Annotation of early-roguelike/arogue7/aguide.mm, Revision 1.1
1.1 ! rubenllo 1: .\"
! 2: .\" aguide.mm
! 3: .\"
! 4: .\" Advanced Rogue
! 5: .\" Copyright (C) 1984, 1985, 1986 Michael Morgan, Ken Dalka and AT&T
! 6: .\" All rights reserved.
! 7: .\"
! 8: .\" Based on "Rogue: Exploring the Dungeons of Doom"
! 9: .\" Copyright (C) 1980, 1981 Michael Toy, Ken Arnold and Glenn Wichman
! 10: .\" All rights reserved.
! 11: .\"
! 12: .\" See the file LICENSE.TXT for full copyright and licensing information.
! 13: .\"
! 14: .tr ~
! 15: .nr Pt 1
! 16: .ds HF 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
! 17: .TL
! 18: The Dungeons of Doom
! 19: .AF Toolchest
! 20: .AU " "
! 21: .AS 1
! 22: .P
! 23: Rogue was introduced at the University of California at Berkeley as a
! 24: screen-oriented fantasy game.
! 25: The game had 26 types of monsters that the player could meet while
! 26: exploring a dungeon generated by the computer.
! 27: Scrolls, potions, rings, wands, staves, armor, and weapons helped the
! 28: player to battle these monsters and to gain gold, the basis for scoring.
! 29: .P
! 30: The version of Rogue described in this guide has been expanded to include
! 31: over 110 monsters with many new capabilities.
! 32: Many of the monsters are intelligent, and they, like the player, must avoid
! 33: traps and decide when it is better to fight or to run.
! 34: The player chooses a character class at the beginning of the game which
! 35: defines the player's abilities.
! 36: Experience, rather than gold, decides the player's score.
! 37: .AE
! 38: .MT 4
! 39: .H 1 INTRODUCTION
! 40: Rogue is a screen-oriented fantasy game set in the ever-changing
! 41: \fIDungeons of Doom\fR.
! 42: The game comes complete with monsters, spells, weapons, armor, potions,
! 43: and other magical items.
! 44: The dungeon's geography changes with every game, and although many magical
! 45: items have certain identifiable properties, such as turning the player
! 46: invisible, the physical manifestation of the magic changes each game.
! 47: A red potion, for example, will cause the same reaction throughout
! 48: a given game, but it may be a completely different potion in a new game.
! 49: .P
! 50: Entering the dungeon with only a little food, armor, and a weapon, the player
! 51: must develop a good strategy of when
! 52: to fight, when to run, and how to best use any magical items found
! 53: in the dungeon.
! 54: To make things interesting, the player has a quest to return one of
! 55: several unique artifacts, rumored to lie deep in the dungeon's bowels.
! 56: Returning with this artifact brings great glory and the title of
! 57: \fIComplete Winner\fR.
! 58: But even after finding the artifact, the player may wish to continue
! 59: further to match wits with an \fIarch-devil\fR, \fIdemon prince\fR, or even a
! 60: \fIdeity\fR found far down in the dungeon.
! 61: Defeating such a creature will gain the player many experience points,
! 62: the basis for scoring in Rogue.
! 63: .P
! 64: It is very difficult to return from the \fIDungeons of Doom\fR.
! 65: Few people ever make it out alive.
! 66: Should this unlikely event occur, the player would be proclaimed a
! 67: complete winner and handsomely rewarded for any booty removed from the
! 68: dungeon.
! 69: .H 1 "CHARACTER CLASSES"
! 70: Before placing the player in the dungeon, the game requests the player
! 71: to select what type of character they would like to be:~ a fighter, a magic user, a cleric,
! 72: a druid, a thief, a paladin, a ranger, a monk, or an assassin.
! 73: .H 2 "The Fighter"
! 74: A fighter is very strong and will have a high strength rating.
! 75: This great strength gives a fighter the best odds of
! 76: winning a battle with a monster.
! 77: At high experience levels the \fIfighter\fR also gets to attack
! 78: multiple times in a single turn.
! 79: This obviously further increases his chances at winning battles.
! 80: Intrinsic to the fighter class is a robustness which results in
! 81: 1 to 12 extra hit points for every new experience
! 82: level.
! 83: .H 2 "The Magician"
! 84: A Magician is able to "cast" spells.
! 85: The number and variety of spells increases as
! 86: the magician gains experience and intelligence.
! 87: Magic users are not as hearty as fighters;
! 88: they receive 1 to 6 extra hit
! 89: points for every new experience level.
! 90: .H 2 "The Cleric"
! 91: A cleric is able to "pray" to his god for help.
! 92: The number and variety of prayers which the gods are willing to grant to
! 93: a cleric increase as the cleric gains experience and wisdom.
! 94: .P
! 95: Because of their religious nature, clerics can also affect the "undead"
! 96: beings, like \fIzombies\fR and \fIghouls\fR, which became monsters after they
! 97: died.
! 98: If an "undead" creature is next to a cleric, the cleric may try
! 99: to turn it and cause it to flee.
! 100: If the cleric is sufficiently powerful relative to the monster,
! 101: the cleric will destroy it.
! 102: This ability increases as the character gains experience levels.
! 103: .P
! 104: Clerics can gain from 1 to 8 extra hit points on
! 105: reaching a new experience level.
! 106: .H 2 "The Druid"
! 107: The druid is a cleric of sorts but worships nature rather than a god.
! 108: The druid is able to "chant" and thereby recieve certain types
! 109: of spells. Most of the chants are targeted more towards the
! 110: elements and nature.
! 111: .P
! 112: Druids gain from 1 to 8 hit points when they gain an experience level.
! 113: .H 2 "The Thief"
! 114: A thief is exceptionally dextrous and has a good chance to
! 115: set a trap or rob a monster.
! 116: .P
! 117: By their nature, thieves can automatically detect all the gold on the
! 118: current level of the dungeon.
! 119: They are also good at detecting hidden traps.
! 120: Because thieves slink along, they are not as likely as other characters
! 121: to wake sleeping monsters.
! 122: If a \fIthief\fR manages to sneak up on a creature without waking it, he
! 123: will get a chance to \fIbackstab\fR the monster. When this is done,
! 124: the damage done by the \fIthief\fR greatly increases based on his experience
! 125: level.
! 126: .P
! 127: Thieves gain from 1 to 6 extra hit points from a new experience level.
! 128: .H 2 "The Paladin"
! 129: The paladin is a type of holy warrior. Somewhat of a cross between a
! 130: fighter and a cleric. He is able to pray and turn undead as a cleric,
! 131: (but to a lesser degree) but fights as a fighter. He is on the side of
! 132: all that is good and righteous. Therefore he would never attack a
! 133: creature that would not attack him first. If he does kill a non-violent
! 134: creature inadvertantly he will feel "uneasy" and his god may retaliate
! 135: by making him a mere fighter.
! 136: .P
! 137: Paladins gain 1 to 10 hit points per experience level.
! 138: .H 2 "The Ranger"
! 139: The ranger is somewhat of a cross between a druid and a fighter. He
! 140: too is on the side of righteousness and good. Therefore, the same
! 141: same restrictions apply to his as they do to a paladin. The ranger
! 142: can "chant" and "cast" but to a lesser degree than the druid and
! 143: magician.
! 144: .P
! 145: Rangers gain 1 to 8 hit points per experience level.
! 146: .H 2 "The Monk"
! 147: The Monk is a martial arts expert. He wears no armor but has
! 148: an effective armor class based on his ability to dodge attacks.
! 149: He does not need a weapon in combat for his hands and feet are
! 150: a formidable weapon. His ability to dodge and use his hands
! 151: as weapons increases as he gains in level.
! 152: .P
! 153: Monks gain 1 to 6 hit points per experience level.
! 154: .H 2 "The Assassin"
! 155: The assassin is a person trained in the art of killing people
! 156: by surprise. He has most of the abilities of the thief except
! 157: the "backstab". Instead, the assassin has the chance to kill
! 158: an opponent outright with one strike. He is also a ruthless
! 159: character and trained in the use of poison. He can recognize
! 160: poison on sight and can coat his weapon with it thereby making
! 161: his next attack an exceptionally lethal one.
! 162: .P
! 163: Assassins gain 1 to 6 hit points per experience level.
! 164: .H 1 "ATTRIBUTES"
! 165: .H 2 "Intelligence"
! 166: Intelligence is the primary attribute associated with casting
! 167: spells. With higher intelligence comes the knowledge of more
! 168: spells, the ability to cast more spells, and faster recovery
! 169: of spells that have been cast.
! 170: .H 2 "Strength"
! 171: This is, of course, the measure of a character's physical strength.
! 172: With higher strength a character can carry more, cause more damage
! 173: when striking, have a better chance to strike an opponent, and
! 174: move about more quickly when carrying a load.
! 175: .H 2 "Wisdom"
! 176: Wisdom is the primary attribute associated with Praying
! 177: to a god. With higher wisdom comes the knowledge of more
! 178: prayers, the ability to pray more often, and faster recovery
! 179: of prayer ability.
! 180: .H 2 "Dexterity"
! 181: Dexterity is a measure of a character's agility. With higher dexterity
! 182: a character is harder to hit, can hit a opponent more easily, and
! 183: can move about more quickly when carrying a load.
! 184: .H 2 Constitution
! 185: Every character has a constitution rating.
! 186: A character with an exceptionally good constitution will gain more than
! 187: the normal amount of hit points associated with the character's class
! 188: when the character reaches a new experience level. Exceptional constitution
! 189: also provides better protection versus poison-based attacks and diseases.
! 190: .H 2 "Charisma"
! 191: Charisma is a measure of a characters looks and general likeableness.
! 192: It effects transactions when trying to purchase things.
! 193: .H 2 "Experience Levels"
! 194: Characters gain experience for killing monsters, stealing from monsters,
! 195: and turning monsters.
! 196: Each character class has a set of thresholds associated with it.
! 197: When a character reaches a threshold, the character attains the next
! 198: experience level.
! 199: This new level brings extra hit points and a greater chance of success
! 200: in performing the abilities associated with the character's class.
! 201: For example, magicians receive new spells, and clerics receive new prayers.
! 202: .P
! 203: .H 2 "Allocating Attributes"
! 204: The player starts with 72 "attribute points" to create a character and
! 205: can distribute them in any manner among the six attributes described
! 206: above.
! 207: When prompting the player for each attribute, the game displays the
! 208: minimum and maximum allowable values for that attribute.
! 209: The player can type a backspace (control-H) to go back and change
! 210: a value; typing an escape (ESC) sets the remaining attributes to
! 211: the maximum value possible given the remaining attribute points.
! 212: .H 1 "THE SCREEN"
! 213: During the normal course of play, the screen consists of three separate
! 214: sections:~ the top line of the terminal, the bottom two lines of the
! 215: terminal, and the remaining middle lines.
! 216: The top line reports actions which occur during the game, the middle
! 217: section depicts the dungeon, and the bottom lines describe the player's
! 218: current condition.
! 219: .H 2 "The Top Line"
! 220: Whenever anything happens to the player, such as finding a scroll or
! 221: hitting or being hit by a monster, a short report of the occurrence
! 222: appears on the top line of the screen.
! 223: When such reports occur quickly, one right after another,
! 224: the game displays the notice followed by the prompt '\(emMore\(em.'~
! 225: After reading this notice, the player can press a space to display
! 226: the next message.
! 227: At such a point, the game ignores all commands until the player presses
! 228: a space.
! 229: .H 2 "The Dungeon Section"
! 230: The large middle section of the screen displays the player's surroundings using
! 231: the following symbols:
! 232: .tr ~~
! 233: .VL 10
! 234: .LI |
! 235: A wall of a room.
! 236: .LI -
! 237: A wall of a room.
! 238: .LI *
! 239: A pile of gold.
! 240: .LI %
! 241: A way to the next level.
! 242: .LI +
! 243: A doorway.
! 244: .LI .
! 245: The floor in a room.
! 246: .LI @
! 247: The player.
! 248: .LI _
! 249: The player, when invisible.
! 250: .LI #
! 251: The floor in a passageway.
! 252: .LI !
! 253: A flask containing a potion.
! 254: .LI ?
! 255: A sealed scroll.
! 256: .LI :
! 257: Some food.
! 258: .LI )
! 259: A weapon.
! 260: .LI \
! 261: Solid rock (denoted by a space).
! 262: .LI ]
! 263: Some armor.
! 264: .LI ;
! 265: A miscellaneous magic item
! 266: .LI ,
! 267: An artifact
! 268: .LI =
! 269: A ring.
! 270: .LI /
! 271: A wand or a staff.
! 272: .LI ^
! 273: The entrance to a trading post
! 274: .LI >
! 275: A trapdoor leading to the next level
! 276: .LI {
! 277: An arrow trap
! 278: .LI $
! 279: A sleeping gas trap
! 280: .LI }
! 281: A beartrap
! 282: .LI ~
! 283: A trap that teleports you somewhere else
! 284: .LI \`
! 285: A poison dart trap
! 286: .LI \fR"\fR
! 287: A shimmering magic pool
! 288: .LI \'
! 289: An entrance to a maze
! 290: .LI $
! 291: Any magical item. (During magic detection)
! 292: .LI >
! 293: A blessed magical item. (During magic detection)
! 294: .LI <
! 295: A cursed magical item. (During magic detection)
! 296: .LI A\ letter
! 297: A monster.
! 298: Note that a given letter may signify multiple monsters,
! 299: depending on the level of the dungeon.
! 300: The player can always identify a current monster by using
! 301: the identify command ('\fB/\fR').
! 302: .LE
! 303: .tr ~
! 304: .H 2 "The Status Section"
! 305: The bottom two lines of the screen describe the player's current status.
! 306: The first line gives the player's characteristics:
! 307: .BL
! 308: .LI
! 309: Intelligence (\fBInt\fR)
! 310: .LI
! 311: Strength (\fBStr\fR)
! 312: .LI
! 313: Wisdom (\fBWis\fR)
! 314: .LI
! 315: Dexterity (\fBDxt\fR)
! 316: .LI
! 317: Constitution (\fBConst\fR)
! 318: .LI
! 319: Charisma (\fBChar\fR)
! 320: .LI
! 321: Encumberance (\fBCarry\fR)
! 322: .LE
! 323: .P
! 324: Intelligence, strength, wisdom, dexterity, charisma, and constitution have a
! 325: normal maximum of 25, but can be higher when augmented by a ring.
! 326: Encumberance is a measurement of how much the player can carry versus
! 327: how much he is currently carrying. The more you carry relative to your
! 328: maximum causes you to use more food.
! 329: .P
! 330: The second status line provides the following information:
! 331: .BL
! 332: .LI
! 333: The current level (\fBLvl\fR) in the dungeon. This number increases as the
! 334: player goes further down.
! 335: .LI
! 336: The player's current number of hit points (\fBHp\fR), followed in parentheses
! 337: by the player's current maximum number of hit points.
! 338: Hit points express the player's health.
! 339: As a player heals by resting, the player's current hit points gradually
! 340: increase until reaching the current maximum.
! 341: This maximum increases each time a player attains a new experience level.
! 342: If the player's current hit points reach 0, the player dies.
! 343: .LI
! 344: The player's armor class (\fBAc\fR).
! 345: This number describes the amount of protection provided by the armor, cloaks,
! 346: and/or rings currently worn by the player.
! 347: It is also affected by high or low dexterity.
! 348: Wearing no armor is equivalent to an armor class of 10.
! 349: The protection level increases as the armor class decreases.
! 350: .LI
! 351: The player's current experience level (\fBExp\fR) followed by the player's
! 352: experience points.
! 353: The player can gain experience points by killing monsters, successfully
! 354: stealing from monsters, and turning monsters.
! 355: When a player gains enough experience points to surpass a threshold that
! 356: depends on the player's character type, the player reaches a new
! 357: experience level.
! 358: A new experience level brings extra hit points and possibly added
! 359: abilities, such as a new spell for a magician or a new prayer for
! 360: a cleric.
! 361: .LI
! 362: A description of the player's character.
! 363: This description depends on the player's character type and experience
! 364: level.
! 365: .LE
! 366: .H 1 COMMANDS
! 367: A player can invoke most Rogue commands by typing a single character.
! 368: Some commands, however, require a direction, in which case the player
! 369: types the command character followed by a directional command.
! 370: Many commands can be prefaced by a number, indicating how many times
! 371: the command should be executed.
! 372: .P
! 373: When the player invokes a command referring to an item in the player's
! 374: pack (such as reading a scroll), the game prompts for the item.
! 375: The player should then type the letter associated with the item, as
! 376: displayed by the \fBinventory\fR command.
! 377: Typing a '*' at this point produces a list of the eligible items.
! 378: .P
! 379: Rogue understands the following commands:~
! 380: .VL 4
! 381: .LI ?
! 382: Preceding a command by a '\fB?\fR' produces a brief explanation of the command.
! 383: The command '\fB?*\fR' gives an explanation of all the commands.
! 384: .LI /
! 385: Preceding a symbol by a '\fB/\fR' identifies the symbol.
! 386: .LI =
! 387: Clarify.
! 388: After typing an '\fB=\fR' sign, the player can use the movement keys to
! 389: position the cursor anywhere on the current level.
! 390: As long as the player can normally see the selected position, Rogue will
! 391: identify whatever is at that space.
! 392: Examples include a \fIsleeping giant rat\fR, a \fIblue potion\fR, and a \fIfood
! 393: ration\fR.
! 394: .LI h
! 395: Move one position to the left.
! 396: .LI j
! 397: Move one position down.
! 398: .LI k
! 399: Move one position up.
! 400: .LI l
! 401: Move one position to the right.
! 402: .LI y
! 403: Move one position to the top left.
! 404: .LI u
! 405: Move one position to the top right.
! 406: .LI b
! 407: Move one position to the bottom left.
! 408: .LI n
! 409: Move one position to the bottom right.
! 410: .LI H
! 411: Run to the left until reaching something interesting.
! 412: .LI J
! 413: Run down until reaching something interesting.
! 414: .LI K
! 415: Run up until reaching something interesting.
! 416: .LI L
! 417: Run to the right until reaching something interesting.
! 418: .LI Y
! 419: Run to the top left until reaching something interesting.
! 420: .LI U
! 421: Run to the top right until reaching something interesting.
! 422: .LI B
! 423: Run to the bottom left until reaching something interesting.
! 424: .LI N
! 425: Run to the bottom right until reaching something interesting.
! 426: .LI t
! 427: This command prompts for an object from the players pack.
! 428: The player then \fBt\fRhrows the object in the specified direction.
! 429: .LI f
! 430: When this command precedes a directional command, the player moves
! 431: in the specified direction until passing something interesting.
! 432: .LI z
! 433: This command prompts for a wand or staff from the player's pack and
! 434: \fBz\fRaps it in the specified direction.
! 435: .LI >
! 436: Go down to the next level.
! 437: .LI <
! 438: Go up to the next level.
! 439: .LI s
! 440: \fBS\fRearch for a secret door or a trap in the circle surrounding the player.
! 441: .LI .
! 442: This command (a dot) causes the player to rest a turn.
! 443: .LI i
! 444: Display an \fBi\fRnventory of the player's pack.
! 445: .LI I
! 446: This command prompts for an item from the player's pack and displays
! 447: the \fBi\fRnventory information for that item.
! 448: .LI q
! 449: \fBQ\fRuaff a potion from the player's pack.
! 450: .LI r
! 451: \fBR\fRead a scroll from the player's pack.
! 452: .LI e
! 453: \fBE\fRat some food from the player's pack.
! 454: .LI w
! 455: \fBW\fRield a weapon from the player's pack.
! 456: .LI W
! 457: \fBW\fRear some armor, ring, or miscellaneous magic item from the player's pack.
! 458: The player can wear a maximum of eight rings.
! 459: .LI T
! 460: \fBT\fRake off whatever the player is wearing.
! 461: .LI ^U
! 462: \fBU\fRse a magic item in the player's pack.
! 463: .LI d
! 464: \fBD\fRrop an item from the player's pack.
! 465: .LI P
! 466: \fBP\fRick up the items currently under the player.
! 467: .LI ^N
! 468: When the player types this command, Rogue prompts for a monster or an item
! 469: from the player's pack and a one-line \fBn\fRame.
! 470: For monsters, the player can use the movement keys to position the cursor
! 471: over the desired monster, and Rogue will use the given \fBn\fRame to refer
! 472: to that monster.
! 473: For items, Rogue gives all similar items (such as all the blue potions)
! 474: the specified \fBn\fRame.
! 475: .LI m
! 476: When the player types this command, Rogue prompts for an item from the
! 477: player's pack and a one-line name.
! 478: Rogue then \fBm\fRarks the specified item with the given name.
! 479: .LI o
! 480: Typing this command causes Rogue to display all the settable \fBo\fRptions.
! 481: The player can then merely examine the options or change any or all of them.
! 482: .LI C
! 483: This command, restricted to magicians and rangers
! 484: produces a listing of the current supply of spells.
! 485: The player can select one of the displayed spells and, if the player's
! 486: energy level is sufficiently high, \fBC\fRast it.
! 487: The more complicated the spell, the more energy it takes.
! 488: .LI c
! 489: This command, restricted to druids and rangers
! 490: produces a listing of the current supply of chants.
! 491: The player can select one of the displayed chants and, if the player's
! 492: energy level is sufficiently high, \fBc\fRhant it.
! 493: The more complicated the spell, the more energy it takes.
! 494: .LI p
! 495: This command, restricted to clerics and paladins,
! 496: produces a listing of the character's known \fBp\fRrayers.
! 497: The player can then offer one of these prayers to the character's deity.
! 498: Deities are not known for favoring characters which continually pray
! 499: to them, and they are most likely to answer the least "ambitious" prayers.
! 500: .LI a
! 501: This command is restricted to clerics and paladins
! 502: must be followed by a directional command.
! 503: If there is an "undead" monster standing next to the player in the
! 504: specified direction, there is a chance the player will \fBa\fRffect the
! 505: monster by causing it to flee or possibly even destroying it.
! 506: .LI *
! 507: Count the gold in the player's pack.
! 508: .LI ^
! 509: This command sets a trap and is limited to thieves and assassins.
! 510: If the character is successful, Rogue prompts the player for a type of trap
! 511: and sets it where the player is standing.
! 512: .LI G
! 513: This command is restricted to thieves and assassins.
! 514: It causes Rogue to display all the gold on the current level.
! 515: .LI D
! 516: \fBD\fRip something into a magic pool.
! 517: .LI ^T
! 518: This command is restricted to thieves and assassins.
! 519: It must be followed by a directional command.
! 520: If there is a monster standing next to the player in the specified direction,
! 521: the player tries to \fBs\fRteal an item from the monster's pack.
! 522: If the player is successful, the monster does not notice anything, but if
! 523: the player is unsuccessful, there is a chance the monster will wake up.
! 524: .LI ^L
! 525: Redraw the screen.
! 526: .LI ^R
! 527: \fBR\fRepeat the last message that was displayed on the top line of the screen.
! 528: .LI ^[
! 529: Typing an escape will usually cause Rogue to cancel the current command.
! 530: .LI v
! 531: Print the current Rogue \fBv\fRersion number.
! 532: .LI !
! 533: Escape to the shell.
! 534: .LI S
! 535: Quit and \fBs\fRave the game for resumption at a later time.
! 536: .LI Q
! 537: \fBQ\fRuit without saving the game.
! 538: .LE
! 539: .H 1 "IMPLICIT COMMANDS"
! 540: There is no "attack" command.
! 541: If a player wishes to attack a monster, the player simply tries to
! 542: move onto the spot where the monster is standing.
! 543: The game then assumes that the player wishes to attack the monster
! 544: with whatever weapon the player is wielding.
! 545: .P
! 546: When the player moves onto an item, the game automatically places the
! 547: object into the player's pack.
! 548: If there is no room left in the pack, the game announces that fact and
! 549: leaves the item on the floor.
! 550: .H 1 TIME
! 551: All actions except for purely bookkeeping commands, such as taking an
! 552: inventory, take time.
! 553: The amount of time varies with the command.
! 554: Swinging a weapon, for example, takes more time than simply moving;
! 555: so a monster could move several spaces in the time it takes the player
! 556: to make one attack.
! 557: The time it takes to swing a weapon also varies based on the bulk of the
! 558: weapon, and the time it takes to simply move a space varies with the type
! 559: of armor worn.
! 560: Movement is always faster when flying.
! 561: .P
! 562: Since actions take time, some of them can be disrupted.
! 563: If the player is casting a spell, for example, and gets hit before finishing
! 564: it, the spell is lost.
! 565: Similarly, the player might choke if hit while trying to eat.
! 566: Of course, the same rule applies when the player hits a monster.
! 567: .P
! 568: Magical hasting (or slowing) will decrease (or increase) the time it takes
! 569: to perform an action.
! 570: .H 1 LIGHT
! 571: Some rooms in the dungeon possess a natural light source.
! 572: In other rooms and in corridors the player can see only those things
! 573: within a one space radius from the player.
! 574: These dark rooms can be lit with magical light or by a \fIfire beetle\fR.
! 575: .H 1 "WEAPONS AND ARMOR"
! 576: The player can wield exactly one weapon at a time.
! 577: When the player attacks a monster, the amount of damage depends on the
! 578: particular weapon the player is wielding.
! 579: To fire a projectile weapon, such as a crossbow or a short bow, the player
! 580: should wield the bow and "throw" the bolt or arrow at the monster.
! 581: .P
! 582: A weapon may be cursed or blessed, affecting the likelihood of hitting a
! 583: monster with the weapon and the damage the weapon will inflict on the monster.
! 584: If the player has identified a weapon, the "to hit" and "to damage" bonuses
! 585: appear in that order before the weapon's name in an inventory listing.
! 586: A positive bonus indicates a blessed weapon, and a negative bonus usually
! 587: indicates a cursed weapon.
! 588: The player cannot release a cursed weapon.
! 589: .P
! 590: Without any armor the player has an armor class of 10.
! 591: The lower the player's armor class, the harder it is for a monster to hit
! 592: the player, so
! 593: wearing armor can improve the player's armor class.
! 594: A cursed suit of armor, however, offers poor protection and may sometimes be
! 595: worse than no armor at all.
! 596: .P
! 597: After the player has identified a suit of armor, the protection bonus appears
! 598: before the armor's name in an inventory listing.
! 599: If the bonus is positive the armor is blessed, and if it is negative, the
! 600: armor is usually cursed.
! 601: The player cannot remove a cursed suit of armor.
! 602: .P
! 603: Some monsters can corrode armor when they hit it.
! 604: If such a monster hits the player when the player is wearing metal armor,
! 605: the armor loses some of its protection value, but the corrosion does not
! 606: curse the armor.
! 607: This corrosive property can also apply to weapons when the player hits
! 608: such a monster.
! 609: .H 1 "POTIONS AND SCROLLS"
! 610: The player can frequently find potions and scrolls in the dungeon.
! 611: In any given dungeon, the player can distinguish among the different types
! 612: of potions by a potion's color and among the different types of scrolls
! 613: by a scroll's name.
! 614: Quaffing a potion or reading a scroll usually causes some magical occurrence.
! 615: Most potions and scrolls may be cursed or blessed.
! 616: .H 1 RINGS
! 617: The player can wear a maximum of eight rings, and
! 618: they have a magical effect on the player as long as they are worn.
! 619: Some rings also speed up the player's metabolism, making the player require
! 620: food more often.
! 621: Many rings can be cursed or blessed, and the player cannot remove a
! 622: cursed ring.
! 623: The player can distinguish among different types of rings by a ring's jewel.
! 624: .H 1 "WANDS AND STAVES"
! 625: Wands and staves affect the player's environment.
! 626: The player can zap a wand or staff at something and perhaps shoot a bolt
! 627: of lightning at it or teleport it away.
! 628: All wands or staves of the same type are constructed with the same type of wood.
! 629: Some wands and staves may be cursed or blessed.
! 630: .H 1 FOOD
! 631: The player must be careful not to run out of food since moving through the
! 632: dungeon fighting monsters consumes a lot of energy.
! 633: Starving results in the player's fainting for increasingly longer periods
! 634: of time, during which any nearby monster can attack the player freely.
! 635: .P
! 636: Food comes in the form of standard rations and as a variety of berries.
! 637: Some berries have side effects in addition to satisfying one's hunger.
! 638: .H 1 GOLD
! 639: Gold has one use in a dungeon:~ buying things.
! 640: One can buy things in two ways, either in a \fItrading post\fR or from a
! 641: \fIquartermaster\fR.
! 642: A trading post is a place that sometimes occurs "between levels" of the
! 643: dungeon and can be entered by stepping on the entrance.
! 644: A quartermaster is a person who will sometimes appear and
! 645: will try to sell the player some of his wares.
! 646: These wares are never cursed and frequently blessed, though blessed goods
! 647: cost more than normal goods.
! 648: If the player chooses to buy one of the quartermaster's items, the
! 649: quartermaster trades the item for the specified amount of gold and
! 650: disappears.
! 651: Attacking a quartermaster causes him to vanish without offering
! 652: a trade.
! 653: .P
! 654: The player starts the game in a trading post with a class-dependent allotment
! 655: of gold.
! 656: Although there are restrictions on the use of some items (eg. only fighters,
! 657: paladins, and rangers can wield two-handed swords), the market will happily
! 658: sell the player anything that he can afford.
! 659:
! 660: .H 1 "MISCELLANEOUS MAGIC ITEMS"
! 661: Miscellaneous items such as a pair of boots or a book may be found within the
! 662: dungeon.
! 663: These items can usually be used to the player's advantage (assuming they are
! 664: not cursed).
! 665: Some of these items can be worn, such as a cloak, while others are to be used,
! 666: such as a book.
! 667: .H 1 "ARTIFACTS"
! 668: Some monsters down in the depths of the dungeon carry unique artifacts.
! 669: The game begins as a quest to retrieve one of these items.
! 670: Each artifact appears only on its owner's person.
! 671: These items also can usually be used to the player's advantage. However,
! 672: care must be taken when handling them for they are intelligent and will
! 673: reject mishandling or abuse. These items consume food and merely carrying
! 674: them will result in increased food use.
! 675: .H 1 TRAPS
! 676: A variety of traps, including trap doors, bear traps, and sleeping traps, are
! 677: hidden in the dungeon.
! 678: They remain hidden until sprung by a monster or the player.
! 679: A sprung trap continues to function, but since it is visible, an intelligent
! 680: monster is not likely to tread on it.
! 681: .H 1 "THE MONSTERS"
! 682: Each monster except for the merchant \fIquartermaster\fR appears in
! 683: a limited range of dungeon levels.
! 684: All monsters of the same type share the same abilities;
! 685: all \fIgiant rats\fR, for example, can give the player a disease, and
! 686: all \fIjackalweres\fR can put the player to sleep.
! 687: Monsters of the same type can vary, however, such that one \fIkobold\fR
! 688: may be much more difficult to kill than another one.
! 689: In general, the more difficult it is to kill a monster, the more
! 690: experience points the monster is worth.
! 691: .P
! 692: Most monsters attack by biting and clawing, but some monsters carry
! 693: weapons, including such projectile weapons as short bows and crossbows,
! 694: and some monsters have breath weapons.
! 695: Some monsters even use magical items, such as wands.
! 696: Monsters with distance weapons or magic can attack the player from across a room
! 697: or down a corridor.
! 698: .P
! 699: Some monsters are more intelligent than others, and the more intelligent
! 700: a monster, the more likely that the monster will run away if it is about
! 701: to die.
! 702: A fleeing monster will not attack the player unless cornered.
! 703: .P
! 704: It is sometimes possible to enlist a monster's aid.
! 705: Reading a \fIcharm monster\fR scroll, for example, or singing a \fIcharm
! 706: monster\fR chant can make a monster believe the player is its friend.
! 707: A charmed monster will fight hostile monsters for the player as long as they are
! 708: not of its race.
! 709: .P
! 710: As the player moves down in the dungeon, the monsters get more powerful.
! 711: Deep down in the dungeon there exist some one-of-a-kind monsters.
! 712: These monsters are greatly feared.
! 713: However, once a "unique monster" is killed, the player will not find
! 714: another in the current dungeon.
! 715: .H 1 OPTIONS
! 716: Rogue has several options which may be set by the player:~
! 717: .VL 7
! 718: .LI \fBterse\fR
! 719: Setting this Boolean option results in shorter messages appearing on
! 720: the top line of the screen.
! 721: .LI \fBjump\fR
! 722: Setting this Boolean option results in waiting until the player has
! 723: finished running to draw the player's path.
! 724: Otherwise the game always displays the path one step at a time.
! 725: .LI \fBstep\fR
! 726: Setting this Boolean option results in most listings, such as an inventory,
! 727: appearing one item at a time on the top line of the screen.
! 728: When this option is not set, the game clears the screen, displays the
! 729: list, and then redraws the dungeon.
! 730: .LI \fBflush\fR
! 731: Setting this Boolean option results in flushing all typeahead (pending) commands
! 732: when the player encounters a monster.
! 733: .LI \fBaskme\fR
! 734: Setting this Boolean option results in the game prompting the player for a
! 735: name upon encountering a new type of scroll, potion, ring, staff, or wand.
! 736: .LI \fBpickup\fR
! 737: This option specifys whether items should be picked up automatically as the
! 738: rogue steps over them.
! 739: In the non-automatic mode, the player may still pick up items via the
! 740: pickup (P) command.
! 741: The option defaults to true.
! 742: .LI \fBname\fR
! 743: This string is the player's name and defaults to the player's account name.
! 744: .LI \fBfile\fR
! 745: This string, which defaults to rogue.save, specifies the file to use for
! 746: saving the game.
! 747: .LI \fBscore\fR
! 748: This string identifies the top-twenty score file to use for the game.
! 749: .LI \fBclass\fR
! 750: This option specifies the character class of the rogue.
! 751: It can be set only in the ROGUEOPTS environment variable.
! 752: .LI \fBquested~item\fR
! 753: .br
! 754: This option is set by the game at the start and cannot be reset by the player.
! 755: It is merely listed to remind the player of his quest.
! 756: .LE
! 757: .P
! 758: The player can set options at the beginning of a game via the ROGUEOPTS
! 759: environment variable.
! 760: Naming a Boolean option sets it, and preceding the Boolean option name by
! 761: "no" clears it.
! 762: The syntax "stringoption=name" sets a string option to "name."~
! 763: So setting ROGUEOPTS to
! 764: "terse, jump, nostep, flush, askme, name=Ivan~the~Terrible"
! 765: would set the \fIterse, jump, flush\fR, and \fIaskme\fR Boolean options,
! 766: clear the \fIstep\fR Boolean option, set the player's
! 767: \fIname\fR to "Ivan the Terrible," and use the defaults for
! 768: the \fIsave file\fR and the \fIscore file\fR.
! 769: .P
! 770: The player may change an option at any time during the game
! 771: via the \fBoption\fR command, which results in a listing of
! 772: the current options.
! 773: Typing a new value changes the option, a RETURN moves to the
! 774: next option, a '-' moves to the previous option, and an ESCAPE
! 775: returns the player to the dungeon.
! 776: .H 1 SCORING
! 777: The player receives experience points for stealing items from
! 778: monsters, turning monsters (a clerical ability), and killing
! 779: monsters.
! 780: When the player gets killed, the player's score equals the player's
! 781: experience points.
! 782: A player who quits gets a score equal to the player's experience
! 783: points and gold.
! 784: If the player makes it back up out of the dungeon, the player's
! 785: score equals the player's experience points plus the gold the
! 786: player carried and the gold received from selling the player's
! 787: possessions.
! 788: .P
! 789: Rogue maintains a list of the top twenty scores to date, together
! 790: with the name of the player obtaining the score, the level where
! 791: the player finished, and the manner in which the player ended the
! 792: game.
! 793: As an installation option, the game may record only one entry per
! 794: character type and login;
! 795: this restriction encourages a greater number of different players
! 796: in the scorechart.
! 797: .H 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
! 798: This version of Rogue is based on a version developed at the
! 799: University of California.
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