This realm is possibly the most intriguing amongst the Deeper Dungeons. Its creative design requires speed, efficiency, and caution.

You begin the realm with aught but a level 4 Spider. With no gold and no Create Imp spell, there's nothing you can do except to possess your Spider and take the battle to your enemies in person. Allow the Spider to make its home in your damaged Lair first, then immediately take control.

The door to your east leads into a small but dangerous Hero keep. The first obstacle you will face are two Boulder traps. Peek around the corners and as soon as you hear them set off, begin strafe-running back toward the entrance. Walk backward, because you will not have time to turn around.

With the Boulder traps safely destroyed in the lake, proceed inward. Knocking down the first door will release three level 1 Archers, but you can take these on without much trouble at all. Try to attract their attentions one at a time by only peeking into their room. Use your Spider's Freeze and Slow skills to maximum effect, and use her fangs to tear apart the heroes.

If your Spider's health gets low at any point, you must depossess and pull her out of battle. Take her back to your Hatchery and fill her up on Chickens to help her recover health. Any living heroes will rapidly come toward your dungeon, so stay alert. Up until you complete clearing out this hero keep, you will instantly lose the campaign if all of your creatures have died.

Knocking down the next door brings you into a damaged room with a channel of water running around it. Fortunately this room is empty, but entering it will cause a party to eventually drop into the next room. This party has level 4 Dwarves and level 2 Barbarians who are much too powerful for your Spider to fight. Instead, rush through the next room and knock down the door leading north. Within are two powerful level 6 Mistresses itching for a fight. Use your Spider to strafe-run around the room firing off Slow and Freeze spells while the Mistresses pummel the heroes. Watch all three creatures' health and do not let any of them die.

Take your Mistresses back to the Lair once the heroes are dead and prepare for the final assault. This time, possess one of the Mistresses. Return to the room where you found her and break into the hallway beyond. At the end of it is a gigantic room, and along the south wall you will see a gauntlet of deadly Indy traps. A strafe-running Mistress is far faster than Boulders, however, so just run across to the other door at an angle, setting off each trap. Some level 8 Giants will foolishly drop in right in the path of the Boulders, and all of them will be smashed to kibbles. Wait for the sound of rumbling Boulders to subside before continuing on (there is a pool of water in the northeast corner of the room that will stop all of them shortly). Once you're certain that all of the Boulders are gone, continue through the winding corridor and bang down the final door. Within are a group of six level 4 Imps who are honored to serve you. Bah, honor. Put them to work immediately mining the meager gold to the west of your Heart.

Without sparing any time (for you have none to spare), use two of your Imps to tunnel and claim a path running to the east to point 1. Here you will find an opening in the Blue Keeper's walls directly to his Lair. The Blue Keeper is pathetic for the time being, controlling only low-level Trolls and Beetles. If you wait too long, however, he will steal away a group of Spiders and Bile Demons who are meant to be yours, and defeating him will become much more difficult.

So, with that said, possess your Mistress and run into the Blue Keeper's dungeon, ignoring all of his creatures as they begin to attack you. Run straight for his Heart Room and start running backward around it, using your Mistress's claws and Lightning to kill any creatures who followed you. Once you are alone, start attacking the Dungeon Heart and destroy it. With the Blue Keeper out of the way, you can join this area to your dungeon, take it over, and free the level 3 Spiders and level 2 Bile Demons in the chambers along the southwest side of his dungeon. Allow only your Mistresses and a couple of Spiders to train; you cannot afford to train them all. You must do this quickly because groups of heroes made fearful by your sudden defeat of the Blue Keeper are now on their way to cut your quest short.

The heroes come in two separate parties, but the two parties arrive within moments of one another and so there will be no breathing time between them. The first party consists of 3 Archers at levels 3 and 4 and 2 Dwarves at levels 2 and 3. The second party consists of 2 Fairies at level 2 (laughable) and 3 Monks at level 4 (dangerous). Both parties enter from the precariously located Hero Door just above what was previously the Blue Keeper's Lair. If some of your newfound Spiders die during this battle, do not mourn them. You are extremely strapped for cash and will find you may have too many mouths to feed if they all survive.

With this attack dispatched, the next goal is to begin striking to the south. Your defeat of the Blue Keeper gave you knowledge of Bridge building via some mysterious magic, and to your southeast you can see a strategically important pool of lava. You will use this lava throughout the remainder of the realm to trap and destroy hapless heroes.

At any time you feel ready, bridge across the lava to the hero door at point 2. Within this small chamber are several level 4 Thieves - I hate having to kill these guys, but they must die. Allow them to begin walking toward your dungeon across the Bridge and as they step onto the first tile, sell away both ends of the Bridge. The Thieves will continue to walk into the lava and then onto your Bridge, where they will remain trapped. Position your Mistresses on the far shore and they will destroy the heroes using their ungodly Lightning. You can do this same thing to all of the heroes who try to attack you from the south, so they are of no threat to you at any time.

There is more precious gold nearby. Avoid breaking down the hero door to the west and instead tunnel south and around the Impenetrable Rock. You will break into a long cave that houses some rowdy level 4 Dwarves. Trap them just as you did the Thieves, and then mine the gold as greedily as you possibly can (build a temporary Treasure Room in the cave and then move the gold later by hand).

Tunnel immediately west of the north end of the gold cave to point 3 and you will discover an unaligned Library and a group of erudite level 8 Warlocks intent on helping you take revenge on their foe, the Wizard. Unfortunately, the Wizard's curse has disabled most of your ability to research. Your Warlocks will head back to the Library after making their lairs, but the only thing they will be able to divine at the present time is the Create Imp spell - still, a useful thing to have.

After your Warlocks research the spell, tunnel westward from the Library until you break into the large watery cave at point 4. Within this cave is a frightening group of Knights - two at level 6 and two at level 8! Of course, these heroes will fall just as quickly when trapped on your lava bridge. Your Mistresses can finish them off in record time, with or without help from your Warlocks.

The Wizard's fortress to the south beckons you. Approaching this door causes a minor party of mid-level heroes to drop in to offer a meager defense. Just let them die on your Bridge, then rinse and repeat by opening up the southern door and letting the heroes inside make their way out.

At points 5 and 6 are a total of five level 8 Dragons and two Resurrect Creature specials (a third Resurrect Creature special also rests in the room west of point 6). You should ignore all of these for the time being, leaving the Dragons and the heroes locked in their chambers. Instead, continue back toward the east, through the winding hallway. As you near the Magic Door here, a message will mention that the Wizard's domain now lies before you. In the room beyond, at point 7, he already awaits destruction. Knocking down his door will draw him out, but he will also summon three separate parties of mid-level heroes to come with him. One party of Archers, a party of Barbarians and Monks, and a party of Giants and more Archers. Trap and destroy them all.

Killing the Wizard releases the bonds upon your powers. You are instantly granted knowledge of Barracks and Training Rooms, and you can additionally research the Guard Post, Workshop, Torture Room, Sight of Evil, Call to Arms, Hold Audience, Speed Monster, Conceal Monster, Protect Monster, Heal, and Lightning. Put your Warlocks back to work immediately, for you need the Workshop as soon as possible. With only minor gold reserves remaining, you must build the largest Workshop possible and put all trained Mistresses, Spiders, and Bile Demons to work within it (do not forget that Warlocks think they are too good to do manufacturing and will be angered if you even suggest that they do it).

Continue to clear out the hero keep by proceeding to the east. You will find three more level 6 Mistresses to compliment your previous two, as well as a special surprise. Upon breaking into the final room of heroes, you will find a party of 6 Monks. However, three of them are cowards. Having realized they are amongst the last of the heroes in the realm, they will join your cause and turn on their monastic bretheren. Welcome these turncoats to your dungeon. To the immediate south you will find yet two more Resurrect Creature specials that the Monks were hoarding.

Train minions and continue to sell Magic Doors as quickly as possible. When you have a comfortable gold cushion built up, release the Dragons and take out the remaining heroes in the Wizard's keep. Break into the area connecting the Thieves' cave at point 2 and the Knights' cave at point 4. When your Imps reach a certain point within, a massive attack will be coordinated against your Dungeon Heart, so be prepared to cast your rarely-used Hold Audience spell in answer to it.

Three level 3 Samurai, a level 4 Thief intent on stealing gold, and a party of level 2 Giants and Barbarians who want to tear up your rooms will arrive all at once within your own Heart Room. This should be easy to take care of at this point. Do so and then dig out the tile of earth blocking off part of the area you have just broken into. Beyond it you will find two perfect Increase Level specials. Since your army is now at maximum size, use them immediately. This will turn your Warlocks and Dragons into level 10 beasts, help out any Mistresses who have not finished training, and boost up your Spiders and Bile Demons who are bound to still be lower level.

With the heroes utterly vanquished, only one goal remains - the death of the Green Keeper. Though he possesses a portal, the Wizard's curse also apparently kept him from acquiring any new creatures through it. He will max out at 19 creatures, all of whom were already with him when the conquest began. All of them are bound to be level 10 by now, and so your own army should be fully trained in order to match them.

Tunnel south from the remains of the Wizard's abode and you will eventually break out into an open cave where you can see the Green Keeper's dungeon on the far shore. You need to conceal an expendable Imp and quickly claim all of the tiles along the shoreline on your side of the lake. Once you are done, build a Guard Post all along the shore. This will stop the Green Keeper from agitating against your territory - he will otherwise send Imps, Flies, and Hellhounds to harass you.

Absolutely avoid killing the enemy's creatures, including his Imps, while they are within his living Imps' grasp. The Green Keeper controls a Graveyard, and if you allow him, he will use it to strengthen his ranks with Vampires. He already has one Vampire, and that should be good enough for him.

Once you are fully prepared, simply strike at the Green Keeper in full force. Assemble your army on your beach head under Call to Arms, bridge across, and invade. Show the opponent no mercy, using Heal, Protect, Speed, and Lightning. Try to keep your minions together and do not allow them to disperse too widely. If you do, you will lose almost all of your Spiders and the tide may turn against your remaining minions. Beware especially of the Vampire, and do not delay in destroying the enemy's Heart once his creatures lie dead, for his Imps will otherwise use their corpses to great effect.

I was able to defeat the Green Keeper with only the loss of a few Spiders, so he is not that powerful. Though he controls Lightning, you can use Protect Monster. And though he has traps, none of them are truly dangerous to your creatures - no Boulders whatsoever. He will hack down almost all of his walls in his mad quest to build the world's largest Workshop, and so getting to his Heart Room will involve little physical resistance.

Your victory over the Green Keeper ends this realm. Unlike the vast majority of them, there is nothing left to do here other than enjoy your victory. Only one more realm remains, and within dwells the new Avatar. Like his predecessor, he will soon be acquainted with the full scope of your wrath. But that is a tale for next time!