Caddis Fell is the first realm of the Deeper Dungeons to truly exceed the original campaign in providing an experience that goes beyond the basics of conquering dungeons and vanquishing heroes. This map requires exploration, timing, and strategy to execute in an efficient manner. Failure to succeed in all three will either quickly end your quest, or will set you up for a protracted battle in which your enemy always has the upper hand.
You begin in the dead center of a mostly abandoned building, although you cannot tell anything of your surroundings at first. Around you are two concentric rings of areas you must make your way through with naught but your starting Imps and two lonely - but powerful - Dark Mistresses. Choose the wrong path, the game warns you, and there will be consequences. However, the consequences will be light as long as you are careful, no matter what route you choose.
To begin, dig from your heart directly west a couple of tiles and you will break out into the first ring of rooms. These four areas are empty, unclaimed dirt on which you need to allot your beginning 250 gold to two lair tiles and one treasure room tile. Do not fail to build the treasure room tile, or you are in big trouble! Allow your Mistresses to make lairs on your two lair tiles so that they will cooperate with whatever you want them to do (creatures without lairs become aimless and cranky).
During the next part of your quest, which you need to complete as quickly but as carefully as possible, you will need to keep complete control over all five of your minions. This means that at any given time, you are holding in your Hand of Evil either both Mistresses and two of your Imps, or all of your Imps to let the Mistresses fight.
In the image to the right you can see the map of this realm. In blue are the best paths around the outer circle of rooms. This is not to say that all of these paths are unguarded. The first thing that must be accomplished is to dig west in the center of the realm once more, which will take you to a locked hero door. Breaking down this door will lead you to the room at point 1 with three Level 4 Barbarians, whom your Mistresses will use as toothpicks. There are also some important pots of gold here, and a Poison Gas trap which you must disarm without killing your precious few imps (have your Mistresses run over it and quickly pick them up, if possible).
Expand your treasure room to 3x3 tiles as soon as it is possible to do so (build one tile at a time and then sprinkle some of the gold you have found into it in order to build more). Throughout this ordeal you must strictly conserve gold. Pay your mistresses an alm a piece by hand on pay day, and even when you have researched spells such as Heal, you must refrain from using them. The Lair and Hatchery must suffice for now.
You want to go south first because your Mistresses are going to get hungry, and at point 2 you will find a Hatchery. You must fight off a level 6 Fairy on the way.
You can also use the chickens to help heal your Mistresses. Be sure to help your Mistresses during battles by picking them up and dropping them back down when they get cornered, and by allowing them to rest in their lairs to recover. Do not at any time allow them to walk anywhere on their own. They may break down the wrong doors and be killed by any of a number of insideous Boulder traps scattered throughout the area.
Going north to point 3 will net you an all-important Library. While your Imps are claiming off safe hallways or rooms, you can put your Mistresses in here to get some of your research done early.
(Note: At no point should you sell any of the rooms you find in this area. You are not given the ability to create Library or Hatchery tiles even after claiming them, so if you sell them, you will forever be unable to recreate them.)
Continue around the circle of pathways, defeating enemies, avoiding traps, and claiming as much gold as you can get your hands on. Note that if you dig through the inner corners where hallways connect in an effort to take a shortcut, you will release a monster (a level 6 Wizard, Monk, Priestess, or Fairy depending on which corner you dug into). Other resistance includes level 4 Thieves, Archers, and Giants, as well as several creatures who will drop in from the ceiling if you choose the "wrong" paths - these include level 5 Samurai, a level 5 Archer, a level 5 Wizard, and a level 6 Monk. In the southern of the two north-northeast corridors where the Archer will appear, you can also find a free level 5 Imp who will join you. Immediately snatch him up, as you may need him if you lose one of your level 3 starting Imps to Gas trap damage. I have marked this path as the "good" one due to the Imp being here, despite the Archer attack.
Once you are prepared - you must have at least researched the Guard Post - you should return to point 1 and cast a free Call to Arms spell to hold your Mistresses here. Have your Imp dig out a single tile of the western wall in the center, and you will discover a Bridge which, when claimed, gives you immediate knowledge of Bridge building. Build a Guard Post next to the bridge tile.
Get ready, because through the hole you just made will pour twenty-two level 5 flies. This sounds suicidal, and when you see them, you will think you've made a mistake. But trust me, your Mistresses can take them all. Just keep moving them around so that they don't get cornered, and watch carefully in case a few flies escape and head for your Heart Room - you can finish them off there without a problem.
Once this attack has subsided, you are ready to move on to phase 2 of the conquest, which believe it or not, is the elimination of your enemy keeper to the north.
He probably has his portal maximum of 30 creatures by now, and a good deal of them have probably trained to high level. How then, you ask, do we intend to crush him with our two Mistresses? Simply put, we don't. On the map you will see red lines running through the lake of lava. These lines indicate where you will build an enormous bridge to connect various parts of the realm. The two important rules to keep in mind from here on out include the following:
Build the bridge as quickly as you can, dropping an Imp along its furthest extents in order to clear away the fog of war. You want to connect the bridge first to the gold vein area to your west and the two nearby Archer posts. Then take it northward against the earthen wall, around the corner, and then all the way to the eastern edge of the realm - do not dig into any walls yet. Once you reach the eastern edge, build it southward and connect to the two Archer posts here.
If you collected all of the gold pots found in your dungeon area and were sufficiently skilled at conserving money, you will barely have enough gold to build this bridge. Now begins a possibly short or long waiting game, depending on how fast you completed the first phase. Go ahead and follow the red lines by digging into the earth along the north and eastern walls from your bridge. At various points you will find caches of powerful heroes, so grab up your Imp as soon as you see the walls break down.
Eventually your enemy to the north is going to dig into a dangerous area in the far west, near point 4. Within are five rogue level 5 Horned Reapers. Alone they will not be enough to defeat him, but if you take advantage of the situation by following the red arrow and digging into the wall, soon all of the heroes who can touch your bridge will pour into his dungeon to back them up. Be sure to save before you release them, in the event that they do not manage to defeat him entirely. You do not want the enemy keeper left alive, and the battle can swing either way depending on nothing other than mere timing.
If you were successful, you will receive a message stating how impressive "your" army is, and your opponent will be no more. This begins the third phase of the conquest.
(Note that it is certainly possible to play this level the other way around, by defeating the heroes first and taking on the enemy keeper yourself. This is, however, very difficult and very frustrating. Not only is your enemy far more powerful than you, but the terrain makes him almost impossible to reach, and he will constantly try to attack your gems, portal, and even your main dungeon by building bridges. It's not fun, so take my advice.)
During this phase, you will gradually reach normality by mining the gold and gems to your west. To do this safely, you must keep the island isolated, line it with guard posts, and build a massive treasure room inside it. Be sure that all of the dangers are cleared from your dungeon area as well, since you will soon be housing at least twenty minions inside.
The best thing to do is to not claim the portal to your east. This is for two reasons. First, you cannot connect your dungeon directly to it, as this would mean building a bridge up to one of your guard posts, which you aren't allowed to do. Why? Try it and see. The Horned Reapers you released to attack your opponent earlier are not at all deterred by the lava. Only guard posts will keep you safe from their wrath for the time being.
The second reason is that around the portal are six level 6 Hell Hounds, which you do not currently need. They will take too much money early on, and they will end up dying by running into the opponent's dungeon remains, where lurk the heroes you released. Save them for later and instead, follow the strategy detailed below.
You will begin claiming your opponent's dungeon in the ordinary way by using a concealed, expendable Imp. You can increase your ability to view the realm by visiting point 5, where you will find a timely Reveal Map special. Have your Imp begin claiming from the area where you let the heroes in, and work your way toward the portal at point 6. (Do not claim the portal yet, that will come in a moment.)
Once you have claimed his dungeon, you hopefully acquired several doors and traps from his Workshops, as well as a Prison (if he had not built one yet, you are out of luck, and probably should have waited longer to destroy him). You need to secure the portal, treasure room, and graveyard area near point 6 by isolating them with doors, and then using your Dark Mistresses to pick off the heroes within those rooms one at a time. Once the area is secure, you can have your Imps drag the heroes' bodies to your Graveyard, so that you can get a head start on making Vampires.
(During the course of this level there will be three different occasions when a large band of rogue Flies will break into your dungeon from Action Point 4, which is located in the eastern of the two east-southeast corridors just north of your Training Room. The first such group will be created by visiting the cave just a bit southeast of point 4, so do not be caught off-guard by this. The resulting Flies are easily defeated and make perfect fodder for creating Vampires. This first attack consists of a massive 24 Flies at levels 5 and 7, which is enough corpses to generate two Vampires!)
After securing the treasure room and portal area, keeping the doors locked at all times, you can claim the portal and allow your Imps to mine the four-faced gem tile here (keep mining the one to your west as well, you will need the money). Minions will begin entering the realm like crazy, and you will need to move them by hand to your main dungeon, where you have hopefully built a full compliment of living and working areas. Throw back any Flies you may get, but keep a few Spiders and Beetles. Remember that you can sacrifice one Beetle and one Spider in your Temple to receive a Dark Mistress. I personally also like to keep a couple of Spiders for freezing prisoners.
Begin training, manufacturing, and complete any remaining research. Continue to gradually claim off your opponent's dungeon, putting bodies in your Graveyard, capturing any heroes you want to torture and convert, and letting those you don't want rot in jail to become Skeletons - you have the full range of options in this realm for the first time in a long time, and I recommend using a bit of each to make a well-rounded army. I particularly recommend that you make an effort to capture any remaining rogue Horned Reapers. These will make superb minions. I myself found that three had survived, and I was able to capture and convert all of them for a Horny Trifecta. As for the other heroes, they make better Vampires or Skeletons.
Once your opponent's ex-dungeon has been entirely secured, you can unlock all doors, begin mining the second gem tile if you so wish, and move some of your minions into the area to make use of its rooms and resources. You can also relax and forget about the two rules I gave you earlier. You can connect bridges to your guard posts now, and allow all your minions to move freely.
Behind the northwest wall of the opponent's dungeon, in the corner at point 7, you can dig into a river of lava to find the first of two level 10 Dragons in this realm. Take him for your own. You will notice that the other Dragon is imprisoned in a cave to the far southwest at point 8. Because you have used the Reveal Map special, you can simply drop an Imp inside this cave to add him to your army - no tunneling or claiming is required!
In the enemy keeper's Library you may find an Increase Level special. If not, you will find it at point 4. Use it when a large number of your minions are level 8 or 9, as it will save you the most training at that point.
Also, at this point you should claim your eastern portal and literally release the Hounds. It is safe for them to explore the level, as long as you do not yet tunnel to the south. Everything from here on out is a simple push to the climax, where you will defeat the heroes. Train everyone to maximum level. In this final phase before the end, there are many strictly optional things that you can do.
You will be able to see two well-protected areas to the southeast. One is found at point 13. It is a mini-dungeon guarded by dangerous traps and a number of level 10 rogue Skeletons, Spiders, and Beetles. Within are two unaligned Spiders and Beetles as well as yet another gem tile. All of these insects, both hero and unaligned, can be used as Temple sacrifices for additional Dark Mistresses. You can also capture and convert the Skeletons, which I highly recommend.
There is another area at point 12 which contains a Graveyard, two rogue Vampires, and an unaligned Vampire. In order to get this, however, you either need to have already defeated the hero Dungeon Heart, or you need the Destroy Walls spell.
If you want to get the Vampire now, head back to the area near the long, twisty corridor full of heroes at point 9. If you look carefully, it possible to create a hole in the wall simply by claiming tiles adjacent to it. This is because a single tile of the path inside is unclaimed. If you dig in here, you will be able to reach the Destroy Walls spell without having defeated the heroes. However, you will release a number of powerful heroes who may make actually getting the book to your Library a nightmare. If your dungeon connects, the heroes will begin streaming out to attack you. For this reason, it may be better to forego the Vampires, which I'm sure you don't actually need at this point. If you go ahead and get the spellbook, use one shot of it on the Graveyard building. Capture the two rogue Vampires and convert them to your cause, and claim the unaligned Vampire instantly.
There's also one other thing you can now do, at high cost, if you acquired the Destroy Walls spell early. In the far southeast corner of the realm, at point 14, is a mysterious sequence of three sealed-off chambers containing a total of over 10000 gold and three valuable Dungeon Specials - Increase Level, Make Safe, and Resurrect Creature. Visiting the lake here, whether or not you have the Destroy Walls spell, will trigger the second of the three rogue Fly attacks in your dungeon. This one will consist of eight flies at levels 5 and 7, almost enough to create one Vampire.
When you decide to attack the heroes' Heart area, you can reach it simply by tunneling around the long winding corridor that contains the Destroy Walls spell. Going through the tunnel will actually net you nothing, as it dead-ends. You will find two Steal Hero specials near points 10 and 11. I recommend that you save them until the finale, because some very powerful heroes will be spawning soon, and it helps to weed them down remotely. Be very cautious when exploring the area southwest of the heroes' Dungeon Heart, as it contains a number of Boulder traps.
Once you're ready, break into the "Spiral of Death," which is a winding corridor that wraps around the Hero Heart two complete times. I recommend using expendable Imps to trigger the traps and enemy drops in this area, since you can freely drop them onto the unclaimed paths. You will find several Poison Gas and Boulder traps within (and the Boulder, if properly used, can smash a good deal of your resistance).
As you progress into the spiral, reaching various points will trigger attacks by hidden bands of heroes. The first will occur almost immediately, and it triggers the final rogue Fly attack. Another 24 Flies will swarm into your dungeon, these all at level 6. Continuing on into the north outer arm of the spiral, a group of high-level heroes will drop in. Three level 10 Monks and two level 10 Giants augment the already large group of Archers, Fairies, and Barbarians. The next attack occurs in the outer southern arm. Another party of heroes will join in, including Monks, Thieves, and Giants, all at level 10. Note that most of the heroes who appear in this area will run to the heroes' heart room if it has become accessible, so you will find them gathering into a massive horde. In the inner spiral, one more group of heroes will appear. On the east side, a Barbarian, Thief, Giant, Monk, and Priestess drop in.
Whence you finally reach the Heart Room with a creature, the Lord of the Land will appear, along with a group of three level 10 Samurai and two level 10 Wizards. You won't be leaving this group of do-gooders to live their lives in peace; that much is certain.
Use your two Steal Hero specials, saving and reloading until you get something good, and then amass your entire army at the mouth of the Spiral of Death under Call to Arms. Advance them slowly into the spiral, taking out any isolated resistance. If any of your minions get low on health at any time, do not hesitate to pull them out of battle. In fact, don't hesitate to pull your entire army out if necessary - you have all the time and resources you need to take this slowly and hack away at the heroes bit by bit. Vanquishing the Hero Heart is ultimately all that is necessary to secure victory. You only have to fight all of these righteous renegades because they are foolishly in the way of that goal.
Once the Hero Heart beats no longer, you are declared the victor. As always, you may wish to continue on and mop up any remaining foes. If you didn't get the Destroy Walls spell or plunder the three southeastern hero structures earlier, now is an excellent time to do so. You can also clear out the long winding hallway, which is much safer without its doors and traps in place. Otherwise, press space to proceed to the next realm!
(Not to brag, but I ended this realm with over 520000 gold and 55 minions, including 3 Horned Reapers, nearly a dozen Skeletons, 9 Vampires, 8 Dark Mistresses, and several converted heroes including Monks, Wizards, and Giants. It was a total blast!)