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=== Attacking and Being Attacked === Attacking is simple in Angband. If you move into a creature, you attack him. You can attack from a distance by firing a missile or by magical means, such as aiming a wand. Creatures attack in the same way. If they move into you, they attack you. Some creatures can also cast spells from a distance, and others can use various breath weapons (such as fire) on you from a distance. Creatures in walls cannot be attacked by wands or other magic attacks normally stopped by walls, nor can they be shot at with bows and arrows. Tunnelling into the wall (using the "tunnel" or "alter" command) will allow you to attack any creature in the wall. This applies to creatures which "pass through" walls: if they "bore through" walls, the wall is no longer there, and the creature can be targetted normally. If you are wielding a weapon, the damage for the weapon is used when you hit a creature. Otherwise you get a single punch which does minimal damage. You may "w"ield one weapon for melee combat, and also one missile launcher (bow, crossbow or sling.) You may also wear one amulet (around the one and only neck of the character), two rings (on the two "ring" fingers, i.e. the third finger of each hand: a magic ring does not function when worn on any other finger, nor may two be worn on the same finger), one light source, and a full set of armor - body armor, shield, helmet, gloves, boots and a cloak. Any or all of these items may provide powers to the character in terms of bonuses to-hit, to-damage, to-armor class, or to other stats (in the latter case, a single numerical bonus applies to all affected stats.) Firing a missile (while wielding the appropriate launcher) is the only way to get the "full" power out of the missile. You may of course throw an arrow at a monster without shooting it, but you will find the effects will not be what you had hoped. Hits and misses are determined by ability to hit versus armor class. A hit is a strike that does some damage; a "miss" is something that does no damage (this includes, for instance, a blow that hits an armoured creature but glances off its armour without penetrating.) === Monster Memories === There are hundreds of different creatures in the pits of Angband, many of which have the same letter symbol and color on the screen. The exact species of a creature can be discovered by looking at it. It is also very difficult to keep track of the capabilities of various creatures. Luckily, Angband automatically keeps track of your experiences with a particular creature. This feature is called the monster memory. You monster memory recalls the particular attacks of each creature (whether or not technically a monster) which you have suffered, as well as recalling if you have observed them to multiply or move erratically, or drop treasure, etc. Otherwise you would simply have to take notes, which is an unnecessary bother. If you have killed enough of a particular creature, or suffered enough attacks, recalling the monster memory may also provide you with information not otherwise available, such as a armor class or hit dice. These are not explained, but may be useful to give the relative danger of each creature. This memory can be passed on to a new character even after you die by means of a reduced save file. (You must start the new character by opening the existing save file of the "dead" character for this to happen: using the "start new character" option will not give access to old monster memories.) === Your Weapon === Carrying a weapon in your backpack does you no good. You must wield a weapon before it can be used in a fight. A secondary weapon can be kept by keeping it in the backpack, and switching it with the primary weapon when needed. This is most often used when switching between a melee weapon and a digging tool, or when carrying two weapons, each of which provides a rare power that the character needs at two separate times. Weapons have two main magical characteristics, their enchanted ability to hit and their enchanted ability to do damage, expressed as `(+#,+#)'. A normal weapon would be `(+0,+0)'. Many weapons in Angband have bonuses to hit and/or do damage. Some weapons are cursed, and have penalties that hurt the player. Cursed weapons cannot be unwielded until the curse is lifted. Identifying a weapon will inform you of the magical bonuses and penalties and whether or not it is cursed. Angband assumes that your youth in the rough environment near the dungeons has taught you the relative merits of different weapons, and displays as part of their description the damage dice which define their capabilities. Any damage enchantment is added to the dice roll for that weapon. The dice used for a given weapon is displayed as "XdY". The number "X" indicates how many dice to roll, and number "Y" indicates how many sides they have. A "2d6" weapon will thus give damage from 2 to 12, plus any damage bonus. The weight of a weapon is also a consideration. Heavy weapons may hit harder, but they are also harder to use. Depending on your strength, dexterity, character class, and weapon weight, you may get several attacks per turn: high dexterity and strength and low weapon weight are the main factors. Warriors may get up to a maximum of 6 attacks per turn: mages are limited to only 4: other classes may get up to 5. Missile booster weapons, such as bows, have their characteristics added to those of the missile used, if the proper weapon/missile combination is used, and the the launcher multiplier is applied to the total damage, making missile weapons very powerful given the proper missiles, especially if they are enchanted. Although you receive any magical bonuses an unidentified weapon may possess when you wield it, those bonuses will not be added in to the displayed values of to-hit and to-dam on your character sheet. You must identify the weapon before the displayed values reflect the real values used. Finally, some rare weapons have special abilities. These are called ego weapons, and are feared by great and meek. An ego weapon must be wielded to receive the benefit of its abilities. It should be noted that some of these items are considerably more powerful than others, and generally the most powerful items are the rarest. Also important is the fact that not all ego-items are nice... Ego weapons are denoted by the following "names": (Defender) A magical weapon that actually helps the wielder defend himself, thus increasing his/her armour class, and protecting him/her against damage from fire, cold, acid, lightning, and falls. This weapon also will increase your stealth, let you see invisible creatures, protect you from paralyzation and some slowing attacks, and help you regenerate hit points and mana faster. As a result of the regeneration ability, you will use up food somewhat faster than normal while wielding such a weapon. These powerful weapons also will sustain one stat, though this stat will vary from weapon to weapon. (Holy Avenger) A Holy Avenger is one of the more powerful of weapons. A Holy Avenger will increase your wisdom and your armour class. This weapon will do extra damage when used against evil, demonic and undead creatures, and will also give you the ability to see invisible creatures. These weapons are basically extremely powerful versions of Blessed Blades and can be wielded by priests with no penalty. These weapons, like (Defender) weapons, also will sustain one random stat. (Blessed) A blessed blade will increase your wisdom. If you are a priest, wielding a non-blessed sword or polearm causes a small penalty while attacking and may infuriate your god, decreasing the chances that he will accept your prayers: a blessed blade may be wielded without this penalty. Blessed blades also have one extra, random, power. Weapon of Westernesse. A Weapon of Westernesse is one of the more powerful weapons. It slays orcs, trolls, and giants, while increasing your strength, dexterity, and constitution. It also lets you see invisible creatures and protects from paralyzation and some slowing attacks. These blades were made by the Dunedain. Weapon of Gondolin. A weapon of this kind, from the last kingdom of the High Elves to fall under Morgoth's yoke, provides power against all his living servants - orcs, trolls, demons and dragons. It also gives off light when there are enemies around (which, in Angband, is all the time), and provides resistance to darkness, the ability to see invisible monsters, and one extra random power. These weapons are powerful but rare. Weapon of Extra Attacks. A weapon of extra attacks will allow the wielder to deliver extra attacks during each round. Weapon of Fury. This weapon is a gift for all those whose sole wish is to smash their enemies to an unreconizable pulp. It provides bonuses to-hit, to-dam and to extra attacks. However, the wielder will be driven into such a berserk fury that his shouts and yells will awaken and aggravate every monster within earshot, and it will drain away his mana and curtail his use of magic: nor is the wielder of such a weapon able to remain calm enough to use psionic attacks effectively. Elemental Branded Weapons. Each of the four basic elemental attacks (fire, cold, lightning, acid) has a corresponding weapon which will do treble its base damage to creatures not resistant to that element. It should be noted that the magical damage bonus is not affected by this: a weapon of Flame (2d6) (+5,+6) does 6d6+6 damage per hit, not 6d6+18, against creatures which are not fire-resistant.) Each of these weapons also provides resistance to that element. Weapons of Venom. These weapons have been dipped in deadly poison, and will do triple their base damage against creatures not resistant to poison. Unlike the other brands, though, they do not provide the relevant resistance: a character must be careful when handling his own poisoned weapon. Weapons of Slaying enemies. These weapons do extra damage against creatures of a vulnerable type. Weapons of Slay Evil and Slay Animal do double the base damage, while weapons of Slay Orc, Troll, Giant, Dragon, Demon and Undead do triple the base damage. As with elemental branded weapons, the magical damage bonus is not affected. Weapons of *Slaying* enemies. These weapons, in addition to doing extra damage to your enemies, have extra powers as well. - Weapons of *Slay Animal* will give a bonus to intelligence (which is what sets the sentient races apart from the animals), and provide slow digestion so that the player does not need to eat so often. - Weapons of *Slay Evil* provide a bonus to wisdom and are blessed, so that priests may use them even if they are sharp: and they have a bonus power, as other Blessed weapons do. - Weapons of *Slay Undead* will allow you to see into the invisible world of ghosts and wraiths, and provide a wisdom bonus. They are also blessed so that priests can use them, but do not provide extra powers. - Weapons of *Slay Demon* provide resistance to fire, the chief weapon of many demons, and grants extra intelligence. - Weapons of *Slay Dragon* do five times their base damage against dragons, provide a constitution bonus, and resistance to fear. - Weapons of *Slay Orc* will increase and sustain the character's dexterity. - Weapons of *Slay Giant* will grant the wielder the strength of a giant and sustain it. - Weapons of *Slay Troll* will impart the strength of a Troll and give the trollish ability of regeneration. Weapon of Morgul. These blades are so foully cursed with evil, it is rumored that it is nearly impossible to remove them without a special curse-removing spell, much stronger than normal Remove Curse. However, they can be powerful in the right hands - for they are weapons of the undead, and will thus give a certain amount of power over all things undead, as well as keeping the character's life force mostly safe: and they will infect the living with deadly poison. However, they will themselves drain the character's life force. Shovels of Digging. These powerful diggers will dig through granite as if it were mere wood, and mineral veins as if they were butter. Permanent rock is still an impassable obstacle. Shovels of Earthquakes. These powerful but unpredictable items are magically enchanted to dig even faster than shovels of Digging: moreover, they possess a fair bonus to-hit and to-damage, and thus might actually be useful when used as a melee weapon. They increase the wielder's strength as well. They do, however, have a downside: the weapon will periodically cause a mighty earthquake when it hits a monster. Ego Missile Launchers and Ammo: ------------------------------- Launchers of Accuracy. These launchers have an unnaturally high to-hit number, making them extremely accurate. Launchers of Velocity. These launchers do an unnaturally high amount of damage due to their high to-hit number. Launchers of Extra Shots. These launchers allow the wielder to shoot more times per round than normal. Launchers of Extra Might. These launchers have a higher base damage than normally made launchers of their type. For instance, a Long Bow of Extra Might (x3)(+X,+Y)(+2) is really a Long Bow (x5)(+X,+Y) where (+X,+Y) is the standard to-hit and to-dam. As the damage multiplier with the bow affects *everything* - the base arrow damage, the magical damage bonus on both the bow and the arrow, and any bonuses for slaying or elemental-branded arrows - this makes it a powerful weapon. Slings of Buckland. These slings were made especially in the Shire by the most expert of Hobbit slingers. They deliver their missiles - admittedly, the missiles in question are mere pebbles and iron shots - with extra force, and at extra speed, and provide greater accuracy thanks to increased dexterity. Bows of Lothlorien. These bows belong to the highly secretive elves of the Golden Wood, all of them excellent archers. They allow the wielder to shoot with much greater power than normal (extra might), and increased accuracy (higher dexterity), and cannot be destroyed by acid and fire. Crossbows of the Haradrim. These mighty catapults are much faster to reload, and more powerfully sprung, than normal crossbows. The end result of this is that the character may shoot faster and with greater power than normal. Launcher of the Nazgul. This cursed bow belongs to the Wraith-lords, and will drain the life experience from living beings that wield it. It does, however, allow the player to see into the wraith-world of invisibility. Ammo of Wounding. This ammunition - whether it be pebbles, iron shots, arrows, bolts, seeker arrows or seeker bolts - has big bonuses to-hit and to-damage. Ammo of Elemental and Poison Brands, and Ammo of Slaying. This works in the same way as melee weapons of the same type: double damage for slay evil and slay animal, triple damage for all other slays and for all elemental brands. Unlike melee weapons, the slays and elemental brands *do* affect the magical damage bonus for ammo. Ammo of Holy Might. This can only be heavy ammo - seeker arrows and bolts, silver arrows and bolts, and mithril shots. It is very rare, but is blessed and does extra damage to demons, undead and evil creatures, and is branded with holy fire. It also cannot be damaged on the ground or in the player's inventory by fire or acid. Ammo of Backbiting. This cursed ammunition will never hit what it is aimed at. Rumour has it that it will curve round and hit the person who shot it in the back: but so far, this rumour has proved unfounded, and is believed to be false. Apart from these there are some very rare and well made blades in the dungeon with intrinsic special abilities of their own: for instance, Blades of Chaos provide resistance to chaos, so that the character will never hallucinate or take the full damage from a monster breathing Chaos, and Maces of Disruption are intrinsically powerful against undead creatures. Scythes of Slicing simply do an abnormally high amount of damage against everything. Silver arrows and bolts intrinsically slay evil creatures, while seeker arrows and bolts simply do more damage than normal arrows and bolts. And these items can become ego-items too: a Blade of Chaos (Holy Avenger) is in many cases more desirable than a large proportion of artifact weapons! === Your Armor Class === Your armor class (or AC) is a number that describes the amount and the quality of armor being worn. Armor class will generally run from about 0 to 150, though exceptionally good armor can improve even on the latter figure. The larger your armor class, the more protective it is. A negative armor class would actually help get you hit. Armor protects you in three manners. One, it makes you harder to be hit for damage. A hit for no damage is as good as a miss. Two, good armor will absorb some of the damage that your character would have taken from normal attacks. Three, acid damage is reduced by wearing body armor (but the armor will be damaged instead). It is obvious that a high armor class is a must for surviving the deeper levels of Angband. Each piece of armour has a base armor value, which, like the damage from weapons, is assumed known by the player, and a magic bonus, which will not be displayed unless the armor has been identified or was bought in a store. Armor class values are always displayed between a set of brackets as "[#]" or "[#,+#]". The first value is the armor class of the item. The second number is the magical bonus of the item: which is only displayed if known, and will always have a sign preceding the value. Note that a few rings, amulets, and weapons also have the "[+#]" notation in square brackets, indicating that they provide an armor bonus. Many pieces of heavy body armor will also have a "(-#)" before the "[#,+#]", which indicates that the weight of the armor decreases your chances of hitting monsters. This can range from nonexistent for very light armor to (-8) for the very heaviest armor! Some pieces of armor will possess special abilities denoted by the following names: Ego Armors and Shields: ----------------------- of Resist Acid, Lightning, Fire or Cold. A character wearing armor or a shield with one such resistance will take only 1/3 of normal damage from attacks involving the relevant element of acid, lightning, fire or cold. Note that multiple permanent sources of resistance are NOT cumulative: wearing two is no better than wearing one. However, armor which provides resistance to acid cannot itself be damaged by acid, and this is a good reason to wear more than one such piece of armor. of Resistance. A character wearing armor with this ability will have resistance to all four of Acid, Cold, Fire, and Lightning, as explained above. Dwarven Armor. Dwarven armor is of better quality than normal armor: it cannot be damaged by acid or fire, and will give its wearer the strength and constitution of a Dwarf. The wearer also cannot be paralyzed, and will be able to see in the dark. It can only be heavy metal armor - metal scale mail and above, and not rusty chain mail: as Dwarven armor does not rust, nor do they use leather for their armor. Armor of Elvenkind. This is the same as Resistance armor, only generally better enchanted. It will make you more stealthy. This armor also possesses an extra resistance, at random from the following list: poison, light, dark, blindness, confusion, nexus, fear, nether, chaos, disenchantment, sound and shards. (See the section about Resistances below.) Robes of Permanence. These robes are designed especially for wizards. Just like Elvenkind armor, they provide resistance to fire, cold, acid, and electricity and cannot be damaged by acid. They sustain all of your stats and protect you from a good deal of all experience draining. Also like Elvenkind armor, they have one random resistance. Dragon Scale Mails. These extremely rare pieces of armour come in many different colors, each protecting you against the relevant dragons. Naturally they are all resistant to acid damage (although this resistance is not conferred on the player, unless the dragon itself breathes acid.) They also occasionally allow you to breathe as a dragon would! Shields of Preservation. This shield will preserve the character's body and soul from damage, and also prevent the loss of magical energy: it provides resistance to disenchantment, sustains strength, constitution and dexterity, and also has one other random "high" resistance. Armor and Shields of Vulnerability. This severely cursed armor appears to be powerful, but in fact lets through the full force of every attack directed at it. Ego Helms: ---------- Stat Boosting Helms. There are magical helms found in the dungeon that have the ability to boost the wearer's intelligence, wisdom, or charisma. (Helms of Beauty are the ones that boost charisma.) In addition to boosting the relevant stat these helms will also prevent that stat from being drained. Crown of the Magi. This is the great crown of the wizards. The wearer will have an increased (and sustained) intelligence, and will also be given resistance against fire, frost, acid, and lightning. These valuable helms also have an additional random power. Crown of Might. This is the great crown of the warriors. The wearer will have an increased and sustained strength, dexterity, and constitution, and will also be immune to any foe's attempt to slow or paralyze him or her. Crown of Lordliness. This is the great crown of the priests. The wearer will have an increased and sustained wisdom and charisma. Helm/Crown of Seeing. This is the great helmet or crown of the rogues. The wearer will be able to see invisible creatures, and will have an increased ability to locate traps and secret doors. It is also rumored that the wearer of such a helm will not be able to be blinded. Helm of Infravision. This helmet will allow the wearer to see warm-blooded creatures even in total darkness. This is very useful when dealing with warm-blooded invisible creatures. Helm of Light. In addition to providing a permanent light source for the wearer, this helm also provides resistance against light-based attacks. Helm/Crown of Telepathy. This helm or crown grants the wearer the power of telepathy. Helm of Regeneration. This helm will help you regenerate hit points and mana more quickly than normal, allowing you to fight longer before needing to rest. You will use food faster than normal while wearing this helm because of the regenerative effects. Helm/Crown of Serenity. The wearer of this helmet will always be able to keep his mind clear of noises and confusing distractions, nor will he ever be scared witless, as this item provides resistance to sound, confusion and fear. Crown of Night and Day. The wearer of this rare crown has power over all of light and darkness, and thus resists all attacks based on these things: and he also cannot be blinded, and will never lack light to see by, nor will any monster be able to hide from him with magical invisibility. Helm of Teleportation. This cursed helm will always keep the player on the hop, never sure where he is and never able to stay in one place. Crown of Sickliness. Ruling is such a drain on one's health... This crown will debilitate its wearer, reducing his strength, dexterity and constitution. Helm/Crown of Dullness. You wonder why you never noticed the big "D" emblazoned on this headwear before putting it on: this dunce's cap reduces your intelligence and wisdom, and also convinces shopkeepers that they can get away with charging you higher prices - an effect simulated by the penalty also applying to charisma. It does, however, have a beneficial side-effect - monsters trying to attack you psionically have trouble detecting your mind, which is thus protected from them. Ego Cloaks: ----------- Cloak of Protection. This finely made cloak will come with an unnaturally high enchantment and is not affected by elemental-based attacks. It is also made of an exceptionally durable material which can keep out blasts of crystal shards. Cloak of Stealth. This cloak will increase the wearer's stealth, making the wearer less likely to wake up sleeping monsters. Cloak of the Magi. This cloak increases and sustains intelligence, and allows its wearer to remain hidden from monsters, all the better to surprise them by casting a spell on them. Cloak of Aman. These exceptionally rare cloaks provide great stealth, have a very high enchantment, and one random resistance. Cloak of Enveloping. This cloak gets in the way of everything you try to do. You can't seem to hit monsters without having to shove aside several folds of cloth, and yet more layers cushion the blow and reduce the damage you do. Cloak of Irritation. This cloak not only envelops its wearer but aggravates all who see it. Ego Gloves: ----------- Gloves of Free Action. The wearer of these gloves will find himself resistant to paralyzing attacks as well as some slowing attacks. Because of the special nature of these gloves, magic users may wear these gloves without incurring a mana penalty. Gloves of Slaying. These gloves will increase the wearer's fighting ability by boosting the wearer's to-hit and to-dam values. Gloves of Agility. These gloves will increase the wearer's dexterity. Because of the special nature of these gloves, magic users may wear these gloves without incurring a mana penalty. Gloves of Power. These gauntlets will boost the wearer's strength as well as the wearer's to-hit and to-dam numbers. Gloves of Thievery. These leather gloves will boost the wearer's dexterity and to-hit, also providing immunity to paralysis, and their wearer will automatically be able to grab onto things and take no damage from falls. Gauntlets of Combat. These gauntlets will increase the wearer's strength, and even allow him to hit monsters more times in a round of combat: however, they also imbue the character with unshakable belief in his own invulnerability, and no monster will remain asleep while the character is yelling out his challenges to all and sundry. Gauntlets of Weakness. These gauntlets sap your strength. Gauntlets of Clumsiness. These gauntlets make you fumble. Ego Boots: ---------- Boots of Slow Descent. These boots protect the wearer from the effects of small falls. Boots of Stealth. These boots increase the wearer's stealth, like a Cloak of Stealth. Boots of Free Action. The wearer of these boots will find himself resistant to paralyzing attacks as well as some slowing attacks. Boots of Stability. The wearer of these boots will be stable in space and time, and monsters will be unable to teleport him with nexus attacks. Magical teleportation will still work, of course, whether cast by the player or a monster. They also provide protection against paralysis. Boots of Speed. The wearer of these boots will become unnaturally fast. Boots of Slowness. They seem to be stuck to the ground, and you can hardly move at all while wearing these things. Boots of Annoyance. The wearer of these boots will make great echoing stamps as he walks around the dungeon, waking up and aggravating all monsters. Worse still, they will slow the player down. Apart from these there are some very rare and well-made armours in the dungeon with not necessarily any special abilities. These include Shields of Deflection, Adamantite Plate Mail, Mithril Plate Mail, Mithril Chain Mail, and Shadow Cloaks. The first four cannot be damaged by acid because of the quality metals they contain. There are rumors of unique "artifact" items in the dungeon - weapons and armor of all types. Many of these are more powerful than even the greatest ego-items: some are weak and have little more than a name to recommend them. In all cases, and indeed if the player desires to find out the powers of an ego-item with random powers, use of a scroll of *Identify* will reveal all the powers of any given item. === Non-melee attacks and resistances === The player may at some time gain access to non-melee attacks, and many monsters also have them. Perhaps the most famous of this type of attack is dragon breath: but monsters may also cast spells at the player, and vice versa. This damage generally is not affected by armor class, and does not need a hit roll to hit the player or monster being aimed at. Some attacks are purely magical: attack spells which blind, confuse, slow, scare or paralyze the target. In some cases, a melee attack may also do this. These attacks are resisted by monsters of higher level (native to deeper dungeon depths) and characters with a high saving throw - saving throws being dependent on class, level and wisdom. There are also available resistances to fear, blindness and confusion, and the power of "free action" prevents magical paralysis and most slowing attacks (the player may still be paralyzed by being "knocked out" in melee or by a stunning attack, but this is very rare.) It should also be noticed that unique monsters automatically pass their saving throws, and some monsters are naturally resistant to confusion, fear and sleep-monster attacks. Monster spells to "cause wounds" are included in this category, of attacks which do no damage if a saving throw is made, or full damage if it is failed. Some melee attacks by monsters may drain a stat, as can some traps: this is prevented by having that stat sustained. Some monsters may cast spells that teleport the player character. To these, there is no saving throw, except to those that would actually teleport him up or down one dungeon level. Having resistance to nexus will also prevent being level-teleported, but not normal teleportation spell attacks. The player may teleport monsters in the same way, with a spell, wand or rod. Other attacks are usually elemental-based, including the aforementioned example of dragon breath. Many monsters can breathe various attacks or cast bolt or ball spells, and the player may also have access to bolt and ball spells (or breathe like a dragon, if he is wearing a dragon scale mail.) The player, and the monsters, may be resistant to these forms of attack: and resistance is handled in different ways for the player and the monster, and for different attack forms. Bolt spells will hit the first monster (or the player) in the line of fire: ball spells and breaths may centre on a target which may be hiding behind other targets. Ball spells and breath weapons affect an area: other monsters caught in the blast take reduced damage depending on how close to the centre of the blast they are. Bolt and ball spells depend on the level of the monster or player: breath weapons are proportional to a fraction of the monster's current hit points, with a maximum cap on the damage - which is higher for the most common of such attacks, owing to the fact that the resistances are also easier to find. In the case of fire, cold, lightning, acid and poison, if the monster has resistance to a player attack of this kind it will take almost no damage. If the player has one or more permanent sources of resistance, he will take 1/3 of the damage he would normally take: if the player has a temporary source of resistance (whether from potion, spell or artifact), this will also reduce the damage to 1/3 of its normal level, allowing the character to take only 1/9 damage if he has both permanent and temporary resistance. Having more than one source of permanent resistance confers no extra bonus, and using more than one source of temporary resistance increases only the duration of the resistance: in both cases, either the resistance is present or it is not. But one permanent resistance and one temporary resistance are both effective simultaneously. The character may also gain immunity to fire, cold, lightning and acid, if he is fortunate to find any of the two or three artifacts that provide these immunities: immunity means that no damage is taken, and the character's equipment is also totally protected. Immunities are EXTREMELY rare, and nothing else can protect the player's equipment or inventory from damage. So expect your armor to take damage from acid attacks even if you yourself are resistant - unless you are wearing armor which cannot be damaged by acid (which may not necessarily provide the resistance to the player, in the case of armor and shields made out of high-quality materials), and expect your staffs, scrolls, spellbooks and arrows to be damaged by fire, your potions by frost, your wands, rings and amulets in your inventory (but not worn or wielded rings or amulets) by lightning, and weapons and armor in the inventory may both be damaged or destroyed by acid and fire. Another attack that the player will come into contact with all too often is the soul-chilling nature of the undead, which can drain the character's life experience. Some monsters have a life-draining melee attack, others may cast ball or bolt spells or, in extreme cases, breathe the very force of the netherworld (shortened by the game to "nether".) There are two powers which are of assistance in this case: that of "hold life" will prevent 90% of all experience drains, and in the other 10% of cases, the amount of experience lost will be reduced by 90%. That of "resistance to nether forces" will provide resistance to nether bolts, balls and breaths, reducing the damage and preventing any experience drains from these attacks, but has no effect on melee "hits to drain experience". Monsters caught in the blast from a nether ball or breath will take damage proportional to distance from the centre of the attack, except for undead who are totally immune. The player may find wands or rods of Drain Life, which are similar to nether-forces attacks in that undead creatures are immune to them, but they affect all other creatures equally. It should be noted that the wand of Drain Life bears no relation to the priest spell of "Orb of Draining", despite the similarity of name: the priest spell will actually do extra damage against undead, and indeed against all evil creatures. Other attack forms are rarer, but may include: - disenchantment (both in melee or by a monster breath), - chaos (a monster breath only, which if unresisted will cause the player to hallucinate and be confused, and may drain life experience), - nexus (which may teleport the player to the monster, away from the monster, up or down a level, or swap over two of the player's stats) - confusion (by breath attack or by a monster hitting to confuse the player, there is an available resistance) - light and darkness (both of which will blind a non-resistant character) - sound (which will stun a non-resistant character and may destroy potions) - crystal shards (which will cut a non-resistant character and may destroy potions), - inertia (which will slow a character even if he has free action) - gravity (which will blink a character, also stunning and slowing) - force (which will stun the character) - plasma (which will stun, and may destroy items which are vulnerable to either fire or lightning) - time (which may drain experience regardless of hold life, or drain stats regardless of sustains) - water bolts and balls (which may confuse and stun, and do considerable damage when cast by high-level monsters), - ice bolts (which may cut and stun, and damage potions) - mana bolts and balls (the latter usually known as Mana Storms.) Magic missiles are included in the "mana" category, whether cast by the monster or the player. - disintegration blasts, which destroy rock walls as well as hurting monsters. Only the player can cast these at present, and they are unresistable. - psionic attacks, see below. There are resistances available to chaos, disenchantment, confusion, nexus, sound, shards, light and darkness: all of these will reduce the damage and prevent side-effects other than physical damage. With these resistances, as with nether resistance, damage is a random fraction of what it would otherwise be: for light and dark, it is between 4/7 and 4/12, for sound and confusion it is between 5/7 and 5/12, and for chaos, disenchantment, nexus, shards and nether it is between 6/7 and 6/12. It should be noted that not all of these are actually vital to completing the game: indeed, of the above list, only fire, cold, acid, lightning and poison resists are regarded as truly vital, with blindness, confusion, chaos and nether the next most desirable. Some attack forms are not resistable, but thankfully these are rare: - the damage from ice bolts cannot be resisted, but resistance to shards will prevent the player being cut by it. - attacks of force, gravity, plasma and water have no resistance to the damage caused, but sound resistance will prevent the player being stunned. - and and confusion resistance will prevent confusion by a water bolt or ball. - there is no resistance to any of the side-effects of a time attack. - there is no resistance to the damage, the slowing or the "blink" effect of a gravity attack. - Nor is there any resistance to purely magical mana damage. === A note on speed === Monsters which do not move at normal speed generally move "slowly" (-10 to speed), "fast" (+10), "very fast" (+20) or "incredibly fast" (+30). It will surprise nobody that Morgoth is one of the few monsters in the last category... This is further adjusted by the fact that any given individual monster may have a random adjustment from (-2) to (+2) to its own speed. Generally, (+10) is exactly double normal speed, and (-10) exactly half. (+20) is about three times normal speed, but after that there is less noticeable improvement as speed goes higher - for instance, (+30) is not quite four times normal speed, and higher values than this are largely irrelevant. The player may find items which can be worn or wielded that provide speed bonuses: these may include boots of speed, rings of speed and a few very rare artifacts. Boots will provide a random 1d10 to speed: rings of speed may be bigger than that - generally the best that the player will get is two just over (+10), but individual rings of over +20 to speed have been known. Separate from the question of permanent speed (as determined by the player's speed items and the monster's natural speed) is that of temporary speed. The player may cast a spell of haste-self, or use a potion, staff or rod of speed, or use an artifact activation to speed him temporarily: or a monster may cast a haste-self spell, or be affected by another monster "shrieking for help" or the player reading a scroll of aggravate monster. In all cases, (+10) speed is added temporarily to the affected monster or player. Using two or more sources of temporary speed is cumulative only in duration: one cannot get from normal speed to (+20) using a potion and a spell of speed. Spells of temporary slowing (including monsters breathing inertia or gravity) are handled the same way, with exactly (-10) being subtracted from the player or monster's speed temporarily, for the duration of the spell or breath's effect. === About psionic attacks === Psionic attacks are handled in a different way to most other attacks, and have different and unpredictable effects. They come in three different levels (just like the psionic foci): referred to in the code as "Psi1", "Psi2" and "Psi3". A psionic attack will not only damage the player's hit points but may have any number of unpredictable side effects, ranging from confusion, stunning and fear up to hallucination and temporary int/wis loss or paralysis. There is available resistance to psionics, but it is not handled in the same way as other resistances (which totally prevent the side-effects): the nearest comparison is with the power of Hold Life, which mitigates but does not always completely prevent the effects of the relevant attack. In particular, resist confusion may sometimes not be enough to stave off confusion caused by a psionic attack, if the attack came from one of the more powerful sources (a Psi2 or Psi3 attack.) The same is true of resist chaos preventing hallucination: although it does give a higher chance that the effect will be resisted, and free action does absolutely prevent paralysis. Resistance to mental attacks (whether temporary as with the spell of Mental Barrier, or permanent as with an item providing psionic resistance) will also help against all forms of side-effects. Basically, if the attack is a Psi2 or Psi3 attack, a counter is set up, in which "positive" protection (such as RES_PSI, the relevant resistance to confusion, chaos or fear, and a passed saving throw) is weighed against the "negative" hindrances, such as being already berserk or confused, or failing the saving throw, or the attack being Psi3 rather than Psi2. Telepathy doubles the effect of the saving throw on this counter, for better or for worse, and only if the total is negative does the side-effect apply: so, for instance, having both resistance to confusion (+1 protection) and psionics (+1 protection) would protect against confusion by a Psi2 attack despite failing a saving throw (-1) when telepathic (to make total of -2 protection), as the total would be zero. However, if the character was Berserk as well, the overall total would be -1, and the character would be confused by the attack despite both his resistances. If the attack had been a Psi3 attack, this also results in a penalty to the chance of resisting, so the character would have been confused. Confusing, isn't it? In any case, higher-rated Psi attacks have more intrinsic chance of causing nasty side-effects. Psionic attacks come in several forms: Mind Thrust - the player's first attacks spell. A bolt of "Psi1" damage: the easiest to resist, and the one which causes the least serious side-effects anyway. Only the player has this attack. Psionic Blast - a radius-2 ball of "Psi1" damage, dependent on the player's or monster's level. Psychic Crush - a radius-0 ball of "Psi2" damage. Affects exactly one creature within line of sight. It is harder to resist the side- effects of this, and it does more damage. Psychic Wave - a beam of "Psi2" damage. Mind Wrack - a radius-0 ball of "Psi3" damage. It does not do as much hit point damage as Psionic Blast or Psychic Crush, but the side- -effects are at their worst, and there is a penalty to the player's chances of avoiding them. Ultrablast - this spell, belonging only to the player, hits all monsters in line of sight with a large amount of Psi1 damage. *Ultrablast* - this spell, also belonging only to the player, hits all monsters in line of sight with a *very* large amount of Psi2 damage. Not surprisingly, it nearly runs the player out of mana as well... In addition to this, monsters can cast the usual assortment of spells of confusion, blinding, slowing, amnesia, hallucination etc, all of which depend on the standard saving throw (wisdom- and level-dependent) and on having the right resistance available. The player also has some interesting new powers. Animals are usually too stupid to be hurt by psionic attacks: however, casting the spell of Empathy will allow you to empathise with them, and thus affect them. It doesn't help you against non-intelligent creatures, or constructed creatures such as golems: these are a psionicist's worst enemies, and he will just have to use his powers of mind over matter to burn, freeze or crush them, or use his meagre weapon skills to hack them to pieces the hard way. A note also on the player's spell of Amnesia: a monster hit by this attack will "forget" how to use some of its powers. This could be useful, in that a dragon might forget how to breathe: or it might be non-useful, in that a black reaver might forget how to do some of its more wimpy powers but remember how to cast mana storms, and consequently cast them more often as that's the one thing it can remember... A full description of all psionic powers is available in the "psionics.txt" file.