Elf's Dance is the 12th level in Dungeon Keeper.
There are two rival Keepers here, who are initially cordoned-off with locked doors and impenetrable rock. An enormous band of level 1 heroes holds the south end. This realm's Creature Pool has a wide variety of creatures weak and strong, and the dungeons' research and production trees are fairly comprehensive. There are Gem Seams for each Keeper as well.
For all that, the mission objective is simple: just kill everything.
Elf's Dance is ruled by Duke Darran,[1] but he doesn't put in an appearance here.
Two grim Iron Door, set in Impenetrable Rock and facing each other across the unclaimed central hallway, will open the way into the rival Keepers' domains if bashed.
These rival Keepers own the doors and have them locked. Since computer players will not unlock, sell, or bash their own doors, this means that the enemy teams are almost entirely sealed-off. Provided the player can keep his own creatures away from those doors (watch Flies and Hellhounds), this is a safe realm in which to deliberately build up strength. The doors can be easily sealed off with the player's own locked doors.
Blue and Green are running identical, aggressive AI scripts. As time drags on they will frequently issue taunts over the intercom, throw Call to Arms, and transplant it to Red's heart in an attempt to launch an invasion. As long as they remain sealed-off, nothing whatsoever comes of this gesture. If the doors are destroyed, prepare for battle.
Blue has a back-tunnel through the western gold seams into Red's territory, so eventually, he will attack. Laying Lava Traps and bordering them with a Guard Post will close off even this entrance, to all but flying creatures. The green Keeper has no such option, and seems content to hole up in his cavern until the door dies. Neither Green nor Blue has the ability to build Bridges.
Blue has ready access to 3 faces of a Gem slab, Green has 2, and Red has only 1 at the end of a long tunnel in the northeast end of the realm. Unless the AI breaks down — not out-of-the-question in the game's original release — all sides can sustain themselves indefinitely.
Both rivals can and will build Scavenger Room, which puts the player in the annoying position of having to fend off attempts to steal his or her creatures. A possible strategy is converting all the heroes to the south, as they can't be scavenged without the rival Keepers having heroes of their own.
Heroes[]
Two huge bands of inept heroes patrol the southern caverns, and it's hard to miss the game's suggestion as to what their fate should be. There is a nice, big, free graveyard beyond them, outlined on the map by gold tiles. This region of the map also contains the Increase Level, Resurrect Creature, and Transfer Creature Specials (right, left, and upper-left respectively). However and whenever you choose to deal with the heroes, defeating them is required for victory, along with the enemy Keepers.
Messages[]
Briefing Text
"Powerful creatures inhabit a cave south of here. There's a party of heroes between you and them but, if you reach them and convert them to your side before they join the other keepers, you will be unstoppable, unless you do something stupid."
White, Blue, and Green destroyed
"You have overcome all resistance to your rule, O despicable one. It's time to flex the old misery muscle on the pathetic inhabitants of the land above."
Sound Bytes[]
"Elves' Dance. A village set inside a giant fairy ring. A weak kind of magic provides the dwellers with all their hearts could desire. Embarrassingly, most simply wish for peace, happiness, and a long, untroubled life."
"Carnforge. The fairy ring lies smashed, and the folk have fled to the hills. Our vampires are out hunting them down as we speak. Rest assured— we will be dragging them back soon, my lord."
— Canon Outro
New Game Plus[]
In the New Game+ version of Elf's Dance, the Transfer Creature special is blocked off if a hero is lost or converted before both of the other Keepers are destroyed, or if the player has transferred a creature into the level.
Trivia[]
The Mentor says that Elf's Dance is surrounded by a fairy ring. However, there is no fairy ring in Elf's Dance as depicted by the level map; instead, it seems to be surrounded by tombstones. Also, there doesn't seem to be anywhere for the villagers to live.
A fairy ring is a natural growth pattern of mushrooms, in a perfect expanding circle. Its startling appearance has connected it with superstitions about fairy and forest magic.
Duke Darran may be a reference to Darran Thomas, one of the game's artists.[2]
This realm's outtro speech file, BAD12.WAV, makes more sense if renamed to BAD17.WAV to correspond with Mirthshire. Buffy Oak's outro file, BAD13.WAV (Carnforge), makes more sense renamed to 12 to match up with Elf's Dance. These files are in the game subdirectory \SOUND\ATLAS\.
Mismatched OC soundbytes
Intro
Matching File
Reasoning
GOOD01.WAV
BAD01.WAV
Anthrax
GOOD02.WAV
BAD02.WAV
Mention of Demon Spawn
GOOD03.WAV
BAD03.WAV
Inhabitants' altered viewpoints
GOOD04.WAV
BAD18.WAV
Mention of Trolls
GOOD05.WAV
BAD05.WAV
The quietude broken by screams
GOOD06.WAV
BAD07.WAV
What became of the bunnies
GOOD07.WAV
BAD08.WAV
Lady Catherine
GOOD08.WAV
BAD09.WAV
War arrived
GOOD09.WAV
BAD10.WAV
The legions of Hell rode in
GOOD10.WAV
BAD11.WAV
Inhabitants' violent death
GOOD11.WAV
BAD06.WAV
Feeding on the dead?
GOOD12.WAV
BAD13.WAV
Fairy ring
GOOD13.WAV
BAD14.WAV
Being together, in a mass grave
GOOD14.WAV
BAD15.WAV
Sleepy farms got "developed"
GOOD15.WAV
BAD16.WAV
Undead massacre
GOOD16.WAV
BAD17.WAV
No more flowers
GOOD17.WAV
BAD12.WAV
Razed completely
GOOD18.WAV
BAD19.WAV
A great battle
GOOD19.WAV
BAD04.WAV
Poisonous fumes
GOOD20.WAV
BAD20.WAV
Skybird Trill named
The names for this level in other languages are as follows:
Translations: Elf's Dance
Language
Translation
French
Danse-Des-Elfes
Italian
Cerchio Degli Elfi
German
Elfentanz
Dutch
Elvenschans
Polish
Elfitan
Czech
Elfí Tanec
Swedish
ÄLVDANSEN
Russian
Элфс-Дэнс
Japanese
エルフズ・ダンス
Chinese
精灵之舞 / 精灵飞舞
Gallery[]
Revealed map with gem faces
References[]
↑ 1.01.1Prima's Official Guide To Dungeon Keeper Gold Edition. pp. 186-189.
Prima Publishing. (1998).
ISBN 978-0-7615-1581-4.
Portal Speed: 400 Turns
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