Ancient Domains of Mystery

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Introduction

Ancient Domains of Mystery is a freeware, roguelike game written by Thomas Biskup and is available at the Official ADOM Website for Windows, Linux, and many other operating systems.

It takes place in the Drakalor Chain on the planet Ancardia. A Chaos Gate has been opened by Andor Drakon, the ElDeR cHaOs GoD. It was first discovered by the sage Khelavaster, who tried to close it but disappeared. Now Chaos beasts are roaming Ancardia. You are one of the many hero(ine)s who seeks to defeat Chaos and restore peace to the world.

The easiest way to defeat Chaos is to close the gate. However, a holy champion of order or balance, if equipped with certain unique artifacts, may instead enter it, slay Andor Drakon, become a demigod and keep Ancardia safe from Chaos for evermore. Those who have turned to the dark side may also slay Andor Drakon in hopes of becoming a more powerful Chaos God - perhaps even an Ultimate Chaos God.

Chaos

Chaos is a fundamental force that corrupts the very essence of your being. You will also encounter other creatures affected by the horrible radiation of Chaos. As time passes and you head deeper into the dungeons, corruption intensifies and mutates you in various (mostly undesirable) ways. Too much corruption will transform you into a writhing mass of primal chaos and your adventure will be over. Therefore items which remove corruption are among the most valuable in the game. Noble heroes of Lawful alignment (which equates to "good" in ADOM) are more resistant to corruption than those who follow the Neutral way, who in turn are more resistant to corruption than Chaotic adventurers.

Places

Terinyo

You start near the little town of Terinyo, and it will be where you receive your first basic quests. It is headed by the village elder and it has a food shop. The sheriff, Tywat Pare, defends law and order in the town and opposes the crime lord Hotzenplotz. There are four quests available to a new character entering Terinyo, but you cannot take both the elder's and druid's quests.

The elder asks you to save the village carpenter.
The druid asks you to kill an evil black druid.
The sheriff asks you to kill Kranach, the raider lord.
The tiny girl asks you to rescue her puppy.

Puppy Cave

You passed it as you walked in, but you couldn't see it. Now that you know, you have only four days (from the start of the game) before the tiny girl's beloved dog dies from starvation.

The puppy cave is a dangerous place, and there is an almost guarenteed ant or bee hive on the second level. There is also a dangerous cavern level with a high monster generation rate. Your reward for saving the puppy is a large lawful boost if the puppy is alive, or a small lawful boost if the puppy is dead (you must (g)ive the puppy corpse to the girl in this case).

The puppy will always be dead after four game days, thus if you want the large lawful boost you will need to move quickly. This quest can be completed at any time, however, for a smaller lawful boost, which may be useful later in the game.

Village Dungeon

If you chose the elder's quest, you get to save a carpenter... or kill him. Just remember, one way you get free training from both the carpenter and the healer, and a discount at the food shop. The other way, all you get is a manual of bridge building and a hatchet.

The best way to save the carpenter is to lead him up through the dungeon to meet Jarod, the healer. Jarod will touch the carpenter and cure him of corruption. After doing so, the carpenter will drop his hatchet, manual of bridge building, and usually a potion of rust removal. Jarod will also then teach you the healing skill - incredibly useful and virtually a requirement for surviving the game. This is one of the few ways to gain the healing skill if you did not start with it.

Druid Dungeon

If you chose the druid's quest, you get to kill a black druid. He is a pretty tough spellcaster who is capable of draining stats, so is best killed from afar. He also has many animals to protect him, often including cats, which many players dislike because it makes it harder to earn the Cat Lord's reward for never killing a cat. There is a choice of rewards for this quest: knowledge (the Herbalism skill) or power (a spellbook of Frost Bolt and wand of cold).

Lawenilothehl

This place is just what its name is an anagram of, a literal "hole in the wall". The town is full of shady characters, including assassins who will try to poison you. Beggars can be useful - if you give a beggar 50 gold pieces, he may drop a cursed potion of booze or give you a hint about the game. Lawenilothehl is led by Yergius the thief guild master, but it also hosts the powerful Hotzenplotz, the crime lord. The black market sells goods at exorbitant prices, but it sells everything.

Yergius will teach neutral or chaotic characters the pick pockets skill, for free. The mad doctor is also available here, and after completing his quests you can learn the healing skill.

High Mountain Village

This town is crucial if you seek to defeat Andor Drakon. It hosts many secrets and it also has a clue to the scroll of Omnipotence (though people who have disassembled the ADOM executable believe that this scroll has not yet been incorporated into the game). Its shop sells everything, and if you are an orc or a dark elf, may well give better prices than the shop in Dwarftown.

Small cave

This insignificant looking cave has a secret... the monsters in it are actually all about twice your level! Don't stay too long or you risk a nasty surprise from a seemingly weak monster. It also goes down to the only way you can access the High Mountain Village the first time.

The main benefit to this dungeon is the guarenteed water proof blanket. IT is a very handy item and many players will start their character in this dungeon, both to get the blanket and to determine if their character has any game worth.

This cave is very interesting all around. It has a very high rate of special features below the first level, such as pools, monster hoardes, and an almost guaranteed forge among other things.

The "Eternium Man" challenge is to go straight to the Small Cave and stay there until you achieve level 50. Because the monsters get tougher faster than you do, this challenge is very difficult, and has not yet been completed.

The Pyramid

The pyramid is available to characters of level 13-16. You will be given a special invitation to enter the pyramid and battle the mummy Rehetep.

The pyramid is full of traps of all kinds, undead (mostly mummies), jackals, and jackal demons. Scroll or wands of trap detection are extremely useful here, as are fire-based spells. There is a guarenteed thieves picks, pick axe, and climbing set in hidden rooms.

The top level is where you battle Rhetep the mummy. There will be many other creatures here as well, including dragons. Wands and spells are almost a requirement. Rehetep will drop special mummy wrappings and the ankh when he dies. Both of these are extremely useful; The ankh grants Lucky and Fate Smiles Upon You instrinsics, for example, and his mummy wrappings give cold immunity and the ability to see invisible things, among others.

The Tomb of the High Kings

Someone won't let you pass unless you come and get a shiny trinket from here. Beware the red water filled with chaos piranhas.

The Bug Temple

The latest addition to the map, this place is sort of like a private hall of fame. It is available once one hundred of your characters have died and are on the game's internal scoreboard (quitting the game does not count). It features tons of greater claw bugs and killer bugs, which are very deadly as they punch through the thickest armour. If you survive it, you will find some statues - smash them for nice rewards including scrolls of chaos resistance and potions of ultra healing. Each statue represents someone who helped write the game, including the unquestionably famous hero known as Raymond Martineau.

Mad Minstrel

The lonely hut of a very useful guy. He is waiting for a rare book if you can get it to him, and he also wants someone assassinated. The assassin can become an Avatar of Order or Balance or an Ultimate Chaos God if they play the hand right.

Unicorn Glades

Once you're experienced enough (level 30), go back to Terinyo and talk to the druid. He'll tell you of a white unicorn who needs your help, but you might prefer the rewards offered by her enemy, an evil black unicorn. One offers a one-time cure, the other a disease but also a power boost.

Scintillating Cave

The Emperor Moloch has a paper that an Ultimate Chaos God needs....

Minotaur City

The maze is big and has many traps... can you get to the Minotaur Emperor, or will he get you?

Barbarian Glade

The barbarian has a skill for you, but you must remember your first kill.

Water Dragon cave

The Momma dragon misses her baby... where is he? If you go and tell him you've seen her, you will eventually be rewarded. Just don't touch *anything*, lest you become chow. Unless, that is, you are very tough and very sneaky. Then you might want to backstab the momma dragon under cover of darkness and plunder her treasure hoard. Of course, this is a somewhat evil act.

The Library

Books, books and more books... mage's paradise. Just beware the guards. The librarian also holds something for a mad musician if you can get it silently.

Infinite Dungeon

This cave is... infinite, and random. There are 2 levels that are special, however. One is part of becoming a Chaos God, the other is part of becoming an Avatar of Order or Balance or an Ultimate Chaos God (hint: remember first kill).

Dusty cave

There is a secret hidden in the teleporters... and it might help you defeat Andor Drakon.

The dark cave

Rumor has it that a bright light shines somewhere in the dark...

The ring of stones

This place goes nowhere... except when the planets are aligned. If you beat the dragon, another piece of the Chaos God puzzle is gained.

Tower of Eternal Flame

This tower hosts the first key to enter the lower parts of the Caverns of Chaos, but also a major guardian. The artifact within is also crucial to getting to the gate room.

Caverns of Chaos

The chaos gate is within these foreboding caves.

The Arena

Not really a town, but more of a voluntary arena to compete for the golden gladius. The traders offer disgusting-sounding food, but one kind is extremely sustaining and light to carry.

Dwarftown

This town is inside the caverns of Chaos, and is usually at or just inside the boundary of the corrupting aura of the gate. The town has a shop that sells everything, and the ancient dwarf, who leads the town, offers many quests. It also has an inn and a smithy. The knowledge needed to get one of the keys to being a Chaos God lies in someone's head, but he'll only talk to unsavory characters, and even then, must be paid before he'll tell them anything.

Khelavaster

Ah, a hero is dying... can you save him? He is beyond the help of any healing herbs, spells or potions, the special healing abilities of the Healer class, or Jharod the Healer (even if you could manage to lead him to the Caverns of Chaos). But though he is doomed to die whatever you do, there is one magical amulet which will bring him back. If you can save him, he will give you an extremely generous reward, including six blessed scrolls of chaos resistance. Later on, he might also be able to give you something that will help you slay Andor Drakon, but if you're planning on becoming an Ultimate Chaos God, you'd better not let him see your evil intent.

More tips on saving Khelavaster

Casino

A place to get more money than you can carry without a blessed girdle of greed. You just need to know the trick to keep the game playing for long periods of time without stopping. ;)

Darkforge

This place is the secret entrance to the lower part of the Caverns of Chaos, but it must be opened from the inside. It is full of steel golems which breathe fire, but also conceals rooms of weapons, armour and gold.

Elemental Temples

In addition to the fire orb from the Tower of Eternal Flame, you must recover the other elemental orbs (water, air, earth and mana) to open the gate room.

Sidebranch

There are two important things in the side branch, one crucial to victory.

The elemental rifts

Find a way to seal the rifts and you can go on to finish closing the gate.

The ice room

Hint: Newton's laws of physics apply even in a non-friction environment.

The ChAoS Gate

The object of your quest, or your means of ascension... if you choose to enter it. N.B. Unless you are properly equipped, entering it will be instantly fatal. You can't go up from the rift level until you close the gate and ensure that it stays closed forever.

Sidebranch of the CoC

Mana Temple

Let's not forget the mana orb. Just keep an eye out for the Chaos Archmage, he loves the dark.

The "Barney" quest

The ancient Karmic wyrm has a quest for you... kill the big purple ancient blue wyrm, nicknamed "Barney" for his quite un-blue color. The karmic wyrm gives a ton of loot including a very special dagger, which is key to becoming an Ultimate Chaos God.

ChAoS pLaNe!!!

Yup, you decided you either want to be a god, or take one down. Good luck, Andor Drakon is fast and he packs a wallop with that corruption. Make sure you have a good radiation cleaner, and if you have the right stuff (cockadoodledoo) you might even become the Ultimate ChAoS gOd!!!

Artifacts and Items

Special items you may need... artifacts being indestructible items.

Trident of the Red Rooster

Can you just hear Andor Drakon screaming as you suck his power away and become an Ultimate Chaos God? Here are the steps to obtaining this wonderful item.

Be careful that your first kill is not an exceedingly common monster, or you will be in big trouble later.
Save Khelavaster from a certain death, for he is the only one who can perform the powerful magic required to summon the Trident. (If you aspire to become an Ultimate Chaos God, this may seem out of character. Just remember that you are perfectly free to slaughter Khelavaster with his own Trident once you have it.)
Kill "Barney" and keep Needle (which looks like any other dagger until you identify it).
Go find where the Assassin Prince is hiding in the Dusty Dungeon. If you are at least level 45, he will tell you that the Mad Minstrel wants someone killed.
Once you've killed your target (who is in the Infinite Dungeon), report to the Mad Minstrel, who will tell you the location of the Scintillating Cave.
Kill the Emperor Moloch... quickly, before Chaos takes you... and take his scroll.
Bring this scroll to Khelavaster in Terinyo, and he should summon the Trident for you. Remember that he is lawful and does not approve of chaotics.

Chaos Insignia

3 special artifacts, Medal, Sceptre and Crown that let you enter the Gate without being eaten. The Sceptre is not required if you have the Trident of the Red Rooster.

Phial of Caladriel

Besides the obvious book rip off, it is pretty much useless except for wasting mana points to fry gremlins, or as fodder for a certain unstable individual somewhere in the CoC. It's good if you have loads of spare mana and you don't have a Light spell when surrounded by darkness. You don't want the grue to get you, do you?

Golden Gladius

Trade for a skill bonanza, or keep as a prize...