Gnomish Mines

**The Gnomish Mines** is an optional side-area found on level 2 of The Mines in the dungeon, where the player enters a maze-like mine filled with Gnomes, Trolls, Gold and an artifact: the Sphinx's Veil.

## Location

In order to enter the Gnomish Mines, the player must find its entrance on level 2 of the dungeon, hidden behind a lever puzzle involving two lever gates that block off the entrance from the rest of the dungeon floor.

### Layout

The layout of the mines is a fixed maze pattern, with many hallways and dead-ends that requires the player to traverse carefully in order to not come in contact with dangerous enemies. The player starts in the center of the maze, with one doorway at each of the four walls of the room, as well as two fountains. Inside the maze, there are three key locations the player may wish to find:

* The exit is located at the lower left corner of the mine.
* The lower right corner contains a room rife with Magic Pillar Traps, locked up behind several gates. Inside this room is the artifact Sphinx's Veil.
* There is a shop located at the top right corner. Inside the shop is a lever which opens the lower right room. The abundance of pickaxes dropped by gnomes means this lever is largely optional.

Scattered throughout the maze are four chests with fixed locations. (see map)

### Enemies and Hazards

Inside the mines are many Gnomes and Trolls, both of which serve as the primary threats of the area. When entering gnomes and trolls with often enter the room in the center of the maze, then attacking the player on sight. There are two types of Gnomes, Digger Gnomes wield a pickaxe and cloak and are typical melee attackers, while Caster Gnomes attack with magic bolts that deal significant damage and often kill players early in the game with one or two shots.

Around two dozen gnomes and a half dozen trolls wander the map at a time, so the player is often going to encounter a handful of enemies when they traverse the mine. Enemies also appear to have an AI that makes them home in on the player for a short distance from a gnome death.

### Loot

The most notable item found inside the mine is protected in the heavily trapped room at the lower right corner, that being the artifact, Sphinx's Veil.

The most common item found throughout the mine are gold piles, which are found at almost every dead end of the maze, each with varying gold yield. With some piles containing upwards of 100 gold each, it is not uncommon to walk away with 3000+ gold from the mines when explored completely.

Many of the gnomes are Caster Gnomes, which will leave behind their Lightning Staff when killed. This is a powerful ranged attack early into the adventure.

The Digger Gnomes will leave behind their pickaxes when killed, which can be a useful tool for exploring later floors, as well as simplifying passage through the Gnomish Mines.

The four chests (see map) contain random loot.

## Tips

* When you enter the second floor, which always has a passage to the Gnomish Mines, the player will be notified immediately about "the sounds of picks striking rocks".
* Only the center room, shop area and trap room are lit, so having a torch can help traverse the dim corridors of the mine. The gnomes sometimes drop excellent lanterns to provide additional lighting as well.
	+ Inversely, using the darkness can help in avoiding detection, so keeping an eye out for the lantern lights of Gnomes can help keep one's distance from high-damaging Casters.
* There is no risk of the Minotaur here, so taking one's time to explore the map and slowly dealing with the gnomes or trolls can be accomplished.
* Very rarely, a Scarlet Caster Gnome will spawn, carrying an excellent staff of magic missile, an extremely powerful ring, and a well enchanted cloak. Without any magic resistance or reflection, he will most certainly kill any player in a single hit.

## Trivia

* There is a secret found in the upper left corner of the maze at a dead end, the same secret that can be found inside Minetown.