Brány Skeldalu Overview
Gates of Skeldal is a Czech dungeon crawler set on the ancient island of Rovenland. The narrative begins when the wizard Freghar summons three adventurers to confront five renegade mages attempting to open a portal to the forbidden dimension of Zohar from the tower of Skeldal.
Character creation involves selecting a portrait, which determines gender and visual representation, and then defining a class. The system uses an octogram where players place a dot to create pure or hybrid classes from adjacent options like Fighter, Wizard, Thief, and Ranger. This placement also allocates points for distributing among four base statistics: Strength, Magic Use, Agility, and Dexterity. Secondary attributes, such as weapon skills, can develop later.
Gameplay is turn-based and allows the party to be split, a feature useful for solving environmental puzzles involving multiple levers or for tactical positioning in combat. The initial group of three can later be expanded by hiring three additional NPCs, each with their own background and objectives.
Originally released with a map editor for user-created content, the game and its source code were made freely available in 2007.
