Levels.

[Zoider]

If you want to increase your levels, you don't have to fight an enemy right? You can just stand in one spot, and swing an Axe, or Throw a rock, Correct?

[beowuuf]

Yes, but you get more experience if doing it against a monster

[Jenda]

..and I find it more interesting to fight against monsters than against air (and believe me, in deeper levels the air isn´t very fresh, there is no air-condition etc).

[Lunever]

You also get generally more experience in more dangerous areas, i.e. in deeper levels. And you get experience for being attacked. And you get more experience for attacking if you have been attacked the last, I believe 4, seconds before.
So immediately after bgeinning the game slash and kick and throw and warcry and cast at a door to gain the first levels. Always train every party member in all classes. Later you may repeat this process when you have too much food & water to carry around anyway. Still later this does not give enough exp. anymore to gain levels in a decent time. Then you may train against respawning monsters like worms, or better, against respawning monsters in a secluded area like the screamer room and the rat's room.
At the end of the game you should recover the Powergem only if you think your characters are trained enough, for the way back to the training rooms will be blocked afterwards.

[Christopher]

Some versions of DM will let you take the Firestaff+ anywhere. As soon as you free the Powergem, turn around and throw the staff through the doorway that you came in. If you have the staff in your possession when you leave that room, your path to the training areas will be blocked. However, if you throw the staff, the blocked area won't be triggered.

[Lunever]

Well, I know. But unfortunately all attempts to make George keep this in RTC failed...

[beowuuf]

That's why you remove a wall from the source files he provides : )

[Lunever]

Ok. I suppose you can tell me how?

[Wil]

Hey! I wasn't aware at all of this trick! Why isn't it in the tips & tricks section (yet)?

[beowuuf]

lol, it was....maybe it got removed to account for RTC not allowing this?

To remove a wall in RTC, you look in the dm.txt, and you will see the levels mapped out in 1's and 0's - compare the 14th map with DMute to see the wall to remove, change it to a '1' and then compile the file by addign the line 'compile<tab>pathname from RTC directory