would disappear from the land of Uma for ever. In order to ensure that this would happen, Kaliba created an order of monks whose task was to guide Mankind along the long path of Life. And indeed, during these thousand years the monks were utterly devoted to their task. But, how foolish to think that the Forces of Darkness could be completely vanquished! How blind men were, not to see that Death was biding its time for the least sign of weakness, for a wicked heart that it could invade…."

"And I am the one with that wicked heart, the Chosen One of Death. I am Draak, who will spread my cover of darkness over this golden age, so wretched and lack-lustre compared to the Age of Darkness about to dawn. I used to be one of Kaliba's monks and could see how weak and derisory the powers offered by the goddess were. There is only one real power, and that is the power offered by Death, a power whose depth and strength makes Kaliba's pathetic magic pale into insignificance."

"When I was a mere monk I was called Drakil Tanan. By then, I was already fascinated by the magic of darkness, a fascination which soon developed into an obsession. When night fell I would slip into the library and pore over the forbidden texts eager to learn the dark secrets of necromancy. I spent years in the vaults where I raised spectres and skeletons so that they could become my slaves and help me fulfil my mission. But one day, the monks of Kaliba uncovered my secret. And just imagine, those fools dared to pass judgement on me, Drakil Tanan, the great necromancer. I, therefore, left the monastery without any regrets, leaving behind my old name and assuming the new name of Draak."

"Draak... a name which rises up like a funeral dirge, sounding a knell, the death knell for Kaliba. This name was my comfort during the years after I left the monastery. In the bowels of this land my torrent of supplication was answered and I became the disciple of Necromancy. My powers were enhanced and, at the same time, my soul became ever more consumed by my obsession, plumbing depths only known by Death itself. Ah yes, the Grim Reaper soon realised what an invaluable ally he had in me. And just as the goddess Kaliba had given the druids the Time Orb, I was made privy to the ultimate secrets of Necromancy."

"I was now able to return to the goddess Kaliba's heavenly kingdom. But, I have to admit that this was a grave error. It was still far too soon to challenge Kaliba, even though I had already used my newly acquired powers to devastate the gold and silver towers of her kingdom and set ablaze the wings of the angels protecting her."

"The battle between us lasted a day and a night with Kaliba emerging the victor, damn her! But not before I had dealt her a cruel blow. In the heat of the struggle I grabbed one of her hands and took it down to the bowels of this land. Using my powers of Necromancy I corrupted this hand turning it into an instrument of my revenge: the Astral Hand."

"Armed with this artefact, I made my way to the Dragons of the Dawn cemetery where I intended to raise up from the ashes the most powerful dragon of all, the Dragon Lord, but not in his previous incarnation where he was subservient and loyal to man. I wiped his mind and stole his magic so that I could be transformed into a dragon..."

"Now I am able to devastate this world, enthral its people and allow Death to feed on their souls. Kaliba's monks, these same ones who dared to drive me away, tried to make me see reason. They wanted us to meet face to face. How their feeble attempts were in vain. I cast them into the flames of Hell for their pains, and with their ashes still smouldering I put a curse on the Order of Kaliba. I was then able to turn some monks into demonic skeletons, utterly devoted to my cause..."

"You will feel my vengeance, you wretched people. My wings will cast a long shadow over this land, plunging it deep into darkness. I will use your bones to build my throne and your souls to feed my subjects. And as for you, the Pure of Heart, you may well think that you can re-create the Time Orb to prevent me from destroying the land of Uma. But, do not delude yourselves. I will not let you find the seven crystals so that you can re-create the Time Orb and defeat me. I will track you down wherever you are, you wretched creatures. And you will die because no one can defy with impunity Draak, the necromancer and Dragon Lord."

Townspeople
The town is populated by townspeople who will ask you to do quests but there are also tradespeople where you can buy and sell things.


 * Gunther the Blacksmith will sell, buy, repair and improve weapons and armour.
 * The gypsy Madame Irma will magically heal wounds and cure poison for free but will charge to identify magic artefacts and to remove cursed objects that the player is wearing.
 * Perry the Publican sells food and torches and the player can pay to spend a restorative night in his tavern.
 * Larsac the Usurer is the banker where you can deposit your money.
 * Master Elmeric buys and sells potions, amulets, rings, scrolls and spell books and can be paid to recharge magic items whose spells have run out of manna.
 * Master Dalsin teaches you skills for a fee.
 * Bill and Murray are the town guards. Bill will offer you game-playing tips whereas Murray gives you a tour of the town and explains how the tradespeople can help your game play. (When the Darkstone errupts in town Murray is turned to stone and can no longer offer the tour.)
 * Audren and Krym are the town musicians and if you place a gold coin in her cap Audren will play a special song called "The Darkstone Will Shine". Audren is based on the French singer Audren who sings the song and possibly Krym is supposed to be Christophe Rime who did the game's music.
 * In the training camp you will meet Bowman, Swan and Wozarg who will let you train hitting moving bullseyes, fighting sickly trolls and casting fireballs at goblins repsectively.
 * There is also a chicken wandering around. (If you can cope with the mental imagery then using the Theft skill on it will liberate an egg).

Enemies
Draak's minions come in many forms - trolls, orcs, skeletons, spiders, scorpions, wyverns and many others. Each of these types has variants - for example, some skeletons use swords while others have bows and still others may attack with fireballs.

Quests
In town the townspeople will ask you to do optional quests in return for money. These quests are either retrieving artifacts or killing an infamous monster.

The artifacts are the Holy Grail, the Royal Diadem, the Shield of Light, the Unicorn's Horn, the Dragon's Scale, the Magic Anvil, the Path Book, the Medallion of Melchior, the Sacred Scroll, the Stone of Souls, the Cursed Sword, the Storm Flower, the Claw of Sargon, the Celestial Harp, the Bard's Music Score and the Broken Vase.

The monsters are the ratman Buzbal the Furious, the vampire Nosferatu and the skeletal Evil Garth.

Crystals
There are seven crystals; the purple Crystal of Wisdom, the red Crystal of Virtue, the blue Crystal of Bravery, the yellow Crystal of Nobility, the turquoise Crystal of Compassion, the green Crystal of Integrity and the grey Crystal of Strength.

These are magically reassembled by the hermit Sebastian to form the crystal Time Orb.

Character Classes and Attributes
There are four general classes, each of which has a male and a female variant giving a total of eight character classes. Each character has a set of four attributes - Strength, Dexterity, Magic and Vitality. Each general class is skilled in one area such as combat, magic, etc. The Warrior and the Amazon, for example, are both skilled in combat. In general the female classes are physically weaker than the male counterparts but make up for this in other areas such as dexterity or magic.

Characters have Health and Mana. A character dies when health decreases to zero. Mana is used when casting spells. Both can be replenished by drinking certain potions or from certain wells. Characters also get hungry as time passes. Food can be bought in town and is often found when opening chests and crates. Characters age as the game progresses. As the character ages, he/she becomes weaker and less dextrous. The effects can be countered by drinking a potion of youth - these become available toward the end of the game and can be bought in town and also may occasionally be found in the various dungeons. Characters have a "level" based upon a points system. Points are gained by doing damage to enemies. A character will "level-up" as certain points thresholds are reached. Each character can carry a weapon or two, a shield, and can wear a helmet and armor. You can also wear two amulets and four rings.

The Warrior
"The finest warriors are born in the heart of Ardyl's forests. From their earliest years, they have to become tough and develop absolute physical strength to be able to confront the dangers lurking in their region.

"As children, they learnt to survive in the most hostile of environments, to overwhelm wild beasts with their bare hands and, above all, to fight the goblins and skeletons which abound in their land. They have also put their many expeditions to the various villages to good use by acquiring the mastery of swordsmanship. They usually end up as mercenaries or masters of arms.

"These warriors are now the strongest men alive. Their powerful, yet agile muscular frame makes them formidable opponents in direct combat. Their strength fills the lords with dread and there are very few that would dare challenge them in single combat. They stalk their enemies with the patience of a hunting cat, and can swoop down on them with the speed of a hawk. They do have one weakness, however: they dislike magic because they consider it a demeaning means of combat. They prefer by far the incisive cut and hard steel of the sword to the use of spells."

The Wizard
"The greatest wizards come from the region of Marghor. Tradition has it that the ancient wizards always come to Marghor to choose those who have the Gift to become apprentice wizards. This happens when candidates are in their adolescence.

"Their whole life is then turned upside down. They return with their master to his tower, a solitary place conducive to reading and learning. These young wizards spend most of their time immersed in the spell books of the ancient wizards. For years on end they wear their eyesight out poring over scrolls, spending endless nights in their master's library. And then gradually, they begin to master increasingly difficult and complex spells.

"Unfortunately, however, the wizards' towers have now disappeared since the lizard and rat men invaded the region. They carried out attacks on the towers, killing many apprentices in the process....

"The young wizards have now been left with no alternative other than to fight for survival. But as they have never handled weapons they can only rely on their magic powers to defend themselves, as they have always preferred to concentrate on developing their minds, rather than their bodies. But, despite their lack of any physical strength, they have managed to impress their enemies with the intensity of their spells."

The Sorceress
"Very little is known about the sorceresses' early years. Rumour has it that they learnt their magic by themselves in the shady clearings of Marghor's forests. Others allege that the goddess Kaliba, herself, took them under her wing.

"The source of the sorceresses' power is Nature itself. And indeed, they have no match when it comes to knowing the right plants to combine in order to create terrible spells.

"But their most terrifying power, which may be seen as either a gift or a curse, is lycanthropy, which transforms them into a beast, half woman, half wolf.

"The sorceresses are universally feared on account of their potent magic.

"However, for some time now, the ingredients that make up their strange concoctions have become more difficult to find. Worse still, the rat and lizard men have overrun their territory. The Sorceresses realised that they wouldn't be strong enough to confront them, so they had to leave the safe cover of the trees and venture further out towards the villages.

"The village inhabitants still eye them with mistrust, even today, but the sorceresses pay little heed to this as it is vital for them to keep on the move, roaming the land of Uma in search of new ingredients that will enhance their magic powers."

The Assassin
"In order to survive, assassins often begin their careers by relieving merchants of their purses. From their youth, they know how to move around in the dark without making a single sound and steal from sleeping travellers. Their exploits always end up attracting the attention of the Thieves Guild in Serkesh. The assassins have settled in this region, so that they can benefit from the lessons of more accomplished exponents than themselves. In time, the most able of the young apprentices can even surpass their masters.

"As they are cunning and nimble, assassins often use projectile weapons when attacking their opponents in combat. Even if they are capable of engaging in direct combat, they actually prefer to kill their enemy even before he has had the time to draw his sword or use his magic. This tactic is very effective against the serpents that are rife in the region. The assassins have also mastered a number of spells."

The Thief
"The thieves' reputation precedes them in the region of Serkesh. All of these women have demonstrated at one time or other that they have the stuff of which thieves are made. Thus, they became members of the renowned Thieves Guild, where they could develop their natural talents further.

"Within the guild they learned to use their skills to break into merchants' lavish residences to steal gold and precious jewels. They also learned how to kill sentries using projectile weapons and to set traps for travellers at nightfall. Their skill set is considerable and makes them very dangerous opponents, both in direct combat and when using long range weapons."

The Monk
"In the past, before the darkness descended, many monasteries were established in the region of Ormar. The prospective monks were sent to these monasteries where they became good men, enjoying the respect of all. The monks spent many years in this place of prayer, learning various combat techniques and spells.

"Although less accomplished than wizards or warriors in these respective arts, the monks have the advantage of being highly competent in the complementary disciplines of war and magic. Isolated from the rest of the world in their peaceful haven, they have had years to master the use of blunt weapons (i.e. those weapons other than swords). The staff has become their favourite weapon. They have also studied white magic, so that they can use it to help their neighbour and conquer Evil.

"There are now far fewer monks than there were in the past. Nearly all of the monasteries have fallen under attacks from the wyverns sweeping across the region.

"Monks now represent good, as well as life and its combat. They are still held in high regard because of both their skills with a staff and their ability to heal wounds."

The Priestess
"As with the monks, the priestesses have divided their lives between religious devotion and learning the arts of combat and magic. The source of their strength is their faith and they fight in the name of the gods. In a world increasingly threatened every day by the Darkness, they stand out as beacons of Good and Life.

"During their travels they offer assistance to beggars, and they are quite prepared to take on thieves in direct combat, or use their magic to alleviate the suffering of the sick."

Weapons, Armor and Other Equipment
A range of medieval-type weapons are available - swords, knives, bows and so on. Warriors would usually carry a sword or club, while a Magician might use a staff and a Priest a wand. There are also ranged weapons such as bows and throwing knives. Some weapons are two-handed, which precludes the use of a shield. Many items have a minimum requirement of strength, dexterity or magic and can not be worn by characters who do not meet the requirement. There are also items that give protection against attacks with poison, magic or lightning.

Armor also comes in a variety of forms, all the way from rags providing two points of protection to full armor providing sixty points or more.

Weapons, shields, helmets and armor is often imbued with properties that enhance some character attribute (by increasing strength or dexterity while worn, for example).

Rings and amulets add to character attributes or protection.

Spell Books and Scrolls
Spells can either be cast once using a scroll or learnt by reading a spell book and then cast using the player's manna reserve. (Some worn objects have spells fixed onto them along with their own mana reserve.)

Listed below are the thirty-two spells. (Descriptions are taken from the game manual.)


 * Absorption: absorbs the enemies vital energy during combat. The player can pick up life points using this.
 * Antidote: is used to heal characters who have been poisoned.
 * Berserker: increases the character's armour class, speed of attack and chance of gaining a hit during a certain period of time. You can also win life points.
 * Magic Bomb: is similar to a mine and explodes on contact with the opponent or when a certain period of time has elapsed. It can be used to booby-trap chests.
 * Fire Ball: launches fire balls.
 * Confusion: plunges an enemy into total confusion, making him go and attack his comrades.
 * Detection: helps detect magic objects, which are then highlighted in blue.
 * Death Dome: Creates a protection dome around the character. Anyone who tries to break though it will be injured.
 * Spark: throws sparks at a target.
 * Healing: provides healing.
 * Haste: allows you to move faster.
 * Invisibility: makes a character invisible to everyone, but he may be given away by his footsteps.
 * Invocation: invokes a fire golem which attacks your enemies.
 * Slowness: slows down your enemy target's speed of movement and combat.
 * Light: creates a luminous aura around your character. It's power depends on your character's experience level.
 * Magic Missile: launches magic projectiles.
 * Wall Of Fire: creates a wall of fire.
 * Food: provides your character with food.
 * Poison Cloud: produces a green cloud which poisons anyone who approaches it.
 * Forgetfulness: causes you to temporarilly forget spells for monsters and erases the enemy players' pre-selected spells.
 * Fear: causes panic amidst the enemy lines.
 * Stone: turns the target creature to stone.
 * Magic Door: creates a door that allows your character to go back and forward between dungeon and town.
 * Reflection: rebounds any spells cast or projectiles thrown at you onto your aggressor.
 * Resurrection: allows you to revive your character.
 * Flame Thrower: launches huge flames at enemy targets.
 * Telekinesis: can be used to open up chests, pick up objects and pull levers from a distance.
 * Teleportation: allows your character to move instantly to anywhere he chooses. Please note that some places are not accessible via teleportation.
 * Storm: pushes back an enemy at close range to the thrower. Any enemy touching a wall gets damage points against him.
 * Thunder: throws lightning bolts at the enemy.
 * Mutation: turns the enemy target into a chicken.
 * Night Vision: allows you to see the enemy better in dark areas.

Skills
Skills are learnt from Master Dalsin. Each character class has seven predetermined skills.

Listed below are the twenty-one skills. (Descriptions are taken from the game manual.)


 * Learning: ability to quickly increase your character's experience.
 * Trade: ability to bargain over the price you want to buy or sell an item at.
 * Communion: Ability to recover mana stocks more quickly.
 * Language: ability to decode coded messages (Multiplayer mode only).
 * Master Of Arms: ability to increase speed of attack and chances of a successful hit.
 * Perception: ability to detect traps.
 * Concentration: ability to enhance your character's physical attributes temporarily (strength and dexterity).
 * Defusing: ability to undo traps.
 * Detection: ability to detect magic objects.
 * Exorcism: ability to remove spells from cursed objects carried by another.
 * Forester: ability to find food.
 * Identification: ability to identify all unknown objects.
 * Lycanthropy: ability to change your character into a werewolf. (All magic points are used for strength).
 * Medicine: ability to heal others.
 * Meditation: ability to temporarily increase your number of mana points.
 * Orientation: ability to display the entire map of the regions and dungeons for a given period of time.
 * Prayer: ability to increase your character's armour class.
 * Recharging: ability to recharge the magic objects you have.
 * Repair: ability to repair the weapons you have.
 * Silence: ability of your character to move around without being noticed by his opponents.
 * Theft: ability to rob the characters you meet.

Blessed Objects
Some objects are blessed with qualities such as Abundance, Life Recovery, Quick Mana Recovery, Slow Poison, Light Aura, Spell Duration Increased, Permanent Perception, Mana Shield, Eternal Youth, Poison (poisons enemy), Fire Element (burns enemy), Vampire (steals 20% of enemy's life), Magic Missiles (casts spell when enemy is struck), Storm (pushes enemy back when struck), Stone Curse (petrifies enemy when struck), Touch of Confusion (struck enemy ingores player and attacks other enemies), Push Target Back and Fast/Faster/Fastest Attack, whereas others just have bonuses to attributes.

Cursed Objects
Other worn objects are cursed and cannot be removed without the help of Madame Irma. The curses are Old Age, Slow Motion, Bulimia (grow hungry quicker), Leaking Pockets (items drop out of backpack) and Unease (you shout out randomly "If I see anyone approaching, I will vaporise them!", "Now everyman for himself, there will be bloodshed!", "Who is the strongest amongst us?", "My armour is impenetrable!" and "There is a traitor among you, guess who it is!").

Runes
One rare artifact is the rune which looks like a small red stone that can be used to fix a spell onto a worn object. (This is done by the player selecting a spell and right-clicking on the rune then left-clicking on an object that causes the spell to be fixed onto it with a mana reserve equal to the player's current mana).

Potions
There are several potions and elixirs that the player can drink; the red Healing potion, the blue Mana potion, the green Antidote and Poison potions, the orange Youth elixir that reduces your age by five years, but not to less than 20 years old, the purple Dexterity elixir, the cyan Magic elixir, the yellow Vitality elixir and the grey Strength elixir. There is also a distinctive Surprise potion that increases one and decreases one of the player's attributes randomly but also a purple version that can be mistakenly drunk thinking it is a Dexterity elixir.