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Heroes Of Ash, Ruin & Dragons
How to play, the Greyford handbook
drakvor.com
Version 1.19.4, 18 Oct 2026
Contents
Chapter 1
Welcome to Greyford
In short
DRAKVOR is a role-playing game in the style of the old bulletin board games. Every day you fight a few rounds in the Ash Wood, grow stronger, and one day you climb the Ashen Horn, where the dragon Skarvold sleeps on his gold. Everyone plays in the same world.
A village at the foot of the Horn
Greyford has burned more times than anyone cares to count. Above it looms the Ashen Horn, and up there Skarvold lies on a hoard made of everything he has ever taken from these people. Every hero who falls in the forest adds a little to it, like it or not. So the hoard grows with every failure, and whoever slays the dragon carries some of it home.
You arrive with empty pockets and a weapon that barely deserves the name. The Ash Wood is full of rats, highwaymen and worse, and every victory brings gold and experience. Once you have enough experience, you challenge your master on the training grounds and go up a level. Level by level you climb, all the way to level 12, where the path to the Horn is waiting.
A few moves a day
DRAKVOR is not a game you finish in one night. You get 15 forest fights a day, and that is it until the next morning. That is on purpose: you drop by in the evening, fight, shop, put your gold in the bank and go to bed. Tomorrow you carry on, and nobody gets ahead just by playing through the night.
The others are real
The heroes in the hall are other players, in the browser and on bulletin boards. Sleep out in the fields instead of at the inn and you can be raided in the night, and a hero with a full purse is a tempting target. You can put a bounty on your favourite enemy, send messages, get married or simply climb the Hall of Heroes. Greyford also has villagers run by the game itself. They fight, level up and die like everyone else, but they never attack anyone.
The Greyford year
Every game day is a day in Greyford, and a year has 84 days in 4 moons. Together the heroes rebuild the village, one building at a time. At the end of the year Skarvold comes down and burns it all again. What survives and what goes up in smoke is explained in chapter 3, A day in Greyford.
Where to go next
Read chapter 2, First steps next. It explains how to create your hero and what to do in your first ten minutes. If you would rather jump straight in: the game explains a lot by itself, and the ? key helps on every screen.
Chapter 2
First steps
In short
Create an account, make your hero and press F to head into the forest. There, L looks for an opponent and A attacks. Before you stop, take your gold to the bank and sleep at the inn.
Account and hero
On the home page you create an account: a login name, a password and your language. The email address is optional and only helps if you forget your password. Then you create your hero. You choose a name that all of Greyford will know you by, whether your hero is a man or a woman, and one of three classes.
Your class decides your special skill. The Sellsword hits hard, the Runecaster casts spells and heals in battle, and the Cutpurse strikes from the shadows with full force but sometimes misses. All three start with the same stats, and any of them can reach the dragon. More in chapter 6, The classes.
Your first ten minutes
- You are standing on the village square. Every place has a letter that you press or click.
- Press F for the forest, then L to look for loot. Most of the time you find a monster, sometimes something else.
- In a fight, A attacks. If things go badly, R runs away. K uses your skill.
- When your hit points are low, visit the healer with H, in the forest or in the village. She heals you completely, for gold.
- The first weapon costs 200 gold, the first armour 200 gold. Buy them as soon as you can, from Brann (W) and Hilde (A).
- When the village says you are ready for your master, press T for the training grounds and take them on. Win, and you go up a level.
- Before you stop, press B to put your gold in the bank and rent a room at the inn (I). Then you are safe for the night.
You are protected for a while
Nobody can raid a new hero for 3 days, counting the day you were created. During that time you cannot raid anyone either. Use those days to gather gold and experience in the forest.
Worth remembering
- You get 15 forest fights a day. Every search with L uses one, whatever you find.
- Die in the forest and you lose the gold in your pocket and some of your experience, and you stay down until the next day.
- Gold in the bank is safe from monsters and thieves. Gold in your pocket is not.
- At the bottom of every screen is your status line: hit points, gold, forest fights left and level.
How a whole day works is explained in chapter 3, A day in Greyford.
Chapter 3
A day in Greyford
In short
At midnight UTC a new day begins for everyone, which is 2:00 in Germany. You get 15 forest fights and 3 raids again, full hit points and a new quest on the notice board. If you were dead, you are back on your feet.
The new day
The day changes for everyone at the same moment, at 00:00 UTC. Every hero gets their forest fights and raids back, full hit points and fresh uses of their skill. The dead get up again. Anyone who slept at the inn is back out in the fields, because a room only lasts one night. A fight still open at midnight is over, and you find yourself in the village. The bank pays its interest that night.
On your first visit of the day the game shows you what happened since you were last here: interest, raids, messages, new buildings. Press W to carry on to the village.
Forest fights and raids
You get 15 forest fights a day. Married heroes get 1 more, and the Stamina blessing and the watchtower add others. Every search in the forest uses one forest fight, and so do the climb to the dragon and every search in the mines. For raids on sleeping heroes you have 3 attempts a day. Fights you do not use are lost at midnight; you cannot save them up.
The notice board quest
Every day there is a note for you on the board at the inn: beat a few monsters, deposit gold, run away once, get through a fight without a scratch and plenty more. Your current quest and your progress are shown in the village. Finish it and you get gold and experience right away, matched to your level. With the new day comes a new note.
Rested
If you have not played for a day or more, you come back rested: 10 per cent more experience from forest fights for every day you missed, up to 30 per cent, for one day. Taking a break is never punished. The village shows how rested you are.
Daily events
Every new day something may happen in Greyford that affects everyone. Most days are quiet. Today's event is shown in the village, on the title screen and in the menu on the right of the website.
| Event | What it means |
|---|---|
| Ash rain | You find less gold in the forest. |
| Market day | Weapons and armour cost a fifth less. |
| Blood moon | Monsters are stronger but give double experience. |
| Fog over Greyford | Whoever raids tonight hits harder. |
| Village fair | Fennick sings for free, rooms at half price. |
| Skarvold sleeps deeply | Wake him and the first blow is free. |
Calendar and seasons
A Greyford year has 84 days in 4 moons of 21 days each. Every moon has a small effect.
| Moon | Season | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Thawwind | spring | Spring: ten percent more gold in the forest. |
| Embermoon | summer | Summer: the forest is busier than usual. |
| Smokemoon | autumn | Autumn: harvest feast at the inn, more experience. |
| Ashmoon | winter | Winter: tougher monsters, dearer healing, more experience. |
In the last 7 days of the year Skarvold grows restless. His hoard grows faster, and every day an omen appears in the news.
The Burning Night
On the last night of the year Skarvold comes down and burns Greyford to the ground. Afterwards every building is gone, and the gold in every pocket has burned. Fame in the bulletin board contest starts again from zero. What stays: the gold in the bank, your level, gear and experience, dragon gold, blessings, titles and every dragon kill, and the hoard too. Whoever donated the most during the year becomes Master Builder of Greyford, and whoever slew the dragon first becomes First Dragonslayer. Both titles carry the year and last forever. The year gets its entry in the Chronicle.
Chapter 4
The village
In short
The village square is where everything starts. Every place has a letter: F for the forest, I for the inn, H for the healer, B for the bank, T for your master. Q leaves the village, and your hero stays where they are.
Places and their keys
You reach every place from the village square. Press the letter or click the line on the screen.
| Key | Place | More |
|---|---|---|
| F | Into the Ash Wood | chapter 5, Forest and combat |
| I | The Crooked Kettle inn | chapter 9, The inn and other heroes |
| P | Attack sleeping heroes | chapter 9, The inn and other heroes |
| H | Sister Ottilie (healer) | further down this page |
| T | Training grounds (masters) | chapter 10, Masters and levels |
| W | Brann's weapon smithy | chapter 7, Weapons, armour and shops |
| A | Hilde's armoury | chapter 7, Weapons, armour and shops |
| B | Goldwin's bank | chapter 8, Gold, bank and death |
| S | Your stats | further down this page |
| N | Daily happenings | further down this page |
| L | Hall of Heroes | further down this page |
| M | Messages | chapter 9, The inn and other heroes |
| J | Hunter's book | chapter 13, Hunter's book and titles |
| D | Building site | further down this page |
| Q | Leave the village | chapter 15, Controls |
Below the menu you will see the dragon's hoard, the event of the day, your quest from the notice board and, when the time comes, a note that you are ready for your master.
Sister Ottilie, the healer
The healer patches you up completely; she does not do half measures. She charges gold for every missing hit point, and the price goes up with your level. The prices for each level are listed in chapter 9, The inn and other heroes. The Herb Lore blessing and a finished well make her cheaper, the Ashmoon makes her dearer. You can also reach her straight from the forest.
Your stats
Press S to see everything about your hero: level, experience until your master, hit points, strength and defence including weapon and armour, gold and bank, your skill and its next stage, your quest, blessings and titles. On the website most of this is also shown in the menu on the left.
News and the hall
Under today's news (N) you can read who raided whom, who fell in the forest and who went up a level. The Hall of Heroes (L) shows the best of all time and of this year, the dragonslayers and the bulletin board contest. The same hall is on the website as the Hall of Heroes.
The building site
At the building site (D) all heroes rebuild Greyford together, one building after another. You donate gold from your pocket, or dragon gold, which counts as 1,000 gold at the site. Or you haul stones: that costs a forest fight and counts as much as the gold from one fight. Every finished building helps everyone until the Burning Night.
| Building | Effect |
|---|---|
| Well | The healer is 10 percent cheaper. |
| Palisade | Raids on sleepers in the field hit less hard. |
| Forge | Weapons and armour are 10 percent cheaper. |
| Temple | Death in the forest costs only a third of your gold. |
| Watchtower | Every hero gets one more forest fight each day. |
| Market hall | Goldwin pays half as much interest again. |
What a building costs depends on how many heroes have played in the last 7 days, but never fewer than 5. That way a year with few heroes feels just like a year with many. Donations also earn fame for your bulletin board in the contest.
Chapter 5
Forest and combat
In short
In the forest, L looks for loot and uses up a forest fight. In a fight, A attacks, K uses your skill and R runs away. If you die, you lose the gold in your pocket and stay down until the next day.
In the Ash Wood
Press F in the village to enter the forest. There, L looks for loot, H takes you to the healer, S shows your stats and R takes you back to the village. Later two more paths open up: from level 8 down into the mines (chapter 11, The mines) and at level 12 up to the Ashen Horn (chapter 12, Skarvold).
Every search uses one forest fight. Most of the time you run into one of the 8 monsters of your level, which range from easy to tough. Once your forest fights are gone, the forest is closed to you for today.
The fight
- A Attack: you strike, then the monster strikes back. Your weapon and strength decide your damage, your armour and defence protect you.
- K Skill: the special move of your class, a few times a day. See chapter 6, The classes.
- M Heal rune: Runecasters only. It heals you in the middle of a fight and uses one use of your skill.
- R Run: usually works, 70 times out of a hundred without blessings. If it fails, the monster gets a free hit.
- S Stats: shows your stats without giving the monster a turn.
Sometimes the monster strikes first, before you even raise your blade. Win, and you get gold and experience. The gold goes into your pocket, not the bank.
Healing
Hit points do not come back by themselves, except overnight. The healer heals you completely for gold, and you can reach her from the forest with H. Some forest events heal you too, and Fennick at the inn sometimes sings so sweetly that your wounds close up. Never walk into the next fight on half your hit points unless you have to.
Forest events
Not every search ends with a monster. About 22 times in a hundred something else happens: a purse full of gold, a herb by the path, a trap, a hut in the fog, a stranger with an offer. Some of them make you choose, and not every choice is good for you. Each event with a choice happens at most once a day. Very rarely something happens that the whole village talks about.
What else is waiting in the woods
At level 4 something is waiting for you in the forest that does not belong among the ordinary monsters. Beat it, and you will have something better in your hand. And anyone who has slain the dragon once will meet monsters in the forest that bear the mark of the Horn.
If you die
Lose a fight and you are dead until the next day. The gold in your pocket is gone, half of it goes into Skarvold's hoard, and you lose 10 per cent of your experience. What exactly happens, and how to protect yourself, is explained in chapter 8, Gold, bank and death.
Chapter 6
The classes
In short
Sellsword, Runecaster and Cutpurse all start with the same stats. What sets them apart is their skill, the special move you use with K a few times a day. Every level-up makes the skill stronger.
Three roads to the dragon
You pick your class when you create your hero. Hit points, strength and defence are the same for everyone at the start, and everyone grows the same way when levelling up. The skill is what makes the difference.
| Class | Skill | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Sellsword | Crushing Blow | Hits hard and takes a lot. Skill Crushing Blow: double damage, enemy armour only counts half. |
| Runecaster | Ember Bolt | Casts with runes. Skill Ember Bolt: one and a half damage, cannot be blocked. Plus the healing rune in combat. |
| Cutpurse | Ambush | Lives in the shadows. Skill Ambush: triple damage, but every fourth attempt fails. |
The Sellsword is the simplest road, hitting hard and reliably. The Runecaster has the heal rune (M) and lasts longer because of it. The Cutpurse hits hardest, but not every time, and survives by vanishing at the right moment.
How your skill grows
Your skill has stages up to 20. Each victory over your master raises it by one stage, and you also get a skill point, which you turn into another stage with L at the training grounds. Every now and then the forest gives you a hand as well.
At first you can use your skill 2 times a day, and once more for every 4 skill stages. The Class Master blessing adds more uses. Your uses come back with the new day.
Skill stages
At stages 5, 10, 15 and 20 your skill changes noticeably:
| Stage | Sellsword | Runecaster | Cutpurse |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Crushing Blow goes through any armour. | The healing rune heals half of your hit points. | Ambush only fails 15 percent of the time. |
| 10 | Crushing Blow hits two and a half times as hard. | Ember Bolt hits twice as hard. | Ambush hits four times as hard. |
| 15 | No enemy strikes first anymore. | Ember Bolt has a 30 percent chance to strike a second time. | A quarter more gold after every victory. |
| 20 | Every third attack turns into a Crushing Blow on its own, without a use. | The healing rune no longer costs a use, at most three times per fight. | Every escape succeeds. |
Against the dragon the skills work with different strength, so that all three classes win about equally often.
Chapter 7
Weapons, armour and shops
In short
Brann (W) sells weapons and Hilde (A) sells armour, always the next piece up. They take your old piece in part exchange at 50 per cent of its price. Your weapon raises your damage, your armour protects you.
Always the next piece
Both shops only offer the piece that comes after the one you have. You cannot skip ahead, and you cannot just sell. When you buy, the shop takes your old piece in part exchange and credits you 50 per cent of its base price, so you only pay the rest.
Your weapon adds to your strength when you strike. Your armour adds to your defence when a monster strikes. Both matter just as much. Put everything into your weapon and you will win fast and die fast.
When it gets cheaper
- On market day, weapons and armour are cheaper for everyone.
- The Trader's Eye blessing lowers your prices for good.
- Once the forge stands in the village, the shops are cheaper for everyone until the Burning Night.
- Now and then you meet a trader in the forest who lets the next weapon go for less.
The trade-in is always based on the base price of your old piece; discounts do not change it.
Weapons at Brann's
| Weapon | Price | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Rusty dagger | 200 | 5 |
| Woodcutter's hatchet | 1,000 | 10 |
| Short sword | 3,000 | 20 |
| Morning star | 10,000 | 30 |
| Broadsword | 30,000 | 40 |
| Greatsword | 100,000 | 60 |
| Battle axe | 150,000 | 80 |
| Ember blade | 200,000 | 120 |
| Rune sword | 400,000 | 180 |
| Dwarven hammer | 1,000,000 | 250 |
| Dragontooth spear | 4,000,000 | 350 |
| Shadow scythe | 10,000,000 | 500 |
| Starsteel blade | 40,000,000 | 800 |
| Ashbreaker | 100,000,000 | 1,200 |
| Skarvold's Bane | 400,000,000 | 1,800 |
Armour at Hilde's
| Armour | Price | Protection |
|---|---|---|
| Leather jerkin | 200 | 1 |
| Quilted gambeson | 1,000 | 3 |
| Chain shirt | 3,000 | 10 |
| Scale mail | 10,000 | 15 |
| Plate harness | 30,000 | 25 |
| Knight's armour | 100,000 | 35 |
| Dwarven plate | 150,000 | 50 |
| Ember-tempered steel | 200,000 | 75 |
| Rune armour | 400,000 | 100 |
| Shadow cloak | 1,000,000 | 150 |
| Dragonscale mail | 4,000,000 | 225 |
| Mithril harness | 10,000,000 | 300 |
| Starsteel armour | 40,000,000 | 400 |
| Ash plate | 100,000,000 | 600 |
| Hide of the Elder Wyrm | 400,000,000 | 1,000 |
A lucky find
At level 4 a weapon may fall into your hands in the forest that no shop sells. If it is stronger than the one you bought, you fight with it, otherwise with the bought one. After a victory over the dragon it is gone like everything else.
Chapter 8
Gold, bank and death
In short
You lose the gold in your pocket when you die or get raided in your sleep. Gold in the bank stays put and earns 10 per cent interest every night. So take your gold to the bank before you stop playing.
Goldwin's bank
Press B in the village to go to the bank. There, D deposits and W withdraws. Leave the amount empty and Goldwin takes everything. You can only shop with gold in your pocket, so withdraw what you need first.
Every night at the change of day the bank pays 10 per cent interest, up to 2,000,000 gold a night. Once the market hall is built, you get more. The interest keeps coming even when you are not playing.
What the bank protects you from
- Monsters: when you die, you only lose the gold in your pocket.
- Thieves: when you are raided in your sleep, you only lose the gold in your pocket.
- The Burning Night: the flames eat pockets, not the bank.
Two things do empty the bank, though. After a victory over the dragon you start over, and your savings are gone with everything else. And a divorce costs 50 per cent of your balance.
What death costs
Die in the forest, in the mines or against the dragon and you lose all the gold in your pocket. 50 per cent of it ends up in Skarvold's hoard, the rest is simply gone. You also lose 10 per cent of your experience, and your run of days without dying starts again from zero. Once the temple is built, dying in the forest costs you less gold.
Until the next day you lie dead and can do nothing but wait. At the change of day you get up again with full hit points. You keep your weapon, armour, level and bank. A fight with your master, by the way, never costs you your life.
How to protect yourself
- Deposit your gold before a hard fight and before you stop playing.
- Heal before you fight on.
- Run when the fight turns against you.
- Sleep at the inn if you still have gold on you. See chapter 9, The inn and other heroes.
Chapter 9
The inn and other heroes
In short
Sleep at the inn and nobody can raid you in the night. Sleep in the fields and they can. You can raid 3 sleeping heroes a day yourself, and if you win, the gold in their pocket is yours.
The Crooked Kettle
Press I to enter the Crooked Kettle inn. There you rent a room (R), flirt (F), ask Fennick for a song (B), listen to gossip (G), put up a bounty (K), propose (A) and read the notice board (T). The chronicler (C) keeps the history of Greyford.
A room for the night
A room keeps you safe until the next change of day: nobody can raid a hero who sleeps at the inn. After that you are back out in the fields, because a room always lasts just one night. The price goes up with your level, and it is lower on festival day and during the harvest feast.
| Level | Healer per hit point | Room | Fennick's song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.5 | 40 | 15 |
| 2 | 1 | 150 | 60 |
| 3 | 2 | 400 | 200 |
| 4 | 3.5 | 1,200 | 600 |
| 5 | 6 | 3,000 | 1,800 |
| 6 | 12 | 9,000 | 6,000 |
| 7 | 15 | 15,000 | 9,000 |
| 8 | 15 | 18,000 | 11,000 |
| 9 | 16 | 30,000 | 24,000 |
| 10 | 25 | 70,000 | 55,000 |
| 11 | 60 | 250,000 | 230,000 |
| 12 | 80 | 450,000 | 450,000 |
Flirting, Fennick and gossip
Once a day you can flirt. If it works, your charm goes up, and the more charm you have, the more a successful flirt brings you. Fennick the bard sings you one song a day, and it usually helps: sometimes it heals you, sometimes it gives you forest fights or another use of your skill. Sometimes he just sings off key. The gossip tells you who is sleeping out in the fields tonight and who has a bounty on their head.
Raiding sleeping heroes
Press P in the village to raid a hero who is sleeping in the fields. You have 3 attempts a day and choose from heroes near your own level. The fight plays out by itself. If you win, you take all the gold in their pocket and some experience, at most 25 per cent a day of what you still need for your next level. The victim is dead until the next day. If you lose, you are the one who dies, and your gold goes to them.
- Anyone sleeping at the inn is safe.
- If your spouse sleeps at the inn, they defend you when someone raids you in the fields.
- New heroes and fresh dragonslayers are protected for 3 days, and cannot raid anyone themselves during that time.
- Spouses never raid each other.
- On a foggy day raids hit harder. The palisade and the Vigilance blessing make them weaker.
Bounties
Press K to put a bounty on another hero, at least 1,000 gold. The gold is gone at once. Whoever kills that hero in their sleep collects everything on their head. Bounties on the same hero add up and never expire. You cannot put a bounty on a villager.
Proposals and marriage
From level 3 you can propose to another hero (A). They get a message and give their answer at the inn. With enough charm you can also ask for the hand of Mira or Kaspar, who work at the inn. Married heroes get 1 extra forest fight every day, and a spouse sleeping at the inn protects the other one. A divorce costs 50 per cent of your bank balance.
Messages
Press M in the village to read and write messages to other heroes. You can send 20 messages a day, at most 3 to the same hero. If someone bothers you, block them. Villagers do not read messages.
The notice board and the chronicler
Your quest for today is pinned to the notice board (see chapter 3, A day in Greyford). Velten Rußfeder, the chronicler, writes down every year: the date, the buildings, the dragonslayers, the builder and the best bulletin board. During the harvest feast there is also a long table laid out at the inn.
The villagers of Greyford
Some heroes are run by the game itself. You can tell them by their origin, Greyford, in the hall. They fight, level up, sometimes sleep in the fields and sometimes at the inn, and they can be raided. But they never attack anyone and do not read messages.
Chapter 10
Masters and levels
In short
Once you have enough experience, the village tells you that you are ready for your master. Press T for the training grounds and C to challenge them. Win, and you go up a level. Lose, and you do not die and can try again tomorrow.
The training grounds
There is a master for every level, 11 in all, up to level 12. Experience alone does not level you up: you have to beat the master of your level in a fight. Your master knows your weapon and your armour, and grows stronger with you. How strong you are right now does not matter to them. They want to see whether you have earned that experience.
- C Challenge: the fight for the next level. It does not use a forest fight, but a master takes you on only once a day.
- L Learn skill: turns a skill point into a stage of your skill.
- R Back to the village.
If you lose
A master never kills anyone. If you lose, or give up with G, you are left standing on one hit point and lose nothing else. One fight a day is enough for your master, win or lose: your next attempt comes after the change of day. Come back with full hit points; it goes a lot better.
What a level-up gives you
With every new level your maximum hit points, strength and defence go up. Your skill rises by one stage, and you get a skill point and one more use of your skill. You are not healed when you level up; only your maximum goes up. From now on the forest sends you the monsters of your new level.
| Level | Master | Experience for the master | Hit points | Strength | Defence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jorik One-Eye | 100 | +10 | +5 | +2 |
| 2 | Thessa of the Ferry House | 400 | +15 | +7 | +3 |
| 3 | Brother Aldric | 1,000 | +20 | +10 | +5 |
| 4 | Hake the Mute | 4,000 | +30 | +12 | +10 |
| 5 | Rowena Coldsteel | 10,000 | +50 | +20 | +15 |
| 6 | Gorm Bearslayer | 40,000 | +75 | +35 | +22 |
| 7 | The Widow Marra | 100,000 | +125 | +50 | +35 |
| 8 | Sir Oswin | 400,000 | +185 | +75 | +60 |
| 9 | Ylva Nightsight | 1,000,000 | +250 | +110 | +80 |
| 10 | The Nameless One | 4,000,000 | +350 | +150 | +120 |
| 11 | Askar the Last | 10,000,000 | +550 | +200 | +150 |
The values in the last three columns are what you gain when you beat that master. At level 12 there are no more masters, only the dragon.
Chapter 11
The mines
In short
From level 8 a path leads from the forest down into the tunnels beneath the Ashen Horn (T in the forest). The monsters down there are tougher but bring far more gold. There is no healer below.
The way down
Once you reach level 8, a new path appears in the forest: T into the mines. The first time, something waits for you at the entrance that you have to get past. Turn back there and you cannot return until the next day. After that the way is open for the rest of this run.
Down in the tunnels
- L Search: uses a forest fight, just like in the forest.
- S Stats: shows your stats, then you are back in the mines.
- R Back to the forest.
The monsters in the mines are stronger than those in the forest, but they bring more gold and more experience. There is no healer, so you have to go back up when you are hurt. Die in the mines and you lose all the gold in your pocket, even if the temple has been built. The rested bonus from the forest does not count down here.
What you may find
Sometimes you strike a vein of gold, sometimes a tunnel caves in, and once per run there is said to be an old forge somewhere down there. Whoever finds an egg had better think hard about whom it belongs to and who is going to miss it.
Win often enough in the mines and you earn a title you might not mention over dinner. See chapter 13, Hunter's book and titles.
Chapter 12
Skarvold
In short
At level 12 you climb from the forest up to the Ashen Horn (D) and face Skarvold. Win, and you get dragon gold and a dragon blessing, then start over at level one. Your blessings, dragon gold and titles are yours forever.
The climb
Only at level 12 does the path up appear in the forest: D to the Ashen Horn. The climb uses a forest fight, even if you turn back at the top. Up there you decide whether to attack (A) or turn back (U). Running from the dragon works less often than in the forest, 40 times in a hundred without blessings.
Skarvold breathes fire, lashes with his tail and bites. Every so often he draws a deep breath, and then you had better be ready. Come on a day when he sleeps deeply and you get the first blow for free. If you die up there, you lose your gold like with any other death.
The hoard
The hoard starts at 50,000 gold and grows with every hero who dies: part of their gold makes its way up the mountain. During the restless days at the end of the year it grows faster. Whoever slays the dragon gets dragon gold, and the bigger the hoard, the more of it. After that the hoard starts again at 50,000 gold. You keep your dragon gold forever and can donate it at the building site.
The dragon blessings
After every victory you choose one blessing out of 3 that the dragon's blood offers you. There are 12 blessings, each with 3 stages, and they work in every run that follows. Once all blessings are full, you get 5 dragon gold instead.
| Blessing | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toughness | +2 maximum hit points per hero level | +4 maximum hit points per hero level | +6 maximum hit points per hero level |
| Stamina | Forest fights per day: +1 | Forest fights per day: +2 | Forest fights per day: +3 |
| Gold Nose | +8% gold from fights | +16% gold from fights | +24% gold from fights |
| Eagerness | +6% experience | +12% experience | +18% experience |
| Lucky Child | Good finds in the forest 25% more often | Good finds in the forest 50% more often | Good finds in the forest 75% more often |
| Herb Lore | The healer is 15% cheaper | The healer is 30% cheaper | The healer is 45% cheaper |
| Keen Blade | +3% damage | +6% damage | +9% damage |
| Thick Hide | 3% less damage taken | 6% less damage taken | 9% less damage taken |
| Vigilance | Whoever raids you in your sleep hits 7% weaker | Whoever raids you in your sleep hits 14% weaker | Whoever raids you in your sleep hits 21% weaker |
| Art of Escape | Escape succeeds 8 percentage points more often | Escape succeeds 16 percentage points more often | Escape succeeds 24 percentage points more often |
| Trader's Eye | Weapons and armour 8% cheaper | Weapons and armour 16% cheaper | Weapons and armour 24% cheaper |
| Class Master | Skill uses per day: +1 | Skill uses per day: +2 | Skill uses per day: +3 |
The next run
After your victory you start over: level one, no experience, no gold in pocket or bank, bare fists and rags, your skill back at the beginning. That sounds harsh, but you are not the same hero any more. You keep your dragon kills, your dragon gold, your blessings, all titles and the hunter's book. For 3 days you are protected from raids.
In return Skarvold grows 1 per cent stronger with every one of your victories. And from your second run on, some monsters in the forest bear the mark of the Horn. What that means, you will find out for yourself.
Every victory is recorded in the Hall of Heroes, and whoever wins first in a year earns a title with the year on it.
Chapter 13
Hunter's book and titles
In short
The hunter's book (J in the village) lists every monster you have beaten in the forest, by level and across all runs. Know all 8 monsters of a level and you get a one-off reward. Titles are earned for special deeds, and your latest one appears after your name in the hall.
The hunter's book
The book opens at the page for your level and shows which monsters you have beaten and how often. It forgets nothing, not even after a victory over the dragon. The monsters you are still missing stay a secret until you meet them.
Once you have beaten all 8 monsters of a level, you get gold and experience, once. Fill every level and you earn a title. The ash-marked count separately: hunt down all 96 of them and you earn a title of your own.
Titles
Titles last forever, through the Burning Night and beyond the dragon. All your titles are listed in your stats, and your latest one appears after your name in the hall.
| Title | Earned for |
|---|---|
| Dragonslayer | your first victory over Skarvold |
| Bane of Dragons | 3 victories over Skarvold |
| the Unbroken | 30 days in a row without dying |
| Terror of the Night | 50 successful raids |
| Bounty Hunter | 5 bounties collected |
| Mine Rat | 500 victories in the mines |
| Heartbreaker | reaching 50 charm |
| Wedded | getting married |
| Beggar King / Beggar Queen | reaching the top level without ever having more than 1,000 gold in the bank |
| Woodwise | a full hunter's book |
| Ash Hunter / Ash Huntress | every ash-marked monster in the hunter's book |
On top of these there are two titles with a year attached: Master Builder of Greyford for the biggest donation of a year and First Dragonslayer for the first victory over Skarvold in a year. More in chapter 3, A day in Greyford.
Chapter 14
Bulletin boards
In short
DRAKVOR also runs as a door game on bulletin boards with WebCarrier BBS, just like the board games of old. Everyone plays in the same world. Every board competes for fame against the others and against the web.
Playing on a bulletin board
A bulletin board is a meeting place you dial into with a terminal, these days usually over the internet. If a board running WebCarrier BBS offers the DRAKVOR door, you start the game from its menu. You do not need an account on this website: your hero belongs to your account on the board.
- You play with the same keys as in the browser. Wherever the game needs a value, the door asks you to type a line.
- Screens there have 23 lines; the last line belongs to your input.
- Q in the village takes you back to the board. Your hero stays where they are.
- The language follows the language of the board.
- The hall shows the name of your board next to your hero.
Which boards take part is listed on the Bulletin boards page.
The bulletin board contest
Every board collects fame for the current year, and the web counts as a team of its own. Every dragon kill by a hero brings their board 10 fame, and every 1,000 gold donated at the building site brings one. On top of that come the level-ups of the 10 heroes with the most level-ups that year. Villagers and banned accounts do not count. The contest starts again with the Burning Night, and the winning board goes into the chronicle.
For sysops
Do you run a board and want to offer DRAKVOR? How to set up the door is explained in the guide for sysops.
Chapter 15
Controls
In short
You play with the keyboard: every entry on the screen has a letter. You can also click the lines. Alt+Enter toggles full screen, and ? shows help for the current screen.
Keyboard and mouse
Every entry on the screen starts with a bright letter. Press it and off you go. With the mouse you click the line instead, which does the same. On a tablet the keys also appear as buttons below the screen.
Typing values
Some commands need a value, such as an amount for the bank or the name of a hero. Then an input line appears at the bottom of the screen. Type the value and send it with Enter. Esc cancels. For amounts, an empty input usually means "everything".
Help
On every screen, ? shows a short help text for the place you are in and names the matching chapter of this guide. Esc takes you back, or Enter on a bulletin board. On the website the sidebar next to the game also has a link to the matching chapter.
Full screen, sound and scanlines
- Full screen: Alt+Enter or the small button at the bottom of the monitor. Then all you see is the DOS screen. Esc or Alt+Enter ends it.
- Sound: switch it on in the menu on the right. Then it beeps and buzzes for hits, gold, level-ups and messages, like an old PC speaker.
- Scanlines: the fine lines over the screen, which you can switch off in the menu on the right.
Your browser remembers these settings.
PC, tablet and phone
You play DRAKVOR on a PC or a tablet with a keyboard. The screen has 79 characters in 24 lines and needs a bit of room for that. If your window is too small, the page will tell you. You cannot play on a phone, but you can read the whole website, the hall and this guide there.
Leaving the game
Press Q on the village square to leave the village. Your hero stays where they are and sleeps in the fields if they have no room. You can also just close the browser.
Chapter 16
Frequently asked questions
In short
These are the questions asked most often in Greyford, with short answers. If yours is not here, use the search box above or press ? in the game.
- How do I get my hit points back?
- At the healer, with H in the village or in the forest. She heals you completely, for gold. Overnight all your hit points come back by themselves. Some forest events and Fennick's songs heal you too. See chapter 4, The village.
- What happens when I die?
- You lose the gold in your pocket and 10 per cent of your experience, and you stay dead until the next day. You keep your weapon, armour, level and bank. See chapter 8, Gold, bank and death.
- Why can't I go into the forest any more?
- You have used up your 15 forest fights for today, or you are dead. It carries on at midnight UTC.
- Can I play on my phone?
- No, you play on a PC or a tablet with a keyboard. On your phone you can read the website, the hall and this guide. See chapter 15, Controls.
- When does a new day begin?
- At midnight UTC, for everyone at the same time. That is 2:00 in Germany.
- Do I lose anything if I don't play for a week?
- No. The bank keeps paying interest, and you come back rested with up to 30 per cent more experience. But you sleep out in the fields every night, so someone can take the gold in your pocket. Take it to the bank before you go.
- How many forest fights do I get a day?
- 15. Married heroes get 1 more, and the Stamina blessing and the watchtower add others.
- How do I avoid being raided at night?
- Rent a room at the inn. Nobody can raid a hero who sleeps there. The room lasts until the next change of day.
- Where is my gold safe?
- In Goldwin's bank. It earns 10 per cent interest every night there, and neither monsters nor thieves can get at it. Only a victory over the dragon and a divorce empty the bank.
- How do I go up a level?
- Gather experience in the forest until the village says you are ready for your master. Then beat your master on the training grounds (T). See chapter 10, Masters and levels.
- Can I die fighting my master?
- No. If you lose, you are left on one hit point. You get another attempt the next day, because a master fights you only once a day.
- Which class is the best?
- None of them. All three start with the same stats and reach the dragon equally well. The Sellsword is the easiest, the Runecaster lasts the longest, the Cutpurse hits the hardest. See chapter 6, The classes.
- What do I get for beating the dragon?
- Dragon gold, a dragon blessing, a place in the hall and a title. Then you start over at level one, with your blessings. See chapter 12, Skarvold.
- When can I go after the dragon?
- At level 12. Then the path up to the Ashen Horn (D) appears in the forest.
- What exactly is a forest fight?
- Every search in the forest or in the mines, whether you find a monster, an event or nothing at all. The climb to the dragon and hauling stones at the building site use one too.
- Can I rename my hero or change class?
- No. You choose name and class once, when you create your hero. Think both over carefully.
- How long am I protected as a new hero?
- 3 days, counting the day you were created. During that time you cannot raid anyone either. After a victory over the dragon you are protected once more.
- What happens to my gold on the Burning Night?
- The gold in your pocket burns, the bank stays. See chapter 3, A day in Greyford.
- Who are the heroes from Greyford?
- Villagers run by the game itself. They fight and level up like everyone else, but never attack anyone and do not read messages.
- What do I do if someone keeps pestering me with messages?
- Block them in your messages. After that they can neither write to you nor propose to you.
- Can I play together with friends?
- Yes, everyone plays in the same world. You can send each other messages, get married and donate together at the building site. A married hero is protected by their spouse sleeping at the inn.
- I forgot my password. What now?
- If you gave an email address for your account, you can request a new password on the login page. Without an email address, unfortunately, that is not possible.
- Does DRAKVOR cost anything?
- No. DRAKVOR is free and without ads, and nobody can buy an advantage.
- Can I delete my account?
- Yes, any time, yourself, under Account. Your hero then disappears from Greyford.
DRAKVOR is free and without ads. If you enjoy the game, you can buy the smith of Greyford a mug: ko-fi.com/drakvor
Version 1.19.4, 18 Oct 2026