Warden's Duty
Warden's Duty makes you the keeper of a prison that is packed to the bars with goblins, rats, dragons and stranger things. You do not walk corridors or fight in real time. Each cell is one decision, and the challenge is making your health, mana and arrows last across a whole floor.
Ondřej Žára built it in a week for the 2015 roguelike challenge. It uses simple text characters for its creatures, runs in any modern browser and is played on the keyboard.
How to play Warden's Duty
A floor is a grid of cells, with a mini map in the corner showing your spot. Move into a cell to see who is locked inside. A list of options appears below, often a melee strike, a magic missile and a bow shot.
Select an option with its number key and colored bars preview exactly how your health, mana, arrows, gold and experience will change. Press Enter to accept. Melee spends health, spells spend mana and the bow uses arrows. Strength lowers melee damage, while magic skill makes spells cheaper.
Some cells hold chests, traps, magic pools or shops instead of monsters. Clear every cell and you move down a floor. The game is over when no remaining cell offers anything you can afford.
Controls
| Action | Keyboard | Mouse | Touch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Move to a neighboring cell | Arrow keys, W A S D or H J K L | — | — |
| Choose an option | Number keys 1 to 9 | — | — |
| Confirm, start or restart | Enter | — | — |
Tips
- Peek into every cell on a floor before committing to any fight. Knowing the toughest prisoner tells you which resource to save.
- Spend health on weak foes and keep mana and arrows for the dangerous ones. Health comes back when you level up.
- If your experience bar is almost full, a pricey fight can pay off, since the level up that follows heals you completely.
- Hold on to some gold. Shops on later floors sell arrows, potions and training.
- Chests may be trapped and pools may hurt. Choosing to ignore them still counts as clearing the cell.
If you like Warden's Duty, try these
Brough DungeonWeighing each step in tight rooms continues, as monsters move whenever you move.
Hel's TrialResource juggling sits at the heart of this, since health and attacks draw from one soul power pool.
Questions
Why can't I pick an option in Warden's Duty?
The game greys out any choice that would kill you or that needs more mana, arrows or gold than you hold. You can come back to that cell after leveling up or shopping.
How do I heal in Warden's Duty?
Leveling up refills your health and mana completely. Shops sell potions and scrolls, and magic pools are a gamble that can help or hurt.
Does it work on a Chromebook?
Yes, as long as it has a keyboard. The game runs in the browser and needs no mouse, but it has no touch controls.
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