The main dungeon of GnollHack is the Dungeons of Doom, which runs from the surface down to the Underground Castle, above Gehennom. Branches and special levels lie along the way.
Branches are sub-dungeons that leave the main path, often with their own tileset, monsters and rules. Special levels are single levels inside a branch, usually with a fixed layout and fixed features.
The level range of a branch or special level is the set of levels of its parent branch on which it, or the entrance to it, can appear. A range of 2–4 means level 2, 3 or 4 of the parent branch.
⚔️ The Dungeons of Doom
The Dungeons of Doom are 24 or 25 levels deep.
🔀 Dungeon Branches
| Branch | Level Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Gnomish Mines | 2–4 | A cavern system filled with gnomes and dwarves. Contains special levels like Mine Town. |
| Sokoban | 6–8 | A puzzle branch where you must push boulders into pits. |
| Quest | 11–14 | A role-specific quest branch. Message: "You receive a faint telepathic message from…" (followed by a message from your Quest Leader). |
| Fort Ludios | 12–20 | A hidden fortress guarded by soldiers and Croesus. The portal is found in a vault. |
| Gehennom | 24–25 | The lower half of the dungeon, full of demons. Entered from the Underground Castle. |
| Elemental Planes | 1 | Reached by going up the stairs on dungeon level 1 with the Amulet of Yendor. The endgame: the Planes of Earth, Air, Fire and Water, and the Astral Plane. |
🚩 Special Levels
| Special Level | Level Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Delphi | 5–7 | Home to the Oracle, who provides minor and major consultations. |
| Big Room | 10–12 | One open room the size of the level, full of monsters. Appears in 40% of games. |
| Treasure Island | 14–17 | Treasure behind a water moat. New in GnollHack. |
| Medusa's Island | 22–23 | A water-filled cavern housing Medusa. |
| Minotaur Maze | 23–24 | A maze-like level with a minotaur. Redesigned in GnollHack. |
| Underground Castle | 24–25 | The fortress above Gehennom, with a wand of wishing. |
⛏️ The Gnomish Mines
🔀 Dungeon Branches
| Branch | Level Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Large Circular Dungeon | 4–6 | Two high-tech levels, the Quantum Tunnel and the Quantum Core, reached through a portal below Mine Town. New in GnollHack. |
🚩 Special Levels
| Special Level | Level Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mine Town | 3–4 | An underground town with shops, a temple and guards. |
| Mines' End | 8–9 | The bottom level of the Mines, where the The Gladstone lies. |
🔥 Gehennom
🔀 Dungeon Branches
| Branch | Level Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Plane of the Modron | 3–4 | Five geometric levels inhabited by modrons, reached through a portal. New in GnollHack. |
| Hellish Pastures | 8–13 | A hidden cow level of demonic cattle, reached through a portal. New in GnollHack. |
| Vlad's Tower | 9–13 | A three-level tower of undead with the Candelabrum of Invocation. |
🚩 Special Levels
| Special Level | Level Range | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Valley of the Dead | 1 | The first level of Gehennom: graveyards, undead and a temple of Moloch. |
| Dis | 2 | The iron city ruled by Dispater. |
| Maladomini | 4–8 | The domain of Baalzebub, Lord of the Flies. |
| Jubilex's Realm | 4–8 | A swamp with acidic oozes and Jubilex, the Faceless Lord. |
| Orcus Town | 5–15 | A ruined town ruled by Orcus. |
| Wizard's Tower | 10–13 | A three-level tower holding the Wizard of Yendor and the Book of the Dead. It can be entered only through a portal in one of the Fake Wizard's Towers. |
| Lair of Tarrasque | 10–18 | Home of the Tarrasque. New in GnollHack. |
| Yeenaghu's Domain | 10–18 | The domain of Yeenaghu, demon lord of gnolls. New in GnollHack. |
| Fake Wizard's Towers | 13–18 | Two decoy towers, one of which contains the portal to the true Wizard's Tower. |
| Moloch's Sanctum | 18–20 | The lowest level of Gehennom, housing the Amulet of Yendor and the High Priest of Moloch. |
🔗 Dungeon Placement Dependencies
Many branches and special levels are not placed at a depth of their own but relative to another level, so when that level moves, they move with it.
🔮 Placed Relative to Delphi
Delphi, the Oracle's level, is on level 5, 6 or 7 of the Dungeons of Doom. Three other locations are counted from it:
- Sokoban: The stairs up to Sokoban are 1 level below Delphi.
- Quest: The magic portal to your role's quest is 6 or 7 levels below Delphi.
- Treasure Island: 9 or 10 levels below Delphi.
🏰 Fixed-Range Placements
Two locations in the Dungeons of Doom have depth ranges of their own:
- Big Room: Between levels 10 and 12, in the 40% of games that have one.
- Fort Ludios: The portal is in a vault between levels 12 and 20.
🧭 The Bottom of the Main Dungeon
The last three levels of the Dungeons of Doom are counted from the bottom:
- Underground Castle: The last level.
- Minotaur Maze: 1 level above the Castle.
- Medusa's Island: 2 levels above the Castle.
Gehennom begins below the Castle, with the Valley of the Dead as its first level.
⛏️ The Gnomish Mines
The Gnomish Mines branch off the Dungeons of Doom on level 2, 3 or 4 and are 8 or 9 levels deep. Inside the Mines:
- Mine Town: The 3rd or 4th level.
- Large Circular Dungeon: Its portal is 1 or 2 levels below Mine Town.
- Mines' End: The last level.
🔥 Gehennom
Gehennom has 18 to 20 levels. Some of its locations are counted from the top and the rest from the bottom.
Counted from the top:
- Valley of the Dead: Level 1.
- Dis: Level 2, directly below the Valley.
- Plane of the Modron: The portal is on level 3 or 4.
- Maladomini and Jubilex's Realm: Levels 4 to 8.
- Orcus Town: Levels 5 to 15.
- Hellish Pastures: The portal is on levels 8 to 13.
- Vlad's Tower: The stairs up to the tower are on levels 9 to 13.
- Wizard's Tower: The top level of the tower is on level 10 or 11, and the middle and bottom levels are the two levels directly below it.
Counted from the bottom:
- Moloch's Sanctum: The last level.
- Fake Wizard's Towers: 2 to 5 levels above the bottom.
- Lair of Tarrasque and Yeenaghu's Domain: 2 to 8 levels above the bottom, so they always come late in the game.