|“||Think I'll go make some inquiries about where a heretic like me can get some holy water.||”|
Down in the Bonehoard is the fourth mission in Thief: The Dark Project and Thief Gold. It takes place inside the Bonehoard, a massive underground complex of haunted crypts that has fallen into disrepair. Garrett starts out at the entrance to the Bonehoard and must delve deep into its depths to locate and acquire the Horn of Quintus, and in higher difficulties, the Mystic's Heart and Mystic's Soul.
Now without a reliable fence and stuck for money, Garrett decides to use the lead Cutty gave him and go after the Horn of Quintus for himself. The horn is said to be somewhere deep in the "Bonehoard", the catacombs on the outskirts of the city, and Felix and friends have a head start.
The mission comprises several sections of sprawling underground tombs which are linked by the tunnels of the poison-gas spewing creatures called Burricks (the mission is their introduction). The largest of these is the Halls of Echoing Repose with its interconnected octagonal towers that are several stories high. The Horn can be heard mysteriously blowing its mournful tune throughout. The mission contains several side quests and some secret objectives. On higher difficulty levels other treasure is added to the objectives besides the horn and new areas are opened up. The player also has to return to the surface.
- Search through the ancient Bonehoard and procure the legendary Horn of Quintus.
- What use do the dead have for their treasures, anyhow? Relieve them of at least 1000 worth of valuables. (Hard)
- In addition to garnering the Horn of Quintus, find and steal the fabled gemstone, 'The Mystic's Soul. (Hard/Expert)
- Once you have what you came for, get back to the surface. (Hard/Expert)
- What use do the dead have for their treasures, anyhow? Relieve them of at least 2000 worth of valuables. (Expert)
- The Mystic's Soul had a sister stone, called 'The Mystic's Heart,' also thought to be in the Bonehoard. Find it. Make it yours. (Expert)
The player begins the level with the following gear:
- 50 Broadhead Arrows
- 12 Water Arrows
- 8 Rope Arrows
- 3 Holy Water Vials
- 3 Healing Potions
- a sword and a blackjack
Note that the starting gear for this mission is the same on all difficulty levels.
The following items are available for purchase at the beginning of the mission:
- 12 Water Arrows
- 6 Rope Arrows
- 6 Noisemaker Arrows
- 3 Holy Water Vials
- 3 Healing Potions
Characters present in the MissionEdit
|Burrick||16||plus 5 dead|
|Fire Shadow||1||Thief Gold only|
|Zombie||30||13 of which in Dormant State|
The following characters appear in this level:
There are no changes in the number of creatures between the different difficulty settings. The only structural changes are the presence of metal doors blocking the way to the Mystic's Soul on normal and the Mystic's Heart on normal and hard. The main differences concern the clues available to Garrett regarding the location of the Horn of Quintus, and the amount of loot. The higher the difficulty, the more information and less loot around the map. Sutter's diary has three different versions - one for each difficulty. The expert version mentions the X-shaped marks in the Burrick tunnels, which are not present on normal and hard. Some texts, including Marcus's diary and Adolpho's notes on normal, and the M4HEART papyrus on normal and hard are also missing.
The loot that is affected by the difficulty setting is the following: a purple vase (near the rope drop at the beginning) worth 50 goods, missing on hard and expert; Sutter's purse, worth 100 gold, missing on expert; a tiara (near Adolpho) worth 75 gold and 50 gems, missing on hard and expert; a holy water vial and a Healing Potion, next to the Holy Water Font, missing on hard and expert; a healing potion, in the northern vaults, missing on expert; a goblet, in the northern vaults, worth 100 gold, missing on expert; a gemstone and a purse, near Dranko, each worth 100 gold, missing on expert; a green vase, a golden vase and a tiara, in the Halls of Echoing Repose, each worth 100 gold, missing on hard and expert; a fine wine bottle and a necklace, both worth 100 gold, plus a healing potion, in the Halls of Echoing Repose, missing on expert; one extra healing potion on hard and two extra potions on normal, in the room with the 4 sleeping zombies and the golden vase; a holy water vial in the Marad crypt, missing on expert; two purple vases, next to the Burrick near the entrance to the Mystic's Heart rooms, both worth 50 goods, missing on expert; and two gemstones, at the entrance to the horn's tower, both worth 100 gems, missing on expert. The Mystic's Soul and Heart are relevant to their difficulty settings.
Thief: The Dark Project vs Thief GoldEdit
The main difference between the two editions is the presence of a new enemy, the Fire Shadow, in Thief Gold. It serves as a supply of Fire Arrows for the torch puzzle. The map designers made a number of changes to the level in the Gold edition. There is a deep hole in the Burricks' tunnels that is not present on the Gold edition. Additionally, the ledge leading to the Marad tomb was changed to be made out of wood, so one can stick a Rope Arrow into it. In addition, some of the textures were changed, with the intention of give various areas more distinctive landmarking.
There is a total of 2450 loot in this mission where 425 are in gold, 1800 in gems and 225 in goods.
If all of the Golden Bones are collected and thrown in the Hammer Shrine sarcophagus, a bonus of 8 water arrows, 4 fire arrows, and 1 vial of holy water will be given to the player.
- This is the first mission where traps are encountered. The Bonehoard is full of them. Remember to always watch for darker or concave tiles on the floor and holes on the walls.
- Save at least five Fire Arrows to complete the Mystic's Soul objective which is quite a number. However, there are 16 Fire Arrows placed around the mission itself so saving the required number shouldn't be a problem. In Thief Gold the Fire Shadow makes the Fire Arrow supply absolute.
- A Haunt will appear in the chamber with the Mystic's Heart when it is disturbed. The room is dark enough for a quick thief to run by without engaging the haunt.
- When Garrett enters the Bonehoard, he says, "Time to... raid some tombs", in reference to Eidos' Tomb Raider.