Wizard's Castle: Shadows of Zot — Player FAQ
🔐 Accounts & Access
Do I need an account to play? No. You can play anonymously as a guest. You'll be prompted to create an account after your run — this lets you save your progress, access the Hall of Fame, and track lore discoveries.
What do I lose as a guest player? Guest runs are not saved. Lore fragments you unlock, achievements, and faction standing are tied to your account. Progress from a guest session cannot be transferred retroactively.
Is my data safe? What do you store? We store your username, hashed password, and gameplay data (run history, flags, faction standing). We do not store payment card data — all transactions go through Stripe's secure checkout. We never sell your data.
How do I get more character slots? Additional character slots are available through the shop. You start with three free slots.
I forgot my password. What do I do? Use the password reset link on the login page. A reset email will be sent to your registered address.
Can I delete my account? Yes. Contact us via the site and we'll process it. A self-service option is on the roadmap.
⚔️ Gameplay
What kind of game is this? Wizard's Castle: Shadows of Zot is a dungeon crawler inspired by a 1980 BASIC game. You descend into a massive subterranean castle, fight monsters, collect treasures, and try to find and escape with the legendary Orb of Zot. No one has ever done it before.
Is this a roguelike? Is there permadeath? Yes, with a twist. Death is permanent for that run, but persistent unlocks — lore fragments, bestiary entries, achievements — carry across runs. You may die, but Arboria remembers you.
What are the six peoples I can play as? Elves, Dwarfs, Gnomes, Humans, Orcs, and Halflings — each with different strengths and cultural ties to the world of Arboria.
What factions are in the game? Factions are integral to WCSOZ. Your choices and actions during runs affect your standing with different powers in and around the castle. Faction-aligned quests and rewards are unlocked as you progress.
What are Attack Rating, Arcanist, Eye Tyrant, Void Stalker…? These are WCSOZ's own terms for character roles, stats, and creatures. We've built the game on our own terminology — part of the experience is discovering what things are.
How does the bestiary work? The bestiary on the site is populated as players encounter creatures. Some entries are unlocked globally the first time any player encounters a monster. Others are personal discoveries.
Can I play in my language? We're building with localisation from day one. Supported languages will be announced as they become available.
How do I save my progress? Your run is saved automatically after every action — moving, fighting, opening chests, resting. If you close the browser and come back, you pick up exactly where you left off. Guest sessions are not saved.
What is the Mercy system? When your character dies for the first time in a run, you are granted Mercy — a second chance. You revive with a fraction of your health and negative statuses cleared. There is no third chance. Some rare items or abilities may grant additional Mercy.
What classes can I play? Fighter, Arcanist (mage), Cleric, Thief, Ranger, and Paladin. Each has different combat abilities, spell access, and equipment restrictions.
Some features mentioned here don't seem to be in the game yet? WCSOZ is in active development. Features like factions, the bestiary, achievements, site-wide lore discoveries, and additional languages are planned and being built — but not all of them are live yet. This FAQ describes the full vision. If something isn't in the game today, it's on the way.
🖥️ Technical & Browser
What browsers are supported? Any modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari — on desktop and mobile devices.
The game shows a loading screen and won't start. The game needs to download content from the server on first visit. If you're on a slow connection, give it a moment. If it persists, try clearing your browser's site data for wizardscastle.de and refreshing.
I see broken text or weird key names instead of words. Try a hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R). This forces the browser to re-download all content. If the problem persists, contact us.
Does the game work offline? No. An internet connection is required to load game content and save your progress.
🛒 Shop & Purchases
What can I buy in the shop? The shop offers consumables that give your current run an edge — potions, scrolls, and other supplies. It also offers additional character slots if you want to run multiple adventurers in parallel.
Are purchases permanent or per-run? Consumables are per-run. Character slots are permanent account upgrades.
Does buying items give me an unfair advantage? The shop sells convenience and preparation, not power you can't find in the dungeon. A well-prepared adventurer still has to survive what's down there.
Is the game pay-to-win? No. Every item available in the shop can also be found through play. The shop saves time — it doesn't replace skill.
How do I make a purchase? Checkout is handled securely through Stripe. We never see or store your card details.
What payment methods are accepted? All major credit and debit cards via Stripe. Depending on your region, additional payment methods may be available at checkout.
Can I get a refund on a purchase? Consumables that have already been used in a run are non-refundable. If you encounter a technical issue with a purchase, contact us and we'll make it right.
Do purchases carry over if I die? Consumables are tied to your run, not to individual floors — they stay with you as you descend. Your character state is saved continuously, so nothing is lost to disconnects or crashes. If you die, unused consumables are lost along with the run. Character slots and other permanent account upgrades are never affected by death.
Is there a free way to support the project? Yes — play, discover lore, tell other people about it. If you want to go further, we have a Patreon where supporters get early access to lore reveals, devlog posts, and more.
📖 Story & Lore
What is the Orb of Zot? That is the question, isn't it? The Orb was forged by the Gnomic wizard Zot in the fallen Kingdom of N'Dic. What it truly is — and what it does — is something adventurers discover through play.
Who is Zot? Where did he go? Unknown. Many cycles have passed. The castle he left behind tells a story — but stories told by stone and monster are rarely simple.
What is Arboria? What is N'Dic? Arboria is the continent. N'Dic was a kingdom. It is no longer. The rest is something you assemble.
What are the lore fragments I find in the game? As you play, you trigger discoveries — events, inscriptions, encounters — that unlock fragments of Arboria's history on the site. No single fragment tells the whole story. Piece them together.
Is there a "true" history I'm uncovering, or is it deliberately ambiguous? Both. The fragments are canonical, but the interpretation is yours. Different factions remember events differently. Reliable narrators are rare in old kingdoms.
Who is Silveryon? Silveryon is the quest giver you'll encounter in the game. He is also, in a way, the keeper of the castle's records. His relationship to the events you're uncovering is part of the mystery.
Is WCSOZ based on something real? It is a dark fantasy reimagining of Wizard's Castle, a 1980 BASIC game by Joseph R. Power. That game is a piece of computing history. We built a world worthy of it.
Last updated: April 2026 — wizardscastle.de