| First Level | |
| Hold | Journey to Rooted Hold |
| Location | Dugandy, Ephelna |
| Style | Foundation |
| Room count | 28 |
| Secret rooms | 4 |
As the name suggests, this is the first level of Journey to Rooted Hold.
Entrance texts[]
When first entering the level:
"It is always recommended that in addition to the main entrance, each dungeon shound have an additional, alternate entrance, whose existence is kept secret. This can be useful in case of emergencies such as cave-ins or bad faith on behalf of the client." - From the Architect's Manual, Dungeon Architect's Association
"I don't care what it is you're doing. If you want Halph to come with you, you need to pick up the laundry on way back. It's his chore." - Vonnifa Budkin, Beethro's sister.
When going back from the Second Level:
"Sometimes, the only way to go forward is to go backwards. Not usually, though." - Tuenan folk saying
Overview[]
As this is the first level of the game it is mostly designed as a tutorial to introduce new players to the game. The first few rooms introduce orbs and doors with simple puzzles that cannot be failed. The next few rooms introduce roaches, green doors, tunnels and force arrows without any explanation of how these elements work in a "Show, don't tell" manner.
The level also involves a lot of running without doing much else, especially in the second half, presumably to familiarize players with DROD's rather unusual control scheme.
This level is fairly linear. Not counting the secrets it only has 2 branching points, the first of which might even be missed by players new to the game, who don't yet know about diagonal movement.
Gameplay[]
Since the level is designed to introduce new players to the game, puzzles are practially non-existent and all the combat rooms are relatively simple, excluding the secret rooms which might present a small challenge to a new player.
Story[]
- See the transcript page for a transcription of all the dialogue spoken in the level.
The story begins with Beethro and Halph having already entered King Dugan's Dungeon through an alternate entrance, as hinted in the level entrance text. Shortly after entering, Beethro tells Halph to wait for him while he scouts ahead, but Halph ignores Beethro's directions and wanders off somewhere after Beethro leaves the room.
A bit off the main path Beethro finds the Dungeon Architect Association seal, hidden in a secret room, laid out on the floor as an image, which, as he remarks, is unusual, since normally they make their seals out of various room elements.
In just a few rooms Beethro encounters Halph again only to see him run off with a goblin.
Soon Beethro finds his way to the Tenth Level's exit room and uses the portable orb he got from Mobley Inufgot to open the mysterious door that he was unable to open on his first visit to King Dugan's Dungeon. Behind the door he finds a staircase that leads to deeper levels of the dungeon.
Connected levels[]
The following levels are directly accessible from this level:
Trivia[]
- Even though this is the first level of Journey to Rooted Hold, it is actually the Tenth Level of King Dugan's Dungeon.