Caves of Lore – All Crafting and Rune Mechanics Guide

This guide will provide an explanation of certain intricate mechanics in the game that are either inadequately clarified or require time to uncover through the game’s lore. Notably, certain concealed information is accompanied by spoiler warnings.

Crafting Weapons and Armor

• The blacksmith responsible for the creation of weapons and armor can be located in Emerisk, coincidentally situated at the forge.
• To access the crafting interface, engage in conversation with the blacksmith and select the backpack icon positioned on the left-hand side.
• Alternatively, you may choose to click on the shop sign that becomes visible upon entering the blacksmith’s residence. This proves advantageous when the blacksmith is in a state of slumber.
• To alter the material from which a particular weapon is crafted, navigate to your inventory, select the desired weapon, click on the corresponding ore type displayed on the right-hand side, and finally select the “forge” option. Distinct metals possess varying attributes:
  • Iron represents the standard option.
  • Silver inflicts greater harm upon undead adversaries.
  • Corundum enhances overall damage in comparison to both iron and silver.
• To further enhance a weapon, you can incorporate additional pieces of ore. This process can result in the following outcomes:
• Increased minimum damage (iron).
• Reduced weight and strength requirements (silver).
• Increased maximum damage (corundum).
• The same principles apply to armor, whereby both iron and corundum contribute to an augmented level of protection.

Enchanting Items

The Enchanter, known as Kazimar the Mage, hails from Kilandraur in the Arcane Realm. To access the Enchanting menu, talk to Kazimar and select the backpack icon on the left. To obtain a set of enchantments for your quest, you will need to extract them from pre-enchanted items. The enchantment effects will then appear in the list on the right. By spending some of your available manatite ore, you can then apply these enchantments to another item. You can also improve an existing enchantment by using manatite again. Keep in mind that each item can hold up to three enchantments.

Runes and Moongates

In this section, we aim to explain the basic mechanics of the game without giving away too many sensitive details. With this goal in mind, our focus is to succinctly summarize the exact information that the game will eventually present to you in a single location. However, since part of the enjoyment comes from piecing together this knowledge from the in-game lore scattered throughout the experience, I would not advise consulting this information in advance.

Moons

• The orrery, located in the upper left corner of the interface, visually displays the orbital progress of the moons.
• The indicator on the left shows the currently active moons.
• Both images are numbered to indicate which moon each indicator represents.

Orrery

Indicators (3 moons)

Indicators (1 moon)

Miala (#1)

Gammon (#2)

Tethrys (#3)

Runes

Throughout the land you will find various runes carved into the ground and walls. Some of these runes correspond to the different moons, as shown in the images above. They are illuminated when the moon reaches its zenith. Activating all moon runes in a given area will reveal a hidden secret. It’s worth noting that for certain moon runes, the specified moon must be the only one affecting the area to trigger their activation.

Deep within the library is a spell that allows you to lock a glowing rune in place, regardless of the moon’s position. This is especially useful when multiple runes are associated with a particular secret. In addition, this spell gains the ability to bind an additional rune every three levels.

The remaining runes have different meanings, as explained in the images below. Some of these runes can only be seen by casting Arcane Sight.

Absence

Arcane

Barrier

Fae

Hidden

Moongate

Pathway

Pointer

Speak

Moongates

• The presence of a hidden magical portal is indicated by the moongate runes. Each of these portals is associated with one of the three moons. As with the moon runes, the moon associated with the portal must be at its zenith for activation to occur. In addition, all other sources of light must be extinguished, except for the Fae, who seem to be exempt from this requirement.