Save File (dksave*.sav)

Each saved game consists of two files:

dksave*.sav — world and character data (this document)
dksave*.bsv — battle/dungeon data for the last unfinished dungeon

Extension: dksave*.sav
Location: Game root
Byte order: Little-endian (16-bit)
Size: Variable — 0xEF world header + 0x99 roster + (num_chars × 554) + events + 414 locations + cache block
Compression: None
Magic: None
Status: Partial
Source: Wendigo — dksaveXX.sav.xml

Partial. World state header has several undocumented blocks (notably 0x0C–0x14, 0x3E–0x62, 0x84–0x89). The 48-byte event record is only partially decoded — offsets for quest discriminator, dates, and location indices are established, but the remaining fields are unknown. Character records have gap bytes at the start (+0x00–+0x11) and scattered unknown fields.

Canonical source: dksaveXX.sav.xml (Wendigo’s Darklands repo)

Top-Level Layout

World State (0x00–0xee)

Offset	Size	Field	Description
0x00	12	`curr_location_name`	Current party location name
0x0c	9	(unknown)	Undocumented block between current location and save label
0x15	23	`save_game_label`	Saved game label
0x2c	18	(constant)	Zero-filled block
0x3e	55	(unknown)	Large unknown block; a few words vary near dream-related state
0x63	1	(constant)	Always `0x19`
0x64	2	`city_contents_seed`	Seed for pseudo-RNG (saints/formulae/items per location)
0x66	2	(constant)	Always `07 00`
0x68	8	`curr_date`	Current date (`date_reversed` struct)
0x70	6	`party_money`	Cash on hand (`money` struct)
0x76	4	(constant)	Zero-filled block
0x7a	2	`reputation`	Global reputation
0x7c	2	`curr_location`	Current location index (0xffff = wilderness)
0x7e	4	`curr_coords`	Current map coordinates (`coordinates` struct)
0x82	2	`curr_menu`	Current menu/screen
0x84	6	(unknown)	First word is usually `0`, `1`, or `2`
0x8a	2	`prev_menu`	Previous menu/screen
0x8c	2	`bank_notes`	Bank notes in florins
0x8e	4	(unknown)	Undocumented block before philosopher’s stone
0x92	2	`philosopher_stone`	Quality of philosopher’s stone
0x94	7	(unknown)	Undocumented block before party order
0x9b	5	`party_order_indices`	Party walking order (5 bytes, 0-based indices)
0xa0	1	(unknown)	Single unknown byte before party leader
0xa1	1	`party_leader_index`	Party leader index (0-based)
0xa2	3	(unknown)	Undocumented block after party leader
0xa5	74	(constant)	Zero-filled tail block before the party roster

Party Roster (0xef–0x188)

Offset	Size	Field	Description
0xef	2	`num_curr_characters`	Characters currently in party (including NPCs)
0xf1	2	`num_characters`	Total characters defined
0xf3	10	`party_char_indices[5]`	Word index per party slot (0xffff = empty)
0xfd	20	`party_images[5]`	4-byte image group string per slot; empty slots use the byte pattern `00 30 00 30`
0x111	120	`party_colors[5]`	`person_colors` struct (0x18 bytes) per slot

Character Data and World State (0x189+)

Offset	Field	Description
0x189	`characters[num_characters]`	Character records, each 554 bytes (0x22a)
after characters	`num_events` (word)	Number of active quest/effect events; file offset depends on character count
after num_events	`events[num_events]`	Event records, 0x30 bytes each; include quests and timed effects
after events	`num_locations` (= 0x19e)	Number of map locations
after num_locations	`locations[0x19e]`	Map location data copied from `DARKLAND.LOC` and updated in play
after locations	`max_cache_slot` (byte = 0x63)	Cache warning/limit marker used by the inn-storage block
after locations	`num_caches` (byte)	Number of active item caches
after num_caches	`cache_offsets[0x62]`	Word offsets into the cache payload
after cache_offsets	`caches[num_caches]`	Inn item caches (known to corrupt on overflow)

Common Structs

date (8 bytes)

Offset	Size	Field
0x00	2	`hour`
0x02	2	`day`
0x04	2	`month`
0x06	2	`year` (e.g. 1402)

date_reversed uses the same fields in reversed order: year, month, day, hour.

money (6 bytes)

Offset	Size	Field
0x00	2	`florins`
0x02	2	`groschen`
0x04	2	`pfenniges`

coordinates (4 bytes)

Offset	Size	Field	Range
0x00	2	`x_coord`	0–0x0147
0x02	2	`y_coord`	0–0x03a3

person_colors (24 bytes)

Eight RGB triplets (3 bytes each, values 0x00–0x3f) defining the battle sprite colormap: first_hi, first_lo, second_hi, second_med, second_lo, third_hi, third_med, third_lo.

Character Record

Each character is 554 bytes (0x22a). See Character Struct for the full field layout.

Key landmarks:

Names at +0x25 (full) and +0x3e (short)
Attributes at +0x5d (current) and +0x64 (max)
Skills at +0x6b
Saints bitmask at +0x80 (20 bytes / 160 bits)
Formulae bitmask at +0x94 (22 bytes)
Items array at +0xaa (up to 64 × 6 bytes)

Cache Block

The trailing cache block mirrors CACHE.TMP:

max_cache_slot is the constant byte 0x63
num_caches is the number of active inn caches
cache_offsets[0x62] are word offsets into the cache payload
caches[num_caches] contains the actual cache records

Notes:

the offsets are relative to the cache payload area, not absolute file offsets
only a subset of the 0x62 offset slots are actually used
the KB documents an overflow/corruption hazard if inn storage is reused in unlucky ways

Event Record

The KB still treats the 48-byte event structure as only partially decoded, but these anchors are established:

Offset	Size	Field	Description
+0x00	2	(unknown)	Quest/effect discriminator; for Raubritter quests this is tied to the quest giver while active
+0x02	8	`create_date`	Creation date (`date`)
+0x0a	8	(unknown date)	Usually identical to `create_date`
+0x12	8	`expire_date`	Expiration / trigger date (`date`)
+0x1a	2	(unknown)	Often the quest-giver location until reward resolution
+0x1c	2	(unknown)	For Raubritter quests, target location then return location
+0x1e	2	(unknown)	Often the city that issued the quest
+0x21	2	(unknown)	Common values include `0x63`, `0x5f`, `0x32`, `0`
+0x23	2	(unknown)	Likely state variable; Raubritter quests move through `0x08` → `0x24` → `0x07`
+0x25	10	(unknown)	Mostly zero
+0x2e	2	(unknown)	Usually the quest item code when an item is required

Cache Structs

cache

Offset	Size	Field	Description
+0x00	1	`num_items`	Number of items in this inn cache
+0x01	varies	`items[]`	Variable-length array of `cache_item` entries

cache_item

Offset	Size	Field	Description
+0x00	2	`item_code`	Item code from `darkland.lst`
+0x02	1	`quality`	Item quality
+0x03	1	`quantity`	Number of items