Criswelvania
Throne of Darkness
* An Adventure Map for Minecraft *
[ by Criswell ]

Gameplay Guide
Version 1.3.0
*see PDF for full-color maps and tables

Introduction:
Criswelvania is an homage to Konami's Castlevania series of games. Fans of the original NES 
game will note that every level and even the overall progression of the first Castlevania has been 
in some way interpreted in this map, and many elements from Simon's Quest, CVIII, Super 
Castlevania IV for SNES, and Symphony of the Night make appearances as well.

Installation:
Extract the Criswelvania v1.3.0 folder to your .minecraft/saves directory.
Criswelvania is current with Minecraft version b1.3_x. No mods are required to play. An 
AdventureCraft-modified version may be forthcoming in the future, but the intention is to 
maintain a vanilla MC-compatible version as the official edition.

Quickstart Guide:
It's sunset on the edge of a dark forest. You need to find weapons and items to survive. Open the 
first chest you see, and equip the sword. You can use the snowballs too, to keep monsters at bay 
until you can find something better. The other materials might come in handy as well.
Follow the path East, then South until you come to a lake and Zweilliger Farm. You can take 
refuge overnight in the farm if you wish; you may find some more items to aid you. When you are 
prepared, continue down the road and you will come to a passage over a cliff leading to the first 
village of Gillis. You should be able to see the Castle in the distance. If you search the houses in 
Gillis you will find your first quest.

Adventure Goals:
Ascend the dark halls and towers of Criswelvania and cleanse it of the evil that awaits you within. 
Visit the nearby towns surrounding the Castle to buy supplies and get hints to guide you to the 
rarest and most powerful equipment.
There are 24 treasure items to locate across the land -- find as many as you can, and journey into 
the portal under the Palace of Darkness to the Nether Castle. If you can return through 
Gatehouse at the end of this final challenge, and escape from the Caves of Confusion to the 
starting point on the surface, your name will become legend! If you fail, yours may end up as 
rather more of a... cautionary tale.


For the best experience while playing through Criswelvania, 
the following guidelines are suggested:

General Gameplay:
*	Difficulty must be set to at least Easy; Normal or above is recommended. Switching to Peaceful 
	effectively forfeits the game if playing for score.
*	A Fog setting of "Normal" (light fog, can still see sun/moon) instead of Far is also 
	recommended. *Try more fog (Near or Tiny) for a greater challenge and a more tense 
	atmosphere (I turn it up an extra tick in the swamps, for example), but only once you're familiar 
	with the map, as high/max fog can be disorienting in some areas.
*	Real Vampire Killers will only venture outdoors or leave towns after sunset. There are some 
	encounters that only occur at night.
*	You may get items from dispensers by activating them, but you may not loot the dispensers 
	directly.
*	Limit yourself to carrying only one stack of any particular item, such as torches or arrows. 
*	You can stash extra loot for later in the chests you find. Accidents happen...
*	Some TNT is scattered around in some chests, it's up to you how or if you want to use it. It's also 
	worth bonus points at the end of the game (see Scoring).
*	Hardcore (Masochist) Mode: You may not place torches or craft items, and in the event of death 
	you must delete, and restart the map only from the original save. If you beat the game in this 
	way you earn a large bonus to your Final Score.

Looting & Treasure:
You may generally take any items you find, as needed. There are several items you may find which 
have no specific use in the game, and your inventory will fill up quickly if you take items not 
related to combat, defense, and survival. There are also some valuable items which can be traded 
in towns for supplies (see Currency), and other treasures which can be returned to the chest at the 
spawn point for a higher Final Score (see Scoring). 

Shops &Currency:
The treasure items you find in chests throughout your journey support the local economy in 
Criswelvania, allowing you to purchase items marked for sale in shop chests, by placing the 
appropriate amount of currency (honor system!) in exchange. 
The rates of exchange are as follows:

Iron Ingot . . .	$ 1
Gold Ingot . . .	$ 5
Diamond . . . .	$10

Additionally, there are locations where you may sell any found books or paintings for $2 and $3, 
respectively. You must trade them in at the designated broker however; you may not use these as 
normal currency in shops.



Breaking & Placing Blocks:
There are a few breakable blocks: any clay is breakable, as are suspiciously-placed single or paired 
blocks of half-steps or brick, or out-of-place patches of sand or gravel. There is usually a hint 
nearby, such as a pick or shovel in a chest. You may break monster spawners, or disable them with 
torches (unless playing Hardcore).
You may also mine out exposed minerals, and smelt any ores found to use as you see fit.

It is permissible to place dirt, stone, wood and other blocks to repair damaged floors or walls with 
the same kind of material. You may also build emergency barricades, and you may build bridges in 
situations such as crossing lava or chasms if it suits your style, but you may not build steps or towers 
to climb over fences, walls or other obstacles.

Crafting:
You may not craft items which you have not found yet. So, even if you find 2 bars of iron, you 
may not craft an iron sword until you find one first. Likewise for armor and diamond gear. It is 
possible to find or buy everything you need and never have to craft anything, but you will have to 
search! You will need at least some of the iron you find to buy things with anyway. Additional 
items may be crafted for extra players as well.

Helpful Tips:
If you die in Criswelvania, you will spawn at your starting location outside the forest. You may 
want to leave some items stashed behind you in case you need to craft or purchase replacements 
for any lost gear. There are a few useable beds around, in a future version of Minecraft you may 
use these to advance your spawn position.

There is a marked path to every important location, and clear boundaries to the distinct regions 
in the map. Try to stay within these boundaries to avoid getting lost or breaking the game. 
Anywhere you see pavestones or stairs is fair game for exploration. If you get out of sight of 
civilization, you are getting yourself lost.

Try not to break obstacles to get around them. The puzzle elements of Criswelvania are not overly 
complex for the uninitiated, nothing is too fiendishly buried or requires esoteric knowledge of 
weird Minecraft techniques. Players need not randomly rip apart the environment to find 
arbitrary loot. There are occasionally multiple paths to get to or from some locations, so if you get 
stuck, backtrack and keep searching.

If you choose to roleplay the adventure in this way,
it will greatly increase the depth and enjoyment of your game.


Endgame:
Once you clear the Palace of Darkness, you are free to locate the Treasury and the Portal Room. 

There are also several challenge areas to explore once you are sufficiently equipped. First of these 
encountered would be Deadman's Cave, just outside of Gillis, where a great amount of pirate 
treasure lies tucked away. There are other mysterious areas scattered around containing treasure 
as well.

When you are prepared and carrying as much treasure as you can, enter the portal. To complete 
the game, simply return from the Nether through the next portal you find, to the Caves of 
Confusion. Escape to the surface and you will be back at the starting point, now determine your 
Final Score!

Further Exploration:
Once you beat the map, you are free to use the world as your own. If you decide to use the castle 
as a base, there are 3 other large and mostly unexplored caves in the area, full of minerals and 
danger. 
The extensive Nether portal system will take you to dozens of areas to explore spanning 2 large 
continents, an enormous world with hundreds of things to discover. The Nether itself has 32 
secret chests tucked away -- how may can you find? See if you can find the Western Ziggurat, 
Embersted, or the Sacred Caves. Take an 8-minute train tour of the main continent! Try to sail 
back to Criswelvania?


Scoring:
Locate the following items and return through the Nether Castle with them to the starting chest 
for a higher Final Score:

Golden Arms:		
Golden Sword		1000
Golden Helm		2500
Golden Chestpiece		4000
Golden Leggings		3500
Golden Boots		2000
Complete Set Bonus		+5000

Artifacts:
Gold Watch		2000
Compass			400
Gold Record		5000
Green Record		2500
Golden Apple		10,000
Complete Set Bonus		+2500

Crystal Arms:
Crystal Sword		2000
Crystal Helm 		5000
Crystal Chestpiece		8000
Crystal Leggings		7000
Crystal Boots		4000
Complete Set Bonus		+10,000

Golden Tools:
Golden Pick		1500
Golden Spade		500
Golden Axe		1500
Golden Tiller		1000
Complete Set Bonus		+1000

Valuable Goods:		x Max = 64
Iron Blocks 		1000 x  
Gold Blocks		5000 x 
Diamond Blocks		10,000 x 
Whole Glowstones		2500 x 
TNT Blocks		500 x 

Special Bonuses: 
Return from Nether		50,000
Used Hardcore Rules		+100K

Difficulty Final Multiplier:
Played on Easy		Score x 1
Played on Normal		Score x 2
Played on Hard		Score x 3

Take a screenshot of recovered Treasure in the starting chest, and post it in the thread to enter 
the Hall of Fame rankings!


Changes in v1.3.0:
Converted map to new format
Added beds & retimed clock with inverter

Changes in v1.2.1:
Added Inverted Nether Castle
New ending goal and scoring system
New treasure hunt quest rewards exploration and replay
Higher prices and more items for sale in shops
Rebalanced loot distribution
Somewhat clearer pathing and goals
More side-quests in villages
Many more monsters, traps and challenges!

F.A.Q.s
We'll see what those are.

+ + + + +

Acknowledgements:
Special Thanks to Konami and Koji Igarashi for making such an enduring classic of a game to 
provide the inspiration. Thanks also to Minecraft creator Notch, to codewarrior for his invaluable 
MCEdit tool, and last but most importantly, the support and encouragement of my wonderful 
wife & kids, all without which Criswelvania would have never been possible!

- D. T. Bourdages
(a.k.a. Criswell)

