SUGGESTED PLAY STRATEGYthis is simply a suggestion, there are multiple ways to go in this dungeon, this is just one of them!STEP 1 : you begin the game on the Ball Platform. look out for the fire etherals, at this stage combat with even one iof them will result in fatalities in your crew
STEP 2 : fire etherals out of sight?  OK this is your first decision, do you go for the nearest torch? if so, go up the Eastern Stairs to an ancient Forest, don't enter the forest, just reach for the torch on your left
STEP 3 : if you decided to go for the torch you may have attracted the attention of fire etherals but it could be worth the risk, a torch is not highly essential but would be nice
STEP 4 : either way, return back down to the start. now stand at the SW edge of the platform looking down on the Skeleton Barracks
STEP 5 : pick your moment, ideally you can see a line of sight through the soldiers to further back in the barracks where your crew won't be surrounded, TIP See the accompanying video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zz8Q3gDYwQ&t=30s
STEP 6 : drop down INTO the Skeleton Barracks, ideally onto 1 or more soldiers and then flee past them to the back of the Barracks where you find Alcoves with Mirror Armour, snatch the Armour
STEP 7 : descend the stairs where you will see DEAD puzzle cubes, ignore them for now
STEP 8 : find the back chamber with iron key and gloves , remove both
STEP 9 : SAVE THE GAME, OK this is your second decision, do you go for the strong box?  This prize is jealously guarded inded and could result in your crew being hacked to death

STEP A :  if going for the strong box, note your current location, you need to return here straight after the heist
STEP B :  to get the strongbox return to the Skeleton baracks up the stairs and back to where you droped down, you will side a side chamber containing a strongbox, Archers and Sentinels guard that box, so your chances are slim, still have a go!
STEP C :  if your crew sustain fatalities getting the strongbox it is arguable whether it was worth it, but as the box contains all 3 magic Crystal shards  its possible you would be better off marginally.
STEP D :   either way return to where you grabbed the iron key and gloves, now descend the stairs to Talisman level.
STEP E : You now have a choice of a getting a second key OR a beautiful enchanted Bracelet (You can't get both), to select one, move straight ahead towards the desired item, then side shift in front of the item, select.
STEP F :   now press TAB to bring up the dungeon map and use it to chart out where your party have not explored. TIP ! Some altars do contain items e.g. the Skeleton Warrior still has his longsword!
STEP G : your crew come across an ARMOURY, awesome meteor armour can be seen through the portcullis gates, there is no solution yet to opening these gates but later when the crew find the castle Moat .........
STEP H : Fire essence Altar. this altar is next to one of several pits in the Talisman dungeon level, the crew can easily drop down these pits to Advanced Mine combat areas, success there at this early point of the game would be incredible, so perhaps leave the pits to when the crew return after finding the castle moat .....
STEP I :  to obtain a bonus cache, apply this technique : do not touch the fire essence yet, instead place an item onto the altar, now go north west to find a cache chamber 10 seconds away. the cache contains a small amount of bombs, a torch and some rotten food so is not critical 
STEP J :  either way the crew then find a strange outhouse including imprisoned mummies, turtle and dowgies, the big component here of course is the small herder, TIP repeatedly position your crew in line of sight of the small herder who then throws poison bolts your way, if the turtle of dowgie is killed the outhouse unlocks, allowing your crew to access the robust Rogue clothing and magic potions.
STEP K :  the crew come accross Forcefields holding a green slime and other common low level dungeon monsters, check round the back of those fields, go behind the wall that holds those force fields in place, your crew find Store Barrels, chop through them to get back to the Skeleton barracks now, if you didnt get the strongbox at step 9 then you can try again for it now , I succeeded in doing it that way once but as soon as I got the strongbox I saw the secret wall come down sealing the chamber closed  (viz I only just got it in time!)
STEP L :  now you have a third decision, do you continue on with the Talisman level?  Because here you have a clear exit back to the Main game , if you choose to continue in Talisman there are risks but also further bonus items too. if you wish to skip talisman the move down to Step 
STEP M :  return to the Forcefields, pull the lever down, it would do no harm to push it back up as well , which brings us onto a bonus mission later but for now defeat some of the descending low level monsters, take the crew to directly South of the Forcefields, find a passage mid-east in the level, a really good cache chamber containing lo grade light armour and other nic-nacs is found
STEP N :  return to the Forcefields, slay the green slime!  once the green slime is defeated (use your bombs?) go to a position midway between the two lots of Barrells mentioned at step  K, your crew find a further cache room containing Crystal shards
STEP O :  back at the Forcefields, push the lever up, do not be concerned if new high level monsters have by now replaced the old ones, they cannot be released yet, unless the crew pull the lever down a 2nd time (don't, your crew would be levelled) 
STEP P :   once the lever is pushed back up , leave it there and go WEST to a new cache chamber where the crew can benefit from Heavy Armour! see STEP H for guidance on pits in this level, that guidance holds until the crew find the Castle Moat! its not that the crew would be stranded down there, it is that the opposition are at an Advanced level, the crew at this stage are highly unlikely to survive.
STEP Q :   so by now the crew's time is ticking down, their torch or torches have either already gone out or there is not much strength in the torch left , because of this it might be wise to leave the level
STEP R :  if your crew choose to remian then find the outhouse Brracjs Office mid-west containing  Soldiers on a tea break. See the floor pressure plate, if the crew or the soldiers tread there a flurry of ice shards cascades along the front of the outhouse. wait until one of the soldiers is smashed to pieces by the ice shards, then fight the remaining soldiers gaining their prized potions, sack and food 
STEP S :  if your crew have time, search out the remaining level but then leave via the Barrels passageway back to the Barracks described at STEP 6
STEP T :  from the Barracks return to the push blocks described at Step 7
STEP U :  now use an iron key e.g. found at Step 8 to energise the push blocks, this would be a good time to massacre the remaining Skeleton Troops up in the Barracks, if your crew can do that now, would be a good time! 
STEP V :  anyway, push the push blocks onto the yellow target tiles , once the puzzle is solved a nearby gate unlocks BUT your crew could backtrack back up the Stairs to the Barracks, where a bonus cache chamber has just unlocked. if you decide to do that, combat the new emerging troops and slay them finding another Iron key and the precious reed armour of the long defunct Xanti tribe, this Reed Armour is a good light armour standard.
STEP W :  the crew are about to fall into a trap, so it's good to know its coming.  the crew are about to be ambushed by a viscous dungeon clan, hug the wall as you go through the stone gate and keep going around right until you find a bombs cache. take the bombs and exit back into the push blocks room if you can. 
STEP X :  either way fight the  viscous dungeon clan OR evade them until you find the down stairs onto a high ledge. This is worth finding as behind a fake wall the crew find the awesome Bone Blade, air essence and  ancient Scrolls.
STEP Y : consider returning back up the stairs to take down a few of the  viscous dungeon clan but this is not critical.  (TIP could be a shard cache back there!) 
STEP Z : the high ledge drops down to a low ledge which in turn drops to a monster infested basin. the basin itself has half a doz side Alcoves containing interesting artefacts , the crew should be able to fairly easily evade the monsters which are quite spread out. now take the centre pit back down to the Launch Platform! (as mentioned in Step 0 below) the Masquerade Talismanyour crew were busy navigating a Schooner through treacherous waters when suddenly you find yourself in a nightmare world, the Schooner's gone, the ocean waves have gone, you and three others are sudddenly in a dungeon world so fiendish it must surely be a nightmare.Is the Schooner here somewhere? or is this real or all just a masquerade? one thing is for sure, if your crew dont figure it out soon, the nightmare will end up being a short one.0 Launch platform effectively offers 8 initial directions
1. North stairs : Lake woods
2. Eastern Stairs : Forest woods
3. Southern stairs : Old City
4. Western Stairs : Beach
5. drop down to Air Elementals : Brutal exploration
6. drop down to Fire Elementals : Suicidal exploration
7. drop down to Ugguardians : the Ugguardians are territorial and will not tolerate newcomers except on a Sunday
8. drop down to Skeleton Warriors : the warriors are well armed and good fightersThe standard beginning would probably be more likely the STAIRS to easier areas.Courageous beginning would involve any of the drop down quests but your crew would more than likely be butchered in seconds.STEP BY STEP Guide, the following do not have to be done in this order, they can be done in any order. 
1. North stairs : Lake woods
2. Eastern Stairs : Forest woods, foraging mainly
2. Leads to Tomb Sarcos (Mortar!) 
3. Southern stairs : Old City. TIP! look out for the damaged walls, these indicate a hidden passageway which leads to a rag tag den of netherdos , slay the netherdos in their vile den and gain a lovely set of reed armour into the bargain.
3. Leads to Dungeon Arena with pit in centre.
4. Western Stairs : Beach, concealed here is the warhammer and the shortbow. Zarchton Ruins , fight the Zarchtons then descend to Tomb.
4. Leads to Tomb throwing contest TIP : at Tomb throwing contest SAVE THE GAME, falling into the trench is not recoverable! NOTE in the trench are 4 wall locks, using 4 iron keys here teleports the crew to Healing Crystals hallway. 
5. drop down to Air Elementals : Brutal foes This to me is the big starting point, I would choose this to kick off the quest, just EVADE the Air Elementals as you cannot fight them as this stage. There is a wall button a couple of metres from drop down, press it to access a big open hallway that conceals an Acolyte Staff, heavy armour and a rapier. To find the rapier this early into the game would be a big plus, BUT involves tangling with these noxious Air Elementals, can you pull it off? [Rapier cannot be found in this section 99 seconds into the game]
5. Leads to Dungeon Arena with pit in centre. TIP!  just use the pit in the centre at an early stage in the game, side pits (if open) are just too challenging at this time. 
6. drop down to Fire Elementals : Suicidal exploration
6. Leads to SWAMP which leads to Dungeon East (Dungeon Arena with pit in centre)
7. drop down to Ugguardians : the Ugguardians are territorial and will not tolerate newcomers except on a Sunday
7. Leads to Advanced Push Blocks
8. drop down to Skeleton Warriors Barracks: the warriors are well armed and good fighters
8. Leads to push blocks TIP!  do not push the blocks straight into the centre. start with middle but just push 1 row forward and dont worry if you see that there are too many blocks to fit. When solved, return to Barracks, Armour Store is now open. Now move back to Push Blocks progress to find the Bone Blade and Air Essence! Side pits in Dungeon Arena with pit in centre:  North side pit, drops down to ROPE (TIP! dont leave the Air Elementals base before finding the rope) but a squad of rat infantry object to your visit firstSide pits in Dungeon Arena with pit in centre:  South side pit, drops down to Side pit in Old City drops down to Old Tomb area - revisit Start of Level to find rare potions. Ball Teleporters (are unlocked by defeating Swamp Skeleton Commander 1) Teleporter Room entrance : Daemon Head :Damaged Wall : Castle (Shaman locks)Grating :Skull Key 1: Skeleton Commander 1 in SwampSkull Key 2: Skeleton Commander 2 in SwampSkull Key 3: Ball Teleporter RoomSkull Key 4: Ball Ugguardian Overflow areaSkull Key 5: N teleporter back to Old CityGreen Gem : Get the Morning Star in Fire Elemental base (from Swamp) Overview:   Your crew find themselves on a platform with 8 ways to go, which is the way to go though?  The stairs look safer than the drops. But the drops could offer what the crew need, sooner rather than later. Somewhere in this maze is the gorgeous Talisman of Masquerade, it has magical properties according to the scrolls but the pitfalls along the way are many and deadly. Perhaps the crew would be better off loking for what is left of their schooner instead.