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Team Stonekeep

BY GAMERS. FOR GAMERS.
Copyright 1995 Interplay Productions. All Rights Reserved. STONEKEEP is a trademark of Interplay Productions. STONEKEEP is protected under the copyright laws and regulations of the United States of America.

Contents

Introduction

INTERPLAY PRODUCTIONS

Getting Started

Options

Game Mechanics Journal

Credits

Warranty

Keyboard & Cursors

Magick

STONEKEEP

Character
Installation & Customer Support back cover
The Legend of Stonekeep, mightiest of the human citadels and home to the hero Drake. For it was Drake who defeated the Shadowking and raised Stonekeep back from the depths of the earth itself. Unless you help, this happy ending may not come to pass.
f all the tales and legends, there stands one above all
Stonekeep is the second part of this legend. Theras Awakening, the novella included in this package, is the first part and you should read it for background. Reading Theras Awakening is not necessary to help Drake in his quest, but Stonekeep will be more enjoyable if you do. Thank you for purchasing Stonekeep! Its been a long road and we hope that you enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you.
Team Stonekeep & Interplay Productions

Game Mechanics

step forward turn left turn right
lay Stonekeep using the mouse and the keyboard.

Movement

step back
Walking through Stonekeep is controlled by the ARROW KEYS as shown above. Unlocked doors open when you move into them. Locked doors open other ways. Climb stairs and ladders by walking into them. Your mouse controls the CURSOR. The cursor icon changes to show you what action you can take with your hands. The LEFT and RIGHT mouse buttons represent your left and right hands. This is important when you equip an item in each hand, and may affect other actions as well.

Inventory

You can pick up items you find by moving the cursor until it turns into a GRAB HAND over the item. When you left click once, the cursor changes into the active item. You can throw an active item by moving it towards the top of the screen and clicking a mouse button. The higher up the item when you click, the harder Drake throws the item. Low to the ground, Drake will place the active item on the floor instead. Drake has a Magick Scroll that holds your inventory items. To open the scroll, move the mouse cursor to the right side of the screen. When the cursor changes to a SCROLL, click once with either button to reveal your inventory. Place the item on the scroll and click again to add it to your inventory. You can stack identical items on top of each other if you want. The number of items in that pile will appear next to the cursor when you do so.
You can remove items from the SCROLL by using the grab hand. As you add more items to the INVENTORY SCROLL, it changes length to accommodate the new items. At some point, you will need to scroll the SCROLL to see all the items. To move to the top or bottom of your inventory, use the top or bottom of the SCROLL. The inventory will scroll as long as you hold the mouse button down or until you run out of items. The right mouse button scrolls faster than the left mouse button. When you grab items, the right mouse button will automatically add the active item to your inventory. It will try to add the item to an appropriate container (like an arrow to a quiver, or a rock to a bag of rocks); if it cannot do that, it will search for identical items, and if that fails, it will drop the new item at the top of your inventory. The left mouse button will just open your inventory for you. The middle mouse button (or the left and right buttons at the same time) will make the item active.

Mystic Mirror

The MYSTIC MIRROR allows you to see Drake and his party of adventuring friends. Use the MIRROR to equip and wield items, like armor and weapons, or to use items on your characters, such as heal roots and scrolls. To toggle the MIRROR display, move the cursor to the upper right side of the screen. When the cursor changes to a mirror, click once. Open the mirror by clicking on the Direction Gem. The MIRROR will also open when you open the INVENTORY SCROLL. Move an active item to the character portrait in the MIRROR and click once to equip or use the item. If the item needs to be placed into a characters hand, like a sword, move the cursor over the desired hand and click. The small bars under your characters are their VITALITY METERS. Click on the METER to show the number of Vitality points remaining. When Vitality reaches 0, then that character is unconscious. If Drake loses all his Vitality, the game is over!

Journal

inding the JOURNAL quickly is essential. It records useful information along your journey through Stonekeep. When you have the JOURNAL, open it by clicking on the upper left edge of your screen (when the cursor changes to a little journal). Close the Journal by clicking outside its pages. The JOURNAL is divided into six sections.

Character Information

The first section shows your characters statistics and skills. Refer to these pages to track your characters improvement and to check his status. When others join your party, information about them will be recorded here as well. The combat page shows what armor and weapons you have equipped. It also shows how much damage your armor absorbs when you are hit and it shows how accurate
your weapon is and the average damage it delivers.
If you ever need to record information about your game, use this section. The QUILL CURSOR shows where you can writeclick to start typing and when you are done typing.
This is where Drake records any RUNES he finds and where spells are prepared. You can write your own notes next to the RUNES. Refer to Magick (pg. 11) for more information.
Many important clues are automatically recorded here for you. Refer here when you need help.
When you find a new item, a record of the item is added to this section. You can write your own notes here as well.
Everywhere you step will be recorded in this section. Use the QUILL to write notes in squares you have visited. A red mark on the map will show the location of a note. Click on the mark to see the note. A map in the Journal. Click on the number next to the note to jump back to the map. Erase all the text of a note to remove the red mark from the map. Use the key to bring up the current map.

he world of Stonekeep is filled with magick, but you must find the necessary items before you can use magick to cast spells. There are two basic items you need: RUNECASTERS and RUNES. You must also have the JOURNAL. Runecasters are magick staves and runes are written symbols of spells. You will find runes on scrolls as you explore. When you read a scroll with a new rune, that rune is automatically recorded in your JOURNAL. You can record notes and observations next to the rune in the JOURNAL. Runes must be inscribed onto a runecaster before you can cast spells. With a runecaster equipped in either hand, open the JOURNAL to the runes section and click on the rune you wish to inscribe. You will need to click with the right mouse
button for the right hand or the left mouse button for the left hand. Move the cursor to one of the blank slots on the runecaster and click again to write the rune. There is a limited number of slots; the number varies and depends on the quality of the runecaster. If you want to replace an old rune with a new rune, simply write the new rune over the old.
There are different types of runes: Mannish, Throggish, Faerie and Meta runes. The first three are called basic runes, however, Meta runes can modify basic runes. Meta runes must be written on top
of basic runes, but they will not erase the basic rune. To cast a spell, click with the appropriate mouse button and then select the proper spell by clicking on it. A final click may be necessary if the spell requires a target. The runecaster will remember the last spell you cast, so if you wish to cast the same spell, you will not need to select it again. Spells require a power, called mana. When you cast a spell, the mana to power the spell comes from the runecaster. Spells use different amounts of mana: the more powerful the spell, the more mana it costs. Runecasters can only hold a limited amount of mana. When you use all the mana, you will need to find a magick source to recharge your runecaster.

Shortcuts

U Step Forward w W Turn Left a X Turn Right d V Step Back s Journal ! First page @ Notes (most recent) # Runes (first page) $ Clues (most recent) % Items (most recent) ^ T Map

(current map)

F Last page, current section P Page back in Journal Q Page forward in Journal Game Controls Save Game Subtitling (On/Off) Load Game Lower Music volume Raise Music volume Lower Sound volume Raise Sound volume Voices (On/Off) Quit
H First page, current section
Brightness control Mouse Sensitivity G Options Screen/Cancel o Game Options Screen i Inventory scroll m Mystic mirror j Journal E Pause (speech) Z Cancel Cursors
Inventory H Top of inventory F Bottom of inventory P Up five items Q Down five items

Attack Inspect

Turn Page

Statistics 16

t the beginning of Stonekeep, Drake is capable but not very experienced. As progress is made through gameplay, and skills practiced, Drake will improve his abilities. Its important to improve your characters!

Strength, Agility and Health are statistics that define your characters. There are no intelligence or perception statistics. Youll have to provide those yourself! Strength is raw might. It adds to the damage you do in combat and other physical tasks you may have to perform. Strength improves by using heavy weapons. Agility measures quickness and dexterity. With skills and other factors, it determines how accurate you are in
combat. It also reduces your chance of being hit. Use lighter weapons to increase Agility. As Health improves, the more likely you can shrug off the effects of poison or bad magick. It also determines your Vitality. When your Health increases, your Vitality also increases. Health increases when Strength and Agility do. There are also Skills, which represent specialized training. Skills also improve by use. Archery, Axe, Brawl, Dagger, Hammer, Polearm, and Sword are all combat skills. Each weapon you use falls under a particular combat skill. Combat skill is used to determine your weapon accuracy and speed. Defense is how good you are with a shield, and how often that shield blocks attacks in combat. Stealth is a measure of how quiet you are when walking slowly and carefully. The better your Stealth, the more likely you can surprise monsters from behind. Magick governs your rune magick skill. The more skilled rune-magickians can use runecasters more efficiently, using less mana to cast more spells.
From the Options screen, you may: SAVE the current game LOAD a previously saved game START A NEW GAME from the very beginning Select GAME OPTIONS QUIT the game SAVE GAME displays your save game slots. Click on the up/down arrows to scroll through the list. Click on a slot, and type a name to save your game under. Press
ressing the key during normal play will display the OPTIONS SCREEN. The game will pause when you do this.
when you are done to save your game, or press at any time to cancel the operation. You have 20 save game slots. LOAD GAME displays the saved games, along with the names of the games and a picture of where you saved them. Click on a save game slot to load that saved game. Use the up and down arrows to scroll through the list. START A NEW GAME does exactly that. QUIT GAME exits Stonekeep. Save your game first! GAME OPTIONS allows you to change the volume of the music, the volume of the sound effects and speech, the sensitivity of the mouse and the brightness of the display. Click on the left and right arrows of an option to change it. See Keyboard (pg. 14-15) for shortcuts. RETURN TO GAME will unpause the game and return you to the action.

Press the spacebar or a movement key to close the MIRROR and the SCROLL. Move the mouse cursor over the pile of bones and click once with either button to search the bones. Move the cursor over the skull; when the cursor changes to a hand, click once with the right mouse button the skull should disappear. Press the up arrow to walk forward, press the right arrow to turn right. Search the rubble by punching it.
fter Thera brings you to the Ruins of Stonekeep, your quest begins. Here are some pointers to help you start out
When the cursor changes to the grab hand, right click. Now move the cursor to the righthand side of the screen until it turns into a scroll, and click. You should have a rock and skull in your inventory. Grab the rock out of your inventory with your mouse. The rock is now active. Click to close the scroll. Move the rock cursor over the sparkling thing and click again to throw the rock. The higher the rock, the farther it flies.
Walk forward to the door. After Thera speaks, (and thank goodness She isnt mad at you), pick up the rock using the middle mouse button (or both the left and right buttons at the same time). Open the door by walking forward. Walk through the door, and follow Thera. When you see the ant, throw the rock at it. If the ant lives after you hit it with a rock, punch it a couple of times. The attack cursor shows when you can attack, when its full size, and where exactly you want to attack. Walk up to the sign on the wall. Move the cursor over the sign and read it with the INSPECT cursor. From the sign, turn right, walk forward once and turn to the left. Walk up to the door and open it. Walk into the room. Walk up to the chest and open it with your hands. Grab all the items out of the chest! Equip Drake with the dagger by:
opening your inventory, grabbing the dagger, and then moving the dagger up to Drakes image in the mirror. Move the dagger over Drakes right hand and click once when he reaches to take the dagger. Remember, this is a mirror. Read the scroll by dragging the scroll to any part of Drake and clicking once. When you are done listening to Drake, and you can bypass speech with the space bar, drop the scroll. Turn to the right and search the bed with your newly-found dagger. Walk forward and turn to the right. Examine the ruined table with your cursor. You found something when the cursor changes into the GRAB HAND. There is leather chest armor hidden in the ruins of the table. Pick it up and equip it in the same way as you equipped the dagger. Exit the room and follow the corridor around to the left. Congratulations! Youre on your way to becoming a hero!

Limited Warranty

INTERPLAY LIMITED 90-DAY WARRANTY Interplay warrants to the original consumer purchaser of this computer software product that the recording medium on which the software programs are recorded will be free from defects in material and workmanship for 90 days from the date of purchase. If the recording medium is found defective within 90 days of original purchase, Interplay agrees to replace, free of charge, any product discovered to be defective within such period upon receipt at its Factory Service Center of the product, postage paid, with proof of date of purchase. This warranty is limited to the recording medium containing the software program originally provided by Interplay and is not applicable to normal wear and tear. This warranty shall not be applicable and shall be void if the defect has arisen through abuse, mistreatment, or neglect. Any implied warranties applicable to this product, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed. Interplay disclaims all responsibility for incidental or consequential damages. Some states do not allow limitations as to how long an implied warranty lasts and/or exclusions or limitations of incidental or consequential damages so the above limitations and/or exclusions of liability may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. LIFETIME WARRANTY If the recording medium should fail after the original 90-day warranty period has expired, you may return the software program to Interplay at the address noted

below with a check or money order for $5.00 (U.S. currency), which includes postage and handling, and Interplay will mail a replacement to you. To receive a replacement, you should enclose the defective medium (including the original product label) in protective packaging accompanied by: (1) a $5.00 check, (2) a brief statement describing the defect, and (3) your return address. If you have a problem with your software, you may wish to call us first at (949) 5536678. If your media is defective and a replacement is necessary, U.P.S. or registered mail is recommended for returns. Please send the defective disc(s) only (not the box) with a description of the problem and $5.00 to: WARRANTY REPLACEMENTS Interplay 16815 Von Karman Ave., Irvine, CA 92606 SYSTEM UPGRADES Interplay has a system upgrade policy. At any time after purchasing any Interplay product, you may send us your original CD and a check for $25.00 (U.S. funds) and we will replace your CD with the version for another computer system that you specify. (This price is subject to change.) COPYING PROHIBITED This software product and the manual are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by Interplay and are protected by the copyright laws that pertain to computer software. The CD-ROM is not copy-protected. This does not mean you may make unlimited copies.
NOTICE: Interplay reserves the right to make modifications or improvements to the product described in this manual at any time and without notice.
Executive Producer Art Assistants Voice Recording Engineer Faerie Music Recorded at

BRIAN FARGO

Produced & Directed by
TODD LOENHORST SCOTT EVERTS
Dungeon Environment Designer

BRYANT ARNETT

Voice Recording Technical Supervisor and Editor

THE ENTERPRISE

Faerie Music Recording Engineers

MICHAEL QUARLES

Art Director

SPENCER KIPE

Designed by

ROB NESLER

Based on an Original Story by

CHARLES DEENEN

Script Log Assistant

BOB BROWN JEFF GRIFFIN

Faerie Songs Production & Mixing Audio Post Production & Rerecording

CHRIS TAYLOR

Music by

CHRIS BORDERS

Voice Editors

CHRIS TAYLOR & SPENCER KIPE

BRIAN LUZIETTI

Programmers
MICHAEL BERNSTEIN JOHN PHILIP BRITT JAY PATEL JIM GARDNER CHRIS CHRISTENSEN JESSE REYNOLDS KEVIN W. BASS LOQUAN SEH NICK KESTING PETER OLIPHANT

2D Graphic Artists

SCOTT LA ROCCA & PETER OLIPHANT

Interface Designers

MICHAEL QUARLES CHRIS TAYLOR SPENCER KIPE PETER OLIPHANT

Level Designers

CRAIG DUMAN CHRIS BORDERS SERGIO BUSTAMENTE LESLIE SPITZER MAX BOWERS

Lip-sync

Cinematic Post Production & Sound FX
SOUNDELUX MEDIA LABS CHARLES DEENEN

Audio Mastering

SCOTT EVERTS

Voice Coordination

SPENCER KIPE DAVID MOSHER LEONARD BOYARSKY ARLENE SOMERS CHERYL AUSTIN HELENA WICKBERG CHARLES H. WEIDMAN III

3D Rendering Artists

CHRIS TAYLOR FLOYD GRUBB MARK OGREEN SPENCER KIPE SCOTT LA ROCCA
Design Editing & Assistance

CRAIG DUMAN SCOTT EVERTS

Sound FX
CRAIG DUMAN SERGIO BUSTAMENTE

Music FM Conversion

GREGORY R. ALLEN LARRY PEACOCK CHARLES DEENEN THE ENTERPRISE

Foley Artists

RON VALDEZ BRIAN LUZIETTI RICK JACKSON

3D AUDIO PROCESSING

SCOTT BENNIE
Assistant Combat System Designer

MARK HARRISON

A Joint Creation of
MARVIN H. MOORE GREGORY R. ALLEN LARRY PEACOCK
Audio Assistance Video Processors
STONEKEEP LEONARD BOYARSKY ARLENE SOMERS FLOYD GRUBB JIM BOWSER BILL STOUDT

Video Room Supervisor

ROBERT NESLER LEONARD BOYARSKY KEVIN BEARDSLEE DAVID MOSHER MOLLY TALBOT ANTHONY BOWREN COREY COMSTOCK CHARLES H. WEIDMAN III JASON ANDERSON CHRIS REGELADO EDWARD TRILLO
INTERPLAY PRODUCTIONS PETER OLIPHANT
Voice Casting & Direction
REGINALD ARNEDO CHERYL POSNER

Cinematic Sequence Music

MICHAEL McCONNOHIE MELODEE M. SPEVAC THE VOICEWORKS
Voice Casting & Direction (Faeries)

RICHARD BAND

Stonekeep Theme

Faerie Songs

JIM BOWSER
Cinematic Video Technology

JAMIE THOMASON

Recorded at
BRIAN LUZIETTI CHARLES DEENEN
Faerie Players Contracting

PAUL ALLEN EDELSTEIN

POST LOGIC, Hollywood CA INTERPLAY STUDIOS, Irvine CA

MARCY DICTEROW

Programming Consultants
TIM CAIN KURT W. DEKKER SCOTT CAMPBELL

Internal Engine Designer

Assistant Quality Assurance Director

Faerie Male

Dombur

DAVID L. SIMON

Quality Assurance Director

DIANE TRAN

Floating Skull

MILTON JAMES

JEREMY S. BARNES

Rendering Director

SCOTT LA ROCCA

Back of Head

MICHAEL SORICH

Iaenni, Queen of the Fae

PETER OLIPHANT
Translation Support & Such

Throg Guard

NATALIE CARTER

Lament/Sparkle

Audio Director

GARY SIMPSON

Throg Shaman

KATH SOUCIE

Sweetie Surly

CHRIS DeSALVO

Installer Programmers

MIKE RADANAECHER

GABRIEL VALENCIA DARREN MONAHAN PARALLAX SOFTWARE
Director of MIS Department

Artist Supervisor

E.G. DAILY

Chuckle Snort

TODD CAMASTA

Assistant Producers

GINA TAVIZON JACOB R. BUCHERT III

Zombie

ROB PAULSEN

Giggle Binkle

NATHAN RENICH

MIS Manager

FLOYD GRUBB ERIC DEMILT

Proud Dad

BILL Weez DUGAN

Skeleton LUCY

STEVE MACKALL

Murph Winkle

MIKE PACHOLIK

Historian

ALAN PAVLISH

STARRING Young Drake

JEFF GLENN BENNETT

Vermatrix Goldenhide

ERIC TI-CHUN YING
Extra Special Sharga Scripting

TORI ANDAHAZY

Mr. McCleary

LOUISE CHAMIS

TYLER BURDICK

HY TERMAN

Axe-Man

KEVIN BASS

Quality Assurance

SIMON PRESCOTT

Geldor

NICHOLAS FRANCHOT

Khull-Khuum, the Shadowking

SIMON BLACK

Villager
BILL DELK JOHN WERNER JOHN McGINLEY DEREK BULLARD CHRIS KEENAN TONY PICCOLI DEREK GIBBS JASON PAUL COGGESHALL DARRELL JONES CORY NELSON DARYL GUETZKOW DAVE HENDEE SAVINA GREENE LARRY SMITH MARVIC AMBATA FRANK PIMENTEL JEFF WOODS

Quality Assurance Leads

CLIFTON WELLS

Sardin

MICHEAL ESPISITO

LEE TIRCE

Wolf, Drakes Dog

EDWARD MANNIX

Orson Throg Hermit

LISA PARKER

Wahooka

JULIUS

Stunt Double for Mr. Julius

WESLEY YANAGI

Enigma

SASHA the WONDERDOG

FEATURING THE VOICES OF Drake

BARRY STIGLER

Thun Brightstone Throg Shaman George Ettin

ROBIN LEE

Ice Queen

TONY OLIVER

Shadowking

MIKE L. REYNOLDS

Seldin Sharga 2

COLLEEN MORONEY

ARTHUR BURGHARDT

MARK VANSLOW

Gorda Karn Sarkan Skrag

STEVE NGUYEN

Sharga

MADALYN ROFER

BRIAN GIBERSON

BILL E. MARTIN

TERRENCE STONE

Ed Ettin

TOM DECKER BILL Weez DUGAN

Faerie Girl

ARDWIGHT CHAMBERLAIN
Fil Ettin Nigel Hardstone Big Sharga

STACY PATTERSON KYLE SHUBEL CHAD ALLISON

RICHARD EPCAR

Karzak

SABRINA BRIMHALL

WALTER BURR

PHILIP LEWIS CLARKE

Stump Ettin

Make-up

Best Boy Swing

Manual Writer

MICHAEL MCCONNOHIE

Gargolye

DAVID CROWTHER

Costume Supervisors

PAUL CHEUNG

Key Grip

Manual Design & Production
Scourge Whispering Voices
SPENCER KIPE TODD CAMASTA

Costumer

BUBBA SHEFFIELD

Best Boy Grips

JERRY FRIEDMAN
Manual Editor & Post Production
JEFF WINKLESS MELODEE M. SPEVACK MICHAEL McCONNOHIE
Grug Ice Sharga Guard Tiny Sharga

LINNIE SNEAD

Costume Designer
STEVE GRAVES HUSTON BEAUMONT ROBERT LEITECT

BRUCE WARNER

Thanks to
Fire Special Effects Coordinator

ROY REDE

Stylist

JOSHUA SETH

MELODEE M. SPEVACK
Kandoc Grak the Traitor Sharga 1
VINCENT MONTEFUSCO Special Effects Unlimited

Husky Wrangler

KRISTINE MILLER

Make-up/Hair

VINCE DENARDO

Filmed at

TERRY AIKENS

Teacher

DAN WOREN

Rek Sharga Rebel

BEN KITAY STUDIOS, Stage 14 Hollywood, CA
OPENING/ENDING CINEMATIC SEQUENCES (MOVING PIXELS) Directors

MIKE CARTER

Animal Trainer

ROBERT TOWERS

Sharga Advisor Weak Guard

DENNIS GRISCO

Script Supervisor

ROB HOWARD

Craft Service

EDMUND SORICH

Video Director

Assistant Director

ANTHONY SMOLLER & ROBERT KRAMER

Moving Pixels Producer

RACHEL MONTOYA

Production Assistants

STEVE JACKSON & DAVID PULVER WIN CRAFT at DESPER PRODUCTS SRS LABS DIGIDESIGN DAVE BALL at WAVES MUSEUM REPLICAS DRAGONMARSH, Riverside CA SUSAN & DEVIN QUARLES

Producers

DAVID THORNE
Moving Pixels Director of Photography
MICHAEL CONTI ERIC DEMILT

Directors of Photography

MARK MORRIS MAX LAMKIN REGGIE BLUMFIELD KEVIN KERR

Storyboard Artists

MICHAEL LA VIOLETTE

Motion Control Director

JOHN FANTE ALAN BLAZEDALE

MAX ANDERSON

Motion Control Operator

ANTHONY FUNG HUGH KENNAN

3D Computer Graphics

JIM BALSAM

Motion Control Grip

MOVING PIXELS

3D Artists

MARK MOORE

Gaffers

BEN LESKO

Ultimatte/Video

DAVE WATSON MIKE WEAVER

Craft Services

SEAN RO ARYEH RICHMOND

3D Animation & Special Effects Interplay Productions

BOB KERTESZ

Sound Recordist

ERIC DEMILT TONY BOWREN

OLIVER HAYCRAFT

Boom Operator

SAM MENDELSSOHN

Gaffer

LEONARD BOYARSKY KEVIN BEARDSLEE DAVE MOSHER

KELLY AMATO TIM MILLER

RICHARD CHEUNG

Part I

The Stonekeep Universe
Fr om the Designers Handbook
Stonekeep didnt just rise from the groundit rose from the fertile imaginations and feverish toil of Interplays design team. For close to five years, the designers documented their vision of the Stonekeep universe in a massive, ever-expanding handbook. They filled this design bible with background on and guidelines for the characters, races, histories, mythologies, and technologies (or lack thereof) that form the basis of the Stonekeep story. We took some of the more informative material from these rough notes and wrangled it into a concise historical overview. The following material comes directly from the final draft of the Stonekeep Design Handbook. We merely reorganized passages, did some copy editing, and added passages from the Stonekeep novella, Thera Awakening, by Steve Jackson and David Pulver.

History of Stonekeep

Stonekeep is set on an Earth reconfigured by a fantastic alternate history. Were familiar with the legends of two powerful island nations, Atlantis and Ys, that once ruled the Earth and were destroyed by a massive earthquake. In Stonekeeps timeline, however, powerful magick quelled the great cataclysm. Instead of disappearing beneath thunderous tidal waves, Atlantis and Ys flourished for many centuries. Ys, located off the coast of France, boasted an established civilization far older than that of Atlantis. But during much of its early history it was a warrior culture, fighting off seafaring invaders from Gaul and the isles of Britain. Atlantean society, formed on a continent farther to the south off the shoulder of Africa, rose from a simple agrarian culture and evolved with remarkable speed into a high civilization. Both of these empires sought expansion, exploring the planet and establishing vassal states and colonies. Eventually, Atlantis and Ys came into conflict over the very resource that had saved both from natural disaster. In both cultures, life revolved around the use of magick. Magick (as all roleplaying gamers know) consumes a substance known as Mana. The great spells cast with ever-greater frequency by the Lord Sorcerers of Atlantis and the Dark Warlocks of Ys were consuming much of Earths available Mana. When the seers predicted an end to magickwell, it caused quite a sensation. Atlantis and Ys each called for the other to limit the use of spells, and each continued to use magick at an increased rate. Wars were fought, and many lives lost, but neither Atlantis nor Ys could gain a clear advantage. The two sides fought for many, many years. Eventually, the Dark Warlocks cast a spell intended to destroy Atlantis completely. The ritual took years, and many sacrifices, to complete. When the final casting was made, Ys unleashed something far larger than anticipated.
Part I: The Stonekeep Universe
As the game begins, it is 10 years later. Drake has returned to Stonekeeps former site. While camped at the edge of the chasmall that remains of StonekeepDrake receives a visitation from the goddess Thera. She uses the few powers she retains to separate Drakes soul from his body, sending his life-force into the bowels of the earth. His quest: find all nine orbs and return them to the spells casting point, the Truth Beyond the Shadowa monument accessible only through the Tower of the Shadowking. Along the way, Drake will be joined by Dwarves, Faeries, Elves, and even the mysterious Wahooka (aka the King of Goblins) himself. If Drake and his companions can defeat the Shadowking and learn the secret of the orbs, our young hero will see Stonekeep rise from the earth. and take his rightful place as king.
The Characters of Stonekeep
Here are some of the characters Drake encounters as the tale unfolds. These descriptions are taken from the Designers Handbook to best illustrate how Stonekeeps creators originally saw the games personalities.
Drake is the hero of the story, and the players alter ego in the game. A young man, he was trained for many years in a monastery, so he is still fairly new to the world. He is competent in the use of some weapons, most notably the sword and spear. He has no knowledge of magick at the start of the game. He is curious, but cautious.

Khull-khuum

The Shadowking. Slightly insane. He firmly believes in what he is doing, thinking its for the bestfor everybody. An immortal god, Khull-khuum has sought the lost orbs for a thousand years, give or take a decade. This would give anybody a couple of quirks. The firstborn of Light and Darkness, Khull-khuum caused the Devastation in a mad plan to protect his brothers and sisters.

Stonekeep: The Official Strategy Guide

Ice Sharga

This polar variant of the species is much friendlier and much tougher than his warm-weather cousin, the green-skinned Sharga. (See Sharga.) If you get a perverse urge to attack one, know that Ice Shargas suffer 2.5 times the normal amount of damage from fire spells. Piercing weapons are effective against them, as well.
Khull-khuum, the Shadowking
This is the head honcho. You can try to fight him, but check his stats first: 1500 hit points, skill of 25off the charts. Each of his blows causes 50150 points of damage. Hes immune to special effects spells, and hes nearly invulnerable to magick attack spells. His armor is mighty, very mighty. To defeat him, try a shadow-weapon. Hit and run. and good luck, chump.
Sitting Duck. Stonekeep monsters wont go through doorways. Must be some threshhold phobia. Poor guys. Blast them with missile weapons.

Ice Witch

These spiky little iceballs are minions of the Ice Queen. Like their queen, they attack with icebolts and are particularly vulnerable to fire attacks. If ice witches get in close, pierce them with daggers or spears. Special effects: Ice witches are afraid of fire spells, but are immune to the Tornado rune.
Try this cheat tip at the following places: In front of the ant hole at 40 on Map 1.1. Fifty giant ants crawl out of the nest, one at a time, begging to be squished. (Dont go away for too long, though.) The wasp nests in Level 4: Sharga Minesbut only if you have enough armor. (Wasps inflict a maximum damage of 22 points, all in the cut category.) The best place of all: The glorious Glorystone on Level 7: Dwarven Fortress. Beat on it for days, weeks. Build up every weapon in your arsenal.