In-game help
The 55 help files the game shows when you press ?,
gathered on one page: how to play, how to fight, magic, the shops and how to read
the symbols.
The Classes
No decision is so important as which class to play. Below, the many available classes are loosely grouped by their principal strength or playstyle: Melee, Archery, Martial Arts, Magic, Devices, Hybrid, etc. The primary spell stat for each class is highlighted.
For details on the <color:keyword>Stats, see . For information about the <color:keyword>Skills, see. The skill descriptions in this document are for comparison purposes only; for example, your fledgling berserker will not really be born with Amber[25] melee skill. In general, skills are influenced by level, race, class, stats and equipment. See the tables at the bottom of this file () to compare the various classes' stat and skill boosts at a glance.
Melee
<topic:Berserker>Berserker
A Berserker is a fearful fighter indeed, immune to fear and paralysis. At high levels, Berserkers can reflect bolt spells with their tough flesh. Furthermore, they can remove cursed equipment by force, and their special combat techniques are not affected by anti-magic barriers. Berserkers cannot, however, use any magical devices or read any scrolls, and are hopeless at all non-combat skills. To offset these great disadvantages, they gain an important class power - 'Recall' - very early.
Stats Skills
Strength +8 Disarming Very Bad
Intelligence -20 Device Very Bad
Wisdom -20 Save Very Bad
Dexterity +4 Stealth Very Bad
Constitution +4 Searching Very Bad
Charisma +4 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 200% Melee Amber[25]
Base HP 22 Archery Very Bad
Experience 160%
Blood-Knight
Blood-Knights are fighters who have delved into the dark arts and can perform some special offensive effects using their own health. In addition to the HP cost, using such an ability causes bleeding, with an amount proportional to the cost of the ability. These special abilities rely on Constitution.
Blood-Knights are very unusual in that cuts and low health make them more powerful; at full health their melee is nothing special, but the more damaged and wounded they are, the faster and deadlier their attacks become. On the brink of death they are the strongest fighters imaginable, and stories of their legendary feats abound; but with great power comes great risk of death, and you don't recall ever meeting one of these heroes of legend in person!
Blood-Knights, like Blood-Mages, receive reduced benefits from healing magic. Since a Blood-Knight relies on their own blood for their power, this class is restricted to certain races; no non-living race may walk the red path.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Good
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 120% Melee Superb
Base HP 20 Archery Fair
Experience 150%
Duelist
The duelist is the ultimate one-on-one fighter, but finds himself at a severe disadvantage when facing numerous strong foes at once. To start a duel, the duelist first issues a challenge to his intended foe; of course, this will wake the monster up, as there is no honor in dueling a sleeping enemy! And while the duelist will honor the fight as a one-on-one affair, many monsters have no such scruples.
Against a challenged foe the duelist is extremely strong, gaining bonuses to saving throws, armor class, damage reduction and combat prowess. On the other hand, due to the single-mindedness of their focus, the duelist is quite vulnerable to unchallenged opponents. Most of the special techniques of this class aim at enforcing the sanctity of the duel.
The duelist only ever gains a single attack in combat, but they make the most of this blow by gaining enhanced effects as they gain experience. Able to wound, stun, and even hamstring their foes, the prowess of the duelist in a one-on-one encounter is legendary!
Duelists favor light armors and weapons, and cannot equip a shield. They gain no extra bonus for wielding a weapon with both hands. For their techniques, the duelist relies on Dexterity.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom -2 Save Bad
Dexterity +2 Stealth Fair
Constitution -3 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Base HP 4 Archery Very Bad
Experience 150%
Mauler
The Mauler favors extremely heavy weapons, and possesses powerful abilities whose effectiveness depends on the weight of the weapon. While they only gain a limited number of blows which can never be magically increased, they are capable of hitting opponents exceptionally hard to make the most of each strike. Maulers must wield a single weapon with two hands for their talents to function properly.
Stats Skills
Strength +5 Disarming Good
Intelligence -2 Device Fair
Wisdom -2 Save Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Bad
Constitution +3 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 110% Melee Heroic
Base HP 18 Archery Very Bad
Experience 120%
Rune-Knight
The Rune-Knight is a mythical warrior, dedicated to the discovery of ancient runes that hold immense power. They may fix mystical runes of various types to their equipment in order to gain permanent bonuses; even artifacts can be improved this way! Alternatively, they may conjure a temporary rune which allows them to attack with enhanced effects, or place one directly on their person for a one-time or temporary bonus. Finally, they may alter their surroundings with various runes of change.
All runes (except {Absorption}) require mana for creation; however, unlike ordinary spellcasters, Rune-Knights do not regenerate mana on their own. Rather, they must siphon mana from magical or elemental attacks directed against them, and doing so requires the special rune of {Absorption}. This rune should be worn at all times, or at least kept handy.
Despite having mana, the Rune-Knight does not play like an ordinary spellcaster; they are more like a weaponsmith but can, on occasion, cast useful spells. If you have mana available, consider using these spells; otherwise, play as a warrior and wait to absorb mana. This can take time, depending on the foes you face, but the Rune-Knight's honor should prevent them from seeking out weak, defenseless spellcasters; and in any case, weak attacks can only take your mana so high.
See for more details on rune knights.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 101% Melee Fair
Base HP 7 Archery Poor
Experience 150%
Samurai
Samurai, masters of the art of the blade, are among the strongest fighters and can use various special combat techniques. Samurai are not good at most non-combat skills, and many magical devices in particular may be too difficult for them to use. Wisdom determines a Samurai's ability to use the special combat techniques available.
Samurai use the art of the blade called Kendo (or Bugei). Books of Kendo are similar to spellbooks, but do not need to be carried around; they are only required for studying new combat techniques. Samurai need to wield a weapon to use Kendo, and many of their techniques will add special properties to their blows; these are often slays or brands such as flaming or poisoning, but can be much more powerful than a normal brand. The mana pool of a Samurai does not depend on their level but solely on wisdom; and they can use the class power 'Concentration' to temporarily increase their mana beyond its usual maximum value. The other Samurai class power, 'Assume a Posture', allows them to choose different postures depending on the needs of a situation.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Good
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 107% Melee Superb
Base HP 12 Archery Very Good
Experience 130%
Warrior
A Warrior is a hack-and-slash character, who solves most of his problems by cutting them to pieces, but will occasionally fall back on the help of a magical device. Unfortunately, many high-level devices may be forever beyond their use.
Warriors cast no spells. They hate magic. In fact, they even gain experience for destroying high level spellbooks. They have a class power - 'Sword Dancing' - which allows them to conduct a melee attack in six random directions.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Good
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 115% Melee Heroic
Base HP 18 Archery Heroic
Experience 100%
Weaponmaster
A Weaponmaster is exceptionally good with a single class of weapons, obtaining special combat bonuses and powers which depend on their chosen speciality. Focus is the key to success; weaponmasters are truly lousy with off-speciality weapons, but few can match the prowess they gain with something more suitable in their hands.
See for more details on weaponmasters.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -3 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Bad
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Heroic
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Weaponsmith
A Weaponsmith can improve weapons and armors for him or herself. They are good at fighting, and they have potential ability to become even better than Warriors using improved equipment. They cannot cast spells, and are poor at skills such as stealth or magic defense.
A Weaponsmith extracts the essences of special effects from weapons or armors which have various special abilities, and can add these essences to another weapon or armor. Normally, each equipment can be improved only once, but they can remove a previously added essence from improved equipment to improve it with another essence. To-hit, to-damage bonus, and AC can be improved freely up to a maximum value depending on level. Weaponsmiths use class powers for Smithing commands.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Bad
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 106% Melee Very Good
Base HP 12 Archery Good
Experience 130%
Archery
<topic:Archer>Archer
Archers are to bows what warriors are to melee. They are the best class around with any bow, crossbow, or sling. They need a lot of ammunition, but will learn how to make it from junk found in the dungeon. An archer is better than a warrior at stealth, perception, searching and magical devices.
Archers have a class power - 'Create Ammo' - which creates pebbles or shots from rubble, and arrows and crossbow bolts from bones.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Very Good
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 110% Melee Good
Base HP 12 Archery Amber[12]
Experience 110%
Sniper
Snipers are specialists in marksmanship, but not like archers who fire off arrow after arrow in swift succession. They don't just increase accuracy and power of shots by concentration, they can use fearsome archery techniques.
What they require is powerful bows or crossbows, good quality ammunition and the fortitude to bear up without flinching under any situation.
Snipers know their enemies well and can shoot them from the shadows. They have no time for magic.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Good
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Very Good
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Poor
Base HP 4 Archery Heroic
Experience 110%
Martial Arts
<topic:Force-Trainer>Force-Trainer
A Force-Trainer is a master of the spiritual Force. They prefer fighting with neither weapon nor armor. They are not as good fighters as are Monks, but they can use both magic and the spiritual Force. Wielding weapons or wearing heavy armor disturbs use of the Force. Wisdom is a Force-Trainer's primary stat.
Force-Trainers use both spellbook magic and the special spiritual power called the Force. They can select a realm from Life, Nature, Craft, Death, and Crusade. To use The Force, you select it just as if it were spellbook 'F'; which means you need to press 'm' and then 'F' to select the Force. The most important spell of the Force is 'Improve Force'; each time a Force-Trainer activates it, their Force power becomes more powerful, and their attack power in bare-handed melee fighting is increased temporarily. The strengthened Force can be released at one stroke when a Force-Trainer activates some other Force spell, typically an attack spell. They have a class power - 'Clear Mind' - which allows them to rapidly regenerate their mana.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Very Good
Wisdom +3 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Base HP 4 Archery Good
Experience 135%
Monk
Monks are very different from most other classes in that they prefer to fight unarmed; while they can use a few select weapons reasonably well, their training in martial arts makes them more powerful with no weapons. Monks also gain bonuses from empty armor slots; to gain the resistances necessary for survival, some kind of armor will still be eventually needed, but if the armor is too heavy it will severely disturb the Monk's martial arts maneuvers. As the Monk gains levels, more powerful forms of unarmed attack will become available, and the defensive bonuses for having empty armor slots likewise increase.
The various sects of monks are devoted to different areas of magic; they select one realm from Life, Nature, Craft, Trump and Death. Wisdom determines their spellcasting ability.
Monks have two class powers, 'Assume a Posture' and 'Double Attack'; they can choose different postures for different situations, and use powerful combinations of attacks for the finishing blow.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence -1 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Very Good
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 102% Melee Very Good
Base HP 12 Archery Excellent
Experience 130%
Mystic
Mystics are masters of bare-handed fighting, like Monks. Unlike Monks, though, they do not learn normal spells; instead, they gain mystical powers with experience, and these powers directly influence their martial arts. In this respect, Mystics are somewhat similar to Samurai; indeed, they even concentrate to boost their mana like the Samurai. Mystics eschew weapons of any kind, and require the lightest of armors in order to practice their martial arts. As with other martial artists, their attack speed depends on their level and Dexterity; their mana and fail rates, though, are influenced by Charisma. Mystics are in tune with the natural forces around them, and may even summon animals to their aid when necessary. It is whispered that mystics have discovered a way to kill an opponent with a single touch; but they do not share this knowledge with novices.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence -1 Device Good
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Very Good
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 4 Archery Excellent
Experience 130%
Magic
<topic:Blood-Mage>Blood-Mage
A Blood-Mage is similar to a normal mage in his selection and variety of spells, but differs in that he has no separate mana pool; instead, spells are powered by hit points. Moreover, due to the Blood-Mage's abnormal constitution, all healing is much less effective than normal; indeed, Blood-Mages completely eschew healing spells to not disrupt the flow of blood that is the essence of their power. They shun the realm of Life as anathema to all they hold sacred.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Superb
Wisdom -2 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 108% Melee Bad
Base HP 10 Archery Bad
Experience 135%
Blue-Mage
Blue-Mages, like all mages, rely on magic rather than muscle; but they are unique in the way they gain new spells, as they learn from monsters rather than books. Blue-Mages' primary spellcasting stat is Intelligence.
A Blue-Mage can learn and cast monster spells, summons, and even ranged attacks as their own spells; this technique is called Blue magic. Blue-Mages remember their spells permanently, but to learn a spell they must be directly hit by it while their 'Learning' class power is active. Because of this requirement, Blue-Mages never learn spells like Haste or Healing that affect the monster itself.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +4 Device Superb
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 98% Melee Bad
Base HP 4 Archery Bad
Experience 130%
Gray-Mage
The Gray-Mage casts spells from memory rather than books; a spellbook is only required for the initial learning process. However, only ten spells may be memorized at any given time; and while a Gray-Mage may replace old spells with new ones, the total number of spells they can study is limited.
Gray-Mages do not choose specific realms like book spellcasters; instead, they choose a general bias towards either Good, Neutral or Evil magic. So while all Gray-Mages may learn spells from the Arcane, Armageddon, Chaos, Craft, Sorcery and Trump realms, only a Good Bias allows access to Life and Crusade magic; only a Neutral Bias allows access to Nature magic; and only an Evil Bias allows access to Death and Daemon magic. At any one time, a Gray-Mage has relatively few spells directly at their disposal; but their ability to pick the best spells from an extremely large pool more than compensates for this. As with most mages, the key stat is Intelligence.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Superb
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Bad
Base HP 0 Archery Bad
Experience 130%
High-Mage
High-Mages are mages who specialize in one particular field of magic and learn it very well - much better than an ordinary mage.
For the price of giving up a second realm of magic, High-Mages gain substantial benefits in the mana costs, power, minimum levels, and failure rates of the spells in their speciality realm. They are also the only class able to cast Hex spells. High-Mages have a class power - 'Eat Magic' - which absorbs mana from wands, staves, or rods; although this power is not available to those who choose the Hex realm. Their primary spellcasting stat is Intelligence.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +4 Device Superb
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 94% Melee Bad
Base HP 0 Archery Bad
Experience 130%
Mage
A Mage is a spellcaster who must live by his wits, as he cannot hope to simply hack his way through the dungeon like a warrior. A Mage always carries his spellbooks with him, but also relies on magical devices, which he can master easily. The primary spellcasting statistic of a Mage is Intelligence.
Mages have few restrictions in choosing and learning spells; they can freely choose any two realms when a character is created, although their natural inclinations make Life magic fairly hard to learn. See for more information on magic, realms and book spellcasting.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Superb
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Bad
Base HP 0 Archery Bad
Experience 130%
Necromancer
A Necromancer attempts to gain both power and knowledge through communion with the dead. They rely on the special realm of Necromancy to summon aid from the dead, whether directly in terms of undead servitude, or indirectly through otherworldly knowledge. Necromancy also offers many foul offensive spells; but all of these require direct physical contact, and so need an empty, gloveless hand to work. Yet this handicap is a cheap price to pay for the ability to kill a foe with one deadly touch!
Necromancers forever hunt for the legendary Eye and Hand of Vecna to complete their power.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Superb
Wisdom -4 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Bad
Base HP 2 Archery Bad
Experience 125%
Sorcerer
Sorcerers are the all-around best magicians, being able to master all spells from almost any magic realm without needing to study them or gain proficiency with them. On the downside, they have by far the fewest hit points of any class; they are also the worst fighters in the dungeon, being unable to use any weapon but a Wizardstaff.
Sorcerers have a class power - 'Eat Magic' - which absorbs mana from wands, staves or rods. Unlike other mages, they rely on Charisma as their spell stat.
Stats Skills
Strength -5 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Amber[2]
Wisdom -2 Save Heroic
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma +6 Perception Poor
Life Rating 65% Melee Very Bad
Base HP 0 Archery Very Bad
Experience 160%
Yellow-Mage
A Yellow-Mage is a type of Mage who focuses on rapid spell casting. The casting speed of Yellow-Mages improves with experience; low-level spells are particularly quick to use, and can eventually be cast as many as five times in one round! But even a level 50 spell requires less than half a turn for an accomplished Yellow-Mage.
In most other respects, a Yellow-Mage is similar to a Mage; they use Intelligence as their primary spell stat, and may learn spells from two spell realms of their choice. However, due to their focus on hasty casting, some of the deepest and most powerful magic will remain forever beyond their grasp.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Superb
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Bad
Base HP 0 Archery Bad
Experience 130%
Devices
<topic:Alchemist>Alchemist
Alchemists are masters of tinctures, concoctions and infusions. They can prepare themselves set infusions from potions that replicate the effect - without consuming inventory space or being in danger of shattering. They are reasonably good at melee, especially with the right potions, though they cannot rival melee specialists. Even bad potions are useful in their hands, as weapons or ingredients. Their other abilities include creating copies of potions and turning items to gold. They require intelligence for some of their abilities.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Very Good
Intelligence +2 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Fair
Constitution +0 Searching Very Good
Charisma -2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 101% Melee Good
Base HP 12 Archery Excellent
Experience 135%
Devicemaster
Devicemasters are excellent with magical devices, but poor in most other skills. They may shoot or use melee in a pinch, but this will never be their forte; instead, they conquer through their arsenal of magical devices.
Each Devicemaster chooses to specialize in a particular class of devices, and will gain extra bonuses for speciality items. These bonuses include increased damage, increased speed of activation, extra resistance to charge draining, and even the ability to occasionally power these devices without consuming charges; each of these abilities becomes stronger with experience. In addition, speciality devices are easier to use, although all Devicemasters are also good with devices of other types.
Devicemasters have several useful device-related powers; they may detect magical devices from a distance, and gain the powerful talent of Recharging very early on. At higher levels, they gain the ability to move effects from one device to another, or to move magical essences from one item to another if they specialize in Potions or Scrolls. In times of desperate need, the Devicemaster may drain a speciality item of multiple charges at once; this greatly increases the power of the effect, but may destroy the device in the process.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Superb
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 101% Melee Fair
Base HP 6 Archery Poor
Experience 130%
Magic-Eater
The Magic-Eater can absorb magical devices. Once absorbed, these devices will function like normal objects and can be used whenever charges are available. In effect, it is as if the Magic-Eater had extra inventory slots for devices. However, absorbed magic can not be drained the way normal devices can, nor can these objects be destroyed. The number of slots for each kind of device is limited, and the Magic-Eater will need to choose which object to replace once the slots are all used. Absorbed magic cannot be recharged through scrolls, spells, potions or activations; the Magic-Eater must rest to regain charges. The rate at which absorbed devices recharge is affected by Regeneration.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Heroic
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 103% Melee Fair
Base HP 6 Archery Poor
Experience 130%
Prayer
<topic:Priest>Priest
A Priest is a character devoted to serving a higher power. They explore the dungeon in the service of their God. They are fairly familiar with magical devices, which they believe act as foci for divine intervention in the natural order of things.
There are two types of priests: Good and Evil. If the priest chooses Life or Crusade as their first realm, they will follow the path of good; as such, they may not choose an evil realm for their second realm. Good priests abhor bloodshed, and therefore are not comfortable with edged weapons, although they eventually learn to bless such weapons and then use them without disrupting their prayers. Should a priest choose Death or Daemon as their first realm, however, they will serve an evil god; evil priests actually enjoy shedding blood, and suffer no such weapon restrictions. Of course, evil priests abhor good things, and are unable to choose Life or Crusade for their second realm.
Good priests have a strong affinity for Life prayers, and learn them very well, even better than a High-Mage. Conversely, evil priests favor prayers of Death, and receive strong bonuses when choosing this foul realm. Otherwise, priests learn magic less efficiently than a Mage would; but their greater stamina and combat skills compensate for this. Priests, unlike Mages, cannot choose to study specific spells; rather, they are granted new prayers by the whim of their deity, presumably in accordance with some greater divine plan. The primary stat for a priest is Wisdom.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -3 Device Good
Wisdom +3 Save Very Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Base HP 4 Archery Poor
Experience 120%
Stealth
<topic:Ninja>Ninja
A Ninja is a fearful assassin lurking in darkness. He or she can navigate effectively with no light source, catch enemies by surprise, and kill with a single blow. Ninjas can use Ninjutsu, and are good at locating hidden traps and doors, disarming traps and picking locks. Since heavy armors, heavy weapons, or shields will restrict their motion greatly, they prefer light clothes, and become faster and more stealthy as they gain levels. A Ninja knows no fear and, at high level, becomes almost immune to poison and able to see invisible things. Dexterity determines a Ninja's ability to use Ninjutsu.
A Ninja can use Ninjutsu for lurking and surprise attacks. They gain more Ninjutsu techniques as they gain levels. They have a class power - 'Quick Walk' - which makes their walking speed extremely fast.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Superb
Constitution +2 Searching Very Good
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Superb
Base HP 4 Archery Poor
Experience 120%
Rogue
A Rogue is a character who prefers to live by their cunning, yet is capable of fighting their way out of a tight spot when necessary. Rogues are good at locating secret doors and hidden traps, and are masters of trap-disarming and lockpicking. Their exceptional stealth allows rogues to sneak around sleeping creatures without having to fight; they can also backstab a fleeing monster or surprise an enemy with a telling first blow. Rogues are fairly good at ranged combat, and receive special bonuses when shooting with a sling.
Rogues can select one realm - Sorcery, Death, Trump, Arcane, Craft, Law, or Burglary. Except for this last realm, rogues have certain limitations on which spells they can learn, and they do not learn new spells very quickly. The Burglary realm is unique to the rogue, and the speciality of the class; it offers spells for setting traps, picking pockets, negotiating with other thieves, and escaping from a tight spot. Burglary rogues are agents of the Black Market and receive favorable pricing from that shop. Burglary rogues use Dexterity as their spellcasting stat, and can use this special art from the beginning of their adventures; rogues of other realms, however, rely on Intelligence and cannot learn magic spells before they reach level 5.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +1 Device Excellent
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Very Good
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Base HP 12 Archery Very Good
Experience 125%
Scout
The scout is the vanguard of any attack, and excels at stealth and observation skills. Scouts are not the best at one-on-one combat, but are unparalleled at ambush techniques for destroying groups of weak sentries. Scouts are lightly armored, and heavy armor disrupts their abilities. Unlike most characters, scouts are not at home in cramped corridors; in open areas they can dodge attacks effectively, but being confined severely hampers their defensive abilities.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Very Good
Intelligence -1 Device Very Good
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Excellent
Constitution +0 Searching Very Good
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 104% Melee Very Good
Base HP 8 Archery Heroic
Experience 130%
Hybrid
<topic:Chaos-Warrior>Chaos-Warrior
Chaos-Warriors are the feared servants of the terrible Demon Lords of Chaos. Every Chaos-Warrior has a patron demon, who may give him a reward on level-up; the Chaos-Warrior may be healed or polymorphed, have his stats increased, or be rewarded with an awesome weapon. On the other hand, though, he might be severely punished or simply ignored by the patron; the Demon Lords of Chaos are unpredictable indeed, although rewards are thankfully more common than punishments. The exact reward will not depend on anything the player does, and is up entirely to random chance and the patron; each patron gives out different rewards and punishments.
Chaos-Warriors select one spell realm, either Chaos or Daemon; they have no interest in other forms of magic. They can learn every spell in their chosen realm. At level 40 they gain the powerful ability to emit confusing lights, with the potential to stun, scare and confuse every creature in sight.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 109% Melee Excellent
Base HP 12 Archery Good
Experience 125%
Disciple
Trusted followers of mysterious ancient spirits known as the 'Purples', the Disciples roam the world running errands for their masters, learning mighty spells and receiving rare items as rewards for their work. There are three main flavors of Purple Disciples - disciples of Karrot, disciples of Yeqrezh, and disciples of a group of Purples known as the Troika. Each of the Purples expects different things of their Disciples, and each helps them achieve their ends in very different ways.
See for more details on disciples.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Excellent
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Good
Base HP 14 Archery Good
Experience 125%
Ninja-Lawyer
The Ninja-Lawyer moves silently in the night, combining the stealth, agility and offensive power of the ninja with the subtle practical tools of the lawyer. Ninja-Lawyers, like specialist ninjas, prefer light armour and stabbing weapons and acquire the powerful 'Quick Walk' class power. A ninja-lawyer relies on both wisdom and dexterity, requiring the former for legal tricks and the latter for ninjutsu.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +0 Device Good
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Superb
Constitution +0 Searching Good
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 99% Melee Excellent
Base HP 8 Archery Poor
Experience 115%
Paladin
A Paladin is a combination of a warrior and a priest. Paladins excel as melee fighters, but are only middling in ranged combat; their stealth, perception, and device skill are likewise mediocre, though their divine alliance gives them a decent saving throw. Wisdom determines a Paladin's success at praying to his deity.
Paladins can select a realm from Life, Crusade, Daemon and Death. Like priests, they cannot select which prayers to learn, but are rewarded with new prayers by their deities. They can learn all spells, but not as fast as priests. They detest paganism so strongly that they even gain experience for destroying high-level pagan spellbooks: 'pagan' means Life or Crusade spellbooks for a Death/Daemon Paladin, and all spellbooks other than Life or Crusade for a Life/Crusade Paladin. Paladins receive one class power, 'Holy Lance' or 'Hell Lance', depending on the alignment of their realm.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -3 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 110% Melee Excellent
Base HP 12 Archery Very Good
Experience 135%
Ranger
A Ranger is a seasoned wanderer from the plains or woods, attuned to the natural world. Rangers have few weak points; like mages they are excellent with magic devices, yet they are also fairly good at using bows and melee weapons. Their stealth, searching and perception have been sharpened by their time in the wilderness, and their alliance with the spirits of nature even gives them a good saving throw.
All rangers are trained in Nature magic, and all Nature spells are available to them; they even learn these spells almost as fast as mages. They can also select a secondary realm (Sorcery, Chaos, Death, Trump, Arcane, and Daemon); but they are slow learners here, and may find themselves unable to learn some of the highest level spells. Another downside is that rangers, like the priestly classes, lack the ability to choose their own spells; they will learn whatever the capricious nature gods choose to teach them.
Rangers have a class power, 'Probe Monster', which allows them to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the monsters they meet. The magical powers of a ranger depend on Wisdom.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Excellent
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 106% Melee Good
Base HP 8 Archery Very Good
Experience 140%
Red-Mage
Red-Mages make better fighters than most mages, and are also versatile spellcasters who can use many realms without needing to specialize in only one or two. The downside of this wide scope is that Red-Mages' magic is fairly shallow; they have high fail rates, minimum levels and mana costs, and are limited to the first two spellbooks in each realm except for Arcane.
Red-Mages have a class power, 'Double Magic', which allows them to cast two spells at once. As with regular mages, their spellcasting stat is Intelligence.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Very Good
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 106% Melee Good
Base HP 8 Archery Poor
Experience 140%
Warrior-Mage
A Warrior-Mage is precisely what the name suggests: a cross between a warrior and a mage. To support their good-for-mages combat abilities, Warrior-Mages begin the game with Arcane magic and can freely select another spell realm. Although they do not gain new spells as fast as regular mages, they can eventually learn all or almost all spells in both realms, making them a very competitive choice for those who appreciate Arcane magic. Their class powers allow them to convert either HP to mana, or mana to HP, as needed.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 105% Melee Good
Base HP 8 Archery Good
Experience 140%
Riding
<topic:Beastmaster>Beastmaster
Beastmasters see the fierce creatures of the world as opportunities rather than threats, and their riding skills are almost unparalleled. Between their class powers and access to Trump magic, they have many ways to summon or charm living creatures to serve as their hands and feet. Beastmasters are some of the best shooters outside archery specialists, and their melee skills are good enough to get by on. Charisma determines the spellcasting prowess of a Beastmaster.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 103% Melee Fair
Base HP 6 Archery Heroic
Experience 120%
Cavalry
Cavalry are masters of horsemanship and enjoy riding to battle. Being good at both melee and archery, they take pride in their overwhelming offensive strength on horseback; but spellcasting is a closed book to them, and magical devices difficult to use. High-level Cavalry learn to forcibly saddle and tame wild monsters with their 'Rodeo' class power.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 111% Melee Excellent
Base HP 10 Archery Heroic
Experience 120%
Mind
<topic:Mindcrafter>Mindcrafter
Mindcrafters rely not on book magic, but on the powers of the mind. These mind powers are specific to this class, and range from extrasensory perception to psychic attacks and the mental domination of others. Most mind powers become accessible fairly early, but gain in strength with more experience. Wisdom determines a Mindcrafter's ability to use mind powers.
Mindcrafters' combat skills are reasonably good but far from outstanding; a combination of physical and mental attacks often works better for them than either one alone. A seasoned mindcrafter is very hard to confuse, and can effortlessly detect the minds of others. Mindcrafters have a class power, 'Clear Mind', which allows them to rapidly regenerate mana.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Very Good
Wisdom +3 Save Fair
Dexterity -1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 99% Melee Fair
Base HP 4 Archery Good
Experience 125%
Mirror-Master
Mirror-Masters are spellcasters; like mages, they must live by their wits. They can create magical mirrors, which they use to support their special Mirror-Magic spells. Intelligence determines a Mirror-Master's spellcasting ability.
Mirror-Masters gain more spells with experience, and their spells also become more powerful over time. Much of their magic relies on the careful placement of mirrors, which can be used for both offense and defense. Mirror-Masters' abilities are also enhanced by standing on a mirror; for example, they can perform quick teleports from there or rapidly regenerate their mana. Nevertheless, not all Mirror-Magic requires a physical mirror; many effects rely simply on light or mirror-shards, or on uncertainty, reflection and illusion. The maximum number of Mirrors which can be controlled simultaneously depends on the player's level; sometimes, unnecessary mirrors may need to be broken.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Very Good
Wisdom +1 Save Very Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Bad
Base HP 4 Archery Poor
Experience 130%
Psion
Psions, like Mindcrafters, rely on their innate mental powers; indeed, some of these powers resemble those of Mindcrafters. Unlike Mindcrafters, though, Psions can select which powers they wish to learn; together with their natural aptitude in a fairly broad range of skills, this makes Psions one of the most versatile classes. Most psionic powers are extremely strong, but the number of powers a Psion can learn is very limited: one each at levels 1, 10, 15, 20, 30, 35, 40 and 50.
The potency of psionic powers can be scaled up or down as needed, within limits; the more mana is spent, the more powerful the effect. All psionic powers require great concentration, leaving the Psion no time for pets. Psions do not have one fixed spell stat; they can use either Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma, whichever is the highest. In this respect they are truly unique!
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Very Good
Wisdom +2 Save Very Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 96% Melee Fair
Base HP 4 Archery Poor
Experience 150%
Time-Lord
Time-Lords are masters of temporal magic, altering the flow of time to their advantage. They gain new powers as their experience grows, and are unique in their ability to use time-based spells against monsters. Not only do these attacks damage a foe, they also inflict a wide variety of possible effects, from slowing to amnesia, from evolution to devolution, from weakening to stasis. In addition to temporal attacks, Time-Lords gain great powers of speed, and become naturally faster with experience. Legend has it that masters of time can even see into the future, avoiding attacks that would otherwise prove fatal!
Time-Lords are fairly proficient with magical devices, but are mediocre fighters and not good at archery at all. At high levels, they become resistant to time. Time-Lords' primary stat is Wisdom.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Very Good
Wisdom +3 Save Fair
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 96% Melee Fair
Base HP 0 Archery Poor
Experience 125%
Warlock
Warlocks are a magical class; they derive their spells and powers not from books, but from an eldritch pact made with a given class of monsters. This pact is irrevocable and is made at the outset of the Warlock's career. Depending on the class of monsters with whom they ally, the warlock will gain unique bonuses, abilities and magical powers; for example, alliance with the forces of the netherworld grants resistances to poison and nether, enhanced constitution and spells to control and conjure the unliving, as well as spells to access the damaging forces of the netherworld directly. Each such alliance has thematic bonuses and powers, and you can read the details in the respective help sections.
Allying with a given class of monsters dramatically reduces the warlock's ability to fight these foes. Instead, the warlock seeks cooperation with their brethren, or perhaps domination over them; direct assaults are rarely successful.
In addition to pact-related spells, all warlocks gain access to the unique power of the Eldritch Blast. Their primary spell stat is Charisma, since they seek dominion and alliance with their chosen kin, and these monsters tend to have a strong will of their own.
See for more details on warlock pacts.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Superb
Wisdom -3 Save Very Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 107% Melee Fair
Base HP 15 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Other
<topic:Archaeologist>Archaeologist
The Archaeologist is an erudite treasure hunter, seeking out the most valuable prizes that the dungeon has to offer. At home in subterranean caverns and vaults, he is rarely lost or snared in traps. His powers of perception and detection are very great, as is his skill with arcane devices. At high levels he can use the dark magic of the entombed Pharaohs. The powers of the Archaeologist are enhanced by Wisdom.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +1 Device Excellent
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution -1 Searching Very Good
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 106% Melee Good
Base HP 8 Archery Poor
Experience 120%
Bard
Bards are traditional musicians, and songs and sound are the foundation of their magic. Four songbooks are available to a Bard, two of them sold in towns. Some songs are over in a quick yelp, consuming no more time than a magic spell would; but most continue to be sung, with continuing effects, until the bard either chooses to stop or runs out of mental energy. A bard can only ever sing one tune at a time. The primary spell stat of a bard is Charisma.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Excellent
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity -1 Stealth Very Bad
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma +4 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Poor
Base HP 4 Archery Bad
Experience 140%
Lawyer
Known for his unsurpassed expertise in the mysterious realm of Law, the Lawyer has a comprehensive skillset that allows him to set and detect traps, to slow or mystify his enemies, to quietly escape or avoid dangerous fights, to acquire knowledge about the world around him, and to make friends and influence people. As he relies on his familiarity with Law and with tricks and approaches that have worked in the past, the lawyer uses Wisdom as his spellcasting stat.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +2 Device Very Good
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Good
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 102% Melee Good
Base HP 12 Archery Fair
Experience 115%
Politician
Politicians are masters of spinning and manipulation, seeking to convert others to their cause and to destroy those they cannot convert. They are not very good at either direct combat or at using magical devices, and rely on their savvy and special skills and on the help of their friends to win fights. They have the ability to toggle between hit points, wealth and experience as the source of their power, although the latter two only become available at higher levels. Charisma is a key stat for Politicians.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +1 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity -2 Stealth Excellent
Constitution +0 Searching Good
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Bad
Base HP 9 Archery Bad
Experience 130%
Rage-Mage
Rage-Mages are part of a secret sect, originally founded by Barbarians in response to their natural foes, the mages. With the passing of time, other races have also begun to study these arts.
Rage techniques are learned from books, but differ from normal spells in many ways. First of all, the Rage-Mage must perform a special Ritual of Anger to learn a power, and this ritual destroys the book; as a result, it may take a long time for the Rage-Mage to learn all of their high-level powers. Books are required only for learning; the powers, once learned, can be used without them.
Another unique aspect of Rage-Mages concerns their mana pool. Rage-Mage mana, unlike that of normal spellcasters, does not regenerate on its own; in fact, it actually decreases rapidly each turn, meaning Rage-Mages had better use their powers quickly while they still can. A Rage-Mage gains mana whenever he is the target of a magical spell; indeed, magic makes a Rage-Mage very angry! Rage-Mages can also fuel their mana by hurting those around them, which can be quite effective in crowded situations.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Superb
Dexterity -2 Stealth Very Bad
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 106% Melee Good
Base HP 6 Archery Fair
Experience 150%
Skillmaster
The Skillmaster is not your ordinary class. Instead, you may design your own class, on the fly, using a point-based skill system. Upon birth, you will get 5 points to spend; use them wisely to set the basic direction of your class. Every fifth character level, you will receive an additional point to spend, for fifteen points overall. You may use these points to learn melee, to master a spell realm, to improve your speed or stealth, to increase your magic device skills, to gain special techniques, to learn riding, dual-wielding or martial arts... no other class, even Psion or Yeqrezh Disciple, offers as much flexibility.
Most skills allow the investment of multiple points for increased proficiency, but some are abilities that you may buy with a single point (e.g. Luck). This class is not recommended for beginning players, despite being quite strong; you only have a limited amount of points to spend, and your choices are irreversible.
See for more details on skillmasters.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Very Bad
Intelligence +0 Device Very Bad
Wisdom +0 Save Very Bad
Dexterity +0 Stealth Bad
Constitution +0 Searching Bad
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Bad
Base HP 10 Archery Very Bad
Experience 130%
Tourist
Tourists have visited this world for the purpose of sightseeing. Their fighting skills are bad, and they cannot cast powerful spells. They are the most difficult class to win the game with. Intelligence determines a tourist's spellcasting ability.
Tourists are always seeing more of the world to add to their stock of information; no other class can compete with their identification skills. They have two class powers - 'Take a Photograph' and 'Identify True'. Their magic is based on Arcane, and - aside from identify - is very weak indeed.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -1 Device Very Bad
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -3 Perception Bad
Life Rating 94% Melee Fair
Base HP 0 Archery Bad
Experience 70%
Wild-Talent
Wild-Talents gain random talents and abilities as they level up. They are good fighters, and decent with magical devices, but their true forte is their vast array of potential random powers. Except you never know what those might be!
Wild-Talents do not have a spell stat. Instead, each ability that they gain requires its own individual stat for the purposes of fail rate calculation; for example, Tossing a Boulder requires Strength, while Magic Missile requires Intelligence. Each spell requires mana to cast, but the amount of mana available is not influenced by any particular stat and is determined simply by experience.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution -2 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Good
Base HP 4 Archery Excellent
Experience 110%
Table 1 - Class Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Berserker +8 -20 -20 +4 +4 +4 200% +22 160% Blood-Knight +2 -2 -2 +0 +3 +2 120% +20 150% Duelist +2 +1 -2 +2 -3 +2 100% +4 150% Mauler +5 -2 -2 -1 +3 +2 110% +18 120% Rune-Knight +0 +1 -1 +1 +0 +1 101% +7 150% Samurai +2 -2 +1 +2 +1 +1 107% +12 130% Warrior +4 -2 -2 +2 +2 +1 115% +18 100% Weaponmaster +3 -3 -2 -2 +1 +0 105% +12 135% Weaponsmith +3 -1 -1 +1 +0 -1 106% +12 130% Archer +2 -1 -1 +2 +1 +0 110% +12 110% Sniper +2 -1 -1 +2 +1 +0 100% +4 110% Force-Trainer +0 -1 +3 +2 +1 +0 100% +4 135% Monk +1 -1 +1 +3 +2 +1 102% +12 130% Mystic +2 -1 -2 +3 +1 +2 100% +4 130% Blood-Mage -4 +3 -2 +1 +2 -2 108% +10 135% Blue-Mage -4 +4 -1 +1 -2 -2 98% +4 130% Gray-Mage -4 +3 +0 +1 -2 -2 95% +0 130% High-Mage -4 +4 +0 +0 -2 -2 94% +0 130% Mage -4 +3 +0 +1 -2 -2 95% +0 130% Necromancer -2 +3 -4 +1 -1 -2 95% +2 125% Sorcerer -5 +0 -2 +2 +0 +6 65% +0 160% Yellow-Mage -4 +3 +0 +1 -2 -2 95% +0 130% Alchemist +0 +2 -1 +2 +0 -2 101% +12 135% Devicemaster -1 +2 +1 +2 -2 -2 101% +6 130% Magic-Eater -1 +2 +1 +2 -2 -2 103% +6 130% Priest -1 -3 +3 -1 +0 +2 100% +4 120% Ninja +0 -1 -1 +3 +2 +2 100% +4 120% Rogue +1 +1 -1 +3 +0 +1 100% +12 125% Scout +1 -1 +2 +3 +0 +0 104% +8 130% Chaos-Warrior +2 +1 -1 +0 +1 +1 109% +12 125% Disciple -1 +1 -1 +0 -1 +1 95% +14 125% Ninja-Lawyer -1 +0 +0 +2 +0 +2 99% +8 115% Paladin +2 -3 +1 +0 +2 +2 110% +12 135% Ranger +2 +0 +2 +1 +1 +0 106% +8 140% Red-Mage +2 +2 -1 +1 +0 -1 106% +8 140% Warrior-Mage +2 +2 -1 +1 +0 +1 105% +8 140% Beastmaster +1 -1 -1 +1 +0 +2 103% +6 120% Cavalry +2 -2 -2 +2 +2 +1 111% +10 120% Mindcrafter -1 +0 +3 -1 -1 +2 99% +4 125% Mirror-Master -2 +3 +1 -1 -2 -2 100% +4 130% Psion -1 +2 +2 -1 -1 +2 96% +4 150% Time-Lord -1 +0 +3 -1 -1 +0 96% +0 125% Warlock -1 +2 -3 +0 +2 +2 107% +15 135% Archaeologist -1 +1 +2 +1 -1 +0 106% +8 120% Bard -2 +1 +2 -1 -2 +4 100% +4 140% Lawyer -3 +2 +0 +0 -1 +1 102% +12 115% Politician -2 +1 +0 -2 +0 +2 100% +9 130% Rage-Mage +3 -2 -2 -2 +2 +1 106% +6 150% Skillmaster +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 100% +10 130% Tourist -2 -1 -1 -1 -2 -3 94% +0 70% Wild-Talent -1 +1 +1 +1 -2 +1 100% +4 110%
Table 2 - Class Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Berserker Very Bad Very Bad Very Bad Very Bad Blood-Knight Good Bad Fair Poor Duelist Fair Fair Bad Fair Mauler Good Fair Good Bad Rune-Knight Fair Poor Fair Poor Samurai Good Bad Fair Poor Warrior Good Bad Poor Poor Weaponmaster Poor Bad Bad Poor Weaponsmith Fair Poor Bad Poor Archer Very Good Fair Fair Good Sniper Good Fair Poor Very Good Force-Trainer Fair Very Good Good Good Monk Excellent Good Fair Very Good Mystic Excellent Good Fair Very Good Blood-Mage Fair Superb Good Fair Blue-Mage Fair Superb Good Fair Gray-Mage Fair Superb Good Fair High-Mage Fair Superb Good Fair Mage Fair Superb Good Fair Necromancer Fair Superb Good Good Sorcerer Fair Amber[2] Heroic Poor Yellow-Mage Fair Superb Good Fair Alchemist Very Good Fair Fair Fair Devicemaster Poor Superb Fair Poor Magic-Eater Poor Heroic Fair Poor Priest Poor Good Very Good Poor Ninja Excellent Fair Fair Superb Rogue Excellent Excellent Fair Very Good Scout Very Good Very Good Fair Excellent Chaos-Warrior Poor Good Fair Poor Disciple Fair Excellent Good Fair Ninja-Lawyer Excellent Good Fair Superb Paladin Poor Fair Fair Poor Ranger Fair Excellent Fair Fair Red-Mage Poor Very Good Fair Poor Warrior-Mage Fair Good Fair Poor Beastmaster Poor Fair Fair Poor Cavalry Fair Bad Fair Poor Mindcrafter Fair Very Good Fair Fair Mirror-Master Fair Very Good Very Good Fair Psion Poor Very Good Very Good Poor Time-Lord Poor Very Good Fair Poor Warlock Poor Superb Very Good Good Archaeologist Excellent Excellent Fair Good Bard Poor Excellent Fair Very Bad Lawyer Excellent Very Good Good Fair Politician Excellent Poor Good Excellent Rage-Mage Poor Bad Superb Very Bad Skillmaster Very Bad Very Bad Very Bad Bad Tourist Bad Very Bad Poor Poor Wild-Talent Fair Good Poor Poor
Table 3 - Class Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Berserker Very Bad Very Bad Amber[25] Very Bad Blood-Knight Poor Bad Superb Fair Duelist Poor Poor Fair Very Bad Mauler Poor Bad Heroic Very Bad Rune-Knight Poor Poor Fair Poor Samurai Poor Bad Superb Very Good Warrior Poor Bad Heroic Heroic Weaponmaster Poor Bad Heroic Poor Weaponsmith Poor Bad Very Good Good Archer Fair Poor Good Amber[12] Sniper Fair Poor Poor Heroic Force-Trainer Fair Fair Fair Good Monk Fair Fair Very Good Excellent Mystic Fair Fair Very Good Excellent Blood-Mage Poor Poor Bad Bad Blue-Mage Poor Poor Bad Bad Gray-Mage Poor Poor Bad Bad High-Mage Poor Poor Bad Bad Mage Poor Poor Bad Bad Necromancer Poor Poor Bad Bad Sorcerer Poor Poor Very Bad Very Bad Yellow-Mage Poor Poor Bad Bad Alchemist Very Good Fair Good Excellent Devicemaster Poor Poor Fair Poor Magic-Eater Poor Poor Fair Poor Priest Poor Bad Fair Poor Ninja Very Good Fair Superb Poor Rogue Fair Fair Excellent Very Good Scout Very Good Fair Very Good Heroic Chaos-Warrior Poor Poor Excellent Good Disciple Fair Poor Good Good Ninja-Lawyer Good Fair Excellent Poor Paladin Poor Bad Excellent Very Good Ranger Fair Poor Good Very Good Red-Mage Poor Bad Good Poor Warrior-Mage Poor Poor Good Good Beastmaster Poor Poor Fair Heroic Cavalry Poor Bad Excellent Heroic Mindcrafter Poor Poor Fair Good Mirror-Master Poor Poor Bad Poor Psion Poor Bad Fair Poor Time-Lord Poor Bad Fair Poor Warlock Poor Poor Fair Poor Archaeologist Very Good Fair Good Poor Bard Poor Poor Poor Bad Lawyer Good Fair Good Fair Politician Good Fair Bad Bad Rage-Mage Poor Bad Good Fair Skillmaster Bad Bad Very Bad Very Bad Tourist Poor Bad Fair Bad Wild-Talent Fair Poor Good Excellent
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Demigod Parentage
The term demigod is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are human-god hybrids and are quite powerful. Demigods receive special abilities depending on their parentage.
Minor-God
Fathered by a minor god, you gain no starting powers.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 180% Infravision 0'
Zeus
Zeus, King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus, is god of the Sky and Thunder, and nominal husband of Hera. You inherit increased stature and your divine birth will be marked by your aura of electricity. You also resist lightning.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Good
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +2 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Superb
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 250% Infravision 0'
Poseidon
Poseidon, Brother of Zeus, is Lord of the Seas and Storm. You inherit elemental protection and corrosive attacks that melt the armor of your foes.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 240% Infravision 0'
Hades
Hades is Ruler of the Underworld. You gain resistance to nether forces, increased fortitude and have a firm grasp on your life and health.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 107% Melee Excellent
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 240% Infravision 0'
Athena
Athena is the great goddess of wisdom and the protector of Athens. She was born of Zeus and the Titan Metis, and her cunning far surpasses that of the other deities. You inherit great clarity of thought and magic and will be able to cast spells more reliably than other mortals. And should you fail to cast a spell, you will pay a reduced casting cost rather than the full amount. You also have a firm grip on your mental prowess.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Very Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 240% Infravision 0'
Ares
Ares is the bold son of Zeus and Hera, whose very name is feared and respected by warriors and citizens alike. His legendary combat prowess exceeds that of Zeus and Poseidon, but he is less skilled in wiles than the other Olympians. You inherit exceptional bonuses to combat and have a firm grip on your strength. Later in life, you will be able to fly into a berserk rage on command. However, your lust for combat decreases your stealth as you call out challenges to all that you meet. And your resistance to magic is suspect as well.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Bad
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Superb
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 240% Infravision 0'
Hermes
Hermes, the Messenger, is the extremely cunning diplomat used by the Olympians to negotiate truces. With his Winged Sandals and his powerful magic, there is no place barred from him, and there is no way to detain him. You inherit great powers of motion and will never become slowed. Your stealth is better than your brethren and your speed will increase with experience.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Excellent
Charisma +1 Perception Good
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 240% Infravision 0'
Apollo
Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, medicine, healing, plague, music, poetry, arts, archery, and more. You inherit powers of illumination and are completely immune to light based attacks. You are seldom blinded.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 230% Infravision 0'
Artemis
Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. She was the Hellenic goddess of the hunt, wild animals, wilderness, childbirth, virginity and young girls, bringing and relieving disease in women; she often was depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. You inherit powers of archery and are very nimble. Your skills with the bow are unmatched and you shoot arrows with increased range and deadliness.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Excellent
Experience 230% Infravision 0'
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. Like other mythic smiths but unlike most other gods, Hephaestus was lame, which gave him a grotesque appearance in Greek eyes. He served as the blacksmith of the gods. You inherit powers of enchantment and protection. Your equipment will not suffer diminution by corrosion or magical attack.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Superb
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 230% Infravision 0'
Hera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. You inherit great clarity of mind and capacity for magic. You are very wise and have a firm grasp on your magical energy, which is even augmented.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom +3 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 220% Infravision 0'
Demeter
Demeter is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, and the seasons. You gain powers of regeneration, healing, and temperance. Eventually, you will become resistant to the ravages of time.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 220% Infravision 0'
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. You inherit her sex appeal. As such, your pets are more obedient and shopkeepers fawn over you in their efforts to please you. You may kiss monsters and they might even decide to follow you with slavish devotion, though sometimes this just angers them.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +3 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 220% Infravision 0'
Table 1 - Demigod Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life Exp Shop
Minor-God +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 180% 100%
Zeus +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 100% 250% 90%
Poseidon +2 +1 +1 +2 +1 +1 100% 240% 100%
Hades +1 +1 +1 +1 +3 +1 107% 240% 100%
Athena +1 +3 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 240% 100%
Ares +3 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 240% 100%
Hermes +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 240% 100%
Apollo +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 230% 100%
Artemis +1 +1 +1 +3 +1 +1 100% 230% 100%
Hephaestus +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 230% 100%
Hera +1 +1 +3 +1 +1 +1 100% 220% 100%
Demeter +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 220% 100%
Aphrodite +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +3 100% 220% 70%
Table 2 - Demigod Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Minor-God Fair Fair Fair Poor Zeus Good Good Good Poor Poseidon Fair Fair Fair Poor Hades Fair Fair Good Fair Athena Fair Very Good Fair Poor Ares Fair Fair Poor Bad Hermes Excellent Fair Fair Good Apollo Fair Good Fair Poor Artemis Fair Fair Fair Poor Hephaestus Fair Fair Fair Poor Hera Fair Good Good Poor Demeter Fair Fair Good Poor Aphrodite Fair Fair Fair Poor
Table 3 - Demigod Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Infra Minor-God Fair Bad Very Good Good 0' Zeus Fair Bad Superb Good 0' Poseidon Fair Bad Excellent Good 0' Hades Fair Bad Excellent Good 0' Athena Fair Bad Very Good Good 0' Ares Fair Bad Superb Good 0' Hermes Excellent Good Very Good Good 0' Apollo Fair Bad Very Good Good 0' Artemis Fair Bad Very Good Excellent 0' Hephaestus Fair Bad Superb Good 0' Hera Fair Bad Very Good Good 0' Demeter Fair Bad Very Good Good 0' Aphrodite Fair Bad Very Good Good 0'
Table 4 - Demigod Special Powers
All demigods have access to special powers. When they reach level 20, they may choose a single power from the following list. When they reach level, 40, they may choose another. These powers can never be removed or changed, so you might want to study this list to decide which powers you will choose for your character.
Ambidexterity
Gives a bonus equivalent to 15 percentage points of dual-wielding skill.
Arcane Mastery
Reduces spell failure chances by 3 percentage points (maximum and minimum failure chances are still respected).
Astral Guide
Reduces time needed for player-induced teleports by 67% to 70%.
Black Marketeer
Gives you favorable pricing in the black market (all items half-price).
Cult of Personality
Summoned hostile monsters have an up to 50% chance to become friendly or even pets, depending on their level and the player's charisma.
Demonic Grasp
Gives immunity to charge draining.
Evasion
Reduces damage from all enemy breath attacks, rockets and rocks by between 11% and 20%, and gives a 50% chance to avoid earthquakes.
Fantastic Frenzy
Saves the energy left over when a monster is killed in less than one turn, and also gives the power of Whirlwind Attack, which allows you to attack all adjacent monsters at a cost of 50 SP or HP.
Fast Learner
You gain 20% more experience for each monster slain.
Fell Sorcery
Your spells will grow more powerful (+15% spellpower), at the cost of a slight penalty to your strength, dexterity and constitution.
Fleet of Foot
Walking costs 40% less energy.
Infernal Deal
You will regain HP whenever a nearby enemy monster is slain, the amount equalling two-thirds of the monster's native level.
Inspired Smithing
You will receive better results from item reforging (10% average value improvement).
Loremaster
Automatically identifies items as you pick them up.
One with Magic
Gives a 77% chance to resist Antimagic and Dispel Magic (lower while polymorphed or in wraithform).
Peerless Sniper
Damaging a monster with a missile weapon no longer provokes a retaliation.
Peerless Tracker
Gives the ability to map your surroundings and detect nearby monsters.
Potion Chugger
Allows you to drink potions twice as fast.
Sacred Vitality
Gives a 20% bonus to all healing effects.
Speed Reader
Allows you to read scrolls twice as fast.
Strong Mind
Makes you immune to mana draining.
Subtle Casting
Damaging a monster with distance magic no longer provokes a retaliation.
Tread Softly
Increases your stealth by 3.
Untouchable
Gives +20 to armor class.
Unyielding
Gives a bonus to hit points (+1 HP per character level).
Weapon Versatility
Allows you to reach full proficiency with any weapon (but does not make icky weapons non-icky).
Weird Mind
Protects your mind from hallucination and Eldritch Horrors.
Table 5 - Human Weaknesses
Normal humans receive one demigod talent, but they also acquire a special human weakness on reaching level 35. Each weakness corresponds to one of the six basic stats; which weakness a human gets depends on their primary spellcasting stat. Characters with no spell stat are assumed to be warrior-like and receive the Unbalancing Strikes weakness.
Unbalancing Strikes
Strength is your greatest asset; but you now hit with too much power to control. Every critical hit you score in melee will unbalance you; you cannot score further criticals in that round, and since you need extra time to regain your balance, such a round will consume 1.2 turns instead of 1.
Overactive Imagination
Your brain is highly developed - for a human - but perhaps sometimes you can have too much of a good thing? Your overactive imagination makes you vulnerable to fear, and reduces your effective character level by 10 for all fear-related player/monster interactions.
Attuned to God
You are extremely wise, and have spent so much time in meditation that your mind is now fully attuned to the divine; but as a consequence, you feel no connection to evil monsters. You cannot detect any evil monster telepathically, even with spells or equipment of telepathy.
Nimbler than Your Body
Agility is your strongest point; but there is only so much you can do in a human body. You sometimes sprain a muscle while hitting monsters, dodging enemy blows or firing projectiles; this temporarily reduces your speed by 10.
Pushed to the Limits
Your constitution and endurance are extraordinary; but as with many highly athletic people, your immune system has trouble keeping up. You suffer from frequent bouts of unwellness which temporarily decrease your Constitution and Dexterity.
Overconfidence
Highly charismatic you may be; but getting too caught up in your own hype results in overconfidence and sloppy work. Lack of sufficient concentration gives you penalties to melee and shooting accuracy and to device and spell failure rates, similar to those from the Lazy personality.
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Demons
Demons are powerful servants of evil and come in many forms. They rely on their devilish powers or their brutish strength to survive.
The various demonic races include the Balrogs, powerful demons of fire; the Servants of Khorne, mighty warriors of destruction; the Tanar'ri, weaker demons whose ultimate form has three sets of arms, but prefers to fight naked; and Cyberdemons, whose firepower is unsurpassable.
Demons cannot eat normal food, but must feast upon the remains of their human enemies. They are unaffected by the Eldritch Horror.
Balrog
Balrogs are demons of shadow and flame. Their evil knows no bounds. Their spells are the most powerful of all demonkind, and at very high levels they may even call forth fires directly from hell.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Very Good
Wisdom -10 Save Superb
Dexterity +1 Stealth Very Bad
Constitution +4 Searching Bad
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Heroic
Base HP 45 Archery Bad
Experience 300% Infravision 50'
Tanar'ri
Tanar'ri were originally slave demons, but rose up to overthrow their masters. They generally take on a humanoid form and are classic demons full of malice and cruelty. The ultimate form for this demon is the Marilith, a female demon with three sets of arms and a serpent body capable of attacking with six melee weapons!
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Very Good
Wisdom -5 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Fair
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 95% Melee Very Good
Base HP 30 Archery Poor
Experience 200% Infravision 50'
Servant of Khorne
Khorne's servants come in many forms and are powerful forces of melee. They know nothing save melee, and strike at all that dare oppose the will of their master. As they gain experience, Khorne rewards his servants with new and more powerful forms.
Stats Skills
Strength +5 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -5 Device Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Very Bad
Constitution +4 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 110% Melee Heroic
Base HP 42 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Cyberdemon
Cyberdemons are giant humanoid forms, half demon and half machine. They are a bit slow and move erratically, but their immense bodies and unsurpassable firepower more than make up for this. The walls of the dungeon reverberate with their heavy steps!
Cyberdemons are one of the very few monster races not to undergo evolution, and so almost all their might is available from the beginning, although they do gain even more strength later on and their offense becomes stronger with experience.
Stats Skills
Strength +8 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -10 Device Very Bad
Wisdom -10 Save Poor
Dexterity -3 Stealth Very Bad
Constitution +8 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 120% Melee Heroic
Base HP 50 Archery Bad
Experience 275% Infravision 50'
Table 1 - Demon Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Shop Balrog +4 +1 -10 +1 +4 +2 105% +45 300% 140% Tanar'ri +0 +1 -5 +3 +1 +1 95% +30 200% 140% Servant of Khorne +5 -5 -5 +0 +4 +0 110% +42 250% 140% Cyberdemon +8 -10 -10 -3 +8 +0 120% +50 275% 140%
Table 2 - Demon Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Balrog Fair Very Good Superb Very Bad Tanar'ri Fair Very Good Fair Fair Servant of Khorne Fair Bad Good Very Bad Cyberdemon Fair Very Bad Poor Very Bad
Table 3 - Demon Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Infra Balrog Bad Bad Heroic Bad 50' Tanar'ri Poor Bad Very Good Poor 50' Servant of Khorne Poor Bad Heroic Bad 50' Cyberdemon Poor Bad Heroic Bad 50'
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Disciples
Trusted followers of mysterious ancient spirits known as the 'Purples', the Disciples roam the world running errands for their masters, learning mighty spells and receiving rare items as rewards for their work. There are three main flavors of Purple Disciples - disciples of Karrot, disciples of Yeqrezh, and disciples of a group of Purples known as the Troika. Each of the Purples expects different things of their Disciples, and each helps them achieve their ends in very different ways.
Karrot
Karrot is a proud and ambitious Purple, convinced that it is his destiny to one day rule the universe; but rather than getting personally involved, he has assigned to his Disciples the task of eliminating any potential rivals (like the Serpent of Chaos). Being so sure of his greatness, Karrot sees little reason to vary his habits and is the only one of the Purples to predictably teach all of his Disciples the same spells. Karrot occasionally assigns side-quests to his Disciples, with the dual aim of testing their mettle and removing lesser threats to his supremacy. These side-quests only appear on fairly challenging levels; they can be avoided by sticking to safer areas, but this will not make Karrot happy...
Karrot considers many artifacts to be his rightful personal property, and will claim them immediately if you should find them. He will, however, give you another artifact as a reward for your discovery. These replacement artifacts tend to start out as fairly weak, but eventually become very strong as you gain Karrot's respect by leveling up and by successfully completing side-quests. If you're really lucky and do a particularly good job, you might even receive the ultimate gift - Urog, Karrot's legendary blade of shadows!
Disciples of Karrot tend to play as fighter-mages, relying on melee, spells and devices alike. They are unique among Disciples in not having a mana pool; casting a spell takes a toll on their hit points instead. They are also the only Disciples to have a charming spell - but the greatest of Karrot's followers are rumoured to eventually learn even rarer abilities...
Karrot's disciples depend on Intelligence to make their spells work.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Excellent
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Good
Base HP 14 Archery Good
Experience 125%
Yeqrezh
Yeqrezh is the friendliest of the Purples, supportive of his Disciples and willing to let them find their own way. Disciples of Yeqrezh will learn 20 spells over the course of the game - one every two character levels, apart from levels 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50; seventeen of these spells are offered by Yeqrezh, while the other three (at levels 16, 32 and 48) are chosen by you. Every ten levels, Yeqrezh offers direct help to his Disciples; depending on your choice, he can give you rare items or a permanent mental or physical ability, or share some of his life experience with you. Some of these abilities can be improved repeatedly, allowing you to accumulate exceptional mastery.
Disciples of Yeqrezh gain many practical tools as well as solid offensive options, and a useful item as a gift from their patron every odd-numbered character level. They are the most mage-like of all Disciples, and lack of hit points is their only true weakness. Nevertheless, they are extremely versatile, and can also win through melee, archery or even sneaking about silently collecting loot.
Yeqrezh is the recommended patron for new (or highly cautious) players, as he is the only Purple not to actively incentivize a demanding, push-the-envelope approach. Yeqrezh's disciples, like Karrot's, rely on Intelligence to power their spells.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution -3 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 90% Melee Good
Base HP 12 Archery Excellent
Experience 115%
Troika
The Troika is a group of three closely related Purples working together - Guntujant, Uxip and Sohoglyth. Guntujant is a capricious Purple who follows the careers of his servants very closely, and rewards and punishes them seemingly at random; the powers gained by his followers are unpredictable, but generally quite strong. Uxip delights in combat, and grants Troika disciples their prodigious endurance and skill with two-handed weapons; however, a number of common items are an abomination unto Uxip, and cannot be used by followers of the Troika. Sohoglyth is a mysterious spirit, but a profoundly powerful one. She occasionally sets bonus quests for Troika disciples; if enough of the quests are completed with no failures, she will reward the questor with the power of telepathy, remote object quality sensing, or even walking through walls.
Troika Disciples are in general very strong, especially in combat but also sorcery, yet the limitations placed upon them by Uxip and Guntujant also make them in some ways vulnerable. In particular, they frequently suffer random punishments, risk being punished if they teleport from a fight while not at low health, cannot wear a shield or cure poison with mushrooms, and must earn the right to use a rod of Detection. The spells of Troika disciples are unique in that they are not learned at any particular character level; instead, Guntujant and Uxip will teach them as a reward for killing dangerous enemies, especially uniques. Strength determines the spellcasting ability of a Troika disciple.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Good
Intelligence +0 Device Bad
Wisdom -1 Save Bad
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 108% Melee Excellent
Base HP 23 Archery Good
Experience 150%
TIP: The special random quests for Karrot and Troika disciples can only appear if you are sufficiently deep for the quest to be challenging. Pressing CTRL+F reveals your patron's opinion of your current depth. The Purples also like you to visit many different dungeons; do not expect a large number of assignments in a single dungeon, unless you are playing with no wilderness.
Table 1 - Disciple Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Karrot -1 +1 -1 +0 -1 +1 95% +14 125% Yeqrezh +0 +1 +1 +0 -3 +0 90% +12 115% Troika +1 +0 -1 +1 +2 +0 108% +23 150%
Table 2 - Disciple Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Karrot Fair Excellent Good Fair Yeqrezh Fair Fair Fair Fair Troika Good Bad Bad Fair
Table 3 - Disciple Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Karrot Fair Poor Good Good Yeqrezh Poor Poor Good Excellent Troika Poor Poor Excellent Good
Table 4 - Yeqrezh Talents
Disciples of Yeqrezh can choose five special gifts, one every ten levels. These gifts can take the form of new abilities, physical powers, or rare items; some can be chosen repeatedly, while others can only be picked once. Once you have selected a gift, you can never go back on your decision, so you might want to study this list to decide which gifts to choose for your character.
Purple Muscles
Gives +2 STR and +2 DEX.
Purple Vitality
All healing effects will give 10% more HP than normally.
Purple Speed
Gives +1 speed.
Purple Deadliness
Gives +8 melee to-dam (not applied to innate attacks).
Purple Stealth
Gives +4 stealth.
Purple Protection
Gives +15 AC.
Device Mastery
Gives device skills equal to +1 Md.
Rapid Shooting
Gives a shooting speed increase equal to +1 Xs.
Power Sorcery
Increases your spellpower by +15%, but decreases your life multiplier by 3 points.
Nervous Casting
Increases your spellpower by +15%, but makes you vulnerable to fear.
Easy Casting
Lowers spell fail rates by 4 percentage points.
Quick Spelling
Casting a spell will only consume 93% of the usual time.
Speedy Recovery
Gives +100% regeneration.
Lottery Tickets
You will receive three scrolls of *Acquirement* from Yeqrezh.
Notes of Death
You will receive five scrolls of Mass Genocide from Yeqrezh.
Essence of Life
You will receive three potions of Life from Yeqrezh.
Yeqrezh's Memories
Immediately gives another 5 character levels.
Strange Mind
Protects your mind from hallucination and Eldritch Horrors.
Strong Mind
Makes you immune to mana draining.
Object Lessons
Allows you to sense the quality of distant objects and automatically identify all objects you walk over.
Trump Shuffling
Gives you access to the Shuffle spell, and automatically gives Self Knowledge if the Judgement card is drawn.
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Draconians
Draconians are a humanoid race with dragon-like attributes. There are several subtypes of draconians with different resistances, breaths and attributes; for example, Red Draconians are resistant to fire which they may also breathe at will, while White Draconians breathe and resist cold instead. All draconians levitate. In addition, when they mature enough, they may choose a special draconian power.
Red
Red Draconians have an affinity for fire, which they both breathe at will and resist. Together with their White kin, they are the strongest in combat of the draconians; but they are not so good with magic, and their stealth is quite poor. Should they choose the power of Dragon Skin, they will gain a fiery aura as well. Should they choose the power of Dragon Strike, their blows will burn their enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 104% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 190% Infravision 20'
White
White Draconians have an affinity for frost, which they both breathe at will and resist. Together with their Red kin, they are the strongest in combat of the draconians; but they are not so good with magic, and their stealth is quite poor. Should they choose the power of Dragon Skin, they will gain an aura of cold as well. Should they choose the power of Dragon Strike, their blows will freeze their enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 104% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 190% Infravision 20'
Blue
Blue Draconians have an affinity for lightning, which they both breathe at will and resist. They are strong in combat, but not so good with magic or stealth. Should they choose the power of Dragon Skin, they will gain a shocking aura as well. Should they choose the power of Dragon Strike, their blows will electrocute their enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Poor
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 103% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 190% Infravision 20'
Black
Black Draconians have an affinity for acid, which they both breathe at will and resist. They are strong in combat, but not so good with magic or stealth. With the power of Dragon Strike, their blows will corrode their enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Poor
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 103% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 190% Infravision 20'
Green
Green Draconians have an affinity for poison, which they both breathe at will and resist. They are average in all respects among the draconians. With the power of Dragon Strike, their blows will poison their enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 101% Melee Good
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 205% Infravision 20'
Bronze
Bronze Draconians are the most intelligent of their kind, and the best with magic as well. They are seldom confused, though the same may not be said of their enemies. With the power of Dragon Strike, even the melee attacks of the Bronze Draconian will baffle their enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 101% Melee Good
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 215% Infravision 20'
Crystal
Hard of skin, the Crystal Draconian is difficult to hit in melee; but their agility suffers, and they are not the brightest of their kind. They resist shards, which they may also breathe on command. With the power of Dragon Skin, they gain an aura of shards as well. With the power of Dragon Strike, even their melee attacks will shred their enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 103% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 250% Infravision 20'
Gold
The wisest of their kind, Gold Draconians are resilient in the face of magical attacks. They are resistant to sound, which they may also breathe at will, stunning their opponents. With the power of Dragon Strike, even their melee attacks will stun enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 102% Melee Good
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 220% Infravision 20'
Shadow
Lithe, stealthy and nimble, the Shadow Draconian is seldom seen in this world. They are resistant to the forces of nether, which they may also breathe. They are the weakest of the draconians, and the poorest in melee; but they are better than average with magic. With the power of Dragon Strike, they may steal life from their enemies in melee.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Excellent
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 225% Infravision 40'
Table 1 - Draconian Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life Exp Shop
Red +3 +0 +0 +1 +2 +2 104% 190% 115%
White +3 +0 +0 +1 +2 +2 104% 190% 115%
Blue +2 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 103% 190% 110%
Black +2 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 103% 190% 110%
Green +1 +1 +1 +1 +2 +2 101% 205% 105%
Bronze +1 +2 +1 +1 +2 +2 101% 215% 100%
Crystal +1 -1 +1 +0 +3 +2 103% 250% 105%
Gold +1 +1 +2 +1 +2 +2 102% 220% 95%
Shadow +0 +1 +1 +3 +2 +2 100% 225% 105%
Table 2 - Draconian Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Red Poor Poor Fair Poor White Poor Poor Fair Poor Blue Poor Poor Fair Fair Black Poor Poor Fair Fair Green Poor Fair Fair Good Bronze Poor Good Fair Good Crystal Poor Poor Fair Fair Gold Poor Good Fair Good Shadow Poor Fair Fair Excellent
Table 3 - Draconian Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Infra Red Fair Fair Excellent Fair 20' White Fair Fair Excellent Fair 20' Blue Fair Fair Excellent Fair 20' Black Fair Fair Excellent Fair 20' Green Fair Fair Good Fair 20' Bronze Fair Fair Good Fair 20' Crystal Fair Fair Excellent Fair 20' Gold Fair Fair Good Fair 20' Shadow Fair Fair Fair Fair 40'
Table 4 - Draconian Special Powers
All draconians have access to special powers. When they reach level 35, they may choose a single power from the following list. These powers can never be removed or changed, so you might want to study this list to decide which power you will choose for your character.
Ancient Knowledge
Items will automatically identify as you pick them up.
Deadly Breath
Your breath will become more deadly.
Dragon Skin
You will gain extra armor class and a defensive aura if available.
Dragon Strike
You will be able to attack an adjacent opponent with a special blow (Fire, Cold, etc).
Magic Resistance
You will gain an improved saving throw versus magical attacks.
Metamorphosis
Your body will transform into a dragon (e.g. 6 ring slots and no weapons)
Regeneration
You will regenerate much more quickly.
Resistance
You will gain extra resistance of the appropriate type (e.g. Fire or Cold).
Summon Kin
You will be able to summon aid from dragons.
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Dragon Realms
Dragons are magical creatures and may choose to learn a particular branch of dragon magic. Dragons do not need spellbooks to cast spells or learn powers; instead, they simply gain spells as they mature. Each realm of dragon magic has a direct impact on the player's stats and skills, and each realm also requires a different stat for casting purposes.
Lore
Dragons specializing in lore are seekers of knowledge. They are the most intelligent of dragonkind, and it is intellect that drives their magic. Armed with a vast array of detection and knowledge spells, dragons of lore seek power through knowledge. They eventually gain powers of telepathy and automatic object identification. Lore dragons are quick learners, and gain maturity much more rapidly than the rest of their kind.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Very Good
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity -1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Excellent
Charisma +0 Perception Excellent
Life Rating 100% Melee Poor
Experience 80% Archery Fair
Attack 100%
Breath 100%
Breath
Dragon breath is the stuff of legends, and this realm seeks to enhance this most powerful attribute of dragonkind. With this speciality, you will be able to shape and control your breaths to maximize deadliness for a given situation. In addition, dragons of this realm may choose their breath types if applicable, and breathing becomes less costly as they mature. This focus requires great fortitude to master and somewhat diminishes the dragon's defenses and melee.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 103% Melee Fair
Experience 105% Archery Fair
Attack 90%
Breath 115%
Attack
Attack dragons seek melee supremacy above all else. This realm offers powerful attack spells to support a race that is already among the melee elite, and the result tends to be devastation and death. With this realm, the dragon may rend their opponents with extra sharp claws, may snatch an adjacent opponent in their powerful jaws and then toss them about like a rag doll, and may even augment their bite attacks with their breath element! A rampaging dragon is a truly awe-inspiring sight, one that is seldom witnessed, or perhaps just seldom survived. This focus values strength above all else.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 97% Melee Excellent
Experience 105% Archery Fair
Attack 115%
Breath 80%
Craft
The most powerful magical items have long been believed forged by dragonflame. The craft dragon gains powers of enchantment, and may even reforge artifacts into the objects of their choosing! Otherwise, craft dragons are not particularly powerful, as they trade melee and breath prowess for magical understanding. This focus requires great wisdom.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Superb
Wisdom +3 Save Fair
Dexterity -1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Poor
Experience 95% Archery Fair
Attack 100%
Breath 100%
Armor
Dragon scales have thwarted many a would-be dragonslayer. Naturally tough and resistant, the dragon's armor is even further enhanced by this realm. This specialization gives enhanced armor class, reflection, resistance to cuts and stunning, resistance to poison and life draining, and sustaining of several key stats, albeit not all at once. With all of these extra innate bonuses, the magic spells of this realm are few in number but serve to offer temporary defensive augmentations. Unlike their kin, dragons of this order prize agility above all else.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity +3 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 102% Melee Bad
Experience 105% Archery Fair
Attack 90%
Breath 90%
Domination
All dragons have a formidable presence and make fearsome opponents; but Domination dragons are truly a breed apart, seeking to bend and control the will of all they meet. Convinced of their right to rule, these dragons may subjugate the weak, terrify the uncertain, and stun the unwary with their awesome presence. They are the best dragons at controlling minions, and can summon mighty aid. Initially hostile monsters summoned to battle may switch sides when they notice whom they have been commanded to fight; and in the end, the dragon of domination may sever all oaths of allegiance, returning enemy summons to where they came from. Needless to say, dragons of this order value force of will above all else.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma +3 Perception Fair
Life Rating 95% Melee Poor
Experience 105% Archery Fair
Attack 95%
Breath 90%
Crusade
Crusade dragons are on a mission to destroy the forces of evil. As such, this realm is only available to Gold Dragons and Law Dragons. Being of a single focus, the Crusade dragon is not as powerful in melee or breaths as other dragons, but their spells more than make up for this deficit, at least against evil opponents. Crusade dragons can breathe holy elements not normally accessible. At the sight of evil, they become enraged and may haste for battle. They can even heal a bit; and ultimately they may smite the forces of evil with holy power, both in melee and in breath. Strong in personality, dragons of this order may summon like-minded kin for the final battles.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Good
Experience 107% Archery Fair
Attack 90%
Breath 90%
Death
Death dragons are enemies of life itself, seeking to destroy all living creatures. With this realm, the dragon may bend their breath weapon to suit their necromantic desires, eventually breathing mastery over both death and life. At high levels, the death dragon's melee attacks gain a powerful draining effect against living creatures. This focus values strength above all else. This foul realm is only available to Shadow and Chaos dragons.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +0 Stealth Good
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 95% Melee Good
Experience 105% Archery Fair
Attack 90%
Breath 90%
Table 1 - Dragon Realm Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life Exp Attack Breath
Lore -1 +3 +0 -1 -1 +0 100% 80% 100% 100%
Breath +0 -1 -1 +0 +3 +1 103% 105% 90% 115%
Attack +3 -2 -2 +1 -1 +0 97% 105% 115% 80%
Craft -1 -1 +3 -1 -1 -1 100% 95% 100% 100%
Armor -1 -1 -1 +3 +1 +1 102% 105% 90% 90%
Domination -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 +3 95% 105% 95% 90%
Crusade +1 -1 -1 +1 -1 +2 95% 107% 90% 90%
Death +2 -2 -2 +0 -2 +1 95% 105% 90% 90%
Table 2 - Dragon Realm Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Lore Fair Very Good Fair Fair Breath Fair Fair Fair Poor Attack Bad Bad Poor Poor Craft Fair Superb Fair Fair Armor Poor Poor Good Good Domination Poor Poor Poor Fair Crusade Bad Fair Poor Fair Death Bad Poor Poor Good
Table 3 - Dragon Realm Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Lore Excellent Excellent Poor Fair Breath Fair Fair Fair Fair Attack Poor Poor Excellent Fair Craft Fair Fair Poor Fair Armor Fair Fair Bad Fair Domination Fair Fair Poor Fair Crusade Poor Poor Good Fair Death Poor Poor Good Fair
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Dragons
Dragons are powerful winged serpents. They are strong in combat, with razor-sharp claws and a bone-crushing bite; but even more legendary is their breath, which grows ever more deadly as the dragon matures.
Due to their non-humanoid bodies, dragons are unable to wear armor, gloves or boots; however, being creatures of magic, they may equip up to six rings. They can also wear a helmet, a light source, a cloak and an amulet. Because of these equipment restrictions, dragons may have a difficult time covering all resistances; but each dragon has at least one innate resistance, maybe even an immunity.
Dragons begin life in a weak form, being very young. As their bodies mature, their scales grow tough and their claws sharp. Their breaths become stronger and stronger, and they frequently gain additional magical powers and resistances. All dragons can fly, but younger dragons are not so quick as their elders.
With the exception of Steel Dragons, who are far less intelligent than their kin and rely on brute force only, each dragon may choose to specialize in a specific type of magic. These special dragon-magic realms do not require books to learn. The selection of a realm has a direct influence on the stats and skills of the dragon.
For more information on <color:keyword>Dragon Realms, see .
Red Dragon
Red Dragons are elemental dragons of fire, and the second-strongest fighters among dragons. Their fiery breaths are the stuff of legends with damage unsurpassed. Even their bites are likely to burn their opponents, further enhancing their deadliness in melee. As the Red Dragon matures, it becomes more and more resistant to fire, eventually gaining total immunity.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 115% Melee Excellent
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
White Dragon
White Dragons are to cold what Red Dragons are to fire. Their melee is awe-inspiring, and their icy breath can be felt even in their bite. Together with Red Dragons, they have the deadliest breaths among dragonkind; and they become more and more resistant to cold as they mature, eventually attaining immunity.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 115% Melee Excellent
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Blue Dragon
Blue Dragons are elemental dragons of lightning. Their breaths are as strong as those of their Red and White brethren, their melee somewhat weaker but still mighty, and their bites eventually shock their foes. Blue Dragons become more and more resistant to lightning as they mature, eventually gaining total immunity.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 115% Melee Excellent
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Black Dragon
Black Dragons are to acid what Blue Dragons are to lightning. Their breaths are as strong as those of their Red, White and Blue kin; and fewer monsters resist acid, giving them an extra opening. As the Black Dragon matures, its bites become corrosive, and it grows more resistant to acid until it reaches immunity.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 115% Melee Excellent
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Green Dragon
Green Dragons are elemental dragons of venom. They are not quite as strong as Red or White dragons, but are still fearsome opponents. As they mature, their bites poison their enemies. Green Dragons become more and more resistant to poison over time, eventually achieving immunity.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 115% Melee Excellent
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Shadow Drake
Shadow Drakes are among the stealthiest of dragons. They are creatures of nether, and eventually evolve into Death Drakes and Spectral Wyrms. Their melee is the weakest among dragonkind and their breaths are also somewhat lacking, but they still make fearsome opponents. As they advance, these dragons gain the ability to pass through walls, and acquire several resistances including immunity to nether.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Good
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 95% Melee Good
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 300% Infravision 50'
Law Drake
Law Drakes are powerful dragons of order. They can breathe sound or shards and eventually evolve into Great Wyrms of Law, though not as quickly as you might hope. Their breaths are much weaker than those of the elemental dragons, but far fewer monsters resist sound or shards. Their melee is also on the weak side by dragon standards, but most lesser creatures would be quite happy with it!
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Excellent
Wisdom -2 Save Good
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Good
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 280% Infravision 50'
Chaos Drake
Chaos Drakes are powerful dragons of chaos. They can breathe chaos or disenchantment and eventually evolve into Great Wyrms of Chaos, though not as quickly as you might hope. Their breaths are much weaker than those of the elemental dragons, but far fewer monsters resist chaos or disenchantment; and though their melee is weak for a dragon, by more typical standards they fight quite well.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Excellent
Wisdom -2 Save Good
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Good
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 280% Infravision 50'
Balance Drake
Balance Drakes are a blend of Chaos and Law Drakes. They can breathe sound, shards, chaos or disenchantment and eventually evolve into Great Wyrms of Balance. Their breaths and attacks are weaker than those of Chaos and Law Drakes, but not by much.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Good
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 95% Melee Good
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 300% Infravision 50'
Ethereal Drake
Ethereal Drakes are dragons of light and darkness. They begin life as modest Pseudo Dragons, but quickly evolve into Ethereal Drakes and then Ethereal Dragons. As they mature, they gain the ability to pass through walls and become more and more resistant to light, darkness and confusion. They are fairly weak fighters and have the weakest breaths in all of dragonkind, except for Steel Dragons which cannot breathe at all.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 102% Melee Good
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Crystal Drake
Crystal Drakes are dragons of a strange crystalline form. They breathe shards and fight powerfully with their razor-sharp claws and teeth. At high levels, they gain the power of reflection.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -2 Save Very Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 275% Infravision 50'
Bronze Dragon
Bronze Dragons are wyrms of perplexity. While they are not quite as strong as most other dragons, they eventually confuse monsters with their bite attack; also, they become more and more resistant to confusion as they mature.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Good
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Fair
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +3 Perception Fair
Life Rating 110% Melee Good
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Gold Dragon
Gold Dragons are wyrms of sound. While they are not quite as strong as most other dragons, they are able to breathe sound on command, stunning their foes; also, they become more and more resistant to sound as they mature.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +3 Device Good
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +3 Perception Fair
Life Rating 110% Melee Very Good
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Steel Dragon
Steel Dragons are magical dragons formed from rock. As they mature, their form hardens from stone into steel. Needless to say, their armor class is phenomenal, but their dexterity actually decreases with maturity. Steel dragons begin life being susceptible to cold damage, though they will eventually outgrow this vulnerability. They are not as fast as other dragons and have no powers whatsoever, not even the ubiquitous dragon breath! But their fighting is impossibly strong, putting all the other dragons to complete and utter shame. They also have extremely high hitpoints.
Stats Skills
Strength +8 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -6 Device Bad
Wisdom -6 Save Superb
Dexterity -3 Stealth Bad
Constitution +7 Searching Bad
Charisma +3 Perception Bad
Life Rating 137% Melee Superb
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Table 1 - Dragon Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Shop Red Dragon +4 +2 +1 +1 +3 +2 115% +40 250% 130% White Dragon +4 +2 +1 +1 +3 +2 115% +40 250% 130% Blue Dragon +4 +2 +1 +1 +3 +2 115% +40 250% 130% Black Dragon +4 +2 +1 +1 +3 +2 115% +40 250% 130% Green Dragon +4 +2 +1 +1 +3 +2 115% +40 250% 130% Shadow Drake +2 +1 -1 -1 +0 +2 95% +40 300% 130% Law Drake +0 -1 -2 -2 -1 -1 100% +40 280% 130% Chaos Drake +0 -1 -2 -2 -1 -1 100% +40 280% 130% Balance Drake +0 -1 -2 -2 -1 -1 95% +40 300% 130% Ethereal Drake +2 +1 -1 +0 +1 +1 102% +40 250% 130% Crystal Drake +1 -1 -2 +0 +0 +0 100% +40 275% 130% Bronze Dragon +4 +3 +0 +2 +3 +3 110% +40 250% 130% Gold Dragon +4 +3 +0 +2 +3 +3 110% +40 250% 130% Steel Dragon +8 -6 -6 -3 +7 +3 137% +40 250% 130%
Table 2 - Dragon Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Red Dragon Fair Good Fair Poor White Dragon Fair Good Fair Poor Blue Dragon Fair Good Fair Poor Black Dragon Fair Good Fair Poor Green Dragon Fair Good Fair Poor Shadow Drake Fair Good Good Good Law Drake Fair Excellent Good Poor Chaos Drake Fair Excellent Good Poor Balance Drake Fair Good Fair Poor Ethereal Drake Fair Good Good Good Crystal Drake Fair Fair Very Good Poor Bronze Dragon Fair Good Good Fair Gold Dragon Fair Good Good Poor Steel Dragon Fair Bad Superb Bad
Table 3 - Dragon Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Infra Red Dragon Fair Fair Excellent Bad 50' White Dragon Fair Fair Excellent Bad 50' Blue Dragon Fair Fair Excellent Bad 50' Black Dragon Fair Fair Excellent Bad 50' Green Dragon Fair Fair Excellent Bad 50' Shadow Drake Fair Fair Good Bad 50' Law Drake Fair Fair Good Bad 50' Chaos Drake Fair Fair Good Bad 50' Balance Drake Fair Fair Good Bad 50' Ethereal Drake Fair Fair Good Bad 50' Crystal Drake Fair Fair Excellent Bad 50' Bronze Dragon Fair Fair Good Bad 50' Gold Dragon Fair Fair Very Good Bad 50' Steel Dragon Bad Bad Superb Bad 50'
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Monster Races
So, you feel ready to play as a monster? There are many monster races and subraces to choose from, and the various races are loosely grouped by type below: Animals, Dragons, Demons, and so forth.
As a monster, you will not be able to choose a normal class; your race will essentially be your class as well. Monsters do not use book spells, but many of them are magical in other ways; for example, fire dragons can breathe fire and may gain access to a range of non-book spells. Most monster types gain new spells, powers or abilities with experience; check out both the magic command (<color:keypress>m) and the racial power command (<color:keypress>U/<color:keypress>O) to see what powers are available to you as you play.
Most monster races have custom body types, which may severely constrain the amount and kind of equipment you may wear. For example, a <color:keyword>Beholder cannot wear armor or wield a sword... that would be an odd sight indeed! But to make up for this, they can wear up to eight rings on their eyestalks. Generally, details of this kind are described below.
Finally, all monsters <color:keyword>evolve. When they gain enough experience, they will assume a more powerful form. To continue with our example of dragons, you might evolve from Baby to Young to Mature to Ancient and finally to a Great Wyrm, becoming vastly more powerful in the process. The stats and skills listed below assume a level 35 character.
For details on the <color:keyword>Stats, see . For information about the <color:keyword>Skills, see. To compare the various races at a glance, take a look at the race tables below ().
Animal
<topic:Centipede>Centipede
Centipedes are natural creatures with many legs. As they evolve, they change colors, but not much else seems to differentiate the various forms. Perhaps you prefer blue to red or green? Eventually, once you have evolved into your ultimate evolutionary form, you will be able to change colors at will and thereby become very powerful indeed.
As a centipede, your main survival attribute will be the many pairs of boots you can wear. Hopefully, this will be enough.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Good
Intelligence -3 Device Fair
Wisdom -3 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Very Good
Constitution +0 Searching Bad
Charisma -3 Perception Bad
Life Rating 90% Melee Good
Base HP 15 Archery Very Bad
Experience 100% Infravision 50'
Hound
While Zephyr Hounds typically hunt in packs, you have chosen to go it alone. You will begin life in the weak form of a Clear Hound. As you mature, you will take a number of evolutionary steps. At each such step, the form you evolve into will usually be randomly determined; but each tier offers more powerful choices than the last, and you may guide your final evolution.
Hounds are not magical, and so cannot cast spells; however, they are fantastic hunters, and learn a number of special abilities that will aid them in this endeavour. And as you probably know all too well, hounds love to breathe!
Due to their canine bodies, Hounds cannot wield weapons; instead, they attack with their vicious bite and razor-sharp claws. While their melee is not as powerful as that of dragons, it usually gets the job done. Hounds can wear four rings on their front paws, a pair of boots on their hind legs, an amulet around their neck, and even a cloak and a suit of body armor.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -3 Device Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Poor
Dexterity +4 Stealth Superb
Constitution +3 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 22 Archery Bad
Experience 150% Infravision 50'
Hydra
Hydras are monsters with multiple heads. As they evolve, they grow additional heads, giving them extra attacks as well as the ability to wear more equipment (helmets and amulets). While not every head may wear a helmet and an amulet (imagine how powerful that would be!), each head is capable of attacking; so an 11-headed hydra can attack up to 11 times per round, provided it has enough strength and dexterity to command such a fearsome arsenal.
Hydras are not very magical, and so play much like warriors but with a few extra abilities. Five- and seven-headed hydras resist poison and gain a few poison-based attacks. Nine- and eleven-headed hydras are creatures of flame: they resist fire, their attacks burn, and they are capable of breathing fire among other flame-based attacks. All hydras regenerate extremely rapidly.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Good
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Bad
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Good
Base HP 45 Archery Bad
Experience 130% Infravision 50'
Spider
Spiders are stealthy monsters that prefer to wait for their prey. They have poisonous attacks and can weave sticky webs to entangle their enemies. They have eight legs, enough for four rings and two pairs of boots; they may also wear a helmet, an amulet, a cloak and even a suit of body armor (after slight adjustments, of course), but cannot wield a weapon or a bow. They also cannot equip light sources, but this is not an issue, as spiders are accustomed to the dark.
There are two paths of evolution for the spider: the Phase Spider and the Aranea. Araneas have greater fortitude and better stats, as well as powerful melee capable of paralyzing an opponent; but Phase Spiders compensate for their relative fragility with unsurpassed powers of teleportation.
All spiders begin in the very weak form of the Cave Spider. Lacking any special talents, the cave spider must play carefully if it is to survive.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Good
Wisdom -5 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Excellent
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Base HP 25 Archery Bad
Experience 200% Infravision 50'
Angel/Demon
<topic:Angel>Angel
Angels are heavenly beings on a holy mission. Their wings allow them to fly over chasms and pits. They are rarely fooled by invisibility, and become resistant to the elements as they mature. Their stats are truly awe-inspiring, and their divine magic extremely strong, offering good offense combined with detection, healing, melee enhancement and utility. Angels are one of the most powerful races, but they also gain levels extremely slowly.
Angels have a humanoid body type; they use the same equipment slots as most normal player races, and have no innate melee attacks. Wisdom is their primary spell stat.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Excellent
Wisdom +5 Save Superb
Dexterity +2 Stealth Fair
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +4 Perception Poor
Life Rating 99% Melee Good
Base HP 26 Archery Fair
Experience 325% Infravision 30'
Demon
Demons are powerful servants of evil and come in many forms. They rely on their devilish powers or their brutish strength to survive.
The various demonic races include the Balrogs, powerful demons of fire; the Servants of Khorne, mighty warriors of destruction; the Tanar'ri, weaker demons whose ultimate form has three sets of arms, but prefers to fight naked; and Cyberdemons, whose firepower is unsurpassable.
Demons cannot eat normal food, but must feast upon the remains of their human enemies. They are unaffected by the Eldritch Horror.
See for more details on demons.
Beholder
<topic:Beholder>Beholder
Beholders are floating orbs of flesh with a single central eye surrounded by numerous smaller eyestalks. They attack with their gaze which often confuses or even paralyzes their foes. They are unable to wield normal weapons or armor, but may equip a single ring on each of their eyestalks, and the number of eyestalks increases as the beholder evolves.
Beholders gain powers as they evolve, including some strong offensive spells; but their primary offense will always be their powerful gaze. Intelligence is their spell stat, and beholders are quite intelligent indeed. Their searching and perception are legendary, and they are quite capable with magical devices. However, they are not very strong and must be careful when surrounded by foes.
The attack of the beholder is unique. Since their gaze is not a normal physical attack, they receive no benefit to melee from their Strength and Dexterity. Also, the number of attacks is determined by level rather than the normal way: in this respect, they resemble monks. Finally, the beholder need not be next to their foes in order to attack with melee; they may gaze at distant monsters, though the range of their gaze is somewhat restricted, and prolonged long-distant gazing will tire them out.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +7 Device Amber[10]
Wisdom +0 Save Superb
Dexterity +2 Stealth Heroic
Constitution +0 Searching Heroic
Charisma +1 Perception Heroic
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Base HP 20 Archery Bad
Experience 200% Infravision 80'
Dragon
<topic:Dragon>Dragon
Dragons are powerful winged serpents. They are strong in combat, with razor-sharp claws and a bone-crushing bite; but even more legendary is their breath, which grows ever more deadly as the dragon matures.
Due to their non-humanoid bodies, dragons are unable to wear armor, gloves or boots; however, being creatures of magic, they may equip up to six rings. They can also wear a helmet, a light source, a cloak and an amulet. Because of these equipment restrictions, dragons may have a difficult time covering all resistances; but each dragon has at least one innate resistance, maybe even an immunity.
Dragons begin life in a weak form, being very young. As their bodies mature, their scales grow tough and their claws sharp. Their breaths become stronger and stronger, and they frequently gain additional magical powers and resistances. All dragons can fly, but younger dragons are not so quick as their elders.
With the exception of Steel Dragons, who are far less intelligent than their kin and rely on brute force only, each dragon may choose to specialize in a specific type of magic. These special dragon-magic realms do not require books to learn. The selection of a realm has a direct influence on the stats and skills of the dragon.
See for more details on dragons.
See for more details on dragon realms.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 115% Melee Excellent
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Elemental/Vortex
<topic:Elemental>Elemental
Elementals are mindless creatures animated from a single elemental form. As a species, elementals can never be cut, and being virtually mindless they are immune to sanity blasting. They rarely feel fear, and are resistant to confusion and poison. In addition, they gain specific powers and abilities depending on their form.
Earth Elementals are slow, but gain AC bonuses due to their tough bodies. They are resistant to shards, and may even turn their skins to stone. At home in elemental earth, they may travel freely through rocky confines. Unfortunately, as they are made of earth, their magic potions frequently turn to mud!
Air Elementals are shockingly fast, but perhaps that is just the crackle of their electrified bodies? They may hurl bolts and balls of electricity at their enemies, and may even imbue their weapons with deadly lightning. However, being surrounded by lightning, rings, amulets, wands and rods are quickly destroyed!
Fire Elementals are somewhat fast (enough to run circles around their earthen brethren) and are cloaked in flames. They may attack with hell's fury, but need to be on the lookout for cold-wielding foes. Being surrounded by fire, they rapidly burn scrolls and staves to ash!
Finally, there are the Water Elementals, creatures able to conjure deadly water bolts. They are immune to stunning. Their attacks can be quite corrosive; but alas, sometimes their own armor corrodes as well. Water Elementals also have a unique energy system based on the speed of their internal water flow; fighting and the use of elemental powers excite them and turn them into a raging torrent, while resting or aimlessly splashing about slows them down again. High flow rates make water elementals stronger, but their armor sometimes gets caught in the flow and slips off!
Stats Skills
Strength +5 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -5 Device Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Very Good
Dexterity -4 Stealth Very Good
Constitution +6 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 120% Melee Heroic
Base HP 30 Archery Bad
Experience 170% Infravision 50'
Vortex
Vortices are mindless whirlwinds of elemental forces twirling their way through the dungeon in search of prey. They are seldom confused and never blinded since they lack vision in the normal sense; indeed, they seem to be aware of their surroundings even without eyes, and need not wear a light source. They can be neither stunned nor cut, and their mindless nature renders them immune to fear. But, alas! they are hopeless with magical devices and somewhat weak in melee; and while they may breathe almost effortlessly, their breath attacks are not particularly strong.
Vortices do not have normal bodies; rather, they are simply a rapidly spinning elemental mass. As such, they may incorporate objects into their rotating essence, gaining bonuses and protection in the process. The number of objects they may use increases with level, and there are no restrictions on the types of equipment they may 'wield' in each slot. While they may equip weapons this way, they cannot attack with them; instead, vortex melee relies on their innate ability to engulf nearby monsters in the whirling elements.
Vortices evolve randomly, though all seem to end up with the evolutionary perfection of the Aether vortex. At level 50 they gain a special talent to augment their power.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -5 Device Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Superb
Dexterity +4 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Bad
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 95% Melee Excellent
Base HP 25 Archery Very Bad
Experience 125% Infravision 0'
Golem
<topic:Golem>Golem
Golems are creatures animated by powerful magics: living stone conjured to serve their creators. But you have broken loose and are running amok!
Golems are very slow when it comes to moving about; their non-movement actions also tend to be slow, but not to the same extent. They excel in melee despite being limited to a single (but mighty) blow; they can equip a weapon, but fight much better with their powerful fists. Golems have a very high armor class and possess good resistances; they are also resistant to magic, and become more resistant as they evolve, reducing the damage taken from all magical attacks.
There are several varieties of golem, all sharing a common evolutionary heritage. First there is the mighty Colossus, the biggest (and slowest) of their kind. Next is the Sky Golem, a creature of powerful magic, resistant to the ravages of time. Finally, there is the Spellwarp Automaton, a creature of utter destruction, almost completely immune to magic; unfortunately, this last form takes nearly forever to build.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -4 Device Bad
Wisdom -4 Save Superb
Dexterity -3 Stealth Bad
Constitution +4 Searching Bad
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 108% Melee Heroic
Base HP 50 Archery Poor
Experience 200% Infravision 50'
Jelly
<topic:Jelly>Jelly
Jellies are acidic creatures, quietly patrolling their surroundings in search of objects to absorb. They are quite stealthy for most of their lives. They don't wear equipment on their bodies the way normal races do; instead, they are capable of absorbing objects into their gelatinous frames. In fact, each of their equipment slots (except their pseudopod) is capable of holding any type of equipment whatsoever, and the number of slots increases with experience. For attacking, jellies are capable of forming a single pseudopod which they may either use for grasping a normal melee weapon, or leave empty to use their innate acid-based attacks.
Rather than relying on sight, jellies use a little-understood sense of their surroundings which allows them to see in the dark with neither light nor infravision. So while jellies can equip a torch or lantern, there is little reason for them to do so.
Jellies feed off the objects they find, gaining nutrition in proportion to the weight of the object absorbed. They can eat rations of food if desired, but these are so light as to offer very little nutritional value. Jellies prefer to eat heavy armors and weapons. For convenience, destroyed objects are automatically eaten; and jellies never become bloated, their appetite being insatiable.
Jellies begin life as a small puddle of black ooze, with very little carrying capacity for equipment. However, they quickly evolve into a Gelatinous Cube and then into an Acidic Cytoplasm. Jellies take one additional, powerful evolutionary step late in life.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Good
Intelligence -7 Device Bad
Wisdom -7 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Superb
Constitution +3 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 99% Melee Heroic
Base HP 40 Archery Bad
Experience 150% Infravision 0'
Quylthulg
Quylthulgs are disgusting, quivering mounds of pulsating flesh, scarcely able to move about. Physically, they are pathetic. However, their ability to control others to do their bidding is legendary, and they are quite capable of fleeing when the going gets tough. Quylthulgs have no physical attacks.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -3 Device Heroic
Wisdom -3 Save Very Good
Dexterity -3 Stealth Superb
Constitution -3 Searching Poor
Charisma +8 Perception Fair
Life Rating 95% Melee Very Bad
Base HP 0 Archery Very Bad
Experience 150% Infravision 50'
Leprechaun
<topic:Leprechaun>Leprechaun
Leprechauns are small, mischievous creatures, always scheming for gold. They are weak, but quick and stealthy. For combat, they prefer not to use weapons at all; rather, by keeping their weapon hand free, they may pilfer objects or gold from their foes and flee to safety, all in a single action. They are capable of fighting with normal weapons should the need arise, but one seldom hears of leprechauns inspiring fear in combat!
Leprechauns value riches above all else, and even begin the game with their legendary pot of gold. Leprechauns also have the luck of the Irish, and good drops are more common for them. For magic, the leprechaun has a few talents, even including some curses for offense; Malicious Leprechauns and Death Leprechauns are vile, evil creatures, after all. They are masters of teleportation and detection; and while their melee skills do not inspire much fear (except of poverty), they are great masters of bow and device alike. At high levels, they move with incredible speed and seem to be in multiple places at once. Dexterity determines the leprechaun's skill with their magic.
A leprechaun uses gold for spellcasting the way most characters use mana. Gold is also used to pay for recharging devices or to power mana branded weapons. In addition, increasing the amount of gold on hand increases the power of the leprechaun, granting extra blows per round, extra shots per round, and increased AC and life rating; sufficient gold even increases the power of magical devices. Needless to say, greed is good when you're a leprechaun!
Stats Skills
Strength -6 Disarming Good
Intelligence +1 Device Amber[2]
Wisdom +1 Save Good
Dexterity +7 Stealth Amber[10]
Constitution -2 Searching Fair
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 80% Melee Fair
Base HP 15 Archery Fair
Experience 150% Infravision 50'
Mimic/Possessor
<topic:Death-Sword>Death-Sword
Death-Swords are mighty weapons animated by magical means. As such, they are unable to use equipment the way other players can; instead, they simply are a weapon of their current form. But never fear: Death Swords have the power to absorb magical essences from the weapons they find, gaining power in the process.
As a Death-Sword gains levels, it will evolve into stronger and stronger weapons. More advanced weapons require more essences to enchant, sometimes causing a temporary loss of abilities; but magical weapons also become easier to find as you descend deeper into the pits, and so any lost powers are usually quickly recovered.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Good
Intelligence -5 Device Poor
Wisdom -5 Save Very Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +4 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 30 Archery Bad
Experience 150% Infravision 30'
Filthy Rag
A pile of dirty, old, timeworn clothing, brought to life and sentience by magic (or perhaps just by accumulating enough micro-organisms) and filled with a strong desire to get back at all those clean, polished, fashionable plate mails. Something, likely a thick layer of grime, has permanently attached an old pair of boots and two plain leather gloves to the original rag, allowing it to walk about and punch enemies. If you think the thing looks ugly now, just wait until it's found some other protective armour and has had the time to take it apart and absorb its magical qualities...
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Good
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Very Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Good
Constitution -2 Searching Poor
Charisma -4 Perception Bad
Life Rating 98% Melee Good
Base HP 20 Archery Bad
Experience 110% Infravision 20'
Mimic
Mimics are similar to Possessors; but instead of controlling the corpses of the vanquished, the mimic imitates those about them. This allows the mimic to assume the forms of foes they have yet to conquer, which is quite useful. However, there is a small catch: mimics can only copy what they see! This limitation forces a mimic to change forms much more often than a possessor would, as knowledge of their current body rapidly fades when the original is no longer about. Occasionally, the mimic is able to memorize a particular form well enough to use it again without the original body to imitate, though this does not happen very often and the mimic can only memorize a small number of forms. To have a chance of this, the mimic must be in the desired form when slaying the original.
The stats, skills, spells, resistances and innate powers of a mimic are determined by the form they assume; be sure to check both the racial power command (<color:keypress>U/<color:keypress>O) and the magic command (<color:keypress>m) after assuming a new body. The current form also determines the spell stat; for example, a novice priest mimic uses wisdom, while a novice mage mimic relies on intelligence.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 108% Melee Very Good
Base HP 15 Archery Excellent
Experience 250% Infravision 0'
Possessor
The Possessor is an odd creature, completely harmless in its natural form. However, they are capable of possessing the corpses of monsters they have slain, and gain powers and abilities based on their current body. As such, they can become quite powerful indeed! Unfortunately, not every type of monster will drop a corpse, and getting suitable corspes to inhabit can be difficult. If the possessor ever leaves their current body, all of their equipment will be removed (except a light source) and they will temporarily return to their native, vulnerable state. Finally, leaving their current body will destroy that corpse most of the time, so the possessor should only do so if they have a better corpse on hand (and also only if there are no monsters nearby!). Possessors normally have full control of the body they inhabit; but at very low health this control becomes hard to maintain, and a possessor who suffers serious damage has a small chance of being ejected from the body.
The stats, skills, spells, resistances and innate powers of a possessor are determined by the body they inhabit; be sure to check both the racial power command (<color:keypress>U/<color:keypress>O) and the magic command (<color:keypress>m) after possessing a new body. The current body also determines the spell stat; for example, a novice priest possessor uses wisdom, while a novice mage possessor relies on intelligence.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Bad
Intelligence +0 Device Bad
Wisdom -3 Save Poor
Dexterity +0 Stealth Heroic
Constitution -4 Searching Poor
Charisma -7 Perception Poor
Life Rating 60% Melee Poor
Base HP 15 Archery Bad
Experience 250% Infravision 70'
Ring
Rings are sentient creatures animated by magical means.
Rings cannot wear normal equipment; rather, they simply are a ring, magically enchanted. Rings have a small arsenal of innate powers. Since the ring is unable to move on its own, it will need to lure a nearby monster into wearing it. Magic rings tend to corrupt their owners, and over time, the ring-bearer will find that his will is not his own!
Rings can absorb magic from the jewelry (rings or amulets) that they find, and gain resistances, attributes and additional spells this way. Rings have no physical attacks; instead, they may blast enemies with mighty spells (once absorbed, of course), or they may simply lie back and let their current bearer do the fighting for them.
See for more details on rings.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +4 Device Superb
Wisdom +1 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Very Good
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +3 Perception Poor
Life Rating 85% Melee Bad
Base HP 10 Archery Bad
Experience 150% Infravision 50'
Orc/Troll/Giant
<topic:Giant>Giant
Giants are humanoids of immense stature. There are several types of giants. Fire, Frost and Storm giants are elemental giants, and gain elemental resistances, slays and even attacks appropriate for their type. Titans are powerful immortal beings of legend; their attacks often confuse their foes, and they rarely fight alone. Finally, there are the mighty Hrus; they are so strong they can eventually crush the walls in their path, but their magical powers are fairly limited.
Giants rely on their superior physical stature to pummel their opponents with mighty blows. Against a distant foe, giants are capable of hurling large boulders with devastating effect. Giants use the same equipment slots as most normal player races, and have no innate attacks.
Stats Skills
Strength +8 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -3 Device Bad
Wisdom -3 Save Poor
Dexterity -2 Stealth Bad
Constitution +5 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 117% Melee Heroic
Base HP 46 Archery Fair
Experience 200% Infravision 50'
Orc
Orcs are Morgoth's creation and the backbone of his armies. They are accustomed to caves and tunnels, and resist darkness but tend to be vulnerable to light. Orcs are ugly, brutish pillagers by reputation and should not expect much love from shopkeepers. Morgoth's spirit lives in orcs and drives them forward, making them hard to frighten. What orcs lack in stealth and subtlety they make up for with their sheer brute strength, and generally have little trouble brushing aside weak enemies like kobolds; yet in the deep dungeons, where the strongest fighters and most powerful magicians reside, orcs are rarely seen.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -4 Device Very Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Poor
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma -5 Perception Bad
Life Rating 99% Melee Excellent
Base HP 30 Archery Excellent
Experience 100% Infravision 30'
Troll
Trolls are disgusting creatures: big, strong and stupid. They make excellent warriors, but are hopeless with magical devices. Trolls have incredible powers of regeneration.
Stats Skills
Strength +5 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -5 Device Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +5 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 112% Melee Superb
Base HP 50 Archery Poor
Experience 150% Infravision 50'
Undead
<topic:Lich>Lich
Liches are the undead forms of former sorcerers. Their magic is strong, but their fighting skills weak. As undead, they quickly gain resistance to cold, poison and nether, and these resistances increase as the lich evolves.
Liches are born with magical powers, and gain additional powers as they advance; of all the monster races, none can surpass the firepower of an Archlich, but managing to evolve that far can be a challenge. Intelligence is their primary spell stat.
Liches are humanoid, and so use the standard set of equipment items; but should they forgo the use of a normal weapon, they may touch their opponents for various powerful effects. Even with this deadly touch, though, melee will never be their strong suit.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +4 Device Heroic
Wisdom -4 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution -1 Searching Very Good
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 90% Melee Bad
Base HP 18 Archery Bad
Experience 225% Infravision 50'
Mummy
Zombies and mummies are among the most feared of all undead races. Evil curses are a mummy's bread and butter; not only can they hex their opponents, they can also curse and uncurse their own equipment at will; and the stronger and more numerous the curses they are wrapped in, the greater their magical powers. Of course, they will also have to cope with being cursed...
You begin unlife as a humble Zombified human, with few curses or other abilities at your disposal; but soon you will evolve into a a Mummified human, and things really start picking up. Mummy evolution is somewhat random - you might find yourself a strong but stupid Draugr or a wily but weak Mummified sorcerer - but ultimately, you will combine strength and magic in the spine-chilling final form of a Mummy king.
Being creatures of tombs and the night, zombies and mummies can easily see without a light; indeed, carrying a light source saps the dark energy of their curses. In melee, they prefer to rely on their innate attacks; equipping a weapon serves only to distract them from their real fighting skills, and is only a viable offensive option in the earliest parts of the game.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Very Bad
Wisdom -3 Save Good
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Good
Experience 135% Infravision 50'
Vampire
One of the mightier undead creatures, the Vampire is an awe-inspiring sight. Yet this dread creature has a serious weakness: the bright rays of sun are its bane, and it will need to flee the surface to the deep recesses of earth until the sun finally sets. Being undead, Vampires resist nether and have a firm hold on their life force; vampires also resists cold and poison, and darkness only makes them feel at home. Vampires are, however, susceptible to their perpetual hunger for fresh blood, which can only be satiated by sucking blood from a nearby monster.
Vampires gain access to various dark powers as they evolve. Of course, they gain a vampiric bite at a very early stage, as they must use this power to feed on the living. Killing humans with this power is also a means of perpetuating the vampire species, and many are the servants of a true prince of darkness! Vampires are rumored to have limited shapeshifting abilities and a powerful, hypnotic gaze.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Excellent
Wisdom -3 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Heroic
Constitution -2 Searching Fair
Charisma +4 Perception Fair
Life Rating 96% Melee Excellent
Base HP 20 Archery Poor
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Other
<topic:Pumpkin>Pumpkin
The creations of some differently normal scientist who thought sentient blood-thirsty pumpkins would be a great idea, these creatures begin their lives as pumpkin-headed humanoids; over time, however, the pumpkin bloats and crushes the frail stick body underneath, leaving just a massive rolling fruit and an unquenchable desire to kill. Death pumpkins lack most normal equipment slots, but make up for it by the many lights they can store within their body. Also, the bites of the deadliest pumpkins are said to be vampiric...
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -2 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 102% Melee Superb
Base HP 15 Archery Poor
Experience 115% Infravision 20'
Xorn
Xorns are massive creatures of earth. They begin life as an Umber Hulk, a bizarre creature with large mandibles capable of slicing through rock and glaring eyes capable of confusing foes. At this stage in their evolution their body is vaguely humanoid, allowing them to wear a helmet, an amulet, a cloak and even a pair of boots; once the Umber Hulk evolves further, however, it can no longer wear these items. Instead, a grown Xorn can use its four massive arms for weapons, shields, rings and gloves; mature Xorns can also pass effortlessly through rock.
Xorns have no active magical powers, but instead rely on their ability to hide in rocks and the advantage that their extra arms provide them in melee. Xorns, like most warrior characters, are very effective at killing monsters but have problems with advanced magic devices.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Good
Intelligence -4 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 104% Melee Very Good
Base HP 25 Archery Bad
Experience 150% Infravision 50'
Table 1 - Race Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Shop Centipede +0 -3 -3 +0 +0 -3 90% +15 100% 120% Hound +3 -3 -5 +4 +3 +1 100% +22 150% 110% Hydra +1 -2 -2 +2 +3 +0 105% +45 130% 130% Spider +1 +0 -5 +0 +2 +0 100% +25 200% 115% Angel +2 +2 +5 +2 +2 +4 99% +26 325% 90% Beholder -3 +7 +0 +2 +0 +1 100% +20 200% 140% Dragon +4 +2 +1 +1 +3 +2 115% +40 250% 130% Elemental +5 -5 -5 -4 +6 +0 120% +30 170% 120% Vortex +2 -5 -5 +4 +2 +0 95% +25 125% 120% Golem +4 -4 -4 -3 +4 +2 108% +50 200% 130% Jelly +3 -7 -7 +2 +3 -1 99% +40 150% 125% Quylthulg -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 +8 95% +0 150% 120% Leprechaun -6 +1 +1 +7 -2 -2 80% +15 150% 85% Death-Sword +4 -5 -5 +1 +4 +0 100% +30 150% 110% Filthy Rag -1 -1 -1 -1 -2 -4 98% +20 110% 120% Mimic +0 +1 -1 +2 +0 -1 108% +15 250% 110% Possessor -4 +0 -3 +0 -4 -7 60% +15 250% 110% Ring -3 +4 +1 +0 -1 +3 85% +10 150% 110% Giant +8 -3 -3 -2 +5 +1 117% +46 200% 130% Orc -1 -4 -5 +0 +0 -5 99% +30 100% 140% Troll +5 -5 -5 -1 +5 +0 112% +50 150% 135% Lich -3 +4 -4 +2 -1 +1 90% +18 225% 135% Mummy -1 -2 -3 -2 +0 -1 100% +22 135% 120% Vampire +4 +1 -3 +2 -2 +4 96% +20 250% 130% Pumpkin +1 -2 -2 +0 +1 -2 102% +15 115% 110% Xorn +4 -4 -2 -1 +2 -1 104% +25 150% 120%
Table 2 - Race Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Centipede Good Fair Fair Very Good Hound Poor Bad Poor Superb Hydra Good Poor Fair Poor Spider Poor Good Fair Excellent Angel Poor Excellent Superb Fair Beholder Fair Amber[10] Superb Heroic Dragon Fair Good Fair Poor Elemental Fair Bad Very Good Very Good Vortex Poor Bad Superb Good Golem Fair Bad Superb Bad Jelly Good Bad Good Superb Quylthulg Fair Heroic Very Good Superb Leprechaun Good Amber[2] Good Amber[10] Death-Sword Good Poor Very Good Good Filthy Rag Good Poor Very Good Good Mimic Poor Good Fair Poor Possessor Bad Bad Poor Heroic Ring Fair Superb Good Very Good Giant Fair Bad Poor Bad Orc Fair Very Bad Poor Poor Troll Poor Bad Poor Poor Lich Fair Heroic Good Good Mummy Poor Very Bad Good Poor Vampire Poor Excellent Fair Heroic Pumpkin Bad Poor Good Poor Xorn Good Bad Poor Poor
Table 3 - Race Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Infra Centipede Bad Bad Good Very Bad 50' Hound Poor Poor Very Good Bad 50' Hydra Bad Bad Good Bad 50' Spider Poor Poor Excellent Bad 50' Angel Poor Poor Good Fair 30' Beholder Heroic Heroic Fair Bad 80' Dragon Fair Fair Excellent Bad 50' Elemental Fair Poor Heroic Bad 50' Vortex Bad Bad Excellent Very Bad 0' Golem Bad Bad Heroic Poor 50' Jelly Poor Bad Heroic Bad 0' Quylthulg Poor Fair Very Bad Very Bad 50' Leprechaun Fair Poor Fair Fair 50' Death-Sword Poor Bad Very Good Bad 30' Filthy Rag Poor Bad Good Bad 20' Mimic Poor Poor Very Good Excellent 0' Possessor Poor Poor Poor Bad 70' Ring Poor Poor Bad Bad 50' Giant Poor Bad Heroic Fair 50' Orc Poor Bad Excellent Excellent 30' Troll Poor Bad Superb Poor 50' Lich Very Good Fair Bad Bad 50' Mummy Poor Bad Excellent Good 50' Vampire Fair Fair Excellent Poor 50' Pumpkin Poor Bad Superb Poor 20' Xorn Poor Bad Very Good Bad 50'
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Orcs
Orcs are Morgoth's creation and the backbone of his armies. They are accustomed to caves and tunnels, and resist darkness but tend to be vulnerable to light. Orcs are ugly, brutish pillagers by reputation and should not expect much love from shopkeepers. Morgoth's spirit lives in orcs and drives them forward, making them hard to frighten. What orcs lack in stealth and subtlety they make up for with their sheer brute strength, and generally have little trouble brushing aside weak enemies like kobolds; yet in the deep dungeons, where the strongest fighters and most powerful magicians reside, orcs are rarely seen.
Orc fighter
The most common and familiar type of orc, fighter orcs are feared around the world for their strength, endurance, brutality and low cunning. They start their careers as a lowly Snaga, but will eventually develop into Uruk-hai or even mighty warlords, capable of summoning and controlling armies of lesser orcs.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -4 Device Very Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Poor
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma -5 Perception Bad
Life Rating 99% Melee Excellent
Base HP 30 Archery Excellent
Experience 100% Infravision 30'
Orc shaman
Orc shamans and warlocks are more cunning than the average orc and have learned rudimentary magic from their black masters. They can detect threats, blink out of dangerous situations and easily dispatch weak enemies with their offensive spells, and are not quite as hopeless with magic devices as their fighter kin, but like all orcs they tend to have trouble when the going really gets tough.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -5 Save Fair
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -5 Perception Poor
Life Rating 92% Melee Good
Base HP 28 Archery Good
Experience 100% Infravision 30'
Table 1 - Orc Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Shop Orc fighter -1 -4 -5 +0 +0 -5 99% +30 100% 140% Orc shaman -1 -1 -5 -1 -1 -5 92% +28 100% 140%
Table 2 - Orc Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Orc fighter Fair Very Bad Poor Poor Orc shaman Fair Poor Fair Poor
Table 3 - Orc Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Infra Orc fighter Poor Bad Excellent Excellent 30' Orc shaman Fair Poor Good Good 30'
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
The Personalities
Your personality is the way you see and act in the world, and has a small but significant effect on your stats and skills. In general, you should pick a personality that complements the strengths and weaknesses inherent in your race and class. Most personalities only make a minor difference, but a few can change the game dramatically.
For details on the <color:keyword>Stats, see . For information about the <color:keyword>Skills, see. The skill descriptions in this document are for comparison purposes only; for example, your fledgling munchkin will not be born with Amber[25] melee skill. In general, skills are also influenced by level, race, class, stats and equipment. To compare the stat and skill boosts of each personality, take a look at thepersonality tables below.
Ordinary
An ordinary person is average in every respect, gaining neither skills, talents nor stat adjustments.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Mighty
Mighty raises your physical stats, skills and stamina, but reduces your magical abilities and gives a slight penalty to your spell fail rates. It is the most warrior-like personality.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Bad
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 102% Melee Superb
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Shrewd
Being Shrewd does not give you an impressive physique, but good device handling embiggens the smallest man; this is the stereotypical Mage personality, yet can also help a warrior complement his weaknesses. Shrewdness has a direct positive influence on spell fail rates.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Good
Intelligence +2 Device Excellent
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Bad
Charisma -1 Perception Superb
Life Rating 97% Melee Bad
Experience 100% Archery Poor
Pious
Pious deepens your faith in your God. It makes your physical ability average, and your stats suitable for a priest.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom +2 Save Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Excellent
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Poor
Experience 100% Archery Poor
Nimble
Nimbleness is good for your skills and allows you to move less noisily; but your raw strength is somewhat lacking, and you cannot survive quite as many hits.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution -1 Searching Superb
Charisma +0 Perception Superb
Life Rating 99% Melee Fair
Experience 100% Archery Very Good
Fearless
Being Fearless raises your melee skills and force of personality, besides helping you resist fear; but your constitution and hit points are negatively affected.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Bad
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Good
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 98% Melee Good
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Combat
Combative adventurers favor melee and shooting at the expense of other skills such as disarming, device-skill, or saving throw; yet this personality has more subtlety to it than the raw, untempered muscle of Mighty.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Good
Life Rating 100% Melee Good
Experience 100% Archery Good
Sexy
Sexy adventurers have excellent stats and skills, but their haughty attitude aggravates all monsters.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Superb
Intelligence +1 Device Very Good
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +1 Searching Excellent
Charisma +1 Perception Good
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Experience 100% Archery Very Good
Lucky
A Lucky adventurer has poor stats but, surprisingly, can do all things well. For some reason, good things seem to happen more often to lucky players.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Superb
Intelligence -2 Device Excellent
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity -2 Stealth Excellent
Constitution -2 Searching Amber[10]
Charisma -2 Perception Heroic
Life Rating 98% Melee Superb
Experience 100% Archery Excellent
Patient
A Patient adventurer does everything with great care, but not always with great speed or confident hands. Patient characters are highly resilient, and their slow but measured movements make them relatively stealthy.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom +2 Save Good
Dexterity -2 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 102% Melee Poor
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Craven
A Craven person is a coward, preferring to avoid a fight at any cost. Craven adventurers shoot and use devices well, their stealth is impressive, and they can move fast when not fighting; but their stats and other skills are somewhat wanting.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Very Good
Intelligence +1 Device Very Good
Wisdom +1 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Superb
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 99% Melee Very Bad
Experience 100% Archery Very Good
Hasty
A Hasty person endeavors to do all things quickly. Speed, rather than skill or care, is paramount, and the Hasty adventurer moves quickly through the dungeon, bungling much.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -1 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution -1 Searching Very Bad
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Poor
Experience 100% Archery Poor
Lazy
A Lazy person has no good stats and can do no action well. All fail rates are negatively impacted. Yet some whisper that the less hard you work, the greater the reward...
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution -2 Searching Very Bad
Charisma -2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 95% Melee Bad
Experience 100% Archery Poor
Unlucky
An Unlucky adventurer looks impressive on paper and should, by rights, have an easy time - but somehow their fights don't go quite so smoothly, and the items they most need never seem to drop.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Bad
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +2 Save Very Bad
Dexterity +2 Stealth Fair
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Excellent
Life Rating 104% Melee Fair
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Chaotic
Chaotic adventurers are servants of the Demon Lords of Chaos, and often receive a reward - or punishment - from their patrons when they gain a level. Their strengths and weaknesses are unpredictable; even their stat bonuses are subject to change.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 99% Melee Fair
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Mundane
Mundane adventurers have few talents to speak of, and are incapable of using spells and not very good with magical devices; but their anti-magic allows them to resist the effects of many dangerous curses.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Bad
Wisdom -1 Save Excellent
Dexterity -1 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 97% Melee Fair
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Munchkin
The Munchkin personality is for players who love being overpowered. It raises all your stats and skills; with this personality, you can beat the game easily, but gain no honor in doing so, and your win won't count.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Superb
Intelligence +3 Device Amber[10]
Wisdom +3 Save Superb
Dexterity +3 Stealth Heroic
Constitution +3 Searching Amber[52]
Charisma +3 Perception Amber[52]
Life Rating 150% Melee Amber[25]
Experience 50% Archery Amber[2]
Fragile
As a Fragile adventurer, you lack both self-confidence and physical toughness. Due to your incredibly low stamina, you are quickly exhausted by melee, or ranged combat, or magical combat, or any other strenuous activity. (Maybe you should just stay at home, quietly reading some book that isn't too heavy.)
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution -3 Searching Good
Charisma -2 Perception Good
Life Rating 91% Melee Poor
Experience 100% Archery Poor
Sneaky
Sneaky adventurers are stealthy and at home with light stabbing weapons; but face-to-face combat with heavier weapons plays against their strengths.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Very Good
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Superb
Constitution -1 Searching Excellent
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 97% Melee Fair
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Noble
As a Noble person, you have the benefits of an upper-class upbringing (at least, you consider them benefits). You start with extra money, and seem to have a relatively easy time acquiring even more money; but whether other aspects of the adventuring life will come to you as naturally remains to be seen.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity -2 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 99% Melee Good
Experience 110% Archery Poor
Split
You have multiple personalities, and inherit the upsides and downsides of each. At all times, one of your personalities is dominant, and you receive the full effects of that personality; the remaining personalities are either partially suppressed or fully suppressed. A partially suppressed personality gives reduced stat and skill bonuses, and some other effects (like the walking speed bonus of Craven or the aggravation from Sexy) will be absent entirely, but other parts of the personality apply normally. A fully dormant personality has no effect on you at the moment, but may resurface later! Level gains, and the trauma of taking heavy damage, can cause previously suppressed personalities to become dominant and vice versa.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Experience 100% Archery Fair
Table 1 - Personality Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life Exp
Ordinary +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 100% 100%
Mighty +2 -2 -2 +0 +1 +1 102% 100%
Shrewd -2 +2 +0 +1 -1 -1 97% 100%
Pious +0 -1 +2 -1 +0 +0 100% 100%
Nimble -1 +1 -1 +2 -1 +0 99% 100%
Fearless +1 +0 +0 -1 -1 +1 98% 100%
Combat +1 -1 -1 +1 +0 +0 100% 100%
Sexy +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% 100%
Lucky -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 98% 100%
Patient +0 +0 +2 -2 +2 +0 102% 100%
Craven -1 +1 +1 -1 -1 -2 99% 100%
Hasty +0 -1 -2 +2 -1 +0 100% 100%
Lazy -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 95% 100%
Unlucky +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 104% 100%
Chaotic +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 99% 100%
Mundane -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 97% 100%
Munchkin +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 150% 50%
Fragile -3 +0 +1 -1 -3 -2 91% 100%
Sneaky -3 +1 +1 +2 -1 +1 97% 100%
Noble +0 +0 +0 -2 -1 +2 99% 110%
Split +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 100% 100%
Table 2 - Personality Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Ordinary Fair Fair Fair Fair Mighty Bad Bad Poor Poor Shrewd Good Excellent Fair Fair Pious Bad Fair Good Poor Nimble Excellent Fair Poor Good Fearless Bad Fair Poor Fair Combat Poor Poor Poor Fair Sexy Superb Very Good Fair Fair Lucky Superb Excellent Fair Excellent Patient Poor Poor Good Good Craven Very Good Very Good Poor Superb Hasty Bad Bad Poor Poor Lazy Bad Bad Poor Poor Unlucky Bad Good Very Bad Fair Chaotic Fair Fair Fair Fair Mundane Fair Bad Excellent Fair Munchkin Superb Amber[10] Superb Heroic Fragile Fair Fair Poor Poor Sneaky Very Good Fair Fair Superb Noble Poor Fair Fair Fair Split Fair Fair Fair Fair
Table 3 - Personality Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Ordinary Fair Fair Fair Fair Mighty Bad Bad Superb Fair Shrewd Bad Superb Bad Poor Pious Excellent Bad Poor Poor Nimble Superb Superb Fair Very Good Fearless Good Bad Good Fair Combat Poor Good Good Good Sexy Excellent Good Excellent Very Good Lucky Amber[10] Heroic Superb Excellent Patient Fair Fair Poor Fair Craven Fair Fair Very Bad Very Good Hasty Very Bad Bad Poor Poor Lazy Very Bad Bad Bad Poor Unlucky Fair Excellent Fair Fair Chaotic Fair Fair Fair Fair Mundane Fair Fair Fair Fair Munchkin Amber[52] Amber[52] Amber[25] Amber[2] Fragile Good Good Poor Poor Sneaky Excellent Fair Fair Fair Noble Fair Fair Good Poor Split Fair Fair Fair Fair
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
The Races
There are many races in the world, each, for the most part, with both strengths and weaknesses. In general, the stronger a race is, the higher its <color:keyword>Experience Penalty and the longer it will take to gain levels.
For details on the <color:keyword>Stats, see . For information about the <color:keyword>Skills, see. The skill descriptions in this document are for comparison purposes only; they will tell you how good a race is compared to other races, but should not be taken as a literal indicator of the skill level your fledgling character will be born with. In general, skills are influenced by level, race, class, stats and equipment. See the race tablesbelow for a quick comparison of the various races.
Human
<topic:Amberite>Amberite
The Amberites are a reputedly immortal race, who are endowed with numerous advantages in addition to their longevity. They are very tough and their constitution cannot be reduced, and their ability to recover from wounds surpasses most other races. Having seen virtually everything, very little is new to them, and so they gain levels relatively slowly.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Good
Intelligence +2 Device Fair
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution +3 Searching Good
Charisma +0 Perception Good
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 190% Infravision 0'
Barbarian
Barbarians are hardy men of the north; they are fierce in combat, and their wrath is feared throughout the world. Combat is their life: they feel no fear, and they learn to enter battle frenzy at will even sooner than half-trolls. Barbarians are, however, suspicious of magic, which makes magic devices fairly hard for them to use. Barbarians gain a demigod talent at level 30.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 103% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Good
Experience 135% Infravision 0'
Demigod
The term demigod is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are human-god hybrids and are quite powerful. Demigods receive special abilities depending on their parentage.
See for more details on demigod parentage.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 180% Infravision 0'
Dunadan
Dunedain are a race of hardy men from the West. This elder race surpasses human abilities in every field; however, being men of the world, very little is new to them, and levels are very hard for them to gain. Dunedain gain one demigod talent at level 30. Their constitution is exceptionally good and cannot be reduced.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Good
Intelligence +2 Device Fair
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution +3 Searching Good
Charisma +0 Perception Good
Life Rating 100% Melee Excellent
Base HP 20 Archery Good
Experience 160% Infravision 0'
Human
Humans are average at everything, and tend to gain levels rapidly due to their short life spans. No racial adjustments or intrinsics occur to characters choosing human. Humans receive one special talent at level 20, which helps make up for their apparent mediocrity; but at level 35 they acquire a special human weakness. See for more information.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 100% Melee Fair
Base HP 20 Archery Fair
Experience 100% Infravision 0'
Igor
The epitome of a self-made man, an Igor is generally easily recognizable by the ring of stitches around his neck, the tendency to limp with perfectly healthy legs, and the mysterious ability to appear suddenly and then disappear when the mob comes looking. An Igor is at home with lightning, and always carries a bag full of ice in case he should find something that needs to be kept cold.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 97% Melee Very Bad
Base HP 15 Archery Bad
Experience 145% Infravision 0'
Elf
<topic:Dark-Elf>Dark-Elf
A cave-dwelling race unhampered by darkness attacks, dark-elves have more in common with Nibelungs than with other elves. They have a great capacity for magic and spellcasting, and learn the Magic Missile spell at a low level regardless of their class. With their keen sight, they soon acquire the ability to see invisible things.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Good
Intelligence +3 Device Good
Wisdom +2 Save Very Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Excellent
Constitution -2 Searching Superb
Charisma +3 Perception Good
Life Rating 97% Melee Poor
Base HP 18 Archery Good
Experience 155% Infravision 50'
High-Elf
High-elves are a race of immortal beings dating from the beginning of time. They are masters of all skills, and are strong and intelligent, although their wisdom is sometimes suspect. High-elves begin their lives able to see the unseen, and resist light effects just like regular elves. However, there are few things that they have not seen already, so new levels are quite hard for them to gain.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Good
Intelligence +3 Device Very Good
Wisdom -1 Save Very Good
Dexterity +3 Stealth Excellent
Constitution +1 Searching Good
Charisma +1 Perception Very Good
Life Rating 99% Melee Very Good
Base HP 19 Archery Excellent
Experience 190% Infravision 40'
Tomte
Smaller and of lighter build than regular elves, Tomtes are nimble, intelligent, extremely stealthy and at home with magical devices, but their size handicaps them in physical combat. They greatly prefer light headwear, and cannot think clearly with a heavy helmet squeezing their brains. Tomtes have the ability to assess monsters and items at a glance (they gain auto-identify at level 40); and being accustomed to long winters, they are not much bothered by cold.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +2 Device Superb
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +3 Stealth Superb
Constitution -3 Searching Heroic
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 94% Melee Fair
Base HP 13 Archery Poor
Experience 150% Infravision 40'
Wood-Elf
Wood-Elves are the most common of elves. They prefer the seclusion of thick forests and are unhampered when moving through dense foliage. Their skills with tracking and bow are unsurpassed, and as they advance they gain the power of Nature Awareness.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Good
Intelligence +1 Device Good
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Excellent
Constitution -1 Searching Superb
Charisma +1 Perception Good
Life Rating 97% Melee Poor
Base HP 16 Archery Excellent
Experience 125% Infravision 30'
Hobbit/Dwarf
<topic:Dwarf>Dwarf
Dwarves are the headstrong miners and fighters of legend. They tend to be strong and tough, but lack agility. Because they are so headstrong and also somewhat wise, dwarves are relatively resistant to evil curses cast on them. They are very good at fighting, searching and perception, and resist being blinded, but infamously have miserable stealth.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -2 Device Good
Wisdom +2 Save Good
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Superb
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 103% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 135% Infravision 50'
Gnome
Gnomes are smaller than dwarves but larger than hobbits; and like hobbits, they live in the earth in burrow-like homes. Gnomes make excellent mages, and have very good saving throws. They are naturally skilled at most things, but not very strong or good at hand-to-hand fighting. Gnomes have fair infra-vision, allowing them to detect warm-blooded creatures at a distance. They are also intrinsically protected against paralysis.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Excellent
Constitution +1 Searching Excellent
Charisma -1 Perception Good
Life Rating 95% Melee Poor
Base HP 16 Archery Good
Experience 115% Infravision 40'
Hobbit
Hobbits (or Halflings) have exceptional stealth and are very good at bows and throwing; indeed, they are generally well-suited for the adventuring life. Yet their small size is a handicap at times; they are not very good at melee fighting, and cannot suffer as many hard hits as larger races. Hobbits are known for their love of good cooking, and have an almost miraculous ability to find food in the dark depths of the dungeon.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Superb
Intelligence +1 Device Very Good
Wisdom +1 Save Good
Dexterity +3 Stealth Superb
Constitution +2 Searching Heroic
Charisma +1 Perception Excellent
Life Rating 92% Melee Bad
Base HP 14 Archery Very Good
Experience 120% Infravision 40'
Nibelung
The hated and persecuted race of nocturnal dwarves, these cave-dwellers are not much bothered by darkness. Their natural inclination to magical items has made them resistant to effects which could disenchant magical energy.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Excellent
Charisma -2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 101% Melee Very Good
Base HP 21 Archery Fair
Experience 150% Infravision 50'
Fairy
<topic:Shadow-Fairy>Shadow-Fairy
Shadow-fairies are one of the several fairy races. They have wings, and can fly over traps that may open up beneath them. Being creatures of darkness, shadow-fairies are vulnerable to bright light. They are physically weak, but naturally adept at using magic. Shadow-fairies are amazingly stealthy, and have a wonderful advantage in that they almost never aggravate monsters; aggravating equipment only gives them a slight penalty to stealth, but if they have an aggravating personality the advantage is lost.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Good
Intelligence +2 Device Good
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Superb
Constitution -1 Searching Heroic
Charisma -3 Perception Excellent
Life Rating 91% Melee Bad
Base HP 13 Archery Fair
Experience 140% Infravision 40'
Sprite
One of the several fairy races, Sprites are very small. They have tiny wings and can fly over traps that may open up beneath them. They enjoy sunlight intensely, and need worry little about light based attacks. Although physically among the weakest races, Sprites are very talented in magic, and can become highly skilled wizards. Sprites have the special power of spraying Sleeping Dust, and at higher levels they learn to fly faster.
Stats Skills
Strength -4 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +3 Device Good
Wisdom +3 Save Good
Dexterity +3 Stealth Excellent
Constitution -2 Searching Heroic
Charisma -2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 92% Melee Bad
Base HP 14 Archery Fair
Experience 135% Infravision 40'
Angel/Demon
<topic:Archon>Archon
Archons are a higher class of angels. They are good at all skills, and are strong, wise, and a favorite with any people. They are able to see the unseen, and their wings allow them to safely fly over traps and other dangerous places. However, belonging to a higher plane as they do, the experiences of this world do not leave a strong impression on them and they gain levels slowly.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Very Good
Wisdom +4 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Good
Charisma +3 Perception Fair
Life Rating 103% Melee Very Good
Base HP 22 Archery Good
Experience 200% Infravision 30'
Balrog
Balrogs are a higher class of demons. They are strong, intelligent and tough, but lacking in wisdom and not suitable for priesthood. Balrogs are resistant to fire and nether, and have a firm hold on their life force; they also soon learn to see invisible things. They are good at almost all skills except stealth. They gain very little nutrition from the food of mortals, and need human corpses as sacrifices to regain their vitality.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Very Good
Wisdom -10 Save Excellent
Dexterity +2 Stealth Bad
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 106% Melee Superb
Base HP 24 Archery Fair
Experience 180% Infravision 50'
Imp
A demon-creature from the nether-world, naturally resistant to fire attacks, and capable of learning fire bolt and fire ball attacks. They are little loved by other races, but can perform fairly well in most professions. As they advance levels, they gain the ability to perceive invisible creatures.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 99% Melee Good
Base HP 19 Archery Fair
Experience 90% Infravision 30'
Orc/Troll/Giant
<topic:Cyclops>Cyclops
With but one eye, a Cyclops can see more than many with two eyes. They are headstrong, and loud noises bother them very little. They are not quite qualified for the magic using professions, but as a certain Mr. Ulysses can testify, their accuracy with thrown rocks can be deadly!
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -3 Device Poor
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity -3 Stealth Bad
Constitution +4 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 108% Melee Superb
Base HP 24 Archery Very Good
Experience 155% Infravision 10'
Half-Giant
Half-giants' limited intelligence makes it difficult for them to become full spellcasters, but with their huge strength they make excellent warriors. Their thick skin makes them resistant to shards, and like half-trolls, they have their strength sustained.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity -2 Stealth Bad
Constitution +3 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 108% Melee Superb
Base HP 26 Archery Fair
Experience 150% Infravision 30'
Half-Orc
Half-orcs make excellent warriors, but are terrible at magic. They are as bad as dwarves at stealth, and horrible at searching, disarming, and perception. Being accustomed to living underground, half-orcs are resistant to darkness attacks. Half-orcs are quite ugly, and so tend to pay more for goods in town. The human part of their heritage allows them to select a talent at level 30.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Poor
Dexterity +0 Stealth Bad
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma -1 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 103% Melee Superb
Base HP 20 Archery Poor
Experience 110% Infravision 30'
Half-Titan
Half-mortal descendants of the mighty titans, these immensely powerful creatures put almost any other race to shame. They may lack the fascinating special powers some other races have, but their enhanced attributes more than make up for that. They learn to estimate the strengths of their foes, and their love for law and order makes them resistant to the effects of Chaos.
Stats Skills
Strength +5 Disarming Bad
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity -2 Stealth Bad
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +3 Perception Poor
Life Rating 110% Melee Superb
Base HP 28 Archery Fair
Experience 200% Infravision 0'
Half-Troll
Half-trolls are incredibly strong, and have more hit points than most other races. They are very stupid, and bad at searching, disarming, perception, and stealth; but they make excellent fighters despite their poor agility. They are so ugly that a half-orc grimaces in their presence. They also happen to be fun to run... Half-trolls always have their strength sustained, and their regeneration is exceptionally fast.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -4 Device Bad
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity -3 Stealth Bad
Constitution +3 Searching Poor
Charisma -2 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 107% Melee Superb
Base HP 25 Archery Poor
Experience 150% Infravision 30'
Kobold
Kobolds are a weak goblin race. They love poisoned weapons, and can learn to throw poisoned darts (of which they carry an unlimited supply). They are also inherently resistant to poison.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma -2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 98% Melee Very Good
Base HP 19 Archery Good
Experience 90% Infravision 30'
Ogre
Ogres are big and ugly, but possessed of a low cunning and great strength. They have all the necessary attributes to be warriors, yet are also surprisingly adept as mages; and at high level, all Ogres learn the Ogre Mage skill of setting trapped runes. Being simple-minded, Ogres have their intelligence sustained.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Bad
Constitution +3 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 106% Melee Superb
Base HP 23 Archery Poor
Experience 140% Infravision 0'
Snotling
Snotlings are greenskins, and are cousins of Goblins and Orcs, smaller than the former and dumber than the latter, often used by them as cannon fodder, food or even cannon missiles. They are on the lowest rung of greenskin society and are bullied by all. Snotlings often wield mushrooms or sticks into battle.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity -2 Stealth Good
Constitution -2 Searching Fair
Charisma -5 Perception Bad
Life Rating 85% Melee Bad
Base HP 10 Archery Poor
Experience 45% Infravision 20'
Shapeshifter
<topic:Beorning>Beorning
Beornings are a hardy, northern race of men, renowned for their ability to assume the shape of a bear. Bear-formed Beornings greatly resemble Berserkers: they are extremely strong in melee and very hard to kill, but incapable of reading scrolls, casting spells or using magical devices. Man-shaped Beornings are still stronger in combat than a regular human, but somewhat lacking in magical skills.
The equipment slots available to a Beorning depend on their shape, and like Werewolves, they carry a special satchel for keeping the items not needed in their current shape.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Bad
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma -1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 104% Melee Very Good
Base HP 27 Archery Poor
Experience 140% Infravision 50'
Doppelganger
Doppelgangers are truly pathetic creatures. While nobody has actually ever seen their true form, they are rumored to be small, plain, pathetic creatures. Their one saving grace is the ability to mimic other races.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Very Bad
Intelligence -3 Device Very Bad
Wisdom -3 Save Very Bad
Dexterity -3 Stealth Superb
Constitution -3 Searching Very Bad
Charisma -3 Perception Fair
Life Rating 85% Melee Very Bad
Base HP 12 Archery Very Bad
Experience 150% Infravision 0'
Werewolf
Werewolves are fearsome hunters who can assume either human or wolf shape. They are exceptionally durable in both forms, and have great powers of regeneration, though they are infamously vulnerable to fire and silver, and are not particularly good at using magical spells or devices in either shape. While in wolf form, werewolves wield no weapons; instead, they attack with their teeth and claws. As werewolves wear different equipment in human form and wolf form, they use one inventory slot for a special satchel in which they keep the items not needed in their current shape.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Bad
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Excellent
Charisma +0 Perception Fair
Life Rating 103% Melee Fair
Base HP 27 Archery Fair
Experience 140% Infravision 50'
Undead
<topic:Einheri>Einheri
Dead heroes returning to the mortal world for one last fight, Einherjar are highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat and start with the ability to enter a battle frenzy; however, they are also passably good at using devices, and do not necessarily make weak magic users. Already having one lifetime's adventures behind them, Einherjar are very strong at the beginning but learn new things slowly. Like other undead races, they are immune to life draining. Einherjar have one serious weakness: magical healing only has a partial effect on them, healing them half as much as it would any other race.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Good
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +0 Save Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Superb
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 113% Melee Superb
Base HP 44 Archery Good
Experience 160% Infravision 30'
Skeleton
As undead beings, skeletons need worry very little about poison or attacks that can drain life. Skeletons do not really use eyes for perceiving things, and are thus not fooled by invisibility. Their bones are resistant to sharp shrapnel, and they will quickly become resistant to cold. Although the magical effects of potions and mushrooms will affect the skeleton even without entering its (non-existent) belly, the food itself will fall through the skeleton's jaws, giving no nutritional benefit; instead, skeletons feed themselves by absorbing the energy of magical devices.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Bad
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 21 Archery Fair
Experience 115% Infravision 20'
Spectre
A powerful undead creature, the Spectre is a ghastly apparition, surrounded by an unearthly green glow. Spectres exist only partially on our plane of existence: half-corporeal, they can pass through walls, although the density of the wall will hurt them in the process of doing this. As undead, they have a firm hold on their life force, can see invisible creatures, and resist poison, cold and nether. Spectres make superb spellcasters, but their physical form is very weak. They gain very little nutrition from the food of mortals, but can absorb mana from magical devices as their energy source.
Stats Skills
Strength -5 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +4 Device Excellent
Wisdom +2 Save Very Good
Dexterity +2 Stealth Superb
Constitution -2 Searching Excellent
Charisma -3 Perception Very Good
Life Rating 90% Melee Bad
Base HP 13 Archery Poor
Experience 250% Infravision 50'
Vampire
One of the mightier undead creatures, the vampire is an awe-inspiring sight. Yet this dread creature has a serious weakness: the bright rays of sun are its bane, and it will need to flee the surface to the deep recesses of earth until the sun finally sets. Darkness, on the other hand, holds few terrors to a vampire. Being undead, vampires also resist nether, cold and poison and have a firm hold on their life force; but they are susceptible to a perpetual hunger for fresh blood, which can only be satiated by sucking the blood from a nearby monster.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Good
Intelligence +3 Device Good
Wisdom -1 Save Good
Dexterity -1 Stealth Excellent
Constitution +1 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 102% Melee Good
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 200% Infravision 50'
Zombie
Zombies are undead horrors, resistant to life draining and the forces of the netherworld. The grave is cold, but this does not bother the undead, and poison also scarcely affects the unliving. Zombies gain little nutrition from ordinary food; instead, they absorb energy from magical devices to maintain their undead existence.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -6 Device Bad
Wisdom -6 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +4 Searching Poor
Charisma -3 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 108% Melee Excellent
Base HP 24 Archery Fair
Experience 180% Infravision 20'
Other
<topic:Android>Android
An android is an artificial creation with a body of machinery. Their intelligence almost matches that of organic races, though their wisdom is no better than that of Golems. Of course, their mechanical body offers great physical advantages, far surpassing the powers of man. Uniquely among all races, Androids do not acquire experience from killing monsters, but rather gain in power as they attach new equipment to their frame. Rings, amulets, and lights do not influence growth. Androids are resistant to poison and immune to life-draining attacks; moreover, because of their hard metallic bodies, they get a bonus to AC. Androids have electronic circuits throughout their body, and so must beware of electric shocks. They gain very little nutrition from the food of mortals, but can use flasks of oil as their energy source.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -5 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Bad
Constitution +3 Searching Good
Charisma +0 Perception Very Good
Life Rating 108% Melee Superb
Base HP 26 Archery Good
Experience 200% Infravision 0'
Beastman
This race is a blasphemous abomination produced by Chaos. It is not an independent race but rather a humanoid creature, most often a human, twisted by Chaos; or else a nightmarish crossbreed of a human and a beast. All Beastmen are accustomed to Chaos so much that they are untroubled by confusion and sound, although raw Logrus can still hurt them. Beastmen revel in chaos, as it twists them more and more. Beastmen are subject to mutations: when they have been created, they receive a random mutation, and have a small chance to gain more mutations every time they advance a level. Unlike normal races, Beastmen can have many mutations without ill effects on their regeneration.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 102% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Good
Experience 150% Infravision 0'
Boit
Boits are small bipedal creatures covered in yellow, lilac, brown or green fur, distantly related to the Yeeks. Boits move speedily, and can eject the contents of their stomachs at will, but they are not particularly well-suited for melee, ranged combat, use of magical devices, or spellcasting.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity -2 Stealth Fair
Constitution +0 Searching Fair
Charisma -2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 95% Melee Poor
Base HP 15 Archery Poor
Experience 80% Infravision 10'
Centaur
Centaurs are creatures with the head, arms and torso of a human combined with the body and legs of a horse. As such, they are able to move more quickly as they gain experience and are capable of leaping great distances. Centaurs are skilled in fighting and archery and can attack monsters with their hooves in addition to normal melee weapons; but lacking normal feet, they cannot wear boots. Being at home in the forests of the world, Centaurs are able to move quickly through foliage.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom +1 Save Fair
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution +1 Searching Good
Charisma +0 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 103% Melee Very Good
Base HP 22 Archery Good
Experience 190% Infravision 0'
Draconian
Draconians are a humanoid race with dragon-like attributes. There are several subtypes of draconians with different resistances, breaths and attributes; for example, Red Draconians are resistant to fire which they may also breathe at will, while White Draconians breathe and resist cold instead. All draconians levitate. In addition, when they mature enough, they may choose a special draconian power.
See for more details on draconians.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Fair
Charisma +2 Perception Fair
Life Rating 104% Melee Excellent
Base HP 22 Archery Fair
Experience 190% Infravision 20'
Ent
The Ents are a powerful race dating from the beginning of the world, oldest of all animals or plants who inhabit Arda. Spirits of the land, they guard the forests of Middle-earth. Being much like trees, they are strong but very clumsy, and highly susceptible to fire. Ents gain nourishment from drinking water; the food of mortals is of little use to them. Ents have the special ability to summon the trees of the forest to their side.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Bad
Intelligence +0 Device Fair
Wisdom +2 Save Fair
Dexterity -4 Stealth Poor
Constitution +3 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 105% Melee Excellent
Base HP 25 Archery Fair
Experience 135% Infravision 0'
Golem
A Golem is an artificial creature, built from a lifeless raw material like clay, and awakened to life. They are nearly mindless, making them useless for professions which rely on magic, but as warriors they are very tough. They are resistant to poison and paralysis and can see invisible things. At higher levels, they also become resistant to attacks which threaten to drain away their life force. Golems gain very little nutrition from ordinary food, but can absorb mana from staves and wands as their power source. Golems also gain a natural armor class bonus from their tough body. Golems become slower with age.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Bad
Intelligence -5 Device Bad
Wisdom -5 Save Good
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +4 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 105% Melee Superb
Base HP 23 Archery Fair
Experience 185% Infravision 40'
Klackon
Klackons are bizarre semi-intelligent ant-like insectoid creatures. They make great fighters, but their mental abilities are severely limited. Obedient and well-ordered, they are resistant to confusion. They are very nimble, and become faster as they advance levels. They are also very acidic, inherently resist acid, and become capable of spitting it at higher levels.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Fair
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Fair
Life Rating 105% Melee Good
Base HP 23 Archery Good
Experience 170% Infravision 20'
Kutar
A Kutar is not a dog, cat or bear. Despite their characteristic vacant expression, Kutars are beautiful and so have a high charisma. Their absent-mindedness hurts their searching and perception skills, but renders them resistant to being confused. Due to their unearthly calmness and serenity, Kutars are extremely stealthy. They learn the special ability to expand their body horizontally; this increases their armour class, but renders them vulnerable to curses.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Fair
Wisdom -1 Save Fair
Dexterity +1 Stealth Superb
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 102% Melee Fair
Base HP 21 Archery Fair
Experience 175% Infravision 0'
Mindflayer
Mindflayers are a secretive and mysterious ancient race. Their civilization may well be older than any other; their intelligence and wisdom are naturally sustained, and so great as to make Mindflayers highly effective spellcasters, but their physical attributes are a good deal less admirable. As they gain levels, they learn to see invisible creatures, and eventually develop a telepathic sight.
Stats Skills
Strength -3 Disarming Excellent
Intelligence +4 Device Excellent
Wisdom +4 Save Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Good
Constitution -2 Searching Excellent
Charisma -1 Perception Good
Life Rating 97% Melee Bad
Base HP 18 Archery Poor
Experience 150% Infravision 40'
Tonberry
Tonberries are lizard-like creatures who possess enormous strength and have a preference for cleavers and large knives. They are, however, sluggish in their movements and reactions; young and inexperienced tonberries are often preyed on by the other races. They possess human-like intelligence, but rarely become mages due to their culture and physiology. Tonberries attack very powerfully in melee, albeit with fewer attacks than normal. They are also easily confused and move with reduced speed.
Stats Skills
Strength +4 Disarming Bad
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity -4 Stealth Good
Constitution +5 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Very Bad
Life Rating 108% Melee Superb
Base HP 26 Archery Poor
Experience 175% Infravision 20'
Yeek
Yeeks are among the most pathetic creatures. Fortunately, their horrible screams can scare away less confident foes, and their skin becomes more and more resistant to acid as they gain experience. They are also fairly good at magic; but in combat, even a mediocre monster can wipe the proverbial floor with an unwary Yeek.
Stats Skills
Strength -2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +1 Device Fair
Wisdom -2 Save Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Excellent
Constitution -2 Searching Excellent
Charisma -4 Perception Excellent
Life Rating 92% Melee Poor
Base HP 14 Archery Fair
Experience 70% Infravision 20'
Table 1 - Race Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Shop Amberite +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 +0 100% +20 190% 100% Barbarian +3 -2 -1 +1 +2 +2 103% +22 135% 120% Demigod +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 100% +20 180% 100% Dunadan +1 +2 +2 +2 +3 +0 100% +20 160% 100% Human +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 100% +20 100% 100% Igor -3 +0 -1 +0 -1 -1 97% +15 145% 110% Dark-Elf -1 +3 +2 +2 -2 +3 97% +18 155% 120% High-Elf +1 +3 -1 +3 +1 +1 99% +19 190% 90% Tomte -4 +2 +2 +3 -3 +0 94% +13 150% 100% Wood-Elf -1 +1 +2 +1 -1 +1 97% +16 125% 95% Dwarf +2 -2 +2 -2 +2 +1 103% +22 135% 115% Gnome -1 +2 -1 +2 +1 -1 95% +16 115% 115% Hobbit -2 +1 +1 +3 +2 +1 92% +14 120% 100% Nibelung +0 +1 +0 +1 +1 -2 101% +21 150% 115% Shadow-Fairy -2 +2 +2 +1 -1 -3 91% +13 140% 110% Sprite -4 +3 +3 +3 -2 -2 92% +14 135% 90% Archon +2 +0 +4 +1 +2 +3 103% +22 200% 90% Balrog +4 +2 -10 +2 +3 +2 106% +24 180% 140% Imp +0 -1 -1 +1 +2 -1 99% +19 90% 120% Cyclops +4 -3 -2 -3 +4 -1 108% +24 155% 135% Half-Giant +4 -2 -2 -2 +3 +0 108% +26 150% 125% Half-Orc +2 -1 +0 +0 +1 -1 103% +20 110% 120% Half-Titan +5 +1 +2 -2 +3 +3 110% +28 200% 90% Half-Troll +4 -4 -1 -3 +3 -2 107% +25 150% 135% Kobold +1 -1 +0 +1 +0 -2 98% +19 90% 120% Ogre +3 +0 -1 -1 +3 +0 106% +23 140% 125% Snotling -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -5 85% +10 45% 125% Beorning +1 +0 +0 -1 +1 -1 104% +27 140% 105% Doppelganger -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 85% +12 150% 150% Werewolf +1 +0 +0 +0 +1 +0 103% +27 140% 100% Einheri +2 +0 +0 +2 +1 +1 113% +44 160% 100% Skeleton +0 +1 -2 +0 +1 +1 100% +21 115% 125% Spectre -5 +4 +2 +2 -2 -3 90% +13 250% 135% Vampire +3 +3 -1 -1 +1 +2 102% +22 200% 130% Zombie +2 -6 -6 +1 +4 -3 108% +24 180% 140% Android +3 -1 -5 +1 +3 +0 108% +26 200% 120% Beastman +2 -2 -1 -1 +2 +1 102% +22 150% 130% Boit -1 -2 -2 -2 +0 -2 95% +15 80% 105% Centaur +3 -2 +1 +2 +1 +0 103% +22 190% 95% Draconian +3 +0 +0 +1 +2 +2 104% +22 190% 115% Ent +3 +0 +2 -4 +3 +0 105% +25 135% 95% Golem +4 -5 -5 -2 +4 +0 105% +23 185% 120% Klackon +2 -1 -1 +1 +2 +1 105% +23 170% 115% Kutar +0 -1 -1 +1 +2 +2 102% +21 175% 95% Mindflayer -3 +4 +4 +0 -2 -1 97% +18 150% 115% Tonberry +4 +0 -2 -4 +5 +0 108% +26 175% 115% Yeek -2 +1 -2 +1 -2 -4 92% +14 70% 105%
Table 2 - Race Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Amberite Good Fair Fair Good Barbarian Poor Bad Fair Poor Demigod Fair Fair Fair Poor Dunadan Good Fair Fair Good Human Fair Fair Fair Fair Igor Fair Fair Fair Fair Dark-Elf Good Good Very Good Excellent High-Elf Good Very Good Very Good Excellent Tomte Excellent Superb Fair Superb Wood-Elf Good Good Fair Excellent Dwarf Fair Good Good Poor Gnome Excellent Good Good Excellent Hobbit Superb Very Good Good Superb Nibelung Fair Fair Good Good Shadow-Fairy Good Good Fair Superb Sprite Excellent Good Good Excellent Archon Fair Very Good Good Good Balrog Poor Very Good Excellent Bad Imp Poor Fair Poor Good Cyclops Poor Poor Poor Bad Half-Giant Bad Bad Poor Bad Half-Orc Poor Poor Poor Bad Half-Titan Bad Fair Fair Bad Half-Troll Bad Bad Poor Bad Kobold Poor Poor Poor Poor Ogre Poor Poor Poor Bad Snotling Poor Poor Poor Good Beorning Fair Bad Fair Poor Doppelganger Very Bad Very Bad Very Bad Superb Werewolf Fair Bad Fair Good Einheri Good Fair Good Poor Skeleton Bad Fair Fair Poor Spectre Excellent Excellent Very Good Superb Vampire Good Good Good Excellent Zombie Bad Bad Fair Poor Android Fair Poor Fair Bad Beastman Bad Poor Poor Poor Boit Fair Bad Poor Fair Centaur Fair Poor Fair Good Draconian Poor Poor Fair Poor Ent Bad Fair Fair Poor Golem Bad Bad Good Poor Klackon Excellent Poor Fair Fair Kutar Poor Fair Fair Superb Mindflayer Excellent Excellent Good Good Tonberry Bad Poor Fair Good Yeek Fair Fair Good Excellent
Table 3 - Race Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Infra Amberite Good Good Excellent Good 0' Barbarian Fair Bad Excellent Good 0' Demigod Fair Bad Very Good Good 0' Dunadan Good Good Excellent Good 0' Human Fair Fair Fair Fair 0' Igor Fair Fair Very Bad Bad 0' Dark-Elf Superb Good Poor Good 50' High-Elf Good Very Good Very Good Excellent 40' Tomte Heroic Fair Fair Poor 40' Wood-Elf Superb Good Poor Excellent 30' Dwarf Superb Fair Excellent Fair 50' Gnome Excellent Good Poor Good 40' Hobbit Heroic Excellent Bad Very Good 40' Nibelung Excellent Fair Very Good Fair 50' Shadow-Fairy Heroic Excellent Bad Fair 40' Sprite Heroic Fair Bad Fair 40' Archon Good Fair Very Good Good 30' Balrog Fair Poor Superb Fair 50' Imp Poor Fair Good Fair 30' Cyclops Poor Very Bad Superb Very Good 10' Half-Giant Poor Very Bad Superb Fair 30' Half-Orc Poor Very Bad Superb Poor 30' Half-Titan Fair Poor Superb Fair 0' Half-Troll Poor Very Bad Superb Poor 30' Kobold Fair Poor Very Good Good 30' Ogre Poor Very Bad Superb Poor 0' Snotling Fair Bad Bad Poor 20' Beorning Fair Fair Very Good Poor 50' Doppelganger Very Bad Fair Very Bad Very Bad 0' Werewolf Excellent Fair Fair Fair 50' Einheri Superb Fair Superb Good 30' Skeleton Poor Poor Very Good Fair 20' Spectre Excellent Very Good Bad Poor 50' Vampire Fair Poor Good Fair 50' Zombie Poor Very Bad Excellent Fair 20' Android Good Very Good Superb Good 0' Beastman Poor Very Bad Excellent Good 0' Boit Fair Fair Poor Poor 10' Centaur Good Very Bad Very Good Good 0' Draconian Fair Fair Excellent Fair 20' Ent Fair Poor Excellent Fair 0' Golem Poor Poor Superb Fair 40' Klackon Poor Fair Good Good 20' Kutar Poor Bad Fair Fair 0' Mindflayer Excellent Good Bad Poor 40' Tonberry Poor Very Bad Superb Poor 20' Yeek Excellent Excellent Poor Fair 20'
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Rune-Knights
A large part of playing as a Rune-Knight involves the attachment of mystical runes of power to various pieces of equipment. Each type of rune grants some special thematic abilities; these abilities will vary slightly depending on the type of object to which the rune is affixed. Generally, runes are more powerful when attached to body armor than when attached to helmets, gloves or shields. Since attaching a rune generally consumes all of your mana and rune-knights do not regenerate mana normally, trying to figure things out by trial and error would be time-consuming and lead to suboptimal rune placement. Note that you can only attach a single rune to any given object, and cannot remove or change that rune once it has been added, although nothing prevents you from adding the same rune to multiple objects.
The rune cheat-sheet below is a bit of a spoiler, but most players are happy to play with this information handy.
Equipment/Inventory Runes by Type
In this section, each rune is displayed along with each type of object to which it may be affixed; thus, you may see what each rune does at a glance, and decide where to use it best.
Absorption
Melee Weapons L1 Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Shields L1 Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Body Armor L1 Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Protection
Shields L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Body Armor L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Helmets L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Cloaks L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Gloves L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Boots L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Regeneration
Body Armor L7 Regeneration
Cloaks L7 Regeneration
Fire
Melee Weapons L9 Flame Tongue
Shields L9 Resist Fire
Body Armor L9 Resist Fire; Fiery Aura
Cloaks L9 Fiery Aura
Lights L9 Fiery Aura
Gloves L45 Flame Tongue
Air
Melee Weapons L40 +0.75 Attacks
Cloaks L11 Levitation
Boots L11 Levitation
Water
Melee Weapons L13 Acid Brand
Shields L13 Resist Acid
Body Armor L13 Resist Acid and Stunning
Cloaks L13 Resist Acid
Gloves L45 Acid Brand
Light
Helmets L15 Resist Light
Lights L15 Resist Light
Shadow
Shields L17 Resist Darkness
Body Armor L17 Resist Darkness; +5L/50 Stealth
Helmets L17 Resist Darkness
Cloaks L17 +5L/50 Stealth
Earth
Melee Weapons L35 Vorpal
Shields L19 Resist Shards
Body Armor L19 Resist Shards; Aura of Shards
Cloaks L19 Aura of Shards
Understanding
Helmets L21 +2 INT; Easy Identify
Lights L21 +1 INT
Preservation
If this rune is carried in your pack, the chance of items in your pack being destroyed by elemental attacks is cut to half.
Haste
Gloves L25 +2 DEX
Boots L25 +3L/50 Speed
Seeing
Helmets L27 Resist Blindness; See Invisible
Lights L27 Resist Blindness
Life
Shields L29 Hold Life
Body Armor L29 Hold Life; +1 CON
Lights L29 Hold Life
Stability
Body Armor L31 Resist Nexus, Chaos and Disenchantment
Helmets L31 Resist Nexus
Cloaks L31 Resist Nexus
Boots L31 Resist Nexus
Reflection
Shields L33 Reflection
Death
Melee Weapons L35 Vampiric
Shields L35 Resist Nether
Body Armor L35 Resist Nether and Poison
Helmets L35 Resist Nether
Mind
Helmets L37 +2 INT; Sustain INT; Telepathy
Lights L37 Telepathy
Might
Body Armor L39 +2 STR, DEX, CON; Sustain STR, DEX, CON
Helmets L39 +2 STR, CON
Destruction
Melee Weapons L41 +2 Damage Dice
Gloves L41 Slaying
Good Fortune
If this rune is carried in your pack, you will be blessed with good luck. This grants increased odds of finding excellent and special items. The good-luck effect is similar to the White Aura mutation and the Lucky personality, and does not stack with them.
Immortality
Shields L45 Resist Time
Body Armor L45 Resist Time; Hold Life; Sustain Stats
Helmets L45 Resist Time
Cloaks L45 Resist Time
Runes by Equipment Slot
In this section, the various runes are grouped according to equipment slot. This will enable you to see at a glance which types of runes may be used on which types of objects. Hopefully, this will assist you in planning the ultimate allocation of power.
Melee Weapons
Absorption L1 Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Fire L9 Flame Tongue
Water L13 Acid Brand
Earth L35 Vorpal
Death L35 Vampiric
Air L40 +0.75 Attacks
Destruction L41 +2 Damage Dice
Shields
Absorption L1 Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Protection L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Fire L9 Resist Fire
Water L13 Resist Acid
Shadow L17 Resist Darkness
Earth L19 Resist Shards
Life L29 Hold Life
Reflection L33 Reflection
Death L35 Resist Nether
Immortality L45 Resist Time
Body Armor
Absorption L1 Magic Resistance; Mana Absorption
Protection L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Regeneration L7 Regeneration
Fire L9 Resist Fire; Fiery Aura
Water L13 Resist Acid and Stunning
Shadow L17 Resist Darkness; Stealth
Earth L19 Resist Shards; Aura of Shards
Life L29 Hold Life; +1 CON
Stability L31 Resist Nexus, Chaos and Disenchantment
Death L35 Resist Nether and Poison
Might L39 +2 STR, DEX, CON; Sustain STR, DEX, CON
Immortality L45 Resist Time; Hold Life; Sustain All Stats
Helmet
Protection L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Light L15 Resist Light
Shadow L17 Resist Darkness
Understanding L21 +2 INT; Easy Identify
Seeing L27 Resist Blindness; See Invisible
Stability L31 Resist Nexus
Death L35 Resist Nether
Mind L37 +2 INT; Sustain Int; Telepathy
Might L39 +2 STR, CON
Immortality L45 Resist Time
Cloak
Protection L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Regeneration L7 Regeneration
Fire L9 Fiery Aura
Air L11 Levitation
Water L13 Resist Acid
Shadow L17 Stealth
Earth L19 Aura of Shards
Stability L31 Resist Nexus
Immortality L45 Resist Time
Gloves
Protection L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Haste L25 +2 DEX
Destruction L41 Slaying
Fire L45 Flame Tongue
Water L45 Acid Brand
Boots
Protection L5 AC Bonus; Protection from Corrosion
Air L11 Levitation
Haste L25 +3L/50 Speed
Stability L31 Resist Nexus
Lights
Fire L9 Fiery Aura
Light L15 Resist Light
Understanding L21 +1 INT
Seeing L27 Resist Blindness
Life L29 Hold Life
Mind L37 Telepathy
Skillmasters
Using a point-based skill system, the Skillmaster allows you to design your own class. You receive 5 <color:keyword>skill points to spend immediately upon birth, and will gain an additional point every 5 character levels, for a total of 15 points. You may spend these skill points to gain or improve various skills with the <color:keypress>Gain command.
To be effective as a Skillmaster, you should have a plan as to which skills you will learn and when; your skill choices are permanent, and there are many more skills to learn than you could possibly hope to acquire with just 15 skill points, so make sure you won't be stuck with choices you regret. A bit of forethought is needed; this document should help.
Overview of the Various Skills
The available <color:keyword>skills come in various kinds, or <color:keyword>groups. You invest points in individual skills, not in groups, but the overall number of points for the corresponding group is sometimes also important. For example, the first group of skills is <color:keyword>Melee; here, you may specialize in various melee-weapon classes or learn bare-handed combat (Martial Arts). The total number of points spent in this group determines your overall Melee skill (as shown on the Character Sheet) and even affects your STR and DEX. On the other hand, the number of points spent in the skill itself determines your proficiency with that particular class of weaponry, and also influences how many attacks per round you get. Each skill group is discussed in detail below.
The main skill groups are:
Melee Effectiveness in hand-to-hand combat
Ranged Effectiveness in ranged combat (archery and throws)
Magic Access to spell realms as an INT-based caster. Every spell realm except Life is available.
Prayer Access to prayer realms as a WIS-based caster. Only good and evil realms are available.
Skills Basic skills such as Devices, Stealth, Speed and Saving Throw
Techniques Access to advanced or unusual talents that most players lack. This includes some book-based talents, such as Burglary and Kendo, as well as non-standard talents like Riding and Dual Wielding.
Abilities For a single skill point, you can buy a power like Stone Skin or an ability like Good Luck.
Proficiency
Before discussing each of the skill groups in detail, it helps to understand the proficiency system. It is explained in detail at , but the short version is: the game has several different proficiency systems, all of which are closely related; other classes' proficiency usually starts at a very low level, improves through use and practice, and is indicated through the five broad tiers [Un]skilled, [Be]ginner, [Sk]illed, [Ex]pert and [Ma]ster.
But Skillmasters are very different; they do not learn through use and practice. When Skillmasters spend a skill point, they instantly acquire proficiency; as an example (of very bad advice), a level 1 Skillmaster could spend all 5 points in Riding and instantly achieve Master-level proficiency. The same goes for weapons: spending points is the only way to gain proficiency (even the Weapon Versatility demigod talent is not available). Skillmasters are [Un]skilled in everything they haven't spent points in, and [Ma]ster in everything they have spent five points in, but the tiers in between vary a bit.
Melee Skills
Melee skills affect your skill in hand-to-hand combat. Each skill in this group improves your <color:keyword>proficiency either with a single class of weapons (swords, polearms, hafted weapons, diggers) or in bare-handed fighting, and also affects how many <color:keyword>blows you can get per round. To use any particular class of weaponry, you will need some skill. Thus, when investing in melee skills, you must choose whether to be really good with one or two weapon classes or decently good with all of them.
The total number of points in this group determines your basic <color:keyword>Melee skill in the same way your class choice normally would. That is, you get a fixed amount of base Melee skill, and an extra amount that improves with level; warriors get plenty, mages not so much; but you, as a Skillmaster, can improve your melee whenever you choose simply by investing more points in various melee related skills. As a rough guide, consider the following tables:
Melee Group Weapon Class
Pts Relative Skill Pts Proficiency Blows
0 Mage 0 Unskilled 4.00
1-2 Priest 1 Beginner 5.00
3-4 Ranger 2 Skilled 5.25
5-8 Paladin 3 Expert 5.50
9+ Warrior 4 Master 5.75
5 Master 6.00
Note that Melee and Magic are somewhat antithetical. Investing in Melee also improves your STR and DEX, but too many magic points will decrease your STR (and CON). Magic points also decrease the maximum number of blows displayed in the table above (by just 0.05 blows per point, but too much magic will make this effect noticeable). Also, Magic improves your INT and device skill, but too much Melee will have a slight negative effect on both of these.
The individual melee skills are discussed next.
<topic:Swords>Swords
Swords (|) are the most common class of weaponry and include swords, daggers, blades of chaos and all other weapons listed under <color:keyword>swords in the <color:keypress>~P proficiency menu. Swords and polearms are the most obvious choices if you wish to specialize in a particular class of weaponry, due to their commonness.
<topic:Polearms>Polearms
Polearms (/) are the second-most common class of weaponry and include tridents, spears, lances, axes and all other weapons listed under <color:keyword>polearms in the <color:keypress>~P proficiency menu. This is a good skill to invest in if you are building a Riding skillmaster, since Lances and Heavy Lances are perfectly suited for riding melee.
<topic:Hafted>Hafted (Blunt Weapons)
Hafted weapons (\) are less common than swords or polearms, but include the deadly Maces of Disruption and some exceptional artifacts like the Staff of Asclepius (again, see <color:keypress>~P for the full list). Note that prayer-based skillmasters have no weapon restrictions, and so don't need hafted weapons like normal priests do; still, this group is worth investing in if you want general access to weapon-based melee, or just have faith that a great hafted weapon will drop.
<topic:Diggers>Diggers
Yes, you can melee with Picks and Shovels if you want, but the weapons in this class are incredibly uncommon when compared to the three main groups; there are a couple of powerful end-game diggers, but realistically this is an option for deliberate challenge runs.
<topic:Martial Arts>Martial Arts
With this skill you may fight monsters using a special, bare-handed combat technique. Skillmasters who invest a full 5 points in martial arts will be almost as effective in combat as a monk; the only difference is that your blows per round are marginally lower.
A few cautions regarding this skill are in order, though. If you fight bare-handed, you also get the monk armor weight restrictions, but will not gain the monk speed boost or access to various postures. (The armor restrictions stop applying if you switch back to weapon-based melee.) In addition, martial arts will not work when mounted, and Kendo techniques require a melee weapon to work.
Ranged Skills
Ranged skills include Archery and Throwing. As a group, the total number of points affects your Archery skill, as displayed on the Character Sheet; yet most players treat Archery and Throwing as mutually exclusive talents.
<topic:Archery>Archery
This skill improves your proficiency with all of Slings, Bows and Crossbows (unlike Melee, this skill does not require you to specialize in only one weapon type). With 2 or more points of Archery, you begin to gain extra shots per round, as well as reduced breakage odds for your missiles. You will never be quite as good as a specialist Archer, but then specialist Archers don't get 10 skill points to spend elsewhere... This skill also increases your stealth.
<topic:Throwing>Throwing
This skill gives you the special power of <color:keyword>Throw Weapon, which allows you to use your leading melee weapon as a throwing weapon. The range of a throw depends exclusively on your STR and the weight of the weapon; the damage depends on the weapon (and any slays it might have), your STR, and your Throwing skill. Investing enough points in Throwing also improves your throwing speed.
A thrown weapon will often <color:keyword>return to you after striking a foe; with enough skill, this return effect becomes very likely. You even have a chance to catch the returning weapon with the same hand which threw it, effectively re-equipping the weapon in a single, graceful, fluid motion; this also becomes more likely with more skill, but depends on your DEX as well. With a high enough DEX and full Throwing skill, you can be <color:keyword>almost certain to recover your weapon, fully equipped, after each toss... however, you should always be prepared for an occasional failure, no matter how skilled you are. So, carry a spare weapon!
The damage from a thrown weapon can be formidable; as your skill improves, so does the damage multiplier of the toss. Throwing functions much like archery, except you are the shooter and supply the damage multiplier through your skill; as with normal shooters, the multiplier is scaled slightly by STR. And the weapon is the projectile... Damage is calculated very similarly to archery, using the damage dice of the weapon thrown, applying any slays, adding in the damage bonus of the weapon and then multiplying everything together to get a nice, tasty sum. You can view the details in the <color:keyword>Throwing section of your Character Sheet. Note, though, that most off-weapon boosts will not apply to throwing; Rings of Archery and a few other items can boost your accuracy, but that's pretty much it.
Magic Skills
Each skill in the Magic group grants access to a single <color:keyword>spellbook realm. The realm will use INT as your spellcasting stat (usually this means INT will also determine the size of your mana pool, but that gets more complicated if you also learn Techniques or Prayer skills). With INT-based mana comes mage-like <color:keyword>glove encumbrance; but if you invest at least 5 overall points in magic, you also gain the mage ability to benefit from <color:keyword>cheap-spell and <color:keyword>easy-spell items like Wizardstaves.
With just a single point in a given realm, you will be a poor caster; investing more points helps a Skillmaster even more than proficiency normally helps casters, in that it reduces not only the mana cost but also the level of the spell. Your minimum fail rates also go down with points invested; only a full 5-point investment allows 0% fail.
Spending points in this group boosts your class Device skill, although not as much as direct investment in <color:keyword>Skills/Devices. Your INT is also directly influenced by the total number of points in this group. Magic makes you squishy and bad at melee; too much magic will adversely affect your STR, CON and life rating multiplier and reduce your maximum blows per round. However, studying Craft magic boosts your melee a bit.
Prayer Skills
Prayer skills are like Magic skills in that each one grants access to a single spellbook realm; but Prayer realms use WIS, not INT, as the spellcasting stat. As with Magic, investing 5 points in the Prayer group lets you benefit from cheap-spell (Dm) and easy-spell (Es) items; but here you don't have to worry about glove encumbrance, unless you have invested at least equally in Magic.
The downside is that the selection of realms is more limited; only the good realms (Life/Crusade) and evil realms (Death/Daemon) are available through the Prayer group. Note that Crusade, Death and Daemon are also offered by Magic; you can learn them as either WIS-based Prayer realms or INT-based Magic realms, but not both.
Investing points in the Prayer group boosts your Saving Throw, though not as much as direct investment in <color:keyword>Skills/Magic Resistance. Investment in Prayer skills also boosts your WIS; unlike Magic, this group does not come with any stat or melee penalties.
As mentioned above, Prayer skillmasters are not priests, so there are no weapon restrictions. You can gleefully slice and dice while piously enjoying Life prayers; if you wish, you can even freely mix good realms with evil realms.
Miscellaneous Skills
This group contains a number of skills that influence your character attributes. These skills each allow a maximum of 3 points to be invested. Invest here to flesh out your character design.
<topic:Agility>Agility
This skill directly improves your DEX and also determines your class <color:keyword>Disarming skill, as displayed on the Character Sheet. (By default, the Skillmaster will disarm about as well as a priest.) The only other skill that influences disarming is the <color:keyword>Burglary technique discussed below.
<topic:Awareness>Awareness
This skill determines your class <color:keyword>Searching and <color:keyword>Perception skills, as displayed on the Character Sheet. Since these are two of the least important primary skills, <color:keyword>Awareness also gives additional benefits to compensate. These depend on the number of points invested: see invisible and faster pseudo-ID (1); automatic ID (2); and finally a telepathic awareness of nearby monsters (3).
<topic:Devices>Devices
Skill with magic devices is extremely important for most players: the difference between being able to reliably use a Staff of Healing and not can be the difference between life and death. By default your <color:keyword>Device skill is primarily determined by the number of points spent in the <color:keyword>Magic group; a small positive influence is also granted for <color:keyword>Prayer skills as well as learning the <color:keyword>Sorcery realm, but <color:keyword>Melee points have a small negative influence on device skills. If you never learn any magic skills, it may be worth investing at least a point here, depending on your race and personality.
<topic:Health>Health
This skill directly improves your CON and also determines your class <color:keyword>base HP and <color:keyword>life rating multiplier; by default Skillmasters have a 100% multiplier, but investment in Magic skills slightly reduces it. If you want more hit points, or wish to undo the negative health effects of too many magic skills, invest in this skill.
A quick note on HP distribution. Even independently of their higher life rating multipliers, Warriors gain HP much faster than Mages; the Mage HP progression is very late-game-heavy. Investing in Health (or Melee) makes your HP progression more warrior-like, while investing in Magic makes it more mage-like (investing in Archery or Prayers encourages an in-between HP progression, which is also the default). By the time you reach level 50 it all evens out, but in the mid-game the progression makes quite a difference.
<topic:Magic Resistance>Magic Resistance
This skill increases your <color:keyword>Saving Throw; a couple points here and some <color:keyword>Prayer investment, and you will be almost immune to evil curses.
<topic:Speed>Speed
Each point in this skill increases your speed by +2. Speed is very important, especially in the early game; so if you plan to invest here, you should probably do so quite early. (Too bad there are so many other things you also want to invest in early...)
<topic:Stealth>Stealth
This skill directly increases your <color:keyword>Stealth. By default, Skillmasters have absolutely terrible stealth... both <color:keyword>Archery and <color:keyword>Burglary increase stealth a bit, but even if you are investing in one or both of those, spending points here as well can still help. Each point invested in this skill increases your stealth by +3; a single point will make you as stealthy as a mage, while two points make you slightly stealthier than a rogue. With three points you will be so stealthy you often gain powerful sneak attacks on sleeping monsters.
Techniques
Techniques are speciality skills otherwise limited to one or two classes. For example, only Samurai can learn <color:keyword>Kendo; and while <color:keyword>Riding is more generally open, only Cavalry and Beastmasters are really good at it. But Skillmasters may also learn these techniques, often in powerful combination with other skills. You may invest up to five points in each technique in this group; the total number of points in this group has no gameplay effects.
<topic:Burglary>Burglary
Normally restricted to the Rogue, Burglary () is a spellbook realm that uses DEX as the primary stat. This realm functions much like the normal realms in <color:keyword>Magic and <color:keyword>Prayer, and you need to invest a full five points to match a rogue in burglary. Burglary skill also improves your stealth and your disarming skills.
<topic:Kendo>Kendo
Normally available only to Samurai, Kendo is a book-based technique that enhances melee combat. Indeed, in order to use any Kendo technique you must wield a melee weapon (so do not try to combine this skill with <color:keyword>Martial Arts). Kendo techniques have no fail rates.
Learning this skill changes your mana to behave like that of the Samurai: your max resting mana is very small and determined solely by your WIS, but using the special <color:keyword>Concentration class power temporarily boosts your mana pool. Boosted mana decays rather quickly with each turn, so you must time your concentration carefully before engaging an enemy in battle, and then hurry to defeat your foe before your mana runs out.
Unlike real Samurai, Kendo skillmasters must carry the books around to access the various techniques. Note that if you mix Kendo with other spell realms, the Samurai mana mechanics have priority; this can be convenient at times (you can regain mana quickly if you have time to concentrate), but inconvenient at other times (Restore Mana becomes less effective, and your mana pool even after concentration is not all that large). As a final insult, Kendo mana mechanics block all cheap-spell and easy-spell effects except realm stones.
Investment in Kendo should generally be combined with investment in <color:keyword>Melee. Kendo techniques make your attacks more powerful, but you still need to hit monsters in order to benefit...
<topic:Dual Wielding>Dual Wielding
The Dual Wielding skill, pioneered by Miyamoto Musashi, allows effective melee with two weapons at once. Investment in this skill increases your dual-wielding proficiency; but like Kendo, this skill should also be combined with <color:keyword>Melee talents.
<topic:Riding>Riding
With this technique, you may ride your pets into battle. Each point invested in Riding immediately increases your riding proficiency, which affects your riding speed as well as your ability to ride more powerful mounts. Without adequate skill you will be tossed frequently, especially after taking a substantial amount of damage (which of course is the least convenient time for it). Full riding mastery requires five points in this skill, though you might be able to get by with just four. Investment in Riding also makes you more effective at using Capture Balls. Note that unarmed combat is not possible while mounted. See andfor more information.
Abilities
Finally, you may invest a single point in any of the following skills to gain a single power or talent. Unlike normal race and class powers, powers gained through these skills are available for immediate use without any mana cost and (usually) without any fail rate. For example, you may buy the power of <color:keyword>Stone Skin on level one and use it right away. Stone Skin is also available as a spell in the Craft and Nature realms, but then you'd have to level up, find the right spellbooks and spend mana... Other powers in this group, such as <color:keyword>Create Ammo or <color:keyword>Eat Magic, have no such spellcasting alternative and are accessible only through the Abilities group.
Not all Abilities give powers; some grant a passive talent, such as <color:keyword>Regeneration or <color:keyword>Good Luck. Since Ability skills only cost a single point each, they are a cheap way to flesh out your character.
<topic:Clear Mind>Clear Mind
This power regenerates a small amount of mana on each usage, helping spellcasters recover mana more rapidly. To save your typing fingers, the game automatically activates Clear Mind every turn when you rest.
<topic:Create Ammo>Create Ammo
Normally restricted to Archers, this talent allows you to create missiles from junk objects in the dungeon. You may create shots from rubble, arrows from skeletons and broken sticks, and bolts from skeletons; the quality of such ammo depends on your character level.
<topic:Eat Magic>Eat Magic
This power allows you to drain mana from devices to replenish your mana pool. Unlike the other powers in this group, Eat Magic can fail; and even if you succeed in activating the power itself, you may still fail to drain mana from the target device. You might even destroy the device in the process! Nevertheless, Eat Magic can be useful for endgame spellcasters; it directly competes with Clear Mind in the mana-regaining stakes, offering a faster but more expensive and unreliable alternative.
<topic:Good Luck>Good Luck
With this ability, you will have slightly better odds of finding excellent items; even artifacts, especially rare ones, become easier to find. Note that this ability does not stack with the Lucky aura.
<topic:Loremastery>Loremastery
This ability grants automatic, instantaneous identification of objects as you step over them. Spend a point here to save an inventory slot if you lack Identify spells or find them too slow.
<topic:Massacre>Massacre
This power allows you to simultaneously attack each and every adjacent monster with your normal melee attacks. If you find yourself frequently surrounded by enemies, it helps if you can dispatch them by eights instead of ones!
<topic:Panic Hit>Panic Hit
A power familiar to thieves and ninjas: in a single turn, you attack an adjacent enemy with your normal melee attacks and then teleport away. This is very useful in situations where you'd like to teleport anyway, as you get to land some additional damage in the process; but watch out, as the teleport has a chance to fail. High Disarming skill will improve your odds, but you can never fully rely on Panic Hit as an escape.
<topic:Regeneration>Regeneration
This ability simply gives +150% to regeneration, allowing you to recover both hit points and spell points much faster.
<topic:Resistance>Resistance
This power grants temporary resistance to the base elements acid, fire, cold, electricity and poison. Having no-cost resistance available on demand helps protect both you and your inventory, and reduces the need to get full 65% base resistance from your equipment.
<topic:Rodeo>Rodeo
This power, otherwise exclusive to Cavalry, allows you to attempt to forcibly mount an unfriendly monster. If successful, you may tame yourself a new mount to ride; but often such an attempt ends in utter humiliation.
<topic:Stone Skin>Stone Skin
This power grants temporary extra AC, making you harder to hit and harder to damage in melee combat. The amount of protection increases with your character level. This is a useful ability to have if you plan to kill monsters in melee.
Warlocks
Warlocks are a magical class; they derive their spells and powers not from books, but from an eldritch pact made with a given class of monsters. This pact is irrevocable and is made at the outset of the Warlock's career. Depending on the class of monsters with whom they ally, the warlock will gain unique bonuses, abilities and magical powers; for example, alliance with the forces of the netherworld grants resistances to poison and nether, enhanced constitution and spells to control and conjure the unliving, as well as spells to access the damaging forces of the netherworld directly. Each such alliance has thematic bonuses and powers, and you can read the details in the respective help sections.
Allying with a given class of monsters dramatically reduces the warlock's ability to fight these foes. Instead, the warlock seeks cooperation with their brethren, or perhaps domination over them; direct assaults are rarely successful.
In addition to pact-related spells, all warlocks gain access to the unique power of the Eldritch Blast. Their primary spell stat is Charisma, since they seek dominion and alliance with their chosen kin, and these monsters tend to have a strong will of their own.
Undead
The undead are tough creatures, each having already survived death at least once. Warlocks who make a pact with Undead will find themselves gaining additional resistances such as cold, poison, darkness and nether. In addition, they will be able to see invisible monsters and gain resistance to life-draining forces. They will also gain access to undeadly powers, which typically involve detection and control over the forces of the netherworld. Eventually, this pact will allow its practitioners to destroy monsters with a single word, and, perhaps, to even partially leave the world of the living altogether. Of course, allying with the undead substantially reduces the warlock's ability to fight these creatures.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +2 Device Superb
Wisdom -3 Save Very Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Good
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 107% Melee Fair
Base HP 15 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Dragons
The bond between a Dragonrider and a Dragon is one of the strongest and most enduring ties seen the world over. Each draws strength, power, and encouragement from the other, and together they make a formidable foe. An alliance with Dragonkind enables this bond to form, and the Warlock of this pact gains impressive powers for mounted combat. Indeed, they are among the elite riders of the world, only slightly inferior to Cavalry and Beastmasters. But where they have a slight deficiency in skill (and perhaps in melee as well), they have a strong advantage in riding techniques and magical enhancements. Dragonriders favor the lance above all other weapons, and seek continuously the legendary 'Dragonlance' which they view as their long-lost birthright.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Good
Wisdom +0 Save Poor
Dexterity -1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Poor
Life Rating 102% Melee Fair
Base HP 10 Archery Poor
Experience 130%
Angels
Angels are heavenly beings who use a variety of techniques to smite those they view as evil. Warlocks who make pacts with Angels will also find their saving throws significantly improved, and (eventually) their body almost immune to bolt-like effects. Since Angels are strongly aligned with the forces of good, making a pact with Angels will reduce damage done to all good monsters by a substantial amount.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Very Good
Wisdom +2 Save Superb
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +3 Perception Bad
Life Rating 98% Melee Fair
Base HP 4 Archery Poor
Experience 150%
Demons
Demons are crafty creatures of Hell, using whatever means at their disposal to bring down their enemies. Warlocks who make pacts with Demons will find their abilities to use all magical devices improved, and learn the ability to Recharge these devices at will. Eventually, Demon Warlocks attain the ability to crush walls beneath their footsteps, and even gain immunity to fire. Making a pact with Demons will reduce damage done to all demons by a substantial amount.
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +1 Device Superb
Wisdom -10 Save Very Good
Dexterity +1 Stealth Bad
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +2 Perception Bad
Life Rating 100% Melee Very Good
Base HP 15 Archery Poor
Experience 150%
Hounds
An alliance with hounds is sneakily strong: hounds are fast, stealthy and nimble, and the warlock will gain these attributes as well, in addition to basic elemental resistances. They also gain decent melee, and the ability to channel the unpredictable powers of the aether. Of course, Hound Warlocks may also call on their kin for assistance, though this may not be enough against the more difficult foes of the world. Still, wouldn't it be fun to have some of those annoying hounds on your side for a change?
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Fair
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Very Good
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Poor
Life Rating 102% Melee Good
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 110%
Spiders
Of all the icky, crawling things in the world, you have chosen to make an alliance with spiders? Sure, they are stealthy, and fast, and very adept at hiding. Able to extrude a fine sticky substance to ensnare the unwary, the spider lurks nearby, or so you assume since you very seldom see them. Moreover, many spiders are adept at the powers of teleportation, able to jump quickly from one location to another, which can be quite baffling to a would be predator. They are comfortable with both poison and nexus. They are a bit on the squishy side, though - that is, if you manage to catch one!
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence +0 Device Excellent
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Superb
Constitution +0 Searching Poor
Charisma +1 Perception Bad
Life Rating 97% Melee Fair
Base HP 1 Archery Excellent
Experience 120%
Giants
An alliance with giants and titans grants impressive physical strength and fortitude, but other stats will generally suffer. Later in life, you will gain giant-like resistances including sound, shards and chaos. Your combat will be impressive; and like giants, you will favor heavy weapons. Oh, and you won't mind tossing a boulder or two should the need arise! This alliance offers much in the way of physical advantages, but very little in the way of magical abilities or skill. Warlocks with this alliance are excellent fighters, being nearly indistiguishable in skill from Warriors!
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -4 Device Bad
Wisdom -4 Save Poor
Dexterity -3 Stealth Bad
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 112% Melee Heroic
Base HP 25 Archery Fair
Experience 140%
Table 1 - Warlock Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Undead -1 +2 -3 +0 +2 +2 107% +15 135% Dragons +2 +0 +0 -1 +1 +2 102% +10 130% Angels +1 +1 +2 +1 +1 +3 98% +4 150% Demons +3 +1 -10 +1 +1 +2 100% +15 150% Hounds +0 -2 -2 +2 +2 +1 102% +12 110% Spiders -1 +0 -2 +2 +0 +1 97% +1 120% Giants +2 -4 -4 -3 +2 +0 112% +25 140%
Table 2 - Warlock Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Undead Poor Superb Very Good Good Dragons Poor Good Poor Poor Angels Poor Very Good Superb Poor Demons Poor Superb Very Good Bad Hounds Poor Fair Poor Very Good Spiders Poor Excellent Poor Superb Giants Poor Bad Poor Bad
Table 3 - Warlock Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Undead Poor Poor Fair Poor Dragons Poor Poor Fair Poor Angels Poor Bad Fair Poor Demons Poor Bad Very Good Poor Hounds Poor Poor Good Poor Spiders Poor Bad Fair Excellent Giants Poor Bad Heroic Fair
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Weaponmasters
A Weaponmaster is exceptionally good with a single class of weapons, obtaining special combat bonuses and powers which depend on their chosen speciality. Focus is the key to success; weaponmasters are truly lousy with off-speciality weapons, but few can match the prowess they gain with something more suitable in their hands.
Axes
The mighty axe! Your blows will cleave with damage unsurpassed. Specializing in axes gives great offensive prowess, especially when your axe is wielded with two hands. However, this speciality offers little in the way of utility. Kill quickly as your life depends on it!
Stats Skills
Strength +3 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -3 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Bad
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Heroic
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Bows
You will shoot to kill! The bowmaster gains techniques to enhance shooting, including more rapid firing, the ability to volley shots over the heads of intervening monsters, reduced ammo destruction, the ability to kill with a single arrow and much more. As a shooter, your missile prowess will be quite formidable, though your melee will be somewhat lacking.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Good
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 102% Melee Fair
Base HP 12 Archery Heroic
Experience 135%
Clubs
You will seek to club your opponents senseless! This speciality gains passive status effects against monsters, such as confusion, knock out and stunning. Also, you will gain some limited utility techniques. At high levels, your weapons will become more likely to score devastating, crushing blows against your hapless enemies.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -3 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Bad
Dexterity -2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Excellent
Base HP 12 Archery Fair
Experience 135%
Crossbows
The crossbowmaster shoots deadly bolts for great damage. Their bolts may explode powerfully damaging nearby monsters. Also, they may shoot so hard as to knock their opponents backwards!
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -3 Save Bad
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 102% Melee Fair
Base HP 12 Archery Heroic
Experience 135%
Daggers
A knife in the back! This speciality favors dual-wielding and rogue-type behavior. The daggermaster can even assume the posture of The Flying Dagger which greatly enhances their low level dagger toss capability. Indeed, their prowess with the dagger toss is legendary and appears almost magical! At high levels, you will also gain formidable melee prowess with the Frenzy Stance. Finally, daggermasters have very strong short ranged teleport techniques that synergize well with their toss abilities.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Good
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +3 Stealth Very Good
Constitution -1 Searching Fair
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 105% Melee Very Good
Base HP 12 Archery Superb
Experience 135%
Polearms
You don a grim face before setting out to reap your harvest of death. You will swing your weapon wide often affecting multiple surrounding opponents.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Superb
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Shields
Specializing in shields gives excellent powers of defense and retaliation. In addition, you can even choose to melee with your shield rather than a normal weapon, bashing your opponents senseless. This form of combat is known as Shield Bashing and is unique to this speciality.
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -1 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Very Good
Dexterity +0 Stealth Poor
Constitution +2 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Excellent
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Slings
Watch out, Goliath! As a master of slings you will shoot pebbles with uncanny speed. Your shots may even ricochet off other monsters to score multiple hits. As with other archery specializations, your ammo will break less often.
Stats Skills
Strength -1 Disarming Fair
Intelligence +0 Device Poor
Wisdom +0 Save Poor
Dexterity +3 Stealth Good
Constitution -1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Poor
Life Rating 102% Melee Fair
Base HP 12 Archery Heroic
Experience 135%
Staves
Monkey King! You will battle opponents with a flurry of blows from your mighty staff and will be prepared to counter the attacks of your enemies. You can vault into battle and circle kick enemies for stunning effects, attacking them with your boots! You may even eventually clone yourself at great cost.
Stats Skills
Strength +0 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -1 Save Poor
Dexterity +2 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Excellent
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Swords
You will become a true swordmaster! Mastery of the blade will augment your weapon with elemental, vorpal or vampiric powers.
Stats Skills
Strength +1 Disarming Poor
Intelligence -2 Device Bad
Wisdom -2 Save Poor
Dexterity +1 Stealth Poor
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Superb
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Diggers
A master of digging. You prefer rocky enclosures and don't mind lugging around a corpse or two, which you can bury in a pinch for a temporary bonus. You can choose one of several postures which allow you to use the digging bonus of your current weapon as an additional bonus, such as increased strength, constitution, or even speed! So keep your eye open for those +8 diggers!
Stats Skills
Strength +2 Disarming Fair
Intelligence -2 Device Poor
Wisdom -2 Save Fair
Dexterity +0 Stealth Fair
Constitution +1 Searching Poor
Charisma +0 Perception Bad
Life Rating 105% Melee Superb
Base HP 12 Archery Poor
Experience 135%
Table 1 - Weaponmaster Statistic Bonus Table
STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp Axes +3 -3 -2 -2 +1 +0 105% +12 135% Bows +0 -1 -1 +2 -1 +0 102% +12 135% Clubs +2 -3 -2 -2 +1 +0 105% +12 135% Crossbows +1 -2 -3 +0 +1 +0 102% +12 135% Daggers +0 +0 -1 +3 -1 +0 105% +12 135% Polearms +2 -2 -2 +0 +1 +0 105% +12 135% Shields +2 -1 +0 +0 +2 +0 105% +12 135% Slings -1 +0 +0 +3 -1 +0 102% +12 135% Staves +0 -2 -1 +2 +1 +0 105% +12 135% Swords +1 -2 -2 +1 +1 +0 105% +12 135% Diggers +2 -2 -2 +0 +1 +0 105% +12 135%
Table 2 - Weaponmaster Skill Bonus Table I
Disarming Device Save Stealth Axes Poor Bad Bad Poor Bows Poor Poor Poor Good Clubs Poor Bad Bad Poor Crossbows Poor Poor Bad Fair Daggers Good Poor Poor Very Good Polearms Poor Bad Poor Poor Shields Fair Poor Very Good Poor Slings Fair Poor Poor Good Staves Poor Poor Poor Poor Swords Poor Bad Poor Poor Diggers Fair Poor Fair Fair
Table 3 - Weaponmaster Skill Bonus Table II
Searching Perception Melee Archery Axes Poor Bad Heroic Poor Bows Poor Poor Fair Heroic Clubs Poor Bad Excellent Fair Crossbows Poor Bad Fair Heroic Daggers Fair Poor Very Good Superb Polearms Poor Bad Superb Poor Shields Poor Bad Excellent Poor Slings Poor Poor Fair Heroic Staves Poor Bad Excellent Poor Swords Poor Bad Superb Poor Diggers Poor Bad Superb Poor
Automatically generated for FroxComposband 7.3.pipari.
Attacking and Weapons
Attacking monsters in <color:keyword>melee is simple: if you move into a creature, you attack it, provided you have something to attack with. Usually "something to attack with" means a wielded <color:keyword>melee weapon, but this is not an absolute requirement: a few classes can use <color:keyword>martial arts to attack with their bare hands; Shield-speciality Weaponmasters can bash with their <color:keyword>shields; and Werewolves, Beornings and many Monster-mode races often rely on <color:keyword>innate attacks like claws or teeth.
<color:keyword>Ranged combat (shooting) requires you to equip a sling, bow, or crossbow, and to have appropriate projectiles you can fire with the <color:keypress>f command (<color:keypress>t in the roguelike keyset). Ideally, you would like to have a <color:keyword>quiver you can wield and keep your projectiles in, but this is not a requirement; it is merely a convenience that saves valuable inventory slots. The <color:keypress>v command can be used to throw items at monsters, but this is rarely very effective, except in special cases like Ninjas (or Ninja-Lawyers) throwing Iron Spikes.
Finally, you can use <color:keyword>magic to hurt monsters: all characters except Berserkers can attack with <color:keyword>magical devices, and spellcasters may also have access to <color:keyword>offensive spells.
Many characters are versatile enough to use most or all of these attacking methods to good effect. In such cases melee is usually the form of attack that deals the most damage per turn; but as it only works against adjacent monsters, you will likely suffer plenty of hits in return, so melee also causes you to suffer the most damage per turn. Whether this is a good trade-off is for you to determine!
Often you will use all of these attacking methods side-by-side, rather than relying on just one. Bows and melee weapons do not compete for the same equipment slots, so you can have both equipped at the same time.
Attacking from a Distance
Non-melee attacks always need to be aimed. Whether you are attacking with a shooter, a magic device, a spell, or by throwing items, you must select a target for your attack. This can be done by either firing into one of the eight compass directions, or by using <color:keypress>* to select a more specific target.
For example, if you want to fire (<color:keypress>f/<color:keypress>t) the second ammo (<color:keypress>b) from your quiver, you could type <color:keypress>fb9 to fire northeast; or <color:keypress>fb* to target a specific monster or square followed by <color:keypress>5 when you are happy with your selected target. See for more details on the <color:keypress>* targetting command.
Often, after one attack of this type, you can speed things up by using the <color:keypress>n command (<color:keypress>X in the roguelike keyset) to attack the same monster in the same way again. Note, though, that this may sometimes produce unexpected results; for example, if you ran out of your original ammo, a new ammo would move into the <color:keypress>b quiver slot and you would start using it instead. Also, <color:keypress>n only tracks a moving target if you targeted a monster; if your target was a compass direction or a square, <color:keypress>n will keep firing in that direction even if monsters move away from there.
Melee Weapons
Carrying a weapon in your backpack does you no good; you must wield a weapon with the <color:keypress>w command before it can be used in a fight. Most characters begin the game with a starting weapon already equipped.
Melee weapons have three main combat characteristics: their <color:keyword>damage dice, their <color:keyword>accuracy bonus (to-hit) and their <color:keyword>damage bonus (to-dam). A long sword might be displayed as a Long Sword (2d6) (+3,+4); here 2d6 are the damage dice (throw two six-sided dice, giving between 2 and 12 damage per hit), +3 is the accuracy bonus (improving your chance to successfully hit monsters) and +4 is the damage bonus (which will be added to the 2d6 roll). For newly discovered objects, these numbers will only become visible once you have identified the weapon. (See for an explanation of what other numbers might appear on your weapon.)
The weapon with the highest dice and damage bonus will not necessarily be the weapon you do the most damage with; heavy weapons often have higher dice, but your strength and dexterity might allow more blows per round with a lighter weapon. To review your average damage (and accuracy) with your current weapon, type either <color:keypress>Cm (<color:keypress>Character Sheet, <color:keypress>melee section) or <color:keypress>~W (Knowledge Menu, Weapon section); the two display the same information, so just use the one you find more comfortable.
Ranged Weapons
Slings, bows and crossbows differ from melee weapons in that they have <color:keyword>damage multipliers instead of damage dice. A short bow, for instance, might be displayed as a Short Bow (x2.50) (+4,+7) where the x2.50 is the multiplier, and the (+4,+7) are bonuses to accuracy and damage.
The full damage calculation for a shot starts with the damage dice of the projectile (which might be an Arrow (3d4) (+2,+5)), then applies the damage bonus from the projectile, then slays and brands (see below), then boosts from lucky critical hits, then the multiplier, and finally damage bonuses from the launcher and possibly other sources. Because slays, critical hits and the multiplier are all applied fairly late in the process, after the damage bonus from the projectile, the total damage from a single hit can be high.
The various ranged weapons each have their own strengths and weaknesses; some have higher multipliers, but give fewer shots per turn. Note that the shots per turn in the table below are <color:keyword>relative and should not be taken literally, as your shooting speed depends on not just the weapon but also your Archery skill.
Shots per turn Multiplier Ammunition Sling 1.40 2 Pebbles, Iron Shots Short Bow 1.12 2.50 Arrows Long Bow 1.00 3 Arrows Light Crossbow 0.83 3.50 Bolts Heavy Crossbow 0.75 4 Bolts
The maximum range of a shot depends on the multiplier, and thus tends to be higher for bows and crossbows than for slings.
To review your average damage (and accuracy, range, shooting speed etc.) with your current shooter and ammo, type either <color:keypress>Cs (<color:keypress>Character Sheet, <color:keypress>shooting section) or <color:keypress>~S (Knowledge Menu, Shooter section); the two display the same information.
Ego Weapons and Artifacts
The best weapons in the game are imbued with mighty magical powers, and fall into two broad categories: (1) <color:keyword>artifacts and (2) <color:keyword>ego items. These categories are explained in more detail elsewhere (and); the main difference between them is that an artifact can only be found once in each game, while an ego item shares its type with unlimitedly many other items.
Both artifacts and ego items can be highly valuable, and may provide exceptional damage against certain monsters, boosts to your stats or speed, elemental resistances, and other nice stuff. Typically, once you've got past the very early game, the weapon you wield will always be either an artifact or an ego item.
A list of all artifacts and ego types, and all the bonuses they give, would be both a spoiler and excessively long; so play the game and find out what there is :)
Slays and Brands
Slays and brands are weapon attributes that give you extra damage against certain monsters. A <color:keyword>slay increases your damage against a particular class of monsters (such as orcs, demons, or undead), while a <color:keyword>brand is elemental and gives extra damage against all monsters not resistant to that element. Slays and brands are functionally one and the same thing, the only difference between them is terminology.
Melee weapons frequently have a slay or a brand, and may receive additional <color:keyword>off-weapon slays (or brands) from sources such as Gloves of Slaying. Melee slays work by multiplying the damage dice roll of the weapon; for example, Viper's Fang (poison brand) multiplies the dice roll by 2.4 if the monster attacked does not resist poison. Accordingly, slays and brands are much more valuable on weapons with high damage dice (like a 4d10 Heavy Lance) than on a tiny but otherwise competitive 1d5 dagger. The multipliers differ from slay to slay, and range from as low as x1.9 for Slay Evil (which is still one of the best slays due to its broad applicability!) to a mighty x4.5 for some mega-slays like Kill Demon.
Archery slays and brands work in a slightly different way: they multiply both the damage dice of the projectile and the damage bonus of the projectile. Archery slays use lower multipliers than melee slays, but this is more than made up for by their application to the projectile's damage bonus. Off-weapon archery slays and brands are practically unheard of, and even the bows themselves only rarely have slays; most commonly, archery slays come directly from the projectiles.
<color:keyword>Slays (and brands) never stack; if multiple slays are available that would apply to the same monster, only the strongest slay is actually applied. There are two main exceptions to this: one is Mark of Chaos, which is essentially a random slay or brand re-rolled for each attack. If the random brand coincides with an existing brand, it can make the brand slightly stronger. The other is Force Brand (or Mana Brand), a very strong brand that consumes your mana; it fully combines with other slays and brands, but only works as long as you have mana.
A few classes, such as Samurai and Sword-speciality Weaponmasters, have access to special brands available only to them. These may be very strong (the special Samurai version of the lightning brand has a higher multiplier than any normal brand or slay), and sometimes combine with normal brands: also having a regular Lightning Brand makes the Samurai brand stronger still.
The slays and brands on a weapon only apply to the weapon itself; they have no effect on innate attacks or the attacks of another weapon. Off-weapon slays and brands are never applied to innate attacks or unarmed combat, except for six specific brands (Acid, Electricity, Fire, Cold, Poison and Mana) which are special-cased for martial arts.
Critical Hits
Occasionally, you will get lucky and score a good hit or even a *SUPERB* blow. These exceptional strikes are known as <color:keyword>critical hits or simply <color:keyword>criticals, and they work in the same way as slays and brands: they multiply the roll of the damage dice, and archery criticals also multiply the damage bonus from the projectile. Critical hits are independent of slays and brands, and fully stack with them.
The probability of scoring a critical hit depends on your accuracy, your character level and the weight of your weapon (or projectile); heavy weapons are the best for scoring critical hits. The quality of the critical also depends on the weapon's weight; heavier weapons are more likely to provide a high multiplier.
A lucky critical at the right time can provide a significant one-time boost to your damage output; but on most characters, the overall effect of critical hits is relatively small due to their rarity. The extra damage from critical hits is fully accounted for by the average damage displayed when you type Cm or ~W; as such, understanding the highly esoteric calculations behind them is in no way required.
Sharp and *Sharp* weapons have a chance to score additional, special critical hits, sometimes called sharp criticals or vorpal criticals. Vorpal criticals are blows that cut deep into a monster; you might be informed that you have gouged, maimed, carved or shredded a monster, or even cut your enemy in half. (Cutting in half simply indicates you have killed your foe with a vorpal hit, and does not imply any other special effect.)
Vorpal criticals differ from normal critical hits in that their quality and probability are entirely random; your level and accuracy and the weapon's weight have no effect on them. Also unlike normal criticals, vorpal hits use an open-ended random multiplier; in theory, the damage from a vorpal critical can be arbitrarily high, though in practice the boost tends to be fairly small and comparable with a normal critical. Vorpal criticals stack fully with slays, brands and regular criticals; and like other criticals, they are fully accounted for by the average damage displayed.
Choosing the Right Weapon
In the early game, before you find your first decent ego weapon, you probably just want to pick the weapon you do the most damage with. (As noted above, you can type either <color:keypress>Cm or <color:keypress>~W to check your damage output per round.) Things get more complicated once you start discovering good ego weapons or artifacts; one weapon might do more damage, but another has bonuses or resistances you'd like. You will need to compromise: make sure you get the resistances you need, but also that you still do enough damage! (A common dilemma faced by new players is that they find the artifact sword 'Sting', but aren't sure whether to equip it since their previous weapon did slightly more damage per round. The general solution to this dilemma is that Sting wins and you ought to switch.)
In comparing weapon damage, pay attention to not just the raw damage number but also to your hit chance against monsters: high theoretical damage is no good if in practice you always miss! Note, though, that poor accuracy with a new weapon might be just due to your lack of experience with that weapon: your <color:keyword>proficiency is low, and your accuracy will improve as you gain proficiency. See for more details on how weapon proficiency works.
Remember also your <color:keyword>speed: damage per round is a good general yardstick, but a bonus to speed means you get more rounds.
Attacking Monsters in Walls
Some creatures, like ghosts, have the ability to pass through walls. You can attack monsters in adjacent walls in melee by trying to move into the wall space containing the monster; if the creature is invisible to you, this requires you to tunnel (<color:keypress>+) into the wall.
Bolt spells (and projectiles) do full damage to monsters in walls, but ball spells will be stopped and blow up just in front of the wall, dealing only half damage. (Conversely, if you manage to assume a ghostly form, you will also take reduced damage from ball and breath attacks while inside a wall.)
Attacking Pets or Friendly Monsters
As long as your character has a clear head, the game usually assumes that you don't really want to attack somebody who is on your side. Attempted melee will either have no effect or just results in you and the monster swapping positions, and the targetting menu skips pets.
Sometimes, though, you might actually <color:keyword>want to hurt a pet or a friendly monster. (The classic case is killing Farmer Maggot for the sake of a cheap item...) To accomplish this, use the <color:keypress>+ "alter adjacent grid" command to melee; in the targetting menu, <color:keypress>p allows you to choose any square or monster as your target.
Note that attacking a friendly monster will turn it hostile.
Martial Arts
Monks, Mystics and Force-Trainers prefer to fight unarmed; they can only use a handful of weapons well, and even then are generally more effective barehanded. As these classes gain experience, they learn new and more powerful attacking techniques; high-level attacks may even stun or slow opponents. Most other classes cannot learn martial arts; the only exception is Skillmasters, who can invest skill points in unarmed combat.
Martial arts characters can view their attack list and average damage per round in the usual ways: by typing <color:keypress>Cm or <color:keypress>~W.
Two-Handed Wielding
Most characters wield a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other; but from a damage point of view, your best option is nearly always to do away with the shield and leave both hands for the weapon. Wielding a single weapon with both hands improves your damage and accuracy; and unless your blows per round were already maxed out anyway, you also receive more blows. (Gloves of the Giant amplify this bonus to blows.)
The downside is that you effectively have one fewer equipment slot: you miss out on the AC, stat bonuses, resistances and other nice stuff that a shield (or a second weapon) in that slot would have given. Whether this is a good trade depends on your character; but a fairly typical approach is to wield a weapon two-handedly until you find a good ego shield, and then stop.
Many light weapons (specifically, those that weigh less than 10 pounds and are not polearms) cannot be wielded two-handed, and should always be used together with either a shield or a second weapon. On the other hand, very heavy weapons (compared to your strength) can only be wielded properly with two hands.
Dual-Wielding
Wielding one weapon in your right hand, and another in your left hand, is called <color:keyword>dual-wielding. Unlike two-handed wielding, which almost every character can do, dual-wielding works best on specific classes: those with a high <color:keyword>dual-wielding proficiency cap (see for more details on dual-wielding proficiency). Dual-wielding also differs radically from two-handed wielding in that two-handed wielding works best with heavy weapons, while dual-wielding works best with very light weapons.
The two classes best suited for dual-wielding are <color:keyword>Ninjas and <color:keyword>Berserkers; not only can both reach Master proficiency (the highest possible), but it also fits their skillset in other ways. The usual damage penalty from dual-wielding without special Genji gloves is waived for Berserkers, while Ninjas have a strong preference for light weapons and cannot equip a shield without incurring penalties. It is possible for dual-wielding to work well on other melee classes as well, but you should always check your proficiency cap.
There is one somewhat surprising class that might like to dual-wield despite an extremely low proficiency limit: <color:keyword>sorcerers. Being the ultimate mage class, sorcerers never really melee... so they don't need AC or melee accuracy much, and weapons often give better bonuses than a shield would.
Magical Aids to Physical Combat
There are several ways to increase your physical combat ability through magic. The most common are Potions of Heroism and Potions of Berserk Strength, which temporarily increase your accuracy and HP pool and provide resistance to fear. Scrolls of Blessing, Holy Chant and Holy Prayer can also be used to temporarily improve your AC and accuracy; these bonuses are cumulative with the potions.
Some characters (such as Troika Disciples, Craft realm users, and many Weaponmasters) can place temporary slays or brands on their weapons.
Improving Your Odds
Using magic to get better at combat is nice; but using magic to make your opponents less dangerous tends to be even more effective. In practice this means using spells or magic devices to confuse or slow an enemy.
<color:keyword>Confusion in particular is an incredibly powerful tool. A Wand of Confuse Monster, a Staff of Confuse Monsters or even splash damage from a thrown Potion of Booze can send monsters stumbling into random directions, unable to use their spells or breath attacks as they could not aim them reliably. Confused monsters can only hurt you in melee, and then only if they happen to find the right direction. Not all monsters can be confused, but many can, including quite a few uniques.
<color:keyword>Slowness is a bit less dramatic, but still very valuable. In the early game, -10 to speed tends to mean a monster's speed is reduced by half or more, which needless to say is an enormous advantage; for faster monsters the effects will be less dramatic, but you will still get a turn in more often and be at much less danger of a deadly double-move. All uniques are immune to slowness, but most non-uniques can be slowed.
Attacking with Magic Devices
Many magical devices can be used to attack monsters directly. Nearly all characters (other than Berserkers) use offensive <color:keyword>wands and <color:keyword>rods to at least some extent, usually in a supporting role, but sometimes as their main source of offense.
Each device produces a specific effect when used. For offensive devices, these tend to be either <color:keyword>bolts, which hurt a single monster; <color:keyword>balls, which hurt all monsters within a given radius of the ball's epicenter; <color:keyword>beams, which hurt all monsters within the beam's path; or <color:keyword>breaths, conical effects that explode into a ball. These bolts, beams, balls or breaths are <color:keyword>elemental, meaning their damage relies on a specific damage type (such as acid, electricity, fire, cold or nexus) and monsters resistant to that element will not suffer full damage.
Bolt devices are generally the least exciting, but they are also the most common in the early game and so likely to be your first offensive devices. An early Wand of Frost Bolts can really help a character with otherwise limited offense, and some characters accordingly buy one from the Magic Shop as soon as they can afford it.
With some very rare exceptions, offensive magic devices are always aimed at a target or direction, and are accordingly best used from range. See for more information about magic devices, andabove for more on attacking from a distance.
Attacking with Spells
Spells and spell-like special powers are an important source of offense for many characters. Sorcerers, Mages and other mage-like classes often rely on them as their main offense, although this depends on build and (for book classes) the realms selected; some realms (like <color:keyword>Armageddon) are full of attacking spells, while others (like <color:keyword>Sorcery) offer great options for tactics and utility but nothing that would hurt a monster directly. While a Mage does not necessarily need offensive spells - they can use high-level wands and rods more effectively than most classes, and even their melee and archery can get the job done in a pinch - spell attacks are the most stereotypical and often also the strongest.
The downside of relying on spells for offense is that they can deplete a caster's mana very rapidly. Accordingly, characters built for magical combat tend to invest disproportionately in their spellcasting stat, and greatly value items that increase their mana pool or reduce the mana cost of spells. Early attacking spells like <color:keyword>Magic Missile sometimes stay relevant for a very long time, simply because they are so cheap; while the damage is relatively low, so is the mana cost.
Offensive spells resemble offensive devices; most of them are also bolts, beams, balls or breaths of some element.
See for more on magic and spellcasting.
Basic Tactics
Pillardancing
Not recommended since monsters move at irregular speeds. Monsters will also "splash" you with area-of-effect spells, curses, or summoning, so this tactic is probably the last thing you want to try. It is mentioned here because it is a popular tactic in vanilla Angband.
Shoot'n Scoot
Requires a large room, Phase Door, and some type of ranged weapon. Stand at one end of the room, your enemy at the other. Fire at him until he gets close, blink away with Phase Door, and repeat until the monster is dead. If you are much faster than the monster, or the monster is confused, using Phase Door may not be necessary; you can just back away if the monster comes uncomfortably close.
Wail'n Bail
Requires Teleport items. Fight the monster until you're almost dead, teleport out (or teleport him out), find him, and resume fighting. Watch out - your teleport might land you right next to some unfriendly fellow who'll kill you dead. Also, this tactic relies on your ability to recover from damage faster than the monster does; usually this will be the case, but you cannot always rely on it.
Anti-Summoning Corridor
Requires a little time to set up, but can be done just about anywhere with non-permanent walls. Dig a twisting corridor into the rock and station yourself at the far end. Most monsters that summon are smart about this tactic, and will refuse to approach closely if they detect you using it; but if you are quick enough, you can rush them and still fight in semi-contained quarters. This tactic can also be useful against large groups of non-summoners, for example dragons.
Line-of-Sight Cheese
Requires a ranged attack. You exploit the local terrain to your advantage by shooting enemies when you are not in their line of sight and they, therefore, cannot shoot back. Like pillardancing, this tactic is much less useful here than in Angband; the usual result is that the monster gets pissed off and buries you in double the summons. However, it does still work well against some specific monsters like hand drujs.
Original : (??) Chris Weisiger and Leon Marrick
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.5.2
Updated : PosChengband 1.0.0
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The number of possible mistakes and bad ideas in the game is essentially unlimited, and players are constantly finding new ways to go spectacularly wrong. There are some particularly popular errors, though, that new players should learn to avoid... and experienced players should remember to avoid.
Early-Game/Newbie Mistakes and Needs
Always carry some form of healing - Potions of Cure Serious Wounds or Cure Critical Wounds are the most common options in the early game. Do not be too slow in recalling home if you start running out of healing potions - it's better to lose a fight or miss out on loot than to die.
Always have some way to escape dangerous situations; in the early game, this will likely be a healthy pile of Scrolls of Phase Door or Scrolls of Teleportation, or (ideally) both. Early-game characters are extremely likely to need Teleportation if they enter the wilderness. About the only characters who shouldn't carry Scrolls of Phase Door and Teleportation in the early game are Berserkers, who cannot read scrolls.
Do not neglect the quests that town buildings offer. They are a fairly fast (and fun) way to level up, and tend to provide comparatively good loot. Many characters (including practically all melee-class characters) can do the Thieves' Hideout quest starting at character level 1.
Do not wander too deep without some way to deal with confusion. As early as dungeon level 10, you should always have Mushrooms of Cure Confusion and/or Potions of Curing or Clarity with you. Even then, monsters who melee to confuse remain highly dangerous, as they may immediately re-confuse you as soon as you cure the confusion, giving you no opportunity to escape. If you've found any Potions of Speed, always carry at least one (and ideally more) for emergencies like this. Later, unless you're playing a Berserker, Staves of Teleport will allow you to teleport away while confused.
Do not worry too much about traps, except in situations where you have specific reasons to expect them (like in the Thieves' Hideout and Orc Camp quests, or because a monster just cast a trap-creation spell). Early-game traps are a minor nuisance rather than deadly, and in the unlikely case you are killed by a trap it will probably be a very new character you haven't invested much energy into. Accordingly, it's no big deal if you have no means of detecting traps. Even if you have a Rod of Detect Traps, don't be shy about dropping it if you need that inventory slot for something else. Only start detecting traps regularly when you get your first Rod of Detection; even then, worry more about monsters and objects than traps.
Do not bother with digging into treasure veins for money, at least if you're playing with selling on - there are faster and more productive ways to get rich. Digging for money can work in the early game in no-selling games (where gold finds are increased and opportunities to earn money in other ways are more limited), especially if you have some item or power (like a Wand of Stone to Mud, a cheap digging spell or a +5 weapon of Sharpness) that makes it exceptionally easy to dig.
Do not forget to pack enough food and oil for long journeys.
Do not underestimate items that confuse, even the humble Wand of Confuse Monster. They make many fights radically safer and easier. Potions of Booze can confuse monsters if thrown!
Do not be too slow in escaping or healing if you start running low on HP. If you escape too late, a device-fail or an unlucky teleport into another dangerous area might kill you. (This mistake is very much not exclusive to newbies or the early game, but it's good to get out of your system early!)
Do not fight monsters in melee if they have highly dangerous (or annoying) melee attacks but no way to hurt you from range.
Try to reach new towns and dungeons in the safest way possible - stick to roads, minimize the time spent in dangerous areas, and travel through the overworld rather than the raw wilderness. Not only are you less likely to get lost on the overworld map, but travelling there is safer too - though you should still prepare for ambushes!
Middle-Game Mistakes and Needs
Always detect regularly. Make sure you know where the monsters are.
Always have at least one level of Free Action, ideally two (or even three in the late game). Free Action is not absolutely needed in the early game but becomes necessary in the middlegame. Do not enter the Old Barracks quest or the Old Man Willow quest without Free Action.
Always have a source of either See Invisible or Telepathy.
Always carry a Wand of Teleport Other (unless you're a Berserker). Teleporting the enemy is safer than teleporting yourself, because you might land into another trouble spot - also, there are a few enemies who can follow your teleports! Note, though, that some monsters can resist teleportation or are even completely immune to it.
Always prepare adequately before entering a quest. Quests are a leading killer of characters. Take larger piles of cure wounds/healing potions into quests than into dungeons.
Always haste yourself when you're about to enter a fight or quest you know will be dangerous. If you feel this makes you use too many Potions of Speed, simply avoid fights that would require hasting to win safely, until you have more Potions of Speed or some other source of Haste Self.
Store most of your Potions of Healing and Potions of *Healing* at home - you will need them more later than you need them now. Nevertheless, do carry at least *some* Potions of Healing for emergencies; and in the late game, start carrying one or more Potions of *Healing* too.
Do not invest all your stat-ups in a single stat. No character lives entirely off one stat - melee characters need Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; pure spellcasters are very reliant on their casting stat, but will still want some Strength for carrying items and Constitution for staying alive, even if they do no melee at all. Investing several consecutive stat-ups in a single key stat is not necessarily a bad idea, but as the stat cap (somewhere between 18/70 and 18/130) is approached, the returns diminish rapidly. The best returns are offered when a stat's base value is close to 18.
Do not completely neglect items useful in niche situations, especially if you know where those situations will happen. You might not carry Potions of Resist Heat and Cold all the time, but it's still a good idea to take some to the Smaug and Utgard-Loke fights. Similarly, Potions of Vigor will be highly valuable in the Micro$oft quest, and Staves of Starlight can be handy in Old Watchtower.
Do not underestimate mushrooms, especially Mushrooms of Cure Poison (the game's most effective means to neutralize poison) and the always-handy Mushrooms of Fast Recovery.
Still do not underestimate items that confuse. In the middlegame, this usually means a Staff of Confuse Monsters, though if you're really lucky you might find an early Staff of Confusing Lights!
Prefer loot you might one day wear (or otherwise use) to loot that's only good for selling, even if the latter has a higher nominal value. Do not ignore items that meet your needs, even if their nominal value is low.
Remember that the melee bonuses on a Ring of Combat only apply to the hand you're wearing it on; if you have no weapon in that hand, the bonuses are lost.
Always keep backups at home for key devices that might get destroyed.
Late-Game Mistakes and Needs
Always have enough speed, and haste yourself for dangerous encounters. Double-moves are a leading cause of late-game death, and low speed makes them much more likely.
Always choose appropriate escapes. The best way to deal with a dangerous situation can be any of Phase Door, Teleport, Teleport Level, Teleport Other, Destruction or Dimension Door (or simply Healing or *Healing*), depending on the particulars of the situation; do not rely too much on any one method.
Do not forget about reforging. Do not use mid-level, 50K weapons or armour as reforge source items. (As long as you're reforging into lower-value slots, a 40K bow, a 30K pair of gloves or even a 25K lamp will give better results more cheaply.)
Do not hang around in open areas where many dangerous high-level monsters simultaneously have you in their lines of sight, unless there's a reason you know it to be safe (for example, if the monsters are safely confused Cyberdemons and unlikely to recover for some time).
Do not stop carrying Potions of Healing when you find your first Staff of Healing. Staves of Healing are great, but potions are still needed for emergencies. At the same time, try to keep such emergencies to a minimum.
Remember to drop Staves of Destruction, Staves of Genocide and Wands of Annihilation before entering a quest. They are all highly useful items, but they won't work in quests. (The same goes for Scrolls of Destruction, Genocide, Mass Genocide and Teleport Level, and spells with the same effects.)
Do not underestimate high-level monsters, especially uniques. Nodens, in particular, can kill a character even faster than the Serpent of Chaos. Teleport Nodens away on sight or destruct him - unless you're really, really sure you want to fight him...
Do not underestimate high-level quests, especially the Spawning Pits.
Do not accidentally destruct the Serpent of Chaos (or another questor you're fighting, like Oberon) - it will restore them to full health.
Do not enter the Serpent fight with a full stomach (or anything near it), unless you know you can keep the fight short or have some way to empty your stomach. In a long Serpent fight you might need enough mushrooms and potions to make you gorged, costing critical speed.
Above all else...
DO NOT get overconfident. It's easy to start feeling complacent on a character who seems invincible, but no character is too strong to be killed.
Creating a Character
Note: Although pressing <color:keypress>? on the introduction screen will take you here, and this page does give a quick overview of much in the game, it is not the main page for the entire help system. Press <color:keypress>! if you wish to access other parts of the FroxComposband help.
FroxComposband is an updated version of FrogComposband and a role-playing game in which you - the player - control a character in a dangerous world of myth and magic, populated with demons, dragons, deities, ducks and other rare and strange creatures of the Last Days. The most important decision you make on your quest to slay the <color:keyword>Serpent of Chaos is what kind of character to play: spell-wielding magician or sword-waving warrior? Stealthy rogue or musical bard? Holy priest or evil spawn of chaos? The choices are myriad, and the process of generating a new character is described in this help file, which will also serve to introduce you to many of the core concepts of the game.
Character creation, or birth, is controlled through a variety of choices. You must choose your character's race (<color:keyword>Human, <color:keyword>Dwarf, <color:keyword>Hobbit, <color:keyword>Ogre, <color:keyword>Vampire, <color:keyword>Werewolf, etc), your character's class (<color:keyword>Warrior, <color:keyword>Mage, <color:keyword>Priest, <color:keyword>Lawyer, etc) and your character's personality (<color:keyword>Mighty, <color:keyword>Shrewd, <color:keyword>Chaotic, <color:keyword>Split, etc). Each of these choices is described in the help files (see ).
There are three main screens for the birth process. The first is a brief welcome screen in which you select the type of game to play (the <color:keyword>Game Mode). The next screen allows you to select or change your race, class, gender, personality and character's name. The final screen allows you to enter your starting stats. We will describe each of these screens in detail, explaining things as we go. Ready?
The Welcome Screen
The first screen is the Welcome Screen. It simply introduces you to the game and allows you to choose one of several options that will control the birth process. It looks something like this:
Welcome to FroxComposband, an updated version of FrogComposband, a
dungeon exploration role-playing game.
Your goal is to defeat the dreaded Serpent of Chaos, but before you can
face it, you must battle many foes. Your first step is to create a
character for this quest. The following screens will guide you through
this process so that you may quickly begin playing. You can get general
help at any time by pressing ?.
First, you must decide what type of game to play. Beginner Mode limits
the options available, simplifying things for new players.
Choose the Type of Game to Play
b) Beginner
n) Normal
m) Monster
i) Import Frog saves/prefs
=) Options
?) Help
s) View Scores
Esc) Quit
Tip: You can often get specific help by entering the uppercase letter
for a command. For example, type B on this screen to receive help
on Beginner Mode.
If you are new to the game, consider the <color:keyword>Beginner mode. With this option, you won't be so overwhelmed with choices as is normally the case, allowing you to breeze through the birth process and quickly begin playing (and enjoying) this game. Once you have played a few times and wish to experience more of what the game has to offer, including a vast wilderness with many diverse dungeons to explore and the full array of race, class and personality choices, then you should choose the <color:keyword>Normal mode.
If you are truly bold you can experiment with the <color:keyword>Monster option, which allows you to play as one of many different types of monster. Monsters don't have a class, but instead evolve into more powerful forms as they gain experience. They also tend to have variable body types, making the equipment sub-game both more fun and more challenging.
Also on this screen may be an option to <color:keyword>Quick Start. This option simply repeats the birth selections of your previous character, who presumably just met an untimely demise. This is a useful option if you are dying often in the early game, as it greatly speeds up the birth process.
If FroxComposband finds older FrogComposband saves or preference files that have not yet been copied into its new user directory, this screen can also offer an <color:keyword>Import Frog saves/prefs command.
The Race/Class Screen
On this screen, you can change your race, your class and (unless you picked Beginner Mode) your personality. The screen will look something like the following:
Name : Fatty Bolger Game Speed: Coffee-Break
Sex : Male STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp
Pers : Ordinary +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 100% 100%
Race : Hobbit -2 +1 +1 +3 +2 +1 92% +14 120%
Class: Rogue +2 +1 -1 +3 +1 +1 100% +12 125%
Magic: Burglary == +0 +2 +0 +6 +3 +2 92% +26 150%
n) Change Name *) Random Name
s) Change Sex ?) Help
p) Change Personality =) Options
r) Change Race Tab) More Info
c) Change Class Enter) Next Screen
m) Change Magic Esc) Prev Screen
g) Change Game Speed
Tip: You can often get specific help by entering the uppercase letter
for a command. For example, type R on this screen to receive help
on your currently selected race.
So, what do we see? First, the fields in blue are those that you may change on this screen. Default selections are already in (and sane enough to play with), but you probably want to change them and make your own picks. Your sex is essentially just flavor, and has almost no game-play effects (choices are limited to simply Male and Female, but at least the game is progressive enough to provide ways to swap between those during play!). The other selections you can make are much more important, though: your <color:keyword>race, <color:keyword>class, <color:keyword>personality, and <color:keyword>magic realms (if any) will form the key to your character.
To the right is a table displaying information about the stat bonuses and other modifiers you would receive from your current race, class and personality choices. Every character has six basic attributes, called <color:keyword>stats, that are very important to game play; finding ways to increase your stats will be one of your main practical goals during the game. The six basic stats are: Strength (STR), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON) and Charisma (CHR); see below for more detailed information. Your character's spell stat, if any, is displayed in violet; this is a very important stat for magical classes, since it determines how well the character can cast spells, and normally you want it to be as high as possible.
On the next screen, you will choose the starting stats for this character, and the values you choose will be modified by the amount shown in the table. The bottom row in the table is the total row, showing you a nice summary of the cumulative effects of your various birth choices. It is the value in this row that gets added to your starting stats.
Other fields in the table include:
<color:keyword>Life: Life Multiplier. This value multiplies your maximum hit points (HP). Hit points are your character's health; if your hit points go below zero, you die and the game is over! See for more on how your maximum hit points are calculated.
<color:keyword>BHP: Short for Base Hit Points, this value is a lump sum added to your starting hit points to make the early game easier.
<color:keyword>Exp: Short for Experience Factor, this percentage determines how quickly or slowly your character gains new levels. (All players begin at level 1, and may advance up to level 50. Increasing your level gives more hit points, improves your skills, gives access to more powerful spells, and may also provide other effects or bonuses.)
In addition to stats, your player also has skills (see below). For example, your Melee skill determines your ability to hit monsters in hand to hand combat. Like stats, these skills are also affected by your birth options, and are displayed in the information table on this and the next screen; but, since your screen is only so wide, you'll need to use the <color:keypress>Tab key:
Name : Fatty Bolger Game Speed: Coffee-Break
Sex : Male Disarming Device Save Stealth
Pers : Ordinary Fair Fair Fair Fair
Race : Hobbit Superb Very Good Good Superb
Class: Rogue Excellent Excellent Fair Very Good
Magic: Burglary == Superb Superb Good Heroic
And <color:keypress>Tab again:
Name : Fatty Bolger Game Speed: Coffee-Break
Sex : Male Searching Perception Melee Archery
Pers : Ordinary Fair Fair Fair Fair
Race : Hobbit Heroic Superb Bad Very Good
Class: Rogue Fair Fair Excellent Very Good
Magic: Burglary == Good Good Very Good Excellent
Ah, we see that hobbits aren't so good at melee. However, the class choice of Rogue more than makes up for this, and we can tell from the summary line that this character's melee skill will be pretty good. It is a general rule that class influences skills more than race and personality do, especially later in the game (as you gain levels, you also gain skill bonuses, but mostly through your class). The main exception to this rule is Stealth, where the bonuses tend to be zero.
Below the player fields and the information table is a list of commands that you may choose. These commands might bring up a menu of choices for you to select from, as, for example, the Change Race command:
Name : Fatty Bolger Game Speed: Coffee-Break
Sex : Male Searching Perception Melee Archery
Pers : Ordinary Fair Fair Fair Fair
Race : Hobbit Heroic Superb Bad Very Good
Class: Rogue Fair Fair Excellent Very Good
Magic: Burglary == Good Good Very Good Excellent
Choose a Type of Race to Play
a) Human
b) Elf
c) Hobbit/Dwarf
d) Fairy
e) Angel/Demon
f) Orc/Troll/Giant
g) Shapeshifter
h) Undead
i) Other
*) Random
Aternatively, the command might take effect immediately, as with the Change Sex command. Or, if you use the Change Name command, you can edit your character's name directly in place:
Name : Skinny Dipper Game Speed: Coffee-Break
Sex : Male Searching Perception Melee Archery
Pers : Ordinary Fair Fair Fair Fair
Race : Hobbit Heroic Superb Bad Very Good
Class: Rogue Fair Fair Excellent Very Good
Magic: Burglary == Good Good Very Good Excellent
n) Change Name *) Random Name
s) Change Sex ?) Help
p) Change Personality =) Options
r) Change Race Tab) More Info
c) Change Class Enter) Next Screen
m) Change Magic Esc) Prev Screen
g) Change Game Speed
Tip: You can often get specific help by entering the uppercase letter
for a command. For example, type R on this screen to receive help
on your currently selected race.
Changing the <color:keyword>game speed does not affect your character directly; rather, it selects the type of game you wish to play. The options are <color:keyword>normal (a full game with a wilderness), <color:keyword>coffee-break (an accelerated game with no wilderness) and <color:keyword>instant-coffee (an ultra-accelerated game). Game speed selection is not available in Beginner Mode, where the coffee-break setting is always used.
When you are happy with your character choices, press <color:keypress>Enter to move on to the next screen. You can always <color:keypress>Esc to back up and make changes, so experiment as much as you want.
The Stats Screen
On this screen, you enter your starting stats. You do this by allocating points to each stat; you have a total of 30 points to spend, though you can get some more by allocating negative points to stats you really don't care about at all. Very high starting stats are expensive. By default, the game tries to guess a reasonable allocation, and if you are a new player, you might just want to use the defaults.
Here is a sample screen:
Name : Fatty Bolger Game Speed: Coffee-Break
Sex : Male STR INT WIS DEX CON CHR Life BHP Exp
Pers : Ordinary +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 +0 100% 100%
Race : Hobbit -2 +1 +1 +3 +2 +1 92% +14 120%
Class: Rogue +2 +1 -1 +3 +1 +1 100% +12 125%
Magic: Burglary == +0 +2 +0 +6 +3 +2 92% +26 150%
Enter Your Starting Stats
Base Pts Mod Total
s/S) STR 16 10 +0 16 n) Change Name
i/I) INT 16 10 +2 18 ?) Help
w/W) WIS 9 -2 +0 9 =) Options
d/D) DEX 16 10 +6 18/40 Tab) More Info
c/C) CON 14 3 +3 17 Enter) Begin Play
r/R) CHR 10 -1 +2 12 Esc) Prev Screen
30
Note: You may adjust each starting stat using the indicated keys. The
lower case key decrements while the upper case increments the
starting value. Values may range from 8 to 17 and each value that
you enter is charged the indicated number of points. You only
have 30 points to spend, so be sure to adjust those stats that
matter most.
Follow the instructions to make changes. If your point total exceeds 30, the option to begin playing will be disabled until you decrease your overall score. When you are ready, press <color:keypress>Enter to begin play!
Where to Go from Here?
You can begin playing at this point. Use the help system (<color:keypress>?) to learn the basic commands. You may also wish to read some additional help files, like the General Information document or theNewbie Guide; they explain more about what you'll be up against, and contain tips to help get you started. There is much more in the in-game help besides, but you probably don't really want to bury yourself in 500 pages of documentation!
Character Attributes
During the game (and even during the birth process), you will see many different numerical values that are used to measure or determine your character's relative skills and abilities. Here's a quick overview:
Statistics
Each character has six basic statistics (or more simply <color:keyword>stats). These are strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution and charisma, and they modify the abilities of the character in a variety of ways. For example, strength affects your carrying capacity, the amount of damage you do to a monster when you hit it, and the number of blows per round you get with a weapon. See below for more detail on the basic statistics.
Experience (EXP/XP)
Experience affects almost everything else about your character. Experience is mostly gained by slaying monsters, but can also be earned by casting spells for the first time, disarming traps or unlocking doors. Certain classes may also gain experience by destroying specific dungeon spellbooks, and there are potions in the dungeon that will boost your experience if you quaff them. The Android race follows its own unique experience rules.
When your character's experience crosses certain fixed boundaries, you will attain a new <color:keyword>character level (up to a maximum of 50). When this happens, your hit point pool, mana pool (if any) and primary skills will all increase; you might also gain new powers or abilities, or get to improve a stat of your choice. The character level boundaries depend on the Experience Factor noted above.
Certain monsters can "drain" your experience, and thus potentially also lower your character level. Luckily, you can restore drained experience through magical means, through town services, or simply by regaining the experience all over again.
Gold (AU)
Each character starts with some gold, which can be used to buy items and services from the shops and other buildings in towns. More gold can be obtained by selling items to the shops, taking it from the corpses of dead monsters, mining it, or simply by finding it lying on the dungeon floor.
Hit Points (HP)
Each character has hit points, representing how much damage the character can sustain before he dies. Your HP pool depends on your character level, race, class, personality, constitution, equipment and life rating, and can be temporarily boosted with magic; see for a detailed explanation. Lost hit points may be regained by resting, or by a variety of magical means.
Spell Points (SP/Mana)
Many characters have spell points, or mana, which represents how many spells they can cast. Your mana pool depends on your character level, class, the primary spellcasting stat of your class, and any penalties from sources like excessively heavy armor (see ). Lost spell points may be regained by resting or by magical means.
Skills
Each character has several primary skills: disarming, magic device skill, saving throw, stealth, searching, perception, melee, and archery (bows/throws). These skills are derived from the character's race, class, personality, stats, level and magical equipment. The skills are described in more detail below (see ).
Speed
Speed is an incredibly important attribute. The speed system is somewhat complicated; but basically, the more speed somebody has (whether it's you or a monster), the more often they get a turn compared to everybody else. If you are really slow, an enemy might get four or five or six moves for every one move you get, which obviously isn't ideal - but won't it be fun when you get more speed and can turn the tables?
Losing speed is very easy: just carry more items than your strength comfortably allows. But to increase your speed you generally need magic, either in the form of a spell or potion, or in the form of an enchanted piece of equipment (such as <color:keyword>Boots of Speed). Potions of Speed will serve the early player well, and you should use them liberally against foes that seem too powerful otherwise (especially quest monsters and level guardians!). As you dive deeper, you will quickly find normal unenchanted speed insufficient; even with bags of HP, you could still die from full health without getting a single action if your opponent is too fast compared to you.
Statistics
Each character has six basic stats (strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution, and charisma) which modify the abilities of the character in a variety of ways. Every stat has a numerical value, ranging from a minimum of 3 to a tipping point at 18, and beyond that into a fractional range represented as <color:keyword>18/01 through <color:keyword>18/220; 18/220 is the maximal value, and generally displayed as <color:keyword>18/***. In this notation, 18/10 is equivalent to what a new player might intuitively think of as 19, 18/20 is equivalent to 20 etc.; but the switch in notations makes it clear that there is a tipping point at 18, beyond which sources of permanent stat gain work in a very different way.
As you play the game, your stats can be increased through magical means, as a reward for accomplishing a difficult task, or as a reward for gaining enough experience to advance to a key level. Eventually, your stats will reach their internal maximum value (or <color:keyword>stat cap), which is a value between 18/70 and 18/130 and is randomly chosen at character birth. At this point, it will be up to your race, class and personality modifiers, magical equipment, and maybe other sources like a bizarre mutation, to boost your stats further up to the 18/*** limit.
Your <color:keyword>primary stat (or <color:keyword>spellcasting stat) determines your spell fail rates and the size of your mana pool, as well as how many spells you can learn if you are a book spellcaster. As a general rule, if your spellcasting stat falls to 7 or below, you run out of mana altogether.
Which stats are important varies from character to character, although practically everyone wants decent Strength and Intelligence, and Constitution becomes ever more valuable as the game progresses. Melee characters need Dexterity, and magic users require above all whichever stat is their spellcasting stat. Allocate your points accordingly!
Strength (STR)
Strength is critical to fighting effectively in melee combat and with missile weapons. A high strength will improve the number of blows you get with your melee weapon, increases the amount of damage done with each hit, allows you to use heavier weapons without penalties and slightly improves your accuracy. Strength is also useful for tunnelling, bashing doors and simply for carrying heavy items without being slowed down. Many melee classes, such as Maulers, Berserkers and Weaponmasters, use Strength as their primary stat.
Intelligence (INT)
Intelligent characters are better at using magic devices, picking locks and disarming traps. Intelligence also influences how quickly characters learn from their experiences. Intelligence is a common primary spellcasting stat for mage-like spellcasters.
Wisdom (WIS)
Wise characters have higher saving throws, giving them a better chance to resist evil curses and paralysis. Wisdom also affects the speed at which level feelings and object feelings appear. Wisdom is a common spellcasting stat for priest-like classes.
Dexterity (DEX)
Dexterity is a combination of agility and quickness. High dexterity allows you to get more blows with weapons, thus greatly improving your melee damage; it also improves your accuracy with any weapon, and directly affects your AC by allowing you to dodge blows from enemies. Dexterity is also useful in picking locks, disarming traps, and protecting yourself from the thieves that inhabit the dungeons. Dexterity is the spellcasting stat for a number of classes, including the "default"-selection Burglary Rogue.
Constitution (CON)
Constitution is a character's ability to resist damage to his body. Characters with a high Constitution receive more hit points and recover from wounds and stunning more rapidly. Blood-Knights use constitution as their primary stat.
Charisma (CHR)
Charisma represents a character's personality and force of will. Characters with a high Charisma receive more favorable pricing at shops, and all charming effects work better with high charisma. Additionally, charisma is used for determining player and monster fear; players with low charisma are often frightened, sometimes even to the point of paralysis (see )! Conversely, charismatic players can more easily break the morale of their foes. A number of classes, such as Bards and Sorcerers, use Charisma as their primary spell stat.
Skills
These attributes are generally based largely on your class, but can also be affected by your race, personality, stats and equipment. They often, but not always, go up with character level:
Melee
Melee skill is very simply a baseline for your accuracy in melee combat (whether armed or unarmed). Strength and Dexterity boost this skill, and you can further boost your accuracy through combat bonuses on equipment. This skill increases with character level, except for Sorcerers who are uniformly poor at melee.
Archery
This skill generally applies both to using ranged missile weapons and to throwing projectiles, although in some cases separate calculations might apply. Archery skill, like melee skill, is a baseline for your accuracy; but exceptionally high Archery skill can also improve your shooting speed and reduce the chance your ammunition breaks on impact. Strength and Dexterity can boost your Archery, although this boost only affects your accuracy and not the additional bonuses noted. Archery improves naturally with character level for all characters except Berserkers and Sorcerers.
Saving Throw
Saving Throw is the ability of your character to resist the effects of spells cast on you by a monster. Most commonly, Saving Throw is applied when the spell involves some kind of curse, either against you or against your equipment. Saving Throw also helps you against paralysis, though having Free Action is also needed for that! This skill increases naturally with level - but you'll also be running into nastier curses at high levels... Saving Throw is affected by Wisdom.
Stealth
The ability to move silently is very useful. Characters with good stealth can usually surprise their opponents, gaining the first blow (or the opportunity to avoid a fight entirely), while characters with low Stealth will be mobbed by enemies as everybody nearby wakes up. Stealth generally does not improve with character level, and depends only on your race, class, personality and equipment. New players should value Stealth highly; the less experience you have handling monster mobs, the less you can afford to invite them.
Disarming
Disarming is the ability to remove traps (safely), and includes picking locks on chests and doors. A successful disarming will gain the character some experience. A trap must be found before it can be disarmed. Dexterity and Intelligence both affect Disarming skill, and this skill also increases with character level.
Magic Device Skill
Using magical devices requires experience and knowledge, and natural spellcasters such as mages tend to be much better at it than melee classes. Device Skill is the most important of all skills, especially in the late game; and although your class accounts for the bulk of your device skill, the bonuses from race and personality are also important simply because the skill itself is so important. Device Skill is affected by Intelligence, and improves with character level.
Perception (Searching Frequency)
Searching (Searching Ability)
These two skills are very closely related. Both help you notice secret doors, floor traps, and traps on chests; Searching helps when you are actively looking for them, and Perception might allow you to notice them without actively looking. Searching also improves your ability to see invisible monsters. These skills are based on your race, class, personality and equipment, and generally do not improve with character level.
Additional Abilities
Like stats and skills, these additional abilities help your character survive and get about. They can be affected by your race, class or personality, but only in exceptional cases (apart from Infravision, which is based mostly on your race). As such, these abilities are not as prominently displayed during the birth process, but they do make a difference during the game!
Regeneration
Regeneration determines how quickly you recover lost hit points and mana. It is generally affected only by magical effects or equipment, not by your race or class, though there are some exceptions (for example, Amberites, Beornings, Werewolves and Einherjar regenerate exceptionally fast). If you get hit with an evil curse that affects your regeneration, or suffer hideous mutations that slow it down, the pain will hit very quickly...
Infravision
Infravision is the ability to see heat sources. Since dungeons tend to be cool or cold, infravision will not allow your character to see walls or objects, but does allow you to detect warm-blooded creatures up to a certain distance. Infravision works equally well with or without a light source. Many monsters are cold-blooded and so not detected by infravision, but especially in the early game (when warm-blooded monsters are more common and See Invisible is often lacking) infravision can make a difference. Most non-human races have some innate infravision, and any race can gain infravision from magical equipment.
Digging
This ability allows you to mine for treasures and create new tunnels more effectively. It is affected by Strength, by magical equipment, by digging implements such as picks and shovels, and by the weight of your weapon/digging implement (heavy weapons are better for digging). Digging is not usually affected by race, class or personality, although again there are some exceptions; Lawyers, for instance, are very good at digging.
Birth Options
During character generation you may press '=' at any time to access the birth options, unless you selected <color:keyword>Beginner Mode which assigns mostly-default options to you. Popular birth options include <color:keyword>coffee-break mode, which accelerates the game (but removes the wilderness); <color:keyword>no selling, which increases gold drops in the dungeon but prevents the player from selling items for money; and <color:keyword>no scrambling, which removes the controversial Stat Scrambling mechanic from the game and replaces it with an incantation of the evil but less controversial Baby Foul Curse. There are dozens of other birth options as well, some likewise popular, others very niche; see for a detailed explanation of each.
Reference
Beginner Mode Designed for new players, this mode greatly restricts the races and classes available to you. In addition, it removes Personality from the birth process, automatically assigning you the Ordinary personality (which has absolutely no gameplay effects). Birth option selection (=) is also disabled to speed up character creation; you will play with automatically assigned, mostly default options. Finally, this option forces the player to play in coffee-break mode, which accelerates the game, eliminates the wilderness and uses the special Lite-Town as the only town. Since up staircases don't generate in coffee-break mode, beginners start with extra scrolls of Word of Recall so they (hopefully) won't get stuck in the dungeon.
Normal Mode This is the standard way to play: the Full Monty, so to speak. All races and classes are available to choose from, even ones that might be under development and not yet fully tested. The player has access to both the Birth Options and the Personality subsystem. Here you may (if you wish!) play with a vast surface wilderness, complete with numerous dungeons and towns to explore.
Monster Mode This mode allows the player to play as a monster rather than a normal character. There is no class to choose; instead, the racial (and subracial) choices determine the type of monster you play, and are effectively both your race and your class. There are many options to choose from, including some really zany ones! Most monster forms evolve from weak forms to stronger ones (e.g. from a Forest Troll to a Fire Troll, and so forth); and many forms have unique body types (e.g. a Xorn has two full sets of arms, and can wield up to four melee weapons). In addition, most monster races have a boss who will drop a nifty artifact when slain. But the goal of the game remains the same: kill the Serpent of Chaos.
Quick Start Once an existing character dies, you may create a new one from the same savefile. If so, you receive this extra option; choose quick start, and you get a new character with exactly the same race, class, options, and personality as your last character. Since it is common to die early on, Quick Start can save you the tedium of picking the same choices again and again.
Character Name During the birth process, you may change the name of your character. This name will be used for your savefile (unless you created this character inside an existing, already named savefile) and any options and preferences you may set. So choose your name carefully. Changing your name, as you may imagine, is a complicated legal process involving much paperwork (and a hefty fee). Should you decide to change your name in the future, inquire at Count Uldrik's castle and he will direct you how to proceed.
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.5.2
Updated : PosChengband 1.0.0
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : PosChengband 5.0.3
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Character Sheet Commands
Within the Character Sheet, you can review your current stats, resistances, damage, equipment, inventory, spell repertoire, quest history, and related character details without leaving the main game. You can also save and compare snapshot versions of the sheet directly from this screen.
Movement Commands
<color:keypress> Q q (Leave the character sheet)
<color:keypress> ESC (Return to the previous file)
<color:keypress> Home (Go to the top)
<color:keypress> PageUp/- (Go up 1 page)
<color:keypress> Up Arrow (Go up 1 line)
<color:keypress> Down Arrow (Go down 1 line)
<color:keypress> PageDown (Go down 1 page)
<color:keypress> Spacebar (Go down 1 page)
<color:keypress> End (Go to the bottom)
<color:keypress> > (Go to the next section)
<color:keypress> < (Go to the previous section)
<color:keypress> letters (Jump to the next matching section, if the sheet provides lettered sections)
Sheet Commands
<color:keypress> | (Write a character dump to file)
<color:keypress> ? (Show this character-sheet help)
Compare Commands
<color:keypress> c (Enter save mode for the currently displayed sheet)
<color:keypress> C (Flip between current character and default saved sheet)
Note: You'll need to press C twice the first time.
Within Save Mode
<color:keypress> c 0 Enter (Save to the default snapshot slot)
<color:keypress> 7 8 9 (Save to the extra snapshot slots)
Direct Snapshot Load (Shift+7/8/9/0 on many keyboards)
<color:keypress> & or : (Load snapshot 7 directly, or flip back to live)
<color:keypress> * (Load snapshot 8 directly, or flip back to live)
<color:keypress> ( (Load snapshot 9 directly, or flip back to live)
<color:keypress> ) or = (Load the default snapshot directly, or flip back to live)
For convenience on keyboard layouts where the shifted number row differs from US, direct compare accepts the shifted-key aliases <color:keypress>& or <color:keypress>: for slot 7, along with <color:keypress>* for slot 8, <color:keypress>( for slot 9, and <color:keypress>) or <color:keypress>= for the default slot. Pressing one of these while that same snapshot is already being displayed flips back to the current live sheet instead. On some layouts, the physical key that produces <color:keypress>& is <color:keypress>Shift+6 rather than <color:keypress>Shift+7; this isn't a problem. It simply means that in some systems, directly loading snapshot 7 requires you to press shift+6 instead of shift+7.
Other Commands
<color:keypress> / or Ctrl+F(Search forward for a string - case-sensitive)
<color:keypress> Enter (Search again, next match)
<color:keypress> \ (Search backward for a string - case-sensitive)
Commands
Commands are entered using the keyboard by pressing a single key that is mapped to an underlying command interpreted by the game. This mapping of keystrokes to game commands proceeds by using one of two standard keysets: the <color:keyword>Original Keyset and the <color:keyword>Roguelike Keyset. The Original Keyset, which is the default, is generally recommended to new players since it is more intuitive (for example, you move with the numpad keys). However, many strong players use the Roguelike keyset, and it is likely your best option if you lack a numpad on your keyboard (trying to just substitute the arrow keys for the numpad stops being a great idea when you have to move diagonally). You can toggle the keysets through the = options menu.
This file contains the command mappings for the two keysets mentioned above. For a detailed overview of the various commands, see . Also, for beginners, pressing <color:keypress>ENTER opens a unified command menu that lists all commands and the corresponding keystrokes; this menu is intended for learning the commands on the go, and is much clumsier than just remembering the right key, so you want to grow out of it as soon as possible. (You may enable/disable the menu with the 'command_menu' input option; seefor more on setting options.)
Don't be overwhelmed by the sheer number of commands. Many are not often used or required, and I have tried to highlight the most common commands below in yellow. You should try to memorize those; note that many commands use a mnemonic just like the <color:keypress>Eat command discussed above. The caret (^) in the tables below indicates pressing the <color:keypress>CTRL key (so <color:keypress>^S means <color:keypress>Ctrl-S), though it is also possible to treat these commands as literal two-key sequences beginning with the ^ key.
Once you have chosen a game command, you may be prompted for additional input; for example, if you get hungry and decide to eat some food (eating is <color:keypress>E in both keysets), the game will give you a list of choices (which might include rations of food, various mushrooms, and whatever other edibles you happen to have in your pack). You can cancel the command with the ESC key at this point.
Note in particular the multi-purpose <color:keypress>+ command; often, if you forget what the regular command for interacting with something in an adjacent square is, you can just substitute <color:keypress>+ instead. You can tunnel with <color:keypress>+, open doors with <color:keypress>+, disarm traps with <color:keypress>+, even fight a monster with <color:keypress>+... and the list continues.
Press <color:keypress>? for commands to use in the help interface itself.
Original Keyset
Movement
7 8 9
4 5 6
1 2 3
a Aim a wand A Activate equipment
b Browse magic list B Bash a door
c Close a door C Character description
d Drop an item D Disarm a trap
e Equipment list E Eat some food
f Fire an arrow etc. F Fuel your lantern/torch
g Pick up objects (Get) G Gain new spells/prayers
h (unused) H Travel to interesting item
i Inventory list I Inspect an item
j Jam a door / journey J Resume travelling
k Destroy an item K (unused)
l Look around L Locate player on map
m Cast a spell / use mental power M Full dungeon map
n Repeat last command N (unused)
o Open a door or chest O Display object list
p Command your pets P (unused)
q Quaff a potion Q Quit (commit suicide)
r Read a scroll R Rest for a period
s Search for traps/doors S Toggle search mode
t Take off equipment T Dig a tunnel
u Use a staff U Use racial/bonus power
v Throw an item V Version info
w Wear/wield equipment W Switch ring fingers
x (unused) X (unused)
y Wipe unwanted items Y Display monster list
z Zap a rod Z Edit item inscription
! Enter a user pref command ^A (special - wizard command)
@ Interact with macros ^B (unused)
# (unused) ^C (special - break)
$ Reload Mogaminator prefs ^D (unused)
% Interact with visuals ^E Interact with macros
^ (special - control key) ^F Repeat level feeling
& Interact with colors ^G Auto-Get nearby objects
* Target monster or location ^H (unused)
( (unused) ^I Toggle choice window
) Create screen dump ^J (special - linefeed)
{ Edit item inscription ^K (unused)
} Dungeon notes ^L Look under monsters
[ Display monster list ^M (special - return)
] Display object list ^N (unused)
- Walk (flip pickup) ^O Display object list
_ Edit/activate Mogaminator prefs ^P Show previous messages
+ Alter adjacent grid ^Q Display quest info
= Set options ^R Redraw the screen
; Walk ^S Save and don't quit
: Take notes ^T Display game time
' Playback recorded command ^U (unused)
" Record command ^V Recenter Viewport
, Stay still ^W (special - wizard mode)
< Go up staircase/Toggle global map ^X Save and quit
. Run ^Y (special - wizard mode)
> Go down staircase/Enter normal map ^Z (special - borg command)
\ (special - bypass keymap) | (unused)
` Travel / journey shortcuts ~ Knowledge menu
/ Identify symbol ? Help
Roguelike Keyset
Movement
y k u
h . l
b j n
a Zap a rod (Activate) A Activate equipment
b (walk - south west) B (run - south west)
c Close a door C Character description
d Drop an item D Disarm a trap or chest
e Equipment list E Eat some food
f Bash a door (Force) F Fuel your lantern/torch
g Pick up objects (Get) G Gain new spells/prayers
h (walk - west) H (run - west)
i Inventory list I Inspect an item
j (walk - south) J (run - south)
k (walk - north) K (run - north)
l (walk - east) L (run - east)
m Cast a spell / use mental power M Full dungeon map
n (walk - south east) N (run - south east)
o Open a door or chest O Use racial/bonus power
p Command your pets P Browse magic list (Peruse)
q Quaff a potion Q Quit (commit suicide)
r Read a scroll R Rest for a period
s Search for traps/doors S Spike (jam) a door or Shortcut move
t Fire an arrow etc. T Take off equipment
u (walk - north east) U (run - north east)
v Throw an item V Version info
w Wear/wield equipment W Locate player on map
x Look around X Repeat last command
y (walk - north west) Y (run - north west)
z Aim a wand (Zap) Z Use a staff (Zap)
! Enter a user pref command ^A (special - wizard command)
@ Interact with macros ^B (tunnel - south west)
# Toggle search mode ^C (special - break)
$ Reload Mogaminator prefs ^D Destroy item
% Interact with visuals ^E Travel to interesting item
^ (special - control key) ^F Repeat level feeling
& Interact with colors ^G Auto-Get nearby objects
* Target monster or location ^H (tunnel - west)
( Resume travelling ^I Toggle choice window
) Create screen dump ^J (tunnel - south)
{ Edit item inscription ^K (tunnel - north)
} Dungeon notes ^L (tunnel - east)
[ Display monster list ^M (tunnel - south)
] Display object list ^N (tunnel - south east)
- Walk (flip pickup) ^O (unused)
_ Edit/activate Mogaminator prefs ^P Show previous messages
+ Alter adjacent grid ^Q Display quest info
= Set options ^R Redraw the screen
; Walk ^S Save and don't quit
: Take notes ^T Dig a Tunnel
' Playback recorded command ^U (tunnel - north east)
" Record command ^V Recenter Viewport
, Run ^W (special - wizard mode)
< Go up staircase/Toggle global map ^X Save and quit
. Stay still ^Y (tunnel - north west)
> Go down staircase/Enter normal map ^Z (unused)
\ (special - bypass keymap) | (unused)
` Travel / journey shortcuts ~ Knowledge menu
/ Identify symbol ? Help
Command Counts
Some commands can be executed a fixed number of times by preceding them with a count. Counted commands will repeat until the count expires or until the repetition is disturbed. A successful use of the command (e.g. successful tunnelling) disturbs the repetition, as does any attack from a monster, or any new command from the player.
The <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count option, which is on by default, automatically gives commonly repeated commands (open, disarm, tunnel, bash, etc.) the configured retry count, which defaults to 100. This means you usually don't need to specify repeat counts manually; but you can do so by typing <color:keypress>0, then the repeat count, and then the command.
Command Arguments
As already seen in the <color:keypress>Eat example, some commands will prompt for extra information; depending on the command, this could be a direction, an inventory or equipment item, a spell, the symbol of a monster race, a sub-command, a verification, a count, a quantity, text, or various other things. Often, you can hit <color:keypress>ENTER to choose the "default" response and <color:keypress>ESC to cancel the command entirely.
Commands which prompt for a direction always accept <color:keyword>compass directions, which you can enter using the direction keys shown above. Commands with the potential to affect distant squares or monsters usually also accept <color:keyword>targets, which you can set (either beforehand or when prompted) with the <color:keypress>* key. If you had previously specified a target, pressing <color:keypress>5 repeats the old target; or if you turned on the <color:keyword>use_old_target option, the old target is repeated automatically. Some players really like <color:keyword>use_old_target, others dislike it equally much; see for more details on selecting a target.
Item Labels
Many commands prompt for an item. These commands always display a list of all applicable items, where each item has a distinct single-key <color:keyword>label; you then select the right item by pressing the label key.
Item labels usually run from 'a' for the first applicable item to 'z' for the 26th item, and are not necessarily the same in every menu. In the example below, the <color:keypress>drop command simply offers every item in the inventory as a possibility, so Scrolls of Genocide are labeled '<color:keypress>l':
Inventory | Equipment | Quiver
a) ? a Law Book [Obstacle Coursebook] {25% off, @mb!k} 3.0 lb LEVEL 50
b) ? a Law Book [Building Alternative Realities] {@mc!sd 3.0 lb EXP ********
c) ? a Law Book [Acquiris Quodcumque Rapis] {@md!sdk} 3.0 lb AU 462k
d) , 23 Mushrooms of Restoring {!E} 2.3 lb |)}~=="~((]]
e) ! 15 Potions of Speed {25% off, !kq} 6.0 lb STR!: 18/160
f) ! 15 Potions of Heroism 6.0 lb INT!: 18/160
g) ! 41 Potions of Healing {!kq} 16.4 lb WIS!: 18/160
h) ! 8 Potions of *Healing* {!kq} 3.2 lb DEX : 18/***
i) ! 5 Potions of Life {!kq} 2.0 lb CON : 18/217
j) ! 18 Potions of Restore Mana {!kq} 7.2 lb CHR!: 18/150
k) ? 12 Scrolls of Destruction {@r7!*} 6.0 lb AC 156
l) ? 9 Scrolls of Genocide {!*} 4.5 lb HP 950/ 951
m) ? 8 Scrolls of Mass Genocide {!*} 4.0 lb SP 141/ 402
n) - a Rod: Clairvoyance (2/2 charges) {47%} 1.5 lb
o) - a Rod: Detection (7/7 charges) {1%, @zb!sdk} 1.5 lb
p) - a Rod: Recall (5/5 charges) {1%, @zc!sdk} 1.5 lb
q) - a Wand of Resistance: Teleport Other (29/29 charges 0.2 lb
r) - a Wand of Regeneration: Annihilation (8/8 charges) 0.2 lb
s) - a Wand of Regeneration: Tsunami (14/14 charges) (+5 0.2 lb
t) _ a Staff: Teleport (17/28 charges) {1%, @ua!sdk} 5.0 lb
u) _ a Staff: Destruction (2/8 charges) {1%, @ud!sdk} 5.0 lb Fast (+33)
v) _ a Staff of Resistance: Telepathy (3/9 charges) {1%, 5.0 lb Cursed
w) _ a Staff: Cure Wounds (8/18 charges) {1%, @uu!sdk} 5.0 lb Study (4)
x) _ a Staff of Holding: Confusing Lights (7/7 charges) 5.0 lb
y) [ Metal Scale Mail {special} 25.0 lb
z) ( Soft Leather Armour {excellent} 8.0 lb
129.7 lb
Drop which item?
Angband: L100 Telepa DTrap
But if instead of the <color:keypress>drop command we use the <color:keypress>read command, Scrolls of Genocide become '<color:keypress>b' since only scrolls are now offered as options:
Inventory Fail
7) ? 12 Scrolls of Destruction {@r7!*} 2.8%
b) ? 9 Scrolls of Genocide {!*} 2.8%
c) ? 8 Scrolls of Mass Genocide {!*} 3.3%
Read which scroll?
You might notice something odd, though: while Scrolls of Genocide are expectedly labeled 'b' as the second item listed and Scrolls of Mass Genocide are 'c' as the third item, Scrolls of Destruction are not labeled 'a' but rather '<color:keypress>7'. This is because the Scrolls of Destruction have been <color:keyword>inscribed with the inscription <color:keyword>@r7, which simply tells the game to label them '7' in the 'r' Read a Scroll menu.
The advantage of inscribing items in this way is that they retain their label even when items are added to or removed from the list. Note, for instance, that three books in the example inventory are inscribed <color:keyword>@mb through <color:keyword>@md; this allows them to keep their usual, "expected" labels in the <color:keypress>m spellcasting menu even though the first book, book '<color:keypress>a', is missing.
Inscriptions are added with the <color:keypress>Z/<color:keypress>{ command, and can be used for many other purposes besides item labeling (see for more detail). The Mogaminator often automatically applies standard inscriptions to items; the three books of the above example were inscribed by the Mogaminator. Note that inscriptions are always based on the <color:keyword>underlying keyset, which for the most part is the same as the original keyset; so if you want a staff to be labeled '<color:keypress>y' in the "Use a Staff" prompt, you should inscribe it <color:keyword>@uy rather than <color:keyword>@Zy even if you use the roguelike keyset.
Note: Many object selection menus allow you to select items from any of several inventories, which you can toggle between by pressing <color:keypress>/. In the <color:keypress>drop example above, the default inventory is your backpack, but you can use <color:keypress>/ to select an item from your equipment or quiver instead.
Original : Alexander Cutler and Andy Astrand
Updated : (2.7.6) by Russ Allbery (rra@cs.stanford.edu)
Updated : (2.7.9) by Ben Harrison (benh@phial.com)
Updated : Zangband 2.2.0 through 2.2.6c by Robert Ruehlmann
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.0.11
Updated : PosChengband 6.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Command Descriptions
The following command descriptions are listed as the command name plus the <color:keyword>underlying command key. This is followed by the command name and <color:keyword>roguelike keyset key, if different from the underlying command key. Then comes a brief description of the command, including information about alternative methods of specifying the command in each keyset, when needed.
Several commands (tunnel, disarm, bash, open) are automatically repeated as many times as necessary (up to the current <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count setting, which defaults to 100) if no specific repeat count is given and the option has not been turned off. Some other commands allow using repeat counts as arguments; for example, commands which need a quantity can use the repeat count instead of asking for a quantity, allowing the use of <color:keypress>0d to drop all. Commands which ask for a quantity will convert any letters into the maximal legal value.
Press <color:keypress>? for commands to use within the help system.
Inventory Commands
Inventory List (<color:keypress>i)
Displays a list of objects being carried but not equipped. You have up to 26 slots in your inventory, not counting equipment slots. Identical objects can often form a "stack" which only occupies a single slot, like the 4 torches, 26 arrows and 13 rations of food in the sample below; stacks have a maximum size of 99 objects.
Inventory | Equipment
a) , 13 Rations of Food 13.0 lb
b) - a Wand {tried} 0.2 lb
c) ~ 4 Wooden Torches (with 2000 turns of light) 12.0 lb
d) ( a Filthy Rag 2.0 lb
e) ) a Small Leather Shield {average} 5.0 lb
f) ) a Small Leather Shield 5.0 lb
g) | a Main Gauche {average} 3.0 lb
h) { 26 Arrows (3d4) (+0,+0)
45.4 lb
Carrying 93.4 pounds (71% capacity).
You can press <color:keypress>/ here to toggle between the inventory list, the equipment list and potentially other item inventories like your quiver.
Equipment List (<color:keypress>e)
Use this command to display a list of the objects currently worn or wielded by your character. Your character typically has 13 slots for equipment, each corresponding to a different location on the body; each slot may contain only a single object at a time, and each slot may only contain objects of the proper type. Note that some races (and most monster forms) have body types that differ from the typical humanoid, so the number and types of your equipment slots can vary. Here is a sample equipment list from a human warrior:
a) | Right Hand: a Broad Sword (2d6) (+0,+0) 15.0 lb
b) ) Left Hand : a Small Leather Shield [3,+0] 5.0 lb
c) } Shooting : a Short Bow (x2.50) (+0,+0) 3.0 lb
d) Quiver :
e) Right Ring:
f) Left Ring :
g) Neck :
h) ~ Light : a Wooden Torch (with 1983 turns of ligh 3.0 lb
i) [ Body : Chain Mail (-2) [14,+0] 22.0 lb
j) Cloak :
k) Head :
l) Hands :
m) Feet :
48.0 lb
Each slot has a descriptive label (like "Right Hand") that determines what type of object it may receive; the right hand and left hand, for example, accept weapons and shields. And yes, you can wield two weapons, or two shields! The slots for most items are very intuitive (gloves go on your hands, helmets go on your head), but some might be a bit surprising, like harps going into the Shooting slot.
Inspect Item (<color:keypress>I)
This command lets you examine an item in detail, listing whatever special powers of the object you have identified, mentioning if the object still has hidden powers, and noting the item's weight and estimated value. Here too, use <color:keypress>/ to toggle between your pack, equipment, and other relevant inventories. This is an especially handy command for artifacts and ego-items.
Get Objects (<color:keypress>g)
This command will get any objects located on the same tile as the player (Mogaminator applies). As a convenience, picking up items does not consume time.
Auto-Get Objects (<color:keypress>^G)
This command will get any objects located on the same tile as the player (Mogaminator applies). In addition, this command will automatically travel to and get other objects in line of sight. With <color:keyword>auto_get_objects enabled, any object registered for either auto-pickup or auto-destroy will qualify for automatic get. If that is too much for you (maybe you enjoy cleaning up after battles?), the <color:keyword>auto_get_ammo option only applies to objects inscribed with <color:keypress>=g; which is typically your ammo, or perhaps spikes on a ninja.
The auto-get travels will terminate when there are no more visible qualifying objects; if your pack becomes full; or if you are disturbed for any reason, such as a nasty dragon waking up and deciding to breathe on you. Auto-get is both safer and more limited than travelling through the object list; auto-get usually only cleans up a single room since the objects must be visible to qualify, while the object list and the <color:keypress>H/<color:keypress>^E command allow lengthy automatic travels, potentially into harm's way (although these journeys also stop if bad things happen).
Drop Item (<color:keypress>d)
This drops an item from your inventory or equipment onto the dungeon floor. If the floor spot you are standing on already has an object in it, or rejects object drops altogether (doors, stairs, traps, some terrain types like deep lava), the game will attempt to drop the item onto an adjacent space. If nothing else works, the item will be dropped onto a square that already has an object in it; but be warned that if there simply are no acceptable squares nearby the object may disappear entirely. If the pile selected for dropping contains multiple items, you may specify a quantity.
Destroy Item (<color:keypress>k) or (<color:keypress>^D)
This destroys an item in your inventory or on the dungeon floor. If the selected pile contains multiple objects, you may specify a quantity. You must always verify this command, except in the case of worthless junk items.
Wear/Wield Equipment (<color:keypress>w)
To wear or wield an object, use this command. Since only one object can be in each equipment slot at a time, if you wear or wield an item into a slot which is already occupied, the old item will first be taken off, and may be dropped if there is no room for it in your inventory.
Take Off Equipment (<color:keypress>t) or (<color:keypress>T)
Use this command to take off a piece of equipment and return it to your inventory. If there is no room in your inventory for the item, your pack will overflow and you will drop the item after taking it off. Occasionally, you will run into a cursed item which cannot be removed; these items normally penalize you in some way, and can only be taken off after the curse has been removed.
Movement Commands
Walk (with pickup) (<color:keypress>;)
Moves one step in the given direction. The square you are moving into must not be blocked by walls or doors. You will pick up any items in the destination grid if the <color:keyword>always_pickup option is set. This command can take a count and requires a direction. You may also use the "original" direction keys (both keysets) or the "roguelike" direction keys (roguelike keyset) to walk in a direction (they are keymapped to this command). If the Mogaminator or the easy auto-destroyer is active, specified objects will be picked up or destroyed.
Walk (flip pickup) (<color:keypress>-)
This is just like normal move, except that the "Pick things up" option is inverted. In other words, you will pick things up if and only if <color:keyword>always_pickup is <color:keyword>not set. This command can take a count and requires a direction. If the Mogaminator or the easy auto-destroyer is active, specified objects will be picked up or destroyed.
This is also the command for deliberately walking into a trap.
Run (<color:keypress>.) or (<color:keypress>,)
This command will move in the given direction, following any bends in the corridor, until you either have to make a "choice" between two directions or you are disturbed. You can configure what will disturb you by setting the disturbance options. Run requires a direction. By default <color:keypress>Shift+DIR is keymapped to <color:keypress>.DIR, although with the original keyset this may run into technical limitations on some platforms. If the Mogaminator or the easy auto-destroyer is active, specified objects will be picked up or destroyed.
Go Up Staircase (<color:keypress><)
Climbs up if you are standing on an up staircase or shaft. In the wilderness, opens the global map for viewing; you can look around freely, but travel is blocked while alert monsters are nearby.
Unless you are playing in <color:keyword>coffee-break mode or have activated the ironman_downward option, there is always at least one up staircase on every level. Going up a staircase will take you to either the surface or a new dungeon level. Note that levels are semi-persistent; they can be returned to while you remain in the dungeon (supposing up staircases exist), but are lost forever when you return to surface.
Go Down Staircase (<color:keypress>>)
Descends if you are standing on a down staircase or shaft. In the wilderness, returns from global map to local map.
There are always at least two staircases going down on each level, except for quest levels (which have none until the quest monster is killed) and the bottom levels of dungeons. Going down a staircase will take you to a new dungeon level (see "Go Up Staircase" for notes).
Travel to Nearest Interesting Item (<color:keypress>H or <color:keypress>^E)
Locates and automatically travels to the nearest known item that is unidentified, either has not been pseudo-ID'd or has been sensed as an artifact or ego item, is not considered unworthy of picking up by an active Mogaminator, and to which a known route has been mapped. Convenient for quickly locating items you forgot to pick up or identify after you have otherwise a dungeon level, or after killing a high-level monster who dropped loot all over the place.
Resume Journey (<color:keypress>J) or Resume Travelling (<color:keypress>()
Resumes a previous travel that was interrupted before reaching its target. This command can also be used in the monster and object lists to start a new travel; for this purpose, the <color:keypress>J key is also used by the roguelike keyset.
Resting Commands
Stay Still (with pickup) (<color:keypress>,) or (<color:keypress>.)
Stays in the same square for one move. If you normally pick up objects you encounter, you will pick up whatever you are standing on. This command can take a count. You may also use the "5" key (both keysets). If the Mogaminator or the easy auto-destroyer is active, specified objects will be picked up or destroyed.
Rest (<color:keypress>R)
Resting is better for you than repeatedly staying still, and can be told to automatically stop after a certain amount of time, or when various conditions are met. In any case, you always wake up when anything disturbing happens, or when you press any key. This command requests a count if no count is specified; the count defaults to the special value <color:keypress>&, which means "rest until fully healed and no longer gorged". Another special value, <color:keypress>* for "rest to full HP/SP", is also accepted.
Searching Commands
Search (<color:keypress>s)
This command can be used to locate hidden traps and secret doors in the spaces adjacent to the player. More than a single turn of searching will be required in most cases. You should always search a chest before trying to open it, since they are generally trapped; though if nothing appears, you may have found a rare trapless chest. This command can take a count, which is useful if you are fairly sure of finding something eventually, since the command stops as soon as anything is found.
Toggle Search Mode (<color:keypress>S) or (<color:keypress>#)
This command will take you into and out of search mode. When first pressed, the message "Searching" will appear at the bottom of the screen. You are now taking two turns for each command, one for the command and one turn to search. This means that you are taking twice the time to move around the dungeon, and therefore twice the food. Search mode will automatically turn off if you are disturbed. You may also turn off search mode by entering the Search Mode command again.
Alter Commands
Tunnel (<color:keypress>T) or (<color:keypress>^T)
Tunneling or mining is a very useful art. There are many kinds of rock, with varying hardness, including:
<$:FF_PERMANENT> Permanent Rock Permanent
<$:FF_GRANITE> Granite Very Hard
<$:FF_QUARTZ_VEIN> Quartz Veins Hard
<$:FF_MAGMA_VEIN> Magma veins Soft
<$:FF_RUBBLE> Rubble Very Soft
Quartz and Magma veins may sometimes contain treasure; known treasures will be displayed as <$:FF_MAGMA_TREASURE>, but not all treasures are visible without detection. Rubble sometimes covers an object. Tunneling is difficult unless you are wielding a heavy weapon or a digging implement or your Strength is very high. This command can take a count, requires a direction, and is affected by the <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count option.
Open a Door or Chest (<color:keypress>o)
To open a chest, you must use this command (for doors, simply walking into a closed door automatically attempts to open it). If the door or chest is locked, you will attempt to pick the lock based on your disarming ability; if you open a trapped chest without disarming the traps first, the traps will be set off. You may need several tries to open a door or chest, and rarely doors will be jammed shut and need to be bashed open. Open can take a count, requires a direction, and is affected by the <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count option.
Close a Door (<color:keypress>c)
Non-intelligent and some other creatures cannot open doors, so shutting doors can be quite valuable. Broken doors cannot be closed. Bashing a door open may break it. Close can take a count, requires a direction, and is affected by the <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count option.
Jam a Door / Shortcut Move (<color:keypress>j) or (<color:keypress>S)
Many monsters can simply open closed doors, and can eventually get through a locked door. You may therefore occasionally want to jam a door shut with iron spikes. Each spike used on the door will make it harder to bash down the door, up to a certain limit. Smaller monsters are less able to bash down doors. In order to use this command, you must be carrying iron spikes. Jam or Spike requires a direction.
Bash a Door (<color:keypress>B) or Force a Door (<color:keypress>f)
This command allows you to bash down jammed doors. Your bashing ability increases with strength. Bashing open a door can (briefly) throw you off balance. Doors that are stuck, or which have been jammed closed with spikes can only be opened by bashing, and all closed doors can be bashed open if desired. Bashing a door open may permanently break it. Bash/Force can take a count, requires a direction, and is affected by the <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count option.
Disarm a Trap or Chest (<color:keypress>D)
You can attempt to disarm traps on the floor or on chests. If you fail, there is a chance that you will blunder and set it off. You can only disarm a trap after you have found it (with the Search command, by detection, or by previously triggering it). Disarm can take a count, requires a direction, and is affected by the <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count option. Walking into known floor traps automatically attempts to disarm them unless the <color:keyword>easy_disarm option has been disabled; use <color:keypress>- if you wish to deliberately walk into a trap without disarming it.
Alter Adjacent Grid (<color:keypress>+)
This all-purpose super-command allows the use of a single keypress to select any of the "obvious" commands above (attack, tunnel, bash, open, disarm, close). <color:keypress>Ctrl-[dir] is by default macroed to be equivalent to alter-[dir], in both keysets. Alter can take a count, requires a direction, and is affected by the <color:keyword>retry_obvious_count option.
Spell and Prayer Commands
Browse Magic List (<color:keypress>b) or Peruse Magic List (<color:keypress>P)
All characters which can cast spells can use this command. When this command is used, all of the spells available to you (or contained in a selected magic book) are displayed, along with such information as their level, the amount of mana required to cast them, and whether or not you know the spell. And when you select a spell from the list, a short description of the selected spell's effect will be displayed.
Gain New Spells or Prayers (<color:keypress>G)
Use this command to actually learn new spells or prayers. When you are able to learn new spells or prayers, the word Study will appear in the status area of the screen. If you have a book in your possession, containing spells or prayers which you may learn, then you may choose to study that book. If you are a Priest, Paladin, Ranger, Monk or Force-Trainer, your gods will choose a prayer for you; other classes can choose which spell they wish to study, and even study the same spell a second time. There are four books in each realm, some normally found only in the dungeon.
Use a Magic Spell/Mental Power (<color:keypress>m)
To use a book spell (or prayer), you must have previously learned the spell and must have in your inventory a book from which the spell can be read. Each spell has a chance of failure which starts out fairly large but decreases as you gain levels. If you don't have enough mana to cast a spell, you will be prompted for confirmation. If you decide to go ahead, the chance of failure is greatly increased, and you may lose a point of constitution. Since you must read the spell from a book, you cannot be blind or confused while casting, and there must be some light present.
For classes who do not learn book spells but do learn magic or mental powers through other means (commonly just by leveling up), this command may obey slightly different rules. For most (but not all) classes, this command will not work at all if your character is Mundane or has equipped an Anti-Magic item.
Use Bonus Power (<color:keypress>U) or (<color:keypress>O)
Some races and classes have special natural abilities. For example, a Cyclops may <color:keyword>Throw Boulders and a Gnome may <color:keyword>Blink away from danger. A Warrior can learn the power of <color:keyword>Sword Dancing. Also, it is possible to become mutated and gain a power, such as the ability to shoot <color:keyword>Laser Beams from your eyes! If you have no special powers, this command will not do anything.
Object Use Commands
Eat Food (<color:keypress>E)
You must eat regularly to prevent starvation. As you grow hungry, a message will appear in the status portion of the screen saying Hungry. If you go hungry long enough, you will become Weak, then start Fainting, and eventually starve to death. Use this command to eat food from your inventory - though it is also possible to eat straight from the floor...
Fuel Lantern/Torch (<color:keypress>F)
If you are using a torch and have more torches in your pack, or you are using a lantern and have flasks of oil in your pack, you can refuel your light source with this command. Torches and Lanterns have limited fuel capacity; in general, two flasks will fully fuel a lantern and two torches will fully fuel a torch.
Quaff Potion (<color:keypress>q)
Use this command to drink a potion, fully consuming it unless you are a Potion-speciality Devicemaster. The effects could be good or bad, depending on the potion.
Read Scroll (<color:keypress>r)
Use this command to read a magic scroll. Reading a scroll causes the parchment to disintegrate as the magic takes effect. Most scrolls which prompt for more information can be aborted (by pressing <color:keypress>ESC) without consuming the scroll. Note that magic is fickle, and the scroll must be read with care; mispronounce the incantations, and nothing happens.
Activate Item (<color:keypress>A)
You have heard rumors of special items deep in the dungeon that let you breathe fire like a dragon or illuminate rooms with just a thought. Should you ever be lucky enough to find such an item, this command will let you activate its special ability. Only equipped items can be activated, and they usually take a certain amount of time to <color:keyword>recharge before you can activate them again. Activations resemble scroll, wand, staff and rod effects: all require Magic Device Skill and have a chance to fail.
Aim Wand (<color:keypress>a) or Zap Wand (<color:keypress>z)
This command attempts to use a wand. Wand effects are normally bolts, beams, balls or breaths, and so need to be aimed; accordingly, this command requires a direction and can use a target.
Use Staff (<color:keypress>u) or Zap Staff (<color:keypress>Z)
This command attempts to use a staff. Staves normally either have an area effect or affect a specific object, and therefore do not need to be aimed.
Zap Rod (<color:keypress>z) or Activate Rod (<color:keypress>a)
This command attempts to use a rod; rods can have either staff-like or wand-like effects. This command may require a direction (depending on the type of rod, and whether you are aware of its type) and can use a target.
Edit an item inscription (<color:keypress>Z) or (<color:keypress>{)
This command adds, changes, or clears an inscription on an object. The inscription is displayed inside curly braces after the object description. The inscription is limited to the particular object (or pile) and is not automatically transferred to all similar objects. Certain inscriptions give the game instructions for how to handle or label the item; see for more information. Leaving the inscription blank clears it.
Dungeon notes (<color:keypress>})
This command opens a notes menu for save-wide, dungeon, floor, or building reminders. Notes are saved per character, can be reviewed from the menu, and matching notes are shown automatically when you return to their location.
Throwing and Missile Weapons
Fire Item (<color:keypress>f) or (<color:keypress>t)
Fires a selected projectile suitable for your current ranged weapon, provided that you have a ranged weapon equipped. Slings only shoot pebbles and iron shots; bows only shoot arrows; and crossbows only shoot bolts. Projectiles are typically fired from your quiver, but can also be shot directly from your inventory or even from the floor. This command requires a direction, and can take a target.
Throw Item (<color:keypress>v)
You may throw any object carried by your character. The lighter the object, the farther you can throw it. Only one object from a stack may be thrown at a time. Thrown objects may or may not damage monsters. Throwing an object can break it. Throwing a potion at a wall always breaks it, potentially causing splash damage. This command requires a direction, and can take a target.
Set Target (*)
This command allows you to aim your spells, arrows and such at a specific monster or grid, even if they are not in one of the eight compass directions; it works both inside and outside direction prompts. This command can also be used as a substitute for the <color:keypress>look command, which is especially convenient if what you wish to look at is a monster.
The targeting prompt offers many options. The first target offered will be the nearest monster in line of sight, with other monsters in line of sight as alternative targets. Use direction keys to cycle between monsters; <color:keypress>+ and <color:keypress>- also work, but are less intuitive.
If you wish to target (or inspect) a square with no monster on it, press <color:keypress>p or <color:keypress>o, switching to a mode where direction keys simply move the cursor. (This mode is automatically entered if no hostile monsters are in line of sight. <color:keypress>o and <color:keypress>p are identical except in one respect: pressing <color:keypress>p moves the cursor to your own location.) At any time, press <color:keypress>5, <color:keypress>t or <color:keypress>. to accept the current target, <color:keypress>q or <color:keypress>ESC to exit targeting mode, <color:keypress>r to recall lore about a currently targeted monster, <color:keypress>x to see all items on the target square, and <color:keypress>J/<color:keypress>( to select a square as a travel target. See for more detail.
Note that when you cast a spell or fire an object at a target location, the path chosen is the <color:keyword>direct path towards that location, which may or may not be the path you want. Sometimes, by clever choice of a side location as your target, you may be able to aim at squares not directly in line of sight:
Position: an unknown grid [q,t,p,m,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>]
##........#.... #%%####
#........\...... #
%.......}{\@.... #
%#%..........*.... #
## ........*... ... #
# ......*... .d. #
# ..(.#*. .#####
# .##* T #
# ^ #####* ##########
## # #* '
# # ##* ############
# # #* ###
# # ##* ##
## # # * #
# # ##* #
######### #*#########
Notice that bright-red *? There's a dragon on that square I cannot target directly; but I managed to include that square in my spell's path by using <color:keypress>p to target a location on the southern edge of the map.
Note that bolt spells always stop at the first monster in the spell's path, but beam and breath spells affect all squares, and ball spells can reach the target square by flying over monsters' heads if necessary. If the <color:keypress>* command is used on the overworld map, it hooks into the similar <color:keypress>look command. Using the <color:keypress>* command consumes no time.
Looking Commands
Display Monster List (<color:keypress>Y) or (<color:keypress>[)
This command displays a list of all monsters currently visible. This is a quick way to tell if there are any uniques or other threatening monsters nearby, and is most commonly used immediately after a summon or detection.
Display Object List (<color:keypress>])
This command displays a list of all known objects on the level, as well as other interesting nearby features such as shops or dungeon entrances. Pressing <color:keypress>S with the object list active toggles whether stairs are included in the object list. The object list is a handy way to locate stairs, artifacts, unidentified items and other targets of interest on the level, and makes it possible to travel to such targets directly by scrolling down to the target and pressing <color:keypress>J.
Full Screen Map (<color:keypress>M)
This command will show a map of the entire dungeon, scaled to fit on a single screen. Only the major dungeon features will be visible because of the scale, so even some important objects may not show up on the map. This is particularly useful for quickly identifying unexplored areas of the dungeon or determining your location relative to the dungeon's edges. This command takes no time.
+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | ###### ######### | | ########....####.......% | | ######......#####.####.......# | | d......## ######%%# | | <###.....# | | ##'.....# | | ##'.....# | | ##+##### | | ##### .. | | #...# ## | | ###%'##%#%# | | %###%%<# | | .# | | %# | | %% | | #%#%% | | #...# | | ###%# |
If the Mogaminator is active, specified objects can be displayed on this map; this is an obsolete functionality, though, as it is always more convenient to just use the <color:keypress>] object list.
Locate Player on Map (<color:keypress>L) or Where is the Player? (<color:keypress>W)
This command lets you scroll your map around, looking at all sectors of the current dungeon level, until you press escape, at which point the map will be re-centered on the player if necessary. To scroll the map around, simply press any of the "direction" keys. The top line will display the sector location, and the offset from your current sector. This command takes no time.
Recenter Viewport (<color:keypress>^V)
This command re-centers the viewport on the player; the game does automatically adjust the viewport as you move, but only when you approach the edge. This command is a quicker alternative to the Locate Player on Map command just discussed, though some players go a step further and activate the <color:keyword>center_player option ().
Look Around (<color:keypress>l) or Examine Things (<color:keypress>x)
This command is used to look around at nearby monsters (to determine their type and health) and objects (to determine their type). It is also used to find out what objects (if any) are under monsters, and if a monster is currently inside a wall. This command takes no time.
This command is very closely related to the <color:keypress>* targeting command, and most of the targeting prompt's special keys also work in the look prompt. It is often convenient to use <color:keypress>* instead of this command, especially if you wish to look at a monster; on the other hand, <color:keypress>l/<color:keypress>x is better for inspecting town buildings.
Message Commands
Repeat Level Feeling (<color:keypress>^F)
Repeats the current feeling about the dungeon level.
View Previous Messages (<color:keypress>^P)
This command shows you all the recent messages. You can scroll through them, or exit with ESCAPE. This command takes no time.
Take notes (<color:keypress>:)
This command allows you to take notes, which will then appear in your message list (prefixed with "Note:"). This command takes no time. It also adds a tiny screenshot to your message log. For example:
Note: These bats are so dead!!
#.################.#
#..........<.......#
#.##############>#.#
#####.# #.######
#.....# #.......
#.##### ########
#.# #
#########'########
#................#
#...........@....#
#.......b........#
#................#
#.........b......'
#................#
#................#
#................#
#................#
##################
Targetting a Fruit bat.
The Fruit bat dies.
Targetting a Fruit bat.
The Fruit bat dies.
Game Status Commands
Character Sheet (<color:keypress>C)
Brings up a full description of your character, including your resistances, skill levels, current and potential stats, equipment, inventory, home inventory, average damage in melee and ranged combat, spell repertoire, quest history, and other information. From this screen, you can use the <color:keypress>| command to create a character dump.
Character Sheet Snapshot Compare
Within the Character Sheet, you may save and compare full sheet snapshots without leaving the screen. Press <color:keypress>c to save the currently displayed sheet, or <color:keypress>C to compare against the default saved snapshot if one exists. For full command details, including extra snapshot slots and shifted-symbol direct-load aliases, see .
Knowledge Menu (<color:keypress>~)
The command opens a menu from which you can select or recall information about your character, artifacts, monsters, identified objects, etc.:
Object Knowledge Dungeon Knowledge
(a) Artifacts (d) Dungeons
(o) Objects (q) Quests
(e) Egos (t) Terrain Symbols
(_) Auto Pick/Destroy
Self Knowledge
Monster Knowledge (@) About Yourself
(m) Known Monsters (W) Weapon Damage
(w) Wanted Monsters (H) High Score List
(u) Remaining Uniques
(k) Kill Count Skills
(p) Pets (P) Proficiency
(s) Spell Proficiency
As you can see, there is a lot of information here; poke around and you will see what's available.
Display game time (<color:keypress>^T) or (<color:keypress>')
This command shows you current date and time in the game, usually with a short comment. (The basic information, without the comments, is also available through the <color:keypress>C character sheet.)
Saving and Exiting Commands
Save and Quit (<color:keypress>^X)
To save your game so that you can return to it later, use this command. Save files will also be generated (hopefully) if the game crashes due to a system error. After you die, you can use your savefile to play again with the same options and lore.
Save (<color:keypress>^S)
This command saves the game but doesn't exit. Use this frequently if you are paranoid about having the computer crash while you are playing.
Quit (commit suicide) (<color:keypress>Q)
Kills your character and exits the game. You will be prompted to make sure you really want to do this, and then asked to verify that choice. Note that dead characters are dead forever.
User Preference Commands
See for a description of the user preference commands together with a detailed description of this function.
Interact with Options (<color:keypress>=)
Allosw you to interact with options. Note that using the cheat options may mark your savefile as unsuitable for the high score list.
Interact with Macros (<color:keypress>@)
Allows you to interact with macros. You may load or save macros from user pref files, create macros of various types, or define keymaps.
Interact with Visuals (<color:keypress>%)
Allows you to interact with visuals. You may load or save visuals from user pref files, or modify the attr/char mappings for the monsters, objects, and terrain features.
Interact with Colors (<color:keypress>&)
Allows the user to interact with colors. This command only works on some systems.
Reload Mogaminator Preferences (<color:keypress>$)
This command will reload "pickpref.prf" and "pickpref-<<playername>>.prf" for the Mogaminator; only needs to be used if you have edited these files during the game with an external text editor.
Edit Mogaminator Preferences (<color:keypress>_)
Prompts before opening the pickup-preference editor, and can activate the Mogaminator if it was not yet active. The <color:keypress>ESC key will open the menu in this editor, including an option to disable the Mogaminator and exit. Press <color:keypress>^Q or <color:keypress>^W to quit the editor.
Help
Help (<color:keypress>?)
Brings up the online help system. In some situations (like within the help itself) it may bring up a specific help page.
Identify Symbol (<color:keypress>/)
Use this command to find out what a character stands for; for instance, by pressing <color:keypress>/. you can find out that the <color:keypress>. symbol stands for a floor spot. Note that if you wish to see information about a specific monster nearby, you should use the <color:keypress>* command instead of this command.
If you do use Identify Symbol on a monster symbol, you will be reminded of the species corresponding to the symbol and get a list of all monsters of that species that you have seen. Similar information is available through the <color:keypress>~ Knowledge Menu.
There are four special commands you can use with Identify Symbol: <color:keypress>Ctrl-A to recall all known monsters, <color:keypress>Ctrl-U to recall all known uniques, <color:keypress>Ctrl-N to recall all known non-uniques and <color:keypress>Ctrl-M to recall all known monsters matching a string you type. Press <color:keypress>k to sort these lists by number of kills, <color:keypress>p to sort them by the native depths of the monsters and <color:keypress>ESC to exit.
Game Version (<color:keypress>V)
This command will tell you what version of the game you are using, as well as the current size of the map. For more information, see .
Extra Commands
Repeat Last Command (<color:keypress>n) or (<color:keypress>X)
This command repeats the previously executed command with all its arguments. Very useful for repeatedly firing at or casting the same spell at a given enemy.
Record Command (<color:keypress>")
Commands that you enter may be recorded to any normal ASCII character register. In fact, every command that you manually enter is automatically recorded to the <color:keypress>. register. When you repeat the last command, you are really playing back the contents of this special <color:keypress>. register. But you can also record the next command to a register of your choosing and then play it back manually later; for example, the command sequence <color:keypress>"Fmae*t records the command <color:keypress>mae*t to the <color:keypress>F register in addition to the <color:keypress>. register. You can later play back this command with <color:keypress>'F whereas playing back with <color:keypress>'. or <color:keypress>n is only valid on the very next turn.
Playback Command (<color:keypress>')
As mentioned above, you may record commands with the <color:keypress>" command and play them back later with the <color:keypress>' command. Commands are stored in registers, each of which is addressed with a single ASCII character. For example, if you record a command with <color:keypress>"t<cmd>, then you may later play it back by pressing <color:keypress>'t. These command registers are temporary and will be erased every time you restart the game. To view your recorded commands, choose the <color:keypress>' register (i.e., press <color:keypress>'' from the top level). You can then enter the register you wish to use (e.g. <color:keypress>''t works the same as <color:keypress>'t except that the register contents of all recorded commands are displayed to you after you press the second <color:keypress>').
The playback command is rarely used, as macros and keymaps () are usually preferable.
Toggle Choice Window (<color:keypress>^I)
Toggles subwindow display between your inventory and your equipment. This command only applies if you have an inventory/equipment subwindow.
Redraw Screen (<color:keypress>^R)
This command adapts to various changes in global options, and redraws all of the windows. It is polite to use this command if somebody starts watching your game when you play on <color:keyword>angband.live; also use this command if you feel there are graphical errors or the game has not properly responded to visual changes you made. When in doubt, use it.
Create screen dump (<color:keypress>))
This command creates a document of the current screen and then displays that document to you in the game's internal file viewer. You may then save the document as either plaintext or as html, using the <color:keypress>| command. To create an html file, simply give the file an html extension. Note that if you are playing with graphics enabled, then this command will attempt to convert to normal textual display before creating the screen dump.
Command your pets (<color:keypress>p)
If you have pets, use this command to give orders or toggle pet options. See for details.
Summary
Inventory Commands Original Roguelike
Inventory List i
Equipment List e
Inspect Item I
Get Objects g
Drop Item d
Destroy Item k ^D
Wear/Wield Equipment w
Take Off Equipment t T
Movement Commands Original Roguelike
Walk (with pickup) ;
Walk (flip pickup) -
Run . ,
Go Up Staircase <
Go Down Staircase >
Direction Keys (DIR) 7 8 9 y k u
4 6 h l
1 2 3 b j n
Run SHIFT+DIR
Travel to Interesting Item H ^E
Resume Travelling J (
Resting Commands Original Roguelike
Stay (pickup) , .
Rest R
Searching Commands Original Roguelike
Search s
Toggle Search Mode S #
Alter Commands Original Roguelike
Tunnel T ^T
Open a Door/Chest o
Close a Door c
Jam/Spike a Door j S
Bash/Force a Door B f
Disarm a Trap/Chest D
Alter +
Alter CTRL+DIR
Spell Commands Original Roguelike
Browse/Peruse Spells b P
Gain Spell G
Cast Spell m
Use Power U O
Object Commands Original Roguelike
Eat Food E
Fuel Lantern/Torch F
Quaff Potion q
Read Scroll r
Activate Object A
Aim/Zap Wand a z
Use/Zap Staff u Z
Zap/Activate Rod z a
Edit Inscription Z {
Dungeon Notes }
Missile Commands Original Roguelike
Fire Item f t
Throw Item v
Set Target/Look Around *
Looking Commands Original Roguelike
Display Monster List Y [
Display Object List ]
Full Screen Map M
Locate Player on Map L W
Look Around l x
Recenter Viewport ^V
Message Commands Original Roguelike
Repeat Level Feeling ^F
Previous Messages ^P
Take Notes :
Game Status Commands Original Roguelike
Character Sheet C
Knowledge Menu ~
Display Game Time ^T '
Save/Quit Commands Original Roguelike
Save and Quit ^X
Save ^S
Quit/Commit Suicide Q
User Preference Commands Original Roguelike
Interact with Options =
Interact with Macros @
Interact with Visuals %
Interact with Colors &
Reload Mogaminator Prefs $
Edit Mogaminator Prefs _
Help Commands Original Roguelike
Help ?
Identify Symbol /
Game Version V
Extra Commands Original Roguelike
Repeat Last Command n X
Toggle Choice Window ^I
Redraw Screen ^R
Create Screen Dump )
Command Pets p
Original : Alexander Cutler and Andy Astrand
Updated : (2.7.6) by Russ Allbery (rra@cs.stanford.edu)
Updated : (2.7.9) by Ben Harrison (benh@phial.com)
Updated : Zangband 2.2.0 through 2.2.6c by Robert Ruehlmann
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.7.0
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Home, Sweet Home
Press for the <color:keyword>Quick Reference.
Your home is a special building found in all the normal towns on the surface (Outpost, Morivant, Anambar, Thalos, Telmora and Angwil). In your home, you may stash goodies for future use; there are no limits on the amount of objects you may store in your home, but if your house gets too cluttered, finding the item you are looking for can be a chore. Somehow, magically, all of your homes share the same inventory.
Using Your Home
When you first enter your home, you will see an empty inventory. To leave items at your home, simply drop them using the <color:keypress>d command and select the item you wish to drop. Similarly, to get items from your home, use the <color:keypress>g command and then enter the label of the item you want. After a bit of play, your home might look like this:
Home
Item Description Weight Score
a) { 23 Arrows of Slaying (3d4) (+7,+7) {/pLv} 0.2 lbs 137
b) { 16 Arrows of Slaying (3d4) (+6,+8) {/pZA} 0.2 lbs 102
c) { 9 Sheaf Arrows (4d4) (+4,+2) 0.4 lbs 28
d) { 30 Sheaf Arrows (4d4) (+5,+4) 0.4 lbs 45
e) { 26 Sheaf Arrows of Elements (4d4) (+6,+6) {|P} 0.4 lbs 77
f) { 31 Sheaf Arrows of Returning (4d4) (+8,+7) 0.4 lbs 231
g) { 23 Sheaf Arrows of Endurance (4d4) (+8,+10) 0.4 lbs 317
h) { 25 Sheaf Arrows of Exploding (4d4) (+9,+9) 0.4 lbs 157
i) { 6 Sheaf Arrows of Endurance (4d4) (+10,+9) 0.4 lbs 310
j) { 18 Mithril Arrows of Slaying (5d4) (+6,+8) {/L} 0.4 lbs 139
k) { 23 Mithril Arrows of Slaying (5d4) (+6,+10) {/*A} 0.4 lbs 369
l) { 21 Mithril Arrows of Endurance (5d4) (+9,+7) 0.4 lbs 299
m) { 35 Mithril Arrows of Elements (5d4) (+9,+9) {|ECoP} 0.4 lbs 225
n) { 19 Seeker Arrows of Returning (6d4) (+4,+9) 0.2 lbs 284
o) { 15 Seeker Arrows of Slaying (6d4) (+9,+8) {/ULv} 0.2 lbs 399
p) { 22 Seeker Arrows of Returning (6d4) (+11,+9) 0.2 lbs 308
q) { The Black Arrow of Bard (8d4) (+30,+19) {/XD} 0.2 lbs 1660
r) { 30 Rounded Pebbles (2d3) (+0,+0) 0.4 lbs 1
s) { 24 Rounded Pebbles (2d3) (+5,+4) 0.4 lbs 32
t) { 26 Rounded Pebbles of Elements (2d3) (+7,+6) {|F} 0.4 lbs 54
(Page 33 of 35)
g to get an item. d to drop an item. x to begin examining items.
r to begin removing (destroying) items.
Esc to exit. ? for help.
Once there are more objects than can be displayed on your screen, the inventory will be listed in pages. Use the <color:keypress>Page Up and <color:keypress>Page Down keys to navigate.
If you find your home too cluttered, you may want to clean up a bit. The simple solution is to <color:keypress>get items into your pack, walk outside, and drop them on the town commons; but this is littering, and also a bit of work. There's an alternative way to clean up, with the <color:keypress>r command; be careful, though, since using it permanently destroys the selected items, you are not allowed to specify a quantity, and you will stay in item-removal mode until you press <color:keypress>ESC.
Note that you can view your home inventory not just at your home, but also through your Character Sheet (<color:keypress>C); although you cannot select (or inspect) individual items this way, it is often the fastest and most convenient way to locate useful items hidden in pages of trash, especially if you are shuffling your equipment. This reduces the need to clean up.
The Museum
The Museum behaves very much like your home, except that you cannot take items from the Museum: all donations to the Museum are final. The Museum is exclusively for keepsakes - which some players seem to have awfully many of!
Another difference between the Museum and your home is that items given to the Museum are automatically *Identified*, as with shops; but there is no advantage to *identifying* items through the Museum compared to doing so through a shop, where you get paid for the item and can potentially buy it back.
Quick Reference
Basic Commands
<color:keypress>d s Drop an item from your pack to your home
<color:keypress>g p b Get an item from your home to your pack
<color:keypress>x Examine an item in your home
<color:keypress>r Permanently remove items from your home
<color:keypress>q Esc Leave your home
Extra Commands
<color:keypress>w Wear an item
<color:keypress>t T Take off an item
<color:keypress>k ^D Destroy items in your pack
<color:keypress>e Display equipment
<color:keypress>i Display inventory
<color:keypress>I Inspect objects in your pack
<color:keypress>Tab Toggle inventory/equipment subwindows
<color:keypress>{ Edit item inscriptions in your pack
<color:keypress>} Open the dungeon notes menu
<color:keypress>C Display character sheet
Note: These <color:keyword>Extra Commands are simply normal game commands made available for your convenience so you need not leave your home to use them. However, the keybindings for these commands are <color:keyword>hard-coded, so any keymaps you may have defined will not apply.
Navigation
<color:keypress>Page Up Scroll through long object lists
<color:keypress>Page Down
<color:keypress>Space Same as Page Down
<color:keypress>- Same as Page Up
Display Options
<color:keypress>^W Toggle weights (see )
<color:keypress>^G Toggle graphics (see )
The Monster List
This command lists all monsters you are currently aware of. Depending on your list-display options, it can split line-of-sight monsters into a top section, push awake monsters ahead of sleeping ones, and sort by either monster level or distance. When grouping stays enabled, monsters of the same apparent race are still grouped together, except that awake-first sorting splits mixed awake/asleep rows.
Quick Summary
<color:keypress>Up/Down Scroll One Line at a Time
<color:keypress>PageUp/PageDown Scroll One Page at a Time
<color:keypress>Home/End Scroll to Top/Bottom of List
<color:keypress>/ or R Recall Selected Monster
<color:keypress>P Probe Selected Monster (if allowed)
<color:keypress>N Name Selected Pet (if allowed)
<color:keypress>` or J Travel to Selected Monster
<color:keypress>* or T or 5 Target Selected Monster
<color:keypress>+/- Adjust List Width
<color:keypress>ESC or Q Quit this Command
<color:keypress>? Display this Help Topic
<color:keypress>[a-z] Select next matching entry
Note: Since lowercase keystrokes attempt to match the next entry, only uppercase alphabetic commands are available. For example, to recall monster info, you must press <color:keypress>R rather than the usual <color:keypress>r. The exception is that for users of the roguelike keyset, the usual up/down commands <color:keypress>k and <color:keypress>j will scroll up and down, even at the cost of not matching an entry.
Note: If <color:keyword>quick_messages is enabled, then an unhandled keystroke will dismiss the monster list.
Usage
This command is very useful in crowded situations, allowing you to quickly ascertain whether any dangerous enemies are lurking nearby. For instance:
You see 19 monsters, 19 are awake: #................ LEVEL 33
C Garm, Guardian of Hel S 2 W 0 #.##########*#%## EXP 28.9k
W Zephyr Lord N 1 E 1 #.############### AU 475k
Z Nexus hound (8 awake) #.############### ||}~=="~((]]
C Werewolf N 1 W 1 #.############*## STR : 18/113
C Mine-dog (8 awake) #.#########*##### INT : 10
#.##%#####%*##### WIS : 18/10
[Press ESC to exit. Press ? for help] ....############# DEX : 18/161
#%####%###########............#####.##.##%###%.#..######%%##*###%## CON : 18/153
####*##########*##.#########..#####.#*.###%###'##%##............... CHR : 16
###*##%###########.################.##.####%##.\.....###%####*###*% AC 93
%####*#####%######.###*#%%%%%%%%%%%'%%.%%%%%%%'%%%%%%###%########*# HP 495/ 503
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%###.##%#*%............CZWZZ....=!....%############## SP 100/ 100
%.............%###.#####%.....|....C/.@...C[...|....%###%#%##%*%###
%.............%###.#####%......|...Z.ZCZZ..CC.......%%############# W[*******--]
%.............'....#####%...........)CC..../........%############*#
%.............%###.#####%............Z..C...........%#####*######*#
%.............%###<#####%...........................%*#####*#######
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%###%#####%.............C.............%########**####
########################%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%###%%#######*#
################################################################### Fast (+8)
Full
Study (8)
Crystal castle: L40 DTrap
Here, I can quickly see that one of the mine-dogs who just got summoned is actually Garm trying to blend in, so I'd better watch out!
The Dreaded -more- Prompt
Note: If you are viewing this, it is because you pressed <color:keypress>? when prompted for -more- messages.
In the bad old days, when there was only one message line, -more- prompts were very frequent and this file was 40 times longer, detailing all the cute keys and options for reducing the number of -more- prompts you would get. The cute keys still exist, like <color:keypress>n to dismiss all messages up to the next message boundary and <color:keypress>ESC to dismiss all messages, period; but in practice things are very simple now. Press <color:keypress>SPACE or <color:keypress>ENTER every time you receive a -more- prompt, and you can't go wrong!
Selecting Objects
Objects are a big part of playing <color:keyword>FrogComposband. Many commands (such as quaffing potions or reading scrolls) require you to select an object to use. Other commands allow you to view and inspect the objects you are carrying or using. This helpfile explains the user interface for viewing and selecting objects.
An Example
To view your gear, you press <color:keypress>i for inventory or <color:keypress>e for equipment. Both keys bring up the same dialog but select the appropriate tab for you:
Inventory | Equipment | Quiver
a) Right Hand: a Broad Sword (2d6) (+0,+0) 15.0 lb LEVEL 1
b) Left Hand : a Small Leather Shield [3,+0] 5.0 lb EXP 10
c) Shooting : a Short Bow (x2.50) (+0,+0) 3.0 lb AU 5.31k
d) Quiver : a Quiver [25 of 100] 1.0 lb |)}~ ~[(]]
e) Right Ring: STR : 18/30
f) Left Ring : INT : 6
g) Neck : WIS : 6
h) Light : a Wooden Torch (with 2436 turns of light) 3.0 lb DEX : 18/10
i) Body : Chain Mail (-2) [14,+0] 22.0 lb CON : 17
j) Cloak : a Cloak [1,+0] 1.0 lb CHR : 10
k) Head : a Metal Cap [3,+0] 2.0 lb AC 28
l) Hands : a Set of Gauntlets [2,+0] 2.5 lb HP 56/ 56
m) Feet : a Pair of Hard Leather Boots [3,+0] 4.0 lb
58.5 lb
Carrying 113.9 pounds (81% capacity).
Examine which item (Esc to exit)?
####.........###+###..####+####...####+####..#######.........######
#####.......................................................#######
#####.......................................................+######
#####.......................................................#######
Outpost
The first thing you should notice is that your objects are grouped into tabs depending on their location. The top line shows the available tabs (Inventory, Equipment and Quiver in this case) and the active tab is displayed in color while the inactive tabs are grayed out. You can switch tabs by pressing <color:keypress>/.
Inventory | Equipment | Quiver
a) 25 Arrows (3d4) (+0,+0) 5.0 lb LEVEL 1
5.0 lb EXP 10
Carrying 113.9 pounds (81% capacity). AU 5.31k
|)}~ ~[(]]
Examine which item (Esc to exit)? STR : 18/30
INT : 6
......#####..#######..#########...#########..#######..#####......## WIS : 6
......##+##..###9###..####3####...####6####..###4###..##+##......## DEX : 18/10
.................................................................## CON : 17
.................................................................## CHR : 10
.................................................................## AC 28
................................>.................................. HP 56/ 56
.................................................................##
..........................@......................................##
.................................................................##
......##1##..###7###..####2####...####5####..###8###..##+##......##
......#####..#######..#########...#########..#######..#####......##
#+#...#####..#######..#########...#########..#######..#####...#+###
####.........###+###..####+####...####+####..#######.........######
#####.......................................................#######
#####.......................................................+######
#####.......................................................#######
Outpost
To choose an object, simply press the indicated letter. What happens next depends on the context of the object prompt and is indicated by the bottom line on the dialog. In this case, you are simply browsing your gear, so what could be more useful than letting you inspect individual objects?
25 Arrows (3d4) (+0,+0)
A standard clothyard arrow, straight and cleanly fletched. LEVEL 1
EXP 10
Score: 2 AU 5.31k
|)}~ ~[(]]
[Press Any Key to Continue] STR : 18/30
INT : 6
You'll notice that selecting an object in this case did not dismiss the dialog. This is both unusual and useful, since you might want to inspect multiple objects before you are done. A few other game commands behave this way, such as Inscribing (<color:keypress>{) objects, but most dialogs are dismissed after a selection is made.
Quick Reference
Selection
<color:keypress>a-z Select Indicated Object
<color:keypress>A-Z Inspect Indicated Object
<color:keypress>Page Up Scroll Through Long Object Lists
<color:keypress>Page Down
<color:keypress>Space
<color:keypress>Esc Cancel the Prompt
Tab Navigation
<color:keypress>/ Next Tab
<color:keypress>\ Previous Tab
<color:keypress>^P Switch to Pack (Inventory) Tab
<color:keypress>^E Switch to Equipment Tab
<color:keypress>^Q Switch to Quiver Tab
<color:keypress>^F Switch to Floor Tab
<color:keypress>- Switch to Floor Tab. Select Floor Object if there is only one.
<color:keypress>* Quiver Tab: Take Off or Drop All Ammo (with Confirmation)
Display Options
<color:keypress>^W Toggle Weights (see )
<color:keypress>^G Toggle Graphics (see )
<color:keypress>^D Toggle Slot Descriptions (see )
<color:keypress>@ Toggle Inscription Label Overrides (Default On)
The Object List
This command displays all known objects on the current level. Objects the <color:keyword>Mogaminator would like to pick up are shown near the top in the <color:keyword>wanted objects category, while everything else is shown below in the <color:keyword>other objects category. Objects in both groups are sorted by their estimated value; the location of each object, relative to your current position, is indicated with directions as in <color:keyword>N 23 E 11. The object list also displays dungeon entrances, quest entrances and town shops, and the inclusion of staircases in the list can be toggled.
Quick Summary
<color:keypress>Up/Down Scroll One Line at a Time
<color:keypress>PageUp/PageDown Scroll One Page at a Time
<color:keypress>Home/End Scroll to Top/Bottom of List
<color:keypress>/ or I Inspect Selected Object
<color:keypress>J or ` or ( Travel to Selected Object
<color:keypress>+/- Adjust List Width
<color:keypress>A Toggle Ammo
<color:keypress>D Toggle Identified Items
<color:keypress>E Toggle Sensed Items
<color:keypress>N Toggle Unsensed Items
<color:keypress>S Toggle Inclusion of Stairs
<color:keypress>U Toggle Mogaminator Ignored/Destroyed Items
<color:keypress>ESC or Q Quit this Command
<color:keypress>? Display this Help Topic
<color:keypress>[a-z] Select next matching entry
Note: Since lowercase keystrokes now attempt to match the next entry, only uppercase alphabetic commands are available. The exception is that for users of the roguelike keyset, the usual up/down keys <color:keypress>k and <color:keypress>j will scroll up and down, even at the cost of not matching an entry.
Note: Filter toggles on this screen are remembered for the current game session.
Note: If <color:keyword>quick_messages is enabled, then an unhandled keystroke will dismiss the object list.
Usage
Once loot starts dropping everywhere, the object list is your best tool for seeing what you missed; and it also works well together with Object Detection and especially Clairvoyance. Since objects are sorted primarily by whether they are wanted by the Mogaminator, and secondarily by their estimated value, the most interesting objects are easy to spot even if the list is extremely long. This character has a pretty large pile of unidentified objects:
There are 42 wanted objects: #####.....|]..... LEVEL 50
! a Potion of Dexterity N 3 E 28 ...##............ EXP ********
! 2 Potions of Intelligence S 1 E 47 ....#............ AU 214k
[ Black Dragon Scale Mail N 0 E 41 .~!.'##........#. ||}~==" ((]]
[ Do-maru N 5 E 9 ..`.|#%#.......#% STR : 18/182
[ Bar Chain Mail N 2 E 30 .#.....'......#%% INT : 18/43
[ Augmented Chain Mail N 0 E 28 ..#.#............ WIS : 18/71
] a Jewel Encrusted Crown N 2 E 28 .###............. DEX : 18/***
] a Pair of Metal Shod Boots N 17 E 9 .###............. CON : 18/185
( a Leather Jacket N 2 E 42 $$#%.%......%.... CHR : 17
" an Amulet {unidentified} N 1 E 30 -|$#$$......#.`.. AC 163
] a Golden Crown N 7 E 24 *])$/(......#$.(. HP 904/ 904
/ a Lochaber Axe S 1 E 40 #|#"{ ......%=]..
| an Executioner's Sword N 1 E 28 [|#%#%......%=[$.
[ Rusty Chain Mail N 23 E 11 (%## ....).#/]..
) a Mithril Shield S 2 E 46 `% %#.......#$...
) a Mithril Shield N 0 E 26 .### ............
] an Iron Crown N 0 E 27 .###%#...........
( an Elven Cloak N 45 E 23 %.## ###%....#%%.
= a Ring {unidentified} N 1 E 40 ### #....* %^
= a Ring {unidentified} N 3 E 29 # %#~..% %# Fast (+27)
| a Bastard Sword N 10 E 22 % #...# # Full
- a Rod N 16 E 10 #..~# #
- a Rod N 0 E 27 #...# #
- a Rod N 7 E 19 ##### %
[Press ESC to exit. Press ? for help] p
Not to mention an even larger pile of already identified objects:
( a Fur Cloak S 1 E 27 #####.....|]..... LEVEL 50
| a Broken Dagger N 0 E 28 ...##............ EXP ********
] an Iron Crown S 1 E 48 ....#............ AU 214k
( a Cloak N 2 E 32 .~!.'##........#. ||}~==" ((]]
( a Cloak N 4 E 10 ..`.|#%#.......#% STR : 18/182
.#.....'......#%% INT : 18/43
There are 378 other objects: ..#.#............ WIS : 18/71
[ Ribbed Plate Armour of the Olog-hai N 18 E 71 .###............. DEX : 18/***
( Hard Studded Leather of Celestial Pr N 11 E 49 .###............. CON : 18/185
( Padded Armour of Elvenkind [5,+19] ( N 11 E 52 $$#%.%......%.... CHR : 17
= a Ring of Protection [+10] {SiWr?} N 0 E 40 -|$#$$......#.`.. AC 163
? a Life Spellbook [Book of the Unicor S 5 E 26 *])$/(......#$.(. HP 904/ 904
? a Daemon Spellbook [Demonthoughts] N 0 E 46 #|#"{ ......%=]..
? a Thieves' Guide [Great Escapes] N 12 E 24 [|#%#%......%=[$.
( Soft Leather Armour of Celestial Pro N 11 E 53 (%## ....).#/]..
/ a Lance of Sharpness (4d10) (+16,+7) S 6 E 12 `% %#.......#$...
( Hard Studded Leather of Elemental Pr S 5 E 76 .### ............
" an Amulet of Devotion (+2) {Wi?} S 5 E 12 .###%#...........
= a Ring of Speed (+4) {Sp} N 19 E 71 %.## ###%....#%%.
| a Scimitar (Trump) (2d6) (+15,+7) (+ N 2 E 8 ### #....* %^
= a Ring of Wizardry {?} N 5 E 93 # %#~..% %# Fast (+27)
- a Wand of Holding: Nexus Ball (2/5 c N 4 E 94 % #...# # Full
= a Ring of Combat (+0,+11) (+1) {Cn} N 10 E 54 #..~# #
- a Wand of Simplicity: Dragon's Frost N 0 E 8 #...# #
= a Ring (Elemental) {Ac?} N 6 E 19 ##### %
[Press ESC to exit. Press ? for help] p
Imagine if he had to double-check every one of those objects manually to make sure he wasn't missing anything!
Travelling to Objects
You may travel to the currently selected object in the object list by pressing J or (, the same keys used to resume an interrupted travel. (In the object list, both keys work equally regardless of your keyset.) Be careful when travelling across the level, though; you might travel into a horde of demons who only disturb you when it's too late. Travelling to remote targets is best used if you know the level is mostly empty; while it can be used in other situations, exercise caution and make sure you have <color:keyword>check_abort (see ) on.
Travelling to Shops
On the surface, there are unlikely to be many interesting objects; but shops, quest entrances and dungeon entrances are another matter entirely! All of these features are also displayed by the object list:
There are 19 interesting features: :.........:#:..:: LEVEL 1
> Quest Entrance: The Thieves' Hideout S 1 E 26 .......:.:.....:. EXP 15
1 General Store S 12 W 29 :..:#..::#..:#::: AU 767
2 Armoury S 1 E 16 #:.####:####::... | (
3 Weapon Smiths S 4 E 27 ##############... STR : 16
4 Temple S 2 W 29 ##############... INT : 18
5 Alchemy Shop S 16 W 25 ##.....###.#..... WIS : 9
6 Magic Shop S 16 W 15 #.......#........ DEX : 18/40
7 Black Market S 16 E 16 ................. CON : 17
8 Home S 17 E 11 ................. CHR : 12
9 Bookstore S 17 W 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AC 6
M Museum S 19 W 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~### HP 37/ 37
+ The White Horse Inn S 8 E 25 ################# SP 14/ 14
+ Count N 4 W 2 #################
+ Count N 4 W 0 ...............##
+ Count N 4 W 1 ####.#########.##
+ Bounty Office N 1 W 15 ####.#########.##
> entrance to dungeon S 31 E 89 ####.####>####.##
> entrance to dungeon S 4 E 51 ...............##
0 Mushroom Store N 1 W 21 ..........####.##
..........3###.## Study (1)
[Press ESC to exit. Press ? for help] ..........####.##
.................................................................##
...................................................................
.......................................................###+####..##
Outpost
Note that you can quickly select an item in the object list by pressing the first significant letter in its description. For example, to select the Black Market, simply press <color:keypress>b. For the Bookstore, you will need to press <color:keypress>b a second time. Once you have made your selection, press <color:keypress>J to travel to the desired location.
Travelling to Stairs
You can turn on the <color:keyword>list_stairs option () to include stairs in the object list; but you can also toggle stair visibility by pressing <color:keypress>S within the object list itself. Deep in the dungeon, you often want to locate the nearest stairs, whether because you wish to descend deeper still or because you need to escape a dangerous level:
There is 1 interesting feature: ...##............ LEVEL 50
> shaft down N 12 E 51 ....#............ EXP ********
.~!.'##........#. AU 214k
There are 42 wanted objects: ..`.|#%#.......#% ||}~==" ((]]
! a Potion of Dexterity N 3 E 28 .#.....'......#%% STR : 18/182
! 2 Potions of Intelligence S 1 E 47 ..#.#............ INT : 18/43
[ Black Dragon Scale Mail N 0 E 41 .###............. WIS : 18/71
[ Do-maru N 5 E 9 .###............. DEX : 18/***
[ Bar Chain Mail N 2 E 30 $$#%.%......%.... CON : 18/185
[ Augmented Chain Mail N 0 E 28 -|$#$$......#.`.. CHR : 17
] a Jewel Encrusted Crown N 2 E 28 *])$/(......#$.(. AC 163
] a Pair of Metal Shod Boots N 17 E 9 #|#"{ ......%=].. HP 904/ 904
( a Leather Jacket N 2 E 42 [|#%#%......%=[$.
" an Amulet {unidentified} N 1 E 30 (%## ....).#/]..
] a Golden Crown N 7 E 24 `% %#.......#$...
/ a Lochaber Axe S 1 E 40 .### ............
| an Executioner's Sword N 1 E 28 .###%#...........
[ Rusty Chain Mail N 23 E 11 %.## ###%....#%%.
) a Mithril Shield S 2 E 46 ### #....* %^
) a Mithril Shield N 0 E 26 # %#~..% %#
] an Iron Crown N 0 E 27 % #...# # Fast (+27)
( an Elven Cloak N 45 E 23 #..~# # Full
= a Ring {unidentified} N 1 E 40 #...# #
= a Ring {unidentified} N 3 E 29 ##### %
| a Bastard Sword N 10 E 22
[Press ESC to exit. Press ? for help] p
This was probably a quest level if there's only one staircase! As above, you can press <color:keypress>J or <color:keypress>( to travel to the stairs through the object list.
Subwindow
You may set up the Object List as a subwindow to have it continuously displayed; although additional functionality such as travelling to objects or inspecting objects will not be available through the subwindow, it is still a handy way to see what you're missing and where the stairs and entrances are. See for details on setting up subwindows.
Shopping
Press for the <color:keyword>Quick Reference andfor details on shopping.
Each town on the surface contains numerous shops where you may purchase supplies or sell unwanted objects. Each shop specializes in a certain class of items: The Weapon Smiths sells weapons (melee and missile) while the Armory sells armor; the Alchemist sells potions and scrolls while the General Store sells basic utilities such as food, lanterns and oil. Each town also has a Black Market where you may, for an exorbitant price, purchase items normally found only in the dungeon.
Your First Shopping Spree
When you enter a shop, you will see a screen describing the shop's owner and the items available for purchase:
Vengella the Cruel (Half-Troll) Armory (15000)
Item Description Weight Price
a) ( Soft Leather Armour of Protection [4,+16] 8.0 lbs 10400
b) ( Cord Armour [6,+4] 8.0 lbs 1010
c) ( Cord Armour [6,+0] 8.0 lbs 272
d) ( Leather Scale Mail (-1) [11,+0] 14.0 lbs 1540
e) ( a Leather Jacket (-1) [12,+0] 13.0 lbs 1870
f) ] a Hard Leather Cap [2,+3] 1.5 lbs 546
g) ] a Metal Cap [3,+0] 2.0 lbs 35
h) ] a Set of Studded Leather Gloves (+1) [1,+0] 0.5 lbs 1010
i) ] a Set of Studded Leather Gloves (+1) [1,+0] {25% off} 0.5 lbs 758
j) ] a Pair of Soft Leather Boots [2,+0] 2.0 lbs 10
k) ] a Pair of Hard Leather Boots [3,+0] 4.0 lbs 35
l) ] a Pair of Metal Shod Boots (+2) [4,+0] 8.0 lbs 2220
Gold Remaining: 1.94k
[b/p/g] Buy [s/d] Sell [x] Examine [?] Help [q/Esc] Exit
[R] Reserve Item [S] Shuffle Stock [B] Buy Everything
[Space/PgDn] Next [-/PgUp] Previous [U] Hide Unwanted (N)
A quick list of available commands is displayed on the bottom of the screen. Simply choose the appropriate command and follow the instructions. Use <color:keypress>Page Up and <color:keypress>Page Down if the shop inventory extends to multiple pages.
Press <color:keypress>u or <color:keypress>U to toggle hiding items your Mogaminator rules classify as Unwanted; while the filter is on the footer entry turns red and reads <color:keypress>Show Unwanted. The footer shows how many listed rows are affected (one per stack), and the count updates as the store contents change. If the Mogaminator is disabled, <color:keypress>u explains how to activate it first.
Every store owner has access to limited funds, and will only pay so much for items that you sell; this amount is listed next to the store type on the top of the display.
Quick Reference
Basic Commands
<color:keypress>p b g Purchase an item from the shop
<color:keypress>s d Sell an item to the shop
<color:keypress>x Examine an item in the shop
<color:keypress>B Buy out the entire shop inventory
<color:keypress>S Pay to have shop inventory shuffled
<color:keypress>R Reserve a shop item for future purchase
<color:keypress>u U Toggle hiding Unwanted items in the listing
<color:keypress>q Esc Leave the shop
Extra Commands
<color:keypress>w Wear an item
<color:keypress>t T Take off an item
<color:keypress>k ^D Destroy items in your pack
<color:keypress>e Display equipment
<color:keypress>i Display inventory
<color:keypress>I Inspect objects in your pack
<color:keypress>Tab Toggle inventory/equipment subwindows
<color:keypress>{ Edit item inscriptions in your pack
<color:keypress>} Open the dungeon notes menu
<color:keypress>C Display character sheet
Note: These <color:keyword>Extra Commands are simply normal game commands made available for your convenience so you need not leave the shop to use them. However, the keybindings for these commands are <color:keyword>hard-coded so any keymaps you may have defined will not apply.
Navigation
<color:keypress>Page Up Scroll through long object lists
<color:keypress>Page Down
<color:keypress>Space Same as Page Down
<color:keypress>- Same as Page Up
Display Options
<color:keypress>^W Toggle weights (see )
<color:keypress>^P Toggle device powers (see )
<color:keypress>^G Toggle graphics (see )
Targetting
The targetting prompt offers many options, and two different modes: <color:keyword>monster-targetting mode and <color:keyword>free-targetting mode. If there are hostile monsters in line of sight, targetting begins in monster-targetting mode; the first target offered will be the nearest such monster, with other hostile monsters in line of sight as alternative targets. Use direction keys to cycle between monsters; <color:keypress>+ and <color:keypress>- also work, but are less intuitive. Turn on the <color:keyword>target_pet option () if you want this mode to allow non-hostile monsters as targets.
If you wish to target (or inspect) a square with no monster on it, press <color:keypress>p or <color:keypress>o, switching to free-targetting mode where direction keys simply move the cursor. (This mode is automatically entered if no hostile monsters are in line of sight.) <color:keypress>o and <color:keypress>p are identical except in one respect: pressing <color:keypress>p (which stands for <color:keyword>player) moves the cursor to your own location, while pressing <color:keypress>o (which stands for <color:keyword>offset) does not.
At any time, press <color:keypress>5, <color:keypress>t or <color:keypress>. to accept the current target (and exit targetting mode), <color:keypress>q or <color:keypress>ESC to exit targetting mode without selecting a target, <color:keypress>r to recall lore about a monster on the target square, <color:keypress>x to see all items on the target square (including stolen or picked-up items carried by monsters, but excluding normal monster item drops), and <color:keypress>( to select a square as a travel target. In the original keyset, <color:keypress>J and <color:keypress>j also work as travel keys and are equivalent with <color:keypress>(.
If a visible or telepathically detected monster is standing on top of something you want to inspect, you can temporarily hide monster glyphs while looking around. In the original keyset, press <color:keypress>^L to enter this look-under mode. From the travel cursor, press <color:keypress>x to enter it in either keyset. This mode stays in free-targetting, lets <color:keypress>5, <color:keypress>t and <color:keypress>. select the current square even if occupied, and restores monster display when you leave it.
Users of the roguelike keyset have a bonus option in free-targetting mode: they can press <color:keypress>Shift+DIR to move the cursor many squares at a time.
Precision Targetting
When you cast a spell or fire a missile at a target location, the path chosen is the <color:keyword>direct path towards that location, which may or may not be the path you want. Sometimes, by clever choice of a side location as your target, you may be able to aim at squares not directly in line of sight:
Position: an unknown grid [q,t,p,m,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>]
##........#.... #%%####
#........\...... #
%.......}{\@.... #
%#%..........*.... #
## ........*... ... #
# ......*... .d. #
# ..(.#*. .#####
# .##* T #
# ^ #####* ##########
## # #* '
# # ##* ############
# # #* ###
# # ##* ##
## # # * #
# # ##* #
######### #*#########
Notice that bright-red *? There's a dragon on that square I cannot target directly; but I managed to include that square in my spell's path by using <color:keypress>p to target a location on the southern edge of the map.
Note that bolt spells always stop at the first monster in the spell's path, but beam and breath spells affect all squares in their paths, and ball spells can reach the target square by flying over monsters' heads if necessary.
Location Targets vs Monster Targets
When selecting a target, you may target either a <color:keyword>monster or a <color:keyword>location. This is an important difference: if you target a monster, the target will move when the monster moves; but if you target a location, the target remains stationary, even if the location had a monster in it.
If you bypass targetting mode you can also target a <color:keyword>compass direction, which for this purpose is always equivalent to targetting a <color:keyword>location, even if there was an obvious monster in the direction indicated. So watch out if there's a monster due west of you, you fire west and then spam <color:keypress>n (or <color:keypress>X in the roguelike keyset) to repeat: this will work beautifully as long as the monster remains due west, but as soon as it moves north or south you will need to retarget, something you would not have needed to do had you selected the monster as your target.
Quick Summary
<color:keypress>5 t . Select new target and exit targetting mode
<color:keypress>ESC q Exit targetting mode with no target selected
<color:keypress>DIR Move to square or monster in direction indicated
<color:keypress>+ Move to more distant monster
<color:keypress>- Move to less distant monster
<color:keypress>( j J Select travel target (exit and travel if not aiming)
<color:keypress>m Enter monster-targetting mode
<color:keypress>p Enter free-targetting mode (move cursor to player)
<color:keypress>o Enter free-targetting mode (keep cursor location)
<color:keypress>r Recall monster lore
<color:keypress>x Cycle between items on target square
<color:keypress>? Display this help topic
Cornucopia Banking and Insurance Services - Terms and Conditions
Cornucopia of Anambar ("Cornucopia") is your only option for personal banking, highly interesting loans and item insurance. By using any Cornucopia product or service, such as the Cornucopia Banking and Insurance Services ("Services") or the Cornucopia Official Help File ("Terms" or "Terms and Conditions"), you signify your agreement to all terms and conditions set out herein, which may be revised by Cornucopia or by the FrogComposband Maintainer (the "Maintainer") from time to time without explicit notice.
Deposit Accounts
As a Cornucopia customer, you (the "Customer") are entitled to open one (1) personal deposit account ("Account") at any Cornucopia office. Every time you deposit money in your Account, you will be charged a transaction fee of 500 gold pieces (or 0.02 percent of the money being deposited, whichever is higher), to be paid immediately. Your deposits will accumulate compound interest at a rate of 0.01 percent per diem, added to your Account every midnight. You may withdraw money from your Account at any time at any Cornucopia office, without additional transaction fees.
Loans
Cornucopia offers loans to customers ("Loans") up to a total amount of 1,500 gold pieces, or twice your reforge limit (up to a maximum of one-tenth of your known career gross earnings), whichever is higher, the initial Loan not exceeding 300,000 gold pieces. Cornucopia charges compound interest on all Loans at a rate of 10 percent per diem, applying immediately upon request of the Loan, and subsequently every midnight. The Loan can be repaid, fully or in part, at any time at any Cornucopia office. Cornucopia values prompt repayment of loans, but there is no absolute deadline for repayment - we are happy to repossess your estate if necessary. However, in the case of a very large outstanding Loan (exceeding 400,000 gold pieces) not covered by deposits in your Account, Cornucopia reserves the right to refuse you all further Services, including but not limited to settlement of insurance claims and withdrawal of deposits, until such time as the Loan is reduced to no more than 300,000 gold pieces.
Insurance
Cornucopia offers two basic types of item insurance policy ("Policies"): insurance against disenchantment of the item ("Disenchantment Insurance"), and insurance against destruction of the item ("Destruction Insurance"), as further explained below. A single Policy can cover either one item, or in the case of Destruction Insurance, one pile of identical items. As a Cornucopia customer, you may have up to four (4) Policies at any given time, and replace any Policy that has become inactive with a new, active Policy.
<color:keyword>Disenchantment Insurance applies to a wearable item ("Equipment"), and can be bought by the Customer for any base value ("Value") of up to 2,000 gold pieces, or one-twentieth of the item's value, whichever is lower. If the insured Equipment is disenchanted for any reason, the Customer will be entitled to claim monetary recompense ("Compensation") according to the severity of the damage and the quality of the item. The amount of Compensation per unit of damage for each type of disenchantment, shown in units of half the Value, is displayed in the table below:
To Hit To Dam To AC Pval
Normal Weapon 1 2 3 2
Ego Weapon 2 4 6 20
Artifact Weapon 4 8 12 40
Normal Armour 3 6 1 2
Ego Armour 6 12 2 20
Artifact Armour 12 24 4 40
No Compensation shall be paid for any damages that can be easily repaired by the Customer. The following damages shall be considered easily repairable: any damage that can be repaired at the Fighters' Hall, at the time the damage is suffered; for users of the Craft realm, any damage that can be repaired with the Enchantment spell; for weaponsmiths, any damage that can be repaired by a level 50 weaponsmith.
<color:keyword>Destruction Insurance applies to an inventory item (Potion, Scroll, Staff or Wand), or to a pile of identical Scrolls or Potions. A Destruction Insurance Policy can cover an item in either or both of two ways: an identical item is provided to the Customer by Cornucopia ("Item Replacement"), or Compensation is paid for the destruction of the item ("Item Compensation").
An Item Compensation Policy ("Regular Plan") can be bought for a Value of one-third the insured item's value for Staves and Wands, or the full amount of the insured item's value for Scrolls and Potions. If the insured item is destroyed by an enemy attack while in the Customer's inventory, the Customer is entitled to claim Compensation up to four times the Value for Staves and Wands, or two times the Value for Scrolls and Potions.
An Item Replacement Policy ("Replacement Plan") can be bought for fifteen times the insured item's value, or thirty times the insured item's value in case of ego items, for Staves and Wands only. If the item so insured is destroyed, an identical item will be provided to the Customer at a Cornucopia office. The original Replacement Plan will not apply to the copy.
All Destruction Insurance Policies only apply to items in the Customer's equipment or inventory, damaged or destroyed by enemy attacks. No Policies cover theft, items dropped on the dungeon floor, lost accidentally, consumed, or destroyed or made unavailable to the Customer in any other additional way. Disenchantment Insurance Policies only cover damage from disenchantment, not similar damage resulting from other sources such as acid attacks. Unlike some insurance companies, however, we do cover acts of God.
You agree not to deliberately seek situations in which an insured item is likely to be disenchanted or destroyed.
Exposure Limits
Cornucopia's insurance exposure limit with respect to you (the "Limit") is equal to one percent of your lifetime gold acquired, never being less than 5,000 gold pieces, and never being more than 50,000 gold pieces. The lifetime monetary losses of Cornucopia, resulting from Policies with Compensation claimed by you, and excluding all money used to buy Item Replacement policies and all monetary transactions not involving any Policy, shall never exceed the Limit. Any Compensation claimed by you in excess of the Limit shall be forfeited to and kept by Cornucopia, and shall not be considered owed to you. Cornucopia shall warn you when settling a claim would result in the Limit being exceeded.
The Limits were set up in response to the substantial losses incurred by Cornucopia in its dealings with the adventurer Implorington III ("That Two-Faced Bastard"), later determined to have been the result of insurance fraud, and we regret their necessity.
Disclaimer
IN NO EVENT SHALL CORNUCOPIA OF ANAMBAR, ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES OR REPRESENTATIVES, ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY ASSOCIATED WITH CORNUCOPIA, OR THE FROGCOMPOSBAND MAINTAINER BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR ANY OTHER DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, ANY CORNUCOPIA SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, EXTORT OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT CORNUCOPIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE SPECIFIED IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Dispute Resolution
The Terms and Conditions, and your relationship with Cornucopia under the Terms, shall be governed by the whims of the Maintainer without any regard to any actual laws. You and Cornucopia agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Maintainer to resolve any legal matter or dispute arising from the Terms.
Last updated : FrogComposband 7.1.toffee
Defending and Armor
There are a number of ways in which monsters can attack you: in direct melee combat, by exploding next to you, by breathing on you, or by casting spells (this is to say nothing of those lovely summoners who summon other monsters to lend them a helping hand!). All types of monster attacks can either harm your hit points directly, cause status effects (), cause other nasty side-effects (like stat drain or elemental damage to your items), or - way too often - all of the above.
Virtually all monsters have <color:keyword>melee attacks; usually they can only use them if they are directly next to you, but a few monsters have longer (two-square) reach, and then there are the dreaded beholders... Melee attacks are not guaranteed to hit, though; often they miss.
Many monsters also have an array of <color:keyword>magical spells which they may use against you; and some have <color:keyword>breath attacks (for example, red dragons breathe fire). Spell and breath attacks can be used from some distance away; usually they require line of sight, but sometimes a powerful ball or breath attack might snipe you from around a corner, still doing some damage even though the monster could not target you directly.
You need three things to protect you from this onslaught of attacks: <color:keyword>armor class (<color:keyword>AC) to make melee attacks miss more; <color:keyword>resistances to reduce damage from elements (like fire) and to mitigate or eliminate the side-effects that elements have; and enough <color:keyword>hit points (<color:keyword>HP) to survive the damage you can't help taking. (In practice, you also need a fourth thing as well: plenty of healing to recover from the damage!)
Armor Class
The higher your armor class (or AC) is, the better. The effects of high AC are twofold: it causes all monster melee attacks to miss more often, and it reduces damage from some melee attacks even when they do hit. The latter only happens against the "Hurt" and "Shatter" attack types, and not against melee attacks of other types.
You can get some AC from your dexterity (essentially this is your ability to dodge attacks, interpreted as AC); but the bulk of your AC will be accounted for by your equipment, especially your armor.
All armor-type items (body armors, shields, cloaks, gloves, boots, helmets etc.) have two different AC values: <color:keyword>base AC and <color:keyword>bonus AC. These are displayed in square brackets as [x,+y] (e.g. [8,+0]), where x is the base AC and y is the bonus AC. Base AC is usually the same for all items of the same kind (e.g. all small leather shields), cannot be magically enchanted or otherwise improved, and cannot be damaged. Bonus AC can be magically enchanted, but can also suffer damage from disenchantment and acid.
Non-armor items (such as weapons, amulets or rings) never have base AC, but may still have bonus AC. If present, this is indicated simply as [+y] (e.g. [+10]); since these items never have base AC, only one number is needed. See for a full account of all numbers that might be displayed in an item description.
For most characters, AC runs from around 0 to 150, maybe a bit higher. AC can go arbitrarily high; direct damage reduction from AC reaches its maximum level at an AC of 180, but the more important hit chance reduction from AC is not similarly capped. Yet, since armor is needed for resistances as much as (or even more than) it is needed for AC, compromises that limit AC are often necessary.
Resisting Magical Attacks
A few evil curses might give you a saving throw (see ); but breaths, bolts, balls, and other nasty spell attacks offer no such easy way out. Against them, your only recourse is to find equipment (or some other source) that grants <color:keyword>resistance to the attack's damage type, or element.
There are two categories of resistances: 1) the <color:keyword>base or <color:keyword>low resistances (acid, electricity, fire, cold, poison); and 2) the <color:keyword>high resistances: light, dark, confusion, nether, nexus, sound, shards, chaos, disenchantment, blindness and time. (Poison is sometimes counted as a high resistance, but is functionally a low one.) In addition, there is the special resistance to fear, which works differently (see ).
Each resistance both reduces damage from the corresponding element and gives you a saving roll against side-effects caused by that element. Multiple sources of the same resistance stack, though not linearly: one source of fire resistance (or another low resistance), for example, provides <color:keyword>50% resistance; two sources would give 65%, three sources 72%, and so on. The corresponding numbers for high resistances are lower: 30% for one source of resistance, 40% for two and 45% for three. These resistance percentages are displayed on the Character Sheet, so there is no need to memorize them.
For damage reduction, 50% resistance simply means damage is reduced by approximately 50% (there is slight randomness, so for any one attack it could be 52% or 49%, but it will be close to 50%). For side-effects, the calculation is somewhat different: the resistance level (here 50) is compared to a <color:keyword>66-sided die for item destruction calculations, and a <color:keyword>55-sided die for other side effects. So two sources of fire resistance (65%) would almost eliminate item damage from fire, but there's still that pesky 1 in 66 chance... For high resistances the numbers are lower: a <color:keyword>41-sided die for item destruction, and a <color:keyword>33-sided die for other side effects; again, two sources of resistance are almost but not quite enough to prevent item destruction.
A few races, such as <color:keyword>Androids (electricity) or <color:keyword>Werewolves and <color:keyword>Ents (fire), are exceptionally vulnerable to one element and trigger special resistance calculations for that element only. The item destruction limit is lowered in these special cases; Androids use a 54-sided die for electricity, as do Ents for fire; and Werewolves use a 53-sided die for fire, allowing them to still fully protect their inventory with three sources of resistance. But damage and side-effect calculations are not similarly forgiving.
A number of exotic elements (like gravity) have no corresponding resistance, though it may still be possible to resist some of their effects (see ).
Ego Armor and Artifacts
Ordinary, mundane armor isn't likely to give you a resistance; but armor crafted by the great smiths of the age and imbued with mighty magics is another matter entirely. These items will fall into two broad categories: 1) <color:keyword>artifacts and 2) <color:keyword>ego items. These categories are explained in more detail elsewhere (and); the main difference between them is that an artifact can only be found once in each game, while an ego item shares its type with unlimitedly many other items.
Both artifacts and ego items can be highly valuable, and can provide not only resistances but also other nice stuff - boosts to your statistics, boosts to your speed, protection from paralysis, the ability to reflect enemy arrows and bolt spells, even skill with magical devices or telepathy.
A list of all artifacts and ego types, and all the bonuses they give, would be both a spoiler and excessively long; so play the game and find out what there is :)
List of Resistances
This section describes the various damage types that you can resist. As mentioned above, your current resistance sources (and resistance percentages) are noted on your <color:keyword>Character Sheet (accessed with the <color:keypress>C command), and you should look there regularly to see what you have and what you still lack. You start the game with few or no resistances, but by the endgame you will resist nearly everything.
The most important resistances are to the four <color:keyword>base elements: acid, electricity, fire and cold. These are the first four resistances your character needs, and as early as DL 30-35 you should already have them doubly covered if possible, to reduce both direct damage and item loss. In the midgame and late game, attacks based on electricity, fire and cold can do extremely high damage, and might kill even a fully developed character from full health if not resisted.
The <color:keyword>high resistances are not as important in the early game, but by the late game you should have at least most of them covered too. Nether, Shards and Chaos are particularly important resistances in the endgame; you should always have them in the really deep dungeons, even if it means major compromises elsewhere.
Acid
Acid is a corrosive form of attack. Not only is it painful to you, the player, but it may also damage your armor and destroy items such as staves and scrolls. Worse, the damage to equipped armor ignores normal resistance, and can only be prevented with full immunity or by wearing acid-proof equipment (use the <color:keypress>Inspect command to see if a given piece of armor is acid-proof; all artifacts and many egos are). Acid damage is halved by armor, making it less deadly than the other base elements, but the damage to staves combined with the commonness of acid-based attacks still makes Acid Resistance a must-have.
Electricity/Lightning
Electricity is quite shocking (and quite painful) to experience up close. In addition, it destroys rings and wands, and you can be sure that the unidentified ring that just got fried was that Ring of Speed you'd long been looking for... Resistance to electricity is slightly more negotiable than the other three base elements, but not by much: you don't want to lose your wands, and you probably don't want to take 900 damage from a single lightning breath either.
Fire
In addition to causing physical damage to the player, fire-based attacks are prolific destroyers of essential gear in your backpack. Without resistance you can say goodbye to your staves, scrolls, town spellbooks, unequipped equipment, and (pretty soon) this cruel world. Of all resistances in the game, resistance to Fire is the most important, and Werewolves and Ents (who are vulnerable to fire) never stop feeling the pain.
Cold/Frost
Cold-based attacks may destroy potions (in addition to killing you outright). Some potions are so rare, so precious and so essential that they must be protected at all costs... but unfortunately, also so fragile that Cold resistance is only a part of that puzzle.
Poison
Poison does extremely high damage, the highest of any element, but it does so with some delay (see ). This means that you can use curing items such as Mushrooms of Cure Poison to tackle poisoning, and so this resistance is not absolutely needed... except that there's an exotic element called Toxic Waste, which is basically poison (and checks poison resistance) but has some very nasty extra side-effects.
Light
You need light to see, it is true, but too much light can blind you! While blinded, you won't be able to read scrolls or spellbooks, or even see the monsters around you (see )... and a few monsters have Light-based attacks that deal high damage directly. Luckily, these monsters are relatively rare, which makes Light one of the least important high resistances.
Dark
In addition to causing physical damage, darkness may also blind the player and darken the dungeon; so having resistance will protect your eyesight as well as your health. Darkness-based attacks tend to be fairly mild in the early game, but late-game Darkness Storms can be deadly.
Confusion
This form of attack is quite baffling, and I must confess to being puzzled as to how it manages to hurt the player, but it does. The main problem, though, is not the damage but the side-effect: a confused player cannot read scrolls, cast spells or even reliably move in the right direction. See for tips on how to deal with confusion.
Nether
Nether is the element of the underworld; not only is it deadly, but it can drain your life points (see ). In the late game, the undead are everywhere, and you lack Nether resistance at your peril.
Nexus
Nexus is seldom deadly, but often highly annoying; it can teleport you to very unexpected places, or even swap your primary stats around. Some of nexus's side-effects are so hated that birth options (and) exist to replace them with a mere foul curse...
Sound
Loud noises can be very painful, stun you, and cause your potions to shatter. Resistance to Sound also protects you from stunning as a side-effect of exotic elements; see for why being stunned is bad.
Shards
Shard-based attacks may cause bleeding as well as direct damage. While bleeding, you lose hit points every turn; the deeper the gash, the faster you will die (see ). In addition, shards can destroy potions. Resistance to shards is not needed in the early game, but in the late game it rivals base resistances in importance.
Chaos/Logrus
Chaos is another of the most dangerous damage types: if chaos attacks don't kill you outright, their side effects might. You may find yourself a confused, hallucinating, mutated wretch, twisted by forces unfathomable. Oh, and chaos destroys staves and wands too... Best to resist it, if you can.
Disenchantment
Disenchantment is the undoing of magic of all kinds. Not only might it (permanently!) reduce the quality of your equipment, it can also dispel the beneficial spells you weave; and it is plenty deadly, too. Disenchantment is the only element capable of harming an artifact.
Blindness
Blindness resistance, unlike all of the resistances listed above, does not reduce damage; its sole purpose is to protect you from the Blindness status effect, whether caused by directly blinding attacks or as a side-effect of Light or Dark. Apart from Time, Blindness is the least important resistance.
Time
Time-based attacks can be an enormous inconvenience; they have the potential to drain your experience or your stats, even ignoring any sustains you might have. Luckily, Time attacks are very rare, and the direct damage from them tends to be low; this makes Time resistance one you don't really need, which is good since it is by far the hardest resistance to find.
Fear
There is much in the world that may un-nerve the boldest hero, not least the special game mechanics around this resistance, which functions unlike any of the others. See for an explanation of fear and fear resistance.
Immunities
If you are very lucky, you may find items which grant <color:keyword>immunity to one or (very occasionally) more of the four base elements (Acid, Fire, Cold and Electricity). An immunity fully protects you from all damage and other effects that element might otherwise cause.
Other Protection
These item attributes are not technically resistances, but will still help you stay safe:
Free Action
Free Action gives you a saving throw against paralysis, and becomes a necessity once you start going into quests with paralyzing monsters (such as the Old Barracks quest or the Old Man Willow quest). Three sources of Free Action are always good enough to save you from paralysis (regardless of how bad your saving throw is), and two sources are always good enough against monsters of level 41 and below. Free Action also helps you recover much faster if you do get paralyzed; with no Free Action at all, paralysis often means death.
Hold Life
Having your experience drained is often an inconvenience, and sometimes outright dangerous if you lose levels. Hold Life gives you a save against experience drain, and generally reduces the amount of experience lost even if the saves fail. Multiple sources of Hold Life will stack.
Hold Life also gives some protection against <color:keyword>life point drain, which in the late game can be an even more serious problem than experience loss. As you lose life points, your maximum HP is effectively lowered (); even worse, some life-draining attacks make the draining monster stronger! If you run out of life points, you will usually turn into an undead rather than die outright; but some races (like Androids, Werewolves and monster races) cannot turn undead and will therefore die.
See Invisible
Some monsters are invisible, and cannot be seen by ordinary eyes. Needless to say, being attacked by something you cannot see is very frustrating, not to mention deadly! See Invisible gives you a chance to see these monsters; the more sources of See Invisible you have, and the better your Searching skill is, the more reliably you can see invisible threats.
Note that some invisible monsters are warm blooded; if you have <color:keyword>infravision, you may see these monsters once they get close enough, even if you have no See Invisible. Unfortunately for you, though, all the really dangerous invisible monsters are cold-blooded...
Telepathy
Telepathy is the ultimate in monster detection: it lets you see all approaching monsters and keep track of where nearby monsters are, and allows you to see invisible monsters more reliably. Telepathic sight is not even affected by blindness, often allowing normal combat while blind.
Don't let up your guard, though: the common, "universal" form of Telepathy only detects monsters with minds. Dangerous mindless monsters, like drolems or steam-powered mechanical dragons, can still surprise you if you don't detect regularly.
The Power of Monster Attacks
Damage from monster <color:keyword>melee attacks is usually a dice roll that depends on the monster's race (and is reduced by your AC for the Hurt and Shatter attack methods). The damage is not affected by the monster's health. The hit chance of monster melee attacks depends on your AC and the native level of the monster's race.
Damage from monster <color:keyword>spells can be either fixed, a dice roll or a combination of both, depending on the monster's race. The damage is not affected by the monster's health, but may be reduced for ball attacks if you are not hit directly.
Damage from monster <color:keyword>breath attacks is usually a percentage of the monster's current HP (and therefore is affected by the monster's health). Breath damage has an upper limit (for example, 900 for the base elements); this cap varies from element to element, and is applied before resistances. Breath damage can be reduced if the player is not hit directly.
Melee and spell attacks can become stronger if the attacking monster grows more powerful through Unlife attacks (see ). All attacks based on resistable elements, whether melee, spell or breath, can be defended against through appropriate resistances.
Recovering from Attacks
You cannot combat monsters and expect to come out unscathed every time; you will suffer damage many times, even come close to death. If there is no danger about, you can simply rest (<color:keypress>R) to recover, but often this cannot be safely (or efficiently) done and magical healing is required. In the early game, this usually means Potions of Cure Serious Wounds, Mushrooms of Fast Recovery or an effect-specific cure like a Mushroom of Cure Confusion. Later, you will rely on Potions of Curing, Staves of Cure Wounds, Wands of Vampirism, Potions of Healing and Staves of Healing, maybe even a Rod of Angelic Healing.
Simple heals and cures will not fix everything, though: some attacks can drain your statistics, your experience, or even your life points. These can also be cured with certain potions or with a Rod of Restoring, but it is often simpler to seek a healer in the town.
Original : (??), Leon Marrick and Chris Weisiger
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.0.11
Updated : PosChengband 7.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
The Dungeons
Although the game contains an extensive world featuring multiple towns (most offering special town quests) as well as a large wilderness area, the bulk of your adventuring will take place in the dungeons. Symbols appearing on your screen will represent the dungeon's walls, floor, objects, features, and creatures lurking about. In order to direct your character through his adventure, you will enter single character commands (see ).
Symbols on Your Map
Symbols on your map can be broken down into three categories: Features of the dungeon such as walls, floor, doors, and traps; objects which can be picked up such as treasure, weapons, magical devices, etc; and creatures which may or may not move about the dungeon, but are mostly harmful to your character's well-being.
Some symbols are used to represent more than one type of entity, and some symbols are used to represent entities in more than one category. The "@" symbol (by default) is used to represent the character.
It is not necessary to memorize all of the symbols and their meanings. The "slash" command (<color:keypress>/) will identify any character appearing on your map, and the <color:keypress>l look command and the <color:keypress>* targetting command can also be used to inspect the features you see. As you play a bit, the most common symbols soon become familiar.
See for town and wilderness symbols andfor monster symbols. You can use user preference files or the <color:keypress>% command to change symbols, although that is quite advanced, and new players who do take that path sometimes walk so deep into the forest of visuals that they forget to play the game :) Most players just keep the default symbols.
Features that do not block line of sight
<$:FF_FLOOR> Floor <$:FF_MIRROR> A mirror
<$:FF_INVIS> A trap (hidden) <$:FF_GLYPH> A glyph of warding
<$:FF_TRAP_TELEPORT> A trap (known) <$:FF_EXPLOSIVE_RUNE> An explosive rune
<$:FF_DIRT> Dirt <$:FF_SEMI_PUN> Wet trout of punishment
<$:FF_SHALLOW_WATER> Shallow water <$:FF_PATTERN_1> Section of the Pattern
<$:FF_DEEP_WATER> Deep water <$:FF_PATTERN_2> Section of the Pattern
<$:FF_SHALLOW_LAVA> Shallow lava <$:FF_OPEN_DOOR> An open door
<$:FF_DEEP_LAVA> Deep lava <$:FF_BROKEN_DOOR> A broken door
<$:FF_UP_STAIR> A staircase up <$:FF_OPEN_GLASS_DOOR> An open glass door
<$:FF_DOWN_STAIR> A staircase down <$:FF_OPEN_CURTAIN> An open curtain
<$:FF_SHAFT_UP> A shaft up <$:FF_DARK_PIT> A dark pit
<$:FF_SHAFT_DOWN> A shaft down <$:FF_SHALLOW_WASTE> Shallow nukage pool
<$:FF_ENTRANCE> Dungeon entrance <$:FF_DEEP_WASTE> Deep nukage pool
Features that block line of sight
<$:FF_GRANITE> A granite wall <$:FF_PERMANENT> A permanent wall
<$:FF_MAGMA_VEIN> A magma vein <$:FF_TREE> A tree
<$:FF_QUARTZ_VEIN> A quartz vein <$:FF_MOUNTAIN> A mountainside
<$:FF_SECRET_DOOR> A secret door <$:FF_CLOSED_DOOR> A closed door
<$:FF_GLASS_WALL> A glass wall <$:FF_CLOSED_CURTAIN> A closed curtain
<$:FF_MAGMA_TREASURE> Treasure in wall <$:FF_RUBBLE> A pile of rubble
Within the Dungeon
Once your character is adequately supplied with food, light, armor, weapons, and utility items, he is ready to enter the dungeon. Move on top of the <$:FF_ENTRANCE> symbol and use the <color:keyword>Down command (<color:keypress>>).
Your character will enter a maze of interconnecting staircases and finally arrive somewhere on the first level of the dungeon. Each floor of the dungeon is fifty feet high (thus dungeon level 1 is sometimes called "50 ft"), and the explorable areas are surrounded by permanent, unbreachable rock walls that separate them from other dungeon levels at the same depth. The size of a dungeon level can vary, but they are always rectangular and sometimes quite large, several times larger than the screen.
In Beginner Mode and coffee-break mode, once you leave a level you cannot ever return there, simply because up-stairs do not exist and every dungeon level you enter will be deeper than the one before it. If these modes (and the ironman option) are not selected, you can return to levels you have left as long as you remain inside the dungeon; although many different dungeon levels co-exist at the same depth, taking the same staircase again will always lead you to the same level. But as soon as you leave the dungeon, the levels you explored are lost and you will never find them again; upon your return to the same depth you will discover a completely new level. You might, however, run again into some of the monsters you left behind!
In the dark depths of a dungeon, the need for sufficient illumination soon becomes apparent. Some rooms have already been lit by nature or magic, and need no further light; but most of the tunnels are pitch dark, so it is a good idea to carry your own portable light source around. If no light is present, the character will be unable to see. This will affect searching, picking locks, disarming traps, reading scrolls, casting spells, browsing books, seeing monsters, etc. So be very careful not to run out of light!
A character must wield a torch, lantern or some other lamp in order to supply his own light. Torches and lantern burn fuel as they are used, and once out of fuel, they stop supplying light. You will be warned as the light approaches this point. You may use the "Fuel" command ("<color:keypress>F") to refuel your lantern (with flasks of oil) or your torch (with other torches), so it is a good idea to carry extra torches or flasks of oil, as appropriate. There are rumors of objects of exceptional power which glow with their own never-ending light.
Great treasures can be found in the dungeon, but your character must survive many horrible and challenging encounters to find the treasure lying about and take it safely back to the town to sell.
Objects in the Dungeon
The dungeons are full of objects just waiting to be picked up and used. How did they get there? Well, the main sources for useful items are all the foolish adventurers that proceeded into the dungeon before you. They get killed, and the helpful creatures scatter the various treasure throughout the dungeon. Most cursed items are placed there by the playful evil sorcerers, who enjoy a good joke when it gets you killed.
One item in particular will be discussed here. The scroll of "Word of Recall" can be found within the dungeon, or bought at the Temple and Alchemy Shop in towns. It acts in two manners, depending upon your current location. If read within the dungeon, it will teleport you back to the surface. In Beginner Mode, Word of Recall is the only way to return to the town once you have left it, since Beginner Mode activates coffee-break mode which disables all up-stairs. If read on the surface, Word of Recall will teleport you back down to your recall point in any dungeon of your choice that you have previously visited. This makes the scroll very useful for getting back to the deeper levels. Once the scroll has been read it takes a while for the spell to act, so don't expect it to save you in a crisis. Reading a second scroll before the first has had a chance to take effect will cancel both scrolls.
Your recall point in a dungeon is usually the deepest level you have reached in that dungeon, but can be optionally set to a more shallow level if you read Word of Recall on such a level. There are two reasons it might be convenient not to have your recall point at the deepest level. The first is if you are not truly comfortable yet at the deepest level you visited; maybe you even fell there by accident through a trap door. The second reason is that some dungeons are located close to towns, so setting a recall point near the surface provides convenient access to the town! This is often the fastest way to reach a town if you are in the wilderness.
A more complete description of objects is found elsewhere in the documentation (see ).
Mining
Much of the treasure within the dungeon can be found only by mining it out of the walls. Many rich strikes exist within each level, but must be found and mined. Quartz veins are the richest, yielding the most metals and gems, but magma veins will also have some treasures hidden within.
Mining is rather difficult without a pick or shovel, especially if your Strength is low. Picks and shovels give a bonus to your Digging ability, expressed as '(+2)', '(+3)' etc.; the higher the number, the better the digging ability of the tool. A pick or shovel may also give bonuses to your accuracy and damage, and can be used as a weapon.
Having found a vein of quartz or magma, the character may wield his pick or shovel and begin digging out a section with the <color:keypress>T or <color:keypress>+ command. When that section is removed, you can move on to another section of the vein and begin the process again. Since granite rock is much harder to dig through, it is generally better to follow quartz and magma and avoid the granite, even if it stands in your path. At a certain point, it becomes more cumbersome to dig out treasure than to simply kill monsters and discover items in the dungeon to sell (and many players prefer to do this from the beginning). Nevertheless, treasure veins can be a wonderful source of easy money, especially early in the game.
Some vein sections are obviously promising even to the untrained eye (these are denoted on the map with the <$:FF_MAGMA_TREASURE> symbol); but if your character has a scroll, staff, or spell of Treasure Location, you can easily locate the many further treasures likely to be hidden within the quartz and magma nearby. This makes mining much easier and more profitable.
A character with high strength and/or a heavy weapon does not need a shovel or a pick to dig. A number of enchanted weapons even give magical bonuses to your Digging ability, making them highly effective for digging through even the hardest rock. New players sometimes worry they might break or harm their valuable melee weapons trying to tunnel with them, but worry not, this will never happen! Some magical spells and devices have the power to turn any stone, even granite, into mud in a single turn; such spells and items make mining and digging faster and more convenient, and generally remove the need for more mundane digging tools.
Mining for treasure is not the only, or necessarily even the most common, reason you might wish to dig a tunnel. Digging new corridors to modify the terrain to your advantage is often a good idea when fighting dangerous monsters, and sometimes you will wish to access an area otherwise blocked off by walls or by monsters you would like to avoid. So it is always a good idea to carry something you can dig with, even if you are not planning on mining for treasure; but it does not always need to be a shovel or a pick.
Staircases and Shafts
Staircases are the manner in which you get deeper or climb out of the dungeon. The symbols for the up and down staircases are the same as the commands you need to type to use them: a "<$:FF_UP_STAIR>" represents an up staircase and a "<$:FF_DOWN_STAIR>" represents a down staircase. You must move your character over the staircase before you can use it. A shaft ("<$:FF_SHAFT_UP>" or "<$:FF_SHAFT_DOWN>") is basically a longer staircase; it will take you two levels up or down, instead of just one, except in a few special situations. Some levels might have no regular staircases, only shafts; in fact, in Beginner Mode, all staircases generate as shafts.
Each dungeon level has two or more down staircases, except for quest levels (which have none until the last quest monster on the level has been killed) and the levels at the bottom of a dungeon (which never have any downstairs because there's nowhere deeper to go!). All levels also have at least one up staircase, unless you are playing in Beginner Mode or coffee-break mode or have turned on the ironman_downward option. Sometimes these staircases can be tricky to find; you might have to go through some well-hidden secret doors, or dig through obstructions to get there, but you can always locate the stairs eventually if you look hard enough. Stairs, like permanent walls, and the doors into shops, cannot be destroyed by any means.
Secret Doors
The dungeon has many secret doors to confuse and demoralize adventurers foolish enough to enter. But with some luck, skill and concentration, you can locate these doors; use the <color:keypress>s or <color:keypress>S searching commands to look for a secret door. Secret doors sometimes hide rooms or corridors, or even entire sections of that level of the dungeon. Sometimes they simply hide small empty closets or a dead end. Secret doors always look like granite walls, never quartz or magma. See for some tips on where secret doors might be found!
Characters with very low Searching skill may be completely unable to discover the secret doors, no matter how meticulously they search. This is generally only the case for Berserkers, who prefer to use their raw power to create their own openings in the walls.
If a door turns out to be stuck, it can be broken down by bashing it. This sometimes takes a while to work, especially if your Strength is low. Once a door is bashed open, it is forever useless and cannot be closed. Many monsters are very good at bashing down doors... Creatures in the dungeon will generally know the locations of secret doors and may use them, and can often be counted on to leave them open behind them when they pass through.
Floor Traps
Secret doors are not the only things in the dungeon that are not quite what they look like. Some floor tiles contain hidden traps, there to harm or inconvenience you should you blunder into them. A few are even trap doors, dropping you down to the next level just when it is least convenient. Traps can be detected by <color:keypress>Searching, just as secret doors, or through magical means such as Scrolls of Trap Detection. (Since traps could be anywhere and dungeon levels are often large, the Searching option generally only makes sense if you have specific reasons to expect a trap nearby.) Most traps in FrogComposband are fairly benign, so it is not a big deal if you don't have any trap-detection items; you'll be inconvenienced occasionally, maybe suffer some item damage, but it will not cost you the game outright. The spookiest traps are very rare and only appear in the late game, when nearly all characters regularly use powerful magical detection methods that reveal not only traps but also secret doors and much more besides.
Known floor traps are indicated on the map with the <$:FF_TRAP_SLEEP> symbol. You can use the <color:keypress>l look command or the <color:keypress>* targetting command to inspect a trap more closely, telling you what kind of trap it is. You will quickly notice traps are color-coded; the dark-green trap of this example is one of four types of gas trap, and might briefly blind, poison, confuse or paralyze you.
You can use the <color:keypress>D disarm command to attempt to eliminate a known trap, turning the square back into a regular floor tile. Disarming is not guaranteed to work, though, and you might trigger the trap again in a failed attempt... Usually, walking into a known trap automatically attempts to disarm the trap (unless you are blind or confused); but there are a few very rare situations where you might actually wish to deliberately trigger a trap without any attempt to disarm it. This can be accomplished with the <color:keypress>- key.
Floor traps only affect you; monsters do not have to worry about triggering them. This may seem patently unfair, but no one ever said the forces of evil would give you a fair shake! A few classes, though, have the ability to turn the tables and set their own floor traps for monsters to walk into. Lawyers are notable for this, but the mightiest traps of all are set by Burglary rogues.
Level Feelings
Once you have been on a particular dungeon level for a while, you will receive a "level feeling" representing what your intuition tells you about the quality of objects and the difficulty of the monsters found on that level. You may check this message again at any time after receiving it by pressing <color:keypress>Ctrl-F.
The actual "feeling" message is generated based on a number of factors. Things which increase the feeling level include the presence of unique monsters, out-of-depth monsters and objects, large monster groups, and unidentified artifacts and ego items (see ). A feeling is only indicative of the level at the time you received the feeling, although it may update later to reflect the presence of new monsters or items. Note that high level feelings do not cause dangerous monsters or quality loot; dangerous monsters and quality loot cause high feelings.
In general, the nastier the feeling message, the better (or nastier) the level. From least to most interesting, the messages are as follows:
'What a boring place...'
'This level looks reasonably safe.'
'You don't like the look of this place.'
'You feel your luck is turning...'
'You feel nervous.'
'You have a bad feeling...'
'You have a very bad feeling...'
'This level looks very dangerous.'
'You nearly faint as horrible visions of death fill your mind!'
If you selected the Lucky personality or have otherwise acquired the "White Aura" good-luck mutation, the messages will appear in a more optimistic form:
'What a boring place...'
'This level can't be all bad...'
'You like the look of this place...'
'You feel your luck is turning...'
'You feel strangely lucky...'
'You have a good feeling...'
'You have a very good feeling...'
'You have an excellent feeling...'
'You have a superb feeling about this level.'
There are also two other feeling messages to denote special things. If you have not yet been on a level long enough to develop a feeling when you press <color:keypress>Ctrl-F, you will be given the prompt:
'Looks like any other level.'
You may also occasionally be lucky enough to receive the following message:
'You feel there is something special about this level.'
A special feeling means one of two things, there is either an undiscovered special item (artifact) on the level or your racial boss is on the level. Most player races do not even have a boss, so it's usually the former! As you get deeper on the dungeon, special feelings become increasingly common as you encounter more artifacts.
Thoroughly check the object list (<color:keypress>]) if you think you have fully explored a level but have failed to find the promised artifact. Often, the artifact will be an item you already detected but forgot to identify. If you mysteriously lose the special feeling, the opposite might have happened - some very absent-minded players have been known to identify valuable artifacts without noticing...
Note that it is possible for a level to have more than one artifact, maybe even an entire treasure vault full of artifacts. So you should never leave a special level without fully exploring it unless you've lost that special feeling or your character's continued survival is in question.
Random Quests
Every character will encounter ten random quests in the dungeon of Angband (unless they die first). By default, each quest is to kill a certain out-of-depth unique monster, though you may change this to kill a certain number of a random type of monster with a birth option . Be warned: unique monsters are generally powerful even at their native depths, so fighting them out of depth is especially difficult!
On random quest levels, no down staircases are generated until the last quest monster is killed, which means that you cannot continue further into the dungeon until you have completed your quest. When you kill the quest monster, the down staircase will be created and the monster will drop one or more bonus items of 'excellent' quality or above. This is true even of monsters who normally drop nothing at all.
The random quests in Angband will occur at random depths, so you won't be able to guess exactly when you might encounter one, although you are guaranteed to run into quests during all phases of the game and can therefore expect another quest to appear soon if you have gone a long time without seeing any.
Should a given quest prove too difficult for you, you may retreat to safety (recall to town, or take an up staircase) until you are more powerful. In Beginner Mode and coffee-break mode, this automatically fails the quest; outside these modes, the quest monster will patiently await your return unless you deliberately choose to fail the quest. To abandon the quest is to shame oneself, but it is better to know your own limits than to die (even with full honor) in a foolhardy attempt at completion. If you choose to fail a quest, your fame will be greatly diminished, but at least you are alive and can continue your descent deeper into the pits of Angband.
Fixed Quests
Several additional quests also appear in the dungeon that are always at the same depth for everybody and involve the same monsters. One of these you probably already know - kill the Serpent of Chaos on level 100 of Angband! Another is to kill Oberon, King of Amber, on level 99 of Angband; these two quests are assigned to you at birth, and must be completed to win the game.
Other such quests are received from towns; although town buildings generally offer town quests, occasionally you will get a dungeon quest instead. One such quest you should know about is Pest Control, also known as the Warg Quest - a quest to kill eight Wargs on level 5 of Warrens, or on level 5 of Angband if the wilderness is off (as is the case in Beginner Mode). Killing eight Wargs will give you quite a lot of experience, so completing this quest really speeds up the early game! Note, though, that you must request and complete the Thieves' Hideout town quest in Outpost before you can receive the Warg Quest.
Fixed dungeon quests obey the same rules as the random ones, except that for fixed quests received from a town the reward will be given to you by the quest-giver instead of being dropped by a monster; also, leaving the level of a fixed quest received from a town will fail the quest. The quests to kill the Serpent of Chaos and Oberon cannot be failed; you can leave them as many times as you wish, although in coffee-break mode (and especially instant-coffee mode) this is unwise and aventually makes them harder to complete.
Conquering Dungeons
If you are playing with the wilderness off (as is the case in Beginner Mode), the game only has one dungeon: Angband. But with wilderness on, there are dungeons all over the place - about thirty fixed ones, plus random one-level dungeons that occasionally appear in the wilderness. Most of these dungeons have their own monster theme and level generation rules, setting them apart from the others.
High-level dungeons often have a special <color:keyword>entrance guardian: a dangerous monster who will try to prevent you from getting in. Nearly all fixed dungeons have a <color:keyword>final guardian, or <color:keyword>dungeon boss - a powerful unique you can rely on to appear on the last level of the dungeon (and never anywhere else). Kill the boss, and you conquer the dungeon and will receive a free stat-up as your reward. Many dungeon bosses also drop a valuable fixed item.
Dungeon bosses are not quest monsters, and there is no absolute need to kill any of them; you can win the game without conquering any dungeons besides Angband. Even apart from the rewards, though, there is a good reason to kill at least some of them - but we wouldn't want to spoil it for you :)
This source of extra stat-ups is not available in no-wilderness play. To compensate for this, completing a random Angband quest gives a stat-up if the wilderness is off.
See for more details on wilderness dungeons.
Wilderness Dungeons and Where to Find Them
This is a full list of the standard wilderness dungeons... or is it? Dungeons are ordered by shallowest depth; and to avoid spoilers (only the shallowest depth is visible on the overworld map) this is the only depth indicated.
Note that you will never find all of these dungeons in a single game! Some will always be shuffled out of existence to limit the number of dungeons or the number of pantheons; but play the game enough times, and you will eventually conquer all of them.
<color:keyword>Warrens Level 1 Accessed from Outpost.
<color:keyword>Angband Level 1 Northeast of Morivant, must be conquered to win. Contains random quests.
<color:keyword>Hideout Level 8 Accessed from Outpost.
<color:keyword>Icky Cave Level 10 Accessed from Thalos.
<color:keyword>Tidal Cave Level 15 South of Morivant.
<color:keyword>Orc Cave Level 15 North of Outpost.
<color:keyword>Troll Cave Level 18 North of Outpost.
<color:keyword>Plains of Oz Level 18 Southeast of Morivant.
<color:keyword>Labyrinth Level 20 West of Outpost.
<color:keyword>Camelot Level 20 West of Outpost.
Often visited together with Labyrinth.
<color:keyword>Witch Wood Level 25 Southeast of Morivant.
<color:keyword>Battlefield Level 30 Southeast of Morivant.
Often visited en route to Telmora.
<color:keyword>Lonely Mountain Level 30 Mountains southwest of Morivant.
Access requires levitation.
<color:keyword>Chameleon Cave Level 30 Southeast of Telmora.
<color:keyword>Giant's Hall Level 30 Mountains southeast of Angband.
Access requires levitation.
<color:keyword>Snow Castle Level 30 Mountains southeast of Angband.
Levitation recommended.
<color:keyword>Eyrie Level 40 Mountains west of Telmora.
Access requires levitation.
<color:keyword>Castle Level 40 East of the road from Telmora to Angwil.
<color:keyword>Crystal Castle Level 40 Northwest of Morivant.
Guarded by dangerous Ethereal Dragon.
<color:keyword>Anti-melee Cave Level 40 North of Morivant.
<color:keyword>Anti-magic Cave Level 40 East of Zul.
<color:keyword>Arena Level 50 West of Zul.
<color:keyword>Graveyard Level 50 East of Angwil.
<color:keyword>Volcano Level 50 West of Outpost. Entrance in lava field.
<color:keyword>Numenor Level 55 Deep sea north of Anambar.
<color:keyword>Atlantis Level 55 Deep sea north of Anambar.
<color:keyword>Dark Cave Level 55 Northwest of Angwil.
<color:keyword>Disaster Area Level 60 Northwest of Angwil.
<color:keyword>Dragon's Lair Level 60 South of Angwil.
<color:keyword>Asgard Level 64 Swampy coast northeast of Graveyard.
<color:keyword>Pyramidal Mound Level 64 Northwest of Telmora, north of Eyrie.
<color:keyword>Mount Meru Level 72 Mountains south of Eyrie.
Access requires levitation.
<color:keyword>Mine Level 75 Island northeast of Anambar.
<color:keyword>R'lyeh Level 80 Deep sea northwest of the Dark Cave.
<color:keyword>Mount Olympus Level 80 Island northwest of Thalos.
<color:keyword>Mystery Cave Level ? ??????
--
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.0.11
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
The Mogaminator
<color:keyword>The Mogaminator is a rules-based system for automatic object handling, which you can activate or modify with the <color:keypress>_ command. With this system, you can decide which objects to pick up, which to destroy, which to automatically identify, and which to display as <color:keyword>wanted in the object list. You can automatically inscribe objects to suit your tastes, and even enter conditional statements to handle the preferences of different races and classes. Or you can just keep the default Mogaminator rules, which already do all of the above!
This document describes this system in tutorial fashion, assuming you know nothing about it. Detailed reference material will appear towards the bottom of this document (see if you really cannot wait!).
The system is named after its original author, Hengband developer Mogami.
Review of Object Knowledge
There is no doubt about it: the game generates lots and lots of objects. Some are valuable, some are not, and some are only valuable in specific situations... The Mogaminator will help you untangle that mountain of loot.
First, a really quick review of what is explained in detail at . When you find an object, it will generally be <color:keyword>unidentified, but you might have (or soon receive) a rough <color:keyword>sense of the object's quality, called <color:keyword>object feeling or <color:keyword>pseudo-ID. If the object looks promising, you probably want to <color:keyword>identify it to reveal the basics and maybe <color:keyword>*Identify* it to reveal special properties.
So your knowledge of an object is in one of the following states:
[1] Unsensed
[2] Sensed (pseudo-identified)
[3] Identified
[4] *Identified*
For mushrooms, potions and scrolls, things are a little different; these objects come in <color:keyword>flavors, and once you have learned the flavor, you will immediately recognize all future instances of that object. Indeed, all instances of the object are exactly alike, so the identification game is simply to discover and know the first instance of the object, and then decide, via your pick-up and destroy preferences, what to do with future instances of this type of object.
Managing Objects
There are three ways to manage objects: manually, by using the Easy Destroyer (below), and by using the Mogaminator. The Mogaminator is much more powerful than the Easy Destroyer, which simply destroys items, usually junk. The Mogaminator and the Easy Destroyer should only be used side-by-side if you have turned the <color:keyword>always_pickup option on.
What is <color:keyword>the Mogaminator? Basically, it is a rules-based system for taking a given action each time you encounter a certain type of object. The default action is <color:keyword>pick up, and this action is used whenever you fail to specify an alternative action; but the Mogaminator can also destroy junk for you and identify and inscribe objects automatically. Let's discuss the basics.
Basic Usage
The Mogaminator is activated by pressing <color:keypress>_, which also brings up an in-game editor where you can manage your preferences. It might look like this:
(^Q:Quit, ^W:Save&Quit, ESC:Menu, Other:Input text) (0,0)
#########################################
# Consumables
#########################################
mushroom of restoring#!E
~mushroom of hallucination
?:[EQU $RACE Snotling Doppelganger]
~mushroom
?:1
?:[LEQ $LEVEL 35]
potions:resist heat and cold#!kq
?:1
potions:resistance#!kq
potions:stone skin#!k
potions:heroism
potions:speed#!kq
potions:giant strength#!k
potions:revelation
potions:of strength#!k
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This line is a comment.
If you are new, you probably want to run from this complexity as fast as you can. Notice the top line of the screen where it tells you how to get out: <color:keypress>^Q (and you can also exit through the <color:keypress>ESC menu). The desire to exit immediately is understandable, and in fact not a problem: accepting the initial <color:keypress>_ prompts turns the Mogaminator on and initializes it with default preferences, so it should do a good job without any further messing. You can also disable it from the <color:keypress>ESC menu in this editor. (If you are very lazy, you can stop reading here and just happily play away with the default preferences for the rest of the game!)
So What Happened?
With the Mogaminator now on, you will find much of the junk you encounter being destroyed. For example, all those corpses and skeletons you leave behind as you hack and slash your way through the dungeon... except for <color:keyword>wanted corpses, which are getting automatically picked up!
That's a good start; but you might still run into objects you consider useless. For example, suppose you bought a lantern at the General Store; now you don't really care about torches anymore. Use the <color:keypress>k command (or <color:keypress>^D for the Roguelike keyset) and you get a prompt like:
Really destroy Wooden Torches {unidentified}? [y/n/Auto]
Notice the <color:keypress>Auto option. Choose that, and you get a message that the object is destroyed, but the fact that you don't like torches is remembered by the system. The next time your character moves on top of one, it will be destroyed automatically.
That's one simple way to use the Mogaminator: keep registering stuff for automatic destruction as you encounter it, and the loot mountain becomes easier to manage; but as we'll see later, <color:keyword>auto-pickup is even better than auto-destruction.
Oops, I'm Auto-Destroying Rings of Speed
Ouch! Well, don't panic. You can fix the problem easily; but doing so will require you to go back to the preference file editor. Press <color:keypress>_ and then press <color:keypress>END to move to the end of the document. This is where the game keeps track of any objects that you automatically registered for destruction. Your screen might look something like:
(^Q:Quit, ^W:Save&Quit, ESC:Menu, Other:Input text) * (0,268)
?:[EQU $CLASS Tourist]
~photograph
?:1
~special items
!worthless items
#!unusable items
?:$AUTOREGISTER
# *Warning!* The lines below will be deleted if you use Auto-destroy with a new character.
# Keep them by cut & paste if you need them for future characters.
(!nameless lights:^wooden torch$
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Destroy all light sources whose name begins with "wooden torch$", and which are
neither ego-item nor artifact. Do not display as wanted. This line will be
deleted later.
You cannot tell from the picture above, but I placed the cursor on the very last line of the file; in my case, the line from when I registered torches for destruction. Notice that at the very bottom of the screen, the game tells you exactly what the given rule means; if you are curious, you can move the cursor around the default preference file and actually learn quite a bit about how the system works. If you wish to simply remove this (or any other) rule, just delete the corresponding line and then exit with <color:keypress>^W to save and apply your changes.
What About Stuff I Want?
What you don't want is only half the story; some objects you really like. The two work nicely together, since <color:keyword>interesting objects will appear at the top of the <color:keypress>] object list. This allows you to easily track the interesting stuff even if the junk has not been destroyed!
Suppose you want potions of Cure Critical Wounds (this is a random but reasonable example of an item not set to be picked up by default). Wouldn't it be nice if these potions were automatically picked up, as well as displayed near the top of the object list? This is accomplished by adding the following line to the <color:keyword>top of the preferences file:
(^Q:Quit, ^W:Save&Quit, ESC:Menu, Other:Input text) * (0,0)
cure critical wounds
#########################################
# Consumables
#########################################
mushroom of restoring#!E
~mushroom of hallucination
?:[EQU $RACE Snotling Doppelganger]
~mushroom
?:1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pick up all items which have "cure critical wounds" as part of their name.
Display these items as wanted in object lists.
I colored the new line yellow in the screenshot to make it stand out. Pay attention to the bottom of the screen: does it sound like it will work? The reason I had to put the new line at the top is that rules are processed in order of priority from top to bottom; so if I placed the new rule at the bottom, it might have been overridden by an earlier rule.
Now, let's press <color:keypress>] to activate the Object List - is there anything on this level that I want?
There are 4 wanted objects: LEVEL 1
! 4 Potions of Cure Critical Wounds S 4 E 16 EXP 3
AU 747
There are 4 other objects: | !(
~ 4 Wooden Torches {unidentified} N 3 E 17 STR : 16
[Press ESC to exit. Press ? for help] INT : 18
>.....#+#.%% WIS : 9
%%%%.%%.#.% ##.. DEX : 18/40
%'%....# #%.... CON : 17
%%......% %%.~..% CHR : 12
#%......+% %%% %#....%%.. AC 6
%#........%%%%%%%%%#%.%% ##.......... HP 37/ 37
%.........'.'.......@..#% #%..........# SP 14/ 14
%%%......%%%%%%%%%%%#*'.###%% #%....##....*
..'.......# %.......%..#%....%%....#%
%%##......% %........%%%....##....##
%.....%# %.......'......#%.!..%%
%.#...% #.......#%%###########
%%%%#%% #.......#
Bingo! You can even <color:keyword>automatically travel to those delicious potions by pressing <color:keypress>J inside the Object List. What could be easier?
To recap, adding the line "cure critical wounds" tells the Mogaminator to pick up any object that has "cure critical wounds" as part of its name. You don't have to type so much - "crit" might work just as well - but the less you type, the more likely it is that your new rule will also match other objects. For example, "cure" would match potions of Cure Light Wounds, Cure Serious Wounds and Cure Critical Wounds, and even Staves of Cure Wounds. Sometimes this is OK, but at other times, it is better to type more.
Introduction to Rules and Events
So how does all this work? Basically, the preference file is an ordered list of rules. Whenever a certain event happens (such as moving on top of an object), the rules are scanned from top to bottom, and the first one that matches (if any) is applied. Every rule has an action associated with it that determines what to do if the rule applies.
Each rule is a single line in the file; but not every line is a rule. Some lines are blank, some are comments, and some are conditionals that tell the game when to ignore rules.
Objects are tested against rules whenever a specific event happens; generally when the player (1) moves on top of an object, (2) gets a new object feeling (see ) or (3) identifies an object (see).
Rules
A rule is a single line that consists of an action to perform, a predicate to test matches, and an optional inscription to add. Let's discuss each of these in turn.
Actions
First of all, picking something up is the default action and is inferred whenever you fail to specify an alternative. What are the alternatives?
<color:keypress>! Destroy
<color:keypress>; Prompt to pick up
<color:keypress>~ Leave on the floor
These are the primary actions. Pick-up is assumed if the rule does not begin with <color:keypress>!, <color:keypress>; or <color:keypress>~. Note that if the <color:keyword>always_pickup option is on, then <color:keypress>; and <color:keypress>~ will be overridden by it; and even <color:keypress>! is overridden unless the <color:keyword>leave_mogaminator option is also on.
In addition, there are the following action letters that augment the primary action:
<color:keypress>( Don't display this item on the <color:keypress>M map
<color:keypress>? Automatically identify this item
The first of these is not commonly used, since the <color:keypress>M map item display has been completely obsoleted by improvements to the object list. The second option (<color:keypress>?) is very useful, though, since it automatically identifies the matching object. This is a great time-saver, but requires you to carry Scrolls or Staves of Identify.
All of the action letters must be specified <color:keyword>first in the line for the rule, with one exception. The <color:keypress># letter indicates that you wish to automatically inscribe matching objects, and it must occur at the <color:keyword>end of the rule, followed only by the inscription text itself. For example, #@ad!sdk at the end of a rule will automatically inscribe @ad!sdk to any object matching the rule. (See for an explanation of this inscription!)
Matching
We saw above that matching is by string comparison with the object name, but you can be more specific than that if you want. To do so, use the following <color:keyword>keywords to construct a predicate used to test objects. The keyword portion of the match consists of zero or more adjectives modifying a noun that indicates the broad class of objects which should be considered. In addition, you can specify a free form text comparison string by adjoining <color:keypress>: followed by text to search for. We'll put all of this together in the examples section below.
Let's do nouns first. A complete list is presented at the end of this document, but some common nouns to get us started include:
Items Applies to everything. This is useful for very general rules, such as ~?unidentified items to automatically identify, but leave on the ground, everything not yet identified; or even <color:keyword>items to pick everything up!
Weapons Applies to all melee weapons, but not to ranged weapons.
Shooters Applies to all missile weapons, including bows, slings and crossbows.
Armors Applies to all forms of armor, including shields, helms and cloaks as well as body armor.
Wands Applies to magical devices that are wands
Staves Applies to magical devices that are staves
Rods Applies to magical devices that are rods
Potions Applies to potions
Scrolls Applies to scrolls
If you are using keywords to build a match predicate, then you must specify exactly one noun, but may use as many adjectives as you like. The complete list of adjectives is given below at , but here are some of the more common ones:
Unaware Applies to objects whose flavor has not yet been identified.
Unidentified Applies to any objects that have not yet been identified.
Unsensed Applies to objects that have not been identified or pseudo-identified.
Ego Applies to all excellent objects.
Nameless Applies to all non-ego, non-artifact objects.
Wanted Applies to corpses and skeletons of wanted monsters. These may be turned in at the Hunter's Office for a prize.
As an example of using multiple adjectives, the phrase ?unidentified ego weapons applies to, well, all melee weapons that are both excellent and not yet identified. Of course this means you must have pseudo-identified the object to know that it is an ego.
Finally, use a search string to further refine the match. If you don't use any adjective or noun keywords, then the entire text of your rule (starting after any action letters, and including all text up to the <color:keypress># inscription character) is used as the search string. If you are using keywords, mark the end of the keyword section with the <color:keypress>: separator. Examples are discussed below.
Examples
!potions:apple juice
Destroy potions of apple juice (as refreshing as they might be!). It uses the <color:keypress>! action letter for destruction, the <color:keyword>potions keyword to apply to an entire class of objects, the <color:keypress>: separator key, and a text field for string matching against the object name.
?unaware items
Pick up and automatically identify unidentified flavored items (e.g. a potion you've never seen before). Note that the pickup action is implied since none of the other primary actions are indicated, and even though there is a secondary action (to auto-id). This command uses the adjective unaware to modify the noun items. You could narrow down the applicability of this rule by using a more specific noun, such as scrolls or potions.
wanted corpses#Wanted!kkk
Pick up wanted corpses, and automatically inscribe them with Wanted!kkk. This inscription may make it sound like the monster was wanted for racism, but it simply means you get prompted repeatedly if you accidentally try to destroy the corpse. (See for more on how inscriptions work.)
?staves:destruction#@ud!sdk
Pick up and automatically identify all staves whose name contains the string "destruction". Inscribe these objects with @ud!sdk.
Example Scenarios
After that last section, you should have complete mastery over individual rules. Now, it is time to step up one level and apply multiple rules to accomplish common tasks. Ready?
Scenario #1: Handling Objects
In this scenario, you would like to handle the stream of objects in the most efficient way possible. Let's begin with the following rules:
unsensed armors
unsensed weapons
These rules say to pick up all armor and weapons not yet sensed or identified. That leaves out many types of objects, like potions and scrolls, but at least weapons and armors are objects that can be sensed. Since objects need to be in your pack to be sensed (we know immediate floor-pseudo-ID didn't kick in because the objects matched the unsensed adjective!), it is convenient to pick them up.
Now, let's add the following rules:
!average common weapons
!average common armors
You might not actually want this; but for now, assume your character is advanced enough to view average common equipment as junk. These rules will fire once pseudo-ID kicks in, destroying weapons and armor that pseudo-ID as average. The common adjective prevents these rules from applying to rare average items, like dragon scale mail or blades of chaos.
So, now our character is merrily picking up all equipment and then auto-destroying the average stuff once pseudo-id kicks in. Can we do more? Well, try adding:
?unidentified ego items
Now, the egos are automatically being identified on pseudo-ID as well. Pretty sweet! But maybe you get tired of some ego types after a while, and want them registered for destruction:
!common ego cloaks:of protection
!common ego weapons:of sharpness
Now even boring excellent items are being toasted for you, automatically, with nary a keystroke on your part; but, sometimes swords of sharpness become dice-boosted, and might not be so boring after all. You can protect them with
dice boosted weapons
or perhaps even
weapons more dice than 30
though that last one is an advanced maneuver.
In summary, the complete order of your rules might be:
weapons more dice than 30
?unidentified ego items
!average common weapons
!average common armors
unidentified armors
unidentified weapons
!common ego cloaks:of protection
!common ego weapons:of sharpness
New armors and weapons come down and hit rule 5 or 6 when your character steps on them, so they get placed into your pack automatically. Eventually pseudo-ID will kick in, revealing the object as average, in which case it is destroyed by rule 3 or rule 4, or as excellent, in which case it is processed by rule 2 which auto-identifies the ego item and rescans the rules. If it is a cloak of protection, it is destroyed by rule 7, while if it is a weapon of sharpness, it is destroyed by rule 8 - unless it happened to be hugely dice boosted, in which case it is protected by top-priority rule 1. Easy, right? Now you only have {bad} and {good} and {special} equipment to worry about...
Scenario #2: Flavored Objects
This one is easier, and I'll give the full set of rules first:
potions:healing#!kq
potions:of strength#!k
potions:of intelligence#!k
potions:of wisdom#!k
potions:of dexterity#!k
potions:of constitution#!k
potions:of charisma#!k
potions:augmentation#!k
scrolls:artifact creation#!*
...
?unaware items
collecting potions
collecting scrolls
?:$AUTOREGISTER
...
(!potions:^potion of restore charisma$
(!scrolls:^scroll of treasure detection$
... <many more junk flavors auto-registered for destruction> ...
Now, the pattern is wanted flavors on top for autopickup (and inscription), unwanted flavors on bottom for autodestruction (these are placed in your file automatically each time you press <color:keypress>A while destroying an object) and rules for collecting and unaware items in the middle. Unaware items get automatically identified, at which point one of the pick-up or destroy rules might get a chance to act. As for the collecting rules, those fire if you have another object of the same flavor in your pack. Perhaps you are carrying potions of Cure Critical Wounds, but don't have a rule specifically for this flavor; in this case, the collecting rule will pick up other potions of Cure Critical Wounds for you.
Scenario #3: Spellbooks
OK, this is the last one. See if you can figure this one out first:
first realm's fourth spellbooks#@md!sdk
first realm's third spellbooks#@mc!sdk
~first realm's second spellbooks#@mb!k
~first realm's first spellbooks#@ma!k
second realm's fourth spellbooks#@mh!sdk
second realm's third spellbooks#@mg!sdk
~second realm's second spellbooks#@mf!k
~second realm's first spellbooks#@me!k
!first spellbooks
!second spellbooks
!third spellbooks:major arcana
!fourth spellbooks:manual of mastery
third spellbooks
fourth spellbooks
Did you figure it out? This scenario picks up high level spellbooks from your character's magic realms, leaves low level spellbooks from your realms, destroys all other low level spellbooks, destroys all arcane magic spellbooks, but picks up high level spellbooks from other realms (presumably to sell for gold). Spellbooks from your realms are auto-inscribed to keep book labels consistent. Here, as elsewhere, order is very important: rules for the character's spell realms must come before the general rules to destroy low level spellbooks. (There is an unreadable adjective that would have made processing safer and less order-dependent here.)
Which Rule is Being Used?
If you are ever unsure about which rule is being applied in a given situation, turn on the <color:keyword>destroy_debug option (see ). With this option you can use the <color:keypress>Inspect command for more information. For example:
a Thieves' Guide [Burglar's Handbook]
Autopick: (!unreadable first spellbooks
I may or may not like this behavior, and if I don't, now I know which line to change!
In addition, with debugging turned on, the rules used are printed in the message log as actions are taken, so you can see exactly why objects are being destroyed, picked up, left on the ground or auto-identified. For example:
You have 26 charges remaining. (AutoID:~?unidentified rods) You see a Rod: Frost Ball (1/3 charges). (Destroy:(!rods:frost ball$) Auto-destroying.
Since this is message spam, you probably don't want to leave the <color:keyword>destroy_debug option permanently on.
Conditionals
This is an advanced topic, but the underlying principles are simple. What you consider useful or junk may depend on your race, class, character level or other similar details; and <color:keyword>conditionals help you apply rules only when they are appropriate. Each conditional statement evaluates as either <color:keyword>TRUE (1) or <color:keyword>FALSE (0); if a conditional that evaluates as FALSE is encountered, all rules that follow it are ignored until the next TRUE conditional is reached.
Conditional lines always begin with the characters <color:keyword>?:, followed by a (rather cryptic looking) expression that the game will evaluate.
Let's look at an example. Remember Scenario #1 above when we added lines to destroy average equipment? I said you might not actually want them, unless your character was advanced enough. Suppose you consider level 20 advanced enough?
?:[GEQ $LEVEL 20]
!average common weapons
!average common armors
?:1
Notice there are two lines colored in violet, each beginning with <color:keyword>?:. These are the conditionals; the first includes a funny-looking expression while the second one is much simpler, just ?:1.
The first conditional might or might not evaluate as TRUE; it depends on the value of $LEVEL (which you probably guessed is your current character level) and whether or not it is >= 20. GEQ stands for <color:keyword>greater than or equal to, and 20 is just a number. The order ([GEQ $LEVEL 20] instead of, say, $LEVEL GEQ 20 or even $LEVEL >= 20) is because GEQ is this expression's <color:keyword>function, and $LEVEL and 20 are arguments for it.
In contrast, ?:1 is easy. It evaluates as... well, 1! And as we already noted, 1 means TRUE; so ?:1 flips the "ignore rules" switch back off, and effectively marks the end of the area to which the previous conditional applies.
Here's another example:
?:[OR [EQU $CLASS Mage High-Mage Sorcerer] [EQU $RACE Beholder Lich] ]
wizardstaff
?:1
That's a more complicated expression, but you can probably figure it out: it's TRUE if your class is either a Mage, High-Mage or a Sorcerer; or if your race is either a Beholder or a Lich.
So, we have expressions composed of functions (like GEQ and OR), variables (like $RACE and $LEVEL), literals (like Mage and Sorcerer) and brackets. What are the functions and variables we can use?
Function Explanation
<color:keyword>IOR Inclusive Or: [IOR a b c ...] is TRUE if the value of any subexpression a, b, c, ... is TRUE.
<color:keyword>OR Same as IOR. (If you are a programmer or a mathematician you might expect there to be a XOR function, but there isn't!)
<color:keyword>AND Logical And: [AND a b c ...] is TRUE if the values of all subexpressions a, b, c, ... are TRUE.
<color:keyword>NOT [NOT a] is TRUE if a is FALSE, and vice versa. Use this when you want to take an action when something is not true.
<color:keyword>EQU [EQU v a b c ...] is TRUE when the value of v is one of the values a, b, c, ... Comparison is by string. Typically, you use this with v being a built-in variable expression like <color:keyword>$CLASS (see below), and the remaining arguments being strings to test like <color:keyword>Mage or <color:keyword>Sorcerer. Note that string literals are not quoted and therefore may not contain spaces. Hyphenate names with spaces (<color:keyword>Filthy-Rag instead of <color:keyword>Filthy Rag) if necessary.
<color:keyword>LEQ [LEQ v a] is TRUE when the integer value of v is less than or equal to the integer value of a. Note that while EQU treats its arguments as strings, LEQ treats them as numbers.
<color:keyword>GEQ [GEQ v a] is TRUE when the integer value of v is greater than or equal to the integer value of a. Note that while EQU treats its arguments as strings, GEQ treats them as numbers.
Variable Explanation
<color:keyword>$RACE Returns the name of your race; for example, <color:keyword>Snotling or <color:keyword>High-Elf.
<color:keyword>$CLASS Returns the name of your class; for example, <color:keyword>Warrior-Mage or <color:keyword>Mindcrafter. Note that if you are playing in Monster mode, then this variable always returns <color:keyword>Monster, while $RACE returns the actual monster race you are playing, such as <color:keyword>Lich or <color:keyword>Dragon.
<color:keyword>$SUBCLASS Returns the name of your subclass, if any. This could be, say, <color:keyword>Yeqrezh on a Disciple or <color:keyword>Evil Bias on a Gray-Mage.
<color:keyword>$SPECIALITY Returns the name of your speciality, for example <color:keyword>Axes on a Weaponmaster or <color:keyword>Potions on a Devicemaster. Returns <color:keyword>none for all classes except those two.
<color:keyword>$REALM1 Returns the name of your first realm, if any; for example, <color:keyword>Chaos or <color:keyword>Sorcery. If the player does not have a first realm, then this variable returns <color:keyword>none.
<color:keyword>$REALM2 Returns the name of your second realm, if any; for example, <color:keyword>Life or <color:keyword>Death. If the player does not have a second realm, then this variable returns <color:keyword>none.
<color:keyword>$LEVEL Returns your current level. Typically, you combine this with GEQ or LEQ to test the level against a threshold, such as [LEQ $LEVEL 34].
<color:keyword>$SELLING Returns <color:keyword>Off if you have turned the <color:keyword>no_selling option on, and <color:keyword>On otherwise.
<color:keyword>$MONEY Returns the amount of gold the player has. Like $LEVEL, use this with GEQ or LEQ to test whether your player is rich or poor.
All variables begin with a <color:keypress>$ character to distinguish them from string literals.
Literal Explanation
<color:keyword>Number Numbers are written like <color:keyword>105 or <color:keyword>32.
<color:keyword>String Strings are written like <color:keyword>High-Mage or <color:keyword>Beholder, and may not contain spaces.
Using the Editor
The editor should not be too hard to use, and you can probably figure things out on your own. Like any text editor, you move the cursor about with the arrow keys and then type when you have located the correct position. Advanced things (and easy things that slip your mind) can be done through the <color:keypress>ESC menu:
(a-j) Command:
#####+---------------------------+#######
# Con| a) Help |
#####| b) Quit without save ^Q |#######
mushr| c) Sa+----------------------------------+
~mush| d) Re| a) Left (Left Arrow key) ^B |
| e) Lo| b) Down (Down Arrow key) ^N |
?:[EQ| f) Ed| c) Up (Up Arrow key) ^P |
~mush| g) Se| d) Right (Right Arrow key) ^F |
?:1 | h) Mo| e) Beginning of line ^A |
| i) In| f) End of line ^E |
?:[LE| j) Ad| g) Page up (PageUp key) ^O |
potio| k) Ad| h) Page down(PageDown key) ^L |
?:1 | l) Ke| i) Top (Home key) ^T |
potio| m) Co| j) Bottom (End key) ^U |
potio+------+----------------------------------+
potions:heroism
potions:speed#!kq
potions:giant strength#!k
potions:revelation
potions:of strength#!k
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This line is a comment.
Here, you can clearly see what commands to use to move the cursor about, as well as backup keys in case normal keys like arrows somehow fail.
Note that the editor automatically colors each rule line according to the syntax of the expression. Sometimes the text displayed is not exactly the same as the rule you actually typed in (adjectives might be shuffled, for instance); but the meaning will be the same. To avoid confusion, the line your cursor is on is never syntax-colored and always displays exactly what you typed.
The Easy Destroyer
If, after reading all of the above, you decide that the Mogaminator is too much for you to handle, you may instead use a simpler system to manage objects: the <color:keyword>Easy Destroyer. This system is configured via options (see ); the option <color:keyword>destroy_items turns the Easy Destroyer on and off. Using the Mogaminator and the Easy Destroyer side-by-side is recommended if and only if you have the <color:keyword>always_pickup option on.
If you have turned on the Mogaminator but don't like what it's doing, you can disable it from this editor's <color:keypress>ESC menu or use the <color:keyword>disable_mogaminator option to turn it off. The <color:keyword>leave_mogaminator option limits object destruction to complete junk only. Using <color:keyword>always_pickup also disables item destruction by the Mogaminator while still allowing the Easy Destroyer.
Reference Tables
This section will give all the nitty-gritty syntax details for the Mogaminator. But first, where are those preference files located anyway? The default preferences are initialized from lib/pref/pickpref.prf; so if you want to edit the default preferences for all characters, this is the file to edit. You can also create your own personal default preferences at /lib/user/pickpref-UserDefault.prf; this has the advantage that you don't need to overwrite the original defaults, and can go back to them easily if you start disliking your changes. (Another advantage of the user defaults is that you can set and edit them in-game, which you cannot do with the global defaults.)
Once you activate the Mogaminator, your preferences are stored in a separate file in a system-dependent location. On Windows, they will be stored at lib/user/pickpref-NAME.prf, while on Linux they might be moved to ~/.angband/FrogComposband/pickpref-NAME.prf (outside the game's directory structure). Here, NAME is replaced with your player's current name. So if you want to edit your character's preferences using an outside text editor, this is the file you need to change. It's usually simpler to just use the in-game editor; but if you do edit preferences outside the game while you are playing, be sure to use the <color:keypress>$ command to force the game to reload the preference file.
The promised reference tables follow below... enjoy!
Table I: Line Types in the Editor
Type Explanation
<color:keyword>Comment These lines begin with a <color:keypress># and are ignored by the system.
<color:keyword>Conditional These lines flip the global processing switch ON and OFF. If the expression evaluates to TRUE, then the switch is turned ON and any subsequent rules will be included. If the expression evaluates to FALSE, the switch is turned OFF and any subsequent rules will be ignored until the next TRUE conditional is reached. See above for details.
<color:keyword>Rule Every other line, unless it is blank, is a rule. The syntax of a rule is described in the following 5 tables.
Table II: Rules: Syntax
Rules have one of the following two syntactic forms:
[Actions] Adjectives* Noun Special-Clauses* [<color:keypress>:Search-String] [#Inscription-String]
[Actions] Search-String [#Inscription-String]
Square brackets denote optional syntactic elements. * is the Kleene-Star and indicates that 0 or more of the preceding syntactic elements may be specified. All rules must be specified on a single line in your preference file.
Syntactic Element Explanation
Actions The "what to do if this rule matches" part. Uses one or more of the action letters described in the next table. If this element is omitted, the action defaults to <color:keyword>pick up.
Adjectives These modify nouns, further narrowing down the set of objects that will match the rule.
Noun A single noun is always specified for the first syntactic form and indicates the broad class of objects to which this rule shall apply.
Special Clauses Further refinements, discussed below (). They resemble adjectives in that they modify nouns, but unlike adjectives they involve numerical comparison of object attributes. They also always follow the noun, while adjectives precede the noun.
Search String This is a free-form text value to compare against the object's name. Comparison is by string and is case-insensitive. Two special characters, <color:keypress>^ and <color:keypress>$, indicate the matching string must be at the beginning or end (respectively) of the object's name; for example, <color:keyword>^foo will only match objects whose names begin with <color:keyword>foo, so <color:keyword>foobar matches it but <color:keyword>barfoo does not. Similarly, <color:keyword>bar$ only matches objects whose name <color:keywords>ends with <color:keyword>bar. Finally, note that object names are always in the singular; so, for example, <color:keyword>Seeker Bolt would work for a string match, but <color:keyword>Seeker Bolts would always fail.
Inscription String This is a free-form text value that will be automatically inscribed on any object matching this rule.
If this seems complicated, study the default preferences and you will soon figure things out.
Table III: Rules: Action Letters
Letter Type Explanation
<color:keypress>! Primary Destroy
<color:keypress>; Primary Prompt to pick up
<color:keypress>~ Primary Leave on the floor
Primary Pick up - assumed if you fail to provide an alternative primary action letter. There is no specific action letter for this action, it is simply assumed unless overridden.
<color:keypress>( Secondary Hide in <color:keypress>M map and object lists
<color:keypress>? Secondary Automatically identify this item, provided you have scrolls or staves of Identify.
<color:keypress># Terminal Auto-inscribe matching objects with whatever text follows this key. Note that Primary and Secondary action letters must be placed at the <color:keyword>beginning of a rule line, while Terminal action letters must be placed at the <color:keyword>end of a rule line.
Every rule must have one Primary action (which is assumed to be Pick Up if nothing else is specified). It can have 0 or more secondary actions, and the sole Terminal action is also optional.
Table IV: Rules: Nouns
Noun Explanation
Items Applies to everything. This is useful for very general rules, such as ~?unidentified items to automatically identify, but leave on the ground, everything not yet identified; or even <color:keyword>items to pick everything up! The noun <color:keyword>items is implicitly assumed if no other noun is specified.
Weapons Applies to all melee weapons (including diggers), but not to missile weapons.
Favorite Weapons
Applies to all weapons, including shooters, that your class likes. For example, Weaponmasters specialize in a given type of weapons, such as Axes or Crossbows; whatever their speciality is, this "noun" will apply to these preferred items. Note that the game considers <color:keyword>favorite weapons a noun, not an adjective followed by a noun.
Hafted Weapons
Applies to all hafted weapons like Maces, Flails and War Hammers; these weapons are preferred by Priests. Like the Favorite Weapons "noun" above, the Mogaminator views this as a single noun, not an adjective followed by a noun.
Diggers Applies to all digging implements, such as shovels, mattocks and picks.
Shooters Applies to anything that goes in the shooter shot, including slings, bows, crossbows, harps and guns.
Ammo Applies to all ammunition for missile weapons: arrows, pebbles, shots and bolts.
Armors Applies to all forms of armor (for more specific nouns, see below):
Suits Applies to body armor.
Shields Applies to shields.
Cloaks Applies to cloaks.
Helms Applies to helmets and crowns.
Gloves Applies to gloves.
Boots Applies to boots.
Wands Applies to wands.
Staves Applies to staves (the magical device kind, not the quarterstaff kind!). For example, try staves:healing or staves:speed.
Rods Applies to rods.
Potions Applies to potions. (Watch out - many potion names, like Potion of Strength and Potion of Restore Strength, partially match each other.)
Scrolls Applies to scrolls.
Rings Applies to rings.
Amulets Applies to amulets.
Lights Applies to anything that goes in the light source slot.
Spellbooks Applies to all spellbooks. If you are a non-caster (and non-seller) you can specify !spellbooks with impunity, but as a book caster you probably want to combine this with adjectives.
Junk Applies to complete junk like broken sticks. Also covers statues (which are potentially sellable); use !worthless junk to exclude them.
Corpses Applies to corpses, which are potentially useful; Possessors can possess them, Igors cut them apart, some demons eat humanoid corpses, and wanted corpses can be turned in at the Bounty Office.
Skeletons Like corpses, you may turn in wanted skeletons at the Bounty Office. Archers may also use skeletons to make arrows and bolts.
If you are using keywords to build a match predicate, then you must specify exactly one noun, but may use as many adjectives as you like.
Table V: Rules: Adjectives
Because there are so many adjectives, they are grouped here by kind.
Object Knowledge
Unsensed Applies to objects that have not yet been identified or pseudo-identified.
Unidentified Applies to objects that have not yet been identified (e.g. ?unidentified items to auto-identify everything).
Unaware Applies to objects whose flavor has not yet been identified.
Identified Applies all objects that have been identified.
*Identified* Applies to fully identified objects, and is rarely needed.
Object Quality
Average Applies to all average items. Some players like to combine this with the ! action letter quite early; but that can be inconvenient if you are looking for a reforge base item.
Good Applies to all good items.
Ego Applies to all excellent objects. See for more information.
Artifact Applies to all artifacts. See for more information.
Cursed Applies to all cursed items. Use sparingly; cursed items can be good, and !worthless items catches the real junk.
Nameless Applies to all objects that are neither artifacts nor ego items.
Rare Applies to all objects in a specific, hardcoded list of object types; for example, Blades of Chaos and Maces of Disruption are rare, as are all dragon armor pieces including dragon scale mail.
Common Applies to all objects that are not rare; so a Long Sword is common, but a Blade of Chaos is not.
Worthless Any object whose value is 0 is considered worthless. Watch out a bit, though: for example, corpses are "worthless", but you still want to keep some of them. The default preferences have !worthless items at the very bottom, below rules that protect useful worthless things.
Icky Icky items are items unsuitable for your class; they may be an Icky Wield or cause other class-specific penalties.
Object Attributes
Dice Boosted When used with weapons or shooters, this adjective indicates that the object's damage dice or damage multiplier are higher than usual for the object kind.
See the Special Clauses below for more information about matching on an object's attributes.
Spellbook Adjectives
Unreadable This will match spellbooks that you cannot use, either because you are playing a class that does not have realms or because the book does not belong to a realm you selected.
First Realm's Applies to books from your primary magic realm, if any.
Second Realm's Applies to books from your secondary magic realm, if any.
First
Second
Third
Fourth Each realm of magic has four spellbooks; these adjectives refer to each of these books by number. Usually, the first and second books are cheap, while the third and fourth are valuable.
Corpse Adjectives
Wanted Combine with corpses or skeletons to indicate the remains of a wanted monster.
Unique Combine with corpses or skeletons to indicate the remains of a unique monster. (Maybe you're a collector?)
Human Some characters use humanoid corpses either as food, or as part of a ritual to summon a powerful demonic ally. For these situations, add a rule like ~human corpses to your preferences, though ~special items will also work.
Miscellaneous
Collecting Collecting items matches stackable objects identical with objects already in your pack.
Special Special items are objects your race or class needs; objects that are usually considered junk by default. For example, some characters receive scant sustenance from normal food and must consume humanoid corpses (yum!). Daemon casters use corpses for various spells. Archers use skeletons to make their own ammo. Beastmasters and Cavalry actually enjoy wands of Haste Monster. Such special scenarios are handled with this adjective. Note that this is a meaning completely distinct from the object feeling {special}, which refers to artifacts.
Unusable Applies to wearable items you currently have no equipment slots for. Especially handy in Monster Mode - still, use with some care in case you acquire new slots over time...
Table VI: Rules: Special Clauses
In the following clauses, N refers to a digit (0-9); the sequence NN means you may type one or two digits, and can therefore enter any number between 0 and 99. Analogously, NNNNNN allows numbers between 0 and 999999. If you enter too many digits, the parser will not recognize your special clause, and you will get unsatisfactory results from your rule.
Special Clause Explanation
More Dice Than NN This clause applies to weapons only, and is true whenever the maximum possible damage exceeds the number you enter. For example a (2d5) weapon will match more dice than 9 but will fail to match more dice than 10.
More Bonus Than NN An object's bonus is here the largest of its pval, to-hit, to-dam and to-AC. For example, rings more bonus than 9:speed will pick up rings of speed (+10) or better, but will not match other rings of speed; and suits more bonus than 19:power dragon says that you would quite like a Power Dragon Scale Mail, but only if its to-AC bonus is +20 or better!
More Level Than NN This clause is intended to be used on corpses so that Possessors can manage the mountains of dead bodies they create. You can also use it with other objects, in which case it corresponds to the level of the object, or its ego type. For devices, it matches the power level of the device.
More Charges Than NN Intended for magical devices; maybe you already have a Staff of Cure Wounds with 20 charges and consider anything smaller than that to be junk.
More Weight Than NN Some classes have weight restrictions on armor, like Monks, Scouts and Ninjas. Other classes, like Maulers, prefer very heavy weapons. This clause matches against the weight of the object, in pounds; so weapons more weight than 39 will match weapons weighing at least 39.1 lbs.
More Value Than NNNNNN This clause matches against the known value of the object. Use with care, since unknown or even un-*identified* objects may have "known" values lower than the actual value.
Table VII: Conditionals: Syntax
Conditional statements have the following syntactic form:
?:Expression
Conditional expressions use the following (partial) grammar:
Expression := Literal | Variable | [Function Expression*]
Function := IOR | OR | AND | NOT | EQU | LEQ | GEQ
Variable := $RACE | $CLASS | $REALM1 | $LEVEL | $MONEY | ...
Literal := 23 | 52 | Rage-Mage | High-Elf | ...
Note that unlike above, square brackets are part of the syntax of expressions and do not indicate optional elements in the grammar. Rather, function application expressions are always surrounded with square brackets.
When the expression on a conditional line evaluates to FALSE or 0, then any subsequent rules will be ignored. When the expression evaluates to TRUE or non-zero, then any subsequent rules will be applied. See above for details.
Table VIII: Conditionals: Functions
Function Explanation
<color:keyword>IOR Inclusive Or: [IOR a b c ...] is TRUE if the value of any subexpression a, b, c, ... is TRUE.
<color:keyword>OR Same as IOR.
<color:keyword>AND Logical And: [AND a b c ...] is TRUE if the values of all subexpressions a, b, c, ... are TRUE.
<color:keyword>NOT [NOT a] is TRUE if a is FALSE, and vice versa. Use this when you want to take an action when something is not true.
<color:keyword>EQU [EQU v a b c ...] is TRUE when the value of v is one of the values a, b, c, ... Comparison is by string. Typically, you use this with v being a built-in variable expression like <color:keyword>$CLASS (see below), and the remaining arguments being strings to test like <color:keyword>Mage or <color:keyword>Sorcerer. Note that string literals are not quoted and therefore may not contain spaces.
<color:keyword>LEQ [LEQ v a] is TRUE when the integer value of v is less than or equal to the integer value of a. Note that while EQU treats its arguments as strings, LEQ treats them as numbers.
<color:keyword>GEQ [GEQ v a] is TRUE when the integer value of v is greater than or equal to the integer value of a. Note that while EQU treats its arguments as strings, GEQ treats them as numbers.
Table IX: Conditionals: Variables
Variable Explanation
<color:keyword>$RACE Returns the name of your race; for example, <color:keyword>Snotling or <color:keyword>High-Elf.
<color:keyword>$CLASS Returns the name of your class; for example, <color:keyword>Warrior-Mage or <color:keyword>Mindcrafter. Note that if you are playing in Monster mode, then this variable always returns <color:keyword>Monster, while $RACE returns the actual monster race you are playing, such as <color:keyword>Lich or <color:keyword>Dragon.
<color:keyword>$SUBCLASS Returns the name of your subclass, if any. This could be, say, <color:keyword>Yeqrezh on a Disciple or <color:keyword>Evil Bias on a Gray-Mage.
<color:keyword>$SPECIALITY Returns the name of your speciality, for example <color:keyword>Axes on a Weaponmaster or <color:keyword>Potions on a Devicemaster. Returns <color:keyword>none for all classes except those two.
<color:keyword>$REALM1 Returns the name of your first realm, if any; for example, <color:keyword>Chaos or <color:keyword>Sorcery. If the player does not have a first realm, then this variable returns <color:keyword>none.
<color:keyword>$REALM2 Returns the name of your second realm, if any; for example, <color:keyword>Life or <color:keyword>Death. If the player does not have a second realm, then this variable returns <color:keyword>none.
<color:keyword>$LEVEL Returns your current level. Typically, you combine this with GEQ or LEQ to test the level against a threshold, such as [LEQ $LEVEL 34].
<color:keyword>$SELLING Returns <color:keyword>Off if you have turned the <color:keyword>no_selling option on, and <color:keyword>On otherwise.
<color:keyword>$MONEY Returns the amount of gold the player has. Like $LEVEL, use this with GEQ or LEQ to test whether your player is rich or poor.
All variables begin with a <color:keypress>$ character to distinguish them from string literals. Note that some variables allowed by edit files are not allowed here, and some variables that are allowed here (like $SYS and $KEYBOARD) are unlikely to apply and so not documented.
Table X: Conditionals: Literals
Literal Explanation
<color:keyword>Number Numbers are written like <color:keyword>105 or <color:keyword>32.
<color:keyword>String Strings are written like <color:keyword>High-Mage or <color:keyword>Beholder. Note that string literals are not quoted and therefore may not contain spaces; hyphenate if necessary (<color:keyword>Filthy-Rag for the Filthy Rag race).
--
Original : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
FrogComposband FAQ
Q: I'd like to move one square at a time, but every time I press a key my character moves halfway across the screen. Help!
A: You are somehow triggering the Run command instead of the Walk command. In addition to normal running (with the '.' command), FrogComposband uses preference files to support shiftrunning (running by using the Shift key), which is preferred by some players. This mechanic sometimes leads to unwanted running, especially on the angband.live online server which has some very odd default settings. If you are playing there, see if toggling Num Lock helps you stop running, turn on the online_macros option in the Input Options menu (the '=' key), or else request help in the server chat.
Q: All right, I have a character up and walking. What should I do?
A: First of all, you will want things that help your character survive difficult situations - either cheap healing potions (cure light/cure serious wounds), or escape scrolls (phase door/teleportation), or ideally both. These are sold at the Temple (shop 4) and the Alchemy Shop (shop 5). After that, you'll probably want to either explore a dungeon (Warrens, in Outpost, is the easiest and the usual starter dungeon) or request and complete one of the early quests. While the Thieves' Hideout quest is marked as level 5, for all but the weakest characters it is doable at the very beginning of the game, at least with a bit of luck and a cure wounds potion or two.
Q: How do I access the Thieves' Hideout quest?
A: In Outpost, walk to the large building just outside the city walls and press 'q' to request a quest from the Count. Then walk to the building in the northeast of the city and press '>' at the quest entrance.
Q: Where do I find the other quests in the game?
A: All quests are offered by some building in some town, apart from the two (Oberon and Serpent) that you start with, and the ten random level-guardian quests in the Angband dungeon. Most quests have special entrances, which can be found in towns or their immediate vicinity. (If you can't spot the entrance visually, press the ']' key (or Ctrl-O) to display the object list; it also displays nearby entrances.) The entrances only appear after you request the quest.
A small number of quests are offered by towns but appear in dungeons. The first of these is Pest Control (offered by the Count after you've completed Thieves' Hideout), which is located on level 5 of the Warrens dungeon, or level 5 of Angband in coffee-break mode and no-wilderness mode.
Q: What is "coffee-break mode"? How does it differ from normal play?
A: Coffee-break mode is a quicker, simpler and more streamlined version of the game. There is no wilderness, only one town (the "Lite-Town" version of Outpost) and only one dungeon (Angband). Experience gain (and many forms of proficiency gain) are greatly accelerated, monster drops are improved, and the player receives bonus fame for reforging purposes. All stairs in the dungeon are two-level shafts, and forced descent is turned on. Small levels generate more often in the early part of the game, but become rarer (and less small) towards the endgame. Unlike other forced-descent play, the player is allowed to recall back to town, as well as to skip random dungeon quests by recalling (although recalling out of a quest incurs a large fame penalty).
Coffee-break mode is a birth option; it is automatically turned on for players who select the 'Beginner' option at character creation, but can also be selected the normal way by non-beginners. Coffee-break mode is not an easy-mode; it is activated for beginners because it is simpler and allows faster progress, not because it is easy.
Q: I can't find any up staircases, only down staircases! Is there any way I can get back to town?
A: In coffee-break mode (and Beginner mode), up staircases never generate, but you can return to Outpost by reading a scroll of Word of Recall (or using the 'Recall' class power on a Berserker). Be careful not to run out of scrolls; if you start running low, buy a few more at the Temple or the Alchemy Shop. (If all else fails, you can hope to find a scroll in the dungeon.)
In pure forced-descent mode, up staircases never generate and recalling is disabled, so you do not have any way to return to the surface once you've left it.
In normal play every down staircase is matched by an up staircase, so you can simply walk back, though recalling is still usually faster.
Q: How do I search for things in the help system (or on my character sheet, or in my Recent Messages)?
A: First, locate the right document. Then press '/' if you want to search forward in the document, and '\' if you want to search backward; after this, type the search term and press ENTER. Note that searches are case-sensitive. To search for the next occurrence of the same term, simply press '/' (or '\') again and then ENTER; the search term does not need to be typed in again.
A successful search moves you to the part of the document where the search term appears, and highlights the term in yellow. If this does not happen, the term you searched for does not appear in the document, at least not in that direction. (If your search term was very long, you can try a shorter search term and see if it makes any difference.)
Press '?' for other commands that can be used within the help system.
Q: I keep dying! What am I doing wrong?
A: Don't worry - this is an expected part of the development curve for new players, and even experienced roguelike veterans die a lot (with the possible exception of the player nicknamed "clouded"!) Learn from your mistakes - if a situation got you killed, avoid getting in that situation again, or make sure you have the supplies to keep you alive if something similar does happen again. Do not rely too much on items with a fail rate - the game is long, and if you take too many chances you will fail at the wrong time eventually. Try to avoid situations where you are one fail away from death.
At the same time, it is much better to have an item that saves you 97% of the time than to not have that item! In particular, Staves of Teleport are a key helper that will often get you out of a tough spot; unlike scrolls of teleportation, staves can be used while confused, which is often critical in the early midgame before the player acquires resistance to confusion.
Learn to know the monsters, develop strategies appropriate to their strengths and weaknesses, and avoid fights with enemies too strong for you.
Q: I want to play with the strongest possible race/class combination. Which one is that?
A: It's hard to say what the strongest class is, both because there are so many (with different strengths and approaches) and because some classes (like berserkers) are strong in the early game and not so strong later, while others (like psions, an extremely powerful endgame class) have the opposite curve. Ninjas are often used as an example of a strong class, and while it's very debatable whether they are the strongest, they do have the advantage of steady development that keeps them powerful through all phases of the game. The same thing could be said of weaponsmiths.
Demigods, Archons, Balrogs, Klackons and Draconians are all highly powerful races, but they also have a very steep leveling-up penalty, which can be a significant drawback if you want to go places fast. The "plain" human is actually surprisingly powerful especially in the early going, thanks to its low level-up penalty and early access to a demigod talent.
At the opposite end, yeek tourists and snotling tourists are extremely weak combinations, used by players looking for a challenge. Not that it makes much of a difference on a Nightmare-mode Sexy thrall...
Q: How do I put arrows (or other projectiles) in my quiver?
A: First press 'w' (the "wear"/"wield" command) to equip the quiver, then press 'w' again to put the arrows in the quiver.
Q: The game is offering me a stat-up. What should I invest in?
A: Choose a statistic your character needs; for example, on a melee character you'll want to improve either your strength or dexterity first, and constitution will also help you. If the base for one of your key stats is exactly 18, you'll probably want to improve that stat, because improvements get larger and more significant above 18. Do not invest too much in any one stat, though; the improvements become much smaller again as a statistic approaches its cap level.
Q: The game is offering me a demigod power. Which one should I pick?
A: It depends on what your character needs; take your time to read the descriptions of all the powers to see which one suits you best. Generally, though, Evasion, Unyielding and Fleet of Foot are all very strong options and are good "default" picks if you don't feel comfortable selecting something more exotic.
Q: My nice sword is described as (2d6) (+10,+15) [+5] (+4) - what are all those weird numbers?
A: In this particular example, 2d6 are your damage dice (you roll two 6-sided dice), +10 is a bonus to accuracy, +15 is a bonus to damage, [+5] is a bonus to armor class and (+4) indicates the size of various other bonuses. See andfor more generic answers.
Q: I have found lots of cool items, but the monsters I meet keep destroying them! Am I doing something wrong?
A: Elemental resists help protect your inventory. With one level of resistance, the chances of an item being destroyed by that element are significantly reduced; with two levels of resistance, the item will only be destroyed if you're really unlucky; with three levels of resistance the item will be safe. Watch out for fire, acid, cold and electricity in the early game, and also chaos in the late game. Sound and shards can destroy potions.
If you don't have the appropriate resist and don't want to risk losing the item, avoid monsters that might destroy it; or, if they only destroy items in melee, avoid melee and kill them with ranged attacks.
Note that the armor you wear will always be susceptible to damage from acid attacks - regardless of your acid resistance level - unless you have immunity to acid. This can be really annoying in the early game; by the late game you'll mostly wear artifacts or excellent items that cannot be harmed by acid.
Q: I got bored in Outpost so I headed into the wilderness... and I'm still there searching endlessly down one road after another looking for a town. Where are other towns and dungeons?
A: You need to use the global wilderness map (press the < key on the ground level). This gives you a scaled map of the world (often called the "overworld map"), where you can travel to other towns and dungeons more easily. It is possible to reach any location in the game without using the overworld map (most roads do lead somewhere); but such an approach will take you much longer and also entail more risk, since monsters won't attack you as often if you travel through the overworld map.
Q: I cannot access the overworld map. What's wrong?
A: You are either playing in no-wilderness mode, which has no overworld map, or there is a monster nearby and the game won't let you escape too easily by entering the overworld. Coffee-break mode forces no-wilderness play. Selecting 'Beginner' (instead of 'Normal') at character creation forces coffee-break mode (and consequently no-wilderness play), which sometimes confuses players who've seen or heard about the game and expect a wilderness.
Q: I keep getting ambushed in the wilderness! How do I survive?
A: Take enough Scrolls of Teleportation with you (or a Teleport staff), and some form of healing (like potions of cure serious wounds or cure critical wounds) for emergencies. Avoid high-level wilderness (like mountains or deep seas, or the areas around high-level dungeons) until you know your character can survive there. Daytime travelling is somewhat safer than travelling at night, as ambushes are more likely at night and approaching dangerous monsters are easier to spot in daylight. Characters with low stealth are also more likely to be ambushed.
Q: I tried to reach a dungeon through the overworld, and the overworld map says I should be right on top of it; yet when I go to the normal map I can't see a dungeon entrance anywhere. What's wrong?
A: Dungeon entrances in the wilderness can sometimes be tricky to locate because one square on the overworld map corresponds to a fairly large area on the normal map. If you exit the overworld map in the right square but the entrance is still far enough away to be out of sight, the game will tell you which direction it's in (e.g. "The Angband entrance doesn't appear to be within sight. Perhaps it's a bit further to the east?"). If no such hint appears, the entrance is within sight, you've just missed it; press ] or O (the object list commands) to see where it is. If such a hint does appear, explore the nearby area in the direction indicated, pressing ] or O occasionally to make sure you don't miss the entrance. If you feel you've walked a long way and still can't find the entrance, check the overworld map to confirm you haven't moved out of the right area, and then try again.
Q: I have "stumbled onto something interesting" in the wilderness. What does that mean?
A: It means some special feature has randomly generated nearby. It might be an unusual room, enclosure or clearing, potentially full of monsters or loot; a random shop in the wilderness; a dangerous (or simply quirky) monster formation; or even an entrance into a random dungeon. Sometimes these features are easy to spot, sometimes they are more easily missed; whether you are sufficiently intrigued by the interesting area to try to locate it is entirely up to you, and it is unlikely you will miss much if you leave it unexplored.
Q: I want to play as an Android, Balrog, Golem, Skeleton, Zombie, Spectre, or Ent. But normal food doesn't seem to work for me, and there are no reliable sources of Satisfy Hunger. How do I avoid starvation?
A: These races have special sources of nutrition. Androids can quaff oil; Balrogs can eat human corpses; Golems, Skeletons, Zombies, and Spectres can absorb mana from staves and wands using the 'E'at command; Ents can gain enough nutrition from potions. (Note that many of these races do also get some sustenance from normal food, just not very much.)
Q: I'm playing as a Berserker, and cannot read scrolls. How do I remove a curse?
A: A berserker can simply 't'ake off cursed equipment, uncursing it in the process; though as cursed items will attempt to stick, this may take a few tries. A Beorning in bear form can also remove curses this way.
Q: Berserkers cannot use scrolls or rods. How do I get out of the dungeon on a Berserker?
A: Berserkers gain the class power 'Recall' at level 10. Press 'U' (original keyset) or 'O' (Roguelike keyset) to use class powers.
Q: What are the main advantages and disadvantages of the various types of magical item (potions, scrolls, rods, wands and staves) compared to each other?
A: Scrolls are relatively plentiful, bypass fear checks, and cannot be drained by charge-drainers like rods, wands and staves; but they're vulnerable to destruction from fire and acid, are consumed on use, cannot be used while blind or confused, and have a slightly higher minimum fail rate. An individual scroll doesn't weigh much, but a large pile of scrolls will be heavier than a single rod or staff with the same purpose would.
Rods have few charges, and many of the best rods have high fail rates, but they are indestructible and recharge faster than wands and staves do. Rods are also somewhat less susceptible to charge-draining than staves and wands.
Staves and wands are fairly similar to each other in principle - both have more charges than rods, but don't recharge as fast. Direct comparison between a staff and a wand is seldom necessary, as they have different effects with different purposes. (As a general rule, wands have effects aimed at a particular target, staves have effects that do not need to be aimed, and rods may have either type of effect.) Wands can be destroyed by electricity and chaos, while staves can be destroyed by acid, fire, toxic waste or chaos. Staves are the device most likely to be used while confused or blind, although rods and wands can also be used this way if needed.
Potions are the only magical item that can always be used with no possibility of failing, making them highly valuable in emergencies. But a potion is easily destroyed as three separate resists - cold, sound and shards - must be covered to keep it safe from all elements; and your supply of really good potions, once lost, is not easy to replenish.
Q: Why do Ninjas start the game with Iron Spikes?
A: Ninjas (and Ninja-Lawyers) can use Iron Spikes as shuriken; use the 'v' command to throw a spike. (Other classes can technically also use spikes as throwing weapons, but will only do marginal damage.)
Q: I'm at normal speed (+0). But normal speed monsters sometimes double-move me!
A: In FrogComposband, the amount of energy needed for a move is somewhat randomized (though less so than in its predecessor PosChengband). This method of speed system is an important feature of FrogComposband and simulates real fighting. Usually a monster with the same speed as you will only get one move in, but always prepare for the possibility that they might get two moves! Don't fight when your HP is low unless you have a death wish.
Also, monsters don't always move at their listed speed; watch out in particular for hasted monsters, who receive a temporary +10 speed bonus. Non-unique monsters are born with somewhat random speeds, and might be faster or slower than the average monster of their race. (Probing such a monster will reveal its individual speed.)
Q: How important is my speed, anyway?
A: Speed is incredibly important, especially in the early game when you don't have much of it and it's hard to come by. A character with +10 speed does everything twice as fast as a character with +0 speed. If you survive to the late game, however, you may eventually start hitting diminishing returns for speed; the difference between +30 speed and +40 speed is only ten percent. Potions of Speed, and in the late game Staves of Speed and Rods of Heroic Speed, are extremely useful items you should ideally always have.
Q: I've reached the town of Anambar, and can't find a home there. Do I not have a home in Anambar?
A: Locate the Police Station and complete the quest they offer. You will receive a home as a reward. (However, Zul is a town where you really don't have a home.)
Q: I'm seeing "empty" rings or amulets that seem to do absolutely nothing. Is there any point to them, or are they just flavor?
A: Empty rings and amulets are not directly useful, but they can be used as the base item for a potentially useful artifact reforge.
Q: I put a Ring of Combat on my finger, but it doesn't seem to do anything, what's wrong?
A: Melee rings, like Rings of Combat, only affect the weapon in the corresponding hand; so a Ring of Combat worn on your right hand only affects the weapon in your right hand (if any), and a Ring of Combat worn on your left hand only affects the weapon in your left hand. (If you wield a single weapon with both hands, both rings will apply to it.)
Q: How does Free Action work in FrogComposband?
A: Free Action provides protection from paralysis, a potentially lethal condition. One level of Free Action provides partial protection and helps recover faster if you do get paralyzed; two levels of Free Action provide complete protection against low-level monsters and very good protection against high-level monsters; three levels of Free Action provide complete protection against paralysis, except in the special case of the Ancient Foul Curse.
How good "imperfect" Free Action (one level of protection in the early game, or one or two levels in the late game) is depends on the level of the attacking monster, and also on your saving throw. The better your saving throw is, the less of a risk you're taking by not having three levels of Free Action.
In many other Angband variants one source of Free Action is enough to give complete paralysis immunity; if you've played such variants, be careful not to rely too much on a single Free Action source in FrogComposband.
Q: Is there any way to gain paralysis immunity even against the Ancient Foul Curse?
A: A good saving throw improves your chances of not being paralyzed by the curse. With a sufficiently good saving throw the chances of being paralyzed by the curse become zero. Anti-Magic items push your saving throw up to this level, but can be inconvenient for characters that rely heavily on magic.
Q: How does See Invisible work in FrogComposband?
A: Every level of See Invisible improves your chances of noticing an invisible creature. How good those chances become depends on the level of the monster (high-level monsters are harder to see) and on your Searching skill. Sometimes an invisible creature flickers in and out of sight - now you make the sight roll, the next turn you don't. If you have several sources of See Invisible and still have trouble seeing invisible creatures, you may need either Telepathy or an item that improves your Searching skill.
Q: Do I need to use the Mogaminator?
A: There is no need to use the Mogaminator, although most players eventually do. If it feels too complicated to begin with, start with the easy auto-destroyer and move to the Mogaminator once you have the rest of the game figured out. If you don't like the Mogaminator destroying so many items, you can turn on the always_pickup input option or the leave_mogaminator auto-destroyer option.
Q: I tried to dual wield two weapons. But I couldn't hit anything!
A: You need to practice your dual-wielding skill (proficiency level) and your weapon skills. Hitting high level monsters many times will improve your skills. Note that the information command '~' reveals your proficiency levels. Some classes are very bad at dual-wielding, while others are much more adept at it or can become so with enough training. If you try to dual-wield on a sniper and it doesn't work out, don't let that discourage you from dual-wielding on a ninja.
Wearing gloves of Genji or gaining the Ambidexterity demigod talent will give you bonuses to dual-wielding (though these bonuses will not stack with each other). Mariliths and Dagger-speciality Weaponmasters also receive a dual-wielding bonus.
Dual-wielding works best with relatively light weapons. Even fully proficient dual-wielders will struggle to hit high-AC monsters with a heavy weapon such as a Lance. Of course, even if a weapon's damage output is limited, it could still be worth wielding for the resists and bonuses on it!
Q: What about wielding one weapon with both hands? Is that a good idea?
A: From a purely melee-damage point of view, it is usually your best option: wielding a single weapon with both hands improves your damage and accuracy, and unless your blows per round are maxed out anyway you will also receive more blows. The downside is that you effectively have one fewer equipment slot, and miss out on the AC, stat bonuses, resists etc. that a shield or second weapon in that slot would give. Whether this is a good trade depends on your character, how much you gain, and how much you give up. A fairly typical approach is to wield your weapon with both hands until you find a good shield somewhere in the dungeon, and then stop.
Many light weapons (specifically, those that weigh less than 10 pounds and are not polearms) cannot be wielded two-handed, and should always be used together with either a shield or a second weapon. On the other hand, very heavy weapons (compared to your strength) can only be wielded properly with two hands.
Wearing Gloves of the Giant will give you more blows with a two-handed weapon, though if your blows per round are maxed out in any case this bonus has no effect.
Q: How do skills (proficiency levels) work?
A: Weapon proficiency levels and dual wielding proficiency levels increase your to-hit bonus. Spell proficiency levels decrease fail rate and mana consumption rate of spells. Riding proficiency level gives you more speed when you are riding on a high speed monster, and decreases risk of falling from your mount.
Q: How do I increase my proficiency level?
A: Proficiency level of a weapon will increase when you hit a monster whose level is high enough compared to your character level and to your current proficiency. Proficiency level of a spell will increase when you cast the spell at a dungeon level deep enough compared with the spell level. The needed conditions to increase riding proficiency are rather complex; generally, you need to hit a monster whose level is high enough compared with current riding proficiency level or to shoot a monster while riding on a high level mount.
Q: I'm a level 15 ranger and have been shooting everybody from the beginning, but my short bow proficiency is still Beginner (+0). Is something wrong?
A: Beginner (+0) doesn't sound great, but it's a lot better than Unskilled (-20), and is good enough you need to shoot monsters of native level 15 (or deeper) to get your proficiency up to +1.
Q: I'm a fighter type and rely largely on melee. Which weapon should I use?
A: In the very early game, you should usually use the weapon that does the most damage. Press Shift+C to see the character sheet, which displays your melee damage and melee to-hit. You should look at both to determine how good a weapon is - it's no use having a weapon that technically does lots of damage if you can't hit anything with it! Also remember, though, that your to-hit percentages will improve rapidly as your proficiency with a weapon increases. Don't worry too much about starting with an Unskilled proficiency - unless that's your proficiency cap for the weapon, or if the weapon is an icky wield.
As you start finding {excellent} weapons and artifacts, you may well want to wield a particular weapon for the resists, bonuses or abilities it provides, even if you have another weapon that would do more damage. A dead character has no use for a high damage output.
Q: What is an "Icky Wield"?
A: Some classes have a very strong preference for a certain weapon or type of weapon, to the extent that other weapons are marked as icky. The exact effects of wielding an icky weapon depend on class, but as a general rule you should always assume that an icky weapon will be worse than a non-icky one, at least from a melee perspective. In the specific case of Priests, however, the melee penalty is relatively small and the main drawback of an icky weapon is its effect on prayer fail rates.
Q: What exactly does the "Weapon Versatility" demigod talent do? Does it allow me to use icky weapons?
A: It allows you to reach Master proficiency with all weapons, including icky ones. However, the icky weapons will still be considered icky and incur the same icky-wield penalties.
Q: Some weapons have slays (like Slay Orc) or brands (like Viper's Fang). What do these mean?
A: Slays and brands do extra damage against the appropriate monsters (so Slay Orc does extra damage against orcs, and Viper's Fang does extra damage against monsters who don't resist poison). Slays and brands work by multiplying the weapon's dice (which makes them much more valuable on a 5d6 blade of chaos than on a 1d5 dagger).
If a weapon has multiple slays or brands that could apply to the same monster, only the strongest slay or brand (the highest multiplier) is applied; slays and brands never combine, with two exceptions. The first is Force (Mana Brand), which fully combines with other slays. The other is Mark of Chaos, which rolls a random slay or brand for each blow; if the weapon also has other slays or brands, the Mark of Chaos sometimes combines with them and makes them slightly stronger.
Q: I'm in a very dangerous spot, but there's a trap door right next to me. Is there any way I can deliberately fall through the trap door without making the automatic attempt to disarm it?
A: Use the '-' key, followed by the direction, to deliberately walk into the trap.
Q: How do I ride on a monster?
A: At first, summon, charm or capture some suitable monster. Then use the pet menu command 'p'.
Q: How do I use a Capture Ball?
A: Equip it and activate ('A') to a dying monster.
Q: I cannot hold a weapon and a shield without losing control of my horse. My horse runs aimlessly!
A: You cannot directly control your mount unless you use one hand to control your mount. But you can command your mount. Just use 'p' command, and give your mount a target. The horse which was given a target will no longer run around aimlessly.
Q: I have acquired a mutation! Is that bad?
A: Some mutations are good, while others are bad. Two towns - Zul and Anambar - offer a "cure mutation" service that allows you to get rid of bad mutations (the Zul service is much cheaper). Note, though, that you don't get to choose which mutation is removed - you might be "cured" of a good mutation, with the bad one staying in place...
Potions of New Life also cure mutations among their other effects, and potions of Polymorph both give and cure mutations at random.
Having too many mutations gives a penalty to HP regeneration; the more mutations you have, the worse the penalty. Beastmen are penalized less, and can have a large number of mutations before triggering the penalty at all. Permanent mutations (such as demigod powers or the White Aura from the Lucky personality) do not count towards this penalty. Mana regeneration is not affected by mutations.
Q: I am playing an Igor, and have acquired a fair number of body parts from dissected corpses, but none of them seem to do anything special. Am I missing something?
A: Igor body parts are very unpredictable: which parts you get from a monster (and what positive and negative effects they have, if any) depends on the level and thematic properties of the monster dissected, the level and dexterity of the Igor, and sheer random luck. Strong, high-level monsters give better body parts, but don't neglect all those random ant and orc corpses either - there are just so many you will get lucky with one eventually.
All interesting body part properties are indicated in the object description, so you will know when you find a part that might be worth keeping.
Q: Can I safely dissect wanted corpses on an Igor without missing out on the rewards?
A: Yes. The only individual body parts that bounty offices accept as proof of a kill are a monster's head and its ears; but an Igor who dissects a wanted corpse will take great care to preserve one of the two (usually the ears), which can then be turned in. (It is possible to find another body part worth keeping in addition to the ears.)
Q: How important is Telepathy?
A: Full telepathy is extremely nice to have - it tells you about approaching threats, helps you locate fleeing or blinking enemies, and even allows you to spot monsters that might otherwise be invisible to you. It is not absolutely needed, but most players generally try to have it by the endgame. A player with no telepathy needs to detect very often and must see invisible monsters reliably.
Staves of Telepathy are a handy option for players without permanent telepathy from equipment.
Q: What does Reflection do? How important is it?
A: It gives you a 75% chance of reflecting any incoming bolt or bolt-like attack. A reflected bolt will not damage you in any way, and may bounce back and damage the monster that fired it in the first place. Some monsters also have Reflection - in this case, they have a 75% chance of reflecting your bolt attacks, potentially back at you. If both you and the monster have Reflection, it's possible for a bolt to bounce between you two for a while... The main difference between monster reflection and player reflection is that monsters cannot reflect actual crossbow bolts (or arrows, sling ammo etc.) but you can reflect monster arrows.
Reflection is very helpful (and remains useful throughout the game) but is never really absolutely needed. Early on, it's particularly useful in the Camelot dungeon, which has many dangerous bolt casters.
Q: What does Levitation do? How important is it?
A: Levitation gives access to dark pits and mountainous wilderness, prevents overburdened characters from drowning in deep water, reduces damage from standing in (or over) deep lava or toxic waste, reduces damage from gravity, helps against the side-effects of gravity and storm winds, eliminates movement speed penalties in wooded or snowy areas, and allows you to harmlessly fly over some types of floor traps. It is a necessity for entering mountainous areas (and a practical necessity for entering deep seas on an overburdened character); it is very handy (but not strictly necessary) for navigating snowy areas, the Cloning Pits quest, and dungeons with dark pits or deep water. In other situations Levitation is not very important; items that give levitation but are otherwise not that great can be left at home to be shuffled in when needed.
Q: What is Warning? Is it something I need... and what do the strange messages it's giving me mean?!
A: Warning has two purposes. Firstly, it alerts you when you are about to walk into an undetected trap, giving you the chance to avoid that trap. Secondly, it alerts you when a new unique appears on the current level, having either generated randomly or been summoned. This alert takes the form "The warning-giving item glows pink!", where the color provides you some rough information about how dangerous the unique is. White and pink aren't much to worry about; but if the item glows red, purple or (worst of all) black, it's best to pay attention.
Warning is convenient, especially if you don't detect traps regularly, but it is not at all something that any character needs.
Q: Some elements don't just deal damage, but also cause status effects like confusion or blindness. How much resistance do I need to be safe from status effects?
A: Most status effects compare your resistance to a 33-sided die (or a 55-sided die in the case of base elements). Accordingly, 30% confusion resistance gives you a 30 in 33 (about 91%) chance of resisting that status effect, and 40% confusion resistance will provide immunity.
In some very unusual cases your resistance may not be checked at all, or a special calculation may be used. (For example, a backfiring Invoke Spirits spell can completely bypass your confusion resistance.)
Q: Can I ever resist exotic attacks/elements like Water, Ice, Gravity, Rockets or Toxic Waste that aren't listed on my character sheet?
A: In most cases, you cannot resist the raw damage from such exotic elements. (There are a few exceptions - Toxic Waste can be resisted through poison resistance; Rockets have shard-based damage; Levitation effectively provides resistance to Gravity; and Bombs are combined sound and shards and can be resisted accordingly.)
However, many side-effects of exotic elements can be blocked or mitigated by resisting appropriate normal elements. For example, Shard resistance works against the cuts from Ice and Rocks, Sound resistance works against most elemental stunning effects as well as potion destruction from Water, and Cold resistance works against potion destruction from Ice.
Q: My scrolls of Enchant Armor and Enchant Weapon keep failing! What's wrong?
A: Scrolls of Enchant Armor and Enchant Weapon can only enchant items up to +15. (Unlike item-enchantment spells and the town service, this limit is fixed and independent of your character level.) The closer you get to +15, the less likely it is that the scroll will work; in practice you can view +10 or +11 as a soft limit, due to how difficult enchanting items beyond that is. Trying to enchant an artifact or a pile of multiple items raises the failure probability even higher.
Q: What does Mundanity do? Is it good or bad?
A: Mundanity allows you to turn an item of your choosing into a perfectly average item. It removes all bonuses, resistances and other enhancements not inherent to the object kind; this includes removing the random resistances on Dragon Wings and the like, but not the guaranteed resistances on Dragon Scale Mails. Mundanity also removes all curses.
Mundanity has two main uses: to create an average item that can be used as a reforge base, and to remove powerful curses. It is the only way to remove a Permanent Curse from an item. Mundanity can be very useful, but don't use it on the wrong item by accident... Essence absorption on Weaponsmiths (and item monsters like Death-Swords) always mundanizes the target item.
Q: Staves of Destruction are supposed to be great, yet mine doesn't seem to do anything when I use it! What's wrong?
A: A number of items and spells do nothing when used on a town quest level (any quest level not located inside a dungeon). In addition to Destruction, this includes all Genocide, Mass Genocide and Annihilation effects, Teleport Level, and capture ball activations against non-pets.
Destruction also does not work in the wilderness, and its effectiveness is reduced on the Plains of Oz and in the Witch Wood. This is because outdoors there's no ceiling to bring down!
Q: What do monsters' vampiric attacks do?
A: They drain life from you, thereby healing the monster and consuming your life points.
Q: Are Unlife attacks the same as vampiric attacks?
A: Unlife attacks are very similar to vampiric attacks, but instead of healing the monster they make the monster more powerful. A powerful monster has a higher AC, hits harder and casts more dangerous spells.
Only Unlife attacks directed at the player can make a monster stronger. Unlife attacks directed at a monster will not make the attacker more powerful, but can make the target monster less powerful.
Q: What do the player's vampiric attacks do?
A: They drain life from the target monster; the monster will lose HP like on a normal attack, but in addition its max HP will be lowered slightly, and you will recover either a small amount of life points or a small amount of HP, should you need either. (If both your life points and hit points have fallen below the maximum, your life points will recover first.) Vampiric attacks are very useful and powerful; however, they only work on living monsters. Many strong monsters, like golems, vortices, demons, undead and the Serpent of Chaos, are immune to vampirism.
Monsters can never recover the lost max HP, although drained uniques will be back to their normal HP (as well as normal, pre-Unlife monster power) if encountered again on a subsequent level. Capturing a monster with a Capture Ball also reverts it back to its normal maximum HP.
Q: What are "life points", anyway?
A: Life points determine your effective maximum HP. Normally, your effective max HP and displayed max HP will be identical; but if your life points fall below 100%, your effective max HP is lowered. Life points are only shown (e.g. "Life: 95%") if they fall below the maximum; a loss of a few points shouldn't worry you too much, but a more significant drop can ruin your day.
Since life points only account for half of your max HP, your max HP will never hit zero; accordingly, it is possible to run out of life points without being killed outright. If this happens, you will be permanently transformed into an undead - either a skeleton, a vampire, a zombie, an einheri or a spectre - and regain full life points (or "unlife points") since the undead are immune to loss of life.
Q: My current HP is lower than my max HP - but it's still shown in green, not yellow, and it seems I can't heal any further. What's happening?
A: You've hit your effective maximum HP, which is lower than your displayed maximum HP because you've lost life points.
Q: How can I regain my lost life points?
A: Life points can be regained either through any type of vampiric attack, or by using a potion, device or activation. Potions of Restore Life Levels are a common way to regain life points, though they only restore up to 15 percentage points at a time. The Restoration service, available in most towns, also restores life points.
Q: I also have a "life rating", unrelated to my life points. Actually, I seem to have several life ratings! Just how is my max HP calculated?
A: Every character has a random "life rating" between 0 and 76, centered on 38. The game normally displays this as a percentage between 85% and 115%, i.e. a deviation of -15% to +15% from 100%; the optional numeric display instead shows the underlying value on the 0 to 76 scale. This rating (the life rating proper) corresponds to the overall result (between 218 and 294) of 49 randomly rolled HP gains (one for every character level after the first); the HP gains (and thus, your life rating) can be re-rolled during the game in several ways, most commonly by drinking a Potion of New Life. You are born with no knowledge of how good your life rating is, but drinking a Potion of Self Knowledge (or *Revelation*) will enlighten you. This is the only life rating you can affect in any way during play, and is the one displayed on your character sheet, if known.
The random life rating only accounts for about half of the HP you get per level; the other half is non-random. The non-random gains always total exactly 300 points, but how that total is distributed across the 49 level-ups depends on your class. In general, the distribution is very late-game-heavy on mage-type classes (who will struggle with HP for much of the early game as a result, even if they have a good life rating and high CON), while fighter classes like warriors get a more even distribution.
These two main contributions to your max HP are added together and multiplied by four non-random modifiers; the first three are the life multipliers of your race, your class and your personality. (These are prominently displayed at character generation, and new players are frequently confused by their relationship to the randomly generated life rating proper.) The fourth multiplier is based on your CON and any +Life or -Life items equipped.
Finally, after the multipliers, some lump sums are added (your class base HP, race base HP, and any HP from active buffs like heroism); and your effective maximum HP is adjusted to account for any reduction in your life points. It's a complicated system, but during the game you only need to worry about your random life rating and your CON!
Life ratings are displayed by default on a percentage scale of 85% to 115% (a -15% to +15% deviation from 100%), with 85% corresponding to the bottom of the underlying 0-76 scale and 115% to its top; the optional numeric display shows the value on that 0-76 scale instead. The average life rating is around 102% (about 42/76).
Q: When should I reroll my life rating with a Potion of New Life?
A: In general, you should never reroll unless you know what your life rating is, or have a very good reason to suspect that it's atrociously low. The average life rating is around 102% (about 42/76), so that's the theoretical break-even point for a single Potion of New Life; but in practice, if you're already doing well, the risks of rolling a really bad life may outweigh the potential benefits of rolling a great one. So unless your life rating is really bad, it's worth having one or more backup potions in case the first New Life just makes things worse. The larger your backup pile, the further you can push the envelope - but there's always the risk of a long streak of unlucky lives...
Potions of New Life also remove all your mutations, and reroll all your internal stat caps. If you are very happy with either your mutations or your stat caps, that should make you more reluctant to drink a potion of New Life; though in general, your life rating is more important than your stat caps. Note that if you have already maxed out your stats, some of them are likely to be reduced by a Potion of New Life as new, potentially lower internal stat caps are applied.
Q: I drank a potion of New Life and my max HP went down, yet Self Knowledge says my life rating is higher than before! What gives?
A: Since your life rating is based on 49 random rolls, one for each character level, the life with the better end result at CL 50 is not necessarily better all the way through. Your old life might have had high rolls early on and lower rolls for the late levels, and your new life might be the opposite.
The other possible explanation is that you rolled a lower CON stat cap and your constitution decreased as a result.
Q: How do internal stat caps (for STR, INT, WIS etc.) work?
A: They are randomly generated, no lower than 18/70 and no higher than 18/130; the average across the six stats is always 18/100, but it's much more fun to have high caps in your key stats and low caps in stats you don't really need than the opposite! The stat caps determine how high the stat can go before modifiers from race, class, personality, equipment, mutations etc. are applied.
The stat caps are much lower than the highest value a statistic can take after modifiers: 18/220, displayed as 18/***. By the endgame you will likely be getting large bonuses from your equipment; an extremely powerful character might even have all six stats maxed out at 18/220, regardless of the caps.
Q: There's a building in Morivant that offers artifact reforging. What does that mean? Is it something I should do?
A: For reforging, you need a source item - any artifact - and a destination item - any item that can be equipped and isn't already an artifact or ego item. (For rings and amulets this means an "empty" item, as all non-empty rings and amulets are considered ego items.) The original artifact will be destroyed, and the destination item is turned into a new artifact. The properties of the old artifact are not retained; however, if the destination item already had special properties despite being non-ego (e.g. resists on a dragon shield), those will be retained.
How powerful the new artifact will be depends mostly on the power of the source artifact. Usually it's going to be somewhat less powerful than the source, especially if the source artifact represented a "strong" slot (the strongest slots are the weapon slot and the body armor slot) while the target represented a weak slot (the weakest slots are lamps and amulets).
There are many reasons why reforging can be a good idea; for example, you may be unhappy with your item in a particular equipment slot, or you have an annoying resistance hole, or you have a very strong artifact that has a high score but for some reason isn't useful to you directly; or you're already wearing a non-ego item and want to upgrade it into an artifact. Ninjas (and Ninja-Lawyers) often reforge onto lamps, hoping to get an artifact lamp of darkness.
Q: What kind of source artifacts should I use for reforging? What kind of destination items should I use?
A: Stronger artifacts give better results, so use the strongest artifact you have that you can afford to reforge and that doesn't exceed your reforge power limit. (Of course, don't use a source artifact that's already useful to you, since the reforge will consume it!) If you're reforging onto a weaker slot, consider using a source artifact that's strong for its slot, rather than strong in absolute terms; this way, less power is lost to a slot downgrade. (For example, if you want a lamp, and you have artifact gloves with a 40K score and artifact armor with a 70K score, use the gloves; the two items will produce similar lamps, but the armor will produce a much better armor or weapon since none of its power is lost to a slot downgrade. It is also much cheaper to use the gloves.)
If possible, use a destination item that's already good in some useful way - for example, dragon wings that already have resistances you'd like, or a diamond edge with sharpness and high base damage - but not one that's already good in some way you don't need, since that would be lost value. Don't use a destination item that's too powerful compared to the source item, since the reforge would be left without much room for improvements. (If you're fortunate enough to have a Scroll of Artifact Creation or a Scroll of Crafting, consider using one of those on the already-powerful item instead.)
Reforge from strong slots to strong slots, weak slots to weak slots, and - if necessary - strong slots to weak slots; but never reforge from a weak slot onto a strong slot.
Q: What determines my reforge power limit?
A: Your reforge power limit is determined by how famous you are. You gain fame by completing quests, turning in wanted monsters, killing enemies in the Gladiator Ring, and killing uniques (especially high-level uniques). You lose fame by failing quests or being defeated in a Gladiator fight. There is a soft reforge-power limit of 90000 or slot-adjusted equivalent - it is possible for a sufficiently famous player to use a source artifact that exceeds this limit, but the extra power will be ignored.
Q: When should I reforge?
A: Reforging is at its best relatively late in the game, when you've both found many very strong artifacts and accrued enough fame to use them as source items. Don't be afraid of trying it out earlier, though, especially if you need something specific like a dark lamp.
Q: What do Poison Needles do?
A: Poison needles are a special weapon. A poison needle only gets one hit per turn and usually only deals 1 damage on that hit; however, poison needle hits have a small chance of instantly killing any monster in the game, no matter how strong, unless it is a unique. Poison needles are often used to kill metal babbles, which are very difficult to kill through any other means. (The Metal Babble at the bottom of the Arena dungeon is technically a unique, but is still susceptible to a poison needle kill.)
Poison needles cannot be used in a reforge, and cannot be enchanted through any normal means. (Some classes, like Weaponsmiths, can use their special abilities to "enchant" a poison needle, but this has no actual effect on the needle's performance.) Poison needles have a 100% hit chance, unless the player is dual-wielding, in which case they have a 50% hit chance.
Q: What do Rune Swords do? Are they as bad as they look?
A: Rune Swords start out extremely weak, but they gain power as you kill monsters (especially uniques) with them. If you find a Rune Sword early and use it into the deep endgame, it will eventually be very strong offensively.
Growing a Rune Sword takes a long time, and it will also pick up a number of negative attributes along the way - increasing AC penalties, aggravation, and eventually (in the very late game) the Ancient Foul Curse. The positive attributes of a Rune Sword, moreover, are purely offensive; it will never provide resistances, stat bonuses or additional abilities like many other strong weapons; and since Rune Swords are permanently cursed, the only way to unwield them is to essentially destroy them with Mundanity. For these reasons, most players are quite wary of using Rune Swords, but the game has been won with them many times.
Q: Are Sexy Swimsuits just a useless joke item, or can they be actually good?
A: Sexy Swimsuits generate with special bonuses for characters with the Sexy personality, as well as Aphrodite demigods. In addition, wearing a Sexy Swimsuit makes Politicians' charming spells work better.
Other characters do not receive any special benefits from swimsuits, but may still want to hold onto them as reforge targets should they find any. Reforging a high-value artifact onto a Sexy Swimsuit can produce exceptionally good results because the aggravation on the swimsuit keeps its nominal value down.
Q: How do I create a character dump?
A: If your character is still alive, press Shift+C for the character sheet, then press | to dump it. If you're dead, the tombstone screen offers easy character dumping - simply type the filename you want (usually something like "name.html" or "name_dead.html") and press Enter. If you died earlier and forgot to take a character dump, access the character sheet through the high score list (the '~' key, followed by the 'H' key) and then press '|' as before. If you're playing on the angband.live online server and have trouble dumping your character (users on some keyboard/browser combinations have experienced problems using the '|' key online), you can request help from your fellow players; the angband.live high score list is shared between all players, so anyone can use it to create a dump of your character.
Q: I want to post my character dump to the ladder at angband.live/ladder/. Should I use a TXT dump or an HTML dump?
A: Use an HTML dump.
Q: What is the genesis of FrogComposband?
A: FrogComposband is a fork of ComPosband, a fork of PosChengband, which was based on Chengband, which was based on Hengband, which was based on Japanese ZAngband, which was based on regular ZAngband, a fork of Angband, which was based on Moria and Umoria. (Whew!)
In addition to these direct ancestors, FrogComposband and its "family" have been strongly influenced by a number of other Angband variants, like KAngband, Posband, ToME and OAngband. FrogComposband specifically has also inherited quite a bit of content - starting with its name - from Frogspawn, an unpublished fork of vanilla Angband.
Q: What is the design philosophy of FrogComposband?
A: Above all else, FrogComposband aims to be 1) fun and 2) challenging. (It also aims to sneakily bring about Armageddon and the ascendancy of hyperintelligent robots.)
The pursuit of a fun game involves quite a few things. The game tries to be fair to the player - unavoidable deaths out of nowhere should be unknown or at least extremely rare, and non-lethal attacks should add to the challenge and atmosphere but not spoil the fun. (Some unpopular effects can be turned off in the birth options.) Normal play should always keep the player on his toes, offering new situations to tackle and new decisions to make. FrogComposband also has much humorous content to lighten the mood, some of it hidden to be discovered when least expected.
You decide what's fun and what isn't! The game allows many different playstyles, from speed-diving to a slow, methodical grind, without trying to enforce any one of them on the player. It is also designed to be highly customizable, with about 100 options and a number of other ways to modify things. I don't try to make the decisions for you, beyond providing generally popular default settings; every player wants different things.
Winning the game should be an achievement! FrogComposband attempts to not be easy, but also to avoid artificial difficulty of the "screw you, you're dead" type; a player who makes no mistakes and knows what he's doing should always have a good chance to win. The game also aims to be balanced; while some classes, races, items and spell realms are much stronger than others, none should be so strong as to make the game unchallenging or uninteresting.
The game should be infinitely replayable; different personalities, races and (especially) classes present very different challenges, and even two characters of the same race, class and personality can play very differently based on the decisions made, items found and monsters encountered.
The game is constantly evolving (and hopefully improving); it does not claim to have fully reached any of its aims yet, but it's trying to get closer and closer. Player feedback helps there!
Q: Who wrote Hengband?
A: Hengband is mainly based on ZAngband 2.2.8 Japanese version. ZAngband 2.2.8 Japanese version was developed by Mitsuhiro Itakura, based on both ZAngband 2.2.8 and Angband 2.8.3 Japanese version, and has some original features, for example the auto-picker, in addition to simple translation.
Hengband also includes codes from many other variants, such as ToME and OAngband. Mr.Hoge wrote the first original part of Hengband. It was maintained by the Hengband Development Team including Mr.Hoge, Habu, Henkma, iks, Kuwa, Mogami and nsk.
Q: So is that why there is so much Japanese content in this game?
A: Yes, though it doesn't hurt that Japanese popular culture has many followers worldwide.
Q: Is there a more detailed help file?
A: Press '?' in-game to access the online help. If you are already using the online help to read this file, look at the other sections, which offer more detailed advice.
--
Original : Hengband FAQ written by Mogami
Updated : Hengband 1.5.4
Updated : PosChengband 1.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.0.strawberry
Updated : FrogComposband 7.0.peppermint
Updated : FrogComposband 7.0.nougat
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.toffee
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.chocolate
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Gambling Rules
Between: Three 12-sided dice rolled; 2 black, 1 red. The red die must be between both black dice to win. If the red die matches a black die, you lose. Pays 3 to 1
Craps: Two dice are rolled. On first roll, a 7 or 11 wins. A 2, 3 or 12 loses. Otherwise roll until the first roll is matched (win) or a 7 is rolled (loss). Pays 2 to 1
Wheel: Pick a number from 0-9. If the number shows on wheel after it stops spinning, you win. Pays 9 to 1
Slots: Three symbols rolled. Six possible symbols, all equally likely to appear. Payouts are as follows:
Cherry Cherry Lemon 2-1 Cherry Cherry Orange 3-1
Cherry Cherry Sword 4-1 Cherry Cherry Shield 5-1
Cherry Cherry Plum 6-1
Lemon Lemon Lemon 4-1 Orange Orange Orange 16-1
Sword Sword Sword 6-1 Shield Shield Shield 25-1
Plum Plum Plum 9-1 Cherry Cherry Cherry 36-1
Arena: Bet on a fight between four monsters. Only the winning monster pays, odds given depend on the strength of the monster. Very long fights are declared drawn and give your money back.
Poker: Play with a 53-card deck (four 13-card suits, one joker). Aces always count as a one, never as a 14. Bets can only be placed before the initial hand is dealt. There is one round of replacing cards, you can discard as many of your original cards as you wish. Payouts are:
Two pair 1-1 Four of a kind 16-1
Three of a kind 1-1 Straight flush 80-1
Straight 4-1 Royal flush 200-1
Flush 8-1 Five of a kind 400-1
Full house 12-1 Five aces 3000-1
--
Original : ??
Updated : Kangband 2.8.3i
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
General Information
This document gives a brief introduction to the game. FroxComposband is an updated version of FrogComposband and a single-player dungeon simulation; you play a character whose ultimate aim is to slay the dreaded <color:keyword>Serpent of Chaos, who lurks somewhere in the dark depths of the dungeon. Along the way, you will complete many side missions, learn mighty magical spells, defeat or befriend fantastic monsters, acquire wonderful treasures, navigate dark labyrinths, navigate long sentences, get baffled by obscure references to foreign popular culture, bang the desk in frustration many times as things go wrong, and hopefully end up enjoying yourself a lot.
About the Help Files
You have probably seen many games that come with a 300-page manual the authors expect you to read before you start to play. FroxComposband is like that, except its manual is not as pocket-sized.
Of course you do not really have to read the whole thing before you play; you can just jump in, figure things out through play, and look up the more mystifying stuff in the help as it becomes relevant. Read enough that you know what you are expected to do in this game and how to go about doing it. This file is definitely worth reading, as is the <color:keyword>commands help file (); you cannot really do anything in the game without knowing the commands. The <color:keyword>Newbie Guide () you can either treat as a quick reference to most of the basics, or ignore completely and never open. The <color:keyword>Frequently Asked Questions () you can initially skip, at least apart from the early part, and return to once you have the commands and other basics figured out; much of the documentation concentrates on the basics (in varying levels of detail), while the FAQ is a good place to find quick coverage of more advanced topics.
Throughout the help, some concepts are <color:keyword>highlighted in red, occasionally green or yellow, to create the illusion they are important and to make the pages look a bit less dreary. A green letter in [square brackets] is a link to another part of the documentation that can be followed by pressing the letter. You can also press <color:keypress>? for help on the help itself.
The Basics of the Game
Before the game can begin, you must create a character. You may choose from a large number of races, classes, personalities, magic realms and birth options (see ), but your ultimate goal is always the same: defeat the evil Serpent of Chaos. Whether you do this to rid the world of evil, or just to become its next overlord, is entirely up to you...
You guide your character through simple key commands as you explore the world, discover useful items, and fight monsters with steel and magic. Killing the Serpent is a very long-term goal; a single game may take days, weeks, or even months. To get ready for that final encounter, you must gain much experience from your adventures, and find ever more valuable magical equipment to protect you and enhance your powers.
The game comes with a vast <color:keyword>wilderness featuring many towns and numerous dungeons to explore. Most dungeons have a boss guarding the bottom level; killing the boss often gives you a nice reward. Each dungeon also has a theme; for example, the <color:keyword>Orc Caves are infested with... you guessed it: orcs! But the theme might be something else entirely, such as the <color:keyword>Anti-Melee Cave where melee is prohibited, or the <color:keyword>Arena where each monster is isolated and you can (usually) fight them one-on-one. There is much to explore; but in case you want a simpler game, this wilderness is optional.
Play Modes
There are several different modes of play. <color:keyword>Beginner Mode limits the number of races and classes available, removes personality selection, assigns birth options automatically and turns off the wilderness; this mode is designed to simplify the birth process so you can get to actual play as soon as possible.
Some players skip Beginner Mode and jump straight to <color:keyword>Normal Mode, the usual and expected way to play. Normal Mode has a wilderness by default (though you may still turn it off), and also offers the full repertoire of race, class and personality choices. Prepare to be overwhelmed!
Finally, if you tire of dying to myriad powerful monsters, you can play as a monster yourself in <color:keyword>Monster Mode; here you pick one of many types of monsters to play, start as a weak monster of that type, and evolve into more powerful forms as you gain experience. Equipment management can be very different in Monster Mode; many monsters have unique body types, and some rely purely on their innate attacks (claws, teeth, acidic pseudopods and the like) and cannot wield conventional weapons. There is no class selection in Monster Mode; the type of monster you select is effectively both your race and your class.
<color:keyword>Coffee-break mode is an accelerated, faster-paced version of the game, with no wilderness, no level repetitions, smaller levels in the early game, increased monster item drops and faster leveling-up. Selecting Beginner Mode automatically activates coffee-break play, but the mode is also available as a birth option for Normal Mode and Monster Mode, and is not intended exclusively for new players. The "no wilderness" option is balanced around coffee-break mode, and turning off both coffee-break mode and the wilderness is not recommended.
First Things to Do
You begin your adventure in the town of <color:keyword>Outpost, where you may acquire supplies, weapons, armor, and magical devices by bartering with various shop owners. You will have some gear as a birthright, and a little bit of gold as well.
First of all, you should visit the shops and buy some key supplies - Scrolls of Phase Door and Teleportation from the <color:keyword>Alchemy Shop and Potions of Cure Serious Wounds from the <color:keyword>Temple Shop. It is very easy to get in over your head, especially early on, so having ready ways to escape and heal is essential. If you have gold left over, consider upgrading your starting torch to a lantern at the <color:keyword>General Store; a lantern casts more light, and so allows you to see further in the dark.
You are now ready to descend into the dungeon, where fantastic adventures await you... but hold on a moment! If you visit the castle of Uldrik, the ruler of Outpost, you will receive a special <color:keyword>town quest you might want to complete first.
See for more on the town and its shops, andfor a detailed explanation of town quests.
Into the Dungeon
Note: The parts of this help that cover no-wilderness play assume that coffee-break mode is active. If you selected Beginner Mode, this is automatically the case.
If you are playing with the wilderness on, the first dungeon to explore is <color:keyword>Warrens, a small dungeon whose entrance is located next to your starting position in Outpost. Like many of the dungeons, this one has a boss: some king or lord of the kobolds. He is reasonably tough for his level, but this is mostly due to his vast host readied about him; keep your wits about you and avoid fighting his whole army in one go, and you should be fine. If you already completed Uldrik's first town quest and requested another, you will also find the Pest Control quest in Warrens; completing this quest is an excellent way to ready yourself for the kobold lord. See for more on what to expect in a dungeon.
If you are playing with the wilderness off, the choice of dungeon at least is very easy: there is only one, <color:keyword>Angband. The choice of direction within the dungeon is also easy: you can only go deeper! Pretty soon (with the same caveats as in wilderness play!) you will find the Pest Control dungeon quest, an early make-or-break moment for your budding character. You will also meet random <color:keyword>level guardians once in a while; do your best to kill them, as they drop valuable items. Once you feel you have done enough dungeon adventuring, read a Scroll of <color:keyword>Word of Recall to return to Outpost.
Wilderness
Your adventures take place in a large and dangerous wilderness. Fortunately, you begin your journey in the relative safety of the town of Outpost; but beware, even inside the town walls the wilderness is not far off, and dangerous monsters can wander in.
Once you have conquered the starter dungeon <color:keyword>Warrens (and possibly also <color:keyword>Hideout, another early dungeon accessed from Outpost), you should be ready to set out into the wild. You will need ample supplies of light and food; but even more important is <color:keyword>teleportation, as the wilderness is a dangerous place.
If your intent is to journey to another town, or to locate a dungeon entrance, you should use the special <color:keyword>global wilderness map (sometimes known as the "overworld map") for your travels. Entering and leaving this special map uses the same keys as stair climbing:
Press <color:keypress>< to enter the global map, and <color:keypress>> to leave it.
Watch out, though: you can view the global map, but you cannot travel on it while alert foes are hunting you. Also, you can be <color:keyword>ambushed even on the global map; this is more likely at night and away from the relative safety of the well-traveled roads. Ambushes can be very deadly if you do not have some means of teleportation to escape with.
On the overworld map, you may look about with the <color:keypress>* command to inspect towns and dungeon entrances. Pay attention to the danger level of the various dungeons and wilderness tiles; this is displayed on the top row as you use look around, and indicates safe (or dangerous) areas of travel. For dungeons, the shallowest depth is indicated.
Many towns and dungeons await you; good dungeons to explore early on include the <color:keyword>Orc Caves, the <color:keyword>Tidal Cave, the <color:keyword>Icky Cave and the <color:keyword>Labyrinth. You should also visit the towns of <color:keyword>Morivant, <color:keyword>Anambar and <color:keyword>Thalos quite early - though going to Thalos on foot is not recommended... To the northeast of the town of Morivant, near the center of the map, is the dread dungeon of <color:keyword>Angband<color:normal>. It is home to the Serpent of Chaos, whom you must kill in order to win the game.
~~~~~~~~~~..~~~........~~~~~~~~~.................#~...........~~~~# ~~~~~~~~~....*.............~~~~...............#~~~~#######...~~..~# ~~~~~~~~.......#........>...................>.#~###########..~...~# ~~~~~~~~.....###..............................~~##########~~.~...~~ ~~~~~~~~....#####...................###.......~###########~#....... ~~~~~~~~.....#####...................###......~~############....... ~~~~~~~~......####..................#.#........~~~>##########...... ~~~~~~~~....#####>................>..............#~~###########.... ~~~~......####...................................##############>#.. ..~~...~....................................~~....################. ......~~..................................~~~~...################## .....~~~~.......~~~......................~~~~~.....################ #....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.............@*.....~~~~~........############## ##.#..~~~~~~.....~~~~~~~~~~~.~~~......~~.......#......############# ~##....~~~~....*...~~~~~~~~..~~~~~.........#######.....###########~ >##....~~~...#......~~~~........~~>~~~############>#......########~ ~##.#..~~..###.......~~...........~~~~~##############........####~~ ##.#.~~~..###..............####....~~#################..~~~....###~ #.#..~~~...............#########...~##################..~~~......## ...#..~~...............#########..~~###################~~~~...>...# #.....~~...............######>####.~###################~~~......... .#.....~.................#########.~~###############~~~~~~~........ .......~~~.......~~~~~~...#######..~~~###############~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .....~~~~~~....~~~~~~~~~~~~.........~~~##############~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..~~~~~~~~#########~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Surface
From time to time, I will include screenshots in the documentation to help explain things. In the picture above, the player (me, represented as @) has entered the global map by pressing <color:keypress>< and then walked from Outpost (the southwestern *) to the town of Morivant, which he is currently standing next to. Dungeon entrances are marked as <$:FF_ENTRANCE>, and the entrance to Angband is highlighted as >.
As you can see, it will take a while to run out of dungeons to explore (and only a small part of the whole map is shown here!); but some of these dungeons are much deadlier than others. <color:keyword>Dragon's Lair, for example, starts at depth 60 and runs to depth 72. There is no one right order to visit the dungeons in, though most players do like to start with the easy ones...
Many of the most dangerous dungeons have <color:keyword>entrance guardians, high-level monsters who try to keep you from even entering the cave. The entrance to <color:keyword>Crystal Castle, for example, is guarded by a very nasty Ethereal dragon. Most entrance guardians tend not to move much, preferring to remain as close to the entrance as possible.
A final note on the wilderness: to penetrate the mountains, you will need a source of <color:keyword>levitation. Several of the dungeon entrances are buried in the mountains, so you won't be able to reach them otherwise - and as for the deep waters of the oceans, best to stay away altogether.
See for a more detailed account of the wilderness and its dungeons.
Winning The Game
OK, we are getting a little ahead of ourselves here, but by now, you surely have defeated <color:keyword>Oberon, right? Perhaps not, but eventually you will be powerful enough to face the King of the Amberites on level 99 (4950') in the dungeon of <color:keyword>Angband. Defeat this foe and a magical staircase will appear that will finally allow you to reach level 100 and face the dreaded <color:keyword>Serpent of Chaos. You will not be able to go below his level until you have killed him. Try to avoid wandering around on level 100 unless you are ready for him, since the Serpent has a habit of coming at you across the dungeon, to slay you for your impudence...
In no-wilderness play, these final fights differ from the other Angband quests in that you can flee and recall to town if you find you were not adequately prepared. Wilderness play allows this in the random quests as well (see ).
The Serpent of Chaos is a very difficult foe and you will need to garner all of your resources in order to stand a decent chance of success. This typically means lots and lots (and lots more besides that) of Healing and *Healing*. And you will need plenty of destruction besides to deal with his summons. I won't give any more hints than that, since figuring out how to win is part of the fun, right?
If you should actually succeed in your attempt to kill the Serpent of Chaos, you will receive the status of <color:keyword>WINNER. You can continue to explore, and may even save the game and play more later, but since you have defeated the toughest creature alive, there is really not much point. Unless you wish to listen to the rumors of a powerful ring buried somewhere in the dungeon. And then some monsters have been rumored to come back from the dead!
When you are ready to retire, simply "commit suicide" (<color:keypress>^K) to end the game (don't forget to take a final character dump for posterity). Note that until you retire, you can still be killed, so you may want to retire before wandering into a hoard of Cyberdemons...
Upon Death and Dying
Hit points (<color:keyword>HP) track the health of your character. If your character falls below 0 hit points, he has died and the adventure is over; you can say a few last words before the dreaded tombstone screen appears. Your character will be added to the Hall of Fame, and you can still access your character sheet (with all items mysteriously identified) through either the Hall of Fame or the tombstone screen.
Whether your character is killed or retires victorious, it will leave behind a reduced save file, which contains your option choices, monster knowledge and object knowledge (see ) and selections at birth. If this savefile is restored, a new character is generated exactly as if the file was not there, but the old character's monster and object knowledge are inherited by the new one. You also gain the extra option of a <color:keyword>quick start, which allows you to easily start a new character of the same race, class and personality.
Don't get discouraged! Dying is very common and makes victory, when it comes at long last, all the more sweet. It may take months to win the game, perhaps even years. But there is fun in the journey, and much to try along the way. Good luck, and enjoy!
--
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.5.4
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.0.nougat
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
The FrogComposband Glossary
While playing FrogComposband, discussing it with other players, or even just reading the help files, you are likely to run into many esoteric game concepts, mysterious abbreviations, or words that have specific meanings within the game. It is by no means necessary for a new player to read this file before starting play - most players can (and do) just figure things out as they go along, the glossary includes many advanced topics in addition to the basics, and all the important concepts are also covered elsewhere in the help. But you can refer to this list as a quick cheat-sheet if you are unsure about a particular word or game concept, or just read the whole thing for your amusement :)
See for item attribute abbreviations.
Common Words, Abbreviations and Game Concepts
<color:keyword>AC: Armor Class; a measure of how hard you are to hit, or of how hard a monster is to hit; also directly reduces the damage you take from some types of melee attacks.
<color:keyword>aggravation: 1) An object flag, awakens and offends all nearby monsters; also, a removable curse with the same effect. 2) A scroll and shriek effect; awakens nearby monsters, makes them charming-immune, and temporarily hastes all monsters in line of sight.
<color:keyword>ambush: A random situation that forces you to leave the global map. Ambushes often surround you with a large number of hostile monsters.
<color:keyword>Arena: 1) A level 50 to 80 dungeon with the Metal Babble as its bottom guardian, characterized by its distinctive winding corridors and bubble rooms each containing a single high-level monster. 2) Arena level; a description of a dungeon level where rooms are connected by open space.
<color:keyword>artifact: A special item that can only be found once in a game. Includes both standard artifacts, which remain the same or almost the same from game to game, and random artifacts, which are unpredictable.
<color:keyword>aura: 1) An elemental sheath around a monster, dealing a small amount of elemental damage when the monster is hit in melee; also, similar elemental sheaths around the player, dealing damage to monsters. 2) A description of the White Aura and Black Aura mutations, which provide good luck and bad luck respectively.
<color:keyword>auto-destroyer: A system for automatically destroying items; either the Mogaminator or the easy auto-destroyer.
<color:keyword>average object: An object without any magical enchantments or curses.
<color:keyword>awful: The object feeling for a cursed ego item.
<color:keyword>ball: An effect centered on a particular square, affecting all squares and monsters within a given radius of that square unless blocked by walls. Radius-0 ball: a ball that only affects one square but differs from a bolt in that it is not reflectable and can hit the target even if there are monsters between the target and the ball's source.
<color:keyword>base element: One of the four most common elements: acid, cold, fire or electricity; occasionally used in an extended sense to include poison.
<color:keyword>beam: An effect that affects all squares and monsters in its path, does not stop at the first monster it hits, and cannot be reflected. Compare bolt, ball.
<color:keyword>berserk strength: Also <color:keyword>berserk rage, <color:keyword>super-heroism; a mixed-blessing effect. Gives +30 max-HP, a melee to-hit bonus (usually +24 to-hit), level-dependent melee damage bonuses (up to +13 to-dam at CL 50), and complete immunity to fear; but also reduces all non-melee skills, gives a small AC penalty, prevents the player from casting book spells, and blocks most other spell-like abilities. Permanent for Berserkers and bear-formed Beornings, otherwise temporary. Most magical healing or curing effects remove Berserk Strength. Compare <color:keyword>heroism.
<color:keyword>blessed: 1) An item attribute; makes the item somewhat resistant to being cursed, and allows priests to use it with no penalties if it is a weapon. 2) Blessing: a spell and scroll effect, temporarily increases the player's AC and to-hit.
<color:keyword>blink: Short-range teleport; Phase Door.
<color:keyword>body type: Also <color:keyword>body template; a race-dependent list of your equipment slots and the types of item they accept. The most common body type is humanoid, shared by nearly all normal player races, but Monster Mode races often have distinct body types.
<color:keyword>bolt: An effect that only hits the first monster in its path, and can be reflected by monsters (or players) with Reflection. Compare beam, ball.
<color:keyword>bottom guardian: Also: <color:keyword>final guardian, <color:keyword>dungeon guardian, <color:keyword>dungeon keeper, <color:keyword>dungeon boss. A strong unique monster found at the bottom of a particular dungeon. All fixed dungeons except the Anti-magic cave and Anti-melee cave have a bottom guardian. Killing bottom guardians gives a free stat-up, often also a fixed item. Compare entrance guardian.
<color:keyword>brand: An elemental multiplier to weapon damage dice, applied only when the monster attacked does not resist that element. Essentially the same as a slay, just based on an element rather than monster type. Compare slay.
<color:keyword>building: 1) A place in a town where quests or services are offered; a special building. 2) Any town structure, including shops, museums, quest structures and the player's home.
<color:keyword>burden: The total weight of all equipment, projectiles and inventory items carried. Overburdening: the condition of carrying more items than your strength comfortably allows, slowing you down and causing you to take damage from drowning if you enter deep water without Levitation.
<color:keyword>chaos patron: A Chaos-Lord taking a particular interest in your character, giving you gifts or punishing you as you level up. Each patron hands out slightly different gifts and punishments.
<color:keyword>character dump: An HTML file containing a character sheet.
<color:keyword>character level: An indicator of how advanced your character is. Character level depends on experience, and affects your skills, spell and racial power availability, spell and racial power fail rates, mana and hit-point pools, and the power of many spell effects and saving rolls; it also triggers stat-ups, demigod talents and player-monster evolution, and may give additional bonuses or have additional effects depending on your personality, class and race.
<color:keyword>character sheet: Also <color:keyword>character description; an extended account of everything important about your character, accessible on your current character through the 'C' command. Can be dumped with the '|' command.
<color:keyword>CL: Character level.
<color:keyword>class: The type of character played; essentially, the character's profession, selected at character creation and unchangeable for the duration of the game. The selection of class is the most important one made during the birth process.
<color:keyword>coffee-break mode: A birth option that accelerates the game and turns the wilderness off. Automatically turned on if Beginner Mode is selected.
<color:keyword>confusion: 1) A status effect, affects both players and monsters. See . 2) An element, causes the status effect if not resisted.
<color:keyword>critical hit: An exceptionally damaging hit; multiplies the damage dice of the weapon or projectile.
<color:keyword>curse: 1) Item curse; a negative, usually removable object attribute that prevents you from unequipping that object while it remains cursed. 2) A monster or player-monster spell attack, particularly one that offers a saving throw, deals non-elemental damage and may cause item curses; one of Wounding Curse, Evil Curse, Mighty Curse, Death Curse or Hand of Doom. 3) One of a number of special effects with similarity to item curses, such as the Amberite blood curse.
<color:keyword>dazed: Stunned; afflicted with the Stun status effect.
<color:keyword>demigod powers: Also <color:keyword>demigod talents; the special permanent mutations available to Demigods, Humans and some Human-like races. See .
<color:keyword>depth: A theoretical indicator of how far removed a dungeon level is from the surface, and a practical indicator of how dangerous monsters who generate on that level can be expected to be; expressed in either levels or feet. One level equals 50 feet.
<color:keyword>device: A self-recharging magical item with a particular effect: a wand, rod or staff; sometimes used in an extended sense to include scrolls, occasionally even potions. Device skill: the primary skill that determines your failrates for wands, rods, staves and scrolls.
<color:keyword>disarming: 1) Removing or attempting to remove floor or chest traps. 2) Disarming skill; the skill that affects your ability to remove traps safely.
<color:keyword>disenchantment: 1) The name of an element. 2) The reduction of to-hit, to-dam and to-AC bonuses (rarely pval) on an equipped item, caused by the element.
<color:keyword>DL: Dungeon level, in the sense of an indicator of depth. "Unmakers are native to DL 77." More dangerous monsters and more valuable items will appear at higher dungeon levels. In an extended sense, danger level; usually this is the same as the dungeon level, but wilderness areas have a danger level without having a dungeon level.
<color:keyword>double move: A situation where a monster attacks you twice without you getting a chance to react in between, either because the monster is faster than you are or because you got unlucky with energy randomness. Also, the analogous situation where a player receives consecutive moves against a monster.
<color:keyword>dual-wielding: Simultaneously wielding two weapons. Dual-wielding proficiency: the acquired skill that reduces accuracy penalties from dual-wielding.
<color:keyword>dungeon: An area built of interconnected, randomly generated non-permanent levels and generally treated as if it were underground; any game location apart from towns, town quests and the wilderness, or all such locations collectively. The game is won by entering the Angband dungeon, reaching dungeon level 100 and defeating the Serpent of Chaos.
<color:keyword>dungeon book: A high-level spellbook that does not usually generate in town shops and so needs to be acquired in the dungeon.
<color:keyword>dungeon level: 1) A particular random level that has generated within a dungeon. 2) DL; a particular depth.
<color:keyword>ego: Also <color:keyword>ego item, <color:keyword>excellent item; an exceptional item that is not an artifact, or a type of such exceptional items. "Protection is a common ego in the early game."
<color:keyword>eldritch horror: A sanity-blasting monster. See .
<color:keyword>element: 1) A damage type, such as fire, acid, chaos, disenchantment, or nexus. 2) More narrowly, one of the base elements: fire, cold, acid, electricity or poison. Elemental protection; temporary resistance to the elements.
<color:keyword>elemental: 1) Based on or pertaining to an element. 2) A monster with the letter symbol E; each elemental is strongly associated with a single element. Available as a Monster Mode player-monster race, with several subraces.
<color:keyword>energy: 1) Energy determines how often the player (or a monster) gets to move. Players and monsters with higher speed accumulate energy faster, and therefore get turns more often. Energy randomness: limited randomness in how much energy a player or monster needs to accumulate before getting another turn. Energy cost: the amount of energy consumed by an action. 2) A monster flavor for some lightning breathers: energy hound, energy vortex.
<color:keyword>entrance guardian: A monster who guards the entrance to a particular dungeon, and who must be killed or avoided to enter that dungeon. Only some dungeons, mostly high-level ones, have an entrance guardian. "The entrance guardian of Crystal Castle is an ethereal dragon, so watch out." Compare bottom guardian.
<color:keyword>equipment: 1) The items your character is currently wearing or wielding, visible on your character sheet or through the 'e' command. 2) Items that can be equipped.
<color:keyword>ESP: Extrasensory perception. Full or partial telepathy.
<color:keyword>evolution: 1) The process by which monsters who have gained enough XP turn into stronger monsters. Seen in the player's pets, and in undead monsters who drain experience from the player. Also sometimes caused by the element Time. 2) Player-monster evolution; player characters in Monster mode usually evolve into stronger subraces after leveling up enough. This may give new stat bonuses, resistances, abilities, attacks or equipment slots.
<color:keyword>EXP: Also <color:keyword>XP: experience. The most basic way of keeping score in the game, experience determines your character level. Monster experience: experience collected by a monster, usually a pet.
<color:keyword>FA: Free Action; the item attribute that protects against paralysis.
<color:keyword>fail rate: The probability, usually expressed as a percentage, of failing to cast a spell or use a particular item.
<color:keyword>fame: A measure of how many memorable feats your character has performed. Killing uniques, completing quests and winning Arena fights increases your fame; failing quests or losing an Arena fight decreases fame. Shop pricing and reforge power are affected by fame.
<color:keyword>fear: A status effect. Can prevent some actions, or in the case of extreme fear, cost a turn or partial turn without any actions. Fear resistance: a resistance that improves your chances of avoiding the negative effects of fear.
<color:keyword>feeling: 1) Level feeling. "A special feeling means there's an artifact on the level." See . 2) Object feeling; the quality of an object as indicated by pseudo-ID.
<color:keyword>flag: An indicator of whether an object, player or monster attribute is present or not present. Equipment and player flags are displayed on the Character Sheet.
<color:keyword>friendly monster: A monster who is not hostile, especially one who is also not a pet; such a monster may help you in fights, but you cannot command them to do so.
<color:keyword>frost: A synonym for the element cold, used to make it sound cooler. Distinguish from Ice, a separate (if related) element. Compare Lightning as a synonym for electricity.
<color:keyword>fuzzy telepathy: Telepathy that shows all otherwise invisible monsters as being white, regardless of their usual color; the game's default option for how telepathy works.
<color:keyword>genocide: An attempt to remove a monster species (all monsters sharing the same glyph) from a dungeon level. Does not affect uniques. See .
<color:keyword>Gladiator Ring: A special building, found in Thalos and Lite-Town, where you can fight one monster at a time until you lose.
<color:keyword>global map: Also <color:keyword>overworld map; a scaled map of the FrogComposband world, accessible in towns and the wilderness through the '<' command and generally used for travelling from towns to dungeons or from dungeon to dungeon.
<color:keyword>good object: An item that has some magical enchantments on it, but is not an artifact or ego item.
<color:keyword>haste: A temporary bonus of +10 to the speed of a player or monster.
<color:keyword>health bar: Also <color:keyword>status bar; a bar on the right side of the screen, displaying the health and status of the monster being fought; or a similar, optional bar for the player. See .
<color:keyword>heavy curse: An item curse that cannot be removed with normal Remove Curse, but can be removed with a Scroll of *Remove Curse*.
<color:keyword>heroism: A positive effect, gives +10 max-HP, +12 to-hit (both melee and ranged), and one level of resistance to fear. Usually temporary, but can be permanently gained by player-monsters by killing their racial boss.
<color:keyword>high resist: A resistance to an element other than the base elements and poison.
<color:keyword>hostile monster: Any monster who is neither friendly nor a pet. The vast majority of monsters encountered will be hostile.
<color:keyword>HP: Hit points. A character or monster whose hit points drop below 0 will die.
<color:keyword>icky floor: An area with the specific quality of not being a valid teleport destination, irrespective of terrain features, traps or occupying monsters. An icky tile also prevents any objects on it from being fetched with telekinesis. Teleporting into a vault is usually impossible due to the area inside being icky, although earthquakes or other terrain-modifying effects may result in the ickiness being lost.
<color:keyword>icky wield: Equipping an item unsuitable for the class, giving class-dependent penalties while the icky item remains equipped.
<color:keyword>ID: Identify. *ID*: *Identify*, full identification of an item.
<color:keyword>immunity: 100% resistance; an attribute that completely negates all damage and side effects from an element. Genocide immunity: acquired immunity to genocide. Destruction immunity: acquired immunity to destruction.
<color:keyword>infravision: The ability to see nearby monsters who are invisible but not ghostly or cold-blooded.
<color:keyword>innate attack: A player melee attack not based on an equipped weapon or on martial arts. Many Monster-mode player races have no equipment slots for a melee weapon, and rely on innate attacks such as biting or clawing to harm enemies in melee, but most normal player races can also acquire innate attacks through a mutation.
<color:keyword>inscription: 1) Text appended to an object's description by the player or automatically by the Mogaminator, it can be either pure flavoring or give instructions to the game about how to treat that item. See . 2) Anything appended to an object description, including the standard item attribute abbreviations.
<color:keyword>inventory: 1) Pack inventory, the list of items currently carried by your character, accessible through the 'i' command; in an extended sense, the pack itself. 2) Any similar list of items: shop inventory, home inventory.
<color:keyword>invulnerability: A temporary player or monster condition. Gives a 12 in 13 chance of taking zero damage from any given attack. Invulnerable monsters have white stars (p[********-]) in their health bars. Some special damage sources, notably Psycho-Spears, ignore invulnerability.
<color:keyword>item score: The monetary value or estimated value of an item, generally the higher the more powerful the item is.
<color:keyword>jump: A monster attack that blinks the monster and generates a large elemental ball centered on the monster's pre-blink location.
<color:keyword>keymap: A remapping of a particular key to represent another key command or combination of commands in the game's underlying command set. Compare macro.
<color:keyword>kin: Monsters that share their species (letter symbol) with a given monster, e.g. yeeks for Boldor; mostly used in the context of summons. For players: monsters whose letter symbol is associated with the player's race.
<color:keyword>level: 1) Character level; CL. "A level 46 character." 2) Dungeon level, in either the "explorable area" sense ("You have a bad feeling about this level") or the "depth" sense ("Unmakers are native to level 77"). 3) Danger level of a town quest or wilderness area. "Spawning Pits is a level 80 quest." 4) Monster level; the depth a monster is native to. 5) Spell level; the character level at which a spell becomes available. 6) Device level; a measure of how difficult a magical device is to use, determined by the device's effect and power.
<color:keyword>level guardian: A random quest monster in the Angband dungeon; in an extended sense, any monster tied to appearing at a particular depth in a particular dungeon, including Oberon, the Serpent of Chaos and sometimes dungeon bosses.
<color:keyword>levitation: The ability to float. Levitation gives access to dark pits and mountainous areas of the wilderness, allows you to avoid some traps, eliminates movement speed penalties in wooded and snowy areas, and reduces damage from standing in or over dangerous terrain. See .
<color:keyword>life points: A measure of your attachment to life, displayed on a range of 0% to 99% if depleted. Losing life points reduces effective maximum HP; if life points drop below 0, the character will transform into an undead race, or die outright if this is not possible. See .
<color:keyword>life rating: 1) Random life rating; a measure, ranging from 0 to 76 (normally displayed as a percentage between 85% and 115%), of how lucky you got with random hit-point gain rolls in your current life; life rating as revealed by Self Knowledge. See . 2) Life multiplier; a fixed non-random HP multiplier based on your race, class or personality, not directly related to the random life rating. 3) +Life and -Life; item attributes that modify a constitution-based HP multiplier.
<color:keyword>lightning: A synonym for the element electricity.
<color:keyword>lite-town: The version of the town Outpost as it appears in no-wilderness games.
<color:keyword>living: Of a monster: not an undead, a demon or a nonliving monster. Not strictly an antonym of nonliving, since demons and undead are neither living nor nonliving.
<color:keyword>logrus: A synonym for the element chaos, often used for exceptionally powerful chaos effects.
<color:keyword>macro: The mapping of a keypress to represent one or more other keypresses, for example to cast with a single keypress a spell that normally requires multiple actions. Differs from a keymap in that macros accept a somewhat wider range of input, keys within macro sequences can trigger keymaps, and macros are applied in some situations (such as prompts and menus) where keymaps are not applied. See .
<color:keyword>mana: The spell points of the player or of a magical device.
<color:keyword>Mark of Chaos: A random slay or brand, re-rolled for each blow. One of only two generally available brands that can stack with another brand.
<color:keyword>melee: Armed or unarmed hand-to-hand combat. Melee skill: your talent for such combat. Melee weapon: a weapon used in melee.
<color:keyword>Mogaminator: The auto-picker; the system for automatically picking up, destroying, identifying, inscribing or leaving on the floor particular items based on your pick-up preferences. Editable through the '_' command. So named for its original author, Hengband developer Mogami.
<color:keyword>monster: Any creature, hostile or friendly, encountered during the game.
<color:keyword>monster list: A list of all currently visible monsters, available as a subwindow or through the 'Y' and '[' commands.
<color:keyword>monster mode: A mode of play, selected during character creation, in which your character gains the qualities of a monster race instead of choosing a normal race and class.
<color:keyword>Monster Pit: A gambling building where you can bet on cloned monsters fighting each other.
<color:keyword>monster race: 1) A monster kind, e.g. filthy street urchin, or small kobold. 2) A player monster race; a race selected at character creation in Monster mode.
<color:keyword>mount: A pet you are currently riding; a monster suitable for riding.
<color:keyword>mutation: A player attribute, positive or negative, that is listed in the Mutations section of the character sheet. Removable or unlocked mutations; mutations which were acquired during the game, can be removed in various ways, and are not tied to the character's race, class, personality or equipment. Permanent or locked mutations: demigod talents, other racial talents, and class- or personality-guaranteed mutations such as the White Aura from Lucky personality.
<color:keyword>nameless: A Mogaminator keyword for a non-ego, non-artifact item that does not have a Weaponsmith essence on it.
<color:keyword>nexus: An element, seldom deadly but often highly annoying due to its side effects.
<color:keyword>nice: A monster status; nice monsters will not use breath or spell attacks, and damage from exceptionally powerful melee hits is reduced. Nice monsters also never resist destruction. Nearly all high-level monsters are initially nice when summoned; the main exceptions are the Olympian gods and playing in Nightmare Mode. Niceness stops when the player has had a chance to react to the monster's presence.
<color:keyword>non-ego: An item that is neither ego nor an artifact; a nameless item. "Reforging, Crafting and Artifact Creation only work on non-ego items."
<color:keyword>object list: A list of all known objects on the current dungeon level, accessible as a subwindow or through the ']' and 'O' commands. Can be used for travelling and to display additional features such as stairs.
<color:keyword>out of depth: Appearing at an unexpectedly shallow depth; used of monsters and items native to higher depths. A monster native to DL 80, encountered on DL 60, is said to be twenty levels out of depth.
<color:keyword>overworld map: See <color:keyword>global map.
<color:keyword>pack: 1) The player's backpack; the inventory. 2) A group of similar monsters acting together.
<color:keyword>parent monster: A monster's parent is either the monster who summoned it, or the monster whose escort it belongs to. Not all monsters have a parent. Monsters with living parents feel some loyalty to the parent, and therefore make poor pets and unreliable mounts. Pets summoned by other pets often leave the level if their parent dies or disappears.
<color:keyword>permanent curse: An item curse that can only be removed with Mundanity. Other curses on an item with a permanent curse may still be removable.
<color:keyword>personality: A character attribute, selected at character creation and unchangeable during the game. Each personality gives its own set of bonuses and maluses to your character, and many also have special effects like the chaos patrons on Chaotic or the aggravation on Sexy.
<color:keyword>pet: A friendly monster you can give commands to.
<color:keyword>pet upkeep: The cost of controlling all your pets and keeping them happy; consumes spell points if it exceeds 100%, forcing pets to be dismissed if you have no spell points left. Very high upkeep, above roughly 500%, may result in pets turning hostile.
<color:keyword>polymorph: 1) Temporary race polymorph; the condition of the player character temporarily belonging to another player race, as the result of a monster spell or player spell. This is indicated in red brackets (e.g. [Cyclops]) and wears off after a while. 2) Permanent race polymorph; the player permanently turning into another race. This is never triggered by a monster spell, but can be triggered by chaos patrons (other than Chardros and Hionhurn), by the Polymorph item activation, by the Polymorph power, by some other conditions such as running out of life points, and rarely by unresisted monster toxic waste attacks. Can be disabled as a birth option. 3) Monster polymorph; a monster turning into a different monster, or the act of causing this to happen. A wand effect, and an occasional effect of the element chaos. 4) Potion of Polymorph; a potion that randomly gives or cures mutations. This does not trigger race polymorph.
<color:keyword>primary stat: Spellcasting stat, as opposed to other stats; see <color:keyword>spellcasting stat.
<color:keyword>proficiency: Your level of mastery with a particular task or item. Weapon proficiency: accuracy bonus from experience with a particular weapon kind. Spell proficiency: mana cost and fail rate bonus from experience with a spell. Riding proficiency, dual-wielding proficiency, martial arts proficiency.
<color:keyword>pseudo-ID: Pseudo-identify; the system for giving object feelings; the object feelings so given. "At level 20, the Mogaminator starts automatically destroying all weapons and shooters that pseudo-ID as {average}."
<color:keyword>pval: Bonus size value. An indicator of the size of any stat, skill and ability bonuses (or maluses) on an item; for example, an Iron Helm of Might that gives +3 to speed, strength, dexterity and constitution and -3 to intelligence has a pval of 3.
<color:keyword>quest: A mission within the game, with rewards for completion. The game is won by completing the quest to kill the Serpent of Chaos. Town quest: any quest offered and rewarded by some building in a town, especially one where the quest level itself is also accessible from the town. Angband quest: any of the ten random level guardians who appear in the Angband dungeon.
<color:keyword>race: 1) Player race, selected at birth, and usually expected (though not guaranteed; see polymorph) to remain the same throughout the game. Race selection fundamentally affects a character. 2) A monster race; a monster kind, e.g. filthy street urchins.
<color:keyword>racial power: A spell-like ability you receive as the result of your race, used through the 'U' command ('O' with roguelike keys); e.g. Create Food on Beornings and Hobbits. In an extended sense, any power used through the 'U'/'O' command, regardless of its origin.
<color:keyword>random teleportation: 1) An item curse and mutation effect that causes the player to teleport unpredictably. 2) A positive object attribute that allows the player to follow teleporting monsters, and causes the player to teleport unpredictably but allows the choice of not teleporting.
<color:keyword>ranged combat: Combat based on shooting or throwing projectiles at a monster; in an extended sense, any non-melee combat.
<color:keyword>ranged weapon: A weapon suitable for ranged combat; a shooter; a sling, bow, or crossbow.
<color:keyword>realm: A school of magic based on a particular set of four spellbooks; e.g. the Arcane realm, the Chaos realm.
<color:keyword>recall: 1) Most commonly, Word of Recall: a spell or device effect that takes you from the surface to a dungeon or from the dungeon (or a quest) back to the surface. "Recalling out of a town quest will fail the quest but might save your life." 2) Less commonly, monster recall; monster knowledge look-up. "Press '*' to look at a monster and 'r' to recall information about it."
<color:keyword>reflection: The ability to turn back 75% of incoming bolts, available to both players and monsters.
<color:keyword>reforging: Turning an artifact into a new artifact, using a good or average destination item as the base for the new artifact. A town service offered at Fighters' Hall in Morivant and Lite-Town. See .
<color:keyword>regeneration: Your ability to recover lost HP and SP over time; also, the ability of a monster to recover lost HP over time.
<color:keyword>resist/<color:keyword>resistance: An attribute, available to players and monsters, that reduces damage and blocks or mitigates side-effects from the resisted element. The opposite of a vulnerability.
<color:keyword>resist base/<color:keyword>rBase: Resistance to all of the four base elements.
<color:keyword>restoring: Using an item, spell or town service that reverses stat drain, XP drain and/or loss of life points.
<color:keyword>running: Walking into an indicated direction until disturbed (by a fork, a monster, an interesting object etc.) or interrupted.
<color:keyword>sanity blast: The Eldritch Horror effect; can be triggered by the sight of an eldritch horror, or by reading from the Necronomicon.
<color:keyword>scrambling: 1) Stat scrambling. 2) A flavor message for auras and melee attacks based on the element nexus; these attacks do not trigger stat scrambling, but share its connection to nexus.
<color:keyword>searching: 1) Searching skill; the skill that determines your ability to locate traps and secret doors. 2) The act of searching for traps and secret doors, using the 's' command. Searching mode: a mode toggled with the 'S'/'#' command, causes you to automatically search every other turn. 3) Searching within help files with the '/' and '\' commands.
<color:keyword>shaft: A connection between two dungeon levels or between a dungeon level and the surface. Differs from stairs in that most shafts skip a depth; downstairs on DL 8 will always lead to DL 9, while a shaft down will lead to DL 10 unless there is a quest on level 9.
<color:keyword>sharpness: A weapon attribute; allows the weapon to score vorpal criticals. See .
<color:keyword>shop: Also <color:keyword>store; a building where thematic objects can be bought and sold. Compare <color:keyword>building.
<color:keyword>shuffle: 1) Shop shuffle; paying a shopkeeper to restock the store with new items. 2) Equipment shuffle; updating multiple pieces of equipment at once. 3) The Shuffle spell, a spell in the Trump realm with highly unpredictable effects.
<color:keyword>skill: 1) One of the eight primary skills your character has; Melee, Archery, Saving Throw, Stealth, Perception, Searching, Disarming or Device Skill; in an extended sense, any similar improvable attribute like Digging or Infravision. See . 2) Your level of mastery with a particular weapon or spell; proficiency. See. 3) Anything a Skillmaster is or can be proficient in.
<color:keyword>slay: A multiplier to the damage dice of a weapon, applied only against monsters of a particular type. Compare brand. See .
<color:keyword>SP: Spell points; mana.
<color:keyword>spell: 1) Book spells; magical effects learned by the player from studying a spellbook, and used through the 'm' command. 2) Any magical or mental power used through the 'm' command. 3) Monster spells, inherent to a particular monster race. 4) Powers; racial, class-based or mutation-based spell-like abilities used through the 'U'/'O' command.
<color:keyword>spellcasting stat: A stat that affects your spell failrates and/or the size of your mana pool; usually the same stat for all normal spells, but not necessarily for racial or mutation powers.
<color:keyword>stat: One of the six basic statistics your character has; Strength (STR), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON) or Charisma (CHR). See .
<color:keyword>stat base: The value of a stat before race, class, personality, equipment and mutation bonuses are accounted for.
<color:keyword>stat cap: The highest value a stat base can take. Between 18/70 and 18/130.
<color:keyword>stat drain: Reduction of a stat, usually as the result of monster attacks, indicated by the stat turning yellow. Drained stats can be restored.
<color:keyword>stat scrambling: The permanent swapping of two stats' current base values as the result of an insufficiently resisted Nexus attack, avoidable as a birth option at the cost of suffering a curse effect instead.
<color:keyword>stat-up: An opportunity to increase a selected stat.
<color:keyword>status bar: See <color:keyword>health bar.
<color:keyword>status effect: A temporary condition, especially a negative one such as confusion, blindness, poisoning, stunning or hallucination. Both the player and monsters can be affected by status effects. See .
<color:keyword>subwindow: A window other than the main (Term-0) game window, used by some players for convenient display of monster and object lists, equipment, recent messages or other information.
<color:keyword>summon: To cause new monsters to appear; an instance of summoning; a monster so summoned. "I'm buried in summoners who summon summoners."
<color:keyword>the surface: All non-dungeon and non-quest areas collectively; the wilderness, including towns.
<color:keyword>sustain: Stat sustain; an attribute that protects you from most effects that might reduce that particular stat. Exceptional sources of stat drain, particularly Time attacks, can ignore sustains.
<color:keyword>tailored item: An item guaranteed to be of a type suitable for your race and class; includes all Acquirement results, most quest rewards and a small portion of regular item drops.
<color:keyword>telepathy: The ability to know the type and location of nearby monsters without the need to detect them or see them directly.
<color:keyword>terrible: The object feeling for a cursed artifact.
<color:keyword>to-AC: Armor class bonus; the Y in [+Y] or [X,+Y], typically a magical enchantment. Often vulnerable to damage from disenchantment or acid. Distinguish from <color:keypress>base AC, which is the X in [X,+Y] and cannot be damaged by either disenchantment or acid.
<color:keyword>to-dam: Damage bonus; the item attribute that improves your damage output; the Y in (+X,+Y) in an item description. Your character has separate to-dam for melee, ranged combat and spells, and an item may affect one or more of these.
<color:keyword>to-hit: Accuracy bonus; your ability to hit monsters; the item attribute that improves your ability to hit monsters; the X in (+X,+Y) in an item description. Your character has separate to-hit for melee and ranged combat, and an item may affect one or both of these.
<color:keyword>town: An area where shops and other buildings are located.
<color:keyword>town service: A service offered by a town building, usually for money, such as Research Item (*Identify*), Restoration or Sleep for the Night.
<color:keyword>trap: 1) A floor trap; a square on the floor that does not allow item drops and will usually attempt to harm or inconvenience the player if entered. 2) A chest trap; a mechanism, sometimes very nasty, that needs to be disarmed before a chest can be opened safely. 3) A monster trap; a floor trap set by the player for monsters to walk into.
<color:keyword>travelling: 1) The automated process of walking to another point on the level, commonly as a result of using auto-get or the 'H' or 'J' travel commands. 2) Manual travelling; manually walking from location to location, especially in the wilderness.
<color:keyword>unique: A named monster, usually more dangerous than regular monsters at the same depth, and immune to slowing, annihilation and genocide. The same unique can be encountered repeatedly and on different level until it has been killed, at which point it will not generate again.
<color:keyword>unlife attack: A monster melee attack type. A successful unlife attack makes the attacker more powerful and the attack's target less powerful. More powerful monsters hit harder and cast more dangerous spells. Compare and contrast with vampiric attack.
<color:keyword>vampiric attack: A player or monster attack that drains hit points from a living target, healing the attacker and slightly reducing the target's max HP. Compare unlife attack.
<color:keyword>vault: A special area of a dungeon level, characterized by the presence of permanent walls and a high concentration of both dangerous monsters and exceptional loot. In an extended sense, any special dungeon room with many out-of-depth monsters.
<color:keyword>vorpal weapon: A weapon with the Sharpness attribute. See <color:keyword>sharpness.
<color:keyword>vulnerability: An attribute that causes you to take more damage from an element, and makes your items more likely to be damaged or destroyed by that element. The opposite of a resistance.
<color:keyword>wanted monster: A monster whose corpse, skeleton or ears can be turned in at various town locations to collect a reward. Daily wanted: a non-unique wanted monster with monetary rewards, changing from day to day. Wanted unique: any of the 20 uniques on the list of wanted monsters for that game, with an item reward when the unique is turned in.
<color:keyword>wilderness: The areas outside dungeons and town quest levels; the surface; or more narrowly, areas of the surface not in the immediate vicinity of a town.
<color:keyword>XP: Experience; see <color:keyword>EXP.
Less Formal Words and Abbreviations
The following terms are either slang, informal expressions or terms used in the code that you won't run into very often or at all during play, but might see used by fellow players:
<color:keyword>AFC: Ancient Foul Curse, the nastiest curse effect in the game. Also known as TY, Ty or TY_CURSE, after ZAngband developer Topi Ylinen.
<color:keyword>ASC: Anti-summoning corridor. A tunnel dug into the dungeon walls by you, especially one that zigzags, to limit space for summons and reduce the number of monsters that can attack you at once.
<color:keyword>band/<color:keyword>*band: Any game descended from the original Angband, including FrogComposband.
<color:keyword>bravery: The quality displayed by your friend when he did something that by all rights should have got his character killed, but actually didn't because your friend is a lucky bastard. "That was pretty brave."
<color:keyword>buff: 1) Make stronger; something that is strong; an instance of making something stronger, in the context of game development. "The J is too weak and should be buffed." 2) A positive temporary effect, such as haste or heroism.
<color:keyword>bump: Melee; to hit things in melee. "Warriors get great bump attacks but not much else." Bump class: a class that relies on melee.
<color:keyword>cheese: A strategy that works but is considered uncool, usually because it either is extremely dull or relies on some exploit in game mechanics (or both). "LOS cheese is a lot less effective in FrogComposband than V, but still works at times."
<color:keyword>CLW/CSW/CCW: Cure Light Wounds/Cure Serious Wounds/Cure Critical Wounds; the three common minor healing potions, staple items of the early game.
<color:keyword>cuddlywug: Quylthulg, as spelled by someone who pretends not to remember how to spell it.
<color:keyword>diving: Play characterized by rapid progress to high depths; the opposite of grinding.
<color:keyword>DSM: Dragon Scale Mail. <color:keyword>BDSM most commonly means Balance Dragon Scale Mail, but should be interpreted in context :)
<color:keyword>easily: Also: <color:keyword>just easily. Usually said of something very difficult or risky, especially something that requires luck or is patently not viable at all in the short-term. "Easily kill Nodens"; "easily find Ringil"; "easily get the BDSM from Spawning Pits".
<color:keyword>fix: To improve things, to make things better, to repair problems; definitely not a synonym for "break" at all.
<color:keyword>glhfdd: Good luck, have fun, don't die; an expression of good wishes to a fellow player.
<color:keyword>grinding: Slow, meticulous play aimed at making a character stronger through accumulation of experience and loot before moving into more dangerous areas; the opposite of diving.
<color:keyword>hat: A cap, crown or helmet; especially, an extremely powerful artifact such as the Crown of Amber or the Golden Crown of Dragonkind.
<color:keyword>Hugostyle/<color:keyword>Hugo-style: A playstyle characterized by very high early-game melee damage, rapid level gain, and spending much time in the wilderness; in an extended sense, any character resembling a Hugo-style character. So named after the style's main proponent, the player Hugo.
<color:keyword>Indy/<color:keyword>Indy's whip: An artifact found in the I Hate Snakes! quest. "Do snakes for Indy if you don't get any decent weapons early."
<color:keyword>J/<color:keyword>the J: The Serpent of Chaos, the final boss of the Angband dungeon and the monster you must kill to win a game of FrogComposband. "Going to J tonight?"
<color:keyword>loot: 1) All items and money discovered. 2) A particularly valuable item; an item worth picking up. "Don't forget to pick up Sam's hat, that's loot."
<color:keyword>LOS: Line of sight, of the player or of a monster. LOS effect: an effect that affects everyone in line of sight.
<color:keyword>mild inconvenience: Something that didn't get described as the worst because keepers of secrets are the worst.
<color:keyword>mut: A mutation.
<color:keyword>nerf: Make weaker; an instance of making something weaker, in the context of game development. The opposite of buff. "Tourists are too strong and need to be nerfed."
<color:keyword>OOD: Out of depth.
<color:keyword>OP: Oppy; overpowered; extremely strong, to the point where it probably ought to be nerfed for game balance. Said of whichever class or race you just finally got your first win with. OPLotharang: the battle axe Lotharang, a legendarily powerful artifact.
<color:keyword>PD: Phase Door.
<color:keyword>post-game: Gameplay after the game has already been won by killing the Serpent of Chaos; the parts of the game that become accessible once the Serpent has been killed.
<color:keyword>pot: A potion.
<color:keyword>quythulg: Quylthulg, as spelled by someone who actually does not remember how to spell it.
<color:keyword>randart: Random artifact.
<color:keyword>resist hole: The condition of lacking a particular resistance, especially on a strong character who has most or all other resistances covered. "Fighting Nebiros with dark and nether holes is brave."
<color:keyword>rfe: Request for enhancement; a serious or sarcastic request for FrogComposband to be changed in a particular way. "RFE: New mut that gives a flat chance of just teleing right next to the highest-DL monster on the level."
<color:keyword>rip: Rest In Peace; in an extended sense, to die. "RIP me"; "rip Oberon"; "rip tourists being OP"; "argh, just ripped to J again".
<color:keyword>Scroll of Disappointment: Scroll of Acquirement.
<color:keyword>statstick: An item, especially a melee or ranged weapon, that is not very good as an actual weapon but gives valuable resistances or stat bonuses. "Soulsword is a great statstick."
<color:keyword>swap item: An item that is not regularly equipped, but is carried in the inventory and can be temporarily equipped (to gain a particular resist, increased speed or damage etc.) when desirable. "I'm carrying Narya as a swap in case I find balrog uniques."
<color:keyword>tag: To very briefly visit a dungeon for the sole purpose of establishing a recall point there.
<color:keyword>telefail: A failed attempt to use a Scroll of Teleportation, Staff of Teleport or some other means of teleport self. A common cause of player death.
<color:keyword>TO: Teleport Other. "TO the summons and easily kill Glaurung."
<color:keyword>trickshot: An attack by a player or monster that damages a target not in line of sight.
<color:keyword>V: Vanilla Angband; the game Angband, as distinguished from its variants.
<color:keyword>wargs: That quest with wargs in. "You should do wargs early." Similarly, <color:keyword>thieves for Thieves' Hideout, <color:keyword>snakes for I Hate Snakes!, <color:keyword>mimics for The Mimic's Treasure etc.
<color:keyword>the worst: Used in the set phrase keepers of secrets are the worst to indicate that Keepers of Secrets are literally the worst possible thing a character can run into. Otherwise used to mean that a thing is annoying, dangerous or a mild inconvenience, but not literally the worst thing due to Keepers of Secrets being the worst.
Original : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.salmiak
Online Help Commands
Movement Commands
<color:keypress> Q q (Leave the help system)
<color:keypress> ESC (Return to the previous file)
<color:keypress> ! (Go to the help system's main page)
<color:keypress> Home (Go to the top)
<color:keypress> PageUp/- (Go up 1 page)
<color:keypress> Up Arrow (Go up 1 line)
<color:keypress>Down Arrow(Go down 1 line)
<color:keypress> PageDown (Go down 1 page)
<color:keypress> Spacebar (Go down 1 page)
<color:keypress> End (Go to the bottom)
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The Magic System
Just beneath the surface of the commonplace and mundane lurks the unpredictable and magical. Some may access these forces, gaining great powers in the process. Others eschew the unexplained and unexplainable. Whether you use magic is up to you, and depends upon which class you choose to play. Hack and slash with the warrior, and magic will forever remain a mystery to you; choose the life of a Mage, and the eternal secrets of the universe may be revealed to you.
Magic is available in many forms. Magical potions can be used by any characters, even the illiterate and uncivilized Berserkers. Magical scrolls, wands, rods and staves are available to all classes except Berserker, but require some skill to use correctly; these forms of magic are discussed elsewhere and not covered here in detail. Finally, there are the select few who access the forces of magic directly, casting spells to slay and spells to heal; spells to learn and spells to travel; spells to beguile and spells to banish; it is here, into the realm of the spellcaster, that we now shall journey.
Spellcaster Types
There are two main kinds of spellcaster: those who use ancient books of erudition to access the magical, and those who gain powers or abilities directly through their mental focus. In addition, there are <color:keyword>special techniques, which may not be traditional magic but obey most of the same rules as magic does; these may effectively fall into either of the first two categories. <color:keyword>Racial powers and other similar abilities are granted by race, class or mutations rather than magical ability, and work in somewhat different ways.
<color:keyword>Book spellcasters are the traditional magic-user classes; they must find (or purchase) appropriate spellbooks to learn from, and read from those books as they cast spells, requiring clear eyes and light to see with. <color:keyword>Non-book spellcasters gain their powers automatically as they grow in experience and understanding, and can sometimes invoke their magic in the dark or while blind. A small number of classes, including Force-Trainers and Ninja-Lawyers, can use both book and non-book magic.
All spellcasters require a clear, unconfused mind, as well as a functional <color:keypress>m key, to access the magical. Nearly all spellcasters also need <color:keyword>spell points (SP, mana) to cast spells; mana measures the spellcaster's concentration and magical energy, and without it spells will fail. Some casters may be able to substitute hit points for mana (this is more commonly the case for racial powers than normal magic); and some spells may come to the caster so easily they require no mana at all. All spellcasters have a <color:keyword>primary stat or <color:keyword>spellcasting stat; their ability to cast spells, as well as the size of their mana pool, depends on this stat. <color:keyword>Anti-magic always prevents magic of this type, though it may not affect some special techniques that are otherwise indistinguishable from magic.
Racial powers (and other similar powers) are used with the <color:keypress>U key (<color:keypress>O in the roguelike keyset). Racial powers also require mana, but not absolutely; it is common to substitute HP. Racial powers, like spells, depend on a spellcasting stat; but while all spells rely on the same casting stat, each racial power has its own stat. Racial powers are not affected by anti-magic.
The bulk of this document is about book spellcasting, and the various magic realms available to book casters.
Spellbook Magic
All spellbooks belong to one of the many <color:keyword>magic realms in the game. Most book spellcasters are limited to one or two realms, chosen from a wider list of options during character creation; which realms are open for selection depends on your class. Each realm contains exactly four books, and each book contains eight spells, though some of these spells may be unavailable to you even if you specialize in the right realm. A few classes, such as Sorcerers, follow special rules and are not limited to two realms.
Classes with two realms have a <color:keyword>primary realm and a <color:keyword>secondary realm. The primary realm is the one you are truly proficient in; your fail rates are higher in the secondary realm, and you will never be able to fully master its spells. The secondary realm does have one advantage: unlike the primary realm, it can be changed during the game. To achieve this, simply <color:keypress>Gain a spell from a book of the realm you wish to switch to. However, you will forget any spells you learned in the old realm, and the number of total spells you can learn during the game is limited; so use this power wisely and sparingly.
Most realms have two cheap <color:keyword>town books that can be regularly found in shops, and two rare and valuable <color:keyword>dungeon books that cannot be acquired so easily. It is rumoured that the witches of Witch Wood have a nice collection of dungeon books...
Spell Proficiency
The more experience you have with a particular book spell, the lower your fail rates and mana cost for that spell. This is called <color:keyword>spell proficiency, and is indicated by the rough labels Unskilled, Beginner, Skilled, Expert and Master. Every time you use a spell, you gain some proficiency with that spell, although serious experience can only be gained deep in the dungeon; casting a spell over and over again in the safety of a town will not help you much.
Most (though not all) classes also have an alternative way to gain proficiency: by studying the same spell a second (or third) time with the <color:keypress>G command. This will take you (at a minimum) to the next labeled level of proficiency, and retain some of whatever progress you had already made towards the next level; but it also consumes one of your allocated opportunities to learn a spell, and means another spell might remain unstudied forever unless you find a Scroll of Spell.
In general, all players start with Unskilled proficiency with every spell, can Master all spells in their first realm, and can reach Expert level in all spells in their second realm if they have one. <color:keyword>Sorcerers and <color:keyword>Red-Mages, who are not limited to two realms, follow special rules regarding proficiency; Sorcerers automatically Master all spells they have access to, while Red-Mages are Skilled in all of their spells. The proficiency of <color:keyword>Skillmasters is also special, and determined solely by how many skill points they have invested in the realm. These three classes gain no proficiency from using a spell.
What a Spellbook Looks Like
This is what a young character might see on pressing <color:keypress>m and selecting a spellbook:
(Spells a-h, *=List, ESC=exit) Cast which spell?
Name Profic Lvl SP Fail Desc
a) Magic Missile [Be] 1 2 5% dam 3d4
b) Trap / Door Destruction [Un] 1 4 9% unknown
c) Flash of Light [Un] 2 4 15% untried
d) Touch of Confusion [Un] 5 8 49%
e) Mana Burst [Un] 9 10 91% unknown
f) Fire Bolt [Un] 13 15 95% unknown
g) Fist of Force [Un] 14 15 95% unknown
h) Teleport Self [Un] 15 15 95% unknown
Indicated for each spell are the spell's label (the key for that spell), the spell's name, your proficiency, the character level at which the spell can first be learned, mana cost, fail rate and some additional information. The spell Flash of Light is shown in green because the character has studied it but not yet attempted to cast it; Magic Missile and Touch of Confusion are shown in white because they have been both studied and successfully cast, while the other spells are all light blue to indicate they have not been studied yet. Magic Missile is already up to [Be]ginner proficiency, while the other seven spells are still [Un]skilled.
The very brief additional info does not tell us much; Magic Missile does 3d4 damage, and is presumably a magical missile, but the other spells are not as self-explanatory. Instead of <color:keypress>m, we can use the <color:keypress>b Browse command (<color:keypress>P for Peruse in the roguelike keyset) to learn more:
(Spells a-h, *=List, ESC=exit) Browse which spell?
Name Profic Lvl SP Fail Desc
a) Magic Missile [Be] 1 2 5% dam 3d4
b) Trap / Door Destruction [Un] 1 4 9% unknown
c) Flash of Light [Un] 2 4 15% untried
d) Touch of Confusion [Un] 5 8 49%
e) Mana Burst [Un] 9 10 91% unknown
f) Fire Bolt [Un] 13 15 95% unknown
g) Fist of Force [Un] 14 15 95% unknown
h) Teleport Self [Un] 15 15 95% unknown
Lights up nearby area and the inside of a room permanently.
Here I'm looking into the Flash of Light spell; the description makes it clear this is an illumination spell and not, say, a bolt of light.
Which Spells Should I Study?
A few spellcasting classes, generally those associated with Wisdom or priesthood, have no direct control over which spells they gain; when they use the <color:keypress>G Gain a Spell command, their gods select a new spell for them at random. Most classes, though, can choose a specific spell to study; as noted above, they can even study the same spell repeatedly!
As a rule, you can <color:keyword>eventually learn all spells in your realm or realms; the exceptions are if you swapped your secondary realm mid-game or if you studied a single spell more than once, and even then you can gain new spell slots with Scrolls of Spell. So the question is not so much "which spells should I study?" - you will study all or nearly all of them - as it is which spell you should study right now.
Book spellcasters often have a hard time killing monsters in the early game, so it helps if your first spell is something <color:keyword>offensive like Magic Missile. You can get a mage off the ground without offensive spells, but it takes care and patience! Once you have solid offensive options, utility spells like detection, escapes and buffs become more inviting.
General Magic Realms
These magic realms are available as first and second realms to a wide variety of classes, though not necessarily to all book spellcasters.
Life
Life magic is very good for healing; it relies mostly on healing, protection and detection spells. This realm has no direct damage spells, at least against the living, though there are rumors of some high-level spells greatly feared by the already dead. Life is considered a "good" realm; if virtues are on, the fail rate of Life spells goes up if the caster's alignment tends towards evil, and down if the caster is aligned with the forces of good.
Sorcery
Sorcery is a utility realm, including enchantment and general spells. It provides superb utility spells (such as Teleport spells for fleeing and even Globe of Invulnerability), spells to enhance your odds in combat (Slow Monster, Haste Self, Confuse Monster) and, most importantly, a vast selection of spells for gathering information: in addition to the usual detection and identify spells, one of the standard spellbooks has a spell called Identify True, which gives you full knowledge of a given object! In the rare books, there are spells with which you can protect your inventory items or even turn unwanted items to gold. However, Sorcery has one weakness: it has no spells to deal direct damage to your enemies.
Nature
Nature magic makes you a master of the elements; it provides protection, detection, curing and attack spells, and most importantly, spells that change surrounding geographical features. Nature also offers Herbal Healing, which is the only powerful healing spell outside the realm of Life magic. Since Nature seeks balance and harmony, fail rates of Nature spells go up when the caster's alignment becomes very good or evil.
Chaos
Chaos is the very element of unmaking, and Chaos spells are the most terrible weapons of destruction imaginable. From Magic Missile and Fire Bolt to the medium level Fire Ball and Doom Bolt, and finally to the awesome spells of Invoke Logrus, Mana Storm and Call the Void, Chaos offers an almost unsurpassable arsenal of attack spells. Chaos is one of two realms to provide the Destruction spell. The caster can also call on the primal forces of Chaos to induce mutations in enemies and even themselves; but apart from this, Chaos has no protective spells. Beware! Chaos spells are known to backfire easily and produce undesired effects.
Death
There is no fouler nor more evil category of spells than the necromantic spells of Death Magic. These spells are relatively hard to learn, but at higher levels the spells give the caster power over living and the (un)dead. Poison, vampirism, death spells, and even the forces of nether can be directed by the caster. Should a Death wizard find the legendary tome Necronomicon, he can expect to gain very great powers indeed, but at a cost: few that have studied that accursed tome have retained their sanity. Since this is an evil realm, the fail rates of Death spells go up for good-aligned casters if virtues are turned on.
Trump
Trump magic seems an independent source of power, even if supposedly associated with Chaos. Although it lacks the unpredictable chaotic side-effects of Chaos magic, it has a few spells whose exact effects seem more or less random. One such spell is Shuffle: the Trump spellbooks actually consist of decks of trumps, and the Shuffle spell allows the caster to shuffle the deck and pick one card at random. The effect depends on the card picked, and is not always pleasant. The Trump gateways are a major method of transportation, and the realm has an admirable selection of teleportation spells. Trump magic has no equal when it comes to summoning creatures; but not all monsters appreciate being drawn to another place by the Trump user. The only summoned creatures whose loyalty is fully guaranteed are the Phantasmal Servants, who lack a will of their own... but might develop one if you treat them badly.
Arcane
Arcane, even more than Sorcery, is a general-purpose realm; it attempts to offer all the utility spells of other realms, as well as a few of its own. The downside of Arcane is that it is somewhat lacking in really powerful spells, and many of its spells are more expensive than their cousins in other realms. Arcane is the only realm with no dungeon spellbooks; all four Arcane books can be bought in town. Arcane offers good support to other realms, but characters with just one realm may find it too limited.
Craft
As the realm of enchantment, Craft magic offers spells to enhance the player and his equipment, and even to forge new powerful magical objects. Player enhancements include extra resistance, speed, armor and combat skills. Item enhancements include magical bonuses and temporary elemental slays, which can be quite powerful when applied to the right sort of weapon. Finally, forging or crafting turns an existing object into a random ego item and is quite unique to this magic realm. It is even said that Craft magic allows the caster to enhance their offensive damage, using their own mana to power mighty slays that none may resist. But this may just be a rumor...
Daemon
Daemon magic offers powerful attack spells with the properties of Fire or Nether. There are a few detection spells which provide a map of the nearby area or temporary telepathy. Daemon magic also provides temporary transformation spells which allow caster to become a Demon or even a mighty Demon Lord. Daemon is an evil realm; if virtues are on, the fail rates of Daemon spells go up for casters aligned towards good.
Crusade
Crusade is the ultimate "good" realm; it has some attack spells, but they are mostly used for harming and banishing foul minions of evil, and are not very effective against a good monster. If virtues are on, the fail rates of Crusade spells go up for casters aligned with evil.
Armageddon
Death. Destruction. Slaughter. This realm knows nothing else and every spell is a direct offensive spell. From elemental attacks to mighty breath attacks, Armageddon is unparalleled in raw damage. It might be better to seek a more balanced approach, and even Chaos magic offers some utility spells to complement the offense; still, if you want the ultimate in destruction, look no further.
Class-Specific Magic Realms
In addition to the realms listed above, there are a few class-specific spell realms. These realms also use books to gain access to magic but might behave slightly differently than normal spellbook realms.
Law
The realm of Law is the speciality of Lawyers. It straddles the line between general and class-specific magic - it can be studied by non-specialists, but no other class can master it as easily or completely as the Lawyer. The Law realm offers a fairly comprehensive set of utility tricks, allowing its practitioner to detect threats and opportunities, mystify enemies, set traps, charm potential friends and weasel out of dangerous situations; but it offers few direct offensive options.
Music
Unique to Bards, this realm grants power through song. As such, only a single spell may be sung at a time, and the effects of the various spells endure (and perhaps grow stronger) so long as the song is continued. Reading a scroll, or quaffing a potion, interrupts the current song, discontinuing its effects. Certain harps may enhance this form of magic.
Hex
Unique to the High-Mage, Hex magic thrives on curses; truly, the four Hex spellbooks are full of language not fit for printing. Most Hex spells are cast continually, like the musical songs of the bard; but they are chanted rather than sung, and multiple chants may be woven at once, inter-weaving verse upon verse, and hex upon hex, allowing the caster to get more than one effect going at a time. However, the number of concurrent spells is strictly limited, increasing only slowly with level. While reading a scroll interrupts all of Hex casters' foul chants, I've heard tell of Hex mages inhaling potions through their nose without the least pause in the spell; but I find this rather hard to believe, and quite silly besides.
Burglary
This is the preferred realm of the Rogue, and unique to that class. Strong in detection and general sneakiness, this realm also offers the ability to set traps, to pick pockets, to negotiate with thieves, and to assassinate sleeping foes. Unlike normal detection, whose range is fixed, burglary spells increase the area of effect with the level of the caster, ultimately applying to the entire level of the current dungeon. The true burglar has a good eye for danger and may map out their escape route in advance. They can make haste to escape a tricky situation. They may examine the proceeds of their thievery (their loot) and consequently have a very good idea of the quality of the treasures they... ahem... find. Burglary rogues are well known to the Black Markets of the world, and treated well as the principal source of new inventory; but that is hardly a magical fact, or is it?
Necromancy
Exclusive to the Necromancer, this is the foul realm of undeath allowing the caster to communicate with, and ultimately control, the deceased. And the dead have lots to offer, including knowledge of this world and the objects it contains. As servants, they are hard to kill, being dead already! In addition, this realm offers something quite unique: the ability to touch foes with deadly (undeadly) powers. At first, the touch of the necromancer is weak, being cold, or dark, or poisonous, but eventually the touch grows stronger, stealing life little by little, and perhaps, maybe, eventually all at once. But who knows for certain, as those that did learn the foul necromantic secrets are with us no more?
Rage
A special technique rather than magic, this realm is unique to the Rage-Mages, sworn enemies of all things magical. Talents are learned from books, to be sure, but the ritual of gaining spells involves the destruction of the book in the process, meaning the Rage-Mage can only learn one spell from each book they find. And once learned, the book is no longer required to cast the technique, which is perhaps fortunate. This realm offers various combat techniques, as well as the talent to simply shout down magical enemies.
Kendo
Another technique realm, Kendo is unique to the Samurai, offering powerful talents to directly enhance the effectiveness of melee. Talents are learned from books, but, once learned, may be freely used without further reference to the book.
On Casting Spells
Players who select spellcasting characters may notice a few unusual phenomena during the course of the game. Here are a few tips and hints on what may be happening.
Armor and Spell Casting
Most spellcasting classes are penalized for wielding armor and weapons above a certain total combined weight, though the size of the penalty, the maximum weight allowed and the extent to which weapons count towards that maximum vary widely from class to class. Exceeding the weight limit reduces your maximum SP; you are warned when this happens.
Glove Encumbrance
Many spellcasters, in particular mages, need their fingers free for the intricate gestures that accompany a spell and are therefore heavily penalized for wearing gloves on their hands. Items that grant Free Action, Dexterity or Magic Device Skill are an exception to this and can be worn normally; and not all magical or book-using classes are limited in this way.
Spell Durations
Some spells such as Haste-Self or Resistance grant an effect which wears off after a certain period of time. With very few exceptions, multiple castings of such spells are not cumulative in terms of the duration of the spell; in other words, casting a spell which has a duration of 20 turns three times will not result in a duration of 60 turns. Typically, subsequent castings will add only a small amount to the total duration.
Spell Types
Bolts and Beams
Bolt and beam spells are aimed in a direction or at a target. A bolt spell will hit the first monster or obstruction in its targeted direction, which may or may not have been the intended target. A beam spell, on the other hand, will hit every target within range in the direction of fire until it hits a wall or other obstacle. Monsters with Reflection have a 75% chance to reflect bolts, but beams are not affected. Beams, unlike bolts, can damage objects. Many bolt spells have a random chance to generate beams.
Balls
Ball spells differ from bolts in several ways: they always hit the intended target (if it was a valid target in line of sight); they have a radius (which varies from spell to spell); and they cannot be reflected. A radius value of one or more will result in the spell affecting the area around the target square in addition to the target itself; this can affect additional monsters, objects or terrain, though only the target square suffers full damage. When ball spells are directed at monsters in walls, the ball will blow up in front of the wall, reducing the damage taken by the monster to half since it is not at the epicenter. Almost all ball spells can be aimed, though a few are always centered on the player (the player does not take any damage in this case).
Line-of-Sight
Line-of-sight spells affect all monsters that that are currently in your character's line of sight, including invisible and otherwise unseen monsters. Line-of-sight spells cannot, and need not, be aimed.
Area
Area spells affect an area around the player. The size of the area can vary considerably; for example, Light Area illuminates a single room, while Detect Traps and Mass Genocide affect all squares within a specific radius (regardless of line of sight), and normal Genocide affects the entire level. Area spells cannot be aimed.
Other
Many spells, like Identify or Teleport Self, are not directed outside and affect the player or objects carried by the player. Buff spells provide temporary benefits such as haste or elemental resistance, and almost always have a duration. Healing spells cure status effects and give back lost hit points. Play the game and find out what else there is!
Using Macros to Cast Spells
Macros and keymaps are a somewhat advanced topic; it is by no means necessary to ever use a macro during a game, so you can skip this section if you wish. The basics behind macros, though, are not that hard to grasp.
Casting a book spell requires a minimum of three keypresses - one to select the spell command, one to select the right book and one to select the right spell. Three keypresses is not that much, but over the course of a long game you might cast some spells 1000 times or even more, so it adds up! This is the main reason single-key macros or keymaps for common spells are often convenient.
Going back to our earlier example book:
(Spells a-h, *=List, ESC=exit) Cast which spell?
Name Profic Lvl SP Fail Desc
a) Magic Missile [Be] 1 2 5% dam 3d4
b) Trap / Door Destruction [Un] 1 4 9% unknown
c) Flash of Light [Un] 2 4 15% untried
d) Touch of Confusion [Un] 5 8 49%
e) Mana Burst [Un] 9 10 91% unknown
f) Fire Bolt [Un] 13 15 95% unknown
g) Fist of Force [Un] 14 15 95% unknown
h) Teleport Self [Un] 15 15 95% unknown
Suppose this is book a, and furthermore that I have inscribed the book as @ma to make sure it will always be book a and not suddenly change slots (see for more details on inscriptions). This means I'll be typing <color:keypress>mac to cast the Flash of Light illumination spell, something I will likely do several hundred times in a game if I don't die early.
Using the <color:keypress>@ command, I can create a new macro with the <color:keypress>F6 key as the trigger and <color:keypress>mac as the action. (Keymaps are generally preferable to macros; but the F6 key is only acceptable as a macro trigger, not a keymap trigger, so if that's what I wish to use it has to be a macro.)
I can now use the F6 key to illuminate rooms with a single keypress... and the next time I play a different character with a different illumination spell, I can map <color:keypress>F6 to the new spell and keep using the same key instead of having to memorize a new sequence.
Always append your macros and keymaps to a file. Otherwise, they will be lost when you exit the game.
Now suppose I want to have a macro for Magic Missile as well. I could simply map <color:keypress>F1 to the sequence <color:keypress>maa (indeed, this is what I personally would do); but some players like to go further and map it to <color:keypress>maa*5, so the macro automatically selects a target as well. This has the downside that you might not get the target you would like best; but if you are just spamming magic missiles into a crowd of weak enemies, that will probably not matter so much.
Note that an <color:keypress>maa*5 macro only saves two keypresses per enemy over an <color:keypress>maa macro, even if the spell is used more than once; and the <color:keypress>maa macro itself only saves two keypresses per enemy compared to just pressing every key in the sequence m-a-a-*-5. This is because after the first cast, the single-key <color:keypress>n command (<color:keypress>X in the roguelike keyset) can be used to repeat both the spell and the targetting.
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.7.2
Updated : PosChengband 7.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Monsters
Encounters with monsters are the backbone of FrogComposband. It is mostly by killing monsters that you acquire treasures, gain experience and become more powerful; but not all monsters are hateful enemies who need to die.
Monster Races
Each monster in the game represents some specific monster kind, usually known for convenience as the monster's <color:keyword>race. (The term is somewhat misleading in that it does not necessarily imply a distinct species or ethnicity; human novice mages, human novice priests and human novice archaeologists are three separate monster races; also, I use semicolons too much.) Race determines most things about a monster: which melee attacks (if any) it can hit you with, which spells (if any) it can use, which of your attacks (if any) it can shrug off.
Two monsters of the same race are not completely identical - there is some variation between individuals in terms of details such as hit points and speed - but most of the time you can ignore that variation and treat all members of a monster race as interchangeable, as impolite as that might seem. Distinct races, on the other hand, are far from interchangeable; each poses a unique challenge, apart from the few who pose no challenge at all.
Monster Species
Monster races can be grouped into categories (or <color:keyword>species). Two monsters of the same species are always represented on the map by the same letter symbol; for example, all orcs share the letter o. Monsters of the same race also share the color (all orc warlocks are o). It is possible, but relatively rare, for a monster race to share both its letter and its color with another race of the same species.
The symbols for all monster species are listed below.
Monster Symbols
a Ant A Angel
b Bat B Bird
c Centipede C Canine
d Dragon D Ancient Dragon/Wyrm
e Eye E Elemental
f Feline/Fox F Dragon Fly
g Golem G Ghost
h Humanoid H Hybrid
i Icky Thing I Insect
j Jelly J Snake
k Kobold K Killer Beetle
l Aquatic monster L Lich
m Mold M Multi-Headed Hydra
n Naga N (special - shadower)
o Orc O Ogre
p Human P Giant
q Quadruped Q Quylthulg
r Rodent R Reptile/Amphibian
s Skeleton S Spider/Scorpion/Tick
t Townsperson T Troll
u Minor demon U Major demon
v Vortex V Vampire
w Worm/Worm Mass W Wight/Wraith
x (special - easy mimic) X Xorn/Xaren
y Yeek Y Yeti
z Zombie/Mummy Z Zephyr Hound
$ Creeping Coins , Mushroom Patch
# Ent/Mist creature
Unlike the race, the species of a monster does not tell you anything about how dangerous a monster is; the almost harmless giant green frog is a reptile/amphibian with the symbol R... but so is a tyrannosaurus. The species does, however, allow some generic assumptions; for example, nearly all dragons and zephyr hounds breathe something or other. You can also assume something with the d or D symbol will take extra damage from a weapon that slays dragons.
Assessing a Monster
The cheapest way to tell who a monster is and how much damage he deals in combat is by picking a fight with them and finding out. This can lead to complications such as death, though, so you may want to take a more measured approach.
Use the <color:keypress>* targetting command or the <color:keypress>l look command to inspect a monster. Here I have used the * command to discover that the h to my north-east is a Nibelung:
Monster: a Nibelung [r,q,t,p,o,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>]
LEVEL 1
EXP 15
AU 32
| ~(
STR : 16
INT : 18
WIS : 9
#.. h DEX : 18/40
#.** CON : 17
#@.. CHR : 12
#### AC 6
HP 37/ 37
SP 14/ 14
h[*********]
Quest: L5
If you are playing for the first time, just knowing the monster is a Nibelung does not help that much - <color:keyword>what are Nibelungs like?! You can press <color:keypress>r at this targetting prompt to bring up some additional information:
Monster: a Nibelung [r,q,t,p,o,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>]
Name : Nibelung (h) L 1
Level : ? Speed: +0 15
AC : ? Type : Male 32
HP : ? ~(
: 16
Attacks : ? : 18
: 9
Kills : 0 : 18/40
: 17
Night dwarfs collecting new riches for their master, Alberich. : 12
#### AC 6
HP 37/ 37
SP 14/ 14
h[*********]
Quest: L5
Had we met Nibelungs before, this screen would be populated with useful information. We haven't, so there's really just the speed and the flavor description... but the latter does strongly suggest that nibelungs might be thieves. (Jumping ahead of ourselves for a bit, it also implies there might be a unique nibelung called Alberich!)
If I let the nibelung hit me a couple times, we find out I was right about nibelungs being thieves, and the monster recall updates with this new information:
Monster: a Nibelung [r,q,t,p,o,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>]
Name : Nibelung (h) L 2
Level : ? Speed: +0 21
AC : ? Type : Thief, Male 0
HP : ? ~(
: 16
Attacks : Type Effects : 18
Hit Hurt : 9
Touch Steal Gold : 18/40
: 17
Kills : 0 : 12
6
Night dwarfs collecting new riches for their master, Alberich. 15/ 48
SP 18/ 18
h[**-------]
Quest: L5
Notice also the monster status bar on the right - that little h[**-------]? It indicates how healthy a monster is: I hit that Nibelung a couple times in return, and the seven empty slots next to the two red stars tell me he is already down to a fraction of his original health. Nibelungs probably aren't too tough if I could do so much damage so quickly! (See below for a more detailed explanation of the status bar.)
Unique Monsters
While there are many humans in the world, there is only one of you. Likewise, many monsters can only be killed once, and these monsters are called unique monsters or simply uniques. A large part of the game involves killing as many uniques as possible. In fact, you need to kill a certain unique to win the game: the Serpent of Chaos. Many quests also involve killing a unique.
Uniques are typically some of the toughest monsters you will meet at a given depth. Many uniques, especially in the early game, are just bigger, badder versions of a regular monster; Mughash the Kobold Lord, for example, could be fairly described as a normal kobold who hits harder, has extra hitpoints and takes a posse of friends with him everywhere he goes. It is not unusual, however, for a unique to truly be one of a kind and have little in common with anybody else.
The flipside to uniques' toughness is that they also drop some of the best treasures. A number of uniques even have <color:keyword>special drops - the unique Arthur Pendragon, for example, might drop the highly valuable sword Excalibur. But that is a long way from guaranteed!
A unique does not belong to any other monster race; from the game's point of view, each unique is a monster race of its own.
Uniques' Resistance to Magic
Unique monsters tend to be more resistant to magic than the other dungeon inhabitants. In particular, almost no magic is powerful enough to slow uniques or make them fall asleep. Uniques who resist Teleportation are always completely immune to it (most normal monsters only get a saving throw). In addition, Genocide and Mass-Genocide effects (see below) will never work on a unique.
Speaking Uniques
Occasionally, you will find that a unique monster will speak to you as it approaches. Typically, a monster will shout insults and challenges to combat; but they may also mention topics relating to themselves, or just engage in friendly chatter if they are less hostile. The game has no mechanism to allow you to respond (other than with violence). Speaking is not strictly limited to uniques, but is much rarer in normal monster races.
Wanted Uniques
For every character you play, the game rolls a new random list of twenty <color:keyword>wanted uniques. You can view this list at the Bounty Offices in Outpost, Thalos and Anambar, and review it at any time through the <color:keypress>~ knowledge-menu command. When you kill a wanted unique, you are reminded of the price on its head; pick up the corpse or skeleton and turn it in at the Bounty Office, and you will receive one or more valuable items as a reward for your good work.
The list of wanted uniques is sorted by the native depth of the unique; killing deeper uniques gives better rewards.
Listing All Monsters in View
Using the <color:keypress>* command to inspect a single monster is great when you only have to worry about one monster, but often dozens of monsters will be nearby at once. Here's a more advanced character who has just walked into a quest and cast a magical monster-detection spell - who are all these guys?
You sense the presence of doors! You sense the presence of AU 475k
monsters! You hear a door burst open! ||}~=="~((]]
Z Z.Z STR : 18/113
#++Z# INT : 10
#...# WIS : 18/10
#...# } DEX : 18/161
^ T #...# - ^ p CON : 18/153
#...# O O CHR : 16
p TuT ######...###### z AC 93
[ hh T +.............+f ^ HP 502/ 503
| h h = T+......@......+ ff j V | SP 100/ 100
F h +.............+f d
h ######...######f f
h h #...# f G
K h h #...# f
#...# f
#...#
#+++#
Fast (+8)
Full
O Study (8)
g Y p
,
Quest: L35 DTrap
Even if you had been playing long enough that you could guess who a monster is from just the symbol, that would still be an awful lot of information to process. The solution here is to press <color:keypress>Y (or <color:keypress>[ if you have switched to the roguelike keyset) to bring up the <color:keyword>monster list:
You see 2 monsters, 2 are awake: LEVEL 33
Z Energy hound (2 awake) EXP 22.5k
AU 475k
You are aware of 67 other monsters, 8 are awake: ||}~=="~((]]
D Ancient green dragon N 17 E 1 STR : 18/113
d Fire angel S 1 E 25 INT : 10
u Bodak N 2 W 10 WIS : 18/10
V Master vampire N 0 E 21 DEX : 18/161
p Logrus master N 2 W 18 ^ p CON : 18/153
p Ivory monk N 4 E 20 CHR : 16
O Ogre shaman S 10 E 6 z AC 93
# Granite wall N 9 E 4 ^ HP 502/ 503
Y Giant land sloth S 11 W 2 V | SP 100/ 100
= Ring mimic N 0 W 11 d
, Corpser N 10 W 4
g The Ultimate Dungeon Cleaner (asleep S 13 E 4 G
p Clairvoyant S 17 W 1
O Ogre mage (2 asleep)
q Beast of Nurgle N 13 W 8
p Agent of Benedict (11 asleep)
z Ghoul N 2 E 19 Fast (+8)
j Black ooze N 0 E 12 Full
K Killer stag beetle S 4 W 17 Study (8)
H Nue N 16 E 5
Z Energy hound (7 awake)
[Press ESC to exit. Press ? for help]
That is still a lot of information; but the list is ordered primarily by line-of-sight (the two energy hounds go first because they are in direct view) and secondarily by the native depth of the monster, which is a rough indicator of the threat level. So the monsters near the top of the list are the ones we should worry about the most.
The highest level monster in there is an ancient green dragon, a very nasty enemy in the wrong circumstances. My experience with the game makes me even more worried about the <color:keyword>bodak and in particular the <color:keyword>logrus master - but those are still near the top, so I spotted them easily.
Luckily for me, the list has colored these monsters black rather than white, indicating they are still asleep. (Unique monsters, here the Ultimate Dungeon Cleaner, are listed in violet.)
Not all of the monsters listed were actually visible in that earlier screenshot - many were offscreen, but still within detection range, so they show up on the monster list. All the better for us!
You can press <color:keypress>R to bring up additional information through the monster list; I chose the <color:keyword>fire angel for this purpose here because that happened to be a monster this character already knew things about:
[Monster Info, Line 0/22] LEVEL 33
EXP 22.5k
Name : Fire angel (d) AU 475k
Level : 37 to 70 Speed: +10 ||}~=="~((]]
AC : ? Type : Evil, Dragon STR : 18/113
HP : ? INT : 10
WIS : 18/10
Spells : 14.28% (1 of 7 moves) Intelligent DEX : 18/161
Breathe : Plasma (1x) CON : 18/153
CHR : 16
Attacks : Type Effects AC 93
Claw Hurt HP 502/ 503
Claw Hurt SP 100/ 100
Bite Hurt, Fire
Bite Hurt, Fire
Info : Shining, Suitable for Riding
Kills : 1
Exp : 1.59k at CL33
Drops : Up to 3 Objects Fast (+8)
Full
A level 37 evil dragon with +10 speed who breathes plasma... you can see why the fire angel was also listed near the top.
Monster Colors
Monsters associated with a particular element (damage type) are often color-coded. The most common and reliable associations are Red with fire and White with cold/frost - a red dragon, for example, breathes fire, bites to burn and is resistant to your own fire attacks. (This does not mean all red monsters will be fire-based, only that most fire-based monsters are red.)
Other similar associations include Blue with lightning/electricity, Black and Slate with acid, Green with poison, Bronze with confusion, Gold with sound and Silver with inertia. Pink monsters often hit to drain strength in melee. Multi-hued monsters flicker in all colours and are typically associated with multiple elements; multi-hued dragons and multi-hued hounds both breathe and resist all of the five common elements (acid, cold, fire, electricity and poison).
These general rules are not completely airtight - the acid-breathing Water Hounds, for example, are Z instead of the expected Z or Z. (This is to avoid confusion with other hounds; the darkness-breathing Shadow Hounds are Z, and the infamous Gravity Hounds are Z.)
Eldritch Horrors
Some of the monsters in the dungeons are so fearsome that just to look upon them can have serious repercussions. When you see one of these <color:keyword>sanity-blasting monsters, one (or more) of several nasty things may happen to you; these include having your intelligence and wisdom temporarily reduced, becoming scared or confused, and suffering an attack of hallucinations or amnesia.
If you can cope with your first sighting of a sanity-blasting monster, you can then safely keep that monster in view; it will not trigger the Eldritch Horror effect as long as it remains in view. It is possible for the effect to be triggered if the monster walks out of view and is then seen again, but a single monster very rarely blasts your sanity more than once.
Although all player characters have some chance to resist sanity blasting, only a handful ever become fully immune to it.
Pets and Riding
What could be nicer than a loyal pet? People sometimes worry their pets will trample them underfoot; but in FrogComposband, pets will never attack you by mistake. You can walk around safely as your pet Great Hell Wyrm obliterates your enemies. Better still, some pets can summon new pets.
One might think that pets can make the game much easier. It is of course highly satisfying to send your pet Wyrm into a troll pit and wait outside listening for the howls of agony and terror, the sounds of guts splattering, bones crunching and so on; but one should not expect to gain much experience from this. You only earn full experience when you deliver the death blow yourself.
Pets retain some self-preservation instincts; at low health, a pet may decide to quit the fight (and the level) rather than to die for his master. Another limitation to the usefulness of pets is the rule that unique monsters can only be killed by you and never by another monster, including pets; pets can harm uniques, but not finish them off. (This is relaxed for player Quylthulgs due to their exceptional reliance on pets.)
The practical approach to pets varies widely from player to player; some successful players like keeping pets, while others just ignore the possibility. Pets are not needed to win (on most characters), but they are fun!
Obtaining a Pet
You may obtain pets in several different ways. Some magic realms offer the ability to summon pets magically or to charm the creatures you meet. Mindcrafters may 'dominate' their opponents. Chaos patrons may grant pets as a gift to their devotees. Magical figurines can be thrown to create a pet (though they might be cursed and create an enemy!); and wands of charm monster may be used as their name suggests.
The <color:keyword>Capture Ball is a useful tool that (almost) any player can use. Capture Balls can often be bought at a General Store. To use one, you must wield it on your hand, then <color:keypress>Activate it, and choose a target monster to be captured; if successful, you can then <color:keypress>Activate the ball again to release the monster as your pet.
Hostile monsters will attempt to resist capturing, and can only be captured if they are critically injured. Beastmasters are very good at using Capture Balls, and this limitation is relaxed for them. Level guardians are immune to being captured; uniques and monsters on town quest levels can only be captured if they are already pets, so they need to be charmed or otherwise tamed before capture.
Keeping Pets Happy
Pets will accept punishment from you; hurt a pet, and it remains your pet. But what pets do expect from you is attention! This is called <color:keyword>pet upkeep and consumes some of your mana; the more pets you have, and the stronger they are, the higher the upkeep. At low upkeep (below 100%), no mana is actually lost, the upkeep just slows mana regeneration (this allows characters with no mana to keep some pets). But at higher levels of upkeep, you will lose mana; run out of mana, and you have no option but to dismiss enough pets to bring the upkeep level down. This often happens if you have a pet who likes to summon...
At grossly excessive upkeep levels (starting around 500%), a red <color:keyword>upkeep warning appears in your status bar. At this point, pets have a chance to feel <color:keyword>neglected from lack of attention. Neglected pets sometimes turn hostile, but more often they just think "bugger this for a game of heroes" and leave the level.
Pet Evolution
Pets, like players, receive experience when they kill a hostile monster. With enough experience, some pets may <color:keyword>evolve into stronger monsters; for example, your baby multi-hued dragon might become a young multi-hued dragon, then a mature multi-hued dragon, and eventually a mighty Wyrm of Many Colours!
One problem, though: evolving into very strong forms takes a long time, and placing a pet into a Capture Ball causes the pet to lose all experience. It will not devolve back into its original form, but loses any progress it had made towards the next form.
Commanding Your Pets
Your pets are fairly well trained and will respond to a variety of commands such as following you closely, staying nearby and searching out your enemies. You can command your pets using the pet command menu which can be found be pressing p.
Here is a list of available pet commands:
Dismiss Pets
Dismiss specified pets. Dismissed pets will immediately disappear from the current level. FrogComposband asks you whether you want to dismiss each pet in order from high level named pets to low level unnamed pets. You can press 'U' to dismiss all unnamed pets.
Specify Target of Pet
Choose a target monster; all your pets will begin to chase the target. This command causes pets to pathfind much more aggressively in cases where enemies are not in their line of sight.
Stay Close
Command your pets to slay as close as they can.
Follow Me
Command your pets to follow you as you move about.
Seek and Destroy
Command your pets to chase monsters near you.
Give Me Space
Command your pets to go away from your line of sight.
Stay Away
Command your pets to go away as far as they can.
Pets Open Doors
Toggle permission of pets to open doors.
Pets Pick Up Items
Toggle permission of pets to pick up items. Pets will drop any items picked up earlier.
Allow Teleport
Toggle permission of pets to cast teleport spell and teleport away spell.
Allow Cast Attack Spell
Toggle permission of pets to use breaths and attack spells.
Allow Cast Summon Spell
Toggle permission of pets to cast summoning spells.
Allow Involve Player in Area Spell
Toggle permission of pets to use ball spells or breath attacks even when you are close enough to take collateral damage.
Ride a Pet
Ride on a specified pet.
Get Off a Pet
Dismount from the pet you were riding.
Name Pets
Specify a target pet and name it.
Highlight Pets on Map
Toggles highlighting all pets in yellow.
Highlight Pets in Lists
Toggles highlighting all pets in yellow on the monster list. Also highlights friendly monsters in green.
Use Both Hands for a Weapon
Use One Hand to Control a Riding Pet
Toggle use of your left hand when you are riding. You can wield a weapon two-handed for maximum damage in melee, and command the riding pet to chase your target using the 'specify target of pet' command.
Riding
Not all pets are suitable for riding, but many are - horses, most dragons, and many others. To control your mount, you must keep one hand free for holding the reins; but your pet will attack your target together with you, and enemy attacks will be dispersed between you and your mount. As a result, you will take less damage in combat.
The most important feature of riding is speed. When you are riding on a pet, your speed does not depend on your original speed but only on the speed of your mount and your skill at riding. Quaffing a potion of speed has no effect on your mount's speed, but throwing it at a wall will hasten your pet if it is nearby. You can also simply use a wand or a spell of Haste Monster.
Note that your proficiency level for riding is very low at first (see 'Proficiency' in the ~ Knowledge Menu). When your proficiency level is low, you cannot make good use of riding, and your speed while riding will be very low. You need to practice riding to gain the full speed of the creature you ride. Your riding proficiency will increase a little when you attack monsters in melee or shoot them with missile weapons while riding. Ride on low level creatures at first, and then switch to higher level mounts little by little.
You can also use the <color:keypress>~ Knowledge Menu to check your class-dependent <color:keyword>proficiency cap for riding. If the cap is low, you will never get good at riding and are likely better off with another plan.
Friendly Monsters
You will occasionally find a monster in the dungeon that isn't out to get you. Such monsters are described in game messages as being 'friendly'. A friendly monster will not attempt to hurt you, but neither will it necessarily attack your enemies.
Unlike pets, if you hurt a friendly monster it will turn against you. Like pets, any monsters a friendly monster summons will also be friendly (except in the case of really stupid friends, who summon indiscriminately). Unlike pets, friendly monsters require no mana upkeep and cannot be commanded using the pet commands.
Note that the loyalty of friendly monsters' friendly summons may be to the original friendly monster, not you; if you piss him off, his summons might not take your side in the fight...
Since uniques can never be killed by another monster, only by you, a friendly unique is a huge asset - who's going to stop them from killing everyone for you? Friendly uniques are very rare, though; and Politicians (the class most likely to have friendly uniques on their side) may find them escaping as their health is depleted.
Mimics and Shadowers
A number of monsters disguise themselves by assuming the shape (and symbol) of common objects found in the dungeon. These include the |, (, ?, !, &, =, ~, $ and * symbols. Some players find this unfair (or unfun); to provide for them we have the <color:keyword>easy_mimics display option , which changes the symbols for most of these monsters to the special symbol x. This reduces immersion a bit, but if you hate being chopped to pieces by something you had thought was a cloak, go for it!
These traditional mimics are not the only monsters who are trying to hide their identity. There are also <color:keyword>shadowers, who might seem easily recognizable by the distinctive N symbol... except that shadowers are not a distinct race at all. Shadowers are monsters of other races, hiding their true identity. At times it is obvious who a shadower really is, at other times you may have to think. Most of the time shadowers are fairly harmless, but don't rely on it completely. Shadowers are quite rare, and uniques never appear as a shadower.
Two further monster races like to play games with their appearance: the <color:keyword>chameleons and the <color:keyword>tanuki. Chameleons are true shape-changers: they assume not just the appearance but also the characteristics of another monster, and act like that monster in every way except that they might suddenly change shape. Tanuki, on the other hand, only look like monsters of another race; they are actually quite harmless, but might spook you into thinking otherwise.
Breeding Monsters
There are a few monsters with the ability to <color:keyword>breed explosively - they can multiply very fast, and fill entire rooms with new monsters of the same type. (It is probably best not to think too closely about exactly how they do this.) Breeders are rarely dangerous (with one notable exception), but they can be extremely annoying, especially on quest levels.
It is best to kill breeders before they multiply out of control. They are very rare in town quests (where the stipulation for completion is often that you must empty the entire level of monsters!), but when they do appear in a town quest, they should always be your top priority. Breeders are particularly likely to be a pain if you select the <color:keyword>Sexy personality; most characters can hope to catch the breeder asleep and kill it before it has the chance to multiply, but the aggravation on Sexy characters wakes everybody up and removes this possibility.
Even in extreme cases, an entire level will never be filled with breeders (unless it's a really tiny level): there is a strict limit of no more than 100 breeders at a time. <color:keyword>Farming breeders by deliberately letting them multiply so you can kill them for XP does not work very well in this game; the experience you can gain this way is very limited and tails off rapidly. There are many other ways to level up that are more interesting and productive.
Monster Knowledge
Because there are so many different kinds of monster (about 1300) and many of them share similar colors and symbols, it is very difficult to keep track of what each of them can do, especially when you are still new to the game. Luckily, the game automatically keeps track of your experiences with each monster; you will remember the melee, spell and breath attacks you have suffered, which of your own magical attacks it resisted, whether it dropped treasure, whether you saw it multiply, and how much XP you got for killing it.
There are several ways to access this <color:keyword>monster lore. Two were already shown above - pressing <color:keypress>* to target a visible monster and then <color:keypress>r to recall the information, and pressing <color:keypress>Y to view the monster list and then <color:keypress>R to recall the lore on a particular monster.
These approaches only work if the monster you would like to know more about is currently visible, but you can use the ~ knowledge menu (select the <color:keyword>Known Monsters submenu) to access the lore on any monster at any time. This is about what you will see:
Knowledge - Monsters Group Name Sym Kills ============================================================================== Uniques | Jasra, Brand's Mistress n alive Ridable monsters | Scylla M alive Wanted monsters | Castamir the Usurper p dead Egyptian | The Minotaur of the Labyrinth H dead Ant | King Koopa D alive Bat | Othrod, Lord of the Orcs o dead Centipede | Xylibbogaz, the Disembodied Mouth f dead Dragon | Azog, King of the Uruk-Hai o dead Floating Eye | The Ultimate Dungeon Cleaner g alive Feline/Fox | Alberich the Nibelung King h alive Golem | Grendel O dead Hobbit/Elf/Dwarf | Orcobal the Mighty o dead Icky Thing | Ulwarth, Son of Ulfang p dead Jelly | Bolg, Son of Azog o dead Kobold | Mime, the Nibelung h dead Aquatic monster | Hagen, Son of Alberich h dead Mold | It . alive Naga | Orcogar, Son of Orcobal o dead Orc | Old Man Willow # dead <dir>, '?' to recall, 'v' for visuals, 'c' to copy, ESC
If you now press <color:keypress>? or <color:keypress>r on a particular monster, everything you know about that monster will be displayed.
This monster knowledge is still incomplete, though - it only tells you what you have learned through your experiences; if you want to know all there is to know about a monster without having to fight it over and over again, there are three ways to reach that goal.
You can <color:keyword>probe a nearby monster with the Probing spell (or item effect); this will reveal everything about both that individual monster and about its race. Another option is to find your local <color:keyword>Beastmaster (most though not all towns have one; the Library serves this function in the no-wilderness town) and pay to have a monster race researched; this also reveals everything about that race. The final way is to just turn on the <color:keyword>Easy Lore birth option (), which gives you full monster lore at birth; this does make the game a bit easier, but maybe that's what you want!
You will retain your monster knowledge for as long as you use the same savefile, even if your character dies; the monster memory is not just for your character, but for you.
It Resists...
Your cool bag of magical tricks is not guaranteed to have the same effect on every enemy; many monsters have an inherent resistance, sometimes even an immunity, to a particular damage type or status effect. An <color:keyword>immunity means such an attack has no effect on the monster at all. A <color:keyword>resistance to an element (for example fire) means the damage taken by the monster is greatly reduced, but a small amount of damage is still taken. Resisting against a status effect means a monster survived a saving throw against the effect; the higher the monster's level compared to the attack power, the better the monster's chance to resist. (Typically, this does not require a specific resistance; most status effects give all monsters a chance to resist, while some are completely immune.)
Some monsters have immunities just by virtue of what they are; for example, all Nonliving monsters, Demons and Undead are immune to vampirism. Undead monsters also cannot be harmed by nether.
The various feedback messages of the type "so-and-so is immune", "so-and-so resists" and "so-and-so is unaffected" sometimes leave players unsure as to whether it might be worth trying the same attack again; though "so-and-so is immune" reliably means you can forget about it. In the case of resistances noted in the monster lore (elemental resistances, status effect resistances, teleportation) you can look in the lore if you are uncertain; if the message you just got means the monster has a resistance or an immunity, that information will now appear in the lore.
Genocide
Some powerful magical spells and devices allow you to <color:keyword>genocide a monster species (all monsters sharing a given letter symbol). Genocide attempts to remove all monsters of the specified species from the level you are currently on.
Genocide is not always fully effective; it does not affect uniques or quest monsters (including town quest monsters), and monsters other than uniques have a level-dependent chance to resist. Monsters who successfully resist genocide have a small chance of acquiring immunity to future attempts. Another downside is the strain involved in casting genocide: you will take some damage for each monster affected. The damage taken per monster is very small, but if the number of monsters is high, casting genocide can hurt you seriously or even kill you. (This does not happen if your chaos patron offers you a free genocide; in this case, it is the patron casting genocide, he is just letting you pick the species.)
Two other spell effects are closely related and follow the same basic rules as Genocide does. <color:keyword>Annihilation targets a single monster (even this is enough for it to be very valuable!), and <color:keyword>Mass Genocide affects all non-unique monsters regardless of species, but is limited to your immediate surroundings (monsters within 20 squares of you) instead of affecting the entire level.
Genocide is based on the underlying "true" letter symbols of monsters, and ignores any changes made by the player to the visual appearance of a monster. For example, casting genocide on the symbol x would have no effect on mimics even if you turned the easy_mimics option on, because x is not these mimics' true symbol. Similarly, genociding D would affect ancient dragons even if you had changed their visual appearance to something else.
Chameleons are genocided as if they truly belonged to their current, apparent race. Tanuki and Shadowers, on the other hand, are genocided by their underlying species, which for Tanuki is quadrupeds (q) and for Shadowers the species of the race the shadower actually belongs to.
Friendly monsters will always be turned hostile by a failed attempt to genocide them, even if they are uniques and there was no chance the genocide would harm them personally. Genocide can affect pets (it will not turn them hostile), although your mount will never be affected.
New players with previous experience in other roguelikes, but not in Angband variants, sometimes expect Genocide or Mass Genocide to remove a monster race or species from the game permanently. This does not happen; genocide only affects monsters on a single level, and even there, they have a chance to resist. In spite of these limitations, sources of Genocide and Mass Genocide are extremely valuable, and many players stockpile them for the end fights.
Health Bar Colors
The number of stars in a monster's status/health bar always indicates the monster's health; the color of the stars reveals some additional information about the monster. Here is a quick guide to health bar colors, ordered from highest priority to lowest (if multiple colors apply, the color with the highest priority is used):
U[*********] Monster is invulnerable
U[*********] Monster is paralyzed or sleeping
U[*********] Monster is confused
U[*********] Monster is stunned
U[*********] Monster is afraid
U[*********] Monster is slowed
U[*--------] Monster is below 10% health
U[**-------] Monster is below 25% health
U[*****----] Monster is below 60% health
U[*********] Monster is below 100% health
U[*********] Monster is at full health
U[********-] Monster is at full health but has reduced max HP
U[---------] Monster's status and location are unknown
The coloring of the empty slots and surrounding brackets provides some additional information:
U[*****----] Monster is current target
U[*****----] Monster is current mount
U[*****----] Monster is very powerful (>133.3% normal)
U[*****----] Monster is hasted
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.0.11
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.salmiak
Objects
Objects are a key aspect of the game; much of your effort will be devoted to acquiring better, and then even better, objects. Whether they are potions to heal you during a difficult fight, scrolls to teleport you out of danger, armor to protect you from fire-breathing dragons, or swords to slay the minions of evil, objects permeate every aspect of your journey from the safety of towns to the dread lair of the Serpent of Chaos. Naked, you are nothing; be well-equipped, and perhaps, just maybe, you will stand a chance.
There are various types of objects, each with its own symbol for display, and often with its own command for use. These will be described fully in the reference section near the end of this document (to skip there); for now, here is an overview.
First, there are objects you may wield or wear as <color:keyword>equipment. This includes melee weapons (swords, axes, pikes, lances, etc.); armor such as suits of chain mail, shields, helmets, cloaks, gloves and boots; jewelry (rings and amulets); and light sources like torches and lanterns. All of these objects must be equipped with the <color:keypress>w command to wield or wear them, but your equipment slots are limited; generally, you only have one or two slots for any one type of item. Your equipment is never going to be perfect; you will spend the entire game trying to fill these slots with better and better (and better) gear.
Next, there are objects you carry around in your <color:keyword>pack for utility purposes, or as provisions. Of course, you need to eat: killing stuff is hard work! Equally, you need spare torches (or oil for your lantern) to ensure illumination in the dark, dank places where evil lurks. But even more, you need magical objects to survive: <color:keyword>spellbooks (if you are playing a book class); <color:keyword>scrolls which all but the stupidest may read; magical <color:keyword>potions which any may drink; and <color:keyword>magic devices (wands, rods and staves). Each scroll and magic device produces its own particular spell effect when used; most of these effects are good in one way or another (offense, healing, speed, teleportation etc.), but some are bad or only useful in rare circumstances.
Finally, there are precious metals such as <color:keyword>gold. If you are a dwarf, you will barely resist singing of your longing for the lost, ancient treasures of yore; but other players will find gold just as useful, for it is the currency of the realm, accepted by shopkeepers everywhere. You can dig for gold or kill monsters for what they have in their pockets, but don't lose sight of your real purpose: your ultimate objective is to slay the Serpent of Chaos, and gold is but a tool that will help you get there.
The next chapters will explain objects in more detail; we will begin with how you get objects, then discuss how you learn about their powers, and finally discuss how to use them. At the end, we will give a table of all the types of objects you might encounter, at a broad level. This is a helpfile, and not a spoiler page (and also only 10 times as long as you'd like, not 100 times), so we won't be listing everything that objects might do...
Where Can I Get Stuff?
Every player is born with a starting kit of a few objects to get them started on their adventures. The starting kit depends on which class you play, but usually it includes a cheap weapon, some torches and armor, a few rations of food, and maybe some items particularly suitable for your race or class (like spellbooks on a mage). You also begin with enough gold to let you buy additional supplies (like Scrolls of Teleportation or Potions of Cure Serious Wounds) from the various shops in the town. Most shops specialize in a particular class of objects (like weapons, bows and arrows at the Weapon Shop); but there is also the Black Market, an unregulated forum to buy and sell just about anything... at exorbitant prices. Often, you can buy a really great object there, but you need to be pretty rich! See for the basics of shopping, andfor a list of shops.
So <color:keyword>town stores are the first place you will get items from, and they remain a useful source of basic supplies throughout the game. The most valuable objects, though, can only be found deep in the dungeons. Sometimes you get lucky and spot something valuable just lying on the ground for anyone to take - left behind by previous adventurers, maybe? But this is not very common: monsters, too, like to pick up treasures. Indeed, it is mostly by <color:keyword>killing monsters that you will acquire items; many monsters carry objects or money, which you can retrieve should you prove skillful enough to defeat them.
Objects can be picked up by moving on top of them and using the <color:keypress>get command. Turning on the <color:keyword>always_pickup option automatizes picking up at no extra cost to you - indeed, it allows you to move to a square and pick up the items there in a single turn! But indiscriminately picking everything up soon fills your inventory with useless dead weight; so many players prefer to pick things up manually in combination with use of the <color:keyword>Mogaminator (), an automatic system based on modifiable rules that (hopefully) picks up useful items while destroying junk. During your quest to defeat the Serpent you may find tens of thousands of objects, so it is nice to have an automatic way to deal with them; and if you find the Mogaminator overeager to destroy things, you can turn on <color:keyword>always_pickup or the <color:keyword>leave_mogaminator option () to make sure only true junk is eliminated.
OK, I Found Something. What Does It Do?
When you find an object, you won't know much about it. For example, it might be described simply as "a Long Sword", with no other information given. You can tell it's a weapon, and therefore that you can wield it if you are so inclined... but, is this particular long sword any good? Is it magical? Cursed? What other bonuses might it have? This object is what we call <color:keyword>unidentified, and you will usually want to learn a bit more about it before deciding to wield it.
Given time, your character will sense the quality of most unidentified objects in their pack. This ability is called pseudo-identification or more simply <color:keyword>pseudo-ID, and its strength (how much it reveals) and speed (whether it kicks in immediately or with some delay) will depend on your class, wisdom, character level and mode of play. Pseudo-ID is your first line of defense against the onslaught of junk objects; pick stuff up, wait a bit if needed (while continuing to play, of course), and learn which objects are junk and which might be worthy of further investigation. Note that pseudo-ID works best on wearable items; it is less useful for magic devices, and does not work for scrolls, potions or edibles at all. See below for more information, and a list and explanation of all pseudo-ID object feelings.
If this rough object feeling is promising, you will probably want to <color:keyword>Identify the object. The ideal way to do this is with either a spell or with a Staff of Identify; but most characters never get an Identify spell, and Staves of Identify are expensive. Until you can afford one, you can use Scrolls of Identify or the town service provided by Count Uldrik as a stopgap; and magical devices can often be identified simply by trying them out.
Identifying an object reveals its full name, damage dice or multipliers (if any), and magical bonuses to accuracy, deadliness and armor class. The object's name tells you whether the item is a valuable <color:keyword>ego or even an <color:keyword>artifact; and Identify will also tell you if the object has a curse on it. <color:keypress>Inspecting an identified item will show everything you learned, as well as provide a rough estimate of the object's monetary value.
In the case of ego items and artifacts Identify may not be enough; special powers might remain hidden. Sometimes those extra powers can be learned simply by equipping and using the object (though this is risky with cursed items!); for example, you will notice if the item increases your stats. Other attributes might take much longer to learn, though; if the item grants resistance to fire, you would need to get hit with a fire attack to find out.
It is possible to learn everything about an object this way, but doing so is much too time-consuming, especially as the game progresses. There are two much quicker ways to learn everything: <color:keyword>*Identify* and <color:keyword>selling. The first is available as a spell, scroll, device or town service, and is somewhat expensive; but it instantly reveals everything about the item. The second method is to simply sell an item to a shop; this produces the same result (the item is *Identified* by the shopkeeper) and is the opposite of expensive (you're the one who makes money!); but if the item turned out to be actually good, getting it back could be very expensive indeed...
How Good is this Object, Anyway?
The broad quality of equipment is given by the strong version of pseudo-ID: objects are, in increasing order of quality, either <color:keyword>average, <color:keyword>good/<color:keyword>bad, <color:keyword>excellent/<color:keyword>awful or <color:keyword>special/<color:keyword>terrible. What does this mean?
If you did some shopping, then you probably saw what average equipment looks like. For example, you might have seen this inventory at the Weapon Smiths:
Solvistani the Ranger (Wood-Elf) Weapon Smiths (25000)
Item Description Weight Price
a) ? a Rage Spellbook [Northern Frights] 3.0 lbs 1610
b) ~ a Quiver [100] 1.0 lbs 423
c) ~ a Quiver [70] 1.0 lbs 61
d) | a Rapier (1d8) (+0,+0) {25% off} 4.0 lbs 35
e) | a Small Sword (1d8) (+0,+0) 7.5 lbs 89
f) | a Short Sword (1d8) (+0,+0) 8.0 lbs 95
g) | a Sabre (1d9) (+0,+0) 5.0 lbs 68
h) | a Broad Sword (2d6) (+0,+0) 15.0 lbs 330
i) | a Bastard Sword (3d5) (+0,+0) 14.0 lbs 411
j) / a Sickle (2d4) (+0,+0) 7.0 lbs 182
k) / 2 Tridents (1d10) (+0,+0) 7.0 lbs 192
l) / a Fauchard (1d12) (+0,+0) 15.5 lbs 319
m) / a Broad Axe (2d7) (+5,+2) 13.0 lbs 1340
n) / a Lance (2d10) (+0,+0) 30.0 lbs 750
o) / a Battle Axe (2d9) (+4,+3) 17.0 lbs 1700
p) } a Short Bow (x2.50) (+3,+6) 3.0 lbs 1540
q) { 43 Bolts (3d5) (+0,+0) 0.3 lbs 6
r) { 39 Arrows (3d4) (+0,+0) 0.2 lbs 3
Here, we see a bunch of different types of weapons, each of which is fully *Identified* (as objects in town shops always are). They don't look very impressive, though! First of all, you can notice that each type of weapon has different <color:keyword>damage dice: 3d5 or the like. These work in a very simple way: for example, a 3d5 Bastard Sword means rolling three five-sided dice (which gives an average of 9 damage per strike), while a 1d9 Sabre (roll a single nine-sided die, if such a thing could be imagined!) gives an average of 5 damage per blow.
Next, you may notice that (+0,+0) is repeated over and over again. That's because all of these objects are <color:keyword>average. Hey, this small-town Weapon Smith is no wizard; he just forges weapons of average quality, and might occasionally buy something more interesting from intrepid adventurers (like yourself!). The (+0,+0) simply gives the object's combat bonuses: the first +0 is the accuracy (<color:keyword>to-hit) bonus, which affects your chance to hit monsters with that weapon; the second +0 is the damage bonus (<color:keyword>to-dam), which gets added to the total rolled by the damage dice if you land a blow with that weapon.
Objects can be magically enhanced, at which point they become <color:keyword>good objects. This means nothing more than that (+0,+0) becomes something non-zero, giving you bonuses either to hit, or to damage, or both. For example, you might have noticed that Short Bow (x2.50) (+3,+6). The (x2.50) is part of every average short bow, and is called the <color:keyword>damage multiplier; see for an explanation of that. But bows have <color:keyword>combat bonuses just as melee weapons do, and they mean the same thing here: the bow gives +3 to hit (making you more accurate with it), and +6 to damage (making you more deadly as well). That would be a nice starting bow - but alas, it costs 1540 gold pieces, which is more than I have.
Excellent Objects
So that's average and good objects. What about excellent objects? And special objects? Excellent objects are called <color:keyword>ego items (a term of mysterious origin), and each ego item represents a particular ego type. For example, a Long Sword of Slaying (2d6) (+7,+3) {/o} represents the <color:keyword>Slaying weapon ego type! Ego types vary greatly; some egos predictably always give the same bonuses to an item, while others are much more random. The Slaying ego is somewhat random within limits - what exactly does that weapon slay? Our example long sword, for instance, slays orcs (I can tell without inspection by the <color:keyword>{/o}); but the next Slaying weapon you find might slay demons and animals instead.
Our example sword is not a particularly powerful or exciting ego item; it is simply more deadly against orcs. More precisely, it will do 2.8 times as much damage from the base damage dice against orcs: roll two six-sided dice (2d6), add up the result, and multiply by 2.8 if the monster struck is an orc; then add in the +3 damage bonus, and maybe other damage bonuses from elsewhere. Slays are a fairly common ego weapon effect; but ego items can do many other things as well, like boost your stats, give you resistances or other important abilities, or even activate for various magical effects.
Initially, your character will not know very much about ego items; so some of their effects might remain hidden after simple Identify. For example, the Long Sword might show as a Long Sword of Slaying (2d6) (+7,+3) {?} until we discovered (through selling, *Identify* or by hitting an orc) that it slays orcs. But learning this new fact also teaches us something new about the Slaying ego: the next time we find a Slaying weapon that slays orcs, simple Identify will let us recognize the orc slay, although other slays on the weapon might still be hidden.
Special Objects
Special objects are <color:keyword>artifacts. Think of these as unique objects: you can only find any one artifact once in a particular game, and they can be substantially more powerful than an ordinary ego item. Like egos, artifacts can give combat bonuses, armor bonuses, stat bonuses, resistances, abilities, slays and other (generally) nice stuff. There are two basic types of artifact: <color:keyword>standard artifacts, which are the same in every game, and <color:keyword>random artifacts, which are highly unpredictable. Generally, you will want to *Identify* every artifact you find; even if you have played the game before and recognize a familiar standard artifact, it might have some random bonus.
Artifacts are almost indestructible; they cannot be harmed by the base elements, are more resistant to disenchantment than other items, and can only be completely destroyed in exotic circumstances.
Cursed Objects
What about the evil end of the pseudo-ID spectrum (bad -> awful -> terrible)? These objects are <color:keyword>cursed, but they need not be junk. Well, bad objects are just the opposite of good ones, so they genuinely are junk; but awful objects are ego items that happen to have some bad attributes (either because of a random curse or because the ego type is inherently cursed), and terrible items are artifacts that similarly have bad attributes on top of the good. Whether or not these items remain useful is up to you to determine: sometimes they are junk, sometimes the good can outweigh the bad. In either case, you will need *identify* to discover everything.
All cursed items have one thing in common: you cannot take off cursed equipment while it is still cursed. Most equipment can be uncursed; this will allow you to take it off, but will not necessarily remove all of its other downsides.
We've talked a lot about equipment; it is time to move on to utility objects you might want to carry in your inventory.
Object Flavors
Mushrooms, potions and scrolls have <color:keyword>flavors: you might find a Black Spotted Mushroom or a Bubbling Potion. Flavors and item effects go hand-in-hand; if the bubbling potion turns out to be a Potion of Healing, then all other bubbling potions are also Potions of Healing and all Potions of Healing will be bubbling potions.
Flavored items can be fully identified with normal Identify (you can also try to identify them by using them... if you are very brave). By default, flavors are only displayed for unidentified items; once you have identified one Bubbling Potion, both it and all future Bubbling Potions will be displayed simply as Potions of Healing.
You only need to identify any given flavor once per game; but flavors change between games. Next game you play, Bubbling Potions might be Potions of Salt Water instead!
Jewelry
While rings and amulets are wearable objects, they differ from weapons and armor in an important way: there is no such thing as <color:keyword>good jewelry. Rings and amulets are always either average, ego or artifacts; average jewelry has no effect at all, and is only useful for reforging.
There aren't very many different jewelry ego types, but those that do exist allow high variability; the ego type is essentially a theme that allows a particular set of attributes, but which of those attributes any one piece of jewelry generates with is very random.
Object Lore
Every time you identify any attribute on an ego item or a standard artifact, you also learn about the artifact or ego item type. This is called <color:keyword>object lore and will help you recognize the same attribute on similar future items, without the need to *Identify*. By default, object lore is kept in your savefile after death just like monster lore, although you can change this with the <color:keyword>empty_lore option ().
You can view your current artifact and ego lore at any time through the <color:keypress>~ Knowledge Menu. There is no real advantage to doing so, but it can be a fun distraction!
Devices
Magical devices include wands, staves and rods. Since these are available in town, I'll talk you through one example in detail without much of a guilty conscience over spoilers. Here's a basic wand:
a Wand: Stinking Cloud This device has the following magical strength: Power : 13 Mana : 10/39 This device is loaded with a spell: Spell : Stinking Cloud Info : dam 15 Level : 8 Cost : 4 Charges: 2/9 Fail : 2.4% Desc : It fires a ball of poison.
It may help if you already familiar with spellcasting, since one way to think of devices is as spellcasters with access to a single spell. The device, just like a spellcaster, has a casting level (labelled as <color:keyword>Power) and spell points (<color:keyword>Mana); and the spell it is loaded with has a <color:keyword>spell level, <color:keyword>mana cost and <color:keyword>fail rate just as normal spells do.
The <color:keyword>Power of a device determines how much mana the device can have, which spell effects it had a chance to generate with, and how difficult it is to use. Power also determines how strong the spell is; sometimes this has no practical meaning at all, but in our Stinking Cloud example the <color:keyword>dam 15 is a direct result of the device's power.
The <color:keyword>Mana of the device indicates how many times the device can be used before it needs to "rest" a bit. Traditionally, this has been displayed as <color:keyword>charges; our example device has 2 charges right now, but 9 when fully charged. You can see this matches the device's mana and the spell's mana cost: with its current 10 mana, the wand has 10/4 = 2 (and a half) charges, and at full 39 mana it would have 9 charges and a bit.
There is no need to throw a device away once all of its charges have been spent: devices also resemble spellcasters in that their mana regenerates. This happens much faster on rods than on wands or staves.
The <color:keyword>Fail Rate of the device indicates the probability that you fail to use it successfully. This depends on the device's power, the player's <color:keyword>device skill, and the inherent difficulty of the spell effect itself. Fail rates never hit zero, but our example wand comes pretty close at 2.4%; due to its low level and fairly unimpressive effect, it is very easy to use. Devices differ from spellcasters in that failed attempts to use a device do not consume mana.
Devices, like equipment, can be ego; but the difference between average devices and ego devices is much smaller than that between average and ego equipment. The ego type simply gives the device one of a handful of special attributes:
Power The device's spells are more powerful than its casting level would indicate.
Simplicity The device is easier to use than its effect and casting level would indicate.
Holding The device is resistant to having its charges drained by monsters.
Regeneration The device's mana regenerates much faster than normally (+100% regen per pval point).
Resistance The device cannot be destroyed by the base elements.
Capacity The device has an unusually large mana pool.
Quickness Using the device consumes less than a full turn (-10% energy cost per pval point).
Spellbooks
Many spellcasters need books in order to learn and cast spells. Books do not require identification, and each spellbook of the same type is exactly the same. No issues of object knowledge or quality to worry about! See for more on spellbooks and the magic system.
Object Inscriptions
This is an advanced topic which you may want to skip if you are just getting started; but <color:keyword>inscriptions, once learned, are very powerful and useful. The Mogaminator automatically inscribes some items, so activating it is a good way to both get easy utility out of inscriptions and to see how they work in practice.
Inscriptions are text appended to individual objects; the game uses inscriptions on an object to communicate information to you, and you can use inscriptions to communicate back to the game.
To add an inscription, use the <color:keypress>{ command, then type whatever you like. If you later decide to remove that inscription, use <color:keypress>}. Note that inscriptions are displayed to you inside curly braces as {inscription}, so the inscription commands themselves should be easy to remember. In the original keyset, the <color:keypress>Z key is functionally identical with <color:keypress>{, and can be used as a convenient substitute if <color:keypress>{ is hard to access on your system or keyboard.
Fake Inscriptions
These are added by the game to communicate information to the player. Pseudo-ID, for example, communicates the quality of an item through a fake inscription; so you might have "a Long Sword {special}" where the object feeling is displayed as an inscription between curly braces. These inscriptions are "fake" in that no literal inscription is involved; the game simply displays the information as if it were an inscription. Fake inscriptions include the following:
Type Comment
Pseudo-ID Displays the quality of the object as average, good, excellent, etc. These inscriptions will be removed once the player identifies the object.
Discount If an item is purchased at a discount, this fake inscription displays that discount. You can turn it off with the show_discounts option.
Abbreviations Indicate the resistances, slays, stat bonuses and other attributes an item has. See below for a list of the abbreviations that might appear.
Useful Inscriptions
"Real" inscriptions include those you type in yourself, using the <color:keypress>{ command, as well as those added by the Mogaminator. These inscriptions can be any text you like, maybe a note to yourself "this potion is probably Speed" before you have officially identified it. Alternatively, you can use special syntax to communicate your preferences to the game; let's call these <color:keyword>useful inscriptions.
The most useful use of the useful inscriptions (sorry!) is to control object selection when entering a given command. For example, when a Mage goes to cast a spell (using the <color:keypress>m command), they are prompted for a spellbook, which they must select from their inventory. By default, this choice is made through a letter label corresponding to the book's position in a list of all available books, for example:
Inventory a) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Sign of Chaos] b) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Chaos Mastery] c) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Beginner's Handbook] d) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Master Sorcerer's Handbook]
I only have 4 spellbooks at the moment, so this choice is not too bad. But let's say I get very used to casting spells from my [Chaos Mastery] book with something like <color:keypress>mbe, where <color:keypress>e corresponds to a particular spell in that book. Now, along comes an arch-vile who burns up one of my books, perhaps my [Sign of Chaos]. Now, the prompt for a spellbook looks like:
Inventory a) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Chaos Mastery] b) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Beginner's Handbook] c) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Master Sorcerer's Handbook]
If I fail to notice that the letters for my books changed, or if I am so darned used to typing <color:keypress>mbe for the spell I want - or if I built a macro for the spell I wanted - I am in for a nasty surprise. Instead of casting the spell I want from [Chaos Mastery], I'll be casting something else entirely from my [Beginner's Handbook]!
This type of reordering happens with all kinds of objects: your inventory sorts itself as you find stuff, and objects move around. As they move, the letters you enter to select them move around as well. To deal with these situations, use the special inscription of the form: @Command-LetterChoice-Label. For example, perhaps I should try adding @mb to my [Chaos Mastery]? And to illustrate a point, I will actually inscribe it with "Master of @mb Chaos" (the point being that @mb just needs to be part of the inscription, not the entire inscription). Now, here is what I see:
Inventory
b) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Chaos Mastery] {Master of @mb Chaos}
a) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Beginner's Handbook]
c) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Master Sorcerer's Handbook]
Better, but not ideal; my copy of [Beginner's Handbook] has unexpectedly moved to the a) slot, which will likely also throw me off! This illustrates an important principle with regard to spellbooks: if you inscribe one spellbook, it is a good idea to inscribe all of them. Most players use @ma through @md for their first realm of magic (each realm has four spellbooks) and @me through @mh for their second realm; the Mogaminator even does this automatically. Let's see what effect this has:
Inventory
b) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Chaos Mastery] {Master of @mb Chaos}
e) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Beginner's Handbook] {@me}
f) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Master Sorcerer's Handbook] {@mf}
That's better. My inventory, you remember, still looks like this:
Inventory | Equipment
a) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Chaos Mastery] {Master of @mb Chaos}
b) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Beginner's Handbook] {@me}
c) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Master Sorcerer's Handbook] {@mf}
d) , 9 Rations of Food
e) ~ 4 Wooden Torches (with 3500 turns of light)
All we are doing is using inscriptions to change the lettering of choices, and then, only for the <color:keypress>m command. If I <color:keypress>browse my spellbooks, I am back in my original situation. Of course, I can rectify this by appending inscriptions of the form @ba through @bh to all of my books; or, since I don't use the Browse command that often, I can simply slow down and read the prompt.
There is another option, though: instead of using the format @Command-LetterChoice-Label, I could use @Choice-Digit where the label is a single digit between 0 and 9 and the command-letter is omitted. For example, I could inscribe my books with @1 through @8:
Inventory
1) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Sign of Chaos] {@1}
2) ? a Chaos Spellbook [Chaos Mastery] {@2}
5) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Beginner's Handbook] {@5}
6) ? a Sorcery Spellbook [Master Sorcerer's Handbook] {@6}
Now, I can cast my desired spell with <color:keypress>m2e, browse my [Master Sorcerer's Handbook] with <color:keypress>b6 and learn a new spell from [Sign of Chaos] with <color:keypress>G1; the same numbers apply for all commands.
What Else Can Inscriptions Do?
Controlling object selection letters is not the only useful inscription; you can also have the game prompt for confirmation when attempting to use an object with a given command. For example, suppose you just found a Potion of Super-Duper Healing, and you really want to make sure you do not quaff it by mistake. To protect this potion from accidental quaffing, add the inscription !q, which is of the form !Command-Letter. Now, whenever I try to <color:keypress>quaff the potion - whether accidentally or intentionally - the game will prompt me for confirmation.
If I am paranoid, I can increase the prompting with the inscription !q!q, or even !q!q!q!q; the game will prompt me once for each !q in the inscription, making extra-sure that I only have myself to blame when I still quaff this potion by mistake.
A related inscription is !*; it works on the same principle as !q, but uses the wild-card * to have the game prompt you for every command that uses the object. You cannot quaff it by accident, sell it by accident, drop it by accident, destroy it by accident... we cater to the most paranoid of players!
So we have @Command-LetterChoice-Label as well as @Choice-Digit to control object labeling; and !Command-Letter to add confirmation prompts before using an object in various ways. What else can we do? Quite a bit actually. Try the following:
Inscription Meaning
!! Disturb the player when the inscribed object (typically a magical device, but this also works for equipment activations) is fully recharged. This means you can issue a long rest command like <color:keypress>R777\r to rest for 777 turns, and the game will interrupt your dozing once your device is ready for use again (unless it still hasn't finished recharging, which is a real possibility...)
!1 Disturb the player when the inscribed device has recharged enough to have 1 charge again.
=g Automatically pick this object up. Use this on your arrows and such, and you can quickly regather discharged ammunition after a lengthy shooting battle.
. Suppress the prompt for random teleportation on objects with this attribute.
$ Suppress the warning prompt for items that warn you before taking dangerous actions. Of course, this defeats the warning altogether, but sometimes you are confident enough in your own decisions to forgo second-guessing by pretentious jewelry.
!? Request confirmation of melee attacks, a handy inscription if you are so weak in physical combat that any melee you might engage in would likely be accidental. The inscription can be combined with a monster level, e.g. !?40, to only request confirmation for attacks against monsters of (in this example) level 40 or above.
Finally, there is also a special inscription form ^Command-Letter. Adding this to a worn piece of equipment causes the game to prompt for verification every time you attempt the indicated command, even if the command is one not involving the object in question. If you like, you could inscribe (say) ^<^> on your boots; and the game will now prompt for confirmation every time you attempt to use the <color:keypress>< and <color:keypress>> commands!
Command letters used in inscriptions must always match the commands of the underlying keyset. If you use the default Original Keyset this is not a problem, but if you have switched to the roguelike keyset, stay alert, as you may need to use unfamiliar command-letters.
Object Symbols
! Potions, flasks / Polearms
? Scrolls, spellbooks | Edged weapons
, Mushrooms/food \ Hafted weapons
- Rods (always dark red) } Ranged weapons
- Wands (always light blue) { Ammunition
_ Staves ( Soft armor, cloaks
= Rings [ Hard armor
" Amulets ] Misc. armor
$ Gold or gems ) Shields
~ Lamps, spikes, quivers & Chests
~ Junk, sticks, skeletons, etc * Unusual objects
` Statues, figurines
Commands for Using Objects
Where two commands separated by a / are indicated, the first is the command in the standard keyset and the second the command in the roguelike keyset.
! Potion <color:keypress>quaff
? Scroll <color:keypress>read
? Spellbook <color:keypress>browse/<color:keypress>peruse, <color:keypress>Gain a spell, <color:keypress>m to cast
, Food/Mushroom <color:keypress>Eat
- Wand <color:keypress>aim/<color:keypress>zap
- Rod <color:keypress>zap/<color:keypress>activate
_ Staff <color:keypress>use/<color:keypress>Zap
& Chest <color:keypress>search for trap, <color:keypress>Disarm, <color:keypress>open
{ Ammo <color:keypress>fire/shoot at <color:keypress>target, <color:keypress>wield to put in quiver
With most equipment, you simply need to use the <color:keypress>wear command:
/|\} Weapons/Bows <color:keypress>wield, <color:keypress>t/<color:keypress>Take off
([]) Armor <color:keypress>wear, <color:keypress>t/<color:keypress>Take off
= Ring <color:keypress>wear, <color:keypress>t/<color:keypress>Take off
" Amulet <color:keypress>wear, <color:keypress>t/<color:keypress>Take off
~ Quiver <color:keypress>wear, <color:keypress>drop ammo, <color:keypress>t/<color:keypress>Take off
~ Lantern <color:keypress>wear, <color:keypress>t/<color:keypress>Take off, <color:keypress>Fuel
Numbers on Items
(2d6) Damage dice
(x2.50) Damage multiplier (shooters only)
(+4,+6) Accuracy and damage bonuses
(-2) Accuracy penalty (armor only)
(+2) Damage bonus (boots and gloves only)
[15,+10] Base AC (Armor Class) and bonus AC
[+10] Bonus AC (items with no base AC)
(+2) Pval (size of stat and ability bonuses)
{+15%} Device power bonus
<+15%> Spell power bonus
[+15%] Spell capacity bonus
Equipment
The number and kinds of equipment you may wear depends on your racial body type. The usual body type is humanoid:
a) | Right Hand: a Dagger (1d5) (+0,+0)
b) ) Left Hand : a Small Leather Shield [3,+0]
c) } Shooting : a Short Bow (x2.50) (+3,+6)
d) ~ Quiver : a Quiver [0 of 80]
e) = Right Ring: a Ring of Combat (+5,+0) {Fe A:Earthquake}
f) = Left Ring : a Ring of Protection [+1] {Wr~L(Wi}
g) " Neck : an Amulet
h) ~ Light : a Wooden Torch (with 1999 turns of light)
i) ( Body : Soft Leather Armour [4,+0]
j) ( Cloak : a Cloak [1,+3]
k) ] Head : an Iron Helm [5,+5]
l) ] Hands : a Set of Leather Gloves [1,+5]
m) ] Feet : a Pair of Soft Leather Boots [2,+3]
Many Monster mode races have unique body types, and adapting to different equipment possibilities is part of the fun of playing as a monster!
Inventory/Pack
The size of your pack also slightly varies, but most characters have 26 slots in their inventory. You can place any object you like in your pack, and objects here will sort and stack as allowed; however, should your pack grow too heavy, your character will become <color:keyword>encumbered and will gradually move slower and slower. View your equipment with the <color:keypress>equipment command, and your inventory with the <color:keypress>inventory command. Examine items in detail with the <color:keypress>Inspect command. Add objects to your pack with the <color:keypress>get command and equip objects for use with the <color:keypress>wear command. You can remove an equipped object with the <color:keypress>take off command, and discard an item with either the <color:keypress>drop command, which places the item on the ground, or the <color:keypress>kill command, which destroys the object.
Pseudo-ID
To recap, pseudo-ID is the ability to roughly sense the quality of unidentified objects in your pack (or equipment!), and it comes in two forms: strong and weak. The speed and strength of the sensing varies with class, wisdom, and virtue of the player. From birth in coffee-break mode, and from CL20 otherwise, players automatically sense the quality of objects underfoot, and this sensing is always strong regardless of class; so weak pseudo-ID is only relevant in the early game.
Pseudo-ID communicates the quality of an object via a fake inscription on that object. For example, you might have a Long Sword {excellent} or Hard Studded Leather {terrible}. The meanings of these object feelings are indicated by the tables below:
Table 1 - Strong Pseudo-ID
Inscription Meaning
Terrible a cursed artifact
Awful a cursed ego item
Bad a cursed nameless item
Average an average item
Good an enchanted item
Excellent a non-cursed ego item
Special a non-cursed artifact
Or, to put this another way:
Egos Artifacts
Average -> Good -> Excellent -> Special
-> Bad -> Awful -> Terrible
Table 2 - Weak Pseudo-ID
Inscription Meaning
Average an average item
Cursed a cursed item (includes cursed ego items and artifacts)
Enchanted an enchanted item (includes good ego items and artifacts)
List of Abbreviations
At : extra blows Ac : resistance to acid Sp : affects speed El : resistance to electricity St : affects strength Fi : resistance to fire In : affects intelligence Co : resistance to cold Wi : affects wisdom Po : resistance to poison Dx : affects dexterity Li : resistance to light Cn : affects constitution Dk : resistance to darkness Ch : affects charisma Cf : resistance to confusion Md : affects device skill Nt : resistance to nether Sl : affects stealth Nx : resistance to nexus Sr : affects searching ability So : resistance to sound If : affects infravision Sh : resistance to shards Dg : affects tunneling ability Ca : resistance to chaos Lf : affects life multiplier Di : resistance to disenchantment *Ac: immune to acid Ti : resistance to time *El: immune to electricity Bl : resistance to blindness *Fi: immune to fire Fe : resistance to fear *Co: immune to cold Es : easy spell [F : fiery sheath Dm : decreases mana consumption [E : electric sheath Th : suitable for throwing [C : cold sheath Rf : reflection [Sh: aura of shards Fa : free action [At: aura of retaliation Si : see invisible [M : anti-magic shell Hl : hold life [T : prevents teleportation Sd : slow digestion [Sm: anti-summoning shell Rg : regeneration [Mr: magic resistance Rm : mana recovery |A : acid brand Lv : levitation |E : electricity brand Nv : night vision |F : fire brand Lu : extra light |Co: cold brand Wr : provides warning |P : poison brand Xm : extra might when shooting |Dk: darkness brand Xs : extra shots (shooting speed) |Ca: mark of chaos Te : random teleportation |V : vampiric weapon Ag : aggravate monsters |Q : impact weapon Bs : blessed |St: hits to stun Ty : ancient foul curse |S : sharp weapon Ds : darkness |SS: really sharp weapon Wm : weaponmastery (extra dice) |M : mana brand Id : loremastery (auto-identify) /* : slay evil /X* : *slay* evil /p : slay human /Xp : *slay* human /D : slay dragon /XD : *slay* dragon /o : slay orc /Xo : *slay* orc /T : slay troll /XT : *slay* troll /P : slay giant /XP : *slay* giant /U : slay demon /XU : *slay* demon /L : slay undead /XL : *slay* undead /Z : slay animal /XZ : *slay* animal /A : slay good /Lv: slay living ~Tele : telepathy (St : sustain strength ~Evil : ESP evil (In : sustain intelligence ~Good : ESP good (Wi : sustain wisdom ~Nolv : ESP non-living (Dx : sustain dexterity ~Lvng : ESP living (Cn : sustain constitution ~p : ESP human (Ch : sustain charisma ~D : ESP dragon ~o : ESP orc ~T : ESP troll ~P : ESP giant ~U : ESP demon ~L : ESP undead ~Z : ESP animal
For example, armor with base resistance would display as {AcElFiCo} while a really good weapon might display as {Cn;LuAg|VS/XU/*~U}, meaning it gives a bonus to Constitution, grants increased light radius, aggravates monsters, is both vampiric and sharp (|V and |S; notice the second | does not repeat), has *slay* demons, also slays evil and grants ESP demons as well. (Quick quiz: which item is it?)
See for a more detailed explanation of these object properties.
Inscriptions: Summary
Inscription Form Meaning
@Command-LetterChoice-Label
Use the given choice label (a-z, A-Z or 0-9) to select the inscribed object whenever the Command-Letter command is issued.
@Choice-Digit Use the given choice digit (0-9) to select the inscribed object whenever any command is issued.
!Command-Letter Prompt for verification whenever attempting to use the inscribed object with the Command-Letter command.
!* Prompt for verification whenever attempting to use the inscribed object with any command.
!! Disturb the player whenever the inscribed object is fully recharged.
!1 Disturb the player whenever the inscribed object has recharged enough to have 1 charge.
=g Automatically pick up the inscribed object.
. Disable prompt for random teleportation.
$ Disable warning prompt.
!? Request confirmation for melee attacks.
^Command-Letter Prompt for verification whenever the Command-Letter command is issued, provided the inscribed object is currently being worn.
Be sure to read if this is unclear to you.
--
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.3.0
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.chocolate
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Equipment Properties
Each object in FrogComposband has certain basic properties: base AC (armor class), bonus AC, damage dice (or a damage multiplier on ranged weapons), an accuracy (to-hit) bonus, a damage (to-dam) bonus, and a pval indicating the size of various other bonuses. Some or all of these attributes can be zero or otherwise irrelevant, and they are usually only displayed when they actually matter; for example, damage dice are only indicated on melee weapons and on projectiles.
Objects, particularly equipment, may also have additional attributes; these are simply present or absent, though their exact effects may still depend on additional factors like the item type or the pval. This document collectively calls these <color:keyword>flag attributes, since the game can use simple on-or-off flags to track their presence on the object. There are many types of flag attributes - some provide bonuses like extra strength or speed, some give abilities like night-vision or telepathy, some make you resistant (or vulnerable) to specific types of damage, some surround you with elemental auras, some make weapons deadlier against specific opponents, and so on - but all of these attributes are simply present or absent, practically all are indicated when you inspect an *identified* object with the I command, and nearly all are indicated in the object's short description through a specific <color:keyword>abbreviation. (See for a quick list of these abbreviations.)
Finally, pieces of equipment may have <color:keyword>curses on them. Curses are usually (but not always) removable; and they are usually (but not always) separate from flag attributes in that they are not permanent.
This lengthy help file lists and explains most object properties, including all publicly indicated flag attributes, though much of the information given here can also be found elsewhere in the help.
There is no need to read this document in any detail before starting play, or during play; it should be considered reference material, and may contain detailed spoilers about items you have yet to see.
Basic Properties
Damage Dice - (2d6)
Damage dice indicate the basic damage delivered by an object when you hit a monster with them. (Your actual total damage on a hit will also depend on many other factors, such as slays, brands, damage bonuses and critical hits.)
Damage dice are only displayed on melee weapons and on projectiles; they are indicated as (XdY), meaning the game will roll X separate dice with Y sides each, and add up the damage. The damage dice of a weapon usually depend on the object kind - for example, most short swords are (1d8) and most long swords (2d6) - but sometimes you can find a <color:keyword>dice-boosted weapon (or projectile) with unusually high dice for the underlying kind.
Damage Multiplier - (x3.50)
Damage multipliers are a property exclusive to ranged weapons. They multiple the damage dice and to-dam bonuses of any projectile fired with the weapon. Like damage dice, damage multipliers are based on the object kind, though they are frequently boosted on artifacts and ego items.
Combat Bonuses - (+6,+9)
Combat bonuses consist of the accuracy bonus (to-hit) and the damage bonus (to-dam). On melee weapons, shooters and projectiles these are always indicated as (+X,+Y), even when zero; on other items they are only indicated when non-zero. Typically, even on non-weapons, both values are indicated for clarity if either of them is non-zero; but on gloves, boots and body armor it sometimes happens that only one value is indicated, as (-X) or (+Y). Such a single value can be assumed to be an accuracy penalty if negative, and a damage bonus if positive. (The display format for a single positive damage bonus is identical to the display format for a pval; but combat bonuses are listed before armor bonuses while pvals are listed after, and single-value combat display only occurs on armor, so the two can always be told apart.)
The applicability of a combat bonus may not always be entirely clear: the bonus might apply only to melee, only to archery, to both melee and archery, or even apply exclusively to magical combat (in which case it boosts spell damage). The bonuses might also not apply to every weapon, or could be divided between several weapons in case of dual-wielding.
As a rule, combat bonuses on a melee weapon or ranged weapon only apply to the weapon itself; melee bonuses from rings only apply to the weapon in the same hand as the ring (two rings can affect a single weapon only if that weapon is wielded with both hands); melee bonuses from gloves are divided among weapons wielded with the same pair of arms; and other melee bonuses are divided among all weapons. On characters with innate attacks but no melee weapons, all off-weapon melee bonuses are fully applied to the innate attacks.
Melee-themed items like Rings of Combat and Gloves of Slaying exclusively boost melee; archery-themed items like Rings of Archery and Gloves of the Sniper exclusively boost archery; magic-themed items like Rings of Wizardry and Pointy Hats of the Magi exclusively boost spell damage (these items always have a to-hit of zero); and most other items, including all random artifacts, boost both melee and archery but not spell damage. Cloaks of Cowardice and Cloaks of the Bat exclusively penalize melee.
Armor Class - [14,+0]
Objects can contribute to the player's armor class (AC) through two different numbers: base AC and bonus AC (to-AC). Armor-type items (body armors, shields, cloaks, gloves, helmets and boots) provide both base AC and bonus AC, and both are always indicated on these items (even when they are zero). Non-armor items never have base AC, but may sometimes have bonus AC; as an example, rings of protection frequently give a magical AC boost.
Base AC typically depends on the object kind; for example, blue dragon scale mail provides 40 base AC while filthy rags provide 1. In rare cases, artifacts may have boosted base AC.
Non-magical items usually have a bonus AC of zero, although on specific object kinds (such as dragon scale mails) the default bonus AC can also be non-zero. The fundamental difference between base AC and bonus AC is that base AC is fixed, and cannot ever be improved or damaged; bonus AC can be magically enchanted (or improved through smithcraft), but is also subject to damage from disenchantment and acid.
Base AC and bonus AC are indicated as [X,+Y] on armor (even if zero), and as [+Y] (or [-Y]) on non-armor if other than zero.
Pval - (+3)
All objects have exactly one pval, displayed as (+X) if non-zero. The pval determines the size of any additional bonuses (or penalties) on the item; for example, an item with +Speed, -Strength and a pval of 3 will give +3 to speed and -3 to strength.
Weight - 14.0 lbs
The weight of the item, displayed in pounds. Weight can have several effects, depending on your character and the type of the item. If the total weight of all items carried and equipped is too high, you may become <color:keyword>overburdened; see for more infomration.
Lighter weapons are easier to wield effectively, easier to dual-wield effectively, require less strength and dexterity to maximize your blow count with, and are usually helped more by to-dam bonuses (due to the higher blow count); but heavier weapons give stronger critical hits, can be wielded with two hands if desired, usually have higher dice, and are typically helped more by slays and brands (due to the higher dice). The game does not inherently favor either light or heavy weapons; both are competitive throughout the game, although specific classes may strongly prefer one or the other. (Maulers tend to go with the heaviest weapon they find, while Duelists prefer something extremely light.)
On melee characters, armor weight is mainly a consideration insofar as it contributes to overburdening. Spellcasters may become <color:keyword>encumbered if the total weight of the armor worn exceeds a specific limit; this will proportionally reduce the size of the spellcaster's mana pool. Some other classes, like Mystics and Ninjas, also have class-specific total armor weight limits; these weight limits are CL-dependent, and exceeding them causes class-specific penalties and/or a loss of class-specific bonuses.
Activations - {A:Breathe Fire}
Some items have an <color:keyword>activation: a special effect you can occasionally trigger (with the A command) if you have the item equipped. Activations can be either native to the object kind, like breathing fire on a Red Dragon Scale Mail, or specific to a given powerful object. Items never have more than one activation.
Activations resemble magical devices in that using them requires device skill, and powerful activations are likely to fail if your device skill is too low. (Due to their abysmal device skill, Berserkers can never activate an item.) Activations also have a <color:keyword>timeout, indicating how frequently they can be triggered; it is as if the activation were a device with a single charge, requiring a specific amount of turns to pass before it can be used again. Items waiting to regain their activation power are marked as {charging}; activation timers only count down while the item is equipped, so {charging} items in your inventory will remain {charging} indefinitely.
Flag Attributes
Flag attributes are simply present or absent, although their exact effects may depend on the object's type and (in the case of bonuses or penalties) the size of the pval. Flag attributes are indicated with specific abbreviations in the object's description. The applicability of combat flag attributes to combat is generally identical to the applicability of combat bonuses to combat (see above), with the exception that off-weapon slays and brands can only be applied to innate attacks in special cases.
Bonuses and Penalties
Bonuses and maluses form the first and second groups in a list of flag abbreviations (such as {InWiCh;-StDxCn;AcElFiCoPoLiDkCfNtNxCa;AgTy}). The size of the bonus or penalty is determined by the object's pval.
Attack Speed - {At}, {-At}
The bonus gives 0.50 extra blows per unit of pval, divided between all applicable weapons. The penalty deducts 1.00 blows from all applicable weapons per unit of pval.
Speed - {Sp}, {-Sp}
Strength - {St}, {-St}
Intelligence - {In}, {-In}
Wisdom - {Wi}, {-Wi}
Dexterity - {Dx}, {-Dx}
Constitution - {Cn}, {-Cn}
Charisma - {Ch}, {-Ch}
Stealth - {Sl}, {-Sl}
These bonuses and maluses simply increase or decrease the appropriate statistic by the pval amount.
Magic Mastery - {Md}, {-Md}
Increases or decreases device skill by 8 per unit of pval. The penalty version automatically triggers a penalty to device power as well.
Searching - {Sr}
Increases Searching skill and Perception skill by 5 per unit of pval.
Infravision - {If}
Increases infravision range by 1 square per unit of pval.
Digging - {Dg}
Increases digging ability by 20 per unit of pval (comparable to the bonus from digging with an implement 20 pounds heavier).
Life - {Lf}, {-Lf}
Increases or decreases your constitution-based life multiplier by 3 percentage points per unit of pval.
Device Power - {+10%}, {-10%}
Spell Power - <+23%>, <-23%>
Spell Capacity - [+15%], [-15%]
These three bonuses (and their corresponding penalty forms) are special cases, in that they are listed in object descriptions with the basic properties and not with other flag attributes. This is because the size of the bonus is somewhat unusual, and would otherwise be highly unclear without Inspection: 5 percentage points per unit of pval for device power and spell capacity, and 100/13 (approximately 7.69) percentage points per unit of pval for spell power.
Spell power and spell capacity (max-SP modifier) can appear as either bonuses or penalties. Device power by itself only appears as a bonus; but -Md (the device skill penalty) also contributes negative device power, and is effectively the penalty version of both +DeviceSkill and +DevicePower.
Resistances, Immunities and Vulnerabilities
Immunities, vulnerabilities and resistances each form an abbreviation group. Resistances mitigate both the damage and the side-effects of the corresponding damage types, or elements; multiple sources of the same resistance stack in a specific, non-linear way. A vulnerability cancels out one source of resistance, or provides a corresponding damage increase if there are no resistances to cancel out. Immunities fully eliminate all damage and side effects from the corresponding element.
See for more details on how resistances work, andfor comments about the effects and relative importance of individual resistances.
Acid - {Ac}, {*Ac}, {-Ac}
Electricity - {El}, {*El}, {-El}
Fire - {Fi}, {*Fi}, {-Fi}
Cold - {Co}, {*Co}, {-Co}
Poison - {Po}, {-Po}
These five resistances are collectively known as the <color:keyword>low resistances or <color:keyword>base resistances; the latter term is more usually applied to the four most common resistances only, excluding poison. Low resistances all follow the same damage reduction curve: 50% with one source of resistance, 65% with two, 72% with three, 75% with four (and so on). Side-effect calculations compare the resistance level to a 66-sided die for item destruction, and a 55-sided die for other side effects. The low resistances, and the four base resistances in particular, are the most important resistances in the early game.
While all resistances except time have a corresponding vulnerability flag, the four base resistances are the only ones with a corresponding immunity flag. It is possible to acquire other immunities, but only through the character's race or class.
Light - {Li}, {-Li}
Dark - {Dk}, {-Dk}
Confusion - {Cf}, {-Cf}
Nether - {Nt}, {-Nt}
Nexus - {Nx}, {-Nx}
Sound - {So}, {-So}
Shards - {Sh}, {-Sh}
Chaos - {Ca}, {-Ca}
Disenchantment - {Di}, {-Di}
Time - {Ti}
Blindness - {Bl}, {-Bl}
These are the <color:keyword>high resistances; they are grouped together with the low resistances in object descriptions, but work in a somewhat different way. High resistances reduce damage by 30% with one source item, 40% with two, 45% with three, 47% with four etc.; side effects compare the resistance level to a 41-sided die for item destruction, a 31-sided die for item disenchantment and a 33-sided die for other effects.
Fear - {Fe}, {-Fe}
While grouped with the other resistances, fear resistance is a special case and works in a very different way. See for more details on fear and how to resist it.
Miscellaneous Abilities
This flag group contains a variety of miscellaneous abilities, most (but not all) of them positive. Several of the attributes in this group - Extra Might, Extra Shots and Weaponmastery - are functionally pval-dependent bonuses, but are traditionally abbreviated with the ability group.
For attributes said to have a 1-in-X chance of triggering a specific effect each turn, "turn" is used as shorthand for a unit of 10 game turns. (See for a detailed technical explanation.)
Easy Spellcasting - {Es}
Decreased Mana Costs - {Dm}
These attributes affect your spellcasting efficiency. Easy Spellcasting reduces spell failure rates by 4 percentage points, with an additional 1-point reduction for non-book spells and Rage techniques which ignores minimum failrates; the Easy Spell reductions are cumulative with the realm-specific bonuses from realm lights. Decreased Mana Costs reduces spell mana costs to 75% of the original cost; this reduction does not stack with the bonuses from a realm light. Having more than one source of Es or Dm does not provide any additional benefits.
The Es and Dm flags are special in that not all characters receive the same benefits from them; some receive no benefits at all, and some receive the benefits from specific items only. Accordingly, the Es and Dm flags are displayed to the player only when relevant, and otherwise hidden (even on Inspection); if you see a Ring of Wizardry with a high item score but seemingly no special attributes on it, it probably has either hidden Es or hidden Dm or both.
Throwing - {Th}
Marks a weapon as suitable for throwing. This attribute increases a throw's damage multiplier by 1 and also increases the maximum range for throwing the object. Ninjas and Ninja-Lawyers receive special bonuses for throwing swords with the Throwing flag.
Reflection - {Rf}
Gives the player a 75% chance of reflecting an incoming bolt spell. Multiple sources of Reflection do not stack. See for details.
Free Action - {Fa}
Provides free action. One level of Free Action gives you a saving throw against paralysis (which also speeds up recovery if you do get paralyzed); two levels of Free Action give you complete paralysis protection against monsters of level 41 and below, and two saving throws against high-level monsters; three levels of Free Action make you immune to paralysis, except in the special case of the Ancient Foul Curse. Free Action also protects you from slowing spells, and mitigates the side effects of inertia.
See Invisible - {Si}
Each source of See Invisible gives you one additional chance to spot a given invisible monster. Searching skill improves the success rate of See Invisible rolls; even multiple sources of See Invisible will be highly unreliable if your Searching skill is poor.
Hold Life - {Hl}
Each source of Hold Life gives you one additional roll against experience drain and one additional roll against unlife attacks. (Charisma improves the success rate of unlife saves; experience-drain saves have a fixed probability, depending only on the strength of the attack.) In the case that all XP-drain saves fail, the amount of XP lost is still radically reduced for characters with at least one source of Hold Life.
Slow Digestion - {Sd}
Slow Digestion halves your digestion rate and protects you from the side-effects of the Nausea mutation. Multiple sources of Slow Digestion do not stack.
Regeneration - {Rg}
Regeneration increases your base regeneration rate by 100 percentage points, thereby speeding up your HP regeneration, SP regeneration and digestion. Multiple sources of Regeneration will stack.
Mana Recovery - {Rm}
Mana Recovery doubles your SP regeneration rate (after accounting for all other regeneration bonuses and penalties). Multiple sources of Mana Recovery will not stack.
Levitation - {Lv}
Allows you to fly over dark pits and mountainous wilderness, prevents overburdened characters from drowning in deep water, reduces damage from standing in (or over) lava or toxic waste, reduces damage from Gravity and Air attacks, mitigates the side effects of Gravity and Storm Winds, eliminates movement speed penalties in wooded or snowy areas, and protects you from some types of floor traps (unless you go out of your way to trigger them). Multiple sources of Levitation do not stack.
Night Vision - {Nv}
Allows you to see your surroundings without requiring illumination.
Permanent Light - {Lu}
Increases your light radius by 1. Multiple sources of permanent light will stack. Weapons with this attribute deal extra damage when used against monsters vulnerable to light.
Warning - {Wr}
The item warns you when you are about to step into a trap, and glows with a specific warning color if a new unique is generated on the level. The color of the glow depends on the unique's native depth compared to the player's level, ranging from black for the most dangerous uniques to purple, deep red, red, pink and white.
Extra Might - {Xm}
Increases your shooter's damage multiplier by 0.20*(reciprocal of the shooter kind's native shots per turn)*pval.
Extra Shots - {Xs}
Improves your shooting speed by (0.15 shots/turn)*(shooter kind's native shots/turn)*pval.
Random Teleportation - {Te}
On cursed items, gives a 1-in-200 chance each turn of triggering an uncontrollable random teleport. On other items, gives a 1-in-200 chance each turn of prompting for a random teleport, and lets you attempt to follow nearby monsters when they teleport away. Adding the . character to the item's inscription will automatically dismiss all prompts for a random teleport.
Aggravation - {Ag}
Wakes up and offends all nearby monsters. This attribute can also appear as a removable curse, in which case it has no abbreviation and is only indicated on inspection.
Blessed - {Bs}
Blessed items are somewhat resistant to being cursed. (They do not help you resist cursing otherwise; the protection applies only to the item itself.) Good-aligned Priests can use swords and polearms without penalties only if the weapon is blessed.
*Ancient Foul Curse* - {Ty}
Gives a 1-in-200 chance each turn of triggering the Ancient Foul Curse. This attribute can also appear as a removable curse, in which case it has no abbreviation and is only indicated on inspection.
Permanent Darkness - {Ds}
Decreases your light radius by 1 on most items, by 2 on lanterns and by 3 on advanced lamps. Multiple sources of permanent darkness will stack.
Weaponmastery (Extra Dice) - {Wm}
Gives 1 extra damage die per unit of pval, divided between applicable weapons. Since Weaponmastery increases the number of dice (the X in the (XdY)), it is strongest when applied to weapons with many damage sides (a high Y); slays, brands and sharpness (especially *sharpness*) also work together well with Weaponmastery.
Auto-Identify - {Id}
Automatically identifies all items you walk over, as well as all inventory items and equipment.
Auras and Shells
This abbreviation group contains elemental auras, protective magical sheaths, and attributes which interfere with the normal actions of the player or monsters.
Aura of Fire - {[F}
Aura of Electricity - {[E}
Aura of Cold - {[C}
Aura of Shards - {[Sh}
The four elemental auras all work in the same way: each time a monster hits you in melee, they will take some elemental damage from the aura. The strength of the aura depends on the player's level and the number of aura sources; multiple sources of the same aura partially stack, each source adding 2 damage dice to the original aura.
Being surrounded by an aura of fire additionally increases your light radius by 1 if it would otherwise be 0 or lower. This can sometimes make fire auras inconvenient for Ninjas and Ninja-Lawyers.
Aura of Retaliation/Revenge - {[At}
With this aura, each a time monster hits you in melee, you retaliate by hitting them back. This aura is extremely powerful on characters with low blow counts but high damage per hit, such as duelists.
Anti-Magic Shell - {[M}
Gives an extremely high saving throw, but also prevents you from casting spells with the m command. (Some classes who use the m command for class-specific techniques other than spells are still allowed to use them; these include berserkers, blood-knights, weaponmasters, maulers, alchemists, rage-mages, mimics and possessors, but not ninjas or samurai.)
Anti-magic is <color:keyword>not a saving throw bonus; it simply guarantees a very high saving throw, regardless of how good or bad your saving throw would otherwise be. (The quality of your saving throw will be somewhat level-dependent, but even at low CL you can reliably shrug off nearly all curses.)
Anti-Teleportation Shell - {[T}
Prevents you from teleporting or being teleported by magical means. (Non-magical teleportation may still occur in some rare cases.) On most characters this attribute is very undesirable, since teleportation is often your best escape from a dangerous situation; berserkers may sometimes accept it, but even for them it is at best a mixed blessing.
Anti-Summoning Shell - {[Sm}
One of the rarest and most valuable object attributes, the anti-summoning shell blocks two-thirds of all summons. (This includes your own summons, so summon-based characters like Quylthulgs may not consider it exclusively good.)
Magic Resistance - {[Mr}
Reduces the damage from all non-innate monster spells by 5 percentage points per unit of pval. Innate pseudo-spells like breaths, rockets or boulders are not affected.
Slays and Brands
Brands, slays and *slays* increase an attack's damage against specific monsters. (As a rule, brands are elemental and increase your damage against monsters who do not resist that element, while slays increase your damage against specific monster categories like animals or orcs; a *slay* [or kill attribute] is simply a more powerful slay.) Melee slays and brands work by multiplying a weapon's dice roll; archery slays and brands work by multiplying both the dice roll of the projectile and the damage bonus of the projectile. For this reason, archery slays have lower multipliers than melee slays.
Slays and brands generally do not stack; if multiple slays or brands could apply to a single attack, only the strongest slay or brand is applied. The only exceptions to this are the Mark of Chaos, which partially combines with other slays; Force Brand, which fully combines with other slays; and class-specific brands like the Samurai brands (which never generate as object flags). The Permanent Light weapon attribute (Lu) acts like a weak brand against monsters hurt by weak light, and can also stack somewhat with normal brands.
Several pseudo-brands with effects other than multiplying the dice are grouped together with the "true" brands; these generally do not affect damage at all, but stack fully with slays and brands (and each other) in the sense that they can apply to the same attack.
Brands, *slays* and slays each form an abbreviation group. See for a more detailed overview of how slays and brands work.
Acid Brand - {|A}
Lightning Brand - {|E}
Flame Tongue (Fire Brand) - {|F}
Cold Brand - {|Co}
Viper's Fang (Poison Brand) - {|P}
Shadow Sweep (Darkness Brand) - {|Dk}
The six elemental brands proper all have mid-tier dice multipliers: x1.62 for archery, x2.40 for normal melee, and x3.20 when augmented by the Mark of Chaos rolling the same brand.
Mark of Chaos - {|Ca}
The Mark of Chaos is a special brand; on each hit, it will randomly present itself as one of five common brands or one of ten common slays. If the brand or slay rolled was one the weapon did not already have, the weapon will simply act as if it did have that brand; if the brand was already present, it is made stronger by the Mark of Chaos.
In addition to the random brand or slay (which is always rolled), the Mark of Chaos has a 3 in 35 chance of making the hit vampiric and a 2 in 175 chance of applying the Touch of Confusion.
Vampiric Weapon - {|V}
Vampirism is a special brand; it has no effect on the dice roll, but instead drains life from the monster attacked (reducing its maximum HP by one-eighth of the damage dealt) and heals the player by 2d(dam/6) hit points. (If the player's life points were reduced, vampirism will heal life points instead.) Vampiric healing is limited to 50 HP per round of attacks against a monster on most characters, and to 100 HP per round of attacks against a monster on Monster-mode vampires. Vampiric healing is multiplied by the mutation HP regeneration modifier.
Vampirism only works against living monsters; it has no effect on demons, undead or the nonliving.
Earthquakes (Impact Weapon) - {|Q}
The impact brand is a special brand; it has no effect on the dice roll, but instead has a chance to stun and cause earthquakes on successful hits. The stunning and earthquakes will always occur if the damage roll exceeds 50 after multipliers; otherwise, stunning will not occur and earthquakes have a 1 in 7 chance of occurring.
Stunning - {|St}
Stunning is a special brand; it has no effect on the dice roll, but instead stuns monsters on successful hits.
Sharpness (Vorpal) - {|S}
*Sharpness* (*Vorpal*) - {|SS}
Sharpness and *Sharpness* are special brands; they do not represent a dice multiplier per se, but occasionally trigger special vorpal critical hits (see ) which do multiply the dice. Vorpal criticals are highly random in the short run, but in the long run Sharpness averages as a 11/9 (x1.22) dice multiplier and *Sharpness* averages as a 5/3 (x1.67) dice multiplier. While these multipliers are fairly modest, they fully stack with all other dice multipliers (and with dice boosters like Weaponmastery); this potentially makes them highly valuable on weapons with high dice, especially if normal slays or brands also apply.
Force Brand (Mana Brand) - {|M}
Mana Brand is a special brand; it combines with all other slays and brands, increasing the dice multiplier by 50% and then adding another 140 percentage points. (This effectively makes it a x2.9 multiplier when it exists in isolation.) The mana brand is highly powerful but consumes mana rapidly, and only functions while the player still has mana; if the player has no mana or runs out of mana, the mana brand becomes useless.
*Slay*/Slay Evil - {/X*}, {/*}
*Slay*/Slay Good - {/XA}, {/A}
*Slay*/Slay Living - {/XLv}, {/Lv}
Low-tier slays, making a weapon or projectile especially deadly against the specified group (evil monsters, good monsters or living monsters). Slay multipliers of x1.43 for archery, x1.90 for melee and x2.53 when strengthened by Mark of Chaos; kill multipliers of x1.86 for archery, x3.20 for melee and x4.00 when strengthened by Mark of Chaos. Note that living monsters do not have any specific "living" flag; a living monster is simply any monster who is not nonliving, a demon or an undead.
*Slay*/Slay Humans - {/Xp}, {/p}
*Slay*/Slay Animals - {/XZ}, {/Z}
Mid-tier slays, making a weapon or projectile especially deadly against the specified group (humans or natural creatures). Slay multipliers of x1.62 for archery, x2.40 for melee and x3.20 when strengthened by Mark of Chaos; kill multipliers of x2.34 for archery, x3.70 for melee and x4.62 when strengthened by Mark of Chaos.
*Slay*/Slay Dragons - {/XD}, {/D}
*Slay*/Slay Orcs - {/Xo}, {/o}
*Slay*/Slay Trolls - {/XT}, {/T}
*Slay*/Slay Giants - {/XP}, {/P}
*Slay*/Slay Demons - {/XU}, {/U}
*Slay*/Slay Undead - {/XL}, {/L}
High-tier slays, making a weapon or projectile especially deadly against the specified group. Slay multipliers of x1.90 for archery, x2.80 for melee and x3.73 when strengthened by Mark of Chaos; kill multipliers of x2.80 for archery, x4.50 for melee and x5.62 when strengthened by Mark of Chaos.
Telepathies
Various forms of extra-sensory perception are categorized into two abbreviation groups; one for broad telepathy, one for limited types.
Telepathy - {~Tele}
"Full" telepathy. Unlike other forms of telepathy, it only detects monsters with minds; it always detects monsters with "normal" minds, occasionally detects monsters with "weird" minds (including most ants, worms and spiders), and does not detect monsters with no/empty minds (including most molds, jellies, golems and vortices).
Sense Evil - {~Evil}
Sense Good - {~Good}
Sense Nonliving - {~Nolv}
Sense Uniques - {~Uniq}
Sense Living - {~Lvng}
Wide telepathies, detecting all monsters in the specified group (regardless of whether they have weird or empty minds). "Living" monsters are any monsters who are not demons, undead or nonliving.
Sense Humans - {~p}
Sense Dragons - {~D}
Sense Orcs - {~o}
Sense Trolls - {~T}
Sense Giants - {~P}
Sense Demons - {~U}
Sense Undead - {~L}
Sense Animals/Natural Creatures - {~Z}
Limited telepathies, detecting all monsters in the specified group. There is no fundamental difference between this group and the wide telepathies; the distinction is entirely arbitrary, based mostly on abbreviation simplicity.
Sustains
The six stat sustains form the final group of abbreviation flags.
Sustain Strength - {(St}
Sustain Intelligence - {(In}
Sustain Wisdom - {(Wi}
Sustain Dexterity - {(Dx}
Sustain Constitution - {(Cn}
Sustain Charisma - {(Ch}
These attributes protect the relevant stat from most types of temporary drain and make the stat somewhat resistant to being scrambled. Sustains do not prevent temporary loss of stats to time attacks, and generally do not protect against permanent stat drain (from patron punishments, potions of ruination, disease attacks or other sources).
Attributes Visible on Inspection
These flag attributes have no corresponding abbreviation, but are indicated on Inspection if known.
Ignores Acid (Rustproof)
Ignores Electricity
Ignores Fire
Ignores Cold
The four elemental ignore flags protect the object itself from being harmed by that element. Ignoring acid is particularly useful on armor, since it prevents loss of AC to acidic corrosion.
Items with all four ignore flags are described as "cannot be harmed by the elements". While such items technically only resist the four base elements, they are generally safe from all harm in your inventory. (The distinction becomes relevant if the object is on the floor, in which case it may be destroyed by higher elements if it isn't an artifact.)
Unenchantable
Unenchantable items cannot be enchanted, turned into artifacts or ego items, or otherwise improved by any magical or non-magical means.
Suitable for Riding
Weapons with this attribute can be used while mounted without incurring accuracy penalties. Cavalry and Skillmasters receive special combat bonuses for using Riding weapons while riding.
Dual Wielding (Genji)
Gives a bonus equivalent to 23 percentage points of dual-wielding proficiency, and somewhat reduces dual-wielding penalties on heavy weapons. Additionally, damage bonuses from high Strength (which are normally reduced on dual-wielded weapons unless the character is a Berserker or has completely mastered dual-wielding) are allowed to apply as usual.
The Genji bonuses stack with dual-wielding proficiency and with the Easy Dual-Wielding bonus on Mariliths and Dagger-speciality Weaponmasters. They do not stack with the Ambidexterity demigod talent, which becomes useless with Genji. On characters with multiple sets of arms, only one pair of weapons will receive the Genji benefits.
Drains Experience
Gives a 1-in-4 chance every turn of permanently draining a small amount of experience. Although the amount of experience drained is somewhat CL-dependent, the penalty is more noticeable at low CLs, when experience gain is slower and the drain represents a higher percentage of total XP. This attribute can also appear as a removable curse.
Negates Invulnerability
Renders worthless all invulnerability spheres, including your own.
Equipment Curses
Curses are usually removable object attributes with negative effects. Some curses (like the Ancient Foul Curse) can occasionally appear as normal, unremovable flag attributes; the Permanent Curse is also unremovable, even though it is not a normal flag attribute.
Items with removable curses are invariably <color:keyword>sticky, meaning they cannot be removed without uncursing the item first. (Berserkers and bear-shaped Beornings are an exception to this; they can uncurse Cursed and Heavily Cursed items simply by taking them off. Mummies can also unequip most cursed items at will, without uncursing them.) If you equip a sticky item, a curse indicator (Cursed, CURSED or *CURSED*, depending on the strength of the strongest sticky curse on any item equipped) will appear in the main sidebar.
Items with unremovable curses (other than the Permanent Curse) are not necessarily sticky, although they usually at least start out with a sticky curse.
As a rule, multiple instances of the same curse do not stack; two items with the Ancient Foul Curse are not any worse than one. The only exceptions to this are the Low AC curse and the Extra Spell Fails curse, which have cumulative effects.
Cursed
Heavily Cursed
Permanently Cursed
The simplest curses; these curses simply make the item sticky. At least one of these curses is always present on any item with another removable curse on it, but they can also exist on otherwise curse-free items. A Cursed item can be uncursed with Remove Curse; a Heavily Cursed item can only be uncursed with *Remove Curse*; a Permanent Curse cannot be uncursed, although other temporary curses on the permanently cursed item can still be removed with *Remove Curse*. (A permanent curse is technically removable by mundanizing the item, although Berserkers have no way of accomplishing this.)
Adds Weak Curses
Gives a 1-in-2000 chance per turn of adding new weak curses to the item.
Attracts Animals
Gives a 1-in-2500 chance per turn of summoning hostile animals.
Catlike Tread
Reduces your stealth by 4. (Cats may move quietly in theory, but orchestral accompaniment will give them away!)
Cowardice
Gives a 1-in-1500 chance per turn of making you scared.
Dispels Magic
Gives a 1-in-128 chance per turn of attempting to dispel random buffs 1d20 times.
Drains HP
Gives a 1-in-666 chance per turn of draining 2*CL hit points, potentially killing you outright if your hit points are very low.
Drains Mana
Gives a 1-in-666 chance per turn of draining CL spell points.
Drains Devices
Gives a 1-in-333 chance per turn of attempting to drain charges from a random device in your inventory. (Carrying multiple devices does not increase the probability of the curse processing, but does increase the probability that it successfully locates a device to drain.)
Extra Device Fails
Decreases your device skill by 10 points (-1.25 Md) if the item is heavily or permanently cursed, and by 5 points if the item is lightly cursed. Only the strongest instance of this curse applies.
Extra Spell Fails
Increases your spell fail rates by 3 points if the item is lightly cursed, and 10 points if the item is heavily or permanently cursed. Multiple instances of this curse on separate items will stack.
Fast Digestion
Increases your digestion rate by an amount equivalent to a 300-percentage-point regeneration bonus.
Irritates Airways
Gives a 1-in-888 chance per turn of making you unwell. This curse has no effect on characters of nonliving races.
Low AC
Reduces your AC by 10 if the item is lightly cursed, and by 30 if it's heavily or permanently cursed. This curse only generates on armor. Multiple instances of this curse on separate items will stack.
Miss Blows
Reduces the weapon's to-hit by 5 if the item is lightly cursed, and by 15 if it's heavily or permanently cursed. This curse only generates on weapons, and the penalty is not applied to any other weapons used.
Open Wounds
Reduces your wound recovery rate to one-third of what it would otherwise be.
Slow Regeneration
Slashes your regeneration rate to one-fifth of what it would otherwise be.
Adds Heavy Curses
Gives a 1-in-2000 chance per turn of adding new heavy curses to the item. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items.
Aggravates
Awakens and offends all nearby monsters. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items, though it may also appear as a normal unremovable flag attribute.
Attracts Demons
Gives a 1-in-1111 chance per turn of summoning hostile demons. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items.
Attracts Dragons
Gives a 1-in-800 chance per turn of summoning hostile dragons. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items.
Drains Experience
Gives a 1-in-4 chance per turn of permanently draining a small amount of experience. Although the amount of experience drained is somewhat CL-dependent, the penalty is more noticeable at low CLs, when experience gain is slower and the drain represents a higher percentage of total XP. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items, though it may also appear as a normal unremovable flag attribute.
Induces Harmful Mutations
Gives a 1-in-1500 chance per turn of giving you a harmful mutation (randomly pulled from the list of all mutations whose likelihood is increased on Unlucky characters and decreased on Lucky characters). This curse only generates on heavily cursed items.
Invites Danger
Increases the monster generation level for summoned hostile monsters by 4 or (DL+15)/10, whichever is higher; also increases the likelihood of hostile summons generating out-of-depth. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items.
Random Teleportation
Gives a 1-in-200 chance per turn of triggering an uncontrollable random teleport. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items; it can also appear as a normal unremovable flag, in which case it functions somewhat differently and isn't necessarily a negative attribute.
Baby Foul Curse
Gives a 1-in-200 chance per turn of triggering the Baby Foul Curse. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items.
*Ancient Foul Curse*
Gives a 1-in-200 chance per turn of triggering the Ancient Foul Curse. This curse only generates on heavily cursed items, though it may also appear as a normal unremovable flag attribute.
Original : FrogComposband 7.1.raspberry
Options and Effects
Most of the <color:keyword>options are accessible through the <color:keypress>= command, which provides an interface to the various sets of options available to the player.
In the descriptions below, each option is listed as the textual summary which is shown on the options screen, plus the internal name of the option in parenthesis, followed by a textual description of the option.
Note that the internal name of the option can be used in user pref files to force the option to a given setting (see for more info).
Various concepts are mentioned in the descriptions below, including <color:keyword>disturb (cancel any running, resting, or repeated commands, which are in progress), <color:keyword>flush (forget any keypresses waiting in the keypress queue, including any macros in progress), and <color:keyword>fresh (dump any pending output to the screen).
Birth options
The birth options can only be accessed while creating a new character (press <color:keypress>= during character creation). There is no way to turn them off (or on) after the game has started!
Easy Identify (easy_id)
With this option enabled, all objects are automatically fully identified on walkover, and items, spells and town services of Identify/*Identify* become unnecessary.
Easy Lore (easy_lore)
With this option enabled, the player will be born with complete knowledge of monster lore, including the various attacks and nasty surprises that many monsters usually offer to the uninitiated. This is a bit of a spoiler option, but is available for those who don't enjoy learning each of the many monsters present in the game. Easy Lore also renders a few aspects of the game non-functional or pointless, including the ability to <color:keyword>Probe monsters to learn about them as you encounter them, and the <color:keyword>Research Monster town service to learn about monsters before you see them (for a price, of course).
Easy monster health and damage information (easy_damage)
Also known as "Fnord-mode", this option allows the player to see the exact damage delivered by each attack, along with various other pieces of exact combat information that would otherwise be hidden. If percentage status bars are enabled, Easy monster health and damage information also upgrades them to show exact monster and player percentages together with fuller monster status indicators. This is a powerful easy-mode, and using it gives a score penalty.
Display percentages rather than star bars (display_percentages)
Replaces the usual star-based player and monster status bars with percentage-style displays. Without Easy monster health and damage information, the displayed health percentages are deliberately coarse and the monster status indicators remain more limited than in the full easy-damage view.
Allow spoilers (allow_spoilers)
Enabling this option allows the player to view some spoiler files in-game with the <color:keypress>^Z command.
Use enhanced telepathy (power_tele)
With this option off ("fuzzy telepathy"), telepathy only reveals the "species" (default display character) of a monster; its color and race are hidden. Turning on this option allows the player to see the color and race of telepathically detected monsters the same way as with normal sight.
Allow easy teleportation to Thalos (easy_thalos)
If this option is on, inns will start offering teleportation to the town of <color:keyword>Thalos as soon as at least one out of Anambar, Angwil, Morivant or Telmora has been visited by the player. Since Thalos is located on an island, travelling there by foot is very dangerous for a low-level character, especially at night. This option makes it possible to reach Thalos safely earlier in the game.
Easy Labyrinth and no amnesia (never_forget)
This option removes amnesia attacks from the game, and allows the player to map the normally unmappable <color:keyword>Labyrinth dungeon in the same way as all other dungeons. (Turning this option on does not necessarily make the game easier, since monsters who might normally use the annoying but ultimately harmless Amnesia spell will instead select one of their other, more dangerous spell options.)
Always forget item lore between games (empty_lore)
With this option off, a new game started by opening a dead character's savefile inherits the dead character's ability to recognize attributes on excellent items and artifacts. Turning this option on empties this item lore, allowing savefile re-use without meta-progression.
Monsters learn from their mistakes (smart_learn)
Allow monsters to learn which spell attacks you are resistant to, and to use this information to choose the best spells.
Monsters exploit player's weaknesses (smart_cheat)
Allow monsters to know which spell attacks you are resistant to, and to use this information to choose the best spells; essentially, this option gives Easy Lore to the monsters.
Play without a wilderness (no_wilderness)
This option disables the wilderness, forcing you to play with a single special town level. The only dungeon available will be <color:keyword>Angband. Turning this option on manually is not recommended; it is intended to be used together with the Coffee-Break and Instant-Coffee game speed settings, which activate it automatically.
Stores are permanently closed (ironman_shops)
This option closes all shops, forcing you to survive off what you find in the dungeon. Your home will still function normally, and additional town services remain available.
Disable recall and use of up stairs (ironman_downward)
With this option on, you are not allowed to climb upwards or (at Normal game speed) recall home. All stairs are downstairs, and every level-teleport will take you to a deeper level. (Coffee-Break Mode and Instant-Coffee Mode activate this option automatically, but do allow you to recall home.)
Always create empty 'arena' levels (ironman_empty_levels)
If this option is set to "Always", every dungeon level will be an open 'arena' level; these levels will be almost completely empty, apart from monsters and the occasional room. If it is set to "Sometimes" (the default setting), such levels will only rarely appear, and only in some of the dungeons. If it is set to "Never", arena levels do not generate at all.
Nightmare mode(it isn't even remotely fair!) (ironman_nightmare)
If this option is enabled, all monsters become unusually powerful and fast. And there will be various unbelievable things happening in various situations. Furthermore, at 12:00 every night, you will have a real nightmare. You need to be crazy to turn this option on!
Thrall mode (start in extreme danger) (thrall_mode)
With this option enabled, you start the game on level 90 of R'lyeh (or level 90 of Angband in no-wilderness mode) as a runaway slave of the dungeon's demonic masters. With extreme care, you have managed to steal a few useful items that might help you in your escape. But now you've been noticed, everyone's on alert, and it is up to you to die, escape - or fight your way through...
Always generate very unusual rooms (wacky_rooms)
If this option is enabled, every room becomes a vault (except in a few dungeons with special generation rules), vaults are allowed to generate extremely out-of-depth monsters and floor items, and extremely small levels are made slightly larger (to accommodate the vaults). This option is purposely game-unbalancing, and is intended for experienced players who have found they actually like the game unbalanced now and then.
Monsters can only be damaged in melee (melee_challenge)
With this option on, hostile monsters will be protected from any damage except player melee damage and auras. Status effects and genocide will apply normally. Monster infighting is limited, since monsters cannot damage each other.
Monsters cannot be damaged in melee (no_melee_challenge)
With this option on, player melee is disabled; weapons can still be wielded, but not used to attack a monster. This option has no effect on monster infighting, including melee between two monsters. (Turning on both Melee Challenge and No-Melee Challenge is probably not recommended...)
Enable virtues (enable_virtues)
Turns on the virtue system. Virtues can help or hinder the player; among other things, they affect spell fail rates, the strength of many magical effects, and the friendliness of some monsters.
Deeper wanted uniques give better rewards (no_wanted_points)
With this option on, the reward for turning in a wanted corpse depends on the unique's position on the list of all wanted uniques (deeper uniques give better rewards); with the option off, the rewards depend on the total number of wanted uniques turned in. Turning the option off is not recommended if the <color:keyword>reduce_uniques option is on, since the best rewards would then be completely inaccessible.
Preserve artifacts (preserve_mode)
With this option off, once a standard artifact is generated (either on the dungeon floor or in a monster drop), it will never be generated again during that game; if you miss the artifact, it is gone forever. With the option on, undiscovered standard artifacts can generate again on subsequent levels; this makes it safer to leave a level before it has been completely explored. (Standard artifacts that have been discovered and left behind will never generate again, regardless of whether this option is off or on.)
Allow friendly monsters (allow_friendly_monster)
This option allows some monsters to generate as friendly. A few monster races are friendly by default; turning virtues on allows additional monsters of specific types to spawn friendly if the player's virtues are appropriately aligned with their type.
Allow monsters hostile to each other (allow_hostile_monster)
If this option is on, monster infighting is disallowed except when one of the monsters is a pet or friendly monster. With the option on, infighting can also occur between hostile (or friendly) monsters of opposite alignments.
Allow player to summon/charm monsters (allow_pets)
This option allows the player to summon pets or turn hostile monsters into pets (see ). Turning this option off is generally not recommended, and would make pet-based characters like Quylthulgs, Beastmasters and Cavalry essentially unplayable.
Random quests for unique monsters only (quest_unique)
With this option turned on, the ten <color:keyword>random quests in the Pits of Angband will all require you to kill a unique monster. With the option off, some of them (especially the early ones) may feature groups of non-unique monsters instead, similarly to the fixed Warg Quest.
Randomize standard artifacts (random_artifacts)
If this option is turned on, some percentage of standard artifacts will be replaced with random ones. A small number of standard artifacts (such as the Rings of Power) are fixed and cannot be substituted. Note that additional random artifacts, which complement rather than replace the standard set, can generate whether this option is on or not.
Never create artifacts (no_artifacts)
If this option is turned on, no artifacts will ever generate. This makes the game much more difficult.
Never create non-jewelry ego items (no_egos)
Turning this option on prevents non-jewelry ego items from generating randomly. This makes the game much more difficult, although ego items specified in quests can still generate.
Disable selling but increase gold drops (no_selling)
With this option on, the player cannot sell items for money (only give them for free), and turning items into gold through Alchemy is less effective; but gold drops in quests and dungeons are increased to compensate. (Gold drops in the wilderness are not affected.)
Reduce the number of uniques (randomly) (reduce_uniques)
This option removes some percentage of uniques from the game. A few uniques (mostly those who appear in either quests or the Gladiator Ring) are fixed and will never be removed.
Active pantheons (single_pantheon)
This option allows you to set how many of the four possible pantheons will appear in the game. It can take any value between one and four.
Guaranteed pantheon (guaranteed_pantheon)
This option allows you to guarantee that a particular pantheon will appear in the game even if fewer than four pantheons are included. (The Olympian pantheon is always guaranteed for Greek demigods; if a different pantheon is specified here on a Greek demigod, the number of active pantheons cannot be lower than 2.)
Level size (always_small_levels)
This option allows you to select from a variety of different level-size selection methods. See for more details.
Increase monster density on small levels (increase_density)
This option switches to the old PosChengband 6.1.0 monster density formula for small levels, increasing the number of monsters generated on newly entered small levels.
Allow small levels in all dungeons except Arena (no_big_dungeons)
If this option is enabled, small levels can generate even in dungeons that normally always generate maximum-sized levels. The exception is Arena, which will still always generate large levels.
Sometimes reshape very flat "pipe" levels (even_proportions)
If this option is turned on, levels with a very high (6-to-1 or higher) width-to-height ratio are sometimes re-shaped to have the same total area but different proportions.
Nexus attacks never teleport to another dungeon (no_chris)
Turning on this option disables the "Chris effect" (a nexus attack effect that teleports the player to another dungeon, potentially one that's highly dangerous and was never previously visited by the player). As a substitute for the Chris effect, the player's stats will be scrambled; or if stat scrambling is also disabled, the Baby Foul Curse (a less deadly version of the infamous Ancient Foul Curse) will trigger. This option has no effect (or, rather, is effectively always on) in no-wilderness mode, since no-wilderness mode only has the one dungeon.
Disallow stat scrambling from monster attacks (no_scrambling)
Selecting this option disables <color:keyword>stat scrambling, an effect that permanently switches two of the player's six stats. Stat scrambling can potentially set the player back a long way if a high key stat is swapped with a low, less important stat. Attacks (and other effects) that would normally trigger a scramble will instead trigger the Baby Foul Curse, which is more dangerous in the short-term but doesn't have the same long-term effects.
Disallow permanent changes to player race (comp_mode)
Disables all effects (except for monster evolution) that might permanently change the player's race during the game; such effects will instead trigger the Baby Foul Curse. This option is intended for use in competitions, and to ensure challenging builds remain challenging. (It can also be used to ensure an easy build remains easy, but who'd do that?!)
Input Options
Rogue-like commands (rogue_like_commands)
Activates the <color:keyword>roguelike keyset, an alternative way of mapping keystrokes to underlying game commands. The roguelike keyset is recommended for players who lack a numpad on their keyboard (see for more information).
Pick things up by default (always_pickup)
Tells the game that walking onto an item should attempt to pick it up. Otherwise, manually picking up an item requires you to use the <color:keypress>g command, or the <color:keypress>- command while walking. This option disables the autodestroyer functions of the Mogaminator, so it's often used together with <color:keyword>destroy_items for the easy auto-destroyer, as well as <color:keyword>leave_mogaminator if picking up absolutely everything starts feeling like overkill.
Substitute Walk for Run in macros (online_macros)
If this option is turned on, all running macros will be interpreted as either walking macros or direction macros, depending on what is appropriate. This option compensates for the unusual default preferences of angband.live, and is unnecessary in offline play. (Turning Numlock off is another way to solve the problem on angband.live; it is generally the preferable solution, but may sometimes be inapplicable or introduce additional complications.)
Activate quick messages (quick_messages)
Allows the use of any keypress as a response to the -more- prompt, and allows most keys to mean "no" in any "(y/n)" prompt.
Enable command selection menu (command_menu)
The command selection menu is a helpful tool for beginning players (Beginner Mode activates it automatically). If this option is on, pressing <color:keypress>ENTER during the game displays a menu of available commands, which the user may drill into with the arrow keys. This allows discovering and learning the keypresses for specific actions without constant reference to the in-game help:
+----------------------------------------------------+
| Magic/Special > Action |
| Item+----------------------------------------------------+
| Equi| > Rest(R) Disarm a trap(D) |
| Info| Search(s) Look(l/x) |
| Save| Target(*) Dig(T/^t) |
+-------| Enter global map(<) Go down stairs(>) |
| Command pets(p) Search mode ON/OFF(S/#) |
+----------------------------------------------------+
Use old target by default (use_old_target)
This option forces all commands which normally ask for a target or direction to re-use the latest target, provided that one exists and remains acceptable for the purpose. This option is often used together with <color:keyword>auto_target (see below).
Automatically target nearest monster (auto_target)
With this option enabled, all targeting prompts will automatically target the closest monster. This option is best used together with the <color:keyword>use_old_target option; a valid old target will take priority over automatic targeting, so in situations where the nearest monster is not your desired target, you can simply specify another target up front.
Retry count for obvious commands (retry_obvious_count)
Sets the repeat count the game gives "obvious" repeatable commands such as <color:keyword>open, <color:keyword>bash, <color:keyword>tunnel, <color:keyword>disarm and easy-open lockpicking when you do not provide an explicit repeat count (see ). A value of 0 turns this automation off; the default is 100.
Retry count for failed item-use commands (retry_item_count)
Sets the repeat count the game gives a failed scroll reading, device use, or equipment activation after the item has already been chosen. Only the initial failure roll is retried; precondition failures, successful uses, and capture ball activations stop immediately. A value of 0 turns this automation off.
Prompt for destruction of known worthless items (confirm_destroy)
If this option is off, no confirmation will be asked if you attempt to destroy an object which you know to be worthless. If this option is on, the Destroy command always asks for confirmation.
Confirm to wear/wield known cursed items (confirm_wear)
This option prompts you if you attempt to wear or wield an item known to be cursed, to make sure you are equipping it intentionally.
Confirmation on melee attacking unseen monsters (confirm_hit_unseen)
If this option is on, attempting a blind melee attack against a monster you cannot see asks for confirmation first. The prompt defaults to yes, so a careless keypress still continues the attack, but <color:keypress>n, <color:keypress>N or <color:keypress>Esc will cancel it. Declining is not free: you still bump into the monster, which costs half a turn and carries a chance of waking it.
Confirmation on melee attacking visible monsters (confirm_hit_visible)
If this option is on, visible melee attacks ask for confirmation before the first hit, much like wielding a weapon inscribed with <color:keyword>!?. Once you confirm an attack, repeated hits on that monster are assumed to be intentional. Declining costs no energy and carries no wake chance, since you can see the monster and simply hold back.
Allow targetting pets (target_pet)
If this option is off, monster-targetting prompts will not offer pets as target options (a pet can still be targeted if necessary, by switching into free-targetting mode). If this option is on, all monsters including pets will be offered as target options.
Automatically open doors (easy_open)
Makes it easy for your character to open a door: simply by walking into it! Also, the <color:keyword>open command will automatically select the direction if only one door is near you.
Automatically disarm traps (easy_disarm)
Makes it easy for your character to disarm a known trap: simply by walking into it! Also, the <color:keyword>disarm command will automatically select the direction if only one known trap is near you.
Ctrl-G automatically gets nearby ammo (auto_get_ammo)
This option instructs the <color:keyword>auto-get command (<color:keypress>^G) to automatically travel to and pick up any nearby, visible ammo inscribed with <color:keypress>=g. This option is most often used by archery characters, who regularly have to pick up many projectiles after a fight. Compare <color:keyword>auto_get_objects below.
Ctrl-G automatically gets nearby wanted objects (auto_get_objects)
This option instructs the Auto-Get Objects command (<color:keypress>^G) to automatically travel to nearby visible objects which you have registered to either pickup or destroy. This option subsumes (and extends) the <color:keyword>auto_get_ammo option since ammo inscribed with <color:keypress>=g is certainly registered for auto-pickup.
Limit shop quantity prompts by money available (limit_shop_prompts)
If this option is on, quantity prompt caps for buying and reserving objects account for both the number of objects available in the shop and the number of objects you can actually afford, rather than just the number of objects available.
Automatically detect traps while running (auto_detect_traps)
With this option enabled, the game will attempt to automatically detect traps whenever you run outside a trap-detected region. Use the <color:keyword>view_unsafe_grids to make trap detected regions more visually obvious. For this option to work, you must be carrying a scroll, staff or rod able to detect traps. The game will use the object for you automatically, consuming a scroll or a single charge from an appropriate device.
Automatically map area while running (auto_map_area)
With this option enabled, the game will attempt to automatically map your surroundings whenever you run outside a previously mapped zone. Unlike <color:keyword>auto_detect_traps, there is no visual indication of regions that are flagged as mapped versus those that are not. When you invoke magic mapping, the game maps your surroundings, and it also sets a flag on each tile in the area of effect. When your player runs from a tile so flagged onto one not so flagged, then the game attempts to automatically map for you by locating an appropriate scroll or device and using it for you. Both this option and <color:keyword>auto_detect_traps work best if you always run when travelling about. When you enter a new level, manually detect traps and map your surroundings. If you always run when travelling, the game will automatically take care of the detection tedium for the rest of the level.
Use numpad keys as cursor keys in editor mode (numpad_as_cursorkey)
If this option is on, numpad keys are interpreted as cursor-movement keys rather than numbers while editing any text (such as Mogaminator preferences or a macro action). If this option is off, numpad keys are interpreted as adding numbers to the text.
Retain backpack slot labels in other inventories (use_pack_slots)
If this option is on, inventory items will have the same default label keys in all object prompts; for example, if a scroll is the ninth item in your backpack and accordingly labeled i) for the Show Inventory command, then it will also be labeled i) for the Read Scroll command, even if you have no other scrolls. If this option is off, each object prompt recomputes the labels, counting the relevant items only; the example scroll would still be i) for Show Inventory, but a) in the Read Scroll prompt. Having the option off reduces the risk of objects unexpectedly changing labels between successive calls to a command; the scroll could only be bumped to b) by the addition of another scroll, the appearance (or disappearance) of a potion or spellbook would have no effect on its label. (Either way, the only fully reliable way to ensure items retain their expected slots is to inscribe them accordingly; see for help.)
Map & Screen Options
Center map on player while walking (center_player)
With this option enabled, the map window automatically recenters on you as you walk. Whether this is a good thing divides players; some find it extremely disorienting, while others consider it natural. Turning this option on can make the game noticeably slow on older machines, but most modern computers are sufficiently fast for this to not be an issue.
Center map even while running (center_running)
If this option is off, the game waits until the player is finished running or travelling before it recenters the map. If this option is on, the map always centers on the player after every step. This option has no effect if the <color:keyword>center_player option is not on.
Center map after stairs and long teleports (center_stair_tele)
If this option is on, the map recenters after stair travel, random floor placement, and teleports that move the player a substantial distance. Ordinary walking and short teleports are unaffected.
Center map when x/2x squares from NS/EW edges (map_edge_center)
Controls how close you can move to the edge of the visible map before the view recenters on the affected axis. The configured value applies at 1x to the north/south edges and at 2x to the east/west edges, so a setting of 10 recenters 10 squares from the north/south edges and 20 from the east/west edges. Values run from 1 to 20 and wrap around.
Use special colors for torch-lit grids (view_yellow_lite)
If this option is enabled, visible floor or wall grids illuminated by a torch or other moving light source will be drawn in yellow. Keeping this option turned off may slightly improve game speed. This option has no effect if both <color:keyword>view_granite_lite and <color:keyword>view_special_lite are off.
Use special colors for 'viewable' grids (view_bright_lite)
If this option is enabled, known floor or wall grids not currently in line of sight will be drawn in dark gray, allowing the player to easily tell which parts of a room or corridor are in line of sight. Turning this option off may slightly improve game speed. This option has no effect if both <color:keyword>view_granite_lite and <color:keyword>view_special_lite are off.
Use special colors for wall grids (view_granite_lite)
If this option is enabled, the <color:keyword>view_yellow_lite and <color:keyword>view_bright_lite options are applied to wall grids; in addition, special dark coloring is used for wall grids if the player is blinded. Keeping this option turned off may slightly improve game speed. This option may produce unexpected results if wall visuals have been modified by the player.
Use special colors for floor grids (view_special_lite)
If this option is enabled, the <color:keyword>view_yellow_lite and <color:keyword>view_bright_lite options are applied to open floor grids; in addition, special dark coloring is used for floor grids if the player is blinded. Turning this option off may slightly improve game speed. This option may produce unexpected results if floor visuals have been modified by the player.
Map remembers all perma-lit grids (view_perma_grids)
Memorizes all permanently lit floor grids seen by the player. This option allows you to keep track of which explored floor grids were permanently lit, but does not distinguish between dark floor grids, unexplored floor grids, and unknown grids. Turning off this option allows the player to always know which lit floor grids are in line of sight, but this is better accomplished by the "view_bright_lite" option. Note that non-floor grids seen by the player are always memorized, regardless of this setting.
Map remembers all torch-lit grids (view_torch_grids)
Memorizes all floor grids seen by the player. This option allows you to keep track of which floor grids have been explored.
Map marked by detect traps (view_unsafe_grids)
If this option is on, all unmapped grids in areas where trap detection spells have not been used will be marked x, providing a visual indication of whether Detect Traps has been used in an area. If this option is off, a green DTrap status indicator is used instead for the same purpose. (Note that it is possible for undetected traps to exist in detected areas, as traps can be created post-detection by monster spells or by triggering another trap.)
Fresh screen before automated input (fresh_before)
This option forces the game to fresh the screen before every new command. This will give you maximal information, but may slow down the game somewhat. Note that this option is only useful when using macros, resting, running/travelling, or repeating commands, since output is always flushed when the game is waiting for a keypress from the user.
Fresh screen after processing monsters (fresh_after)
This option forces the game to fresh the screen after not only every player command, but also after every round of processing monsters or objects. This will give you maximal information, but may slow down the game somewhat, especially on slower machines; on faster machines this option usually makes little difference either way.
Fresh screen after every message (fresh_message)
This option forces the game to fresh the screen after every message displayed by the game. This will give you maximal information, but may slow down the game somewhat.
Hilite the player with the cursor (hilite_player)
Places the visible cursor on the player. Note that only some machines are able to *not* show the cursor; but on those machines, hiding the cursor often speeds up the game and looks less ugly.
Display actual path before shooting (display_path)
If this option is enabled, targeting mode will continuously show the projection path from you to the target point.
Use square-based delay factors (square_delays)
If this option is on, animation delays will be calculated by squaring rather than cubing the base delay factor. This permits greater fine-tuning of very short delays, at the cost of not allowing a longer delay.
Text Display Options
Plain object descriptions (plain_descriptions)
If this option is on, object flavors are included in descriptions only if the flavor remains unidentified; a Blue Potion, for example, might be shown simply as a Potion of Speed after identification. If this option is not on, flavors are always listed, and the identified potion would be a Blue Potion of Speed.
Show dungeon level in feet (depth_in_feet)
Displays the current depth in feet instead of levels; 50 feet corresponds to one level.
Show speeds as energy multipliers (effective_speed)
Displays player and monster speeds as energy multipliers; this style is somewhat ugly, but helps players understand what a given speed actually means in terms of energy.
Display 'equippy' chars (equippy_chars)
Displays graphical representations of your equipment (/, (, etc.) in the main screen sidebar.
Display player hp bar (display_hp_bar)
This option will display a status bar on the main screen that details your current health. For example:
@[*******--]
Display player sp bar (display_sp_bar)
This option will display a status bar on the main screen that details your current mana. For example:
?[***------]
Display detailed food status (display_food_bar)
This option will display a status bar on the main screen that details your current state of hunger. For example:
,[**-------]
Display stats as decimals (decimal_stats)
Displays stats above 18 as decimals (for example, 39.7 instead of 18/217). New players sometimes find this format more intuitive.
Display life rating on a scale of 85% to 115% (percentage_life)
To convert between the scales, use the formula P = (A + 208) / 2.45.
Display roguelike movement keys as reminder (show_rogue_keys)
Displays the movement keys of the roguelike keyset in the main screen sidebar, provided that there is enough room for them to be displayed and that the roguelike keyset is on. This option is intended for very new players, or at least players new to the roguelike keyset, and is on by default in Beginner Mode.
Display energy cost of most recent action (show_energy_cost)
Displays the nominal energy cost of the player's most recent action in the main screen sidebar, provided that there is enough room. Energy randomness is not accounted for. Most player (and monster) actions cost 100 energy, frequently glossed as "1 turn" as if a turn were a 100-energy unit.
Compress messages in savefiles (compress_savefile)
Compress the savefile, by only saving the most recent messages received by the player. This can cut the size of the savefile by a drastic amount, but will result in the loss of message information.
Describe extra object attributes by abbreviation (abbrev_extra)
If this option is on, any extra resistances and other special attributes on an object will be added to its description as a fake inscription. "Extra attributes" are ones the object is not guaranteed to have from its kind or ego type; for example, Boots of Levitation might have an extra resistance to Shards, but the levitation itself would not be an extra attribute since all Boots of Levitation have it. See for a list of abbreviations.
Describe all object attributes by abbreviation (abbrev_all)
If this option is on, all attributes on an object will be added to its description as a fake inscription. See for a list of abbreviations.
Extend use of '?' to random dragon resistances (mark_dragon)
If this option is off, the unknown equipment attribute indicator '?' is limited to unknown attributes on artifacts and ego items, and thus indicates an unknown attribute the player can learn to recognize. If the option is on, items with unknown random dragon resistances (such as dragon gloves or dragon boots) are also marked with '?', allowing '?' to indicate any unknown attribute at all. The option is somewhat redundant in that all objects with dragon resistances will be marked with '?' until fully identified, but it allows players to rely on '?' as an indicator of the need to *identify* equipment. The presence of unknown attributes on an object is always indicated on inspection, regardless of whether this option is on or not.
Show the experience needed for the next level (exp_need)
If this option is on, the experience display in the main screen sidebar displays the experience needed to reach the next character level. If this option is off, the character's current total experience is displayed instead.
Ignore actions of out of sight monsters (ignore_unview)
If this option is on, you will not receive messages when out-of-sight monsters fight one another.
Player character depends on their race (display_race)
If this option is on, the player's representation on the map depends on their monster race; a player Quylthulg, for example, would be represented by a Q. If the option is off, the player will always be @ even in Monster Mode.
Show object origins on examination (show_origins)
With this option selected, the origins of an object (where you found it, and who or what you got it from) are displayed when the object is examined.
Show time of discovery on examination (show_discovery)
With this option enabled, the date of object discovery and the player's character level at time of discovery are added to the object's origins. (Also, with this option off, if a pile of objects with different origins is formed, all information about the origins is lost. With this option on, the details of the first object to be discovered are applied to the whole pile instead.)
Show origins in final character dumps (final_dump_origins)
If this option is on, the origins of the player's equipment are included in character dumps if the character is either dead or a winner, but omitted otherwise. (Whether discovery details are included with the origins depends on whether <color:keyword>show_discovery is on or not.)
Show origins in all character dumps (always_dump_origins)
If this option is on, the origins of the player's equipment are always included in character dumps.
Use 'x' for monsters that look like things (easy_mimics)
If this option is enabled, monsters that are easily mistaken for non-monsters (like mimics, cloakers, death swords and wall monsters) will be displayed with the 'x' glyph instead of their native glyph. (A few thing-like monsters do still retain their original glyphs; these include death scythes, mushrooms and creeping coins.)
Display skills as numbers on the character sheet (display_skill_num)
If this option is on, the character sheet displays the player's skills numerically in addition to the usual verbal description; Superb may become Superb (82), for example. This format is familiar to players of Composband, where the numerical display is always on.
Show statistics before proceeding with a reforge (reforge_details)
This option shows statistics about how good a reforge result is likely to be (and why), gives warnings in case of reforges that look particularly misguided, and allows you to cancel the reforge if the statistics are not to your liking.
Show non-melee damages as ranges in monster info (show_damage_range)
If this option is on, monster recall will display known non-melee damage information as ranges or dice rolls, as opposed to the traditional averages. (The ranges shown do not account for the slight randomness in damage reduction from resistances, although the ~ sign is included in such cases to indicate an approximation. The ranges displayed also assume a monster power of 100%; HP is based on either the race's representative full-HP value or a live monster's current HP, depending on the <color:topic:show_damage_hp>show_damage_hp option and the type of recall being shown.)
Use live HP for single-monster damage estimates (show_damage_hp)
If this option is on, monster examination screens for a single real visible monster will base known non-melee damage estimates on that monster's current HP instead of the race's representative full-HP value. Grouped recall and disguised monsters still use representative race-level values.
Game Play Options
Merge inscriptions when stacking (stack_force_notes)
Forces otherwise identical objects to merge, even if one has an empty inscription and the other does not. The resulting stack keeps the non-empty inscription.
Merge discounts when stacking (stack_force_costs)
Forces otherwise identical objects to merge, even if they have different discounts. The resulting stack keeps the largest discount. This option may cause you to lose "value", but will give you optimal pack usage.
Allow query option lists to loop to beginning (expand_list)
If this option is turned on, several interfaces that allow cycling between possibilities (the looking/targeting interface, the identify symbol interface, and the monster-research interface) will wrap back to the initial option after reaching the end. If this option is off, these prompts will close after the end is reached.
Expand the "listing" commands so that they "wrap" at the "edges" of the appropriate list. This allows the "look" and "target" commands to "cycle" through all appropriate grids forever, and the "identify symbol" to browse through all of the monsters of a given type.
Display dungeon boundaries as permanent walls (bound_walls_perm)
If this option is set, boundaries of dungeon floors will explicitly look like permanent walls. If the option is not set, boundary walls will look like regular walls, but still behave as permanent walls.
Leave last words when your character dies (last_words)
Allows you to speak a few last words when your character dies. If this option is not on, a simple "You die" message is displayed instead.
Allow use of debug/cheat options (allow_debug_opts)
Enables use of the debug command (<color:keypress>^A), wizard mode (<color:keypress>^W) and cheat options (<color:keypress>C in the main options menu). Using any of these irrevocably marks the character as a cheater; having the option off ensures they cannot be triggered accidentally.
Disturbance Options
Run past stairs (find_ignore_stairs)
Toggles whether stairs are ignored while running.
Run through open doors (find_ignore_doors)
Toggles whether open doors are ignored while running.
Run past buried treasure (find_ignore_veins)
Toggles whether treasure veins are ignored while running.
Run past known corners (find_cut)
If this option is on, the player cuts sharply around known corners while running. This will result in faster running, but increases the chance of blundering into a lurking monster.
Run past side terrain changes (find_ignore_side)
If this option is on, running is not interrupted solely because the terrain beside the path changes (for example, a wall opening up into a room, or an open area closing into a corridor). Running still stops for monsters, objects, traps, stairs, closed doors, and anything directly in the path.
Ignore identified items while travelling (travel_ignore_items)
With this option on, all identified items (except some extremely valuable objects, and objects that add to a stack of already carried items) are ignored by the Mogaminator while travelling. With the option off, the Mogaminator may try to pick up already identified items walked over during the travel, which is sometimes good but often disturbs the travel annoyingly.
Check for user abort of automated input (check_abort)
If this option is turned off, automatically handled commands such as resting, running, travelling or repeated commands cannot be cancelled or disturbed by the user. This is somewhat dangerous, but makes the game more efficient on some systems.
Flush input on various failures (flush_failure)
This option forces the game to flush all pending input whenever various "failures" occur, such as failure to cast a spell, failure to use a wand, etc. This is very useful if you use macros which include "directional" components with commands that can fail, since it will prevent you from walking towards monsters when your spells fail.
Give -more- prompts on device/spell failures (prompt_on_failure)
This option forces a -more- prompt whenever an attempt to use a device or cast a spell fails. This is useful if the player is in the habit of pressing keys (e.g. to target the device) on the assumption the device won't fail, which if unchecked can result in a potentially costly lost turn when the device does fail.
Flush input whenever disturbed (flush_disturb)
This option forces the game to flush all pending input whenever the character is disturbed. This is useful if you use macros which take time, since it will prevent you from continuing your macro while being attacked by a monster.
Disturb whenever any monster moves (disturb_move)
Disturbs the player when any visible monster moves, appears, or disappears. This includes monsters visible through telepathy, which is sometimes inconvenient if you wish to rest near such monsters.
Disturb whenever high-level monster moves (disturb_high)
Disturbs the player when any monster whose native level is higher than the player's character level moves, appears, or disappears. This includes monsters visible through telepathy.
Disturb whenever viewable monster moves (disturb_near)
Disturbs the player when any monster in line of sight moves, and when any monster moves into or out of line of sight.
Disturb when visible pets move (disturb_pets)
If this option is on, the same disturbance rules are applied to all monsters, regardless of whether they are friendly or hostile. If this option is not on, moves by pets or friendly monsters never disturb.
Disturb whenever map panel changes (disturb_panel)
This option causes you to be disturbed by the map scrolling, as happens when you get close to the edge of the screen.
Disturb whenever player state changes (disturb_state)
This option causes you to be disturbed whenever the player state changes, including changes to hunger level, temporary buffs or status effects running out, etc.
Disturb whenever boring things happen (disturb_minor)
This option causes you to be disturbed by various minor things, including monsters bashing down doors, new inventory object feelings, and beginning to run out of fuel.
Disturb whenever a known monster wakes (disturb_wakeup)
This option causes you to be disturbed whenever a monster whose presence is currently known wakes up. Unknown or offscreen sleep-state changes do not disturb.
Never disturb when a town monster moves (town_no_disturb)
If this option is on, non-attacking moves by monsters native to towns (such as mercenaries, drunks or street urchins) will never disturb you.
Audible bell (on errors, etc.) (ring_bell)
Attempts to make a bell noise when various errors occur. The bell may not work on some systems.
Disturb when leaving trap-detected area (disturb_trap_detect)
This option causes you to be disturbed when you move out of a trap-detected area.
Alert: Equipped item gets damaged or cursed (alert_item_minor)
This option forces a -more- prompt when one of your equipped items is damaged without suffering permanent power loss, or when you learn that one is cursed.
Alert: Item gets permanently damaged or is lost (alert_item_major)
This option forces a -more- prompt whenever one of your equipped or carried items is destroyed, stolen, or loses <color:keyword>pval.
Alert: Inscribed item permanently damaged/lost (alert_insc_gone)
This option forces a -more- prompt whenever any inscribed item you carry is destroyed, stolen, or loses <color:keyword>pval.
Alert: Carried device destroyed or stolen (alert_device_gone)
This option forces a -more- prompt whenever any wand, rod or staff in your inventory is destroyed or stolen.
Alert: Left a trap-detected area (alert_trap_detect)
This option alerts you with a message when you move out of a trap-detected area.
Alert: Wanted unique monster killed (alert_wanted_kill)
This option forces a -more- prompt when a unique with a price on its head is killed.
Alert: Dangerously high poison counter (alert_poison)
This option alerts you with a message before your move if your poison counter exceeds your current HP, 80% of your maximum HP, or 499 points, whichever is lowest. (Subsequent warnings for the same instance of poisoning will be displayed only if you are at immediate risk of dying from poison.)
Easy Auto-Destroyer Options
Use easy auto-destroyer (destroy_items)
This option turns the Easy Destroyer on and off. If enabled, the Easy Destroyer will destroy all objects unless the object is protected by one or more of the <color:keyword>leave_* options discussed below.
Note: The <color:keyword>Easy Auto-Destroyer is a simpler version of the full-featured <color:keyword>Mogaminator discussed at . It is designed for those who feel the full version is too complicated to use. However, you really should only use one or the other; if you are using the Mogaminator, then you should not also enable the Easy Destroyer, unless you have turned the <color:keyword>always_pickup option on.
Apply auto-destroy on sensing an item (destroy_feeling)
If this option is turned on, both the Mogaminator and the Easy Destroyer will take actions whenever the player senses the quality of an object (i.e., whenever pseudo-ID kicks in).
Apply auto-destroy on identifying an item (destroy_identify)
If this option is turned on, both the Mogaminator and the Easy Destroyer will take actions whenever the player identifies an object with a spell or magical device. Identifying objects with a town service does not trigger auto-destruction.
List the rule used when applying the Mogaminator (destroy_debug)
This is a debugging option for the Mogaminator. If this option is enabled, the rule applied when the Mogaminator does something is reported in a message; for example:
You have 26 charges remaining. (AutoID:~?unidentified rods) You see a
Rod: Frost Ball (1/3 charges). (Destroy:(!rods:frost ball$)
Auto-destroying.
In addition, the matching rule will be displayed when an object is inspected, for example:
a Law Book [Attractions of Law] 3.0 lbs
You can't remember ever not having it.
Score: 100
Autopick: ~first realm's first spellbooks#@ma!k
Never apply the Mogaminator (disable_mogaminator)
This option deactivates the Mogaminator. (It is redundant if the Mogaminator was never activated in the first place.)
Leave items the Mogaminator wants to destroy (leave_mogaminator)
With this option on, the Mogaminator never destroys items (the easy auto-destroyer can still destroy items), but items the Mogaminator wants to destroy are not automatically picked up on walkover even with the <color:keyword>always_pickup option on.
Limit pickup prompts if pack is already full (check_full_pack)
With this option on, you will not be offered a pickup prompt if your pack is already full when you walk onto a square with multiple items on it; instead, you will automatically pick up (and drop) all of these items. This option has no effect if <color:keyword>always_pickup is not on.
Allow manual pickup before applying auto-pickup (delay_autopick)
With this option on, any command that allows you to pick up items manually will give the manual pickup priority over auto-pickup. (With the option off, this only happens if you are picking up items from the square you were already on.)
Auto-destroyer leaves known worthy items (leave_worth)
This option protects known objects that can be sold in stores from auto-destruction by the Easy Destroyer.
Auto-destroyer leaves weapons and armour (leave_equip)
This option protects all weapons and armour from auto-destruction by the Easy Destroyer.
Auto-destroyer leaves closed chests (leave_chest)
This option protects all chests which have not yet been opened from auto-destruction by the Easy Destroyer.
Auto-destroyer leaves wanted corpses (leave_wanted)
This option protects corpses of monsters wanted at a bounty office from auto-destruction by the Easy Destroyer.
Auto-destroyer leaves corpses and skeletons (leave_corpse)
This option protects all corpses and skeletons from auto-destruction by the Easy Destroyer.
Auto-destroyer leaves junk (leave_junk)
This option protects all junk items, such as Broken Sticks or Shards of Pottery, from auto-destruction by the Easy Destroyer. This can be helpful on a class like Archer, although the <color:keyword>leave_special option also covers such special cases.
Auto-destroyer leaves items your race/class needs (leave_special)
This option protects specific items which are normally worthless, but very important for specific classes or races. These include bones for Archers, ego light sources of darkness for Ninjas, Wands of Heal Monster for Beastmasters and Cavalry, humanoid corpses for Balrogs, and other items with similar niche uses.
List Display Options
Show equipment slot descriptions (describe_slots)
Displays descriptions of the slots equipment objects are worn in, such as "right hand", "left ring", "neck" or "feet".
Show weights in object listings (show_weights)
Displays the weights of objects in all object inventories, including any subwindow displaying an inventory.
Show discounts in object listings (show_discounts)
Displays the discount of the object, if any, as part of its inscription. Disabling this option won't remove the object's discount; it will just no longer be displayed to the player.
Show device power in object listings (if known) (show_power)
Displays details about an object's power (like dam 158 or heal 250) in inventories, allowing you to compare items at a glance.
Show item graphics in object listings (show_item_graph)
Displays graphical representations of items (/, (, etc.) in inventories.
Show item-state markers in object listings (show_item_markers)
If this option is on, object listings such as inventory, equipment, quiver, shops, Home and Museum prepend compact markers to item names: ! for cursed, * for fixed artifacts, X for random artifacts, ? for known items that are not yet fully identified, and ?? for completely unknown unsensed items. These markers are an extra visual cue only and do not replace the ordinary description or fake inscription conventions.
Put these inscriptions before item names (inscriptions_first)
Controls where the inscription you have written on an item is displayed. <color:keypress>None keeps it at the end of the description (the default). <color:keypress>User shows your inscription before the item name (for example, {@g1} a wand of Magic Missile) while pseudo-inscriptions generated by the game, such as item feelings and curses, remain at the end. <color:keypress>All shows both your inscription and the pseudo-inscriptions before the item name.
Include special inventories in standard inventory lists (show_special_bags)
If this option is on, the standard <color:keypress>i inventory list will also include any race or class special inventories, such as shape-shift satchels or Igor's body parts. The <color:keypress>I inspect command always includes these inventories regardless of this option.
Indicate unknown flavors in shop inventories (shops_mark_unseen)
If this option is on, potions, scrolls and mushrooms whose flavor has not yet been identified will be marked {unseen} in shop inventories.
Show cursed items as black in unwield menu (black_curses)
If this option is on, sticky items will be displayed in black while taking off equipment.
Show range, not coords, for line-of-sight mobs (monlist_range)
If this option is on, single-monster rows in the nearby monster list will show range for line-of-sight monsters; for example, "Rng 4" for a monster 4 squares away. With the option off, those rows instead display the monster's coordinates relative to the player.
Show range, not coords, for all listed mobs (monlist_range_all)
If this option is on, single-monster rows in the nearby monster list will show range even for listed monsters outside line of sight. Grouped rows still omit both range and coordinates.
Top list section for line-of-sight monsters (monlist_los)
If this option is on, the nearby monster list is split into a top section for line-of-sight monsters and a lower section for other listed monsters. If it is off, the split and section headers are removed and all listed monsters are sorted together.
Display awake monsters first in monster lists (monlist_awake)
If this option is on, awake monsters sort ahead of sleeping monsters in the nearby monster list. When grouping by race, mixed awake/asleep rows are split so the awake and sleeping monsters display separately.
Sort monster lists by distance instead of level (monlist_distance)
If this option is on, the nearby monster list sorts nearer monsters before farther ones. If it is off, the list sorts by base monster level first and uses distance only to break ties.
List each monster separately in monster lists (monlist_ungroup)
If this option is on, the nearby monster list will display one row per monster instead of grouping monsters of the same apparent race together.
Show a Zzz prefix for these sleeping monsters (monlist_zzz)
Controls the Zzz prefix on fully-asleep rows in the nearby monster list. With <color:keypress>None, sleeping rows are never marked; with <color:keypress>Uniq, only rows of unique monsters get the prefix; with <color:keypress>All, every fully-asleep row is marked.
Display stairs in the object list (list_stairs)
If this option is enabled, the list of visible objects (accessible in-game by pressing <color:keypress>O or <color:keypress>]) will include stairs in its Interesting Features section. (The inclusion of stairs in the object list can be toggled in the list itself by pressing <color:keypress>S, but this option determines whether stairs are shown by default.)
Include known future race/class powers in lists (show_future_powers)
If this option is on, the <color:keypress>U bonus-power command (<color:keypress>O in the roguelike keyset) will include known future powers in the list, and gray them out. Known future powers are ones the player will gain access to at higher levels, but is currently too low-level to use. Powers that require evolution, mutations or other special developments besides level gain will not be included.
Include known future class spells in lists (show_future_spells)
If this option is on, the <color:keypress>m magic/mental-power command will include known future class spells in the list, and gray them out. Known future spells are ones the player will gain access to at higher levels, but is currently too low-level to use. This option has no effect on book spellcasters; book spell menus always include high-level spells.
Automatically make all power labels sticky (auto_sticky_labels)
With this option on, all powers used through the <color:keypress>U key (<color:keypress>O in the roguelike keyset) will be assigned a permanent and unchanging letter slot, allowing reliable macros, keymaps and finger memory.
Maximum width of the object list (object_list_width)
This setting adjusts the maximum width of the object list as displayed in the main terminal.
Maximum width of the monster list (monster_list_width)
This setting adjusts the maximum width of the monster list as displayed in the main terminal.
Base Delay Factor
The <color:keyword>delay_factor value, if non-zero, is used to slow down the game, which is useful to allow you to observe the animations of bolt, beam, and ball attacks. The actual delay is equal to the delay factor cubed, in milliseconds, unless the <color:keyword>square_delays option has been turned on.
Hitpoint Warning
The <color:keyword>hitpoint_warn value, if non-zero, is the percentage of maximal HP at which the player receives a low hitpoint warning. It is also used as the cut-off for displaying both hitpoints and mana in red.
Autosave Options
These settings determine when the game is automatically saved. An automatic save can help salvage progress in case of a power outage or other catastrophic crash:
Autosave when entering new levels (autosave_l)
If this option is set, the program will attempt to save your character every time before creating a new dungeon level.
Timed autosave frequency (autosave_t)
The frequency at which the program attempts to save your character: <color:keyword>off disables timed autosaves, or set a value from 50 to 250 in steps of 50, from 500 to 2500 in steps of 250, and from 5000 to 25000 in steps of 2500. Use the arrow or keypad keys to step through the values.
Window Flags
Some platforms support <color:keyword>subwindows, which are additional, automatically updating terminals used to keep useful information on permanent display (see for more information). These window flags can be used to specify what information each subwindow displays; the possible choices should be fairly obvious.
Inventory/Equips
Displays the player inventory (and sometimes the equipment). Note that you can toggle between Inventory and Equipment by pressing <color:keypress>^I.
Equips/Inventory
Displays the player equipment (and sometimes the inventory). Note that you can toggle between Inventory and Equipment by pressing <color:keypress>^I.
Spell List
Displays the player's available spells, including class spells, recently learned Blue Magic, and the most recently selected spellbook where applicable.
Object List
This option displays the results of the <color:keyword>Object List command (<color:keypress>O/<color:keypress>]); for example:
There is 1 wanted object: ! a Potion of Resistance S 17 E 29 There are 4 other objects: | a Two-Handed Sword S 18 E 30 \ a Lead-Filled Mace S 18 E 28 ] a Pair of Metal Shod Boots S 18 E 29 / an Awl-Pike S 19 E 29
Monster List
This option displays the results of the <color:keyword>Monster List command (<color:keypress>Y/<color:keypress>[); for example:
You are aware of 4 monsters, 4 are awake: t Aimless looking merchant (2 awake) t Agent of black market N 9 W 54 t Singing, happy drunk S 22 E 72
Messages Log
Displays the most recent messages (compare the <color:keypress>^P command).
Overhead View
Displays an overhead view of the entire dungeon; this can be somewhat slow on older machines, and gives the same results as the <color:keypress>M command.
Monster Recall
Displays a description of the monster most recently attacked, targeted, or examined in some way.
Object Recall
Displays a description of the object most recently picked up or examined in some way.
Dungeon View
Displays a copy of the map.
Cheating Options
Using the cheating options permanently marks your character as a cheater; cheaters cannot score a real win, and will not get an entry on the high-score list, even if they turn the cheating options off later.
Peek into object creation (cheat_peek)
Cheaters never win. But they can peek at object creation.
Peek into monster creation (cheat_hear)
Cheaters never win. But they can peek at monster creation.
Peek into dungeon creation (cheat_room)
Cheaters never win. But they can peek at room creation.
Peek into something else (cheat_xtra)
Cheaters never win. But they can see debugging messages.
Allow player to avoid death (cheat_live)
Cheaters never win. But they can cheat death.
Ask for saving death (cheat_save)
Cheaters never win. But they can choose whether to save the character's data when they die.
Original : Ben Harrison
Updated : Zangband 2.1.* by Topi Ylinen
Updated : Zangband 2.2.0 through 2.2.6c by Robert Ruehlmann
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.5.2
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.0.nougat
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.chocolate
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.salmiak
User Preferences
FroxComposband allows you to change various aspects of the game to suit your tastes. You may define keymaps (changing the way your keypresses are mapped to underlying commands), create macros (allowing you to map a single keypress to a series of keypresses), modify the visuals (allowing you to change the appearance of monsters, objects, or terrain features), change the colors (allowing you to make a given color brighter, darker, or even completely different), or set options (turning them off or on).
Preference Files
There are two types of preference files: system preferences and user preferences. The former represent the default display and input options, while the latter are optional customizations that you may add to override the default settings. System preference files, such as pref.prf, are usually stored in /lib/pref relative to the installation (e.g., on Windows, if you installed in C:\games\FroxComposband then the system pref files may be found in C:\games\FroxComposband\lib\pref). User preference files, on the other hand, are stored in the user directory, which is /lib/user on Windows, relative to the install location, and perhaps (this is customizable) ~/.angband/FroxComposband on Linux. In general, the location of user files is platform-dependent, and can vary depending on how you configure and install the game.
During initialization, the system preference file pref.prf is loaded, and this file directs the loading of other preference files, such as pref-key.prf for keyboard mappings and pref-opt.prf for default option settings. Then, system preference files for visuals are loaded starting with font.prf for normal ASCII display and graf.prf for those weird graphics users. Each of these system preference files will redirect to another file depending on which platform you are playing (e.g. font-win.prf on Windows).
Finally, once your character has been born or loaded, the game then tries to load the following user preference files:
user.prf
user-$SYS.prf
$RACE.prf
$CLASS.prf
$PLAYER.prf
Here, $SYS is the 3-character system code for your platform, such as <color:keyword>win for the Windows port or <color:keyword>gcu for the Curses port. $RACE is your current character's race, $CLASS the class name, and $PLAYER the character's actual name, unless it contains illegal characters for your file system (e.g, naming your player <color:keypress>Mr. *WONDER* is probably a bad idea). User preference files are loaded last so that you may override system preferences with your own settings. We'll discuss some examples below.
Preference files consist of a list of commands which are parsed to configure various options. These are discussed next.
Preference Commands
There are many commands for setting preferences. The syntax is complicated, but mostly, you can use the user interface commands <color:keypress>%, <color:keypress>& and <color:keypress>@ to do things easily and leave syntax worries to the game itself. I'll give one example of the syntax in the next section, and then we will discuss setting up preferences using the user interface commands which are designed to hide the details of the syntax from you.
An Example
In this example, fire up the game and load your character. My character is imaginatively named <color:keyword>Test, so when I refer to Test.prf later on, you'll know to mentally change that filename to whatever your character happens to be named.
For this example, we will be directly entering a single user preference command. To do this, we use the special <color:keyword>Enter a user pref command command which is available with the <color:keypress>! key. This requires us to know the exact syntax of the preference command we want, as well as the internal numeric code for various values. It is an advanced command, and normally you will want to use one of the friendlier in-game commands (for visuals, in this case) instead.
Suppose you find @ boring to look at. Let's use @ instead! To make this change, type <color:keypress>! then enter <color:keypress>R:0:11:@. The <color:keypress>R preference command is used to set display values for monster races (which, as you may know, are defined in /lib/edit/r_info.txt). The game uses the special 0th entry in the monster race table as the display options for the player. That we entered <color:keypress>R:0 says we wish to override this value. The next field is the attribute to use. We need to enter a value of 0 to 15 for one of the 16 available colors; I picked 11 for yellow. Finally, we keep the @ as the character for this monster race. After entering this command, you'll notice the player is still a plain old @; type <color:keypress>^R to force a redraw, and now you should be proudly displayed as @.
If we were to restart the game at this point, our change would be lost. We'll discuss the <color:keyword>Interact with Visuals command in just a moment, but for now, just blindly press <color:keypress>% followed by <color:keypress>1 to dump the current monster race visuals to a user preference file. I get the file Test.prf listed as the default (remember, my character is actually named Test). You should keep this $NAME.prf suggestion since, as I'm sure you remember, this is one of the files the game tries to automatically load during initialization. Keeping this value ensures our changes get automatically used the next time we play this character! So press <color:keypress>ENTER to actually dump your preferences.
One final comment: You may edit the Test.prf file you dumped directly, or you may delete it. Since this was an example, you probably just want to delete it, but you should know that the game stores all user preferences for your current character here (by default), and this includes any macros you might have defined.
Interacting with Visuals (%)
Now, you may have found the need to type in a cryptic instruction like <color:keypress>R:0:11:@ rather disgusting. If so, you can relax: there is an easier way. Let us repeat the change from the previous section using the Interact with Visuals user interface. Press <color:keypress>% and then choose one of the menu options for changing monster attributes, either <color:keypress>4 for numeric mode or <color:keypress>7 for visual mode. Actually, let's combine the two: press <color:keypress>4 first, and then <color:keypress>v to switch to visual mode! (The player, not being a normal monster, can only be accessed in visual mode this way.)
Visuals - Monsters
Name Idx Sym
==============================================================================
Player 01/40 0 @
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
<dir>, ENTER to accept, 'c' to copy, ESC
Now use the arrow keys to select your favorite visual (in this case, the yellow @):
Visuals - Monsters
Name Idx Sym
==============================================================================
Player 0b/40 0 @
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_`abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~#
Go ahead and press <color:keypress>ENTER to accept the change.
This accomplished the same change as <color:keypress>! followed by <color:keypress>R:0:11:@ which we did in the last section. It's a bit more work, but you don't need to remember any syntax or ASCII key codes or color numbers.
When you want to keep your changes, use option <color:keypress>1 to dump monster visuals, just like before. I'll let you work through the other visual options; you can configure not just monster visuals, but objects and terrain features as well. Be sure to dump your changes so they are remembered for this character.
Interacting with Colors (&)
This option allows you to configure the basic colors used by the game. This can be a bit of work: while the UI is easy to figure out (use the <color:keypress>R, <color:keypress>G and <color:keypress>B keys to adjust the RGB value), each keypress only increases or decreases the value by 1, so reaching the value you would like can take a while. Here too, remember to dump your changes!
Modifying colors may not work on some platforms.
Interacting with Options (=)
The various game options are documented elsewhere (see ). Here, I'll just mention that there exist two preference commands for turning options on and off: you may use <color:keypress>Y:option_name to turn an option on, and <color:keypress>X:option_name to turn it off (use <color:keypress>! for this). Obviously, replace option_name with the exact name for the option you wish to configure. The list of internal option names is documented in the previous link.
Note: <color:normal>You cannot alter cheating options with the user pref commands X or Y. Nor can you configure these options in the <color:keyword>pref-opt.prf system preference file. To cheat, you need to enable the <color:keyword>allow_debug_opts and then set the option through the user interface. This will mark your character as a cheater, though!
Interacting with Custom Keys (@)
The "Interact with Custom Keys" command allows you to define or remove <color:keyword>keymaps and <color:keyword>macros, which are mappings from a single logical keypress to a sequence of keypresses, allowing you to change what normal keys do, or use special keys on the keyboard, such as function keys or keypad keys, possibly in conjunction with modifier keys like Control, to "automate" repetitive multi-keypress commands that you use a lot.
The updated key customization screen lets you load or save sets of custom keys, browse the keys you have customized, adjust one key at a time, discard unsaved changes, or reset everything back to the shipped defaults.
Macros
Since macros represent keypress sequences, and not all keypresses have a printable representation, macro triggers and actions must often be "encoded" into a human readable form:
Escape Meaning \xHH Character number HH in hexadecimal (e.g. \x1B is Escape) \0oo-\3oo Character number oo in octal \e Escape (shown as [Esc]) \b Backspace (shown as [Bksp]) \t Tab (shown as [Tab]) \n Newline \r Return / Enter (shown as [Enter]) \s Space (shown as [Space]) \d Delete / DEL (shown as [Del]) \\ A literal backslash \^ A literal caret ^X The control code for "control-X" (e.g. ^G is Ctrl-G)
Special keys without a simple byte form - function keys, arrow keys, Home/End/Page Up/Page Down, and so on - are written using their real names in square brackets, for example [F1], [Left] or [Alt+g]. A literal "[" can be written as \[. Invalid escape sequences and unknown [tokens] are rejected rather than silently ignored.
Note that the "action" of a macro will not be checked against other macro triggers, so you cannot make infinite loops. You may specify extremely long macros, but you are limited in length by the underlying input mechanisms, which in general limit you to about 1024 keys in both triggers and actions.
The special "\" command (which must be encoded in macros as "\\") is very useful in macros, since it bypasses all keymaps and allows the next keystroke to be considered a command in the underlying FroxComposband command set. For a list of the FroxComposband command set, see the "command.txt" help file. For example, a macro which maps Shift-KP6 to "\" + "." + "6" will induce the "run east" behavior, regardless of what keyset the user has chosen, and regardless of what keymaps have been defined.
Macros can be specified in user pref files as a pair of lines, one of the form "A:<str>", which defines the encoded macro action, and one of the form "P:<str>", which defines the encoded macro trigger.
Keymaps
The "Interact with Custom Keys" command also allows you to define <color:keyword>keymaps, which are related to macros. A keymap maps a single keypress to a series of keypresses, which themselves bypass both other keymaps and any macros.
Keymaps are suitable for most customization tasks, including when you want to chain multiple actions together in a sequence, and are what you should generally prefer using. Macros are only needed in two situations - the first is when the trigger is a special key that is not seen by the game/terminal as a normal single keypress, such as many function keys (including F1-F12), the directional arrows, or the Home/End/Page Up/Page Down keys. Macros are also the right tool to use when you must be able to trigger the sequence inside menus like inventory, shops, or prompts. Avoid assigning macros to ordinary letter keys unless you really do want those letters to stop working normally in selection menus.
FroxComposband uses keymaps to map the original and the roguelike keysets to the underlying command set, and allows the user to modify or add keymaps of their own. Note that all keymap actions must be specified using underlying commands, not keypresses from the original or roguelike keysets. The original keyset is almost identical to the underlying keyset, except that "numbers" are mapped to ";" plus a direction, "5" is mapped to ",", and a few control-keys are mapped to various things. See "command.txt" for the full set of underlying commands. Some uses for keymaps include the ability to "disable" a command by mapping it to "\x00".
Keymaps can be specified in user pref files as pairs of lines of the form "A:<str>" "C:<T>:<key>", where <str> is the encoded keymap action, <T> is the keyset (0 for original and 1 for roguelike), <key> is the encoded trigger key.
Some Macro and Keymap Examples
Example #1: Archery
Inscribe @f1=g on your primary ammo, then map the sequence <color:keypress>f1*5 or <color:keypress>*5f1 to your favorite macro key. This will automatically target the nearest opponent and fire the inscribed ammo; and the =g part of the inscription allows you to automatically pick up the ammo once the battle is over. (Use <color:keypress>f1*5 if the <color:keyword>use_old_target option is off, as it is by default, and <color:keypress>*5f1 if you have switched that option on.)
Example #2: Resting
Add the macro sequence R&\r to a convenient key, say F1. Normally, resting requires 2 keystrokes (<color:keypress>R and <color:keypress>Enter), which some players find frustrating when their resting gets constantly interrupted.
Example #3: Illumination
Inscribe your Staff of Illumination with @ug, then map the sequence <color:keypress>ug to your favorite key, say F6. When you find a Rod of Illumination, just change the macro action to <color:keypress>za and you can keep lighting up rooms with the same key.
Example #4: Mass Identify
Inscribe @ui on your Staff of Identify (the one with 50+ charges) and then bind ui* to your favorite knowledge key. Use this macro once your pack has filled up with unknown objects.
Example #5: Spells
Suppose your favorite attack spell is spell <color:keypress>e in a book you have inscribed with @mf. Let's use <color:keypress>y as our trigger key here; for this trigger key we'll want a keymap rather than a macro, otherwise we'll interfere with the normal functionality of the <color:keypress>y key! Create a keymap for <color:keypress>y with <color:keypress>mfe as the action; <color:keypress>mfe*5 or <color:keypress>*5mfe if you want to go a step further and automatically target the nearest monster. See for more spell examples.
Example #6: Screenshots
The screenshot key <color:keypress>) is somewhat limited in that it only works in specific situations and can blank potentially interesting material like messages. The special key <color:keypress>x1d (keycode 29) will take a screenshot at any time without such downsides, but many keyboards or platforms offer no way to actually trigger keycode 29. Add the macro sequence \x1d to your favorite key, say F11, and use it to take a screenshot whenever you want! (Note that this must be a macro, not a keymap.)
Remember to save your macros and keymaps to a file if you want to keep them for later games.
Original : Alexander Cutler and Andy Astrand
Updated : (2.7.6) by Russ Allbery (rra@cs.stanford.edu)
Updated : (2.7.9) by Ben Harrison (benh@phial.com)
Updated : Zangband 2.2.0 through 2.2.6c by Robert Ruehlmann
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.7.0
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
The Proficiency System
FrogComposband has a number of independent proficiency systems - <color:keyword>weapon proficiency, <color:keyword>spell proficiency, <color:keyword>riding proficiency, <color:keyword>martial arts proficiency and <color:keyword>dual-wielding proficiency. All of these are closely related and have many similarities; in particular, your proficiency is indicated by the rough labels [Un]skilled, [Be]ginner, [Sk]illed, [Ex]pert and [Ma]ster, and you have <color:keyword>proficiency caps which are usually class-dependent and denote the highest proficiency you can actually attain. There are also some key differences between the systems, though; the practical meanings of the five labels vary from skill to skill, as do the ways in which proficiency can be gained.
Weapon Proficiency
You have an independent proficiency for each kind of melee and missile weapon in the game - one proficiency for daggers, another for small swords, a third for maces, a fourth for light crossbows, and so on. You also have independent proficiency caps for each kind of weapon, though there tends to be a fair bit of correlation: if your cap is high for a particular weapon, it is probably also high for similar weapons.
You can view both your current proficiencies, and the proficiency caps, through the <color:keypress>~ Knowledge Menu's <color:keypress>Proficiency section. You can press <color:keypress>M to toggle between four different display modes: current proficiency (displayed first), proficiency caps, current proficiency as a percentage of caps, and current proficiency as a percentage of full mastery. The percentage displays allow you to track your progress in finer detail than the five rough labels alone.
The most important difference between weapon proficiency and other proficiencies is that [Be]ginner is acceptably good as a proficiency cap for a weapon. This is not the case for most other proficiencies; for riding and dual-wielding you really want a Master cap or at the very least Expert. But the weapon caps are not nearly as important, and only an [Un]skilled cap should really worry you.
Weapon proficiency is gained by hitting or attempting to hit a monster with a weapon. High proficiency can only be attained by fighting high-level monsters. New players are occasionally mystified by why their proficiency does not seem to improve in the early game; this happens if you start the game already having Beginner proficiency or better, as the first monsters you meet will then be too low-level to allow proficiency improvement.
The effect of weapon proficiency is a moderate bonus or penalty to your accuracy, ranging from -20 to-hit at 0% proficiency to +20 to-hit at full mastery.
Dual-Wielding Proficiency
Dual-wielding proficiency, and its proficiency cap, are extremely important for any character who wishes to dual-wield (unless they do so with no intention to melee). Like weapon proficiency, dual-wielding proficiency can be checked through the <color:keypress>~P menu.
Dual-wielding proficiency is gained by fighting monsters in melee while dual-wielding. As with weapons, high dual-wielding proficiency can only be attained by fighting high-level monsters. Low proficiency gives a sizeable penalty to your accuracy, plus (unless you have gloves of Genji) a moderate penalty to your damage. For nearly all characters, dual-wielding proficiency starts at an extremely penalizing level; it takes quite a while of missing on all your hits to reach a point where your damage output from two weapons is even close to what it would be from a single weapon. Because of this, it is a good idea to check your cap before you start dual-wielding on a melee character; if your cap is low, all that effort will have been in vain, as you will always be better off with a single weapon.
Even at very high mastery, dual-wielding is only rarely your best option in terms of pure damage. The main allure of dual-wielding is in the opportunity to gain the bonuses and resistances of two weapons.
Martial Arts Proficiency
Martial arts proficiency is essentially just weapon proficiency in the special case of unarmed combat; and like weapon proficiency, it can be viewed through the <color:keypress>~P proficiency menu. The only difference is that proficiency gain is somewhat different for martial arts: weapon proficiency gain requires the monster fought to be sufficiently high-level compared to existing proficiency, while for martial arts the monster must be sufficiently high-level compared to the player's character level. The speed at which proficiency is gained is also slightly different for martial arts.
Riding Proficiency
Riding proficiency is the key to everything about riding a monster; it determines which monsters you can ride, how much of your mount's speed you gain, how likely your mount is to throw you off, how rapidly your mount recovers from various status effects, how negatively riding impacts your spellcasting, how much you are penalized for fighting with unsuitable weapons. Consequently, your proficiency cap is very important if you plan to ride; for characters with low caps, riding is only viable in the early game, if at all.
Riding proficiency can be improved in several ways: through meleeing sufficiently high-level monsters while riding, through shooting high-level monsters while riding (conditions easy to meet, but improvement very slow), and by experiencing situations where you can be thrown off a challenging mount.
Riding proficiency follows a slightly different labeling system compared to the other proficiencies; [Be]ginner, [Sk]illed and [Ex]pert correspond to lower percentages of full mastery in it. As with the other non-spell proficiencies, riding proficiency and its cap can be viewed in the <color:keypress>~P proficiency display.
Spell Proficiency
Spell proficiency affects spell fail rates and mana cost. The main difference between spell proficiency and the other systems is that most characters can (if they wish) gain proficiency extremely rapidly by studying the same spell repeatedly. Spell proficiency caps are also mostly independent of your class, although your class does affect fail rates and mana cost in other ways. See for a more detailed explanation of the spell proficiency system.
Original : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Rings
Getting Started
Lacking any direct melee attacks and any means of movement, the ring's first order of business is to lure a suitable <color:keyword>ring-bearer. To achieve this, there are two approaches. First, the most powerful means, and the one available to the ring at the very start of their adventuring is to lie still and look enticing! This is the essence of mimicry, and monsters will generally take you for a normal ring unless you do something to reveal your true nature (such as launching a magic missile or otherwise damaging a visible monster). The second means of acquiring a ring-bearer only comes later in the game, and should only be used once a monster has perceived the ring for what it truly is: a sentient and malicious magical creature, out to dominate its wielder.
So the initial approach is to lure a potential ring-bearer and hope they pick the ring up; but what if there are no suitable monsters about? Here, the ring possesses a very special power called <color:keyword>Glitter (available through the <color:keypress>U/<color:keypress>O key). This power is much like resting: the ring simply waits until a monster comes near; however, potential ring-bearers will sense you glittering and approach you out of curiosity. So don't worry: simply lie still and be patient, and monsters will come to you!
Once a suitable ring-bearer approaches, you will want to lie still and trick it into picking you up and wearing you. Only then will it realize its mistake but by that time, it is too late! Of course, the ring-bearer might recognize you for what you are when it gets close, at which point it will attack you, so this approach is not without risk; but if you succeed in being worn, the ring-bearer becomes your pet, and is controlled by your will. Now, at last, you may move about!
The other order of business for the ring upon starting the game is to acquire magical spells by <color:keyword>absorbing suitable jewelry (rings or amulets). Since these are rare in the early going, the ring is actually born with a couple of fine trinkets. You should absorb these at once to gain a couple of minor powers that will assist you in the early going. (See below for more details.)
Acquiring and Keeping Your Bearer
Glittering has a couple of downsides that limit its usefulness. Firstly, you need to look nice and innocent, so being on somebody else's finger won't do; if you already have a bearer, you need to dismiss them or at least slip off their finger. Secondly, you only get one attempt at fooling a monster; if he sees through you, he'll attack you... just when you are at your most vulnerable due to having no ring-bearer. Thirdly, even if you successfully fool a monster into picking you up, it might not be a monster you're happy with!
There is another way to acquire ring-bearers, though it only becomes available some way into the game: you can <color:keyword>charm any suitable monster. The Charming power, like Glitter and Absorb, is used through the <color:keypress>U command (<color:keypress>O in the roguelike keyset). Charming is not very reliable, but unlike glittering, if you fail you can (usually) try again.
Having successfully charmed your target, use the <color:keypress>p pet commands to make them your new ring-bearer: get off a pet to leave the previous bearer, stay close to encourage the new bearer to approach and finally ride a pet when they are adjacent.
Both approaches to acquiring a ring-bearer rely on the ring's <color:keyword>charisma for success. Next to intelligence (which is your spellcasting stat), charisma is the most important stat to a ring; so be sure to invest points in both INT and CHR at birth.
A final point to mention is that your hold on a ring-bearer is not all-powerful. Occasionally, the bearer might cast you off, hurl you on the ground, and begin attacking you! Again, the ring needs a strong force of personality (i.e., Charisma) to maintain its dominance. Should this fail, you can try to recharm the bearer; but sometimes a soured ring-bearer simply needs to be put down, at which point the ring may glitter patiently to lure a new bearer.
Getting Powers and Growing Stronger
Rings have a normal inventory, but cannot wear any equipment. Instead, they gain abilities and spells by absorbing any jewelry (rings or amulets) that they find. A list of your absorbed magical spells and essences, their effects, and their powers is displayed on your character sheet (<color:keypress>C), as well as in the Knowledge Menu's Extra Character Info section (<color:keypress>~x).
To absorb jewelry, you can use the <color:keypress>U command (roguelike <color:keypress>O); but for ergonomic reasons, absorbing also happens automatically when you destroy a ring or an amulet.
Getting powerful spells is difficult, and the ultimate powers may prove elusive; however, with a suitably strong ring-bearer, ultimate success should be possible.
Acceptable Ring-Bearers
Not all monsters are suitable ring-bearers. Bearer candidates include all humans (p), humanoids (h), townspeople (t), angels (A) and yeeks (y), most vampires (V) and liches (L), and a few other thematically suitable monsters such as the Nazgul. The <color:keyword>Charm Ring-Bearer power only works on these monsters; and even if you still acquire other monsters as pets, you cannot ride them or make them pick you up.
Level Size Options
The size of FrogComposband levels varies from dungeon to dungeon, and from depth to depth, but the same basic system applies: the width of a level is always a multiple of 66 grids (no greater than 198), and the height of a level is always a multiple of 22 grids (no greater than 66). Some dungeons are flagged <color:keyword>big, meaning they normally always generate the largest possible levels (198x66), while Labyrinth, Warrens and Mine are marked <color:keyword>smallest, meaning they always generate the smallest possible levels (66x22). Some dungeons (notably the main dungeon, Angband) obey <color:keyword>coffee-break level generation, which means the average size of levels increases with depth; small levels are very frequently created, but by the time the player reaches the deep dungeons, these "small" levels start approaching big levels in size and are typically 198x44 or 132x66. The remaining dungeons follow <color:keyword>standard generation, which means there is a 1 in 5 chance of generating a smallish level (very small levels are excluded) and a 4 in 5 chance of generating a big 198x66 level.
Modifying the level size birth option allows you to choose from 10 slightly different methods to generate level sizes, in addition to the normal method which follows the outline above. For clarity, this explanation uses 1x1 to refer to a 66x22 block; so 2x3, for example, means a level 132 squares wide and 66 squares high. All options treat 1x2 and 2x1 (or 2x3 and 3x2, etc.) equivalently, although the levels generated have different actual proportions (66x44/132x22). Apart from the "Huge" option, none of these options have any effect in the three "smallest" dungeons (which will always generate tiny levels) or in the Arena dungeon, which always generates huge levels. These options will have an effect in "big" dungeons other than Arena if and only if the no_big_dungeons option is enabled.
Huge
This setting forces big 3x3 levels in all dungeons, even those that would normally generate 1x1 levels.
Huge (respect tiny)
This setting allows dungeons marked smallest to generate 1x1 levels as normally, but forces all other levels to be 3x3.
Normal
The default setting, detailed above.
Coffee-break level generation (allow big)
With this setting on, dungeons that would normally follow standard generation or would always generate big levels will instead follow the coffee-break algorithm. Big levels will still be sometimes created, since coffee-break level generation allows occasional big levels, especially in the deep dungeon.
Coffee-break level generation (never big)
This setting is the same as above, except that big levels are never generated.
Medium
With this setting on, all levels will take sizes between 1x2 and 2x3. A minimum size of 2x2 is applied in "big" dungeons. Depth has no effect on level size.
Instant-coffee level generation (allow big)
This setting determines level size based almost solely on depth, generating tiny 1x1 levels in the early game and big 3x3 levels in the late game. There is some randomness in level sizes, but less than with most other settings. Calculation depth is boosted slightly in big dungeons.
Instant-coffee level generation (never big)
This setting is similar to above, but level sizes are slightly smaller and max out at 2x3 instead of 3x3.
Small (classic)
With this setting on, all levels will take sizes between 1x1 and 2x2/1x3, except in big dungeons where they're 2x2 or 2x3. (With small levels in big dungeons not enabled, this is the "classic" small-levels option from old versions of PosChengband.)
Small (coffee-style)
This setting also generates level sizes between 1x1 and 2x2/1x3, but instead of being completely random, level sizes are likely to fall at the smaller end of that range at low depths, and the larger end at high depths or in big dungeons.
Very small
This setting mostly generates 1x2 levels, but allows 1x1 (except in big dungeons) and occasionally allows 2x2/1x3 (especially in big dungeons).
Extremely small
This setting generates 1x2 levels in big dungeons, and either 1x2 or 1x1 in all other dungeons.
Tiny
So you really like tiny levels! With this setting on, every level, even in "big" dungeons, is guaranteed to be 1x1.
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.chocolate
Game Speed Modes
FrogComposband offers several different game-speed modes, depending on how long and complex you wish the game to be. <color:keyword>Normal mode is the full FrogComposband experience; it gives access to a vast wilderness, and many towns, dungeons and side-quests not available in other modes. But if you want to play a shorter game, or are just getting started and don't want too many complications, there are two accelerated game modes available: the very fast <color:keyword>coffee-break mode, and the ultra-fast <color:keyword>instant-coffee mode.
Your ultimate goals remain the same regardless of mode: kill the <color:keyword>Serpent of Chaos, and before that, kill <color:keyword>Oberon to gain access to the Serpent's lair. But what else you can expect to do, and how quickly you will reach the endgame, depends greatly on the game speed selected.
Normal (full game)
This is the traditional game speed, and the one that offers the most complete game. In a full game of FrogComposband, you will fight thousands of monsters, complete dozens of quests, explore more than 30 dungeons and eagerly inspect thousands of (potentially) magical objects. It is possible to play in Normal Mode with the special coffee-break town and no wilderness, but this is strongly not recommended.
A complete game in normal-speed mode typically lasts between 15 and 150 hours. The speedrun record for a full-game win is 4 hours and 6 minutes.
Coffee-Break Mode (fast)
Coffee-break mode offers an accelerated game, with fewer quests, only one dungeon (Angband), one town (a special version of Outpost) and no wilderness. Every level you explore will be deeper than the one before; the only staircases are downshafts that take you down two levels at a time. You are allowed to return to the town by Word of Recall.
Experience gain from killing monsters in the dungeon is much faster in coffee-break mode (experience gain outside the dungeon is not accelerated). The quality and quantity of monster item drops are also both increased; and most forms of proficiency gain are accelerated. In coffee-break mode, you get stronger faster, but also start running into dangerous monsters more rapidly.
Coffee-break mode uses a special level-size generation algorithm; in general, levels tend to be very small in the early game and become larger as the endgame approaches.
Selecting <color:keyword>Beginner Mode automatically turns coffee-break mode on, but it is not necessarily easier than normal mode and not intended exclusively for new players.
A complete game in coffee-break mode typically lasts between 5 and 50 hours.
Instant-Coffee Mode (ultra-fast)
Instant-coffee mode is a super-accelerated game. It resembles coffee-break mode, but is even more streamlined; dungeon levels with no quests are skipped completely (effectively leaving only 13 levels in the dungeon), the number of town quests is greatly reduced, experience gain is accelerated even further (including outside the dungeon), and loot quality is boosted even more than in coffee-break mode.
A special feature of instant-coffee mode is that Potions of Healing, Potions of *Healing* and Potions of Life - key items in both normal and coffee-break play - never generate randomly. Instead, the ten random Angband level guardians drop set amounts of these potions for you; kill all ten (plus Oberon), and you will have 66 Potions of Healing and 7 Potions of *Healing*, hopefully enough for the end fight. A few additional potions can be acquired from quests or the Arena or by killing a god.
Instant-coffee mode discourages grindy play; the more monsters you kill on a given level, the less accelerated your experience gain is and the fewer objects they drop. Monsters directly or indirectly summoned by the player drop nothing and give no experience, and any summoned monsters give reduced drops and experience once enough monsters have been killed on the level. The experience factor scale is flattened somewhat for instant-coffee play, making high experience factors less punishing.
Instant-coffee mode drops you in the thick of the action extremely quickly. It is therefore not recommended for new players - unless you wish to be overwhelmed! A complete game in instant-coffee mode typically lasts between 2 and 15 hours.
Original : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
The Speed System
Speed is one of the most important character (and monster) attributes in the game; but it works in complicated and at times unintuitive ways. Player and monster speeds can be displayed in either of two formats: as <color:keyword>raw speeds like -10, +0 or +10, where +0 is normal speed; or as <color:keyword>energy multipliers (<color:keyword>effective speeds) such as 0.5x, 1.0x and 2.0x, where 1.0x is normal speed. The <color:keyword>effective_speed display option (see ) toggles between these display methods; effective speeds are now the default because they help explain the practical meaning of an otherwise obscure number, while raw speeds remain the format many experienced players are accustomed to.
For new players it should be enough to read the quick overview below; the subsequent sections are highly technical, and explain the inner workings of the speed system.
Quick Overview for Newbies
Speed is hugely important, especially in the early game. More speed means you get more turns compared to everybody else, whatever it is you are doing - walking, fighting, zapping devices, or just standing there taking way more punishment than you'd like. Often, replacing a damage item with a speed item not only improves your speed, it effectively also improves your damage output - yes, you might do less damage per turn, but you also get more turns to deal damage in!
Potions of Speed, which provide a temporary +10 speed bonus, are your first and most important source of extra speed when you are getting started. Going from +0 speed to +10 speed doubles your effective speed, which needless to say makes an enormous difference! Potions of Speed are not particularly rare, so use them freely, but not <color:keyword>too freely - unless you have a very large pile of them, it is best to save them for situations where you really want to take on a particularly dangerous monster (quests and dungeon boss fights come to mind!), and for sudden emergencies like <color:keyword>confusion lock ().
Up to a raw speed of +26, the effects of extra speed are linear - +0 is 1.0x, +1 is 1.1x, +2 is 1.2x, +5 is 1.5x, +10 is 2.0x and so on. This already means the returns for having more speed are diminishing: the move from +0 to +10 (1.0x to 2.0x) doubles your speed, but +10 to +20 (2.0x to 3.0x) is only a 50% increase. After +26/3.6x, though, the returns become even more diminishing - in fact, <color:keyword>+27 is still 3.6x, the extra +1 speed does nothing! +28 does give you 3.7x speed, and piling on enough additional bonuses can eventually take you as high as +70/4.9x, the highest effective speed possible.
If a monster is faster than you, it will occasionally get two moves in a row against you; this is commonly known as a <color:keyword>double-move, and is often very dangerous. An extremely fast monster might even triple-move or quadruple-move you! Of course, if you are faster than a monster, you can turn the tables...
The practical effects of speed are somewhat random, so you might occasionally be double-moved by a monster who is technically slower than you, or in turn double-move a monster faster than you are.
Despite the high importance of speed, it is not the be all and end all; you may want to compromise your speed to keep key resistances covered, to get your stats up, or to equip a weapon with extremely high damage; and Potions of Speed and other sources of temporary speed provide a lot of help when it matters the most.
Technical Explanation
This and the following sections cover the energy system, a very advanced topic, and largely consist of detailed, highly technical explanations of why all the easily understandable explanations given elsewhere are oversimplified. Full understanding of the energy system is in no way required to play and enjoy the game.
Almost every action you take in the game - walking, casting a spell, hitting a monster, drinking a potion, refueling a lamp - consumes a certain amount of <color:keyword>energy. Most actions eat up exactly 100 energy, and so actions that cost 100 energy are frequently glossed as costing "1 turn" while 200 energy is "2 turns" (and 50 energy is "half a turn"); this is technically inaccurate in more than one way, but still explains the practical difference nicely.
Actions themselves are instantaneous - it is recovering the lost energy that takes time. This is where speed comes in. A speed of +0 (1.0x) means you recover 10 * 1.0 = 10 energy per game turn; a speed of +20/3.0x means you recover 10 * 3.0 = 30 energy per game turn. The usual action cost being 100 energy, it will take many game turns of silent energy recovery until you get another player turn - but monsters might spend those game turns doing something else besides...
The table below shows every possible speed from -50 to +99, and the energy recovery per game turn for each, indicated in blue. (There is no underlying formula - the game is looking at the same table you are.) Note the linearity of the table between -3/0.7x and +26/3.6x; most of the game will be spent within this linear range.
Speed/Energy Conversion Table
-50 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1 -41
-40 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 -31
-30 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3 -21
-20 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 -11
-10 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 9 -1
+0 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 +9
+10 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 +19
+20 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 36, 37, 37 +29
+30 38, 38, 39, 39, 40, 40, 40, 41, 41, 41 +39
+40 42, 42, 42, 43, 43, 43, 44, 44, 44, 44 +49
+50 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46 +59
+60 47, 47, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48, 48, 48, 48 +69
+70 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49 +79
+80 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49 +89
+90 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49 +99
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Energy Randomness
The energy costs of all actions are somewhat random. Walking 1 square, for example, nominally costs 100 energy; but on any one occasion, the cost might be as low as 67 energy if you are really lucky, or as high as 133 if you are unlucky. This sounds like a very large range, but it generally feels much narrower in play; the cost will usually stick fairly close to the nominal value, and even when it wanders off to the upper or lower limits, the practical effect is usually small enough to not be noticed by the player. The randomness is also more limited at higher speeds. Nevertheless, every once in a while it does make itself very noticeable in an extremely painful way...
Energy randomness has two important effects on the game. It greatly reduces the effectiveness of pillardancing, monster kiting and other old Angband strategies that rely on an enemy doing what you expect when you expect it. It also increases the frequency and unpredictability of double-moves, and means you can be double-moved by a monster nominally slower than you. For such a double-move to not just occur but occur in a way that really hurts you, you will have to be very, very unlucky - but it's a long game with many opportunities for bad luck to hit you...
The double-move threat can be handled in any (or all) of several ways: you can pile on more and more speed to reduce the frequency of monster double-moves; you can invest in hit points and resistances (and heal yourself as early as reasonable) to make the double-moves that happen more survivable; you can try to keep fights against potentially deadly double-movers to the absolute minimum; or you can simply accept the non-zero but low risk of death, and count on it not happening; such brave play can even help indirectly by allowing faster progress.
Energy Cost of Actions
While most player (and monster) actions consume 100 energy before randomness is accounted for, this rule is by no means universal. Walking into a normal square might only cost 100 energy; but walking into a tree square consumes 200 energy because you have to find your path and dodge all those low-hanging branches. (Levitating players, and a few races like Ents and Centaurs who feel particularly at home in forests, can move in wooded areas at normal speed.) Likewise, for most races walking in snowy areas without Levitation consumes 133 energy at a minimum - more if you are badly overburdened and get bogged down in the snow. The good news is that monsters receive similar penalties!
The action cost of archery depends on how many shots you get per round; if you have 1.6 shots per round, that simply means each individual shot only consumes 100 / 1.6 = 62 energy (and so you would be at less risk of a nasty double-move while shooting!). Note that melee blows do not work in the analogous way; a turn of melee always consumes a nominal 100 energy, except in the special situation where a Beorning in bear form, a Berserker or a character with the Fantastic Frenzy demigod talent kills a monster in the middle of the round.
Some spells and class powers have special action costs, costing less (or more commonly more!) than the standard 100 energy. Changing shape as a Beorning, for example, costs 200 energy; and Hounds can activate the Stalk toggle without any energy cost at all.
Even the cost of common actions like walking and book spellcasting is not completely fixed. The Fleet of Foot demigod talent () reduces the energy cost of walking by 40% (from 100 to 60); the Mystic Fast toggle gives Mystics the same walking reduction, and stacks with Fleet of Foot. Quick Walk on Ninjas (and Ninja-Lawyers) is even more effective. Yellow-Mages can cast spells extremely rapidly, consuming far less than 100 energy per spell; Yeqrezh Disciples with the Quick Spelling gift can also cast spells rapidly, though not as fast as Yellow-Mages. Devicemasters can use their speciality devices in less than a full turn.
Temporary Haste and Slowness
Temporary effects can make you significantly faster or slower. Temporary speed or haste usually refers to a speed bonus of +10; this is what Potions of Speed and spells like Haste Self provide. As noted above, this can double (or potentially more than double) your speed in the early game! In the late game, when your unhasted base speed is higher, the effects of temporary speed will be less dramatic; yet it remains strong enough to be a key part of your toolkit into the latest parts of the game. Staves of Speed and Rods of Heroic Speed may even allow you to spend almost the entire endgame hasted.
Temporary slowness is usually caused by monster spells or attacks, although it can also be induced by other sources like traps, potions and mutations. It comes in two different forms: a lump penalty of -10 to speed (the opposite of haste), and incremental mini-slowness that can range from -1 to -10. These two types of slowness partially combine, for an overall penalty of up to -12 if you are afflicted with both; see for more detail.
Monster Speed
Monsters use the same speed system players do; they use the same energy table, they usually consume 100 energy per action (and apply the same energy randomness formula), they recover energy the same way players do, they can be temporarily hasted or slowed in the same ways; they receive similar (though not always identical) energy cost penalties for certain moves, like entering a tree square without the ability to fly or pass through obstacles.
One important note, though, is that individual non-unique monsters can be somewhat faster or slower than the average for their race. If you are at +2 speed and still getting double-moved by a "+0 speed" hill orc, you might just be unlucky with the energy randomness... but you might also be dealing with an unusually fast orc. Probing such a monster will reveal its individual speed.
Where Do I Get More Speed?
Even with a Rod of Heroic Speed, temporary speed can only take you so far; sooner or later, you need to get your unhasted base speed up as well. You might get some speed from your race, class, personality or mutations; but the most important source of speed bonuses will always be your <color:keyword>equipment. Rings of Speed, Boots of Speed, and artifacts and ego items with speed bonuses will eventually take you to +16 (meaning +26 hasted!) and most likely well beyond.
Speed items, like most items, can drop anywhere; but if you desperately need a speed item specifically, there are three good places to look. The Cloning Pits quest is fairly dangerous, and its rewards are random within limits; but quite often the reward will be a pair of valuable artifact boots with a speed bonus on it. The Underground City quest is even more dangerous, but a Ring of Speed is guaranteed to appear there, and is often stronger than other speed rings at the same depth. Finally, there is a jeweller in the town of Zul who sells rings and amulets, often including Rings of Speed and sometimes an Amulet of Trickery with speed bonuses. He might even bring out new merchandise if you pay him enough!
Note that if you ride a pet, your speed (for all purposes!) will depend entirely on your Riding skill and the speed of your mount. Speed equipment will not help you any, nor will quaffing a Potion of Speed; you can, however, temporarily haste the mount. Many mounts are very fast, allowing you to reach a high speed without much investment in speed equipment - but watch out, that could come back to bite you if you get thrown off...
Overburdening
You can only carry so much weight without it slowing you down; and overburdening is the bane of speed, especially for early-game characters with low Strength.
Your burden limit ranges from 50 pounds at minimum STR to 195 pounds at maximum STR; and all carried objects - your inventory items, your equipment, the projectiles in your quiver, even the ice bag and infusions of an Igor Alchemist - count towards that limit. The <color:keypress>i Show Inventory command (and the closely related <color:keypress>e Show Equipment command) include a line showing the total weight of all items presently carried, and how it compares (as a percentage) to the maximum capacity. If the percentage exceeds 100, you are <color:keyword>overburdened.
Mild overburdening does not actually affect your speed at all (although it will cause you to drown in deep water if you lack Levitation). The first -1 to speed kicks in at 120% of capacity, with another -1 for every additional 20 percentage points. This doesn't sound too bad (and mostly isn't!), but in the early game it can get very severe. The most common cause of truly major overburdening is exceptionally heavy quest loot (in which case the quest is hopefully over, and you can soon sell the loot or drop it at home); but unexpected severe overburdening can also happen if you spend too much time around strength-drainers...
Riding characters have special burden limits, which depend on their Riding proficiency and the level of the mount.
Speed Display
Unless your speed is exactly +0, it will be displayed in the main screen sidebar, below the hit points, spell points and various health/status bars.
The coloring of the sidebar speed display varies depending on your status. The examples below show raw speeds, but the same colors are used to display effective speed:
Fast (+43) Player is temporarily hasted Fast (+43) Player is riding a hasted mount Fast (+33) Player is faster than +0, but not slowed or hasted Fast (+33) Mount is faster than +0, but not slowed or hasted Fast (+23) Player is temporarily slowed or riding a slowed mount Fast (+33) Player is temporarily hasted and slowed in equal amounts Fast (+21) Player is filibustering (Politicians only) Slow (-3) Player is slower than +0, but not slowed or hasted Slow (-3) Mount is slower than +0, but not slowed or hasted
As noted at the top of this document, speed displays can show either the <color:keyword>raw speed or the <color:keyword>energy multiplier (effective speed). Both display methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Raw speed is affected by bonuses and maluses in intuitive ways - if you start with +2 speed and add a -10 penalty, you end up with -8 speed. What it doesn't tell you, though, is what -8 speed actually means! Effective speed will tell you the -10 penalty took you from 1.2x speed to 0.5x speed - your speed was cut in less than half! - which is important practical information; but it leaves it quite mysterious why a speed of 1.2x plus a -10 penalty should add up to a speed of 0.5x. While only one display method is used at a given time, it helps to understand both, as each is explained by the other.
A slightly different speed display appears near the top of your Character Sheet; this display uses generally similar coloring, but shows the base speed and temporary effects separately. It is also the only speed display in the game that always displays the raw speed; if you otherwise you effective speeds, it is the other place (besides the conversion table above) that will tell you what your raw speed is.
Duration of Timed Effects
There is a fundamental disconnect between <color:keyword>game turns and <color:keyword>player turns. In the early game, with actions costing 100 energy and the player (at +0 speed) recovering 10 energy per game turn, there are on average 10 game turns to each player turn... but that discounts energy randomness, and not all actions have the same cost! Walk into a tree and you have 20 game turns to a player turn; quaff a potion of speed and you have only 5 game turns to a player turn; sleep for the night at the inn, and 40,000 game turns might go by in the blink of an eye.
Game turns are when the game processes the player, the monsters, and everything else; but it is also possible to think of a game turn as a fixed unit of time. Indeed, game dates and the day-night cycle are based entirely on the game turn as the underlying unit, with 100,000 game turns corresponding to 24 hours.
A player turn, on the other hand, does not represent any fixed amount of time; it is simply an opportunity to do things and to consume energy, which itself cannot be directly converted to either game turns or player turns.
This disconnect is the key to understanding durations and why they sometimes work in unintuitive ways. Durations usually correspond to a fixed amount of time, and so do <color:keyword>not correspond to a fixed amount of player turns; a duration of "25 turns" actually means 250 game turns, which is 25 "average" player turns at +0 speed, but could easily mean 100 actual player turns by the endgame.
Some oddball timed effects are decremented on player turns rather than on every tenth game turn, and so their durations correspond to player turns and not time. Effects of this type include temporary Light Speed and the No Spells status. For all other effects you can safely assume that any durations displayed use a unit of 10 game turns.
Wounds and the poison counter are processed once per player turn, the poison counter being fully independent of time. (Wound damage adjusts for time, so the total cut damage suffered is ultimately the same over a fixed amount of time rather than a fixed amount of player turns.)
Original : FrogComposband 7.1.salmiak
Welcome to the Online Help System
Getting Started:
General Information
Creating a Character
Commands
Core Concepts:
Races, Classes and Personalities
The Towns and Wilderness
The Dungeons
Objects
Monsters and Pets
Attacking and Weapons
Defending and Armor
Spellcasting
Status Effects
Advanced Topics:
Options
User Preference Files
The Speed System
The Proficiency System
The Mogaminator
(?) Help System Commands
Painful Status Effects
During your adventures, you will often be afflicted with temporary conditions that limit your effectiveness. These conditions are called <color:keyword>status effects, and the most notable ones are explained before.
Status effects can be caused by monster attacks, by traps, or by any of a number of other causes. A status effect always wears off after a while... but not necessarily before you die. The good news is that most status effects can be cured, prevented or both - and that many monsters find status effects just as debilitating as you do.
Confusion
Confusion is the newbie-killer, the little-death that brings total obliteration. A confused player cannot read scrolls, use magical spells, or even reliably move in the intended direction. You <color:keyword>can still use magical devices - though not aim them - which means that once you find a Staff of Teleportation you can escape bad situations while confused. In the earliest part of the game, though, you probably don't have a Staff of Teleportation yet; during this phase of the game, confusion is extremely deadly for the unprepared.
Strategies for Handling Confusion in the Early Game
Confusion may take a very long time to wear off, but is actually not that hard to cure - Mushrooms of Cure Confusion are cheap and reliably found in the Mushroom Store (<$:FF_SHROOMERY>), and Potions of Curing also remove all confusion. Carrying these items becomes a good idea very early: in wilderness mode you should buy mushrooms of Cure Confusion as soon as you have completed Warrens (earlier if you can afford it), while with wilderness off (Beginner Mode or coffee-break mode) you should have them by DL 7.
Not only do you have to be prepared with these items, though, but some monsters hit to confuse in melee; if your confusion was originally caused by such a monster, curing it might not do much good as you will likely just be re-confused the next turn. This is called <color:keyword>confusion lock, and is best solved (in the absence of a Staff of Teleport) by quaffing a Potion of Speed before you start bingeing on mushrooms or potions of curing. The extra speed makes immediate re-confusion less likely; and even one turn with a clear head is (probably) enough for you to read a Scroll of Teleportation.
If all other options are exhausted, you can try to just melee while confused; as unreliable as it is, sometimes you will get lucky.
Acquiring your first Staff of Teleportation makes confusion much less dangerous, although carrying Mushrooms of Cure Confusion still remains a good idea. Once you find your first source of <color:keyword>confusion resistance, you can drop the confusion-specific mushrooms and rely solely on Potions of Curing; one level of confusion resistance is not enough for full protection (see below) but works most of the time, and also causes confusion to wear off much faster.
After playing for a while, you will learn which early-game monsters confuse, and can avoid them or develop strategies against them that deprive them of the opportunity.
Turning the Tables
Many monsters, even some high-level uniques, are susceptible to confusion; and confused monsters are even less effective than a confused player. A confused monster cannot cast spells at all, cannot use its breath attacks, and will wander about aimlessly (possibly even stumbling into other monsters by mistake)... though you should still remain careful; just as you can get lucky hitting things while confused, so can a monster. Also, the monster's confusion sometimes wears off just when it's least convenient for you.
Confused monsters are indicated by the brown coloring of their health bars (e.g. p[*********]).
Paralysis
Being paralyzed inactivates you completely; all you can do is watch as the surrounding monsters bash your face in, and hope the paralysis ends with you still alive. Needless to say, this situation is best avoided.
Resistance to paralysis follows different rules from most status effects, and is based on your level of <color:keyword>Free Action with some support from your Saving Throw. One source of Free Action gives some protection and causes paralysis to wear off faster. Two sources of Free Action give complete protection against early-game monsters (up to native level 41) and good protection against high-level monsters. Having three sources of Free Action provides immunity to paralysis, except in the special cases of starvation and the Ancient Foul Curse.
In the very early game, paralysing monsters are few and (with the exception of the immobile Cloakers) not very dangerous, so Free Action is not immediately necessary. Usually, you will want at least one source by around DL 25, or by the time you enter the Old Man Willow quest, whichever comes earlier. The effectiveness of "imperfect" Free Action (one level of protection in the early game, or one or two levels in the late game) depends on the level of the attacking monster as well as your saving throw. The better your saving throw is, the less of a risk you are taking by not having three levels of Free Action.
It is possible for monsters to be paralyzed, but this never becomes part of the average player character's toolkit. Only powerful magic can paralyze monsters, and even then, only briefly.
Stunning
Stunning is a common side-effect of many elements (like water, plasma, gravity and sound), and quite a few monsters hit to stun in melee. Unlike confusion and paralysis, which have binary effects, stunning operates on a scale; heavy stunning is bad news, but a mild daze should not worry you too much. The level of stunning is roughly indicated by the labels Dazed, Light Stun, Stun, Heavy Stun, Massive Stun and finally Knocked Out.
Being stunned increases the fail rates on your spells, scrolls and magic devices, and decreases your effectiveness in combat. As a general rule, you should always drink a Potion of Curing or cure stunning in some other way as soon as you reach the Heavy Stun level, sometimes earlier. Being knocked out is exponentially worse than the other levels of stunning; much like paralysis it puts you out of action altogether, and death tends to rapidly follow. Getting knocked out is to be avoided at any cost.
Stunning cannot be resisted directly, but resistance to Sound gives you a save against it when it occurs as a side-effect of elemental damage. Stunning has very similar effects on monsters as it does on you: increased spell fail rates and reduced melee effectiveness. It is possible for monsters to be knocked out, although that tends to wear off rapidly. Some monsters and player-monster races, as well as player Golems, have immunity to stunning.
Stunned monsters are indicated by the light blue coloring of their health bars (e.g. U[*********]). If a monster is both confused and stunned, it has a brown health bar; confusion gets higher priority.
Fear
There are many sources of fear, ranging from special spells and melee attacks through the sight of particularly horrifying monsters to simply taking so much damage you can't help feeling uneasy. Like stunning, fear operates on a scale, and the top end of the scale is best avoided.
Fear does not affect spell or device fail rates directly, but in practice does do so indirectly: sometimes you will be too frightened to get the spell off. Fear can also cause you to quit a round of melee before its natural end (sometimes before hitting the monster at all), and extreme fear can cause you to tremble in hopeless terror for an entire turn. Apart from this loss of turns, fear does not affect the reading of scrolls, making a Scroll of Teleportation a more reliable escape while afraid than staves or spells with the same effect.
Fear Scale
Uneasy low chance to fail fear checks
Nervous moderate chance to fail fear checks
Scared moderate chance to fail fear checks, low chance to miss three-tenths of a turn
Terrified high chance to fail fear checks, moderate chance to miss three-fifths of a turn
Petrified very high chance to fail fear checks, high chance to miss an entire turn
Fear resistance works very differently from all other resistances, being more similar to See Invisible. Each level of fear resistance gives an additional roll to survive a fear check; the probability of any single roll being successful depends on your level, your charisma, and (depending on the situation) other factors such as the monster you are fighting, the dangerousness of the level and how afraid you already were. The level of Craven characters is discounted somewhat for this calculation, and Craven characters also start with vulnerability to fear, giving them one fewer roll.
Fear resistance is not absolutely needed, but is generally a good idea, especially in the midgame and late game. Most, though not all, monsters can feel fear. Frightened monsters will try to run away from you, and (like you) can miss turns in cases of extreme fear. Frightened monsters remain capable of casting spells. Frightened monsters are indicated by the violet coloring of their health bars (e.g. f[*********]). Fear has the second-lowest priority of any health bar color.
Blindness
Blindness is a common side effect of light- and darkness-based attacks, and can also result from monster spells or melee or the use of some magical devices. While blind, you cannot read scrolls, read spellbooks, see the area around you or even see monsters.
All this makes blindness sound very bad on paper, but it is actually one of the least problematic status effects; it is easily cured, not as debilitating, long-lasting or lock-prone as confusion, and like confusion it allows the use of devices. Blindness also does not affect telepathic sight, allowing characters with telepathy to simply continue normal melee while blind. Blindness can be resisted, but for most characters blindness resistance is something that's nice to have, not something that is absolutely needed.
Blindness as a concept is not usually applied to monsters. When it is, it is just a synonym for confusion, but this can only be seen in exceptional circumstances; light or darkness attacks that might blind the player, for example, will never confuse a monster.
Slowness
Temporary slowness can be caused by traps, monster spells, monster melee, or elements like inertia and gravity. Being slowed turns your speed indicator purple [e.g. Slow (-10)]. There are two different types of slowness - binary slowness, which reduces your speed by 10, and incremental slowness, which can reduce your speed by anywhere from 1 to 10. The two types of slowing partly but not fully combine, for a maximum speed penalty of 12. Neither type of slowness can be resisted through equipment, although one specific source of binary slowness (the "Slow" monster spell) can be resisted through free action or saving throw, and Hermes demigods are immune to slowing.
Potions of Vigor cure both types of slowness (as well as stunning), but have no other use and are therefore generally only carried when slowing attacks are specifically expected.
Most monsters can be slowed, but uniques are immune. Slowed monsters are indicated by the dark gray coloring of their health bars (e.g. f[*********]). Slowness has the lowest priority of any health bar color.
Temporary haste is the opposite of slowness: a bonus of +10 to speed. Potions of Speed do not cure slowness, but cancel out its effect by providing temporary haste.
Cuts/Wounds
Cuts are a common side effect of melee, breath and spell attacks. While bleeding, you lose some HP every turn (how much HP you lose depends on the seriousness of the cut) and your HP regeneration is set to zero. Cuts other than Mortal Wounds heal on their own over time, but a sufficiently bad wound might kill you before it heals.
The seriousness of a cut is (very roughly) indicated by the labels Graze, Light Cut, Bad Cut, Nasty Cut, Severe Cut, Deep Gash and Mortal Wound. Mortal Wounds do not heal on their own and must be cured by magic, making them the only exception to the rule that all status effects wear off given enough time. How rapidly lesser wounds heal depends on how serious they are, as well as your Constitution.
Many devices and potions, including Potions of Curing, fully or partially heal cuts. Severe cuts and above are generally best cured, although in the heat of a battle it frequently happens that something else (like killing whoever caused the cut, or using Healing to also recover HP) takes higher priority than the cut.
It is not possible to resist cuts directly, but resistance to Shards gives you a save against them when they occur as a side-effect of elemental damage. Monsters do not suffer cuts, and nonliving races and some player-monster races are also immune to them. Blood-Knights receive special bonuses from cuts, and are allowed to regenerate while bleeding, although they still also suffer cut damage.
Poisoning
Poisoning is caused by two elements: poison and toxic waste. These elements do not cause any damage immediately, but are very damaging over time, the damage is just delayed. Like cuts, poisoning causes some damage every turn; the more poisoned you are, the more damage you take. Poisoning, like bleeding, sets HP regeneration to zero.
The level of poisoning is indicated by a <color:keyword>poison counter, which takes the form Poison:609. Suffering poison damage always reduces the counter by the equivalent amount; for example, next turn you might suffer 152 damage and the counter would be reduced to Poison:457. In this respect poison differs from cuts, where the damage taken and the amount of cutting healed are decoupled.
Poison resistance reduces the initial poisoning (50% poison resistance reduces the initial poisoning to half), but has no further effect on the damage taken. Thus, once Poison:609 shows up, it is too late for poison resistance: you will suffer 609 damage (over time) unless the poisoning is cured.
Mushrooms of Cure Poison are the only common poison cure that is fully effective. Potions of Curing reduce poisoning but may not remove it completely. It is not necessary to use mushrooms, but players without mushrooms need poison resistance more. By DL 35 you should always have some way to mitigate poison damage, through either resistance and Potions of Curing or through mushrooms.
Monsters do not suffer poisoning as a status effect; rather, they take the damage from poison and toxic waste immediately, in the same way as any other elemental damage. The damage is also slightly lower for monsters.
Unwellness
Disease attacks are the most common cause of unwellness, which is functionally simply a temporary reduction of your DEX and CON. The reduction starts at 4 points, and gets progressively smaller over time until you feel good again. Unwellness usually only appears some time after the initial contagion, and may occasionally cause uncontrollable sneezing - both of these mechanics are probably all too familiar to many players...
There is no way to really resist unwellness, although poison resistance helps a bit when it's caused by a disease attack. Unwellness can be cured, but only with Potions of *Healing* and Life, which in practice are too valuable to be used for that purpose; it is better to just wait the unwellness out. Androids are immune to unwellness, and monsters do not suffer from it.
Hallucination
No status effect is wilder than hallucination, which fills the screen with random symbols and substitutes silly names for monsters' regular names. Hallucination disables the monster list (<color:keypress>Y/<color:keypress>[) and some class-specific abilities like smithing on Weaponsmiths, but otherwise allows normal use of items and spells.
Most sources of hallucination can be resisted through resistance to Chaos. Hallucination is usually best cured, although it is not that debilitating; despite the random symbols, hallucinating players can usually still guess where the monsters are, and hit them or fire at them accordingly. The main risk is that if monsters are summoned, the player has no immediate way to assess their danger level.
Monsters do not suffer hallucinations... or maybe we just don't notice any difference when they do.
Polymorph
Polymorph is a rare monster spell that temporarily changes your race. Your temporary race is selected randomly and indicated in brackets, for example [Snotling]; and until the polymorph wears off, you will be treated as a member of your new race for (almost) all intents and purposes. Here, for example, you would receive the stat, skill and life-rating penalties of a Snotling... but also the Snotling ability to get special buffs from mushrooms. You would not inherit Snotlings' ultra-low experience factor.
Polymorph can be resisted only through Saving Throw. Being temporarily polymorphed is not exclusively bad, though; it <color:keyword>can be bad, but occasionally it even helps. Polymorph is listed here with the bad status effects because new players sometimes get spooked by it, afraid they are permanently stuck in their new form.
Although not a status effect, a full and permanent race-polymorph is possible, but will never be triggered by the Polymorph Other spell. Permanent race-polymorph can be caused by Toxic Waste attacks (prevented by having 55% poison resistance), by the Polymorph power or object activation (in which case you are usually hoping for it!), or by most of the chaos patrons (the only two who never do this are Chardros and Hionhurn). Some exotic situations, like running out of life points with HP left, can also trigger a permanent race change.
Monsters do not suffer temporary polymorphs but can be polymorphed permanently, either with the Polymorph spell/device effect or through attacks based on Chaos or Toxic Waste.
Resisting Status Effects
Many status effects can be prevented or greatly mitigated by having an appropriate resistance. Typically, your resistance level is compared to a 33-sided die; thus, for example, 30% confusion resistance gives you a 30 in 33 (about 91%) chance of resisting that status effect, and 40% confusion resistance means you are safe. Blindness, hallucination (chaos), elemental stunning (sound) and elemental cuts (shards) follow the same rule, as do many elemental side-effects that are not status effects.
As noted above, fear and paralysis follow their own rules; and poisoning cannot be completely prevented except through immunity.
Original : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Subwindows
In addition to the main game display terminal, which is always visible (and can show anything from dungeon maps to helpfiles), the game allows you to use up to seven <color:keyword>subwindows; these are optional, additional display terminals used to keep important information permanently on the screen. Subwindows are numbered <color:keyword>Term-1 through <color:keyword>Term-7 (the main display is Term-0).
Why Subwindows Are Good
The most commonly used subwindows are <color:keyword>monster list, <color:keyword>object list, <color:keyword>pack inventory and <color:keyword>recent messages. The monster list, in particular, is very convenient - a common cause of death is not realizing that there was a dangerous monster nearby, and this is much less likely to happen with a monster list subwindow there to alert you.
The object list is likewise handy: it allows you to see at a glance if you're missing anything on the level, especially since the most valuable objects (and/or those wanted by the Mogaminator) will be displayed near the top. An object list subwindow will also help you quickly locate quest or dungeon entrances in towns and the wilderness.
Why Subwindows Are Bad
Space occupied by subwindows is space not occupied by the main display; subwindows force you to make compromises with either the number of <color:keyword>rows and <color:keyword>columns in the main display, the <color:keyword>font size of the main display, or both. If you have bad eyesight or a smallish monitor, I recommend maximizing the font size by using no subwindows.
Having no subwindows also allows you to keep an iron focus on the main display, without the need to glance to the sides so often. Subwindows do provide useful information, but that information is also available through normal commands - <color:keypress>i for the inventory, <color:keypress>Y/<color:keypress>[ for the monster list, <color:keypress>O/<color:keypress>] for the object list, <color:keypress>^P for recent messages - and these commands provide additional functionality (inspect item, travel to item, search for a message, etc.) not offered by subwindows.
Setting up subwindows on angband.live
Set the four values on the angband.live play page - <color:keyword>subwindow right cols, <color:keyword>subwindow right split, <color:keyword>subwindow top rows and <color:keyword>subwindow bottom rows - to your favorite settings. The standard example values are 40/25/0/5 respectively. Start your character, then type <color:keypress>=W during play to determine what each of the subwindows should display.
If the game crashes on start, you may have specified subwindows that occupy too much space; try lower values or a smaller font size. Note also that either "subwindow top rows" or "subwindow bottom rows" should be zero.
To play on angband.live with no subwindows, simply keep all four values at zero.
Setting up subwindows in offline play (Windows)
Select <color:keyword>Window from the toolbar at the top and choose the <color:keyword>Visibility option to toggle each of the seven subwindows on or off. Use the mouse to drag the newly activated subwindows to your favorite locations. Type <color:keypress>=W during play to tell the game what each subwindow should display.
Setting up subwindows in offline play (Linux with curses)
Use the command line to specify subwindow size and placement as you launch the game. Here are a few examples:
$ ./froxcomposband -mgcu -uCrusher -- -right 57x26,*
This specifies a subwindow strip to the right of the main display that is 57 columns wide; this strip will contain two subwindows, one that is 26 rows high and one that fills whatever space still remains.
$ ./froxcomposband -mgcu -uCrusher -- -right 57x26,* -bottom *x10
Specifies the same two subwindows as before plus a third subwindow (Term-3) below the main display, occupying 10 rows and (TOTAL-57) columns.
$ ./froxcomposband -mgcu -uCrusher -- -bottom *x10 -right 57x26,*
Same as above, except that the subwindow at the bottom is now Term-1 and gets to occupy every column.
Type <color:keypress>=W during play to determine what each subwindow displays.
--
Original : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
The Newbie Guide
Welcome to <color:keyword>FrogComposband! This guide will attempt to give you a quick overview of the game and get you started on your path to slay the dreaded Serpent of Chaos.
Overview
FrogComposband is a single-player role-playing game where you, the brave adventurer, attempt to save (or conquer?) the world by defeating evil monsters including, eventually, the <color:keyword>Serpent of Chaos. The road is long, and the path is treacherous. Many have tried and failed, and the dungeons are littered with the bones of would-be heroes, slaughtered by dark gods or dragons or demons or (in one ignominious case) a sheep. Do you have what it takes to succeed?
Creating a Character
Your first step will be to create your character. Since you are new to the game, you may want to choose <color:keyword>Beginner Mode at the initial prompt. This will greatly limit the complexity of the character creation process and also activate <color:keyword>coffee-break mode, a faster-paced version of the game with accelerated leveling-up and no wilderness. After playing a few characters to get an idea of how to play, you can start a new character in <color:keyword>Normal Mode to view all the options and allow the wilderness. Hey, it's not like your first character is going to win anyway!
In Beginner Mode, the game is going to walk you through creating your character. You can refer to for more detailed info, but the basics are that you will choose a sex, a race, a class and the stats you start with. While your sex is not important (to the game), your race and especially your class are key to everything that follows.
Don't sweat too much about race selection in Beginner Mode - all the classic Beginner Mode races are fairly strong, and although their strengths and weaknesses differ, any of them can play any class reasonably well. <color:keyword>Klackons are an extremely strong race; they gain an innate speed bonus, as well as innate resistance to confusion (new players die to confusion a lot!). Another slightly less vanilla option is the <color:keyword>werewolf: you gain the ability to change shape, even affecting which equipment slots you have. Werewolves are somewhat bad at magic, so this may not be the ideal (or at least the most thematic) choice for a beginning mage.
Class Choices
Normally, the game has a vast (overwhelming?) array of choices that offer myriad, diverse playstyles, and it can take a while to even learn what is available. For now, we'll consider a few basic approaches in order to get you going.
The easiest style (especially in the early game!) is 'Hack and Slash', and it is the essence of the <color:keyword>warrior. As noted, almost any race will make a good one, but if you want to double down on it you could be a Half-Troll. Be warned: trolls are ugly and stupid, not to mention unpopular; shopkeepers are loath to sell to one as ugly as you, so you will have a somewhat harder time buying supplies. You can compensate by going on a killing rampage, which is more fun anyway! Key stats for Warriors include Strength, Dexterity and Constitution; but if you survive the early game you will want some Intelligence too, since even warriors need magical devices now and then.
Another style is to take the stealthy approach and play a <color:keyword>rogue or a <color:keyword>ninja. Both of these classes are quite strong in melee and combine that with some extra abilities: Ninjas gain special <color:keyword>ninjutsu skills as they level up, while Rogues get to select a <color:keyword>magical realm. Sorcery is a strong realm pick for any character, but there is also the special option of Burglary, designed uniquely for rogues. Not only is Burglary a powerful realm, it allows fun stuff like setting traps and picking pockets! Key stats for both Rogues and Ninjas include strength and dexterity; but a non-Burglary rogue should also invest in intelligence, as it will be his primary stat for spellcasting purposes.
Or you can go all in on magic and play a <color:keyword>mage. Magic takes some time to get good with, and mages are quite squishy in the early game, so this route requires a bit more patience from you. I would suggest picking Chaos or Armageddon as your primary spell realm, and Sorcery as your secondary realm; Chaos and Armageddon give the good offense you will need to kill monsters, while Sorcery provides good utility spells. The key stat for mages is Intelligence, but you will also need decent Strength, simply to carry all the goodies you find.
Personality Choices
So you jumped straight to <color:keyword>Normal Mode and need a personality as well?
You can pick most of them, but there are a few you should probably <color:keyword>avoid. Lazy and Fragile are pure challenge personalities, so picking one of those makes the already steep development curve even steeper. Sexy sounds appealing but tends to give newbies pain. Chaotic and Split are pretty wild rides; you may want to start with something a bit calmer. Munchkin is a deliberately balance-breaking god personality, so don't pick that. Finally, avoid Mundane unless your class is a pure fighter like Warrior or Weaponsmith. Any of the remaining personalities you should do okay with.
Many new players do select Normal Mode right away; but for most of this guide, the assumption will be that you stuck to <color:keyword>Beginner Mode. Not only does it keep the game simpler, it keeps the explanations simpler too!
Equipping for Danger
Once you have completed the birth process, you will find yourself in the town on the surface. Since you picked <color:keyword>Beginner Mode, there will be only one dungeon and no wilderness to explore. You will spend most of your adventures in the dungeon (if you live!), but return to the surface regularly to buy and sell equipment, complete town quests, and leave and pick up items at your home. When you start, you have some initial gear that varies with your class, and most of it should already be equipped for you. You also have a small amount of gold which you can use to augment your supplies for that first trip into danger.
So, what do you see at first?
#.#..#.##.######.##~~#####.....#####~~##########################~.. LEVEL 1 #....#.##.######.##~~~~~.........~~~~~##.....................###~.. EXP 23 ##.#.#.#+....#+#.###~~~~~~~...~~~~~~~~##.#########.#########.##~~.. AU 907 ###..#.##........##########...##########.#########.#########.##~~.. | ( ###.##............#########...#########..####2####.#########.##~~.. STR : 18/10 4###.#....###...........###...###............................##~~.. INT : 18 .#+#.#...#####..................................######..####.##~~.. WIS : 7 .....#...#####..................................###8##..3###.###~.. DEX : 18/40 .#####....#+#.......................................##..####.###~.. CON : 18 ...........................f.................................###~.. CHR : 12 ................................................................... AC 6 ..........................##6##........##++####....###+####..###~.. HP 43/ 43 .......###.@.............#######......##########...########..###~.. SP 14/ 14 ......####>..............#######.....###....#####..########..##~~.. #....#######.............#######.....+#......##+......#####..##~~.. 1....#######..............#####......+#......##+......#####..##~~.. #.....#####..............#######.....###....#####...#######..##~~.. #......###...............+#####+......##########....#######..##~~.. .........................#######.......##++####..............##~~.. #..##5##..#####+#####............................##.##7####..##~~.. #.#######.##########9...............##0##.###.#####.#######..##~~.. Study (1) #..#####..###########.....#.#.......#####.###.#####.#######..##~~.. .........................##M##...............................##~~.. ################################################################~.. ################################################################~.. Outpost
Well, that @ on the left side of the screen is you for starters. Also, those # characters are walls and you can see they are shaped into buildings for the various shops. Each building has a number or '+' character to represent its entrance; you may enter by simply moving onto that square. Each number stands for a different type of shop. You can move about with the numpad keys, and look about with the <color:keypress>l or <color:keypress>* command followed by the numpad keys. (If you do not have a numpad, you should probably turn on the roguelike keyset through the <color:keypress>= options menu; relying solely on the four arrow keys is too much of a pain when you need to move diagonally.) That f is a monster and you should look at it with the <color:keypress>* command to see if it seems threatening:
Monster: a Scrawny cat [r,q,t,p,o,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>]
Name : Scrawny cat (f)
Level : Town Speed: +0 A Bit Erratic
AC : ? Type : Natural
HP : ?
Attacks : ?
Kills : 0
Exp : 0 at CL1
A skinny little furball with sharp claws and a menacing look.
Hmmm, probably no need to worry about Ms. Kitty.
Notice the Study (1) on the bottom right of the screen, indicating you can study one new spell. If you are playing a mage, learning spells (<color:keypress>G to Gain a spell) should be your top priority; but at the first level, you can only learn one, so make it count. I recommend learning Magic Missile first, assuming you followed my advice and chose the Chaos realm - as a mage, you really need to use magic to kill stuff, so your first spell has to be something offensive. Later on, when you are more experienced, you may pick Detect Monsters from the Sorcery realm. To cast a spell, use the magic command (<color:keypress>m) and follow the instructions. Not every class can learn a spell right away; non-Burglary rogues, for example, must reach character level 5 (CL5) in order to learn their first spell.
Next, you should shop for gear. I recommend buying some means of escape, such as scrolls of Teleportation or Phase Door from the Alchemy Shop (<$:FF_ALCHEMY_SHOP>). Also, you will want Potions of Cure Serious Wounds from the Temple (<$:FF_TEMPLE>). If you are playing a rogue, try to buy a sling and some ammo (pebbles or shots) from the Weapon Smiths (<$:FF_WEAPON_SMITHS>), as well as a quiver to put your newly-bought ammo in. When you enter a store, you will see a list of inventory, as well as a list of commands to use; simply follow the instructions to make a purchase.
Eddie Beast-Master (Snotling) Weapon Smiths (25000)
Item Description Weight Price
a) ? 2 Books of Kendo [Yagyuu Bugeichou] 3.0 1510
b) | a Dagger (1d5) (+1,+2) 1.2 230
c) | a Bastard Sword (3d5) (+0,+0) 14.0 720
d) / a Trident (1d10) (+0,+0) 7.0 267
e) / a Broad Spear (1d11) (+3,+2) 10.0 926
f) } a Sling (x2) (+0,+0) 0.5 54
g) } a Short Bow (x2.50) (+0,+0) 3.0 122
h) } 2 Light Crossbows (x3.50) (+0,+0) 11.0 489
i) { 26 Bolts (3d5) (+0,+0) 0.3 3
j) { 36 Rounded Pebbles (2d3) (+0,+0) 0.4 2
k) { 16 Iron Shots (3d3) (+0,+0) 0.5 3
Gold Remaining: 907
<color:keypress>b to buy. <color:keypress>s to sell. <color:keypress>x to begin examining items.
<color:keypress>B to buyout inventory. <color:keypress>S to shuffle stock. <color:keypress>R to reserve an item.
<color:keypress>Esc to exit. <color:keypress>? to help.
After buying something, it will be added to your pack. Use the <color:keypress>i command to view your pack:
Inventory | Equipment
a) ? a Thieves' Guide [Burglar's Handbook] 3.0 lb LEVEL 1
b) , 5 Rations of Food 5.0 lb EXP 23
c) ? 2 Scrolls of Teleportation 1.0 lb AU 805
d) ? a Scroll of Word of Recall 0.5 lb | ~(
e) ~ 2 Wooden Torches (with 2500 turns of light) 6.0 lb STR : 18/10
f) } a Sling (x2) (+0,+0) 0.5 lb INT : 18
g) { 16 Iron Shots (3d3) (+0,+0) 8.0 lb WIS : 7
24.0 lb DEX : 18/40
Carrying 36.2 pounds (27% capacity). CON : 18
CHR : 12
Examine which item (Esc to exit)? AC 6
HP 43/ 43
................................................................... SP 14/ 14
............................##6##........##++####....###+####..###~
.........###...............#######......##########...########..###~
........####>..............#######.....###....#####..########..##~~
###....#######.............#######.....+#......##+......#####..##~~
##1....#######..............#####......+#......##+......#####..##~~
###.....#####..............#######.....###....#####...#######..##~~
###......###...............+#####+......##########....#######..##~~
...........................#######.......##++####..............##~~ Study (1)
###..##5##..#####+#####............................##.##7####..##~~
###.#######.##########9...............##0##.###.#####.#######..##~~
###..#####..###########.....#.#.......#####.###.#####.#######..##~~
...........................##M##...............................##~~
Outpost
In my case, I bought a sling and some iron shots; unfortunately, no quivers were for sale. (Each type of ranged weapon uses a corresponding type of ammo; pebbles and shots go with slings. Arrows are for bows and bolts are for crossbows, so they wouldn't have helped me here!) Now, the sling won't do me any good in my pack: I need to equip it, which I do with the <color:keypress>w command. It will now appear if I press <color:keypress>e to check my equipment:
Inventory | Equipment
a) | Right Hand: a Dagger (1d5) (+0,+0) 1.2 lb LEVEL 1
b) Left Hand : EXP 23
c) } Shooting : a Sling (x2) (+0,+0) 0.5 lb AU 805
d) Quiver : | } ~(
e) Right Ring: STR : 18/10
f) Left Ring : INT : 18
g) Neck : WIS : 7
h) ~ Light : a Wooden Torch (with 2439 turns of ligh 3.0 lb DEX : 18/40
i) ( Body : Soft Leather Armour [4,+0] 8.0 lb CON : 18
j) Cloak : CHR : 12
k) Head : AC 6
l) Hands : HP 43/ 43
m) Feet : SP 14/ 14
12.7 lb
Carrying 36.2 pounds (27% capacity).
Examine which item (Esc to exit)?
###.....#####..............#######.....###....#####...#######..##~~
###......###...............+#####+......##########....#######..##~~
...........................#######.......##++####..............##~~ Study (1)
###..##5##..#####+#####............................##.##7####..##~~
###.#######.##########9...............##0##.###.#####.#######..##~~
###..#####..###########.....#.#.......#####.###.#####.#######..##~~
...........................##M##...............................##~~
Outpost
To shoot something simply fire one of your shots with the <color:keypress>f command (<color:keypress>t in the roguelike keyset), press <color:keypress>* to pick a target and <color:keypress>5 to select the nearest monster, and see if you hit:
The Iron Shot (3d3) (+0,+0) hits the Scrawny cat. The Scrawny cat
mewls pitifully. LEVEL 1
...#..##...........##~~######+++######~~##########################~ EXP 23
..#.#..#.##.######.##~~#####.....#####~~##########################~ AU 805
#.#....#.##.######.##~~~~~.........~~~~~##.....................###~ | } ~(
.###.#.#.#+....#+#.###~~~~~~~...~~~~~~~~##.#########.#########.##~~ STR : 18/10
#####..#.##........##########...##########.#########.#########.##~~ INT : 18
#####.##............#########...#########..####2####.#########.##~~ WIS : 7
##4###.#....###...........###...###............................##~~ DEX : 18/40
+#.#+#.#...#####..................................######..####.##~~ CON : 18
.......#...#####..................................###8##..3###.###~ CHR : 12
##.#####....#+#........................@..............##..####.###~ AC 6
..............................{................................###~ HP 43/ 43
.............................f..................................... SP 14/ 14
............................##6##........##++####....###+####..###~
.........###...............#######......##########...########..###~ f[*--------]
........####>..............#######.....###....#####..########..##~~
###....#######.............#######.....+#......##+......#####..##~~
##1....#######..............#####......+#......##+......#####..##~~
###.....#####..............#######.....###....#####...#######..##~~
###......###...............+#####+......##########....#######..##~~
...........................#######.......##++####..............##~~ Study (1)
###..##5##..#####+#####............................##.##7####..##~~
###.#######.##########9...............##0##.###.#####.#######..##~~
###..#####..###########.....#.#.......#####.###.#####.#######..##~~
...........................##M##...............................##~~
Outpost
Sorry about that, Ms. Kitty! She's not dead yet, but will be shortly. I want you to notice a few things. First, as you play the game, notice that <color:keyword>messages will be displayed in the top region of the screen. Back when I was a youngster, the game only had a single message line, and we hapless players were plagued with -more- prompts out the wazoo, not to mention sore fingers from all the extra keypresses! You may still get a -more- from time to time; if you do, simply press <color:keypress>SPACE when you are finished reading, and the next batch of output will be displayed. The messages will clear automatically after you enter your next command, so make sure you are done reading before pressing any keys. You can always review messages with the <color:keyword>Previous Messages command (<color:keypress>CTRL+P).
Next, on the right hand side of the screen you can see a status bar (f[*--------]). This is very important - it tracks your current target, or the monster you most recently damaged. In this case, it shows me the health of Ms. Kitty, and you can see she is in some pretty dire straits. (See for an explanation of why that last * turned violet!)
Finally, notice my shot ({) laying on the ground next to Ms. Kitty. Sometimes your projectiles will break on impact; but if they don't, you'll want to go gather them up after you're done fighting. You can pick up objects by moving on top of them and using the get command (<color:keypress>g); or if you use the <color:keypress>= options menu to turn the <color:keyword>always_pickup input option on, then objects will be automatically picked up on walkover.
You could probably use the <color:keypress>n (or roguelike <color:keypress>X) Repeat Last Action command here to finish Ms. Kitty off, but killing cats is not your main goal in this game: it is time to move on. If you have money left over, go to the General Store (1) and buy a lantern and some oil; lanterns cast more light than torches, and so allow you to see further in the dark. Be sure to equip your lantern to actually use it (<color:keypress>w to wear an item). If you still haven't run out of money, go to the Mushroom Store (<$:FF_SHROOMERY>) and buy some mushrooms of Fast Recovery and Cure Confusion.
Stores do not always sell the same items; every so often they restock, getting rid of some old items and acquiring new ones, but the early-game staple items mentioned above should be reliably available as you begin the game.
Hopefully you managed to shop without too much trouble from the locals (t), but occasionally the townsfolk will interact with you. This may be simply annoying, as there are plenty of drunks about, but it can also be dangerous as urchins have been known to steal gold and you look like an easy mark. You can attack a monster by simply moving into it (assuming you have a weapon equipped), or by shooting it as shown above; but if you are a mage, you should use your offensive spells (<color:keypress>m) instead. Spell target selection works the same way as for archery: <color:keypress>* activates target mode, and <color:keypress>*5 always targets the nearest monster.
My First Trip Down
There are two main things that you can do once you are finished shopping. You could head over to the Count's Castle (that's the big multi-entrance building up north), request your first <color:keyword>town quest and then try to complete that. But let's take the other path and head straight into the dungeon!
In Beginner Mode, there is only one dungeon to enter. The > character represents a dungeon entrance. >, in general, refers to a down staircase; but dungeon entrances > and quest entrances > are color-coded to stand out. Similarly, < refers to stairs up. By some cosmic accident, these are also the keys you press to take the stairs: <color:keypress>> to go down and <color:keypress>< to go up. What could be easier to remember? So move to the stairs down to <color:keyword>Angband and get going!
As you walk about, beware of monsters and use the look command (<color:keypress>*) together with the recall option (<color:keypress>r) to get a monster description. For example:
Monster: a Soldier ant [r,q,t,p,o,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>]
Name : Soldier ant (a) L 1
Level : 1 to 10 Speed: +0 23
AC : ? Type : Natural 805
HP : ? ~(
: 18/10
Attacks : Type Effects : 18
Bite Hurt : 7
: 18/40
Kills : 0 : 18
Exp : 2 at CL1 : 12
6
A large ant with powerful mandibles. 43/ 43
#.....'... SP 14/ 14
#.@...#
#a....# a[*********]
#.....#
#######
Study (1)
In this case, a previous character had encountered a soldier ant, so I have some basic knowledge of this type of monster - not very much, but I do know it gets one attack per round and is worth 2 XP to kill (actually a fair bit more because of coffee-break mode's accelerated XP gain!). This illustrates what the game calls <color:keyword>Monster Lore. As you battle monsters, you learn more about them, and the game tracks your knowledge for you. All of the memory is retained in your savefile so that future characters may benefit. After killing a foe, you can recall details of your glory through the <color:keypress>~ command (Knowledge Menu), followed by <color:keypress>m for monster knowledge and arrows to select the appropriate monster. Notice that the description updates as you learn more.
At this point, you basically explore the current level. In normal mode you could walk back to town at any time by going back up those stairs you just descended, but coffee-break mode disables up-stairs, so read a scroll of <color:keyword>Word of Recall when you wish to return to town. You can also find new stairs down to deeper depths. Basically, the deeper you go, the more difficult things become - but the quality of the loot also improves, inviting you ever deeper...
So, walk around a bit and kill stuff. Don't worry too much about dying as it will probably happen quite a bit at first. And if it does, the next time you load this savefile the birth process will give you an extra option to <color:keyword>Quick Start this character, which basically skips the entire birth process and starts a character identical to the last one.
I will continue to play a bit. You can just sit back and watch! ... Oops, I think I'm in trouble:
The Novice warrior attacks you: He hits. He hits. *** LOW HITPOINT
WARNING! *** Press Space to continue. LEVEL 2
EXP 21
AU 805
| } ~(
STR : 18/10
INT : 18
WIS : 7
DEX : 18/40
CON : 18
CHR : 12
#.### AC 6
#...p.# HP 10/ 55
#.(.@...## SP 18/ 18
#.........#
...|.......
#.........#
#.......##
##....
#.#
#.#
#.# Study (1)
#.#
#.#
#.#
#.#
Angband: L2
Notice my 10 HP? Well, if my hit points go below 0, I am dead. Also notice the very loud *** LOW HITPOINT WARNING! ***? This is to make sure you notice when you are in trouble. The game even forces me to press <color:keypress>SPACE before continuing. Really, I think I am about to die!
The Novice warrior attacks you: He hits.-more-
LEVEL 2
EXP 21
AU 805
| } ~(
STR : 18/10
INT : 18
WIS : 7
DEX : 18/40
CON : 18
CHR : 12
#.### AC 6
#...p.# HP -2/ 55
#.(.@...## SP 18/ 18
#.........#
...|.......
#.........#
#.......##
##....
#.#
#.#
#.# Study (1)
#.#
#.#
#.#
#.#
Angband: L2
Ouch! That really hurt!
Goodbye, Filcher! -more-
_______________________
/ \ ___
/ \ ___ / \ ___
/ RIP \ \ : : / \
/ \ : _;,,,;_ : :
/ Filcher \,;_ _;,,,;_
| the | ___
| Vanquished | / \
| | : :
| Rogue | _;,,,;_ ____
| Level: 2 | / \
| Exp: 38 | : :
| AU: 144 | : :
| Killed on Level 2 | _;,,,,;_
| by a Novice warrior. |
| |
| Thu Dec 05 07:54:18 2019 |
*| * * * * * * | *
________)/\\_)_/___(\/___(//_\)/_\//__\\(/_|_)_______
But never fear, I can quickly start over. If I load my old character's savefile now, there is a new option:
q) Quick Start
Choosing <color:keypress>q puts you in the character creation menu with your old race, class, stats and personality already selected. This is a brand new character, so any objects I acquired (like that sling) are gone, and I have no experience. However, my monster memory survives, so I don't have to learn what soldier ants do all over again.
Go ahead and play a bit. Entering the dungeon immediately was probably not the best idea; for a sufficiently strong character (which rogues are), doing the first town quest (<color:keyword>Thieves' Hideout) right off the bat gives a nice early leg-up. The first quest is rated as danger level 5, so doing it at CL 1 is a bit risky; but you get a valuable item as your reward for completing it, and the money you find in the quest lets you buy key supplies like Mushrooms of Cure Confusion. Moreover, you can then request the highly rewarding <color:keyword>Pest Control quest!
At this point, the tutorial is over and I'll just give some basic tidbits about the game.
Tidbits
Every monster uses a unique ASCII character that sort of tells you what it is. For example, rats use the letter 'r' while orcs use the letter 'o'. When you see a character you don't understand, press <color:keypress>* to look at it. If it is a monster, you can then press <color:keypress>r to recall information about it, including a description that will give you more information. Other characters like '/' and '!' represent objects that you may pick up (<color:keypress>g to get) and then use.
How you use an object will depend upon its type. Some common examples are:
Char Object Usage ==== ============== ========================================================= , Food E to eat it. Do this whenever you feel hungry. ! Potion q to quaff it. Try to identify the potion first. ? Scroll r to read it. ? Spellbook b to browse it. G to gain a spell. m to cast. - Wand a to aim it. - Rod z to zap it. _ Staff u to use it. ~ Lantern w to wear it. F to refill it with oil. ~ Quiver w to wield it. w again to fill it with projectiles. } Ranged Weapon w to wield it. / Polearm w to wield it. \ Hafted Weapon w to wield it. | Sword w to wield it. ( Soft Armor w to wear it. [ Hard Armor w to wear it. ] Misc. Armor w to wear it.
If you want to know what a specific symbol stands for, type <color:keypress>/, and then the symbol. For instance, if you're wondering what all the t's are, type <color:keypress>/t, and the game will tell you that these are townspeople. You can inspect individual items, features, and monsters with the <color:keypress>* targetting command (see for more details on this). Other useful commands that help you figure things out include the <color:keypress>Y (or <color:keypress>[) View Monster List command and the <color:keypress>O (or <color:keypress>]) View Object List command.
From here on we'll be giving detailed dungeon survival information. Some of it is intuitive, and some of it you aren't likely to find out without a lot of deaths first. If you want to experience the painful learning process in all its glory, don't read further. If, however, you're sick and tired of dying, read ahead.
On Weapons and Multiple Blows
Some characters will start the game being able to get multiple blows per round with their weapon when attacking. How many blows you get depends on your class, your weapon weight, your Strength, your Dexterity, and whether you are wielding the weapon with both hands or only one hand. Check your Character Sheet (type <color:keypress>C):
Name : Filcher ========== Stats ==========
Sex : Male STR : 18/10
Personality: Ordinary INT : 18
Race : High-Elf WIS : 7
Subrace : None DEX : 18/40
Class : Rogue CON : 18
Realm : Burglary CHR : 12
Level : 1 HP : 43/43
Cur Exp : 0 SP : 14/14
Max Exp : 0 AC : 6
Adv Exp : 23 Speed: +0
========== Skills =========
Gold : 774 Melee : Good
Kills : 0 Archery : Good
Uniques : 0 SavingThrow: Good
Artifacts : 0+0 Stealth : Excellent
Perception : Good
Game Day : 1 Searching : Fair
Game Time : 6:00 Disarming : Good
Play Time : 00:00 Device : Good
And then either scroll down to the Melee section, or press <color:keypress>m to navigate more quickly:
Hand #1: a Dagger (1d5) (+0,+0) Accuracy
Weight : 1.2 lbs AC Hit
Profic : Beginner (+0 To Hit) 25 75%
To Hit : 0 + 4 = 4 50 53%
To Dam : 0 + 2 = 2 75 32%
Blows : 2.42 100 10%
Damage 125 5%
Crits : 1.00x (0.5%) 150 5%
Normal : 11 175 5%
200 5%
In my case, this is a newborn adventurer still using his starting dagger. But you'll notice that he is getting multiple blows per round, 2.42 in this case. What could that possibly mean? Actually, it's rather simple: 42% of the time I will get 3 attacks per round while 58% of the time, only 2. This is more than most new characters would get: Rogues get bonuses to strength and dexterity, and light weapons such as daggers give more blows. You'll notice, though, that despite the 2.42 attacks my damage is still rather pathetic: only 11 per round.
The Weapon Info screen also displays melee accuracy. Of course, you won't hit every time you swing; accuracy depends on your skill with the weapon as well as its magical bonuses, if any. It also depends on your fighting skill, shown on the initial Character Sheet above under the Skills section for Melee (mine is Good). Your Melee skill increases with stats (Strength and Dexterity) as well as experience (Level). All of this competes against the monster's armor class (AC); basically, some monsters are harder to hit than others. Dragons, for example, are notoriously tough-skinned.
You may also see detailed information on your missile weapon in your character sheet. It is displayed right after the melee section (provided you are actually wielding a shooter), and can be quickly navigated to by pressing <color:keypress>s:
Shooting: a Sling (x2) (+0,+0) Range : 160' Shots : 1.39 Mult : 2.04x Profic : Beginner (+0 To Hit) To Hit : 0 + 4 = 4 Xtra Dam: 0 (Multiplier Does Not Apply) Ammo #1 : 30 Rounded Pebbles (2d3) (+0,+0) AC Hit Breakage: 8% 25 79% Weight : 0.4 lbs 50 63% To Hit : 0 + 4 = 4 100 30% To Dam : 0 (Multiplier Applies) 150 5% To Dam : 0 (Multiplier Does Not Apply) 175 5% Damage 200 5% Crits : 1.06x (4.1%) Normal : 8/11
In this case, you see I get multiple shots, but ranged combat works a bit differently than melee combat. Rather than taking all of your allowed shots in a single round, you take one at a time, but the game charges you less than the full amount of energy per shot. I haven't explained the speed system yet, but suffice it to say that less energy per action means you move faster, and can do more before any nearby monsters get a chance to act.
These two screens, Weapon Info and Shooter Info, will become more and more useful to you as you play the game. Don't worry if you don't understand everything displayed on them at the moment.
On Armor and Resistance
We just saw how monsters have this attribute called armor class, and how this makes them harder to hit. Similarly, the player has an armor class which is determined by the armor they are currently wearing as well as their dexterity. In addition to making you harder to hit, AC also actually reduces the damage from certain types of melee attacks, so it is a very important attribute that you will want to increase as much as possible. If ever you find yourself getting destroyed in melee, you'll want to look for better AC from your gear.
Here is my Character Sheet where you can see my starting AC:
Name : Filcher ========== Stats ==========
Sex : Male STR : 18/10
Personality: Ordinary INT : 18
Race : High-Elf WIS : 7
Subrace : None DEX : 18/40
Class : Rogue CON : 18
Realm : Burglary CHR : 12
Level : 1 HP : 43/43
Cur Exp : 0 SP : 14/14
Max Exp : 0 AC : 6
Adv Exp : 23 Speed: +0
========== Skills =========
Gold : 774 Melee : Good
Kills : 0 Archery : Good
Uniques : 0 SavingThrow: Good
Artifacts : 0+0 Stealth : Excellent
Perception : Good
Game Day : 1 Searching : Fair
Game Time : 6:00 Disarming : Good
Play Time : 00:00 Device : Good
In addition to AC, though, the player has a very important set of resistances. Or, in this case, rather a lack of resistances. Scroll down to the equipment section of your character sheet, or press <color:keypress>e to navigate more quickly. Here you get to see, in all its gritty detail, how woefully inadequate your starting character actually is. Here is my screen:
============================= Character Equipment =============================
a) a Dagger (1d5) (+0,+0)
c) a Sling (x2) (+0,+0)
i) Soft Leather Armour [4,+0]
| } ( | } (
Resistances abcdefghijklm@ Abilities abcdefghijklm@
Acid : .............. 0% Speed : ..............
Electricity: .............. 0% Free Act : ..............
Fire : .............. 0% See Invis : .............+ 1x
Cold : .............. 0% Warning : ..............
Poison : .............. 0% Slow Digest: ..............
Light : .............+ 30% Regenerate : .............. 100%
Dark : .............. 0% Levitation : ..............
Confusion : .............. 0% Perm Lite : ..............
Nether : .............. 0% Reflection : ..............
Nexus : .............. 0% Hold Life : ..............
Sound : .............. 0% Life Rating: ..............
Shards : .............. 0% Dec Mana : ..............
Chaos : .............. 0% Easy Spell : ..............
Disenchantm: .............. 0% Anti Magic : ..............
Time : .............. 0% Magic Skill: ..............
Blindness : .............. 0% Spell Power: ..............
Fear : .............. 0x Spell Cap : ..............
Magic Res : ..............
| } ( Infravision: .............+ 40'
Auras abcdefghijklm@ Stealth : ..............
Aura Elec : .............. Searching : ..............
Aura Fire : ..............
Aura Cold : .............. | } (
Aura Shards: .............. Sustains abcdefghijklm@
Revenge : .............. Sust Str : ..............
Sust Int : ..............
| } ( Sust Wis : ..............
Slays abcdefghijklm@ Sust Dex : ..............
Slay Evil : .............. Sust Con : ..............
Slay Undead: .............. Sust Chr : ..............
Slay Demon : ..............
Slay Dragon: .............. | } (
Slay Human : .............. Detection abcdefghijklm@
Slay Animal: .............. Telepathy : ..............
Slay Orc : .............. ESP Evil : ..............
You'll notice a group of attributes for resistances and another for miscellaneous abilities along with some additional groupings for Slays and such. Let's just focus on Resistances for the time being.
So what is resistance and why should you care? Basically, monster attacks often have an elemental flavor to them. Their damage has a 'type'. For example, a fire-breathing dragon breathes... well, fire! And your fire resistance helps you withstand that particular type of damage. Many damage types also have nasty side-effects; sticking with our example, fire attacks can destroy items in your pack (especially scrolls, staves and spellbooks), and fire resistance helps out here as well. Here is a short summary of common attack types, as well as when you'd like to have resistance (press for a more detailed list). Be warned that some monster attacks can be very deadly to the unprepared!
Type Comment
==== =============================================================
Acid Destroys scrolls/staves, damages armor, can reduce CHR.
Resist by DL20-30.
Elec Destroys rings/wands, can reduce DEX.
Resist by DL30.
Fire Destroys scrolls/staves/spellbooks, can reduce STR.
Resist by DL20-30.
Cold Destroys potions, can reduce STR.
Resist by DL30.
Poison Does high damage, but with some delay.
Can be cured with potions or mushrooms.
Nexus Scrambles stats and teleports you, sometimes to
very unexpected places. Not very damaging.
Shards Destroys potions, causes wounds. Resistance not needed before
DL40, but becomes extremely important in late game.
Confusion Confuses you so you can't act normally.
Carry mushrooms and potions to cure. See <link:status.txt#Confusion>.
Paralysis Freezes the player so you lose turns.
Get Free Action by DL25 or Old Man Willow quest. See <link:status.txt#Paralysis>.
My character is not completely hopeless. Being a High-Elf, I begin with Light Resistance (30%) and See Invisible. The latter gives me a chance to see ghosts and other invisible monsters. Monsters you can't see can be very annoying, not to mention deadly! See Invisible isn't perfect, though, as it only gives me a chance; additional sources, as well as better Searching, would help make it more reliable.
And while your race can grant resistances and abilities, most of the time these come from your gear. The 'abcd...' list across the top of each column corresponds to my current equipment set, and the corresponding item character is displayed if an item is actually equipped in that slot (e.g. | for my dagger and } for my sling). You can track your current resistances and abilities here, and see where you are getting them from. The '@' character corresponds to the player (displayed as an @, remember?); this slot lists innate race or class abilities, as well as any temporarily acquired magical enhancements.
In general, you will want to cover as many resistances as possible. They are not so important early in the game, but as you descend deeper, you will learn what you need and when. Abilities are often optional, except for Free Action and See Invisible which you will want by DL20-25 if possible. (You can get by without See Invisible if you are lucky enough to have full Telepathy.)
Note that resistances stack. If two items grant fire resistance, your resistance percentage goes up (though not linearly). Multiple sources of a given resistance also help to prevent many of the nasty side effects for various damage types. By the midgame, you will want to have two sources of resistance to all of the four base elements (Acid, Fire, Cold and Electricity) to limit both direct damage and item loss. See for more details on avoiding damage to items.
OK, I cannot help thinking that the starting character sheet is lame, since every single attribute is empty. Here is a more interesting sample from a Tanar'ri Demon character I played earlier (notice the different body type? This was a Monster Mode character, where weird body types are common):
============================= Character Equipment =============================
a) The Long Sword 'Excalibur' (5d6) (+21,+19) [+5] (+3)
{WiChDg;ShFe;SiHlWrBs|S/*UL(WiCh}
b) The Katana 'Kusanagi-no-tsurugi' (4d4) (+15,+15) (+3)
{DxSl;AcElFiCoNtDi;SiRgLuBs/*DUZ A:Getaway}
c) a Ring of Protection [+18] {SoShFe(StWiDxCnCh}
d) a Ring of Speed (+13) {Sp A:Speed}
e) The Set of Mithril Gauntlets 'Power Shield' [5,+21] (+4) {StCn;ElCaFe;Fa~L}
f) The Scimitar 'Soulsword' (3d6) (+15,+15) (+3)
{InWiLf;DkNtNxCaDi;SiHlBs/*DULZ}
g) a Lochaber Axe (Defender) (3d9) (+15,+15) [+12] {ShBl;FaSiRgLvWr(Cn}
h) a Set of Mithril Gauntlets of the Thief (+2,-3) [5,+20] (+4) {SpDxSl(Dx}
i) The Battle Axe of Balli Stonehand (3d9) (+15,+15) [+5] (+3)
{StCnSl;AcElFiCoBl;FaSiRgLv/oTU}
j) The Pike 'Grassroot' (2d6) (+21,+21) (+4) {SpStDxCnSr/pZ A:Summon Hydras}
k) a Sacred Pendant [+15] (+3) {WiLf;Bs}
l) The Feanorian Lamp 'Armageddon Stone' (+4) {In;NtBl;Wr[M(In}
||==]|/]//"~ ||==]|/]//"~
Resistances abcdefghijkl@ Abilities abcdefghijkl@
Acid : .+......+.... 65% Speed : ...+...+.+..#
Electricity: .+..+...+.... 72% Free Act : ....+.+.+...+ 4x
Fire : .+......+...+ 72% See Invis : ++...++.+...+ 6x
Cold : .+......+.... 65% Warning : +.....+....+.
Poison : ............+ 50% Slow Digest: ............+
Light : ............. 0% Regenerate : .+....+.+.... 400%
Dark : .....+....... 30% Levitation : ......+.+....
Confusion : ............+ 30% Perm Lite : .+...........
Nether : .+...+.....++ 47% Reflection : .............
Nexus : .....+....... 30% Hold Life : +....+......+ 3x
Sound : ..+.......... 30% Life Rating: .....+....+.. +18%
Shards : +.+...+...... 45% Dec Mana : .............
Chaos : ....++......+ 45% Easy Spell : .............
Disenchantm: .+...+....... 40% Anti Magic : ...........+.
Time : ............. 0% Magic Skill: .............
Blindness : ......+.+..+. 45% Spell Power: .............
Fear : +.+.+.......# 4x Spell Cap : .............
Magic Res : .............
||==]|/]//"~ Infravision: ............+ 50'
Auras abcdefghijkl@ Stealth : .+.....++....
Aura Elec : ............. Searching : .........+...
Aura Fire : .............
Aura Cold : ............. ||==]|/]//"~
Aura Shards: ............. Sustains abcdefghijkl@
Revenge : ............. Sust Str : ..+..........
Notice how the resistances stack, as well as how I have most of the resistances covered? This character is ready for the Serpent of Chaos!
On Skills
Your character sheet also indicates your mastery (or lack thereof) of a number of skills:
========== Skills =========
Melee : Amber[15]
Archery : Good
SavingThrow: Amber[7]
Stealth : Superb
Perception : Fair
Searching : Fair
Disarming : Superb
Device : Superb
Apart from the obvious Melee and Archery, there are six others; your level in a particular skill depends on your race, class, personality, stats and equipment, and you will also gain class-dependent skill bonuses as you level up. With the exception of Stealth, your class usually accounts for the bulk of your aptitude for a particular skill, especially after you have leveled up a bit.
Although resistances are a more obvious place to look for character weaknesses to remedy, you should not forget your skills either. In particular, <color:keyword>Stealth will help you a lot in the early game - you can sneak around gathering loot and picking your fights without being constantly buried in unwelcome enemies. If you survive to the late game, <color:keyword>Device Skill becomes even more important - all characters (except Berserkers) rely on magical devices to some extent, and some valuable devices are extremely hard to use if your Device Skill is lacking. <color:keyword>Saving Throw is also nice; it allows you to resist evil curses, and even improves your chances against paralysis.
Searching, Perception and Disarming are less important skills, although they do have their uses; in particular, Searching helps you see invisible monsters more often. Both Searching and Perception allow you to perceive hidden doors and traps (Searching when you are actively looking for them, Perception when you're not). The Disarming skill makes you better at disarming traps without triggering them, improves your ability to unlock doors, and affects the fail rate on Rogues' panic teleports. Searching and Perception are closely related; an item that improves your Searching will also improve your Perception.
On Important Magical Items
Magical items are an important part of every player's repertoire, even the warrior's. There are several types of magic that everybody needs.
Teleportation and Escape
It is very easy to become surrounded, or cut off from a safe retreat. The mightiest of warriors can become overwhelmed by sheer numbers; and this doesn't even account for the fact that many monsters can summon other monsters who themselves summon monster-summoning monsters... Things can go bad in a heartbeat, and when they do, you'll want to have a magical means of escape at the ready.
Phase Door This is a short range teleport; it works as an escape in confined quarters or against monsters with no ranged attacks, and is also useful as a tactical tool if you wish to avoid melee.
Teleport A longer range escape that is the mainstay of most retreats. However, this escape is a bit risky as you may land in a worse situation than you started in.
Teleport Away This teleports all monsters in a line away, but many monsters resist and some are immune. It is generally useful for getting rid of a single troublesome opponent while preserving your current position.
Teleport Level This is the safest escape, moving you up or down an entire dungeon level. You abandon the current level and all of its goodies, although sometimes you can find your way back through the new level's staircases.
Destruction This powerful spell removes everything (including artifacts!) from the area around you, blasting the surroundings and causing rock to fall from the ceiling. If you're ever in deep trouble, this is a good way to escape. However, even Destruction isn't foolproof: monsters other than summons get a saving throw and can avoid being removed. Also, Destruction does actually require the area to have a ceiling... I recommend saving scrolls of Destruction for the final battle; you will need plenty to deal with all of the Serpent's summons.
Healing and Recovery
During your adventures, things will hurt you. This cannot be avoided. Fortunately, there are many magical potions that cure your wounds or help against status ailments such as confusion or poison.
Cure Light Wounds Restores a small amount of hitpoints, perhaps 20 or so. And while it won't completely cure cuts, it does reduce their effects. (Cuts cause you to bleed out, losing hitpoints every turn, although small cuts tend to heal before you die.)
Cure Serious Wounds Restores a bit more hp, perhaps 35 or 40. It is also more effective at curing cuts. This is the staple potion that most early game characters should rely on.
Cure Critical Wounds Even better! It heals about 50-60 hp and cures both cuts and stunning completely.
Curing Does not restore any HP, but cures almost every status ailment - cuts, stunning, confusion, even hallucinations and blindness (always good to see who is attacking you, not to mention be able to read your scrolls and spellbooks!). Extreme poisoning may be only partially cured.
Some mushrooms can also be very handy:
Cure Confusion Cures all confusion. Extremely useful in the early game, being cheaper and more reliably found than Potions of Curing; usually obsoleted by the midgame, as your stockpile of Potions of Curing grows and you start finding gear that provides resistance to confusion.
Cure Poison Cures all poison. Most potions (and even spells) only partially cure massive poisoning, so this reliable option is very convenient in the later game, especially for characters with low Poison resistance.
Fast Recovery Restores a small amount of hitpoints (around 10), reduces cuts a bit, and speeds your regeneration.
The above items are readily available in the town at the Temple and Shroomery, and you should stock up on them as much as possible. The following potions must be found in the dungeon or quests or purchased in the Black Market:
Healing Big time hp recovery at about 300hp. Also, most status ailments are cured except for fear, hallucinations and poison. These potions are not all that rare, but the final battles can eat up a lot of them, especially on melee builds, so only use them when necessary to make sure you'll have enough at the end.
*Healing* Bigger time hp recovery at about 1000hp. Also, most status ailments are cured except for fear and hallucination. These potions are very rare, and most of them should be saved for the final two battles.
Life Restores your stats, all your hp and removes all status ailments except Fear. These potions are so rare they should be saved for the final battle.
Knowledge
When you find a new object, you generally won't know anything about it. In order to learn about the objects you find, you need some means of knowledge. Every player has an innate sense about some of the objects they find, and simply walking over the object (or at the very least carrying the object around in your pack for a while) can give you a clue as to its worth. This ability is called <color:keyword>pseudo-ID (see and). Pseudo-ID only really works on equipment; it can give feelings about devices, but these feelings are not of much practical help.
Pseudo-ID does not tell you very much. You can attempt to learn more by trying the object out; for example, you can eat a newly found mushroom, or quaff that new potion in your pack. However, this is very risky, as mushrooms and potions can have horrible effects! For magical devices like wands, rods and staves, trying them as you find them is a more acceptable idea; but really you want a Staff of Identify or another reliable source of <color:keyword>Identify.
Even Identify only gives cursory knowledge of an object, revealing its full name and magical combat bonuses or AC bonuses, as well as any attributes you have learned to recognize through your previous experience with similar items. For potions, scrolls and mushrooms, Identify is enough (and you will even learn to recognize similar future objects without the need to Identify them at all!); but for magic devices, and especially for ego and artifact equipment, important details might not be revealed by Identify.
The second means of enhanced knowledge, <color:keyword>*Identify*, gives complete information about the object, including all the powers and resistances that simple Identify might not reveal. Both Identify and *Identify* are available in scroll and device form. Both are also available as a town service (for a price), and this is the most common way items are *Identified*. It is also possible to *Identify* items simply by selling them, but then you don't have the item anymore!
Detection and Mapping
Detecting threats and knowing the surrounding terrain are of paramount importance in the dungeon. Rods of Detection are your all-purpose detection package, and once you find one you will likely carry it for the rest of the game unless you have an equivalent spell. During the earliest part of the game you might be using Detect Monsters instead, maybe even Detect Traps.
Staves of Enlightenment, which map the surrounding areas, are another item you might carry for nearly the whole game. Rods of Illumination, which light up rooms, are also very convenient to have; it is easy to miss something deadly (or valuable) in the dark.
Returning to Town
There is a magic item, called Word of Recall (scrolls) or just Recall (devices), that will take you back and forth between the surface and the dungeons. Good thing, too: with wilderness off, this is the only way to return to the town at all! And wilderness on, it means you don't need to climb up and down 100 flights of stairs all the time, or take the same onerous wilderness journeys over and over again.
On Weapons, Armor and Slays
Potions, Scrolls and devices are not the only magical items around. You can also find magical armor and equipment. We already discussed resistances above, and magical equipment is the usual place to find these attributes. Magical weapons often are more deadly against certain enemies, an attribute known as slays.
Your equipment will always carry around little numbers that tell you how effective it is. Armors take this form:
A Robe (+x,+y) [a,+b] (+c)
Weapons take this form:
A Long Sword (XdY) (+x,+y) [+b] (+c)
What do all these numbers mean?
(+x,+y) Bonuses to your accuracy (to-hit) and damage (to-dam) respectively. These are added to whatever other bonuses you have when you attack. These numbers are displayed for all weapons (even if they are zero), and are displayed for armors if they are other than zero. Many body armors have a small negative number before the base AC (see below); this is a penalty to your accuracy (your armor is so heavy that you have trouble moving around in it), but is almost always small enough to be ignored. The bonuses may apply to melee only, archery only, both melee and archery, or magical spells only, depending on the item.
[a,+b] The item's base armor class and magical bonus to armor. The higher, the better. While theoretically, a weapon could provide a base armor bonus, none of them do, and only a few weapons have a magical bonus to armor.
(+c) This is the item's magical bonus to other statistics (and is sometimes referred to as its <color:keyword>pval). Possibilities include one or more of your stats (Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma), your speed or your stealth. Your searching or infravision might also be improved. There are other possibilities and learning the effects of this bonus often requires you to *Identify* the object.
(XdY) These are the damage dice of a melee weapon. When you hit an opponent, the game rolls a Y sided die X times to figure out a base damage. This base damage can be multiplied by any slays on the weapon, and also by critical hits (lucky blows on your part). Then, the game adds all your damage bonuses to the total, including the +y from the (+x,+y) discussed above. So a melee weapon can be good because it has good damage dice (e.g. (5d6) (+0,+0)) or because it has a high damage bonus (e.g. (1d5) (+5,+30)). Ideally, it would have both: (5d6) (+5,+30)!
In addition to these attributes, all of which are revealed by Identify, weapons and armors may have additional bonuses. Both may grant a particular resistance that we discussed earlier. In additions, weapons often have slays that target a specific class of monster. Slays work by multiplying the base damage roll (the (XdY) just discussed), and the multiplier varies with the type of slay. For example, a weapon of Slay Orc multiplies the damage dice by a factor of 2.8, while a *Slay Orc* weapon might (I say, might!) multiply by as high a factor as 4.5. Obviously, this means more on a (5d6) weapon than on a (1d5) weapon, so slays are more valuable on weapons with high dice. You usually need to *Identify* a weapon to learn its slays, unless you have seen the same slay on a similar weapon before; inspect items (<color:keypress>I) to see everything you know about them.
On Dungeon Exploration
We'll close this Newbie guide with some various tips on exploring the dungeon.
On Secret Doors
Throughout the dungeon, many doors are hidden from view. To find them, use the <color:keypress>search command (or press <color:keypress>S/<color:keypress># to toggle Searching Mode, then stay still). It helps if you know where to search; usually, situations like this will have secret doors (walls likely to contain secret doors are highlighted in red for this example):
##### ###'### ###### #######
#@... ..'@'.. ..@'.# ..'@...
##### ####### ####'# #######
In general, if you see a door by itself in a corridor, there are usually others nearby. If you find a corner in a corridor with two doors, look for more. Intersections often have some secret doors. Finally, secret doors will never be in a situation where you have to move diagonally to open them. The dead-end situation (the first one) usually does have a secret door, but not always. If you search for a while and don't find anything, just give up and move on. Sometimes a dead end will occur near the end of a map, where there is no room to have a continuing corridor, and so no secret door is generated.
On Level Feelings
After you have been on a new level for a considerable length of time, you receive a feeling giving you a vague idea how good the level is. In general, the more scary the feeling sounds, the better the items on the level, or the more dangerous the monsters. Probably the latter... A special feeling almost invariably means there is an undiscovered artifact on the level, so take the time to locate it.
The speed at which you receive level feelings is influenced by your Wisdom, so if your big, stupid warrior seems to wait forever for level feeling, check out his Wisdom and maybe start with a better one next time. See for more about level feelings.
On Monster Knowledge
In many other games, you are required to take notes on the weaknesses, strengths, spells, etc. of a given monster; but FrogComposband takes these notes for you automatically. Every time you find out something new about a monster (like that it can breathe fire), this is added to your knowledge of the monster. There are several ways to look over this knowledge; you can type <color:keypress>'/', then the symbol of the monster (you may have to scroll through other monster memories to get to the one you're looking for); you can use the <color:keypress>'~' knowledge menu; or you can use the look (<color:keypress>'*') and recall (<color:keypress>'r') commands if the monster you are interested in is in view.
In the unpleasant event of your character's death, you can create a new character using your old character's file (instead of simply creating a new character, open the dead character's savefile, and the Creating a Character section will come up). This new character will retain the monster lore of the old one.
On Death
Death in FrogComposband is permanent. Saving is meant only to let you pick up where you left off; if you die, your savefile is marked. The next time you try to use the savefile, you will get the new character dialogue. Ancestors of dead characters will retain their monster memory and preferences. Many people here have characters like "Yuppy XIV"; people die very often and death is common, so don't get discouraged. In general, you will kill monsters more often than they kill you!
I'm still unsure about something...?
Try looking elsewhere in the help, particularly in the Frequently Asked Questions. It's called that for a reason! You can also ask your question at ask.band which hosts a specialised angband games AI, or the angband.live online chat, which usually has friendly people willing to share their maxed-out wisdom.
On Big Boy Pants
When you are ready to move past Beginner Mode, the game will open up a huge variety of race and class options for you as well as giving you a full wilderness to explore. All of this is discussed in the remainder of the help system, so when you are ready to move on, be sure to check out the rest of the documentation. Pay special attention to sections on the wilderness as well as the various gameplay options. And when you're ready for a real treat, fire up a game in Monster Mode and play as a Cyberdemon!
Good luck, have fun, and don't die! :)
Original : Chris Weisiger (TANG version 1.6.2)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.0.11
Updated : PosChengband 1.0.0
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.0.strawberry
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
The Towns and Wilderness
After you have created your character, you will begin your adventure in a town called <color:keyword>Outpost. If you are playing in Beginner Mode, or another mode that switches off the wilderness, this is the only town in the game; if not, you will find many other towns in the wide world.
Symbols appearing on your screen represent the buildings, streets, shop entrances, terrain, and townspeople. In order to direct your character through his adventure, you will enter single-character commands (see ).
Town and Wilderness Symbols
The symbols on your map can be broken down into three broad categories: terrain features; objects which can be picked up; and creatures both friendly and hostile. Listed below are some of the terrain symbols you are likely to see often in the town and the wilderness:
Town and Wilderness Terrain Shops and Buildings ---------------------- ------------------------------- <$:FF_TREE> Tree/wooded area <$:FF_PERMANENT> Building wall <$:FF_GRASS> Patch of grass <$:FF_GENERAL_STORE> Entrance to General Store <$:FF_FLOWER> Flower <$:FF_ARMOURY> Entrance to Armoury <$:FF_BRAKE> Brake <$:FF_WEAPON_SMITHS> Entrance to Weapon Shop <$:FF_SWAMP> Swamp <$:FF_TEMPLE> Entrance to Temple Shop <$:FF_SHALLOW_WATER> Shallow water <$:FF_ALCHEMY_SHOP> Entrance to Alchemy Shop <$:FF_DEEP_WATER> Deep water <$:FF_MAGIC_SHOP> Entrance to Magic Shop <$:FF_SHALLOW_LAVA> Shallow lava <$:FF_BLACK_MARKET> Entrance to Black Market <$:FF_DEEP_LAVA> Deep lava <$:FF_HOME> Entrance to your home <$:FF_DARK_PIT> Dark pit <$:FF_BOOKSTORE> Entrance to Book Store <$:FF_MOUNTAIN> Mountains <$:FF_SHROOMERY> Entrance to Shroomery <$:FF_FLOOR> Floor/road <$:FF_JEWELER> Entrance to Jewelry Store <$:FF_DIRT> Dirt <$:FF_MUSEUM> Entrance to Museum <$:FF_GRASS> Grass <$:FF_BUILDING_1> Entrance to non-shop building <$:FF_ENTRANCE> Dungeon entrance <$:FF_BUILDING_2> Entrance to non-shop building <$:FF_QUEST_ENTER> Quest entrance
What to Expect in a Town
The exact appearance of Outpost depends on whether you are playing with the wilderness on or off, but the basics are the same either way: you will find a number of shops where items can be bought and sold, plus a handful of other buildings where items are not on display but services or interesting quests might be offered instead. As a general rule, the symbols for shop entrances are usually numerical (such as <$:FF_ALCHEMY_SHOP> for the Alchemy Shop), while buildings that offer services or quests are denoted with the character <$:FF_BUILDING_1> in various colors. Outside these rules are your home <$:FF_HOME> and the museum <$:FF_MUSEUM>, which are not shops but also do not offer quests or services.
A glimpse of Outpost as it appears with the wilderness on can be seen below:
#~~.#############.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~####~.....:......::.:...# LEVEL 1 #~~######+++######~~##########################~......:##:##:....... EXP 16 #~~#####.....#####~~##########################~........####......#: AU 595 #~~~~~.........~~~~~##.....................###~............##::.... | ( ##~~~~~~~...~~~~~~~~##.#########.#########.##~~......::....::#::#.. STR : 16 #########...##########.#########.#########.##~~.....#::.::##:#:.::: INT : 14 #########...#########..####2####.#########.##~~........::##:::.:.:. WIS : 8 ......###...###............................##~~.....:..::..::.::.#. DEX : 18/50 ......................................####.##~~......#.::::::##:#.: CON : 17 ......................................3###.###~.......:#:::.:#>##:: CHR : 12 ......................................####.###~................#... AC 15 ...........................................###~.................... HP 37/ 37 ...................................@............................... .................................###+####..###~.......#..##.#.#.... .................................########..###~.......:.#.....::.:# .................................########..##~~..................#. ....................................#####..##~~.......#............ ....................................#####..##~~..........:.:......: ..................................#######..##~~............#.##..:. ..........................#####...#######..##~~......:.....::##.::# ...........................####............##~~............#::#.... ##.........................7###...#######..##~~.....#......#...:##: #9................####8....####...#######..##~~............:.::.... ##......#.#.......#####...#####...#######..##~~......:#............ .......##M##...............................##~~...........###:#.... Outpost
The > to the east is a dungeon entrance, and is actually where you start the game, but it is not a good idea to enter the dungeon immediately! Do some shopping first, maybe even complete a couple of town quests. The @ symbol marks the player's location; and directly to the player's southeast is the entrance to the White Horse Inn, one of two buildings in this wilderness-on version of Outpost to offer quests. The other one is also visible here - that large multi-entrance building to the northwest, which is the castle of Uldrik, the Count of Outpost. Visit these two buildings, press <color:keypress>q to request your first quests, and decide if you're brave enough to take them on immediately.
A few of the town's shops are also visible here, as well as your home 8. Additional shops not visible in this shot can be found to the west, including the <color:keyword>General Store, the <color:keyword>Temple Shop and the <color:keyword>Alchemy Shop. These are three shops you should visit at the beginning of every new game, as they sell very useful items you will need on your adventures.
The first time you are in town it will be daytime (unless you are playing an undead race who starts at night), but note that the sun rises and falls as time passes; if you enter the town at night, the town will be dark. Fortunately for you, the various shops and the other special buildings are open on a 24-hour basis.
Townspeople
The shopkeepers are not the town's only inhabitants - you will likely also see some people on the streets. There are the street urchins, young children who will mob an adventurer for money, and seem to come out of the woodwork when excited. Blubbering idiots are a constant annoyance, but not harmful. Public drunks wander about the town singing, and are of no threat to anyone. Sneaky rogues who work for the black market are always greedily eyeing your backpack for potential new 'purchases'... And what town would be complete without a swarm of half drunk warriors, who take offense or become annoyed just for the fun of it? Finally, stories told in hushed tones on dark nights speak of the mythical Nick, the butcher; although whether he really is a bloodthirsty destroyer of worlds remains for you to determine.
These townspeople are in fact some of the first <color:keyword>monsters you will meet during your adventure, and some of them should be avoided by the largest possible distance as you wander from store to store. Fights will break out, though, so be prepared. Since your character grew up in this world of intrigue, no experience is awarded for killing the town inhabitants, though you may acquire treasure.
One word of warning: occasionally a creature who normally would inhabit only the wilderness and dungeons may wander into the town. These should generally be handled with much more caution than ordinary townspeople. But they do give experience, so there's that!
Shopping in Town
Your character will begin his adventure with a few basic items, plus some gold with which to purchase additional supplies. Just pick the store you wish to visit and walk over to the entrance, and you can shop to your heart's content (or until you run out of money, whichever comes first). See for the shopping interface help.
Stores do not always have everything in stock. As the game progresses, stores acquire new items, so check again from time to time to see if they've got something new you might like. But the opposite also happens - items get sold to other customers, often just when you had finally acquired enough money to buy them with. To prevent this from happening, you can <color:keyword>reserve an item you have your eyes on but can't quite afford; but reserving is itself quite expensive, so be sure you really do want that item.
Note that new store inventory will not be added while you are in town, even if you save the game and return. You must spend time in the dungeon and do some adventuring if you wish the store owner to clear out his stock and acquire new items. If you have a lot of spare gold, you can either pay the shopkeeper to restock (this is called <color:keyword>shop shuffling) or simply buy out the store's entire inventory; a buyout will induce the store owner to bring out new stock, though occasionally he might just retire on your money and sell the shop to a new owner.
Store owners will not buy harmful or useless items. If an object is unidentified, they will pay you some base price for it. Having bought an object, they will immediately fully identify it. If it is a good object, they will add it to their inventory; if it was a bad bargain, they simply throw the item away. In either case, you will receive some knowledge of the item that will help you identify similar objects in the future. That's cold comfort if it turns out you sold a great item for a pittance, but does mean the benefits of selling are not purely monetary. Players who turn on the <color:keyword>no selling birth option () sometimes "sell" an item for nothing just to have it fully identified.
Object Pricing
Each object has a nominal base value, sometimes called the <color:keyword>item score, which is computed based on the quality of the object. Item score is the most important factor in determining the price for which the object can be bought and sold. <color:keypress>Inspecting an inventory item (or e<color:keypress>xamining a shop item) will display its score, though if the item has not yet been fully identified, the score shown may be an inaccurate estimate.
You cannot just buy and sell items for this nominal value, though; shopkeepers will charge you extra when you buy, and pay you less when you sell. How bad this effect is depends on several factors: your charisma, fame, and race, and the shopkeeper's race and greediness. Each shopkeeper also has an individual <color:keyword>selling cap: the maximum amount they will ever pay for a single item.
Shopkeepers like charismatic players, and will pay them more and charge them less. Famous players are also treated favorably in the towns; but new adventurers are a dime a dozen, and make ready marks for store owners. The average shopkeeper has little respect for pretentious, know-it-all upstarts who think they can just buy a lantern and go kill Morgoth. Pshaw!
Your race, and the shopkeeper's race, also affect pricing. Your race can make shopkeepers less friendly, even if you have high charisma (shopkeepers are quite distressed whenever a Balrog enters their shop!), and can affect pricing significantly. The shopkeeper's race is not as important, but it helps a bit if you and the shopkeeper belong to the same race.
The final factor affecting pricing is the shopkeeper's greediness, which is not explicitly displayed but can be inferred from the results. Black Market operators are all extremely greedy and tend to set extortionate prices.
List of Shops
The General Store (<$:FF_GENERAL_STORE>)
The General Store sells foods, drinks, some clothing, torches, lamps, oil, shovels, picks, capture balls, and iron spikes. All of these items and some others can be sold back to the General store for money.
The Armory (<$:FF_ARMOURY>)
The Armory is where the town's armor is fashioned. All sorts of protective gear may be bought and sold here.
The Weaponsmith's Shop (<$:FF_WEAPON_SMITHS>)
The Weaponsmith's Shop is where the town's weapons are fashioned. Hand and missile weapons may be purchased and sold here, along with arrows, bolts, and shots.
The Temple Shop (<$:FF_TEMPLE>)
The Temple Shop deals in healing and restoration potions, as well as bless scrolls, word of recall scrolls, some approved priestly weapons, as well as books of Life magic for priests and paladins.
The Alchemy Shop (<$:FF_ALCHEMY_SHOP>)
The Alchemy Shop deals in all types of potions and scrolls.
The Magic Shop (<$:FF_MAGIC_SHOP>)
The Magic Shop deals in all sorts of rings, wands, amulets, and staves, as well as some magic books.
The Black Market (<$:FF_BLACK_MARKET>)
The Black Market will sell and buy anything at extortionate prices. However, it occasionally has VERY good items in it. The shopkeepers are not known for their tolerance...
Your Home (<$:FF_HOME>)
This is your house where you can store objects that you cannot carry on your travels, or will need at a later date. See for more information.
The Bookstore (<$:FF_BOOKSTORE>)
The Bookstore deals in all sorts of magical books. You can purchase and sell spellbooks for the spellcasters here.
The Shroomery (<$:FF_SHROOMERY>)
The Shroomery sells many useful basic mushrooms, including the always-handy Cure Poison, Cure Confusion and Fast Recovery.
The Museum (<$:FF_MUSEUM>)
This is a place where you can donate objects, which will then be put on permanent display. There is no gameplay advantage to using the Museum; it is simply for storing memories. See for more information.
Special Buildings
In addition to the shops, all towns have some special buildings with custom services. The buildings vary from town to town significantly, both in terms of their name and the services that they offer, but a few of the most common or important ones are listed below:
Inns (<$:FF_BUILDING_0>)
Inns are places where the player may obtain food, rest for the night, relax and listen to the latest rumours, and (within limitations - see below) teleport to other inns. The inns in Outpost and Lite-Town offer quests. Almost all towns have an inn.
Castles (<$:FF_BUILDING_1>)
Nearly all towns have a building, usually a large and conspicuous one, where the local ruler can be found. All rulers have some quests for you to complete; Uldrik, the Count of Outpost, is also willing to identify your items (for a reasonable fee, of course).
Libraries (<$:FF_BUILDING_3>)
Librarians are experts in all kinds of lore, and will identify or *Identify* your items in return for payment. The library in Lite-Town also researches monsters, a function more commonly left for the local Beastmaster.
Temples (<$:FF_BUILDING_9>)
Many towns have a holy temple, usually connected to or in the immediate vicinity of the Temple Shop. Temples provide healing and restoration (as long as you pay offerings).
Gladiator Ring (<$:FF_BUILDING_2>)
There is only one Gladiator Ring in the game (in either Thalos or Lite-Town). The Gladiator Ring is a special building where you may fight a single monster at a time, for the entertainment of the townsfolk. During these fights, you cannot use magical devices, read scrolls, quaff potions, activate equipment or (usually) summon help. Winning a Gladiator fight increases your fame (some enemies also drop fixed valuable items); but losing a fight severely damages your fame and results in a ban from further Gladiator matches. You cannot physically die in the Gladiator Ring; you will exit at 0 HP, with cuts and poisoning healed. Do be careful not to die just outside the ring, though...
Gambling Dens (<$:FF_BUILDING_6>)
Casinos that may offer varied entertainment such as card games or even betting on fights between monsters.
Fighters' Halls (<$:FF_BUILDING_7>)
These buildings usually house a weaponsmith who is willing to enchant your equipment for you... though how much work he's willing to put in depends on your class and character level, and of course on how much you pay. Some Fighters' Halls might also offer quests or reforging (see ).
This list is far from exhaustive; there are many other buildings besides, with many services and quests on offer. Explore and find out!
Town Quests
At least one building in each town will offer your character the opportunity to undertake a quest. Such quests typically fall under the following categories: kill all monsters on the quest level (assume this to be the case if nothing else is stated), kill one or more monsters of a certain type (for example, kill Old Man Willow or kill 8 Wargs), or retrieve a certain object and escape from the quest level. Completing town quests is a key part of the game; you may eventually spend almost as much time in town quests as you do in dungeons.
When you request a quest, you will be given a brief description of the quest and your objective, as well as an indication of its danger level. For example, here we have just pressed <color:keypress>q to request a quest from the Sultan of Thalos:
Sultan Idris (Human) Palace
The Old Watchtower (Thalos) (Level 32): Unfortunately, the citizens of
Thalos are still not safe. A young boy disappeared last week while out
on a walk; we found his corpse in the forest a few days later, lifeless
and sucked dry of blood. The city's lawyers, afraid of being blamed by
the public, are pressuring me to drive out the vampires who have taken
over the old watchtower near the shore. Please help me eliminate the
vampires, you will be well rewarded.
q) Request quest
ESC) Exit building Gold Remaining: 27.8k
Most town quests take place on special <color:keyword>town quest levels, which can be accessed from the town or its immediate vicinity. Quest entrances are indicated on the map with the symbol <$:FF_QUEST_ENTER>, and will appear at the top of the <color:keypress>] object list, making them easy to spot. You do not have to take them immediately; feel free to delay the quest until you are confident in your ability to succeed. Press <color:keypress>Ctrl-Q every once in a while to check your quest history, which includes an ordered list of uncompleted quests; this will make sure you won't forget to complete them.
Rarely, you will be assigned a <color:keyword>dungeon quest; instead of a special quest level, these quests occur on normal dungeon levels. See for more information on dungeon quests.
Having completed a quest (of either type), return to the person who assigned you the quest and press <color:keypress>q again; you will get warm thanks and (usually) a nice reward for your good work. You can also then request a new quest! But if you leave a quest level before completing the quest, you have irreparably failed it; your fame is reduced, and you miss out on the reward.
Quest lines are semi-fixed; you will mostly receive the same quests from the same buildings in every game, but there is some randomness in the list of quests. The special town quest levels' layouts are likewise semi-fixed; the terrain is usually the same or mostly the same every game, the objects are usually different or mostly different, and the monsters may or may not be the same depending on the quest. Finally, the rewards are semi-fixed; some are more random than others, and many (though not all) are tailored to the specific needs of your race and class. Having seen a quest before is a large practical advantage, but do not assume everything will be exactly the same.
Note: Town quest levels obey a few special rules. In particular, you cannot use Genocide, Mass Genocide, Annihilation, Destruction, Earthquake or Teleport Level inside a quest.
You should also not assume that you can teleport everywhere within a quest level; usually you can, but some quests have secure areas with invisible anti-teleportation fields. You can teleport out of these areas, but not in.
The Wilderness Option
Outside the (relative) safety of Outpost lies a large and diverse wilderness, where many towns and dungeons await you. Unfortunately, it is also home to many dangerous creatures, and the distance between where you are and where you want to go is often vast. It is therefore a good idea to use the scaled <color:keyword>global map (also known as the <color:keyword>overworld) for travelling in the wilderness.
The Global Map: Press <color:keypress>< to enter the global map for wilderness travel, and <color:keypress>> to return to the normal map once you have reached your destination.
You are in Outpost [q,p,o,x,j,+,-,?,<dir>] L0
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......#........>...................>.#~# LEVEL 1
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......#..............................~~# EXP 16
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~....#...#...................###.......~## AU 595
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....#..##...................###......~~# | (
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~......####..................#.#........~~ STR : 16
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~....#####>................>.............. INT : 14
#~~~...~~~~~~~~~~......####................................... WIS : 8
#~~............~~...~....................................~~... DEX : 18/50
#~...>.............~~..................................~~~~... CON : 17
#~................~~~~.......~~~......................~~~~~... CHR : 12
#~..........##....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..............*.....~~~~~.... AC 15
#~.........####.#..~~~~~~.....~~~~~~~~~~~.~~~......~~.......#. HP 37/ 37
#~........##~~##....~~~~....@...~~~~~~~~..~~~~~.........######
#~~........~~>##....~~~...#......~~~~........~~>~~~###########
#~~~.......~~~##.#..~~..###.......~~...........~~~~~##########
#~~~~~.......##.#.~~~..###..............####....~~############
#~~~~###....##.#..~~~...............#########...~#############
#~~~###..#......#..~~...............#########..~~#############
#~~####.###..#.....~~...............######>####.~#############
#~#####>#~~...#.....~.................#########.~~############
#~~####~~~~~........~~~.......~~~~~~...#######..~~~###########
#~~###~~~~~~......~~~~~~....~~~~~~~~~~~~.........~~~##########
#~~###~~~~~~......~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..~~~~~~~~#######
#~######~~~.....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Surface
As displayed on the global map, the wilderness consists of a 97x62 tile world; each tile corresponds to an area the size of a max-sized dungeon level on the regular map, and contains themed terrain such as forests, mountains or plains. A number of towns exist in various parts of the world, each situated on their own wilderness tile. Two of these towns are visible in the screenshot above: Outpost, where you start (actually that one's hidden by the @, which is us!) and Morivant, represented by the * to the east. Many (too many?) dungeon entrances can also be seen, each represented by the familiar > symbol. In the top-right corner of the screenshot, northeast of Morivant, you can just see the dread dungeon of <color:keyword>Angband; it is home to the Serpent of Chaos, whom you must kill in order to win the game.
Travelling through the overworld is both faster and safer than using the normal map, but the wilderness is still inhabited and dangerous monsters still lurk in wait. The unwary adventurer might suddenly walk into an ambush, and be forced back onto the normal map; in such a situation, you cannot simply run away by using the <color:keypress>< key again, but might try escaping with a scroll of Teleport.
There are several ways to improve your odds against being ambushed. Try to stay on the roads as much as possible; they are not completely safe, but far less dangerous than travelling off the beaten path, and if you do get ambushed there the surroundings will likely not be as deadly. Stealthy characters (and very powerful characters) are less likely to be ambushed. In addition, travelling is safer during the daytime.
You can use the <color:keypress>l look command to see the danger level of a wilderness tile. As the L0 on the screenshot above shows, Outpost is located on a level 0 tile! Some types of terrain, like lava fields or deep oceans, are almost invariably very dangerous and best avoided until your character is a bit stronger.
Discovering and Entering Dungeons
A few of the dungeons are easy to find and enter - they are accessible from towns. You even start the game on the entrance to one such dungeon, <color:keyword>Warrens. These town dungeons are also some of the least dangerous dungeons, which makes sense - who would build a town or live there if the entrance to Hell was next door? Okay, so that's not too bad a description of the no-wilderness town...
The vast majority of dungeons, though, can only be reached through the wilderness. It is best to travel there through the global map; but dungeons cannot be actually entered from the global map, only from the regular map, so you'll have to switch back as you reach the right tile. As you do this, a problem sometimes becomes apparent: because one tile on the scaled global map corresponds to a fairly large area on the normal map, there is no guarantee you will find yourself immediately next to the actual entrance. The entrance might be some way away, maybe even out of sight (in such a situation the game will helpfully tell you which direction the entrance is in). Take the direction indicated, and use the <color:keypress>] object/feature list command regularly; it will often spot the entrance before its actual appearance on the screen.
There is another obstacle you may encounter before reaching the dungeon. Many dungeons have an <color:keyword>entrance guardian - a monster sitting on top of the entrance who will refuse to budge until you have killed it. Entrance guardians are also immune to being teleported, so that is not an easy way out! Sometimes it is possible to dodge an entrance guardian and reach the stairs despite its watchful eye, but most of the time you will have to kill it. In general, low-level dungeons have no entrance guardians while high-level dungeons do have one; some of them, like the Ethereal Dragon on the Crystal Castle entrance, can be very dangerous.
Occasionally, you will find dungeon entrances in places where you did not expect any. These are random one-level dungeons - they are often dangerous, but can have exceptional items within. Random dungeons sometimes generate quite close to regular dungeons; especially in the deep oceans, where random dungeons are fairly common, you might have to double-check that the entrance you found is actually the one you were looking for. (You can use the <color:keypress>look command or the <color:keypress>* targetting command for this.)
Having finally reached the entrance - hopefully the right one - just press <color:keypress>> and you're inside. After that, you'll never have to take this particular wilderness trip again: you have automatically established a recall point in the dungeon, and can return there by Word of Recall any time you wish.
See for what to expect in the dungeon.
Which Dungeons Should I Visit?
There are three main reasons you might wish to visit a dungeon - to complete a quest there, to kill the final guardian (or boss) who inhabits the last level of the dungeon, or simply to gather some experience and loot. The last of these can of course be done in any dungeon, but sometimes you might feel a particular dungeon is just really comfortable for your character and playstyle.
The first time you play, you won't really know who the bosses are (or which depths they inhabit), and you probably haven't received many dungeon quests yet, maybe just the very early Pest Control quest (see ). So it is a sensible idea to just do the town dungeons first, and then peek into the others in order of the depth they start at, since that's what <color:keypress>looking at a dungeon reveals. For example, after completing <color:keyword>Warrens, <color:keyword>Hideout and the <color:keyword>Icky Cave (and a few town quests), you might wish to enter the <color:keyword>Tidal Cave, <color:keyword>Orc Cave, <color:keyword>Labyrinth and <color:keyword>Camelot next.
The Angband dungeon is a bit special in that it starts at a very low level - level 1 - but the boss (that would be the Serpent of Chaos!) - is all the way down on level 100. Also, Angband uniquely has a number of random quests strewn throughout, often with good rewards for completion. This makes it hard to know when you should enter Angband. Some players go there very early for the quests; others may postpone it for a long time, or even use magical methods to skip most of the dungeon altogether.
Once you have done enough descending into a dungeon, you might be informed you have located the dungeon's boss:
You enter a maze of down staircases. Mughash the Kobold Lord lives on this level as the keeper of Warrens.
Killing bosses is fun (and rewarding), but it can also be dangerous, especially when you are playing for the first time and don't really know what the bosses do. To improve your knowledge, you can pay your local Beastmaster (most but not all towns have one) to research the boss for you; this will reveal you everything about them, and allows you to prepare and make an informed decision as to whether you are ready to take them on. Pay particular attention to whether the boss resists confusion - some bosses are seemingly very tough for their depth, but if they do not resist confusion, that's an opening for you. Though some of the higher-level bosses (like <color:keyword>Utgard-Loke) seem to shake confusion off suspiciously quickly...
Sometimes you can just jump from dungeon to dungeon, killing the bottom guardians and leaving a trail of universal destruction in your wake. At other times you may have to prepare a bit, in town quests or on the lower levels of dungeons. In the early mid-game, this might happen in <color:keyword>Lonely Mountain - players often find it a good dungeon to set up camp in for a while, since the terrain is usually relatively favorable and the presence of many dragons means that treasures are also abundant. Note though that the Lonely Mountain is, well, a mountain, and very difficult to enter for the first time unless you have <color:keyword>levitation.
The big takeaway here should be that there is no single right order to do the dungeons in. Some people like to dive into very deep dungeons really early, and the entrance guardians be damned! Experiment a bit; find out what works for you, which bosses you find easy to handle, and which dungeons you really like. Sometimes you will be completing a whole dungeon in one go; at other times you may be hopping between several dungeons you're halfway into, or repeatedly recalling in and out of a single dungeon with no intention of fighting the boss.
Travelling Between Towns
A network of roads connects most of the towns, providing the best and simplest way to reach them (at least for the first time). Again, use the global map. Stick to the roads as much as you can; sometimes it is tempting to take a shortcut through the wild, but this increases the chance of a dangerous ambush.
As with dungeons, you only need to really take these wilderness trips once. A teleportation grid connects the inns of the towns, and you can use it (for a reasonable fee) to jump from town to town. The tavern keepers, being businessmen, want your money... but they also want their customers alive, and won't send you into another town without knowing you can handle the new environment. But once you have proved this by reaching the town on foot, you can return there by teleport at any time. There is one exception to this rule: the town of <color:keyword>Thalos lies in the middle of a dangerous ocean, and the innkeepers have no wish to lose a customer by sending them there on foot. So, you are allowed to teleport there as soon as you have reached any town besides Outpost. (It is rumoured that one of the towns may have been cut off from the teleportation grid by strange disturbances in the space-time continuum... Perhaps you can do something about that?)
Once you have enough money to afford it comfortably, you will find yourself teleporting between the towns regularly. All have quests to complete, and shops to visit - and somehow, your home has its full inventory in every town, so that's handy!
Travelling Within a Town
You can auto-travel to any building or shop in the current town with the journey shortcuts. In the original keyset, press <color:keypress>j and then the key of the place you want; in the roguelike keyset, press <color:keypress>S instead. Pressing a direction instead still jams a door with spikes, as <color:keypress>j always did. The <color:keypress>` travel command also accepts the same journey keys while you are choosing a destination; in the roguelike keyset, where lowercase letters move the cursor, use the capital form of the letter. At the journey prompt, or by pressing <color:keypress>? from the <color:keypress>` destination cursor, you can open a picker that lists every journey target in the case your keyset uses; the picker accepts either case.
Journey shortcuts are content-driven: only places that actually exist in the current town are offered, and a key with no matching place falls through to its normal meaning at the prompt (such as a spike direction) or is refused with a bell while choosing a <color:keypress>` destination. The stair keys <color:keypress>< and <color:keypress>> keep their targeting-mode meaning of cycling through stairs while choosing a destination, and <color:keypress>0 keeps its accept-the-cursor meaning there; the Mushroom Store's <color:keypress>h key (<color:keypress>H in the roguelike keyset) is still available through the picker. If an interrupted journey is resumed with <color:keypress>J (or <color:keypress>( in the roguelike keyset), travel continues to the same place.
Key Destination Key Destination s, j Home i Inn g General Store h Mushroom Store a Armoury c Casino w Weapon Smiths l Temple of Life / Mammon t Temple r Fighters' Hall y Alchemy Shop p Trump Tower m Magic Shop q Quest Target b Black Market o Bookstore u Museum
The No Wilderness Option
Diverse dungeons are fun, multiple towns are fun, and the wilderness is fun; but sometimes you might want to just forget about them all and select the <color:keyword>No Wilderness option. Maybe you are new to FrogComposband, and want to learn the basics in a simplified version of the game before moving on to the full version. (<color:keyword>Beginner Mode automatically turns on coffee-break mode, which turns off the wilderness - though sometimes, enthusiastic new players jump straight to the Normal Mode!) Or maybe you are a long-term player who has already been everywhere, seen everything, and wants a quicker and more streamlined game experience for a change. Maybe you just really like coffee-break mode.
In no-wilderness play, there is only one town: Outpost. The no-wilderness version of Outpost is somewhat different from the wilderness Outpost and is sometimes referred to as <color:keyword>lite-town, although it actually has a lot more stuff in it than the regular version does. With wilderness on, Outpost is a very basic and simple town; it has the shops, the inn, the castle, but to find exciting special buildings you have to travel elsewhere. This is not the case with Lite-Town - there is no elsewhere to travel, so all the special buildings important to the game (and a few that are not so important) can be found in the single town. The number of quests available in Lite-Town is also much higher than in regular Outpost, though also much lower than in all the wilderness towns combined.
Here's a glimpse of this alternative Outpost - the Count's castle, the inn and most of the other buildings are in the same locations, but there are many additional buildings, and the dungeon entrance is within the walls.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~####.......####~~.......................... LEVEL 1 ######################~~###############~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EXP 15 ######################~~.#############.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#### AU 819 #...#..##...........##~~######+++######~~########################## | ( #..#.#..#.##.######.##~~#####.....#####~~########################## STR : 16 .#.#....#.##.######.##~~~~~.........~~~~~##.....................### INT : 18 ..###.#.#.#+....#+#.###~~~~~~~...~~~~~~~~##.#########.#########.##~ WIS : 9 .#####..#.##........##########...##########.#########.#########.##~ DEX : 18/40 .#####.##............#########...#########..####2####.#########.##~ CON : 17 ###4###.#....###...........###...###............................##~ CHR : 12 #+#.#+#.#...#####..................................######..####.##~ AC 6 ........#...#####..................................###8##..3###.### HP 37/ 37 ###.#####....#+#.................@.....................##..####.### SP 14/ 14 ................................................................### ................................................................... .............................##6##........##++####....###+####..### ..........###...............#######......##########...########..### .........####>..............#######.....###....#####..########..##~ ####....#######.............#######.....+#......##+......#####..##~ ###1....#######..............#####......+#......##+......#####..##~ ####.....#####..............#######.....###....#####...#######..##~ Study (1) ####......###...............+#####+......##########....#######..##~ ............................#######.......##++####..............##~ ####..##5##..#####+#####............................##.##7####..##~ ####.#######.##########9...............##0##.###.#####.#######..##~
Coffee-Break Mode
Coffee-break mode is a <color:keyword>birth option you can select from the <color:keypress>= options menu during character creation. Selecting Beginner Mode at the intro screen automatically turns coffee-break mode on, but coffee-break mode is also available in Normal Mode and in Monster Mode.
Coffee-break mode greatly accelerates experience gain in the dungeon (only the dungeon!), increases monster drops, improves their quality, and speeds up a number of less obvious game mechanics such as reforging and most forms of proficiency gain. Coffee-break mode also makes the game faster in other ways - it reduces early-game level size, turns all staircases into shafts, and disables all upstairs altogether. The only way you can go is <color:keyword>down, and you will find yourself in the thick of the action very quickly! Coffee-break mode (unlike other forms of forced-descent play) does allow you to recall back to town, to shop and to complete town quests; you are also allowed to fail dungeon quests, although this causes you to permanently lose the special accelerated reforging bonus.
It is not possible to use coffee-break mode with the wilderness on. It is possible to play with both the wilderness and coffee-break mode off, but this is not recommended.
How to Cope in Coffee-Break Mode
Although coffee-break mode is turned on for beginners, it does not necessarily make the game easy. Sure, your character will gain in power very fast - but you also run into nasty enemies very fast! It is therefore best to have a plan.
One town quest is available to coffee-break players that many characters can complete before entering the dungeon - the <color:keyword>Thieves' Hideout quest, offered by Count Uldrik. Completing this quest nets you several character levels, a reward from the Count, and a fair bit of money; you can now purchase better supplies, as well as request your next quest: <color:keyword>Pest Control (the Warg Quest). This quest is in the dungeon, so you cannot delay going there any further - but killing the Wargs will give you quite a lot of experience, radically improving your chances when you meet the first random questor.
Random Questors
Random level guardians are both the greatest peril, and the greatest opportunity, that you will face early in a coffee-break game. Killing a random questor gives you a free stat-up, bonus exceptional items (beyond what they'd drop anyway!), and the warm feeling of making tangible progress.
On the other hand... the random level guardians are all out-of-depth uniques, and even with your accelerated power gain it is far from a given that you can kill them. Occasionally, you get very unlucky and the game hits you with a guardian who is simply way too tough for you. Players have often pulled off miraculous kills in these situations - desperation can come up with a strategy where a calmer mind would give up. But sometimes it is better to just accept your unfortunate fate and purposely fail the quest before you die or burn all your supplies in a futile attempt at completion. The penalties for failing a quest are rough (you can probably already forget your dream of reforging Ringil onto a ring); but at least you are alive.
Because you never know when you might meet a tough guardian, and cannot just recall home to get your supplies like you could in a wilderness game, it is best to be always prepared. Nothing is more annoying than making a heroic attempt at killing the guardian and narrowly failing because you had left one potion too many at home.
See for the basics of how a random dungeon quest works.
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.0.11
Updated : PosChengband 4.0.0
Updated : FrogComposband 7.0.nougat
Updated : FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice
Changes in older versions
=== History of PosChengband ===
PosChengband 1.0.0 Released
-crickets
PosChengband is a fork of the excellent variant Hengband.
=== History of Hengband ===
Jan. 9th, 2004 hengband 1.6.0 (New stable branch) released.
This is a bug-fix version of 1.5.4, and
the first version of the new stable branch (1.6.x) .
- Activation of the Wizardstaff of Gandalf was changed.
- Activation of the Charmed Pendant was changed.
- "share gold" in thievs guild was abolished.
- Hunter's office make no difference between two races of the same name.
- Mirrors will disappear when you move to other floor.
- Various bug fixes:
"./configure --with-setgid=games" didn't work.
Strange behavior for inscriptions such as {@ud}.
Sanity blast each time you used save command.
Quest rewards in lite_town were older.
The game crashed at cure mutation service when you are a Lucky.
The rarely crashed when a unique vanished from a saved floor.
When a monster threw another monster, the player caused damage.
Many typo, screen update failures, wrong descriptions etc.
- All changes for 1.4.5 are also included in 1.6.0 .
Jan. 9th, 2004 hengband 1.4.5 (Old stable branch) released.
This is the final version of old stable branch (1.4.x),
and is the final version without the saved floor.
- Avoid displaying unimportant descriptions when *identified* an object.
- Enabled use of sound.cfg on Windows. (Thanks to KoKa)
- Mimicing monsters '+','%','{' didn't appear in monster knowledge menu.
- Various bug fixes:
Samurai couldn't use Boomerang tech in Arena.
A monster in Capture Ball sometimes disenchanted and changed.
Random teleport in Monster Arena cause infinite loop.
Charging Magic Whistles were stacked, and charge was reset.
Surplus {special} fake inscription on identified artifact.
Some items in the Race career list in character dump were missing.
Warrior of the Dawn couldn't reproduced in forests.
Cursed weapon in left hand was able to move to right hand.
Summon Pet sometimes failed.
Stop time was cancelled when any monster die.
Miscount of Silver Angels.
Renamed "A Set of Gloves of Dragon" to "A Set of Dragon Gloves".
Sometimes pets mistakenly breathed on the player.
Sometimes normal breath pierce walls.
The Minotaur of the Labyrinth should be summond by final boss.
Many typo, screen update failures, wrong descriptions etc.
Aug. 12th, 2003 hengband 1.5.4 (Development branch) released.
- New artifatct amulets.
- Special inscription {@ma},{@0} etc. on equip/floor lists are allowed.
- Tags, "a)" etc., are always effected by above inscription.
- 'x' mark of view_unsafe_grids will be cleared by disarming spell.
- Various bug fixes:
Pval didn't effect on values of normal objects.
Proficiency of missile weapons were not increased.
- All changes for 1.4.4 are also included in 1.5.4.
Aug. 12th, 2003 hengband 1.4.4 (Stable branch) released.
- Various bug fixes:
Hidden doors were not hidden on tile graphics mode.
'Stop singing' didn't take time. (It should take 1/10 turn.)
Repeat didn't work correctly for Forcetrainers when blinded.
Jul. 20th, 2003 hengband 1.5.3 (Development branch) released.
- Improved Warning ability a bit.
- Some English text were corrected. (thanks to an choco)
- Various bug fixes:
Crash after every auto-save.
view_unsafe_grids allowed to see trails in the Maze.
Repeat didn't work correctly for Forcetrainers when blinded.
- All changes for 1.4.3 are also included in 1.5.3.
Jul. 20th, 2003 hengband 1.4.3 (Stable branch) released.
- Various bug fixes:
Experience gain for killing monsters was zero.
When using manual_haggle, selling items didn't work.
Mana point was not updated correctly after Clear Mind.
Jul. 10th, 2003 hengband 1.5.2 (Development branch) released.
- Random artifacts get more 'Construction point' for Android.
- Hunter's office gives items as prize now.
- Probing gives all monster recall infomations.
- Crowns of telepathy get many low ESPs when high one is 'nonliving'.
- Warning ability is more accurate now.
- Some monsters have 'dark light' now.
- The Armageddon trap is less dangerous now.
- Duration check of temporal effects on monsters is changed of timing.
- And stealth of the player will get effected by their speed.
- STUPID monsters try to cast spells in anti-magic cave.
- Score penalty for Amberite Berserkers no longer applied.
- Shapechanger will really change shape on tile graphics mode.
- "Colour out of space" is same letter as terrain type under foot.
- Parmanent walls at boundaries mimics normal terrains in dungeon.
- Enhanced view_unsafe_grids option; 'x' will be cleared when walked over.
- 'Cure mutation' service will always succeed.
- Special inscription like {@ma} can be used in all commands now.
- [Y/n] check on character generation accept all keys except N and ESC.
- You can set Character history using template file at birth now.
- Character dump now displays Blue-magics.
- Character dump now displays full details of lost fight on Arena.
- Tidyed up Quest list display.
- Added 'Dark elven pit'
- Copy&Paste using mouse on X11 port. (from sCthangband)
- Various bug fixes:
Strange behaviors after using save command (^S).
'@' displayed at wrong position when trap door activated.
Duplicate unique monster while player is dominating one as their pet.
Inconsistent message about the effect of the jewel.
Incomplete update for sub-windows. etc...
- All changes for 1.4.2 are also included in 1.5.2.
Jul. 10th, 2003 hengband 1.4.2 (Stable branch) released.
- Cancelling of Racial/Class power no longer takes energy.
- The algorism for breath shape is changed.
- Various bug fixes:
Samurai was not able to 'Assume a Posture' when they have pets.
Buggy behavior of Teleportaion while mounting on a Lord of Change.
Inven/Equip sub-window displayed gerbages when resized.
Wrong monster name in playrecord file at the Arena.
Sorcerer and Red-Mage didn't get cost bonuses from Proficiency.
'Rush Attack' was able to pass over the Pattern.
Collected display update for "Fingolfin's Challenge" song.
Overflaw of item's value in store.
Songs were not really stopped while global map.
Date/time went wrong when player race is changed.
'Rodeo' sometimes failed to fail and behaved as succeed.
Collected font on WinNT/2000/XP.
Pets sometimes involved the player in their spell by mistake.
Wrong value of ego ring of resist time.
Salt Water didn't have effect on living.
Two rare bugs on decision for Quest completion.
Charge overflaw for stack of rods.
Clones of unique monster sometimes changed to real unique.
Bug on adding essence on a equippment with negative pval.
Collected update for monster light. etc...
Dec. 24th, 2002 hengband 1.5.1 (Development branch) released.
- Added visual editor in lists of known objects and etc... (Unangband)
- Clairaudience spell of Bard doesn't detect walls with treasure.
- Various bug fixes;
Monsters on saved floors awake, Error handling while save,
Monster data is broken while save and then crash,
Shaft takes you to wrong levels.
- All changes for 1.4.1 are also included in 1.5.1.
Dec. 24th, 2002 hengband 1.4.1 (Stable branch) released.
- Elvish waybread fully satisfies mortals. (from OAngband)
- General store sell Elvish waybread.
- Salt water don't effect undead etc...
- Description of weapons/armour from OAngband.
- Added disturb when objects with inscription {!!} is recharged.
- Improved display of tiles at knowledge command, etc., on Bigtile mode
- Various bug fixes;
Vault with no entrance, Crash at (a) of info command,
Arena while Wraithform, Activation of smith's equip,
Foods while mimiccing, Kind of monsters at the Mountain,
Broken name of the Staff, Random teleport in monster arena.
Dec. 9th, 2002 hengband 1.5.0 (Development branch) released.
Implemented 'Saved Floors':
- You can climb back the same stairs to get back to the same floor.
- But different stairs will always take you to different floors.
- All saved floors will be cleared when your reached to the surface.
- Changed effects of Level teleport, trap door and stair creation.
(Each effect takes you to the floor right above or right under.)
- Remove two options; dungeon_stairs and confirm_stairs
- Add a new option 'confirm_quest' which warns about one-way stairs.
- Increased number of walls with treasure.
- Implemented walls with hidden treasure.
- Removed detect treasure effect from the Detection spell.
Dec. 9th, 2002 hengband 1.4.0 (Stable branch) released.
- Removed scrolls of satisfy hunger and that class power of Berserkers.
Androids can quaff flasks of oil.
Barlogs can sacrifice corpses with symbol 't','p', or 'h' using the Eat command.
Golems, Zombies, Skeletons, and Spectors can Eat charges of wands and staves.
Ents can get nutritions from water in any potions.
- Added lists of known monsters/objects from Eyangband.
- Shift + direction keys will move cursor quickly in the look command.
- Tuned interface to list stack of items in the look command with easy_floor.
- Added new service of buildings in town which evaluate effects of your AC.
- Added disturb_high: disturb whenever high-level monster moves
- Added allow_debug_opts: allow use of debug/cheat options
- Changed 'munchkin_death' into a cheat option 'cheat_save'.
- Removed terrain_streams and stupid_monsters.
- Fixed typos and grammar errors on English. (Thanks to John Mikula)
- Fix various bugs:
Too many items break savefile. Crash at boundary of wilderness.
Stop time at forest of global map. Hidden door at Deep Water.
A floor mimiccing wall. Warding True. Disintegration on runes.
Absence of new traps. Confused Blue-mage. Quickness of Mirror-magic.
Resurrection of Amberites. Multiple Chameleon King.
Buffer-overflow breaks macro.
Oct. 31st, 2002 hengband 1.3.1 (Development branch) released.
- Added a new menu 'Keep on top' for subwindows of Windows version
- Auto-Inscription-For-Resistances, {%}, will work dynamically.
- Weak pseud-identified inscription for enchanted objects is now
{uncursed} instead of {good}.
- New trapped rooms: Piranha trap and Armageddon trap.
- Keep background terrain under Rune of Protection and Rune of Explosion.
- Fixed the bug that trapped pit is isolated within walls.
- Removed little boy and fat man.
- New unique; Sheer Heart Attack, the Bomb Hand
- Changed configure.in so that acconfig.h is no longer needed.
- All changes from 1.2.0 to 1.2.2.
Oct. 31st, 2002 hengband 1.2.2 (Stable branch) released.
- The Cloning Pits now includes Borshin.
- Description of *identified* Light source of darkness now include
effects on light radius as numerical value.
- Fixed bug that radius of light source couldn't reach to zero however
many darkness items are equipped, when the player has fiery aura.
- Fixed many bugs(rod of percention, Royal Crypt, etc...)
Sep. 9th, 2002 hengband 1.2.1 (Stable branch) released.
- Added description about license of Hengband; 'jlicense.txt'.
(jlicense.txt is Japanese only for now)
- Increased AC of the ego Ring of Protection (Extra Armor) by 7.
- Fixed some bug on monster's AI.
- Fixed bug that cause crash when specific chest trap triggerd.
- Fixed wrong display of the Tower quest in quest information command.
- Fixed bug that fail rates of the imitation differed from the value
displayed in a spell list.
- Changed the Walken to be drop items.
- Fixed some memory leak and overruns and underruns memory allocation.
- Fixed some other bug.
Aug. 28th, 2002 hengband 1.3.0 (Development branch) released.
- Added a new room type; trapped monster pit.
- Added object flags of various ESPs. (from Unangband and ToME)
- Every slay flags now have corresponding *slay* flags.
- The 'C' command display ESPs, Slays and 'other' flags on a new page.
- Now Weaponsmiths can attach ESPs and *slay*s on equipments.
- Inserted new-lines after first two paragraphs of monster-recall.
- 'Experience' of Andoroid is now displayed as construction point.
- Counting of play time will stop within the auto-picker editor.
- Wrote quest information in character dump file.
- Apply auto-destroy just after using Psychometry.
- Added new command letter ';' of auto-picker/destroyer which forces
the game to ask if you want to pick the item up. (Thanks to Kieron)
- The '?' key shows you contextual help while option setting and
character making.(from Eyangband)
Aug. 28th, 2002 hengband 1.2.0 (Stable branch) released.
- Fixed many bugs
- Splited version tree into two branch;
development version: 1.3.x and stable version: 1.2.x.
- Introduced save-file-version which is independent from actual
version number of the game.
- Placed Thorondor at level 50 of the Mountain dungeon as a master.
- Strengthened all greater eagles very much.
- Added new options: destroy_feeling and destroy_identify which
control whether auto-destroy will be applied just after pseudo
identify or identify.
- Moved manual_haggle option into birth option from game option.
- A mirror made by mirror-master will change back to original terrain
when the mirror is broken.
- Added description of every spells of Magic-eater.
- Area of Darkness spell was changed back to same as 1.1.0RC2.
- You can use '(' and ')' key as first or last item on item selection.
- Changed message text at climbing up to surface level.
- Halved experience of drujs.
- Added more descriptions of personalities on help file and character
making screen.
Modifications for auto-picker/destroyer editor:
- Added descriptions about function of {%} and {%all}.
- Added search commands '/', 'n', 'N' on the editor.
- New commands '~', '!', ';', '(' which repeatedly add or remove
corresponding command letter.
- The game no longer creates pickpref-<player's name>.prf when
pickpref.prf is already exist.
- Do auto-save the game at starting the editor.
Jun. 15th, 2002 hengband 1.1.0 released.
- Changed behavior of light area.
- Various bug fixes and tuning.
Jun. 2nd, 2002 hengband 1.1.0 Release Candidate 1 released.
- Splited Life realm into two and new spells added; New 'Life' realm
and New 'Crusade' realm.
- Speed system modified; multiple-moves got fewer at early stage.
- Vi-like in-game editor(the _ key) of Auto-picker/destroyer
preference.
- Character background can be edited by player at birth.
- Auto-destoy/Auto-inscription is now performed just after identify
objects (like auto-squelch).
- Indicators of temporal effects(status bar) are now have variable
size and position.
- new option view_unsafe_grids from Unangband; Unkown grids that have
not beed trap detecteted are marked with gray 'x'.
- new option disturb_trap_detect from Oangband; disturbs you when
player is running out of trap-detected area.
- new option alert_trap_detect; alerts you with message when the
player is moving out of the trap-detected area.
- Ninja can now throw(v) Iron Spikes in the Arena.
- Known monster level is displayed together with monster name in look
command.
- The game loads only either pickpref-<name>.prf or pickpref.prf, not
both.
- Fake inscriptions({cursed} {empty} etc..) are not hidden under real
inscriptions.
- A stack of more than 23 objects on floor can be listed when
easy_floor is on; you can scroll the list with the enter key.
- Expanded limit radius of light from player's light source.
- Downstairs don't become 'very long stairs' when ironman_downward is
on.
- Added Essence of Slay human and Essence of Warning for Weaponsmith.
- Added new monsters.
- Default color of permanent walls is now Light Umber.
- Added a few new tiles.
- Some bugs fixed.
Apl. 6th, 2002 hengband 1.0.11 released.
- The on-line help files is translated to English
- Warning ability of an object can be canceled by its inscription {$}.
- The terrain feature of brake changed '#' -> ':'
- Format of the mon-info.spo is revised
- HUMAN flag for monsters and SLAY_HUMAN flag for weapons
- 'Muramasa' and 'Chainsword' are modified and have SLAY_HUMAN now.
- The cause of death is written in character dump.
- Paralyzation status is written in the text of the cause of death.
- Cursed items have various random unpleasant effects.
- Bigtile graphics mode, each tile have double width and become a square.
- Bigscreen from OAngband
- Correct cause of death when hallucination
- Savefile name longer then 8 letters can be used. (For Windows)
- Normal magic items have descriptions when *identified*
- Some bugs fixed.
Mar. 6th, 2002 hengband 1.0.10 released.
- New artifact, ego-ammo and vault.
- Class power of Red-Mage is more useful.
- Force Trainer becomes more and more powerful in melee when
they use 'Improve Force'.
- Monster AI is a bit improved.
- The Serpent of Chaos summons guardians of each dungeons.
- Random artifact names list was expanded.
- Iron Spikes has (dmg per shot/dmg per turn) display.
- Automatically tidy up bundles of ammo to 99 ammo and the rest.
- Interact with visual command takes ^N ^A ^C.
- Support 16x16 tile. Selected by extra option -- -a on X11.
- 8x8 tile supports lighting effects.
- Screen shot is supported in graphics mode.
- Support in MPW environment of Macintosh.
Jan.30th, 2002 hengband 1.0.9 revision 1 released.
- Fixed one more bug which cause crash (English version only).
Jan.27th, 2002 hengband 1.0.9 released.
- New character making screen
- New character information 'C' screen
- Range and accuracy of crossbow are changed.
- Rod of Pesticide was changed.
- The score server now holds colored screenshots at dying and winning.
screenshots will be placed at:
'http://www.kmc.gr.jp/~habu/local/hengscore-en/screens/'.
But links on the webpage to the screenshots are not yet available.
- Limited support of 8x8 tile graphics.
- Hengband online help in *Japanese*.
(sadly English version of online help is not yet available)
- Rune of explosion no longer has anti-summoning effects.
- Rune of protection no longer has perfect
anti-summoning effects. Sea of runes are no longer
perfect. But this change has a good side effect:
monsters can waste its time to try summoning.
- Identify spell now shows only unidentified items in the list.
- Difficulty to activate random artifact is changed.
Dec.31th, 2001 hengband 108fix2 revision 1 released.
- 'fix2' is japanese bug fixed version but this bug was
not effect on English version.
- The 'interact with knowledge' command changed.
You can get display of lines of auto picker/destroyer.
Dec.31th, 2001 hengband 108fix1 version 3 released.
- Auto macro dump and other auto dump is now
more useful. Old dump lines will be deleted
before appending new dump.
- A minor typo and a minor bug fixed.
Dec.30th, 2001 hengband 108fix1 version 2 released.
- All remained japanese messages are found and fixed,
using a exclusive C program.
- You can now define macros in the 'pickpref.prf'.
Dec.29th, 2001 hengband 108fix1 released.
- This is a bug fixed japanese version, and almost
- same as 108eng3, but a few more bugs are fixed.
Dec.25th, 2001 hengband 108eng2(stable) and 108eng3(test version) released.
- 108eng2: fixed some typo. ']' key now can be used as macro key.
- 108eng3: macro trigger is displayed in more suitable way;
such that \[F1] or \[control-shift-alt-HOME].
And you can use alt-key plus alphabet-key as macro
key on Windows now; \[alt-A] or \[shift-alt-B].
Dec.24th, 2001 hengband 108eng1: makefile.bcc was not work. now fixed.
Dec.24th, 2001 hengband 1.0.8 released. This is a new Japanese version.
The source can be used to compile English version too.
- The address of the world score server is changed.
- Makefiles was changed again.
- New item: Magic Whistle.
- Ninja had been a bit weakened.
- can study known spells using 'G' command for more proficiency.
- Some minor bugs was fixed.
- Yet another japanese massage was translated.
Dec.17th, 2001 hengband 1.0.7fix2 english beta4 released.
- Yet another remained japanese messages are now translated.
- Changed some option info texts and names again.
- Inventory lists of Home and Museum in the character dump is fixed.
- Some bugs related groo and Metal Babble is fixed.
Dec.11th, 2001 hengband 1.0.7fix2 english beta3 released.
- fixed a compile error. English info message of artifacts added.
- changed some info text and name of options.
Dec. 9th, 2001 hengband 1.0.7fix2 english beta2 released.
- fixed a terrible bug,
- items in the home was not saved when more than 24 items stored.
- Binary for Macintosh (ppc, osX) is now available.
Dec. 8th, 2001 hengband 1.0.7fix2 english beta released.
- Many mistakes of English messages, and bugs are fixed.
Dec. 5th, 2001 1.0.7fix2 english alpha2 released.
- fixed some mistakes of archives.
Dec. 4th, 2001 hengband 1.0.7fix2 english alpha version released.
=== The main differences of Hengband 1.0.7 from ZAngband2.2.8 ===
- World score server: You can register scores and character dumps.
- Player can write last words when died, which is displayed in the
character dump registered to the score server.
- Menu interface: return key activates the main menu which include almost
all commands. So beginners don't need to memorize all commands.
- Player can ride on some pet monsters, horses, dragons etc.
- Player can wield two weapons at once or wield a weapon with two-handed.
- Player have proficiency levels of each weapons and spells, like Nethack.
- Player can change second magic realm. All previous realm's spell will
be lost. There is a limit in the total of studying spells.
- New classes:
Tourist : they can poorly cast arcane spells. difficult to survive.
Imitator : imitate spells or abilities which monsters have just used.
BeastMaster : dominate or summon monsters and ride on these.
Sorcerer : cast spells of all magic realms. But physically hopeless.
Archer : a warrior specialized in missile weapon. can create ammo.
Magic-Eater : absorb wands, staffs and rods to use it as magic spell.
Bard : sing songs. like Harper of PernAngband.
Red-Mage : dual-class, can cast all lower rank spells of all realms.
Samurai : use Samurai Arts which include various special attack.
ForceTrainer : use the spiritual Force. prefer to be bare-hand
Blue-Mage : study monster's spells. use these as his own spell.
Cavalry : a warrior specialized in riding.
Berserker : powerful warrior. but cannot use magic items except potions.
Weaponsmith : extract essences from items. use it to improve equipment.
Mirror-Master : create magical mirror. use its fantastic power.
Ninja : act without lights, attack monsters with possible insta kill.
- New races:
Ent, Archon, Balrog, Dunadan, Shadow-Fairy, Kutar, Android
- Player's Personality:
At the character making, you can choose Personality, which include
Ordinary, Mighty, Shrewd, Pious, Nimble, Fearless, Combat, Lazy,
Sexy, Lucky, Patient, and Munchkin.
- New magic realms: Craft magic, Daemon magic
Other magic realms also exist for new classes' exclusive use.
Existing realms are modified.
- Class powers: class specific powers, like the racial one.
- Pernangband-like large wilderness map and many different dungeons,
including Maze, Volcano, R'lyeh, Anti-magic cave, Anti-melee cave,
Chameleon cave, Dark cave, Hell, Heaven, etc.
- The amount of energy which player and monsters take in each turn are
randomized, which makes pillar-dancing impossible, and produces
danger of possible sudden death.
- Monsters can breath or cast spells to a place adjacent to player.
- A monster which was attacked in the last turn can move and cast spells
even if the attacker is not in the line of sight.
So a Quylthulg pit is no more an easy source of experience.
- The path shape of bolt spells is same as the path of missile weapons.
- New abilities of monsters
- Dispel magic spell: dispels all magic of player, including
Globe of Invulnerability. And many deeper unique monsters,
including Serpent of Chaos, wisely cast dispel magic spell.
- Psycho spear: beam spell which penetrate Globe of Invulnerability.
- Stop the Time: A few monsters can cast it...
- blow with drain mana: some monster cause damage at SP with its blow.
- Higher level monsters can resist genocide.
- Even artifacts will be removed by *destruction*.
- Player can name his pets, and can take pets over to any place.
- Pet monsters will not turn against player when attacked by player.
- Monsters killed by player's pets don't drop items.
- Player and monsters cannot summon monsters of opposite alignment.
- New items:
- Capture Ball, capture a monster to make pets, or carry a pet.
- Wizardstaff and Ring of Mana, decrease mana consumption of spells.
- ring of warning, warn before dangerous move.
and many other new items...
- Many new artifacts and new monsters.
- Random Quest monster is always unique, and one-time only.
- Ego rings and Ego amulets.
- Names of random artifacts will reflect it's ability.
A weapon which has fire brand, fire resistance, and fiery aura is
more likely named 'Fire Brand' or like that.
- When player level advances, stats increase sometimes. Instead,
stat gaining potion is much rarer.
- Players start with more HP and more SP, early stage is not very hard.
- Home is expanded to 20 pages. and all 4 Homes in 4 towns is same.
- New building Museum: Give as many items as you like for memorial.
- New building Hunter's office: They offer prize for wanted monsters.
- New casino game Poker : It's real poker.
- New casino game Monster Arena : You bets to one of four monsters.
They battle each other and you win when your monster wins.
- Auto picker: write item names on a file named 'pickpref.prf', then
these items will be automatically picked up or destroyed and even
automatically inscribed.
=== Zangband History and Information ===
Versions 1.0 - 2.1.0c
---------------------
The seeds of Zangband lie in an obsolete and long ago vanished PC
variant (somewhat misleadingly) dubbed Angband--. The variant was
written by a hopeless Angband addict (previously Moria veteran and
winner) who got bored with the standard monsters and wanted to
introduce some new monsters. Angband-- was based on the PC Angband 1.31
sources, and it was set in Roger Zelazny's 'Amber' universe.
Later this individual got a better computer and learned to code, and
produced the PC Zangband, and most Angband-- monsters survived into
PC Zangband 1.0. PC Zangband 1.0 was the first PC Angband to introduce
(simple, font-based) graphics, which were also used in the graphical
PC Angband 1.40.
Yet this individual was still not cured of his addiction... his almost
as strong addiction to the Civilization style fantasy strategy game
'Master of Magic' inspired him to write a new magic system. The current
version of Zangband (2.*) incorporates this magic system, as well as
the best features from Angband-- and PC Zangband 1.0. It is based on
the Angband 2.8.1 sources (by Ben Harrison), and is therefore portable
to other systems (unlike the earlier versions which were for dos-pc's
only).
Incidentally, this person (me, Topi Ylinen) also thought that the
standard Angband monsters were too easy, which led him to introduce
such monsters as Death swords, Cyberdemons and Great wyrms of power...
Versions 2.1.0d - present
-------------------------
ZAngband 2.1.0c was Topi's last version, he has got a job and and
doesn't have enough time anymore to continue work on ZAngband.
He asked for a new maintainer and I was the one to take over the task.
May I introduce myself, my name is Robert Ruehlmann, I'm the creator
of the graphical Angband versions for DOS and webmaster of
"Thangorodrim - The Angband Page" ("http://www.thangorodrim.net").
Special thanks
--------------
The newer versions of Zangband might not have come into existence
without the significant help from these excellent Angband programmers.
Topi would like to thank:
Ben Harrison, for obvious reasons.
Greg Wooledge, who pointed out a bug in the dos compiler,
which was preventing Topi's progress with the first 2.* version
of Zangband and for various patches.
Julian Lighton, who must have sent Topi more ideas, patches,
and bug reports, than all the others toghether.
Robert Ruehlmann, whose nice new main-dos.c enables SVGA
graphics and even windows in ms-dos.
Paul Sexton, who is responsible for about 50% of the new code
in 2.1.0.
Robert would also like to thank:
Heino Vander Sanden, who created the quest-code and
Dean Anderson, whose patch showed me the quickest way to
implement the quests.
Adam Bolt, who created the new ZAngband tiles.
Scott Bigham, for the S-Lang patch.
Jeff Duprey for the new mutations.
John Duffin and Leigh Silas Hanrihan for the new items.
Marten Woxberg for many new ideas.
Ken Wigle for allowing me to include his town and quest code.
Tim Baker for many patches and bugfixes and for ZAngbandTk.
Chris Weisiger for many new vault layouts.
Juergen Neitzel for countless new rumors.
Topi Ylinen, Mark Howson, Adam Horowitz, Oscar Nelson and
all the other regular members of the #angband chat channel
for giving me lots of new ideas and being good friends.
Benny S. Hofmann, Aram Harrow, Greg Harvey, Keldon Jones,
Graham Murray, Remco Gerlich, Tim Baker, Oscar Nelson,
Adam Horowitz, David A. Henry, "Strikes", Chris Hadgis,
David Howdon, Jenni Henzel, Stephen Lee, Gwidon S. Naskrent,
Eric Wright, Bob Martin, Jeff Coleburn, Ethan Sicotte,
Brandon Walker, Kelly Trinh, Brian Graham, James W. Sager III,
John Holton, Larry Bassel, Markus Linnala, Musus Umbra,
Mike Hommel, Christopher Stranczek, Werner Baer, Andreas Koch,
Jon Boehnker, Jason Willoughby, David Paoletti and many others
for bugreports, patches, bugfixes, and ideas.
=== Brief Version History (of standard Angband) ===
First came "VMS Moria", by Robert Alan Koeneke (1985).
Then came "Umoria" (Unix Moria), by James E. Wilson (1989).
In 1990, Alex Cutler and Andy Astrand, with the help of other students
at the University of Warwick, created Angband 1.0, based on the
existing code for Umoria 5.2.1. They wanted to expand the game, keeping
or even strengthening the grounding in Tolkien lore, while adding more
monsters and items, including unique monsters and artifact items, plus
activation, pseudo-sensing, level feelings, and special dungeon rooms.
Over time, Sean Marsh, Geoff Hill, Charles Teague, and others, worked
on the source, releasing a copy known as "Angband 2.4.frog_knows" at
some point, which ran only on Unix systems, but which was ported by
various people to various other systems.
Then Charles Swiger (cs4w+@andrew.cmu.edu) attempted to clean up the
mess, resulting in several versions, starting sometime around November,
1993, with Angband 2.5.1 (more or less) and leading up to Angband 2.6.2
in late 1994. Several people ported (the primarily Unix/NeXT centered)
Angband 2.6.1 to other platforms, including Keith Randall, who made a
Macintosh port that added support for color usage. Some of the changes
during this period were based on suggestions from the "net", PC Angband
1.40, UMoria 5.5, and some of the Angband "variations", such as
FAngband.
Finally, I (Ben Harrison) took over in late 1994 when Charles Swiger
left. Initially my intention was simply to clean up what had become,
after ten years, a rather unholy mess, but the deeper I delved into the
code, the more it became apparent that drastic changes were needed, so,
starting with MacAngband 2.6.1, I began a more or less total rewrite,
resulting, eventually, in Angband 2.7.0, released around January first,
1995.
Angband 2.7.0 was a very clean (but very buggy) rewrite that, among
other things, allowed extremely simple porting to multiple platforms,
starting with Unix and Macintosh, and by the time most of the bugs were
cleaned up, in Angband 2.7.2, including X11, and various IBM machines.
Angband 2.7.4 was released to the "ftp.cis.ksu.edu" site, and quickly
gained acceptance, perhaps helped by the OS2 and Windows and Amiga and
Linux ports. Angband 2.7.5 and 2.7.6 added important capabilities such
as macros and user pref files, and continued to clean up the source.
Angband 2.7.8 was designed to supply another "stable" version that we
can all give to our friends, with new "help files" and "spoiler files"
for the "online help", plus a variety of minor tweaks and some new
features. Angband 2.7.9 optimized a few things, and tweaked a few other
things, and cleaned up a few other things, and introduced a few minor
semantic changes.
It is very hard to pin down, along the way from 2.6.2 to 2.7.0, and
thence to 2.7.8, exactly what was added exactly when. Most of these
steps involved so many changes as to make "diff files" not very useful,
since often the diff files were as long as the code itself. Most of the
changes, with the notable exception of the creation of the new
"main-xxx.c" files for the various new platforms, and a few other
exceptions generally noted in the source, were written by myself,
either spontaneously, or, more commonly, as the result of a suggestion
or comment by an Angband player. So if you have any problems with
anything that you do not recognize from older versions, you can blame
them on me. And if you like the new features and such, you can send me
a brief little "thank you" email (to benh@phial.com) or something...
The Official Angband Home Page ("http://www.phial.com/")
was created along with Angband 2.7.9 to serve as an up to date
description of any bugs found in various versions, and to list all of
the people whose email addresses I kept having to look up.
=== Some of the changes from Angband 2.6.1 to Angband 2.7.9 ===
The most important modification was a massive "code level cleanup" that
made all of my other modifications much simpler and safer. This cleanup
was so massive that in many places the code is no longer recognizable,
for example, via "diff -r", often because it was rewritten from
scratch.
The second most important modification was the design of a generic
"term.c" package, which allows Angband to be ported to a new machine
with as few as 50 lines of code. Angband 2.7.9 thus runs without
modification on many machines, including Macintosh, PowerMac, Unix/X11,
Unix/Curses, Amiga, Windows, OS2-386, DOS-386, and even DOS-286.
It would be difficult to list all of the changes between Angband 2.6.1
and Angband 2.7.9, because many of them were made in passing during the
massive code level cleanup. Many of the changes are invisible to the
user, but still provide increased simplicity and efficiency, and
decreased code size, or make other more visable changes possible. For
example, the new "project()" code that handles all bolts, beams, and
balls, the new "update_view()" code that simplifies line of sight
computation, or the new "generate()" code that builds new levels in the
dungeon. Many changes have been made to increase efficiency, including
the new "process_monsters()" and "update_monsters()" functions, and
the new "objdes()" and "lite_spot()" routines. The generic "Term"
package yielded efficient screen updates, and enabled the efficient use
of "color".
But anyway, here are a few things that come to mind, in no particular
order, and with very little time or effort. Somehow I managed to put
off updating this file to the very end, and it will just have to do for
now. The recent changes (and bug fixes) can be found at the Official
Angband Home Page.
color
macros
keymaps
user pref files
generic feature array, with template file
generic object array, with template file
generic artifact array, with template file
generic ego-item array, with template file
generic monster array, with template fils
generic vault array, with template file
binary image files for the template files
special stat effect tables
a special table of spells
a special table of options
inventory tagging
inventory restrictions
using objects off the floor
various new runtime options
the new "destroy" command
the new "examine" command
the new "note" command
the new "dump screen" command
the new "load screen" command
the new "un-inscribe" command
the new "change visuals" command
the new "change colors" command
the new "change macros" command
the new "save game" command
the new "fire" vs "throw" commands
rearranged equipment slots
a standard bow slot
an extra inventory slot
an underlying keyset
refueling torches
better monster memory
nicer targeting mode
object stacking
the recall window
the choice window
the mirror window
new high score code
special lighting effects
intelligent monsters
new monster flags
text formatting code
much cleaner store code
generic spell projections
scrolls of *identify*
maximize mode
preserve mode
new inscription code
new message recall code
new spell and prayer code
massive cleanup of effects code
new object allocation routines
powerful (but simple) on line help
robust savefile cheat preventers
new official cheating options
new blindness code
new hallucination code
optimized object description code
new keypress input routines
actual object discounts
fractional (asymptotic) speed
postponing updates/redraws
run-time price determination
better wizard commands
the automatic player
launchers of extra shots
elemental ignore flags
new ego-item types
new player ghost creation
no more sliding objects
no more sliding monsters
new object flags
new chest trap code
regularized the artifact code
regularized the ego-item code
new monster abilities
new monster spell attacks
some new store owners
run-time skill computation
player kills vs ancestor kills
better room illumination code
better group monster code
table access through pointers
more redefinable constants
slightly new screen layout
extreme code cleaning
extreme optimizations
=== A Note from the Maintainer (of standard Angband) ===
Welcome to Angband 2.7.9v6.
My name is Ben Harrison, and I have been the maintainer of Angband
since November, 1994, when the previous maintainer, Charles Swiger
(who developed Angband 2.5.1 through 2.6.2), got a real job. Starting
with Angband 2.7.0, and continuing through the current version (2.7.9),
I have been responsible for a number of major improvements to the basic
Angband game, some of them obvious to the casual user and others hidden
below the surface, but no less significant. The most significant
improvement has been a total rewrite of large portions of the code,
which, after ten years of modifications by various people, had begun to
resemble a rotting death mold. Also significant was the design of a
generic "term.c" package, which has allowed Angband to be easily ported
to Macintosh, Amiga, X11, Windows, and basically every system in
existance (including a beta-version for DOS-286).
In addition, I have added lots of new commands, features, and
functionalities, most of which appear to have been accepted by most
people as a good idea (TM).
It is extremely easy to port Angband 2.7.9 to a new system. If you
cannot find a version that will compile on your machine, you can
usually make one by writing a single file of about one hundred lines of
C code.
Angband 2.7.8 was intended to be a nice, clean, stable version, so we
can all give copies to our friends. Unfortunately, it contained a few
minor bugs. The *enchant* armor/weapon scrolls were "swapped". The game
starts to look funny if too many objects accumulate on the floor. The
"Q" command (commit suicide) does not work. You may not be able to load
older savefiles. Some special dungeon levels may take a long time to
generate. Good drops can include cursed rings of speed. But you can see
that none of these are "fatal", so Angband 2.7.8 remains for now the
most "official" version.
Angband 2.7.9v1 through Angband 2.7.9v6 are intended as "transition"
versions leading up to the release of Angband 2.8.0. Angband 2.8.0 will
include many extensive changes from Angband 2.7.8, see the web page for
more information.
Most of these changes have been completed, and include things like
cleaning up some internal code issues, optimizing the code (again),
extending the functionality of some existing commands (such as target
and look, which now handle directional motion), tweaking various
aspects of the program, most notably in the introduction of new
symbols and colors for various monsters, and in the use of a more
regular set of RGB values for the various color codes, etc. Again, see
the web page for a complete list.
Angband 2.8.0 will introduce a version independent savefile format,
along with a new terrain feature concept, and the ability to allow
multiple objects in the same cave grid. It may or may not separate the
"unique" monsters from the "normal" monsters, perhaps introducing some
new "normal" monsters, such as "skeleton lord" or "giant boar" or
"master mage".
You can email compliments, complaints, bug reports, and presents to
me ("benh@voicenet.com"), and you can post interesting experiences,
general questions, compilation questions and code suggestions to the
newsgroup ("rec.games.roguelike.angband").
You can obtain the latest source and pre-compiled executables from
various places, try "ftp://ftp.cis.ksu.edu/pub/Games/Angband/Angband-2.7.x"
and the developer site at "ftp://export.andrew.cmu.edu/angband". You
will need to enter the appropriate sub-directory, such as "Source" or
"Macintosh".
You should visit "http://www.voicenet.com/~benh/Angband/" (the
Official Angband Home Page) and "http://www.paranoia.com/~jth/angband.html"
(the Unofficial Angband Home Page), for more up to date information.
You may freely distribute the game, and its source, though you are
bound not only by the existing copyright notice from 1984, but also
whatever restrictions may be present on various other pieces of the
code, including the fact that any source written by me is technically
automatically placed under copyright and may thus not be used for
commercial purposes.
The basic help files supplied with this game are more or less up to
date, but when in doubt, the source (or the newsgroup) is the place to
turn for advice. Or attempt to figure it out by experimentation, this
is sometimes the most fun. In particular, see "commands.txt" for
information on the available commands, some of which have been recently
added or changed, and "options.txt", which describe how to customize
several aspects of the game to suit your preferences.
The documentation is very easy to modify and update, so you may want to
check in to the ftp site occasionally to see if there are any new help
files (or spoiler files) for you to acquire. Note that the spoiler
files are not distributed with the source since they are so huge, but
you can obtain them from various places as with the source and
executables. New spoiler files may be placed in the "lib/help" or
"lib/info" directories, to allow access via the "online help" system.
Remember to tell all your friends about how much you like Angband...
Happy adventuring!
+++ Ben +++
=== A Posting from the Original Author ===
From: koeneke@ionet.net (Robert Alan Koeneke)
Newsgroups: rec.games.roguelike.angband,rec.games.roguelike.moria
Subject: Early history of Moria
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 04:20:51 GMT
I had some email show up asking about the origin of Moria, and its
relation to Rogue. So I thought I would just post some text on the
early days of Moria.
First of all, yes, I really am the Robert Koeneke who wrote the first
Moria. I had a lot of mail accusing me of pulling their leg and
such. I just recently connected to Internet (yes, I work for a
company in the dark ages where Internet is concerned) and
was real surprised to find Moria in the news groups... Angband was an
even bigger surprise, since I have never seen it. I probably spoke to
its originator though... I have given permission to lots of people
through the years to enhance, modify, or whatever as long as they
freely distributed the results. I have always been a proponent of
sharing games, not selling them.
Anyway...
Around 1980 or 81 I was enrolled in engineering courses at the
University of Oklahoma. The engineering lab ran on a PDP 1170 under
an early version of UNIX. I was always good at computers, so it was
natural for me to get to know the system administrators. They invited
me one night to stay and play some games, an early startrek game, The
Colossal Cave Adventure (later just 'Adventure'), and late one night,
a new dungeon game called 'Rogue'.
So yes, I was exposed to Rogue before Moria was even a gleam in my
eye. In fact, Rogue was directly responsible for millions of hours of
play time wasted on Moria and its descendents...
Soon after playing Rogue (and man, was I HOOKED), I got a job in a
different department as a student assistant in computers. I worked on
one of the early VAX 11/780's running VMS, and no games were available
for it at that time. The engineering lab got a real geek of an
administrator who thought the only purpose of a computer was WORK!
Imagine... Soooo, no more games, and no more rogue!
This was intolerable! So I decided to write my own rogue game, Moria
Beta 1.0. I had three languages available on my VMS system. Fortran
IV, PASCAL V1.?, and BASIC. Since most of the game was string
manipulation, I wrote the first attempt at Moria in VMS BASIC, and it
looked a LOT like Rogue, at least what I could remember of it. Then I
began getting ideas of how to improve it, how it should work
differently, and I pretty much didn't touch it for about a year.
Around 1983, two things happened that caused Moria to be born in its
recognizable form. I was engaged to be married, and the only cure for
THAT is to work so hard you can't think about it; and I was enrolled
for fall to take an operating systems class in PASCAL.
So, I investigated the new version of VMS PASCAL and found out it had
a new feature. Variable length strings! Wow...
That summer I finished Moria 1.0 in VMS PASCAL. I learned more about
data structures, optimization, and just plain programming that summer
then in all of my years in school. I soon drew a crowd of devoted
Moria players... All at OU.
I asked Jimmey Todd, a good friend of mine, to write a better
character generator for the game, and so the skills and history were
born. Jimmey helped out on many of the functions in the game as well.
This would have been about Moria 2.0
In the following two years, I listened a lot to my players and kept
making enhancements to the game to fix problems, to challenge them,
and to keep them going. If anyone managed to win, I immediately found
out how, and 'enhanced' the game to make it harder. I once vowed it
was 'unbeatable', and a week later a friend of mine beat it! His
character, 'Iggy', was placed into the game as 'The Evil Iggy', and
immortalized... And of course, I went in and plugged up the trick he
used to win...
Around 1985 I started sending out source to other universities. Just
before a OU / Texas football clash, I was asked to send a copy to the
University of Texas... I couldn't resist... I modified it so that
the begger on the town level was 'An OU football fan' and they moved
at maximum rate. They also multiplied at maximum rate... So the
first step you took and woke one up, it crossed the floor increasing
to hundreds of them and pounded you into oblivion... I soon received
a call and provided instructions on how to 'de-enhance' the game!
Around 1986 - 87 I released Moria 4.7, my last official release. I
was working on a Moria 5.0 when I left OU to go to work for American
Airlines (and yes, I still work there). Moria 5.0 was a complete
rewrite, and contained many neat enhancements, features, you name it.
It had water, streams, lakes, pools, with water monsters. It had
'mysterious orbs' which could be carried like torches for light but
also gave off magical aura's (like protection from fire, or aggravate
monster...). It had new weapons and treasures... I left it with the
student assistants at OU to be finished, but I guess it soon died on
the vine. As far as I know, that source was lost...
I gave permission to anyone who asked to work on the game. Several
people asked if they could convert it to 'C', and I said fine as long
as a complete credit history was maintained, and that it could NEVER
be sold, only given. So I guess one or more of them succeeded in
their efforts to rewrite it in 'C'.
I have since received thousands of letters from all over the world
from players telling about their exploits, and from administrators
cursing the day I was born... I received mail from behind the iron
curtain (while it was still standing) talking about the game on VAX's
(which supposedly couldn't be there due to export laws). I used to
have a map with pins for every letter I received, but I gave up on
that!
I am very happy to learn my creation keeps on going... I plan to
download it and Angband and play them... Maybe something has been
added that will surprise me! That would be nice... I never got to
play Moria and be surprised...
Robert Alan Koeneke
koeneke@ionet.net
=== Previous Versions (outdated) ===
VMS Moria Version 4.8
Version 0.1 : 03/25/83
Version 1.0 : 05/01/84
Version 2.0 : 07/10/84
Version 3.0 : 11/20/84
Version 4.0 : 01/20/85
Modules :
V1.0 Dungeon Generator - RAK
Character Generator - RAK & JWT
Moria Module - RAK
Miscellaneous - RAK & JWT
V2.0 Town Level & Misc - RAK
V3.0 Internal Help & Misc - RAK
V4.0 Source Release Version - RAK
Robert Alan Koeneke Jimmey Wayne Todd Jr.
Student/University of Oklahoma Student/University of Oklahoma
Umoria Version 5.2 (formerly UNIX Moria)
Version 4.83 : 5/14/87
Version 4.85 : 10/26/87
Version 4.87 : 5/27/88
Version 5.0 : 11/2/89
Version 5.2 : 5/9/90
James E. Wilson, U.C. Berkeley
wilson@ernie.Berkeley.EDU
...!ucbvax!ucbernie!wilson
Other contributors:
D. G. Kneller - MSDOS Moria port
Christopher J. Stuart - recall, options, inventory, and running code
Curtis McCauley - Macintosh Moria port
Stephen A. Jacobs - Atari ST Moria port
William Setzer - object naming code
David J. Grabiner - numerous bug reports, and consistency checking
Dan Bernstein - UNIX hangup signal fix, many bug fixes
and many others...
Copyright (c) 1989 James E. Wilson, Robert A. Keoneke
This software may be copied and distributed for educational,
research, and not for profit purposes provided that this copyright
and statement are included in all such copies.
Umoria Version 5.2, patch level 1
Angband Version 2.0 Alex Cutler, Andy Astrand, Sean Marsh, Geoff Hill,
Charles Teague.
Angband Version 2.4 : 5/09/93
Angband Version 2.5 : 12/05/93 Charles Swiger.
Angband Version 2.6 : 9/04/94
Angband Version 2.7 : 1/1/95 Ben Harrison
--
Original : (??)
Updated : (??)
Updated : Zangband DevTeam
Updated : Hengband 1.5.3
Changes in this version
Changes in FrogComposband 7.1.salmiak:
* Added new dungeons and randomized which dungeons actually appear
* Added new objects, ego types, artifacts, item curses, terrain features and random artifact names
* Added new monsters (including the reintroduction of the Greater Cyber Wyrm Angel Daemon Lich as an exclusively postgame monster)
* Added new player-monster race (Mummy) based on Maledicts from Pos-R
* Moved to a 32-color palette and changed the colors of many monsters
-- NOTES: If your platform does not support more than 16 colors, or FrogComposband's coloring code for your platform is faulty, compile with --disable-xtra-colours to retain use of 16 colors only. If your platform does support more than 16 colors but you wish to stick to 16 (from nostalgic reasons or for greater contrast between colors), load user-lim.prf (typing &4 in-game does this automatically) or otherwise modify the colors with the '&' command
-- Special thanks to Oneiron for helping me debug the 32-color palette
* Town services could enchant multiple weapons for the price of one; this has been fixed (thanks to Thraalbee for reporting)
* Directions were given for Heaven and Hell even if the player had not won; this has been fixed (thanks to Marty and ster for reporting)
* Fixed bug when Teleport Level was used after completing Crystal Quest (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed bug when stairs were taken just when recall kicked in (thanks to wobbly and bostock for reporting)
* Fixed bug with hand grenade explosions sometimes causing a "player" fake monster to temporarily appear (thanks to wobbly for reporting)
* Fixed bug with multi-effect monster blows sometimes killing an opponent repeatedly (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed bug with autotargeting the mount for hasting and healing (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed bug with devices in wilderness rooms generating with no effect (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed bug with standard artifacts disappearing from the floor if they had been carried there from another level (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed bug with Ninjas continuing to attack if Kawarimi was triggered mid-turn (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Timed monster statuses were not processed in the overworld; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed old bug with statue stacking (thanks to kt for reporting)
* Fixed infinite loop on junk autoget when always_pickup was on and the Easy Destroyer was not on (thanks to DavidMedley for reporting)
* Fixed crash when the object list subwindow was on and an item with specific properties was equipped from the floor (thanks to caruso for reporting)
* A potion of Restore Mana thrown from the floor could cause a phantom copy of itself to explode; this has been fixed
* Bumping into mountains while confused consumed no time; this has been fixed (thanks to Hugo for reporting)
* Fixed weirdness on player beholders with mutational innate attacks (thanks to Karkaroth for reporting)
* Fixed annoying and inconsistent handling of erratic movement on mounts (thanks to budswell for reporting)
* Fixed bug with newly acquired locked mutations not affecting regeneration properly (thanks to ster for reporting)
* Fixed bug with insurance and player-elemental item destruction
* Fixed bug with inappropriate handling of insured items left behind on a level the player subsequently returned to
* Fixed crash on shop shuffle if too many items had been reserved
* Fixed ancient bugs with the wilderness terrain-selection algorithm, and adjusted some numbers that had been optimized for the buggy version
* Fixed various types of weirdness with Bunshin; it is now generally less useful against auras, but more useful in a number of other situations where it previously did not apply
* Fixed minor bug with innate attack damage calculations
* Fixed weirdness with charmed clones
* Fixed yet another loophole to anti-scumming item/gold drop limits
* Fixed incorrect pluralization of some quiver egos
* Fixed weirdness with door placement in cavern areas
* Fixed occasional weirdness with stair placement after quest completion
* Multiple items could be reserved for the price of one; this has been fixed
* Turncounts in character dumps now properly account for midnight starts (this does not apply retroactively)
* Changed the power of confusion effects, they should now at least resemble the claimed powers
* Fixed issue with the powers of Slow Monster bolt spells (thanks to Saru for reporting)
* Allowed Samurai to view damage averages for Kendo attack techniques (thanks to ster for suggesting)
* Renamed weak Beam of Light to "Moonbeam" to more clearly distinguish it from strong Beam of Light (thanks to bostock for suggesting)
* Slightly relaxed capture-balling requirements for hostile monsters to prevent some low-HP monsters from being captureable at all (thanks to caruso for bringing this up)
* Added option (on by default) to limit quantity prompts in shops to the highest amount that is both available and affordable (thanks to caruso for suggesting)
* Added option (off by default) to indicate unknown item flavors in shops (thanks to caruso for suggesting)
* Added option (off by default) to display the nominal energy cost of the most recent action (thanks to Bucephalus for suggesting)
* Added option (on by default) to extend the unknown attribute indicator '?' to cover random dragon resistances (thanks to bostock for bringing this up)
* Combined the empty_levels option with the ironman_empty_levels option
* Allowed using Home/End and 7/1 to immediately move to the beginning or end of a long home or museum inventory (thanks to Melum for suggesting)
* Renamed the "Cause Wounds" monster spells/auras to various types of "Curse", making it less unintuitive that most of them can curse the equipment
* Changed the Patient personality to be more the opposite of Hasty; it now has slightly better stats and skills than before, but gives a speed penalty
* Potions of New Life now shuffle Split personalities (thanks to Aav for suggesting)
* Improved the object list and monster list UI (thanks to kt and bostock for suggestions)
- allowed customizing the lists' width
- allowed looping between the first and last entry with Up/Down arrows
- the object list now displays visible stairs if no objects are visible
* Allowed scrolling long monster descriptions while targeting
* Allowed the Gloves of the Master Tonberry to generate for Tonberries
* Allowed pets to recall with player from slightly further away
* Average rings, amulets and Feanorian Lamps are now identified on pseudo-ID
* Buffed Dwarven body armour again, it now has much more potential upside
* A number of additional uniques, most notably Mandor, now resist confusion
* Player quylthulgs can now (usually) summon around a target location starting at CL 20, regardless of which options they use
* Changed the special Bloodrip player-cutting mechanic; it is now less severe but happens more often, and happens in melee rather than at random times (thanks to bostock, ster and MITZE for feedback)
* Changed hallucination to make it more difficult to figure out which monsters are real
* Automatic combining of pack ammo with quiver ammo now happens even if the ammo is unsuitable for the current shooter
* Tweaked the confusion-resistance message for already confused monsters (thanks to Bucephalus for suggesting)
* Tweaked Rune-Knight mana gain formula
* Slightly tweaked the effects of Easy-Spell/Dec-Mana on spell fail rates
* Re-allowed the use of Destruction in Witch Wood as a reduced-power special effect
* Tweaked the XP values of many monsters
* Dungeon entrance guardians are no longer vulnerable to genocide
* Life ratings are now displayed by default on a scale of 0 to 76, rather than on a percentage scale of 87% to 117%; this is purely a display change, intended both to permit greater accuracy and to distinguish them even more clearly from the unrelated racial and CON/equipment-based HP multipliers
* Trap warnings now reveal the trap
* The Mogaminator is now applied to items on shop-ID and museum-ID
* The in-game high score list now adjusts scores for options and accomplishments (this does not apply retroactively)
* Race change attempts disallowed by competition mode now trigger the Baby Foul Curse instead (also, the Baby Foul Curse is now more evil)
* Pass-wall monsters and players are no longer slowed by trees
* Nerfed humans (instead of the second demigod talent at CL 40, they now receive a primary-stat-dependent weakness at CL 35)
* Allowed the recall interface to give a multi-column dungeon list
* Changed innate attack damage display to show the damage for each effect separately instead of combining it with the damage from the first effect
* Further reduced energy randomness, it is now more strictly limited at higher speeds
* Replaced the hidden ability of some Mage-type classes to recover mana twice as fast with a public "Mana Recovery" object flag. Also, effective HP regen and effective SP regen are now displayed separately on the character sheet for transparency
* Destruction no longer always works on summoned monsters, except in instant-coffee mode. It still always works on "nice" summons (i.e. most high-level monsters the turn after they appear), and summoned monsters never gain destruction immunity
* Allowed monsters to resist disintegration
* Allowed two-handed wielding of baseball bats
* Additional monster health bar coloring:
- temporary slowness is indicated with dark grey stars (lowest priority)
- temporary haste is indicated with violet brackets
- a high monster power (above 133.3%) is indicated with dark blue brackets
* Wilderness level display in the immediate vicinity of a dungeon entrance now indicates which dungeon it is, e.g. "Wilderness (Angband): L1" instead of just "Wilderness: L1"
* Allowed Beorning Rage-Mages to use Rage in bear form (thanks to clouded for suggesting)
* The 'U'/'O' power selection menu now displays the stats involved in determining fail rates
* Further improved and updated the help
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
-------------------------------------------------------
Changes in FrogComposband 7.1.liquorice:
* Added a new player race (Igor)
* Added a new personality (Split)
* Re-implemented the Blue-Mage class
* Updated the in-game help
* Game speed is now selected from the race/class menu rather than as a birth option. Added instant-coffee mode (ultra-accelerated game); note that this mode is much harder than normal coffee-break mode, and not recommended for players new to the game
* Added many new random artifact names; also, random artifact weapons now sometimes pull their names from sub-lists specific to the type of weapon, and the game tries to keep repetition of artifact names to a minimum
* Quylthulgs crashed on game start in thrall mode; this has been fixed (thanks to meltdown for reporting)
* No warning was given on escaping downstairs from a quest level (possible for some Disciples); this has been fixed (thanks to OmniNegro for reporting)
* Burdening was not checked properly after eating food; this has been fixed
* The option to never apply the Mogaminator also turned off the easy auto-destroyer; this has been fixed
* Fixed typos in outlying makefiles that caused problems if "make install" was used to install the game (thanks to isnok and Kreutzer for reporting)
* It was possible to get nexus-warped to closed dungeons with ironman_downward on; this has been fixed
* Projectiles did not lose the "Worn" tag on being placed in the quiver; this has been fixed
* The slowing immunity of player inertia hounds and Hermes demigods did not apply to incremental slowing; this has been fixed (thanks to ster and Marty for reporting)
* Arrow keys could not be used for Mogaminator or option menu navigation on angband.live; this has been fixed
* Quests were not properly flagged as completed on Troika disciples if killing a monster caused the patron to dispel the remaining monsters; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed an exploit that allowed selecting any dragon realm on any dragon except Steel Dragon (thanks to OmniNegro for reporting)
* Fixed visual glitch when reforge details were shown immediately after requesting a quest (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed infinite loop when a player Ring with no mount tried to use autoget (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Casting spells on a Possessor, Gray-Mage or Skillmaster did not trigger Fragile fatigue; this has been fixed (thanks to ster for reporting the problem on Gray-Mages)
* Filthy Rags could not get Hold Life; this has been fixed (thanks to Aav for reporting)
* The "repeat" command did not work properly on Magic-Eaters if absorbed items had been inscribed; this has been fixed
* Magic-Eaters could only use floor devices if they also had pack devices of the same type; this has been fixed
* Fixed conflict between Magic-Eater item labels and menu commands
* Fixed inappropriate body types on some recently added monsters (thanks to clouded for reporting)
* Innate attacks could trigger the Monster Confusion scroll but not the Touch of Confusion hex spell; this has been fixed (thanks to clouded for reporting)
* Fixed display weirdness in situations with opposite non-resist flags present
* Fixed bug in tracking the origins of items reforged by Craft dragons
* Player Undead Beholders were vulnerable to life drain; this has been fixed
* Fixed bug in display of device power bonuses on a player Filthy Rag (thanks to Aav for reporting)
* Fixed bug with Repeat Last Command on rings when the player cancelled the first spell prompt (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Running only checked for confusion on the first step; this has been fixed (thanks to Hugo for reporting)
* Fixed remaining one-in-a-million loophole that could cause double stat gain rewards (thanks to Hugo for reporting)
* Fixed malformatted failure message for the Trouble at Home quest (thanks to Hugo for reporting)
* Equipment slots were not recalculated after a permanent race change; this has been fixed (thanks to clouded for reporting)
* Monster list subwindows did not update properly after monster polymorph or evolution; this has been fixed
* Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Mass Identify to consume an inappropriate amount of charges
* Fixed problems with the online_macros option
* Fixed weirdness with birth menu visuals on some non-Windows installations
* Fixed misleading "You have gained the power of X" messages when a ring absorbed an activation not actually available to rings
* Fixed misleading Psion spell/power descriptions
* Polearm Weaponmasters can now only trip opponents on successful hits (as was already claimed by the description)
* Blood-Knights and Blood-Mages can no longer use magic while polymorphed into bloodless nonliving creatures, fixing some weirdness (thanks to ster for pointing this out)
* Plugged an exploit that allowed killing the Resurrection Machine easily by using pets or friendly monsters (thanks to Aav and ster for discovering)
* Increased the maximum number of distinct object inscriptions or random artifact names allowed; also, an emergency name is now used if the limit is exceeded (thanks to MITZE for triggering the limit...)
* Mysterious messages about monsters who are nowhere to be seen should now happen less often
* Vampiric drain can no longer exceed the HP of the monster being drained
* Nerfed player Hydras a mite (slightly lowered to-hit bonuses and life rating modifier)
* Added "melee challenge" and "no-melee challenge" options (i.e. "monsters can only be damaged by the player's melee" and "monsters cannot be damaged by the player's melee")
* Added new option to leave on the floor all items marked for destruction by the Mogaminator (even if always_pickup is on)
* Added new option (on by default) to ignore all identified items while travelling
* Added an option to change the order in which rewards for wanted corpses are given from the default (reward depends on unique's position on list of wanted uniques) to being based on the number of wanted uniques turned in
* The autopick entry "items" (aka "pick up all items") is now ignored for the purposes of the object list command's Wanted Objects section (in every other case the entry still works normally). This allows picking up all items with always_pickup off (which may be desirable to e.g. not override Mogaminator autodestruction) without cluttering the Wanted Objects list
* Added Tetsubo and Baseball Bat as favored weapons for Club weaponmasters (thanks to Aav for suggesting this)
* Walking speed modifiers like Fleet of Foot, Craven bonus, Limp mutation etc. no longer apply to riding (thanks to Aav for bringing this up)
* Prevented sleepscumming the coffee-break Black Market (thanks to clouded for bringing this up)
* Pet kills now give accelerated XP in coffee-break mode (thanks to clouded for bringing this up)
* The 'Restore life' Hex spell now restores life points in addition to stats and experience (thanks to clouded for suggesting)
* Kutars' Expand Horizontally is now a level-independent +35 AC, and can stack with other temporary AC buffs (thanks to Bucephalus for suggesting)
* Completely changed Reaping on Polearm-speciality Weaponmasters; it is now a vampiric effect instead of granting wraithform, and can no longer be exploited to easily kill high-AC enemies such as the Metal Babble
* Polearm Weaponmasters' special automatic attacks against monsters moving to adjacent squares no longer work if the player is blind or confused
* Player Mariliths are allowed to use shields again (although they are icky and penalize melee quite heavily)
* Deprecated monster races are now omitted from spoiler files
* Possessor ball spells fired in compass directions no longer uselessly overshoot everybody
* Disallowed riding monsters with a parent monster (eliminating the evil gotcha mechanic of a mount disappearing when its parent disappeared)
* Stat default allocations are now re-initialized for Quick Start characters if the old class is not retained
* Allowed throwing ammo from the quiver
* Reduced resist randomness somewhat, especially with multiple levels of resistance
* Draugluin now resists confusion
* Trying to use a Scroll of Artifact Creation on an inappropriate target no longer consumes the scroll
* Buffed wands of heal monster
* Nerfed Warlocks and Weaponmasters a bit
* Nerfed Clear Mind slightly
* Potions of Clarity no longer generate in town shops
* Allowed using an item from a stack as a reforge target
* Allowed using the 'J' and '(' keys in targeting mode to set a target for travelling; if we weren't aiming a spell, device or projectile, this automatically begins a new travel (thanks to Melum for suggesting)
* Added options to display known future race/class spells or powers in lists (inspired by Oposband and requested by players)
* Adapted the Omarax rework from new PosChengband (thanks to ster for this suggestion)
* Improved generation of tailored items to disallow icky egos (such as encumbering gloves on a mage-type)
* The speed indicator is now displayed in red if the player is both hasted and slowed in equal amounts (thanks to bostock for suggesting)
* Monster lore now automatically displays all monsters known to be undead as being immune to nether
* Tweaked spell proficiency gain to discourage repeatedly casting useless spells in safe nooks for proficiency
* Inscribed devices absorbed by a Magic-Eater now retain their inscriptions; also, if an inscribed device is replaced, the old device's inscription can be easily copied to the new device
* Restore Mana no longer recharges devices absorbed by a Magic-Eater
* Water, lava and nukage pools now muffle the earth-shaking steps of player Cyberdemons
* Rescaled skill discriptions in race/class/personality tables (the general rule now is that average skills are described as "fair", and differences should be clear without being too exaggerated)
* Psionic timed effects now disturb rest and travelling on running out if the disturb_state option is on (the same way other timed effects already did)
* Allowed Psions to cancel Dimension Door and Psionic Travel without spending a turn
* Werewolves and other shapeshifters can now use the "take off" command on satchel items
* The roguelike movement keys 'j' and 'k' can now be used for movement in the monster and object lists (thanks to bostock for suggesting)
* Improved handling of numbers and Roman numerals in player names
- numerals are now automatically bumped by 1 on quick-start if possible
- the game now looks for pref files of characters with lower numerals if no pref files are present for the current incarnation
* Improved Mogaminator functionality
- look for pickpref-[classname].prf, or pickpref-[racename].prf on monsters (thanks to grodrigues for suggesting this)
- look for pickpref-UserDefault.prf (local default pickprefs)
- allowed Save As of current preferences (thanks to grodrigues and OmniNegro for suggesting this)
- inscribe pack objects when Mogaminator is first activated (at birth if Mogaminator is active from the beginning)
- apply the improved handling of numbers and Roman numerals in player names
* Pressing '!' in the help now always returns to the help main page
* Allowed highlighting pets and friendly monsters in monster lists (on by default; thanks to bostock for suggesting)
* Improved pet/friendly monster AI
- pets no longer bump into the player so often
- fixed friendly fire from bolts
- fixed friendly fire from Saruman's psycho-spears
- pets now pathfind more aggressively and intelligently if a target monster has been specified
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
-------------------------------------------------------
Changes in FrogComposband 7.1.chocolate:
* Added a new player class (Disciples; which are essentially three classes rolled in one, because the three subclasses don't have much in common)
* Made quest lines less predictable (many quests now have an alternative version that can take the place of the original; some of the substitutes are simply different versions of the same basic quest, but most are connected only through similar rewards and themes, and a few are completely unrelated)
* Added two new player races (Tomte and Beorning), one new player monster race (Pumpkin) and three new personalities (Fragile, Sneaky and Noble; thanks to emulord for suggesting Noble)
* Added many new random artifact names; also, random body armour, shield, glove, boot, cloak and helm artifacts now sometimes pull their names from a sub-list specific to their slot
* Added/re-added several options related to level generation
- option to modify the level size algorithm (can take any of 13 values, from "always tiny" to "always huge", allowing all players to pick their preferred level size and to experiment)
- option to have all rooms generate as vaults (greater vaults unless one of the two smallest level size options is used)
- option to increase monster density on small levels to match the density in old versions of PosChengband
- option to allow small levels even in dungeons with the "big" flag (with the exception of Arena)
- option to sometimes reshape levels with an extreme width-to-height ratio
* Added "thrall mode" option (player starts on level 90, with a few extra items to make survival possible; inspired by FAangband and other variants with similar options)
* Some key consumables are now guaranteed to generate in shops at birth
* Plugged holes in input flushing after casting/device failures
* Orc shamans crashed on casting attempts due to a missing magic descriptor (a rage-mage hack I added shortly before the 7.1.toffee release made this bug a lot more serious); this has been fixed (thanks to aban for reporting)
* Monsters seen through fuzzy telepathy still appeared as "Monster" on the tombstone; this has been fixed
* Level feelings did not work properly with munchkin pseudo-ID; this has been fixed
* Fixed an old PosChengband bug that allowed non-Burglary rogues to learn the Burglary realm during the game (thanks to Tiltorax for reporting)
* Bowmasters' Readied Shot caused strange and undesirable results when triggered by an exploding monster; this has been fixed (thanks to Aav for reporting)
* Questors were not marked correctly in a random quest for chameleons; this has hopefully been fixed
* Archaeologists sometimes inappropriately received the "You feel you are leaving something special behind" message (thanks to Draghmar for reporting)
* Deaths from unusual sources like traps and exploding mirrors were not listed correctly (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Spell points were sometimes temporarily displayed incorrectly after a spell was cancelled; this should be fixed now (thanks to bostock for prompting)
* If a unique monster's clone was killed in the Monster Arena, the unique itself was erroneously marked dead; this has been fixed (thanks to the player who reported this - unfortunately I've forgotten who it was)
* With a quest for non-unique monsters, summoning a pet of the target species counted as a kill towards the quest's goal; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Some monster spells were inappropriately inaccessible on Possessors because they required mana but the monster's pseudo-class had no mana; this has been fixed (thanks to clouded for reporting)
* For players who had permanently race-polymorphed, the character sheet sometimes listed inaccurate previous races; this has been fixed (thanks to MITZE and Thraalbee for reporting)
* Fixed a bug reported by Hugo (picking up items only sometimes consumed time) by making picking up items never consume time
* Directions could be given for collapsed dungeon entrances; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Artifact Feanorian Lamps were described as giving light with radius 3, but actually had radius 2; fixed by buffing the actual radius (thanks to MITZE for reporting)
* Quickwalking characters with a low poison counter could walk indefinitely without incurring any poison damage; this has been fixed (thanks to Oneiron for reporting)
* Game-initial pets for Cavalry and Beastmasters were not placed properly due to outdated assumptions in the code; this has been fixed (thanks to Mitternatch for reporting)
* Fixed several crashes/infinite loops with Berserkers getting stat-drained (thanks to SethaWetha and Marty for reporting)
* Travelling ignored confusion; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Autoget could get stuck in a loop trying to destroy artifacts; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed duplication of displayed dragon realm stat modifiers during character creation (thanks to TauzentBlitz for reporting)
* Alchemists who died with a heroism buff on could have that buff carry over to their next incarnation; this has been fixed (thanks to Wolpertinger for reporting)
* It was possible to die with positive HP if the player was posthumously cured by a chaos patron; this can no longer happen (thanks to Hugo for reporting)
* Recall dungeons were improperly initialized at birth, allowing no-wilderness characters to recall to Warrens in some circumstances; this has been fixed (thanks to Hugo for prompting me to discover this bug)
* Hex auras and Bard songs processed immediately on entering a new level, allowing players to hurt following monsters repeatedly with no retaliation; this has been fixed (thanks to Gwarl for reporting)
* Some unusual situations (at least in Labyrinth) caused the game to plot travel routes through undiscovered secret doors; this has been fixed
* Entrance guardians were not marked dead if killed by other monsters (including pets); this has been fixed
* Item curse memory was not wiped for some unusual methods of uncursing, causing non-existent curses to be displayed on inspection; this has been fixed
* Character dumps through the high score list had weird turncount indicators; this has been fixed (though not retroactively, so the weirdness will persist for retired characters)
* Fixed a bug that sometimes allowed characters with chaos patrons to select more than one stat-up on reaching a level divisible by five
* Fixed missing burden checks after destroying items or equipping ammo straight from the floor
* If multiple chests were piled on the same square, only one of them was accessible to the "disarm" and "open" commands; this has been fixed
* Hopefully fixed bug with Politicians sometimes randomly crashing at game start (I'm not 100% sure about this; if it still happens, please report)
* Tweaked Nibelungs (they now have different bonuses, slightly lower life rating and melee, and a lower XP modifier)
* Skillmasters are no longer allowed to pick the Weapon Versatility demigod talent (they received no benefits from it anyway, so this just protects them from picking a useless talent)
* Werewolf psions can no longer change shape with Graft Weapon active (thanks to MITZE for suggesting). Also, using Graft Weapon requires an actual weapon
* Doppelganger shape changes no longer reset visuals (thanks to clouded for suggesting this)
* Mimics and Possessors no longer get permanently gender-swapped by temporarily mimicking/possessing a monster of the opposite sex (thanks to Oneiron for suggesting this)
* Pets and friendly monsters no longer receive XP for killing other pets or friendly monsters
* Various class-specific attacks that cancel if an empty square is attacked now always consume time if the player is blind (preventing the player from attacking each square in turn until he finds one with a monster in it)
* Being immune to charge draining now also protects from food draining
* Characters who die during the postgame no longer lose their Winner status
* Nerfed recharging somewhat
- Staves of Restore Mana can no longer be recharged with spells or devices
- Blood-Mage damage from recharging spells now ignores invulnerability
- Failed attempts to recharge a device from SP/HP now empty the target device completely
* Politicians' probing/background check now also displays the probability of successfully charming a monster with the current buffs active
* Reduced Hezrou and Barbazu group sizes a bit
* Slightly buffed player Filthy Rags
* Added new command (H in the regular keyset, ^E in the roguelike keyset) for travelling to the nearest unidentified wanted item
* The game now allows easy switching of ring fingers, and automatically suggests doing so if it detects a combat/weaponmastery ring and a non-combat ring being equipped the wrong way around. The easy switch can be triggered either from the automatic prompt or by pressing 'W' (regular keyset only), and costs no time
* Potions of Restoring now also restore life levels
* Tweaked Duelists a bit
- the damage numbers on the character sheet are now more indicative
- very weak monsters are no longer automatically challenged
- retaliating against a monster no longer automatically challenges
- slightly reduced top-end damage from Greater Wounding
- Phase Charge is now slightly more expensive
- removed the Nemesis effect
- the weight limit formula is now more permissive in the early game and less permissive in the late game
* Finishing Heaven is now a bit more interesting (adapted from Frogspawn) (thanks to ster for testplaying and feedback)
* Tweaked Rune-Knights a bit
* Improved travel routing in areas with deep water and/or lava
* Increased the tunnelling bonus on shovels and picks
* Added a text display option to show device power in inventories if known (copied from Composband)
* Added a disturbance option to alert when a wanted unique is killed (thanks to Bucephalus for suggesting)
* Added a disturbance option (on by default) to alert when the poison counter is dangerously high (thanks to ster for suggesting)
* Equipping an item with Auto-Identify now identifies all unidentified items in your inventory (including itself)
* Allowed inscribing an item with '!1' to notify when it has 1 charge, and '!!1' to notify when it's either fully recharged or has 1 charge (thanks to wobbly for suggesting)
* Allowed use-ID'ing fear vulnerability on equipment (thanks to wobbly for suggesting)
* Reserving cheap objects is no longer hideously expensive
* Tunnelling attempts are no longer automatically repeated if the attempt is completely futile
* Opening doors no longer disturbs travelling
* Updated the in-game FAQ
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
-------------------------------------------------------
Changes in FrogComposband 7.1.toffee:
* Random ring and amulet artifacts can now generate occasionally
* Added a new building in Anambar offering banking and insurance services
* Dungeon entrances are now easier to locate
* Added two new playable monster races (Orc, Filthy Rag)
[Special thanks to everyone who helped me play-test filthy rags! They are still a bit beta though because I don't really know what rag endgame is like. Also, everybody should get a fair warning that they are... not very strong, at least not in the early game]
* Added one new playable normal race (Boit)
* Added new objects, ego types, artifacts and monsters
* Added new random artifact names
* Multiple player auras of the same type can now stack for extra damage
* Enabled sticky labels for race/class/mutation powers (permanently attaching a power to one letter, similarly to what @ inscriptions do for items)
* Updated the list of Arena opponents (spectral tyrannosaurus, mummy king and great unclean one added; greater balrog appears much later in accordance with its high native depth). Also tweaked the rewards dropped by top-end opponents
* Made damage reduction from resistances somewhat less random
* Changed how cut damage works. The total amount of damage remains the same, but it is suffered more evenly (e.g. instead of taking 100 damage one turn and 0 damage the turn after, the player will take 50 damage on both turns); and unlucky "instableeding" with no opportunity to cure the cut first can no longer happen
* Changed orc colours to make uniques, warlords and sappers stand out more
* Weaponsmiths can now improve equipped items without having to unequip them
* Nappa the Saiyan resists confusion now
* Many high-level demons now resist nether
* Polyphemus can now clear his head (some people seemed to be under the impression that he already had this ability, convincing me that he ought to)
* Leprechaun fanatics now do bomb damage (adapted from Frogspawn), which can be resisted through rShard and rSound, instead of unresistable raw damage
* Increased the chance of deep Angband levels being small (and reduced their average size when they do generate as small)
* Destruction no longer works in Witch Wood (because it's outdoors)
* Confusion now takes priority over stunning for monster health-bar colouring
* Tweaked item valuation a bit
- some devices, notably Staves of Healing and Staves of Destruction, are worth more now
- tweaked pval valuation, for most pvals the change is minimal, but items with pvals of 1 and 2 are worth a bit more now
- auras are worth a bit more now that they can stack
- off-weapon vampirism brands had no score value; this has been fixed
- off-amulet anti-magic no longer has a negative effect on the item's value
- valuation of activations now accounts for timeout length
- fixed some weirdness with valuation of vulnerabilities
* Fixed an old PosChengband bug that sometimes caused artifacts to be permanently lost with no chance to ever find them at all (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed a bug with ESP Living not use-IDing properly
* Fixed a loophole to anti-scumming item/gold drop limits
* Fixed generation of standarts from chests (previously, standart generation depended on the level at which the chest was opened, while generation of all other chest objects depended on the level of the chest itself)
* Ammo breakage chances are now displayed correctly for snipers browsing a sniping shot (thanks to TauzentBlitz for reporting)
* Fixed some weirdness with throwing calculations (thanks to TauzentBlitz for reporting)
* Fixed a number of closely related information leaks with unidentified scrolls and potions (thanks to mewmew for reporting)
* Some high-level monsters were missing the FORCE_SLEEP flag, allowing them to immediately cast spells or breathe on the player when summoned; this has been fixed
* Fixed a bug with scrolling in the object list while using the S toggle
* Fixed a number of minor issues with the town of Thalos (item recharging services were advertised but no longer truly available; two buildings offered the same services, and a Thieves' Guild was specified but had no location; it has now taken over one of the redundant buildings)
* Fixed an infinite loop with Berserkers getting brain-smashed (thanks to floatRand for reporting)
* The Bard invulnerability song "Fingolfin's Challenge" did not consume an extra turn when the invulnerability ended; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed a bug with friendly fire from ancient dragons (thanks to TauzentBlitz and Benly for reporting)
* It was still possible for nexus effects to teleport the player out of a dungeon quest level; this has been fixed (thanks to Oneiron for reporting)
* Player Rings could potentially conquer a single dungeon multiple times; this has been fixed (thanks to Oneiron for reporting)
* Rage-Mages received a class bonus to spell capacity but were missing the corresponding flag; this has been fixed (thanks to MITZE for reporting)
* Fixed further travelling-related infinite or unintendedly lengthy loops (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed weird message when a named pet evolved (thanks to vertigo for reporting)
* Fixed a bug that sometimes allowed summoning multiple copies of the real unique in the Cloning Pits if enough of the clones were killed first (thanks to Philip for reporting)
* Fixed a bug with Endless Quiver behavior when combined with harps or guns (thanks to wobbly for reporting)
* The curse status indicator was not updated properly after Mundanity; this has been fixed
* Reforging consumed game time but did not check if midnight had passed; this has been fixed
* Being stunned sometimes made devices easier to use; this has been fixed
* Some menus, in particular the option UI and the demigod talent selection UI, no longer work quite as badly in cases where the number of options exceeds the number of available lines. Also fixed a minor cursor placement issue on the autodestroyer options page
* Travel resumption sometimes produced strange results in the wilderness; this has been fixed
* Hex High-Mages lost the spelling indicator on entering the Arena but did not actually stop spelling; this has been fixed
* Potions of Salt Water did not cure poison despite promising to; this has been fixed
* Stair Creation spells could create normal stairs in all-shafts dungeons and in coffee-break mode; this has been fixed
* Insta-kill attacks (e.g. poison needle hits) could have their damage reduced if the player was stunned; this has been fixed
* Fixed weirdness with telekinesis prevention (the code only checked if there was already an object in the target square; it didn't check for traps, stairs, deep lava or even walls)
* Fixed broken flavoring on the Hand of Vecna
* Updated outdated makefiles that were causing problems for some Linux users (thanks to introsp3ctive for reporting this problem)
* Player breaths aimed in a direction rather than at a specific point will no longer stop at the first monster hit
* Amberites can no longer embed themselves in rock with their own death curses (allowing this sometimes resulted in strange or undesired behavior, including non-generation of wanted corpses)
* Spell-browsing UI now supports slightly longer spell descriptions
* Prevented ego diamond edges from generating with extra-high pvals
* Deep puddles and shallow puddles now count as mimics for the easy_mimics option (thanks to bostock for suggesting this)
* Cancelling a Ring spell during the targetting phase no longer consumes a turn (thanks to clouded for suggesting this)
* The automatic attack on Polearm weaponmasters no longer triggers on pets or friendly monsters (thanks to Aav for suggesting this)
* The Hard Leather Boots of Feanor are now rarer
* All stairs in the Graveyard dungeon are now shafts
* Renamed the Mountain dungeon to Eyrie; all stairs there are now shafts
* Monster polymorph race selection now accounts for the terrain (e.g. if a monster is within a wall, it will try to polymorph into another wall-passing monster, as was already the case for chameleons)
* Slightly tweaked coffee-break mode's XP-gain and loot-generation bonuses
* In coffee-break mode, all late-game level guardians will now appear on either odd levels or even levels
* The Battlefield reward is now a rune sword instead of a scythe of slicing (copied from Composband). Also, sword weaponmasters can now use rune swords
* The Restoration town service now restores life points and experience in addition to stats (copied from Composband)
* Allowed Chaos-Warriors and Chaotic characters to choose their patron at character creation (copied from Composband)
* Buffed dwarven body armour (inspired by Composband)
* Chaos patrons will no longer attempt (and fail) to curse the player's equipment if the player is a Death-Sword, a Filthy Rag or a Ring; they will hit the player with the Baby Foul Curse instead
* Haste Monster and Heal Monster are no longer reflectable (thanks to MITZE for suggesting this)
* Tweaked Rage-Mages (thanks to MITZE for suggestions)
- Rage-Mages can no longer gain SP from Clarity/Great Clarity/Restore Mana
- Rage-Mages can now use their skills through anti-magic shields
- Rage-Mage spell letters are now fixed, allowing better macro use
- Substituted "Dispel Curse" for "Summon Commando Team"
* Confirmation is now always requested for alchemizing an inscribed item, even if it has no value, and wanted corpses cannot be alchemized at all (thanks to Draghmar for bringing this up). Also fixed an issue with cancelling requests to alchemize parts of stacks
* Duelist Isolation now fully respects teleportation immunity (thanks to bostock for bringing this up)
* Most population-specific charming effects now report if a monster is immune, similarly to what the generic charming effect already did (thanks to vertigo for noting this)
* Tweaked disappearance of pets at low health (thanks to vertigo for feedback)
* Some race/class/mutation powers will now be available even if the player is confused or trembling in fear (e.g. the 'Stop Singing' ability on Bards)
* Rings and Death-Swords now automatically *id* all items they absorb (so the player isn't left checking the essence sheet to see what was absorbed)
* Player Demons and Balrogs now take some extra damage from Holy Fire
* Player Angels and Archons now take some extra damage from Hell Fire
* Made player Xorns a little more fragile
* Nerfed monk melee a bit
* Nerfed tourists slightly
* Buffed the Necklace of the Dwarves
* Buffed the Infernal Deal demigod talent to make it more competitive in the late game (inspired by Composband)
* Added a new demigod talent (Strong Mind) that provides immunity to mana draining
* The Craft spell "Walk through Wall" was replaced with "Simplification" (which mundanifies an item)
* Autodestroy now ignores mundanified items
* Mundanity no longer works on ego items with a 99% discount
* Updated player Tanar'ri (thanks to MITZE for the central idea)
- the early forms, especially death quasit, are a bit more fragile now
- mariliths can no longer wear shields, but get a bonus to dual-wielding
- reduced the XP modifier
* Updated player vortices, especially the final form (aether vortex). Aether vortices now have lower speed and melee damage than before, but can choose one of three possible vortex powers (one giving increased melee damage, one giving increased speed, and one allowing them to control which element they breathe). Also fixed bugs with flags on some vortex forms, removed the 1-in-66 chance of random movement, gave plasma and disintegration vortices invisible "resists" to their respective elements, and reduced off-weapon +At from +0.50 blows/unit to +0.25 blows/unit
* Tweaked Kawarimi a bit (increased the chance of a blink-type effect compared to a long-distance teleport)
* Blood-Knight extra blows are now more gradual
* The healing penalty on Blood-Knights and Blood-Mages now applies to vampirism
* Special-cased the weapon stat display for Poison Needles
* Tweaked the skill description scale (earning most of the medium rankings takes a bit more now, and Superb no longer covers such a large range)
* Spawning Pits is now displayed as danger level 80 (with no effect on anything in the quest, which remains unchanged)
* Eating a Mushroom of Hallucination now sets mana to zero (unless resisted), in addition to inducing hallucinations
* The "icky" autopicker keyword should now work for Weaponmasters
* Tweaked visibility of the Es and Dm flags to be more in line with the actual availability of easy-spell and dec-mana to the player
* Monsters are now always assumed visible for player death purposes (so they should show up as "Killed by Yibb-Tstll, the Patient One" instead of "Killed by the Monster", even if not visible)
* Added a new help file listing basic tips and common mistakes to avoid
* Added an option (on by default) to show explanatory statistics before proceeding with a reforge
* Updated some outdated and misleading spell and item descriptions
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
-------------------------------------------------------
Changes in FrogComposband 7.0.cloudberry:
* Improved support for play on the angband.live online server (unwanted auto-running on keyboards with no Num Lock, which has been a perennial problem for angband.live newcomers, can now be very easily disabled; and the game attempts to detect this problem automatically and help the player solve it)
* Plugged a loophole that allowed Amberite blood curses to still be deadlier than intended after the earlier nerf in 7.0.nougat (thanks to Gwarl for being unlucky enough to discover this)
* Ranged weapons now have their own list of random artifact names, separate from that of melee weapons
* Completely redesigned player Water Elementals based on Nivim's ideas (thanks also to wobbly for the feedback on old water elementals)
* Added some new monsters and artifacts
* Added mimic/possessor data for most of the monsters that lacked it
* Djinnis now resist fire
* Several additional monsters now either resist confusion or can shake it off rapidly. (Notably, Fenris, Maeglin, Eol and Jurt now resist confusion, and the bird uniques can shake it off rapidly; but the bird uniques' HP was slightly reduced to compensate)
* The two main types of confusion attack (GF_CONFUSION and GF_OLD_CONF) now both give monsters a save against the effects; previously, only GF_OLD_CONF gave monsters a save
* The Vault is now described as a level 35 quest, instead of level 30. (This change has no effect on how dangerous the quest actually is; it is intended simply to give the player a more accurate idea of its danger level. The change does have minor effects on object generation within the quest.)
* Swapped the wilderness-mode rewards of Crow's Nest and Orc Camp
* Fixed minor issues with the descriptions for potions of Clarity and Great Clarity
* Swapping equipment at home (or in a shop) with a full inventory no longer throws the player out of the building with an erroneous pack overflow warning
* The dates of quest failures were not recorded properly; this has been fixed
* Attempting to summon monsters on a Possessor caused the game to crash; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for reporting)
* Fixed a display bug in the character sheet when a monster with a long name was being possessed or mimicked
* Humanoid corpses are no longer auto-destroyed while a player demon is temporarily polymorphed into a non-demon (thanks to Mocht for reporting)
* Player traps can no longer roll the Trap Door effect on the bottom level of a dungeon (thanks to bostock for suggesting this)
* Nerfed harp randarts, and slightly reduced the power of all harp artifacts for non-bards
* Added partial inscription support for devices absorbed by Magic-Eaters
* Added an option to disallow permanent changes to the player's race (intended mostly for use in future competitions)
* Added an option to start with empty item lore even when the game is based on a dead character's savefile
* Improved samurai (added browsing support in the spell UI and imported some attack flavor messages from Composband, and reduced the life rating a bit)
* Player jellies eating a stack of objects works properly now
* The Old Man Willow quest now counts as completed when Old Man Willow is killed (copied from Composband)
* Helmets of Knowledge and Dragon Armor of Lore now give auto-identify instead of auto-pseudo-identify
* The Phial of Galadriel now gives rDark and +5 to searching
* Improved warning message when Crafting has a chance to fail
* Reduced XP gain from player summons (to discourage spamming staves of summoning for XP)
* Clipped the extremes of the random energy function
* It is now possible to use the 'J' key (the '(' key in the roguelike keyset) to resume travelling to the same target after being disturbed mid-travel
* Modified the message when a monster hurts itself (thanks to murphy for reporting this problem)
* In some unusual circumstances, the Zombified Serpent of Chaos could be generated without the normal Serpent of Chaos having been killed first; this has been fixed
* The "Bless Weapon" power, which previously had a 1 in 3 chance of successfully blessing a strong weapon and a 2 in 3 chance of disenchanting it, will now always succeed except in the case of some fundamentally unholy items (thanks to wobbly and bostock for their feedback)
* Werewolves could change from wolf to human while stalking and still stalk; this has been fixed (thanks to wobbly for reporting)
* Weaponsmiths can no longer remove shop discounts from items (thanks to CyclopsSlayer for bringing this up)
* Fixed several issues with shieldmasters (thanks to Fnord for reporting)
* Fixed a minor issue with the description of use-IDed *Sharp* weapons
* Toned down death-swords' speed gain a bit (thanks to Nivim for suggesting)
* Rebalanced player-monster golems (thanks to Bucephalus for the feedback)
* Using autoget with no melee attacks sometimes caused the game to get stuck and crash; this has been fixed (thanks to bostock for the report)
* Bumping into an invisible monster with no melee attacks now costs a bit of time, though less than a full turn (thanks to vertigo for suggesting this)
* Lists of stolen objects carried by monsters were not loaded properly, causing such objects to fall into a limbo; this has been fixed
* Fixed two bugs with monster packs (their most notable effect was that dungeon entrance guardians were sometimes not properly marked as killed)
* Artifacts absorbed by Death-Swords and Rings are now marked as found even if not identified
* For the purposes of Weaponsmith and Death-Sword item absorption, all objects with a Kill flag are now considered to also have the corresponding Slay flag (thanks to Prandar for bringing this up)
* Sense Living, once acquired, was never turned off (thanks to wobbly for reporting)
* Monsters from Egyptian mythology now have their own monster-knowledge group (thanks to Mocht for suggesting this)
* A device having no charges left now takes priority over other possible problems (like failing to use the device or being too scared to use it) (thanks to Mocht for suggesting this)
* Potions of Blood are now automatically identified (thanks to Mocht for suggesting this)
* The character sheet's equipment flags table now has lines for Stunning and Life Rating (thanks to Mocht for suggesting the latter)
* Improved interaction of manual pickup with auto-pickup
* The presence of other chests or doors/traps in adjacent squares no longer makes it impossible to open/disarm a chest the player's standing on
* Redundant object flag inscriptions (like "Li;-Li") should no longer appear. Also, made sure such flags have no effect on the object's value
* Item valuation ignored magic resistance; this has been fixed
* Alchemists no longer receive special Hero/Berserk bonuses from any source other than potions
* Fixed bugs with some Rage-Mage spells (thanks to Aver for reporting)
* Fixed the Throw Object wild talent (thanks to budswell for reporting)
* Added Ighalli's effective_speed option from V (show speeds as energy multipliers, except in the character sheet)
* Added new class-specific rewards and tweaked some existing ones to make them more appropriate (thanks to Mocht and CyclopsSlayer for reporting issues)
* The Mogaminator now supports the "more charges than" item descriptor (e.g. "staves more charges than 15:cure wounds#@uu!sdk" picks up staves of cure wounds with at least 16 charges, and inscribes them with @uu!sdk)
* The Mogaminator now supports loading other characters' preference files (including pickpref.prf, the default preference file)
* Pets take a bit longer to feel neglected now
* Nerfed a number of races and classes slightly (priest, time-lord, jelly, steel dragon, bronze draconian, shieldmaster, mindcrafter, monk, possibly others that I forget)
* Verification is now requested for any attempt to genocide nagas (or xorns for users of the roguelike keyset)
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
-------------------------------------------------------
Changes in FrogComposband 7.0.nougat:
* Added two new races (Einheri and Werewolf). Einherjar are very powerful but only receive partial benefits from magical healing. Werewolves can (big surprise) assume either human or wolf shape, with both shapes having their strengths and weaknesses (thanks to murphy and CyclopsSlayer for their pre-release werewolf feedback)
* Slowing is no longer a purely binary status (either no slowing or -10 to speed); while the binary slowing still exists, some forms of slowing are now incremental and can take any value between no slowing and -10. The two forms of slowing partially add together, so a player (or monster) afflicted with both forms can be slowed by up to -12 in total
(thanks to Derakon for this idea)
* Shuffled some of the buildings in Anambar to reduce travel distances (the shroomery/black market building and the archery guild building switched places; the library is now in the formerly empty building southwest of the main square, the beastmaster is now where the library was, and the former beastmaster building is now empty)
* Added more Egyptian gods, and a new dungeon they now inhabit. Added a new birth option (single_pantheon) to play with only one of the two pantheons currently in the game (Greek or Egyptian); selecting this option will remove the other pantheon, and its associated dungeon, from the game
* Added new monsters and artifacts
* Added one new demigod power (Inspired Smithing, which improves reforge results) and several new mutations (adapted from Frogspawn)
* Coffee-break mode's modified level size algorithm is now always used in the Angband dungeon (except in the case of games with ironman_downward on and coffee_break off). Generally, this means smaller levels in the early game
* Beginner mode now uses the coffee_break option
* Friendly monsters no longer trigger the Eldritch Horror sanity-blast
* Replaced potions of resist electricity with potions of vigor, which cure all temporary slowing effects (both binary and incremental) plus stunning. (Potions of life now also cure all temporary slowing effects, and potions of healing and *healing* and rods of angelic healing reduce incremental slowing by 1)
* Fixed a bug that allowed alchemists to receive special benefits from some potions just by inspecting them (thanks to TauzentBlitz for reporting this)
* A list of allied uniques is now shown in the character sheet for classes who can permanently befriend a monster (currently, just politicians)
* The player's life rating (if known) is now shown in the character sheet (at the bottom of the Statistics section)
* Tweaked item valuation again (items with high-pval weaponmastery are now worth more)
* Coffee-break mode's max reforge power bonus (accelerated reforging) is now permanently reduced if the character fails any of the random Angband quests
* Buffed the Fell Sorcery and One with Magic demigod powers. The effect of Fell Sorcery on spell power was doubled. One with Magic now successfully resists dispelling and anti-magic 77% of the time instead of the old 50%, unless the player is mimicking or in wraithform (the mimicking restriction does not apply to doppelgangers)
* Added a new scroll (Scroll of Inventory Protection). Unlike other sources of temporary inventory protection (which only reduce the chances of item damage), the scrolls provide complete protection
* Improved item parsing. It is now possible to specify an ego device, as well as to specify a pile size, and specified devices are no longer necessarily generated at the lowest level supported by the effect. Some of the quest device rewards are now ego
* Fixed a bug that caused the Identify spell to not work properly for Ring player-monsters (thanks to TauzentBlitz for reporting this). Also changed the default point allocation for Rings per TauzentBlitz's suggestion
* The show_discovery and always_dump_origins options are now on by default due to their popularity
* An item's weight is now displayed when the item is examined (thanks to Mocht for reminding me of this)
* The proficiency screen didn't display proper statistics for player death scythes; this has been fixed (thanks to Nivim for reporting this)
* "Cursed" status was not updated properly if the curse was broken by an enchantment; this has been fixed
* Monsters can no longer tele-level the player out of dungeon quest levels (in the case of fixed quests this caused an automatic quest failure, which was highly annoying and somewhat unfair) (thanks to Bucephalus for bringing this up)
* Item quests could become uncompletable for Death-Swords and Weaponsmiths if they absorbed the item without picking it up first; this has been fixed (thanks to Prandar for reporting this)
* Some *vorpal* weapons had misleading inscriptions due to lacking the VORPAL flag; this has been fixed (thanks to Nivim for reporting this)
* Monsters with long (2-square) melee were not able to use it diagonally; this has been fixed
* Shield weaponmasters were not allowed to use mithril shields; this has been fixed (thanks to Bucephalus for reporting this)
* One of the Trump Shuffle effects ("picture of a strange monster") didn't work properly due to an old bug (thanks to bostock for reporting this)
* Coffee-break mode inappropriately created normal down stairs instead of a shaft to connect random dungeon quests on consecutive levels; this has been fixed
* Improved valuation of unidentified items, and fixed a longstanding bug that allowed unidentified good, awful and average items to receive a value bonus intended only for artifacts
* Failed attempts to close a door while confused now take some time (although less than a full turn)
* Improved support for Adam Bolt's tiles by copying things from ZAngband
* Disease attacks can now cause temporary unwellness
* Explosions can now have multiple effects (e.g. Internet Exploders now slow the player a bit in addition to the time damage)
* The location of permanent features (like stairs or permanent walls) is no longer forgotten by the player after earthquakes or destruction
* Tweaked the Mauler class. Their Close In spell can now be cancelled during targetting without HP or energy loss (thanks to Mocht for that suggestion), but their melee power, archery skills and life rating were reduced a bit. (Don't worry - they still do silly damage with the right weapons...)
* Made psions a little less overpowered
* Slightly lowered weaponsmiths' life rating
* Tweaked repeated targetting a bit. A new target is now always requested if the old target was the player's mount, and also if the player targetted himself and has moved since. Not cancelling the old targets in these cases sometimes caused unexpected behavior, especially with the use_old_target option on (thanks to FlauterFiddle for bringing this up)
* The Enchant Weapon and Enchant Armor object selection menus no longer allow futile attempts to enchant items with the NO_ENCHANT flag (thanks to murphy for suggesting this)
* Vortex player-monsters now have a race boss (Wiruin)
* Slightly reduced the power of melee slays and brands
(Gwarl's weapon die buff in ComPosband effectively made slays and brands more powerful than they used to be, since their power depends on dice; so for most weapons, the power of slays and brands now is fairly similar to what it was in PosChengband before Gwarl's weapon buff)
* Fixed a number of bugs with melee slays and brands. (Most notably, Slay *Living* didn't work properly [it had the same effect as normal Slay Living])
* In some unusual cases, a single monster could be counted as a kill for quest completion purposes more than once. In general, any player strong enough to take "advantage" of this was better off just curbstomping the quest the normal way, but the loopholes have been plugged anyway
* Attempts to revive a quest target monster will now always fail
* Oremorj the Cyberdemon Lord now has fewer hitpoints, but can sometimes recover from confusion speedily
* Elder storm giants now resist confusion
* Sleeping in the inn or reforging an item now resets all timed flags
* Nerfed the Sorcery Realm's Mass Stasis spell, which now has much lower power and shorter duration if effective (it's still one of the best spells in that realm...) Some other stasis/paralysing effects also have shorter duration now
* The Confusing Lights spell is now slightly weaker (staves of Confusing Lights are not affected by this change)
* Teleport Level and Word of Recall now request confirmation if the player is about to recall/teleport out of a quest that cannot be retaken
* Retaking level 99 or 100 in coffee-break mode now slightly increases the Serpent's mpower
* Body armour of Celestial Protection sometimes has additional buffs now, especially at high levels
* The "You have no artifacts to reforge" error message now displays the reforge power limit (thanks to bostock for suggesting this)
* Plugged wobbly's Black Market potion reserving exploit
* Androids can now use the Eat command (in addition to the old Quaff command) to consume a flask of oil (thanks to Mocht and bostock for suggesting this)
* Made selling caps in key shops (armoury and weapon shop) friendlier to the player, and removed some duplication in the shopkeeper list
* Slightly reduced the cost of reforging in coffee-break mode to compensate for the more limited money supply
* Monsters summoned by Amberite blood curses now appear with more energy needed, and therefore won't insta-kill the player unless the player is paralyzed or has low speed
* The Enchantment spell (available to mariliths and dragons, and as an activation on the hammer of Hephaestus) now applies the usual 99% discount to enchanted non-ego items (thanks to Bucephalus for suggesting this)
* Ultra-powerful items from normally low-weight slots whose score exceeds the reforge power cap of their native slot (e.g. Nenya or Vilya) can now have the power cap of the destination slot applied to them if reforged into a higher-weight slot
* Added a new disturbance option ("Run past buried treasure"; on by default)
* Experience from a monster kill is now reduced if 100 or more monsters of that race have been killed. (Copied from Frogspawn; replaces the previous exp reduction formula that only applied to breeders and kicked in after 400 kills)
* The Mogaminator now accepts "icky" as an adjective (so "!icky" means "destroy all icky items", and "!nameless icky weapons" means "destroy all icky melee weapons that aren't ego or artifact"). The Mogaminator defines icky items as either weapons that trigger icky wield, or gloves that trigger encumbrance. It is possible that the "icky" keyword doesn't work correctly for some classes yet; any such reports will be appreciated (thanks to BobZero for this suggestion)
* Added an option to deactivate the Mogaminator (thanks to BobZero for this suggestion)
* It is now possible to inscribe a weapon with !? to request confirmation of melee attacks, preventing accidental melee (this may be desirable for pure magic users, or in the case of temporarily wielded objects like shovels). The inscription may also include a monster level (e.g. !?45 asks the player to confirm attacks against monsters of level 45 or above, but not against monsters of level 44 or below). Once an attack against a monster has been confirmed, all further attacks against that monster are automatically assumed to be acceptable. Consecutive attacks against monsters of the same race are also assumed to be intentional; for example, if the player confirms an attack against an olog, all further attacks against ologs will be automatically confirmed until the player attacks a monster who is not an olog. Only the player's primary weapon is checked for the !? inscription (thanks to BobZero for this suggestion)
* A -more- prompt is now given to alert the player whenever a device or any inscribed item in the player's inventory is stolen or destroyed. These warnings can be turned off in the disturbance options
(thanks to kt for this suggestion)
* Implemented some of bostock's suggested alchemist improvements:
- Alchemists can now use the same infusion repeatedly with the 'n' command
- The Break Down and Create Infusion operations quantity prompts now default to the whole stack
- Infusions of Booze now warn the player on attempts to use them
- Potions with special super-effects for alchemists now have different descriptions when inspected by an alchemist
- An infusion-browsing function existed but could not be accessed in-game
* Alchemist infusions are now only almost weightless, not totally weightless (they weigh 0.05 lbs each, one-tenth of a potion's weight)
* Requesting a new quest with the previous quest's reward waiting outside no longer results in the permanent loss of the previous reward. (Note that it is *only* quest rewards that aren't lost - any other objects you may have left waiting outside will still be lost.)
* Added more random ring artifact names
* Updated some of the help files
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
-------------------------------------------------------
Changes in FrogComposband 7.0.mango:
* Introduced three new personalities (Chaotic, Mundane and Unlucky) and restored the removed Lazy and Munchkin personalities. (Thanks to MITZE for suggesting the Chaotic personality and helping me devise it)
* Adapted the Alchemist class from PosChengband-R
* Adapted the Politician class from Frogspawn
* Restored the special Lazy artifacts (with some tweaks)
* Improved wilderness design (borders between different types of terrain are now less ugly - say goodbye to rectangular oceans)
* Adapted PosChengband-R's coffee-break mode (optional accelerated game) [faster exp gain and loot, no wilderness, forced descent but recall allowed] [it is currently possible to do DL99 and/or DL100 repeatedly]
* The Craven personality now gives vulnerability to fear, but also a moderate quick walk (thanks to MITZE for this suggestion)
* Toned down chaos patron punishments - they happen less often now, and are less insta-killy (it should now be impossible for a punishment to insta-kill a fully healthy player outright, although they can still kill a player who was already hurt, and TY_CURSE is still a possibility at high levels)
* Spellcasting monsters can now use spells in response to being hurt by the player, even if the player is not in their line of sight or within range of their splash attacks. This makes it harder to kill drujs or quylthulgs safely by abusing line of sight (adapted from Frogspawn)
* Tweaked randart creation (bows are now more likely to have slays/brands or a miscellaneous attribute; instead of disproportionately generating randart armors with to-AC of exactly +20 or weapons with to-hit/dam of exactly +25,+25, the bonuses are now somewhat more random)
* Tweaked item valuation (some resists are now worth a bit more, others are now worth a bit less, and items with many high resists are worth a bit more in general. Also, off-weapon slays were not properly valued, while off-weapon brands are now somewhat less valuable)
* Made the Crow's Nest quest saner; it would previously give either heaps of good objects or very few good objects, now it's guaranteed to have a moderate amount of them
* Made the Orc Camp and Tidy the Laboratory quests more compact
* Prevented the player from getting quite so many level-ups from Shadow Fairies and Tidy the Laboratory
* Added some new class-specific quest rewards (no, not for Sand Pit)
* The default reward for Orc Camp is now a staff of enlightenment
* Uniques and monster groups should no longer generate in Trouble at Home
* Due to an oversight, being poly_selfed with no_scrambling on could have extremely bad, potentially lethal consequences; this has been fixed
* The names and descriptions of random (or reforged) artifacts based on a standard artifact with the FULL_NAME flag will no longer be mangled
* Fixed an old bug that sometimes caused staves of cure wounds to appear as staves of healing (or vice versa) in the character sheet's Statistics section
* Fixed some serious bugs in the old code intended to prevent pets from killing the player with friendly fire. (Also, this code now applies to friendly monsters as well as pets; this is only fair, given what happens when the player's spells cause collateral damage to friendly monsters... Monsters with the "stupid" flag are an exception to this.)
* Fixed an old bug that caused quest monsters with escorts to not be correctly marked as questors, making them not reappear if destructed
* Fixed a bug that caused ninja-lawyers to be encumbered by any armor at all, effectively lowering their max SP (thanks to OmniNegro for reporting this)
* Fixed an old bug with rings and death-swords absorbing stacks of identical items (thanks to OmniNegro for reporting this)
* Fixed an old bug with teleporting mounts (thanks to TauzentBlitz for reporting this)
* Fixed an old bug that caused attacks by beholders on other monsters to be treated as attacks by the player (resulting in bizarre messages and damage, giving the player free experience, and allowing beholders to kill uniques). Also fixed a similar but unrelated bug that sometimes caused the message "You invoke Anti-Magic" to appear when a monster invoked it
* Fixed an old bug that caused listed skeleton rewards and actual skeleton rewards to be out of sync (thanks to the person who reported this bug. Unfortunately I forgot to note who it was)
* Fixed a minor bug with doppelgangers (they could gain a demigod power if they levelled up in barbarian or dunadan form, but could only access those powers normally in human or demigod form). Doppelganger barbarians and dunedain no longer receive demigod powers on level-up
* Fixed two old issues with possessors receiving monster lore on possessing a corpse. The first issue was that if the player never saw the monster alive, it would not count as seen, and would be ignored by the knowledge menu. (All possessed monsters are now marked as seen.) The second issue was that deprecated monsters were sometimes inappropriately generated (this should no longer happen), and they were also ignored by the knowledge menu. (Thanks to robinhood for reporting this)
* It is no longer possible to get unlimited hits against a monster by letting it stair-follow the player repeatedly (thanks to Gwarl for reporting this exploit)
* The use_old_target option no longer allows the player to ignore confusion while targetting (thanks to bostock for reporting this exploit)
* Plugged an old exploit that allowed weaponsmiths to permanently remove slaying penalties from heavy body armor, cloaks of the bat etc. by adding a token amount of Slaying essence to the item and then removing that (there are some very specific circumstances in which this exploit can still work, but the advantage gained should be minuscule compared to before)
* Monsters not currently visible are now always displayed as white in the monster health bar, unless enhanced telepathy is used. This prevents the health bar from accidentally revealing a monster's identity (thanks to vertigo for reminding me of this)
* High-level adversaries in the Thalos Arena no longer drop gold (thanks to Mocht for pointing out that they did)
* Standard artifacts received as quest rewards were not marked as "found", which caused the artifact counter in the character sheet to not notice them, though the bug did not allow them to be actually generated repeatedly (thanks to Mocht for reporting this)
* Fixed a minor bug that caused the message "You have found something!" to sometimes be displayed on rubble clearing even if nothing was actually found (thanks to Mocht for reporting this). Also, tweaked item generation in rubble (previously, items could only be found in low-level rubble. Now there's a small chance of finding items in high-level rubble too, but spamming for rubble items is harder)
* It is now possible to use the 'J' key to auto-travel to an object-list or monster-list entry. (This was already possible with the '`' key, but that option doesn't give full compatibility with non-English keyboards)
* Level 10 of Icky Cave is now guaranteed to be small or smallish
* All staircases generated in the Battlefield dungeon will now be shafts
* Tourists can now sell photographs for loose change at the Journalists' Guild in Anambar
* Improved gray-mages' spell UI
* Improved weapon proficiency display (it is now possible to see the class-specific proficiency caps for each weapon in-game, and to view the player's current proficiency as a percentage of either full mastery or the class-specific cap)
* Characters with levitation are no longer unable to deliberately jump into trap doors
* Scrolls will now ask for confirmation if reading them would have no effect (e.g. Teleport Level or Genocide inside a quest)
* Scrolls of Crafting now cancel outright if reading them is guaranteed to not have an effect (however, in cases where reading them might have an effect but doesn't, they still get used up like before)
* Nazguls are now immune to polymorphing
* Made wands of tsunami slightly less overpowered
* The weapon shop now stocks projectiles and quivers more often during the very early game (thanks to CyclopsSlayer for bringing up the annoyance of not having any ammo)
* Slightly nerfed the Death realm's Nether Storm spell
* "Empty" barbarian talismans with nothing on them should no longer generate
* Monsters now cast spells slightly more intelligently (thanks to Mocht for suggesting that they be able to learn about anti-teleportation)
* Skillmasters no longer get Vampirism True cheaper than other classes
* Races with more HP than spectres now have their racial HP reduced to that of the spectre while in wraithform
* All items in an object prompt are now guaranteed to have a slot label (previously, conflicts caused by an inscribed item overriding another object's slot label could cause objects to not have slot labels)
* All carried items now recharge fully while the player waits for a reforge. (This is only fair, since sleeping in the inn has this effect, even on short naps that consume less game time than a reforge does)
* Limited the number of active monster traps (or glyphs of warding) the player can concurrently have on a single level to 11, to discourage the very tedious but effective approach of filling large chunks of the level with traps before taking on a strong foe, and to encourage careful trap placement when more moderate versions of this approach are used. Rogues are exempt from this limit (because rogues). Primary-realm Life casters are exempt in the special case of glyphs of warding, so they can still freely use the Warding True spell
* Identical quivers will now stack in inventories
* Harps can generate for non-bards again
* Weapons of Gondolin now appear slightly earlier and sometimes have random buffs
* Improved the show_discovery option (in particular, a reforged object is now recorded as discovered at the time of reforging, instead of inheriting the base object's discovery date; it is also displayed as "received" rather than "picked up" or "identified")
* The daily wanted monster is now updated at midnight even if the player's sleeping in the inn (thanks to MITZE for suggesting this)
* Fixed various typos (don't worry! There are still plenty left)
* The display_percentages option (which was a bit of an easy-mode) has been combined with the wizard mode's "show damage/hit" features into a new easy_damage birth option. (7.0.peppermint characters with display_percentages on will have easy_damage turned on if they upgrade to 7.0.mango)
* Tweaked weapon proficiency slightly (characters who previously started at Unskilled (-20) with a weapon will now start at Unskilled (-10), unless Unskilled (-20) is their maximum proficiency for that weapon). This has minimal effects on the game's balance or difficulty, but reduces proficiency-grinding tedium a bit
* Axemasters can now master hatchets (however, some of their melee bonuses still don't apply to hatchets, only to larger axes)
* Unidentified ammo is now automatically placed in the quiver if it is known to combine with ammo already in the quiver
* Pet uniques now have a chance of turning hostile if damaged by the player (this does not apply to the player's current mount)
* Monsters summoned by friendly monsters will now usually also be friendly (except in the case of stupid summoners, e.g. quylthulgs)
* Tweaked pet summoning (pets are now less likely to summon uniques, especially strong uniques)
* Friendly monsters now have a chance to turn hostile if their parent monster (group leader or summoner) was friendly and turns hostile
* Mana is now lost slightly faster if the player's pet upkeep factor is too high; and if the upkeep is totally excessive, pets may feel neglected and either dismiss themselves or turn hostile. (Thanks to vertigo for his feedback on pet upkeep)
* Fixed a bizarre issue with mana loss (the hungrier the player was, the slower mana was lost; if the player was fainting from hunger, no mana was lost at all)
* It is now possible to use capture balls on pet uniques and Nazguls
* Added more talk lines for friendly monsters
* Nerfed summoning staves in response to feedback from players. Staves of Summon Hounds, Ants and Hydras now have a meaningful chance (1/3 to 1/4) of summoning hostile monsters (note that summon hydras summons hostile reptiles rather than hostile hydras). Staves of Summon Monsters have a lower (1/10) hostility chance, but cannot summon non-hostile summoners
* Player-aligned (or player-summoned) monsters no longer receive XP for killing other player-summoned monsters (plugging an exploit mentioned by wobbly)
* Added more random artifact names (mostly for lamps and amulets)
* Added a random player name generator (based on Vanilla's random artifact name generator). The generator mostly suggests Tolkienian-sounding names, but sometimes offers a Latin-sounding name instead
* Changed hitpoint warning default from 30% to 50%
* Cancelling a throw during the targetting phase no longer costs a turn
* The object list now displays all town buildings, not just shops (partly copied from Composband 7.1.alpha). There is also a new option to display stairs in the object list (useful if you want to dive and can map the nearby area easily). This option can be speedily toggled in the object list itself by pressing S
* The highscore list and the hidden oook data now give the maximum level attained by a character, rather than current level
* Improved oook compatibility for character names with apostrophes (thanks to pav for helping with this)
* Introduced options to display equipment origins in the character dump (on as a default for winners and dead characters, off as a default for living non-winners)
* Random quest rewards can no longer be cursed (unless the game fails to generate a reward that isn't cursed)
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
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Changes in FrogComposband 7.0.peppermint:
* Totally revamped the no-wilderness town, and fixed quest descriptions so they're accurate with both wilderness and no wilderness
* Introduced a V-like system for tracking and describing object origins (e.g. "Dropped by the Variant Maintainer on level 19 of Orc Cave."). This system can be turned off (or expanded further) in the text display options
* Added back the no_selling birth option. In no_selling mode, selling items is disabled but gold drops are increased to compensate. The intention is that selling players and non-selling players will accumulate gold at roughly the same pace, but since this was calibrated based on my own games, it may not hold for players with different playstyles. No_selling mode does not have any effect on gold drops in the wilderness
* Added a new option (easy_mimics) for players who really hate mimics, cloakers, death swords, wall monsters etc. and want to reglyph them. Turning on easy_mimics makes these monsters use the 'x' glyph instead of their normal glyph (the monsters will retain their normal color, unless that's pitch black, in which case it's changed to a slightly less black black). It also makes monsters with the ATTR_CLEAR flag possible to see. (Note that easy_mimics does not affect tree monsters or weird fumes, which can be recognized through their color, nor does it affect creeping coins or death scythes)
* Made easy_id stronger (it now *identifies* all items on walkover)
* It is now possible to request a new quest immediately after receiving the reward for the old one, without the need to exit and re-enter the building
* Added a never_forget birth option for the ellipos types, which essentially protects the player from amnesia and also gives ellipos's easy labyrinth
* Added two new birth options (no_chris and no_scrambling) that prevent dungeon teleports and stat scrambling, respectively. (Both cause different bad things to happen instead; they are not intended as easy-mode, but as options for players who find chrissing and/or stat scrambling unfun and think the game would be better if those effects didn't exist.)
* Added new monsters and tweaked existing ones
* Adapted some changes to artifacts that Gwarl made for ComPosband 7.0.4
* Added a new quest in Zul that enables teleporting between Zul and other towns if successfully completed
[A fair warning about this quest. It's not *that* hard if you have great stealth, but if you have poor stealth - or worse, aggravation - things can get... entertaining. This is true of most quests of course, but particularly true here. Doing it with both aggravation and low speed is not recommended, and Sexy characters should treat it as an endgame quest and approach it with extreme caution.]
* Rings and Death Swords are no longer limited to 1x free action or see invisible
* Fixed a bug in Thalos that made the library inaccessible in late game
* Fixed a bug with lawyer *identify* (it cost zero mana and allowed the player to also do normal identify on a different item)
* Fixed a bug that caused items in the home display to be sometimes shown with a value of zero
* Fixed an old bug that caused some timed effects to be decreased on game load, allowing the player to cure fear by saving and loading repeatedly. (Something similar may still happen with other things, the code needs closer scrutiny)
* Fixed an old PosChengband bug that allowed hidden information about immunities to leak to the player through the character sheet
* Fixed an old PosChengband bug that sometimes caused the game to crash on mangy leper attacks due to division by zero (thanks to Hugo for spotting and reporting it)
* Fixed an ancient bug that made quests uncompletable if one of the target monsters evolved or got polymorphed (this should now be impossible), and tweaked monster evolution code (all of which is now in time_lord.c, instead of being needlessly duplicated)
* Fixed a problem with using the '-' key to select a floor item in the inscription menu
* Fixed an old bug that caused the game to crash with quest_unique off if too many target monsters were killed in a random Angband quest
* Fixed an old bug that allowed skeletons to double their food pile by eating from it
* Fixed an old bug that caused the wilderness to not generate properly (potentially causing crashes) if the player saved and loaded the game inside the arena
* Fixed a minor bug with using an unidentified device of detect traps, which didn't mark grids as trap-detected even in cases where the effect's obviousness meant there was no need to avoid spoiling (thanks to nikheizen for reporting this)
* Plugged a number of old loopholes that allowed doppelgangers to retain their demigod powers in forms other than Human and Demigod (thanks to murphy for reporting this)
* Plugged an old information leak when uppercase keys were used in the object prompt (thanks to murphy for reporting this as well)
* Objects thrown at a wall now land on the last square before the wall, rather than attempting to land on the wall itself and ending up placed on a random square adjacent to it (potentially creating the impression of an object flying through a wall - thanks to bostock for reminding me of this)
* Destroying high-level law books now gives XP where appropriate (thanks to bostock for this too)
* Slightly lowered the max power of ultra-strong deep dungeon randarts
* Slightly changed how the reforge cap is calculated to compensate for it now being easier to acquire fame (due to the increased number of quests). The cap now increases slightly slower in the fame range 128 to 223 (early late game), with no effect on either midgame reforging or very-late-game reforging. Essentially, the idea behind this change is to keep midgame reforging viable and keep late game reforging strong, but still make it somewhat harder to reach the late game reforge power
* Removed rogues' class life rating bonus
* Mine and Heaven now have bottom guardians
* Made the black aura worse
* Amulets of anti-summoning can no longer be generated on a shuffle
* Snotlings and doppelgangers can no longer shuffle for mushrooms
* Added a new deep cloak ego
* Added new artifacts
* Added more race-specific rewards for unusual races
* Made the Death realm's Vampirism True spell considerably more expensive
* Nerfed the Law realm's Expert Trap spell
* Made lawyer melee slightly weaker
* Improved savefile compatibility when new uniques are added
* Reduced the number of non-town monsters, and especially monster groups, that appear in areas near towns
* Some early random Angband quests have a 20% chance to generate a bonus reward (to compensate for an earlier change by Chris in PosChengband that affected these quests negatively)
* Made melee attacks slightly more likely to break a glyph of warding
* The Hideout entrance, while still in Outpost, has been moved south; and the player now starts the game on the Warrens entrance, not the Hideout one. [Copied from ComPosband 7.1.0a]
* Imported new random artifact names from ComPosband 7.1.0a
* Potions of cure critical wounds no longer cure poison [they were never intended to in ComPosband, and it was weird that they did when potions of healing did not]
* Tweaked the walls of Crystal Castle
[Copied from ComPosband 7.0.4]
* Introduced a new flag that gives confused monsters a chance to shake their confusion off super-fast before they move. (Currently, no monster actually has this flag, apart from Utgard-Loke)
* Monsters should no longer generate on top of enclosed 1x1 dark pits
* Made the Temple more likely to stock potions of cure serious wounds during the early game
* Corrected a minor issue with fear message grammar after a throw attack
* Improved the oook data in HTML character dumps (it now gives max exp rather than cur exp, and also gives the player's true race rather than a race they were temporarily polymorphed into or mimicking)
* Moved the Volcano, Dragon Slayer and Demon Slayer quests much deeper
* Updated the in-game FAQ
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Changes in FrogComposband 7.0.strawberry (compared to ComPosband 7.0.3):
* Rebalanced artifact reforging. The goal was to prevent silly-powerful items while still allowing very strong items (so a character can reasonably expect to use reforged items in the endgame and final fights). The importance of fame in reforging was reduced slightly to make early/mid-game reforging more appealing, though realistically reforging will likely remain mostly a late-game thing. Slot weights were also adjusted slightly, with effects on both reforging and randart creation. The hard cap of 90000 on the source artifact's power was removed, although stronger artifacts will still be treated as if they had a power of 90000, or even less for less weighty slots. This prevents situations in which a very strong item is effectively worse than a weaker item because it doesn't fit the player's needs directly and cannot ever be reforged. Reforging is now also slightly cheaper
* Rebalanced shop shuffling. The cheap shuffling introduced in ComPosband allowed characters to acquire silly piles of extremely powerful consumables very easily, as long as they found a dungeon shop and had enough money. The cheap shuffling has been retained, but many of the most powerful items (like !Healing, !*Healing*, !Life, stat potions, ?Genocide, ?MassGenocide and !NewLife) can no longer be generated on a shuffle. Also, Black Market shuffling is more expensive now
* Moved Thalos, and added a new town (Anambar) where Thalos used to be. Prettied up the Thalos map (and edited t_pref to include additional terrain types). Mt. Olympus is now slightly more accessible since Thalos is closer to it than any town was before (originally, I moved Thalos even closer to Mt. Olympus, but then I decided I didn't hate you players enough). There's an option to allow teleporting to Thalos as soon as any two other towns (including Outpost) have been visited (because I decided I didn't want you players to hate me either...!)
* Fixed an old PosChengband bug where quest seeds were lost on save/load, meaning players who exited the game after requesting a quest would receive a seed of 0 for that quest and consequently always get the first item from a list of supposedly random rewards
* Fixed another old PosChengband bug whereby uniques seen through fuzzy telepathy would sometimes acquire a stray "the" in front of their name (e.g. "The Gertrude dies.")
* Fixed an old bug with file handling on Windows
* Fixed several minor old bugs related to weapon slays (chaos weapons were getting massive extra damage against good monsters from the KILL_EVIL flag instead of the KILL_GOOD flag; the displayed damage for a KILL_HUMAN missile didn't match the actual damage; in the character sheet, the *Human* slay's statistics were displayed for weapons with KILL_LIVING rather than weapons with KILL_HUMAN)
* Updated the rumor list and silly name list
* Added a new realm (Law) and two new classes (Lawyer and Ninja-Lawyer)
* Added new monsters (and restored the deleted Egyptian gods)
* Added a few artifacts (and brought back the GHB's T-shirt)
* Added new random artifact names
* Added new quests (I actually feel like there may be too many early-game quests now; feedback on the number of quests, and quests [whether new or old] that players like or don't like, would be particularly welcome; of course, there is no need to attempt to do every quest in the game at depth)
* In ComPosband, if a quest level was buggy and didn't generate properly, the game would crash and the player would be forced to fail it on resuming play. In FrogComposband, while the game will still crash, the player can continue normally on resumption and can retake the quest after it has been fixed. This should make life easier for both developers and test-players
* Gave eldraks a significant buff, they are now stronger than ettins (consequently, swapped ettin and eldrak in the troll evolution sequence; however, player trolls still evolve into ettins rather than eldraks)
* A small number of monsters can now initiate melee attacks from 2 squares away. (Fair's fair - player samurai, dragons and archaeologists with whips can do this!) Currently the only monsters with this ability are large dinosaurs, novice archaeologists, balrogs, samurai, Godzilla and Jormungand. (Jormungand, who was a soft guardian for its depth, also received a number of other buffs; most notably, it now has the CAN_SWIM flag instead of the AQUATIC flag.)
* Made ninjas slightly less outrageous by nerfing Bunshin (which now gives a 1-in-3 chance of evading attacks, not 1-in-2) and Swap Position (which now requires perfectly clear line of sight) and changing their weight limit equation. The Swap Position nerf also affects the relevant mutation and wild talent (the weight limit change does not affect other classes with a weight limit, apart from ninja-lawyers)
* Restored the option of playing without virtues
* Fixed some typos here and there. (I know this will offend some people! But they can take solace in that there are still plenty left.)
* Buffed Lucifer and made him dungeon boss of Hell
* The name of Sultan the Midget was reverted back to Snafu the Midget (because of the one-Sultan rule - there's a sultan in Thalos)
* Players are now less likely to be ambushed by dangerous high-level sea monsters in coastal towns
* Added some alternatives for non-English keyboards to support play on angband.live: Y and Z for [ and {, Ctrl+Y for Ctrl+W, Ctrl+E for @ and Ctrl+O for ]
* Made free action stronger because Chris's system was somewhat confusing and unpopular, though the change here is not as big as what Gwarl did in ComPosband 7.0.4. 1 source of free action works the same in FrogComposband as in ComPosband 7.0.3 (and the last versions of PosChengband). 2 sources are slightly stronger in FrogComposband (and give total paralysis immunity against low-level monsters), and 3 sources give total immunity against all monsters, except in special cases like ty_curse
* Changed how cur SP is calculated after a change to max SP
* Restored the old non-fuzzy telepathy as an option. Chris's fuzzy telepathy is still the default
* Added an option (off by default) to force a -more- prompt on device/spell fails
* Attempts to charm a monster with the hidden NOPET flag now give the message "X is immune", rather than "X resists"; the NOPET flag is unpopular enough without it making players guess whether the monster has it or not. (It's also now slightly harder for monsters to acquire the NOPET flag.)
* Commented out the Windows pref file (font-win.prf). Windows users will notice this as a change to the default appearance of walls and mountains
* Various minor tweaks and code improvements
Changes copied or adapted from ComPosband 7.0.4:
* Added Gwarl's new quests and adopted some of his changes to existing quests
* The entrance to Hideout is now in Outpost, and the entrance to Icky Cave is now in Thalos
* Adapted the new acid floor
* Magic shop now sells offensive wands
* Moved Tidal Cave
* Battlefield's entrance guardian is now a black wraith instead of a grave wight
* Visual change to the appearance of Crystal Castle's glass floor
* Added Gwarl's buff to non-specialist riding
* Tweaked the depth and rarity of a number of items, especially dragon scale mails (but not quite to the same extent as in ComPosband 7.0.4)
* Tweaked a number of monsters
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