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42 \title{\LARGE A Guide to the Mazes of Menace:\\
43 \Large Guidebook for
{\it NetHack\/
}}
46 \author{Original version - Eric S. Raymond\\
47 (Edited and expanded for
3.6 by Mike Stephenson and others)
}
48 \date{February
22,
2016}
53 \section{Preface - Version
3.6}
55 This version of the game is special in a particular way. Near the end of
56 the development of
3.6, one of the significant inspirations for many of the
57 humorous and fun features found in the game, author
{\it Terry Pratchett
},
58 passed away. We have dedicated this version of the game in his memory.
62 \section{Introduction
}
66 Recently, you have begun to find yourself unfulfilled and distant
67 in your daily occupation. Strange dreams of prospecting, stealing,
68 crusading, and combat have haunted you in your sleep for many months,
69 but you aren't sure of the reason. You wonder whether you have in
70 fact been having those dreams all your life, and somehow managed to
71 forget about them until now. Some nights you awaken suddenly
72 and cry out, terrified at the vivid recollection of the strange and
73 powerful creatures that seem to be lurking behind every corner of the
74 dungeon in your dream. Could these details haunting your dreams be real?
75 As each night passes, you feel the desire to enter the mysterious caverns
76 near the ruins grow stronger. Each morning, however, you quickly put
77 the idea out of your head as you recall the tales of those who entered
78 the caverns before you and did not return. Eventually you can resist
79 the yearning to seek out the fantastic place in your dreams no longer.
80 After all, when other adventurers came back this way after spending time
81 in the caverns, they usually seemed better off than when they passed
82 through the first time. And who was to say that all of those who did
83 not return had not just kept going?
86 Asking around, you hear about a bauble, called the Amulet of Yendor by some,
87 which, if you can find it, will bring you great wealth. One legend you were
88 told even mentioned that the one who finds the amulet will be granted
89 immortality by the gods. The amulet is rumored to be somewhere beyond the
90 Valley of Gehennom, deep within the Mazes of Menace. Upon hearing the
91 legends, you immediately realize that there is some profound and
92 undiscovered reason that you are to descend into the caverns and seek
93 out that amulet of which they spoke. Even if the rumors of the amulet's
94 powers are untrue, you decide that you should at least be able to sell the
95 tales of your adventures to the local minstrels for a tidy sum, especially
96 if you encounter any of the terrifying and magical creatures of
97 your dreams along the way. You spend one last night fortifying yourself
98 at the local inn, becoming more and more depressed as you watch the odds
99 of your success being posted on the inn's walls getting lower and lower.
102 \nd In the morning you awake, collect your belongings, and
103 set off for the dungeon. After several days of uneventful
104 travel, you see the ancient ruins that mark the entrance to the
105 Mazes of Menace. It is late at night, so you make camp at the entrance
106 and spend the night sleeping under the open skies. In the morning, you
107 gather your gear, eat what may be your last meal outside, and enter the
111 \section{What is going on here?
}
114 You have just begun a game of
{\it NetHack
}. Your goal is to grab as much
115 treasure as you can, retrieve the Amulet of Yendor, and escape the
116 Mazes of Menace alive.
119 Your abilities and strengths for dealing with the hazards of adventure
120 will vary with your background and training:
125 \item[\bb{Archeologists
}]%
126 understand dungeons pretty well; this enables them
127 to move quickly and sneak up on the local nasties. They start equipped
128 with the tools for a proper scientific expedition.
131 \item[\bb{Barbarians
}]%
132 are warriors out of the hinterland, hardened to battle.
133 They begin their quests with naught but uncommon strength, a trusty hauberk,
134 and a great two-handed sword.
137 \item[\bb{Cavemen
{\rm and
} Cavewomen
}]
138 start with exceptional strength, but unfortunately, neolithic weapons.
142 are wise in medicine and apothecary. They know the
143 herbs and simples that can restore vitality, ease pain, anesthetize,
145 poisons; and with their instruments, they can divine a being's state
146 of health or sickness. Their medical practice earns them quite reasonable
147 amounts of money, with which they enter the dungeon.
151 are distinguished from the common skirmisher by their
152 devotion to the ideals of chivalry and by the surpassing excellence of
157 are ascetics, who by rigorous practice of physical and mental
158 disciplines have become capable of fighting as effectively without weapons
159 as with. They wear no armor but make up for it with increased mobility.
162 \item[\bb{Priests
{\rm and
} Priestesses
}]%
163 are clerics militant, crusaders
164 advancing the cause of righteousness with arms, armor, and arts
165 thaumaturgic. Their ability to commune with deities via prayer
166 occasionally extricates them from peril, but can also put them in it.
170 are most at home in the woods, and some say slightly out
171 of place in a dungeon. They are, however, experts in archery as well
172 as tracking and stealthy movement.
176 are agile and stealthy thieves, with knowledge of locks,
177 traps, and poisons. Their advantage lies in surprise, which they employ
182 are the elite warriors of feudal Nippon. They are lightly
183 armored and quick, and wear the
%
184 {\it dai-sho
}, two swords of the deadliest
188 \item[\bb{Tourists
}]%
189 start out with lots of gold (suitable for shopping with),
190 a credit card, lots of food, some maps, and an expensive camera. Most
191 monsters don't like being photographed.
194 \item[\bb{Valkyries
}]%
195 are hardy warrior women. Their upbringing in the harsh
196 Northlands makes them strong, inures them to extremes of cold, and instills
197 in them stealth and cunning.
201 start out with a knowledge of magic, a selection of magical
202 items, and a particular affinity for dweomercraft. Although seemingly weak
203 and easy to overcome at first sight, an experienced Wizard is a deadly foe.
207 You may also choose the race of your character:
213 are smaller than humans or elves, but are stocky and solid
214 individuals. Dwarves' most notable trait is their great expertise in mining
215 and metalwork. Dwarvish armor is said to be second in quality not even to the
216 mithril armor of the Elves.
220 are agile, quick, and perceptive; very little of what goes
221 on will escape an Elf. The quality of Elven craftsmanship often gives
222 them an advantage in arms and armor.
226 are smaller than but generally similar to dwarves. Gnomes are
227 known to be expert miners, and it is known that a secret underground mine
228 complex built by this race exists within the Mazes of Menace, filled with
229 both riches and danger.
233 are by far the most common race of the surface world, and
234 are thus the norm to which other races are often compared. Although
235 they have no special abilities, they can succeed in any role.
239 are a cruel and barbaric race that hate every living thing
240 (including other orcs). Above all others, Orcs hate Elves with a passion
241 unequalled, and will go out of their way to kill one at any opportunity.
242 The armor and weapons fashioned by the Orcs are typically of inferior quality.
246 \section{What do all those things on the screen mean?
}
248 On the screen is kept a map of where you have been and what you have
249 seen on the current dungeon level; as you explore more of the level,
250 it appears on the screen in front of you.
253 When
{\it NetHack\/
}'s ancestor
{\it rogue\/
} first appeared, its screen
254 orientation was almost unique among computer fantasy games. Since
255 then, screen orientation has become the norm rather than the
256 exception;
{\it NetHack\/
} continues this fine tradition. Unlike text
257 adventure games that accept commands in pseudo-English sentences and
258 explain the results in words,
{\it NetHack\/
} commands are all one or two
259 keystrokes and the results are displayed graphically on the screen. A
260 minimum screen size of
24 lines by
80 columns is recommended; if the
261 screen is larger, only a $
21\times80$ section will be used for the map.
264 {\it NetHack\/
} can even be played by blind players, with the assistance of
265 Braille readers or speech synthesisers. Instructions for configuring
266 {\it NetHack\/
} for the blind are included later in this
document.
269 {\it NetHack\/
} generates a new dungeon every time you play it; even the
270 authors still find it an entertaining and exciting game despite
271 having won several times.
274 {\it NetHack\/
} offers a variety of display options. The options available to
275 you will vary from port to port, depending on the capabilities of your
276 hardware and software, and whether various compile-time options were
277 enabled when your executable was created. The three possible display
278 options are: a monochrome character interface, a
color character interface,
279 and a graphical interface using small pictures called tiles. The two
280 character interfaces allow fonts with other characters to be substituted,
281 but the default assignments use standard ASCII characters to represent
282 everything. There is no difference between the various display options
283 with respect to game play. Because we cannot reproduce the tiles or
284 colors in the Guidebook, and because it is common to all ports, we will
285 use the default ASCII characters from the monochrome character display
286 when referring to things you might see on the screen during your game.
288 In order to understand what is going on in
{\it NetHack
}, first you must
289 understand what
{\it NetHack\/
} is doing with the screen. The
{\it NetHack\/
}
290 screen replaces the ``You see
\ldots'' descriptions of text adventure games.
291 Figure
1 is a sample of what a
{\it NetHack\/
} screen might look like.
292 The way the screen looks for you depends on your platform.
307 Player the Rambler St:
12 Dx:
7 Co:
18 In:
11 Wi:
9 Ch:
15 Neutral
308 Dlvl:
1 $:
0 HP:
9(
12) Pw:
3(
3) AC:
10 Exp:
1/
19 T:
257 Weak
316 \subsection*
{The status lines (bottom)
}
319 The bottom two lines of the screen contain several cryptic pieces of
320 information describing your current status. If either status line
321 becomes longer than the width of the screen, you might not see all of
322 it. Here are explanations of what the various status items mean
323 (though your configuration may not have all the status items listed
329 Your character's name and professional ranking (based on the
330 experience level, see below).
333 A measure of your character's strength; one of your six basic
334 attributes. A human character's attributes can range from
3 to
18 inclusive;
335 non-humans may exceed these limits
336 (occasionally you may get super-strengths of the form
18/xx, and magic can
337 also cause attributes to exceed the normal limits). The
338 higher your strength, the stronger you are. Strength affects how
339 successfully you perform physical tasks, how much damage you do in
340 combat, and how much loot you can carry.
342 \item[\bb{Dexterity
}]
343 Dexterity affects your chances to hit in combat, to avoid traps, and
344 do other tasks requiring agility or manipulation of objects.
346 \item[\bb{Constitution
}]
347 Constitution affects your ability to recover from injuries and other
348 strains on your stamina.
349 When strength is low or modest, constitution also affects how much you
350 can carry. With sufficiently high strength, the contribution to
351 carrying capacity from your constitution no longer matters.
353 \item[\bb{Intelligence
}]
354 Intelligence affects your ability to cast spells and read spellbooks.
357 Wisdom comes from your practical experience (especially when dealing with
358 magic). It affects your magical energy.
361 Charisma affects how certain creatures react toward you. In
362 particular, it can affect the prices shopkeepers offer you.
364 \item[\bb{Alignment
}]
366 {\it Lawful
},
{\it Neutral\/
} or
{\it Chaotic
}. Often, Lawful is
367 taken as good and Chaotic is evil, but legal and ethical do not always
368 coincide. Your alignment influences how other
369 monsters react toward you. Monsters of a like alignment are more likely
370 to be non-aggressive, while those of an opposing alignment are more likely
371 to be seriously offended at your presence.
373 \item[\bb{Dungeon Level
}]
374 How deep you are in the dungeon. You start at level one and the number
375 increases as you go deeper into the dungeon. Some levels are special,
376 and are identified by a name and not a number. The Amulet of Yendor is
377 reputed to be somewhere beneath the twentieth level.
380 The number of gold pieces you are openly carrying. Gold which you have
381 concealed in containers is not counted.
383 \item[\bb{Hit Points
}]
384 Your current and maximum hit points. Hit points indicate how much
385 damage you can take before you die. The more you get hit in a fight,
386 the lower they get. You can regain hit points by resting, or by using
387 certain magical items or spells. The number in parentheses is the maximum
388 number your hit points can reach.
391 Spell points. This tells you how much mystic energy (
{\it mana\/
})
392 you have available for spell casting. Again, resting will regenerate the
395 \item[\bb{Armor Class
}]
396 A measure of how effectively your armor stops blows from unfriendly
397 creatures. The lower this number is, the more effective the armor; it
398 is quite possible to have negative armor class.
400 \item[\bb{Experience
}]
401 Your current experience level and experience points. As you
402 adventure, you gain experience points. At certain experience point
403 totals, you gain an experience level. The more experienced you are,
404 the better you fight and withstand magical attacks. Many dungeons
405 show only your experience level here.
408 The number of turns elapsed so far, displayed if you have the
409 {\it time\/
} option set.
413 your current hunger status.
414 Values are
{\it Satiated
},
{\it Not~Hungry\/
} (or
{\it Normal\/
}),
415 {\it Hungry
},
{\it Weak
}, and
{\it Fainting
}.
416 %.\" not mentioned: Fainted
417 Not shown when
{\it Normal
}.
421 an indication of how what you are carrying affects your ability to move.
422 Values are
{\it Unencumbered
},
{\it Encumbered
},
{\it Stressed
},
423 {\it Strained
},
{\it Overtaxed
}, and
{\it Overloaded
}.
424 Not shown when
{\it Unencumbered
}.
428 {\it Stone\/
} (aka
{\it Petrifying
}, turning to stone),
429 {\it Slime\/
} (turning into green slime),
430 {\it Strngl\/
} (being strangled),
431 {\it FoodPois\/
} (suffering from acute food poisoning),
432 {\it TermIll\/
} (suffering from a terminal illness).
435 Non-fatal~conditions:
436 {\it Blind\/
} (can't see),
{\it Deaf\/
} (can't hear),
437 {\it Stun\/
} (stunned),
{\it Conf\/
} (confused),
{\it Hallu\/
} (hallucinating).
441 {\it Lev\/
} (levitating),
{\it Fly\/
} (flying),
{\it Ride\/
} (riding).
444 Other conditions and modifiers exist, but there isn't enough room to
445 display them with the other status fields. The `
{\tt \^
{}X
}' command shows
446 all relevant status conditions.
450 \subsection*
{The message line (top)
}
453 The top line of the screen is reserved for messages that describe
454 things that are impossible to represent visually. If you see a
455 ``
{\tt --More--
}'' on the top line, this means that
{\it NetHack\/
} has
456 another message to display on the screen, but it wants to make certain
457 that you've read the one that is there first. To read the next message,
458 just press the space bar.
461 To change how and what messages are shown on the message line,
462 see ``
{\it Configuring Message Types\/
}`` and the
{\it verbose\/
}
466 \subsection*
{The map (rest of the screen)
}
469 The rest of the screen is the map of the level as you have explored it
470 so far. Each symbol on the screen represents something. You can set
472 options to change some of the symbols the game uses; otherwise, the
473 game will use default symbols. Here is a list of what the default
478 \item[\tb{-
{\rm and
} |
}]
479 The walls of a room, or an open door. Or a grave (
{\tt |
}).
482 The floor of a room, ice, or a doorless doorway.
485 A corridor, or iron bars, or a tree, or possibly a kitchen sink (if
486 your dungeon has sinks), or a drawbridge.
489 Stairs down: a way to the next level.
492 Stairs up: a way to the previous level.
495 A closed door, or a spellbook containing a spell you may be able to learn.
498 Your character or a human.
504 A trap (once you have detected it).
510 A suit or piece of armor.
513 Something edible (not necessarily healthy).
528 A useful item (pick-axe, key, lamp
\ldots).
531 An amulet or a spider web.
534 A gem or rock (possibly valuable, possibly worthless).
543 An altar, or an iron chain.
549 A pool of water or moat or a pool of lava.
551 \item[\tb{$
\backslash$
}]
554 \item[\tb{a-zA-Z
{\rm \& other symbols
}}]
555 Letters and certain other symbols represent the various inhabitants
556 of the Mazes of Menace. Watch out, they can be nasty and vicious.
557 Sometimes, however, they can be helpful.
560 This marks the last known location of an invisible or otherwise unseen
561 monster. Note that the monster could have moved.
562 The `
{\tt F
}' and `
{\tt m
}' commands may be useful here.
566 You need not memorize all these symbols; you can ask the game what any
567 symbol represents with the `
{\tt /
}' command (see the next section for
574 Commands can initiated by typing one or two characters to which
575 the command is bound to, or typing the command name in the extended
576 commands entry. Some commands,
577 like ``
{\tt search
}'', do not require that any more information be collected
578 by
{\it NetHack\/
}. Other commands might require additional information, for
579 example a direction, or an object to be used. For those commands that
580 require additional information,
{\it NetHack\/
} will present you with either
581 a menu of choices, or with a command line prompt requesting information. Which
582 you are presented with will depend chiefly on how you have set the
587 For example, a common question in the form ``
{\tt What do you want to
588 use?
[a-zA-Z\ ?*
]}'', asks you to choose an object you are carrying.
589 Here, ``
{\tt a-zA-Z
}'' are the inventory letters of your possible choices.
590 Typing `
{\tt ?
}' gives you an inventory list of these items, so you can see
591 what each letter refers to. In this example, there is also a `
{\tt *
}'
592 indicating that you may choose an object not on the list, if you
593 wanted to use something unexpected. Typing a `
{\tt *
}' lists your entire
594 inventory, so you can see the inventory letters of every object you're
595 carrying. Finally, if you change your mind and decide you don't want
596 to do this command after all, you can press the `ESC' key to abort the
600 You can put a number before some commands to repeat them that many
601 times; for example, ``
{\tt 10s
}'' will search ten times. If you have the
602 {\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
}
603 option set, you must type `
{\tt n
}' to prefix a count, so the example above
604 would be typed ``
{\tt n10s
}'' instead. Commands for which counts make no
605 sense ignore them. In addition, movement commands can be prefixed for
606 greater control (see below). To cancel a count or a prefix, press the
610 The list of commands is rather long, but it can be read at any time
611 during the game through the `
{\tt ?
}' command, which accesses a menu of
612 helpful texts. Here are the default key bindings for your reference:
617 Help menu: display one of several help texts available.
620 The
{\tt whatis
} command, to
621 tell what a symbol represents. You may choose to specify a location
622 or type a symbol (or even a whole word) to explain.
623 Specifying a location is done by moving the cursor to a particular spot
624 on the map and then pressing one of `
{\tt .
}', `
{\tt ,
}', `
{\tt ;
}',
625 or `
{\tt :
}'. `
{\tt .
}' will explain the symbol at the chosen location,
626 information, then let you pick another location;
627 conditionally check for ``
{\tt More info?
}'' depending upon whether the
629 option is on, and then you will be asked to pick another location;
630 `
{\tt ,
}' will explain the symbol but skip any additional
631 `
{\tt ;
}' will skip additional info and also not bother asking
632 you to choose another location to examine; `
{\tt :
}' will show additional
633 info, if any, without asking for confirmation. When picking a location,
634 pressing the
{\tt ESC
} key will terminate this command, or pressing `
{\tt ?
}'
635 will give a brief reminder about how it works.
640 option is on, a short description of what you see at each location is
641 shown as you move the cursor. Typing `
{\tt \#
}' while picking a location will
642 toggle that option on or off.
644 {\it whatis
\verb+_+coord\/
}
645 option controls whether the short description includes map coordinates.
648 Specifying a name rather than a location
649 always gives any additional information available about that name.
652 You may also request a description of nearby monsters,
653 all monsters currently displayed, nearby objects, or all objects.
655 {\it whatis
\verb+_+coord\/
}
656 option controls which format of map coordinate is included with their
660 Tell what a command does.
663 Go up to the previous level (if you are on a staircase or ladder).
666 Go down to the next level (if you are on a staircase or ladder).
668 \item[\tb{[yuhjklbn
]}]
669 Go one step in the direction indicated (see Figure
2). If you sense
671 a monster there, you will fight the monster instead. Only these
672 one-step movement commands cause you to fight monsters; the others
673 (below) are ``safe.''
677 \verb+ y k u + &
\verb+
7 8 9 +\\
678 \verb+ \ | / + &
\verb+ \ | / +\\
679 \verb+ h- . -l + &
\verb+
4- . -
6 +\\
680 \verb+ / | \ + &
\verb+ / | \ +\\
681 \verb+ b j n + &
\verb+
1 2 3 +\\
682 & (if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} set)
690 \item[\tb{[YUHJKLBN
]}]
691 Go in that direction until you hit a wall or run into something.
693 \item[\tb{m
[yuhjklbn
]}]
694 Prefix: move without picking up objects or fighting (even if you remember
697 A few non-movement commands use the `
{\tt m
}' prefix to request operating
698 via menu (to temporarily override the
699 {\it menustyle:Traditional\/
}
701 Primarily useful for `
{\tt ,
}' (pickup) when there is only one class of
702 objects present (where there won't be any ``what kinds of objects?'' prompt,
703 so no opportunity to answer `
{\tt m
}' at that prompt).\\
705 A few other commands (eat food, offer sacrifice, apply tinning-kit) use
706 the `
{\tt m
}' prefix to skip checking for applicable objects on the floor
707 and go straight to checking inventory,
708 or (for ``
{\tt \#loot
}'' to remove a saddle),
709 skip containers and go straight to adjacent monsters. The prefix will
710 make ``
{\tt \#travel
}'' command show a menu of interesting targets in sight.
712 \item[\tb{F
[yuhjklbn
]}]
713 Prefix: fight a monster (even if you only guess one is there).
715 \item[\tb{M
[yuhjklbn
]}]
716 Prefix: Move far, no pickup.
718 \item[\tb{g
[yuhjklbn
]}]
719 Prefix: Move until something interesting is found.
721 \item[\tb{G
[yuhjklbn
] {\rm or
} <CONTROL->
[yuhjklbn
]}]
722 Prefix: Same as `
{\tt g
}', but forking of corridors is not considered
726 Travel to a map location via a shortest-path algorithm.\\
729 is computed over map locations the hero knows about (e.g. seen or
730 previously traversed). If there is no known path, a guess is made instead.
732 the same conditions as the `G' command, but without picking up
733 objects, similar to the `M' command. For ports with mouse
734 support, the command is also invoked when a mouse-click takes place on a
735 location other than the current position.
738 Rest, do nothing for one turn.
741 Apply (use) a tool (pick-axe, key, lamp
\ldots).
744 Remove one or more worn items, such as armor.\\
746 Use `
{\tt T
}' (take off) to take off only one piece of armor
747 or `
{\tt R
}' (remove) to take off only one accessory.
750 Redo the previous command.
756 Call (name) a monster, an individual object, or an object type.\\
758 Same as extended command ``
{\tt \#name
}''.
761 Panic button. Quit the game.
765 {\tt d7a
} --- drop seven items of object
769 Drop several things.\\
771 In answer to the question\\
772 ``
{\tt What kinds of things do you want to drop?
[!\%= BUCXaium
]}''\\
773 you should type zero or more object symbols possibly followed by
774 `
{\tt a
}' and/or `
{\tt i
}' and/or `
{\tt u
}' and/or `
{\tt m
}'.
775 In addition, one or more of
776 the bless\-ed/\-un\-curs\-ed/\-curs\-ed groups may be typed.\\
779 {\tt DB
} --- drop all objects known to be blessed.\\
780 {\tt DU
} --- drop all objects known to be uncursed.\\
781 {\tt DC
} --- drop all objects known to be cursed.\\
782 {\tt DX
} --- drop all objects of unknown B/U/C status.\\
783 {\tt Da
} --- drop all objects, without asking for confirmation.\\
784 {\tt Di
} --- examine your inventory before dropping anything.\\
785 {\tt Du
} --- drop only unpaid objects (when in a shop).\\
786 {\tt Dm
} --- use a menu to pick which object(s) to drop.\\
787 {\tt D\%u
} --- drop only unpaid food.
792 Kick something (usually a door).
797 Normally checks for edible item(s) on the floor, then if none are found
798 or none are chosen, checks for edible item(s) in inventory.
799 Precede `
{\tt e
}' with the `
{\tt m
}' prefix to bypass attempting to eat
800 anything off the floor.
802 % Make sure Elbereth is not hyphenated below, the exact spelling matters.
803 % (Only specified here to parallel Guidebook.mn; use of \tt font implicity
804 % prevents automatic hyphenation in TeX and LaTeX.)
805 \hyphenation{Elbereth
} %override the deduced syllable breaks
807 Engrave a message on the floor.\\
810 {\tt E-
} --- write in the dust with your fingers.\\
814 Engraving the word ``
{\tt Elbereth
}'' will cause most monsters to not attack
815 you hand-to-hand (but if you attack, you will rub it out); this is
816 often useful to give yourself a breather. (This feature may be compiled out
817 of the game, so your version might not have it.)
820 Fire one of the objects placed in your quiver (or quiver sack, or that you
821 have at the ready). You may select
822 ammunition with a previous `
{\tt Q
}' command, or let the computer pick
823 something appropriate if
{\it autoquiver\/
} is true.
826 List your inventory (everything you're carrying).
829 List selected parts of your inventory, usually be specifying the character
830 for a particular set of objects, like `
{\tt [}' for armor or `
{\tt !
}'
834 {\tt I*
} --- list all gems in inventory;\\
835 {\tt Iu
} --- list all unpaid items;\\
836 {\tt Ix
} --- list all used up items that are on your shopping bill;\\
837 {\tt IB
} --- list all items known to be blessed;\\
838 {\tt IU
} --- list all items known to be uncursed;\\
839 {\tt IC
} --- list all items known to be cursed;\\
840 {\tt IX
} --- list all items whose bless/curse status is unknown;\\
841 {\tt I\$
} --- count your money.
851 A menu showing the current option values will be
852 displayed. You can change most values simply by selecting the menu
853 entry for the given option (ie, by typing its letter or clicking upon
854 it, depending on your user interface). For the non-boolean choices,
855 a further menu or prompt will appear once you've closed this menu.
856 The available options
857 are listed later in this Guidebook. Options are usually set before the
858 game rather than with the `
{\tt O
}' command; see the section on options below.
861 Show overview or show dungeon layout\\
863 In normal play and in explore mode, a shortcut for the ``
{\tt \#overview
}''
864 extended command to list interesting dungeon levels visited.\\
866 In debug mode, an extra command which lists the placement of all special
870 Pay your shopping bill.
873 Put on an accessory (ring, amulet, blindfold).\\
875 This command may also be used to wear armor. The prompt for
876 which inventory item to use will only list accessories, but choosing
877 an unlisted item of armor will attempt to wear it.
878 (See the `
{\tt W
}' command below. It lists armor as the inventory
879 choices but will accept an accessory and attempt to put that on.)
882 Repeat previous message.\\
884 Subsequent
{\tt \^
{}P
}'s repeat earlier messages.
885 The behavior can be varied via the
{\it msg
\verb+_+window\/
} option.
888 Quaff (drink) something (potion, water, etc).
891 Select an object for your quiver, quiver sack, or just generally at
892 the ready (only one of these is available at a time). You can then throw
893 this (or one of these) using
896 (In versions prior to
3.3 this was the command to quit
897 the game, which has been moved to ``
{\tt \#quit
}''.)
900 Read a scroll or spellbook.
903 Remove a worn accessory (ring, amulet, or blindfold).\\
905 If you're wearing more than one, you'll be prompted for which one to
906 remove. When you're only wearing one, then by default it will be removed
907 without asking, but you can set the
908 {\it paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation\/
}
909 option to require a prompt.\\
911 This command may also be used to take off armor. The prompt for which
912 inventory item to remove only lists worn accessories, but an item of
913 worn armor can be chosen.
914 (See the `
{\tt T
}' command below. It lists armor as the inventory
915 choices but will accept an accessory and attempt to remove it.)
921 Search for secret doors and traps around you. It usually takes several
922 tries to find something.
925 Save (and suspend) the game. The game will be restored automatically the
929 Throw an object or shoot a projectile.
934 If you're wearing more than one piece, you'll be prompted for which
935 one to take off. (Note that this treats a cloak covering a suit
936 and/or a shirt, or a suit covering a shirt, as if the underlying items
938 When you're only wearing one, then by default it will
939 be taken off without asking, but you can set the
940 {\it paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation\/
}
941 option to require a prompt.\\
943 This command may also be used to remove accessories. The prompt
944 for which inventory item to take off only lists worn armor, but a worn
945 accessory can be chosen.
946 (See the `
{\tt R
}' command above. It lists accessories as the inventory
947 choices but will accept an item of armor and attempt to take it off.)
950 Teleport, if you have the ability.
953 Display version number.
956 Display the game history.
962 {\tt w-
} --- wield nothing, use your bare hands.\\
965 Some characters can wield two weapons at once; use the `
{\tt X
}' command
966 (or the ``
{\tt \#twoweapon
}'' extended command) to do so.
971 This command may also be used to put on an accessory (ring, amulet, or
972 blindfold). The prompt for which inventory item to use will only list
973 armor, but choosing an unlisted accessory will attempt to put it on.
974 (See the `
{\tt P
}' command above. It lists accessories as the inventory
975 choices but will accept an item of armor and attempt to wear it.)
978 Exchange your wielded weapon with the item in your alternate weapon slot.\\
980 The latter is used as your secondary weapon when engaging in
981 two-weapon combat. Note that if one of these slots is empty,
982 the exchange still takes place.
985 Toggle two-weapon combat, if your character can do it. Also available
986 via the ``
{\tt \#twoweapon
}'' extended command.\\
989 (In versions prior to
3.6 this was the command to switch from normal
990 play to ``explore mode'', also known as ``discovery mode'', which has now
991 been moved to ``
{\tt \#exploremode
}''.)
994 Display basic information about your character.\\
996 Displays name, role, race, gender (unless role name makes that
997 redundant, such as
{\tt Caveman
} or
{\tt Priestess
}), and alignment,
998 along with your patron deity and his or her opposition. It also
999 shows most of the various items of information from the status line(s)
1000 in a less terse form, including several additional things which don't
1001 appear in the normal status display due to space considerations.
1007 {\tt z.
} --- to aim at yourself, use `
{\tt .
}' for the direction.
1012 Zap (cast) a spell.\\
1015 {\tt Z.
} --- to aim at yourself, use `
{\tt .
}' for the direction.
1020 Suspend the game (UNIX versions with job control only).
1023 Look at what is here.
1026 Show what type of thing a visible symbol corresponds to.
1029 Pick up some things.\\
1031 May be preceded by `
{\tt m
}' to force a selection menu.
1034 Toggle the
{\it autopickup\/
} option on and off.
1037 Ask for the type of a trap you found earlier.
1040 Tell what weapon you are wielding.
1043 Tell what armor you are wearing.
1046 Tell what rings you are wearing.
1049 Tell what amulet you are wearing.
1052 Tell what tools you are using.
1055 Tell what equipment you are using.\\
1057 Combines the preceding five type-specific
1061 Count your gold pieces.
1064 List the spells you know.\\
1066 Using this command, you can also rearrange
1067 the order in which your spells are listed, either by sorting the entire
1068 list or by picking one spell from the menu then picking another to swap
1069 places with it. Swapping pairs of spells changes their casting letters,
1070 so the change lasts after the current `
{\tt +
}' command finishes. Sorting
1071 the whole list is temporary. To make the most recent sort order persist
1072 beyond the current `
{\tt +
}' command, choose the sort option again and then
1073 pick ``reassign casting letters''. (Any spells learned after that will
1074 be added to the end of the list rather than be inserted into the sorted
1077 \item[\tb{$
\backslash$
}]
1078 Show what types of objects have been discovered.
1081 Show discovered types for one class of objects.
1087 Perform an extended command.\\
1089 As you can see, the authors of
{\it NetHack\/
}
1090 used up all the letters, so this is a way to introduce the less frequently
1092 What extended commands are available depends on what features
1093 the game was compiled with.
1095 \item[\tb{\#adjust
}]
1096 Adjust inventory letters (most useful when the
1098 option is ``on''). Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-a
}'.\\
1100 This command allows you to move an item from one particular inventory
1101 slot to another so that it has a letter which is more meaningful for you
1102 or that it will appear in a particular location when inventory listings
1104 ``
{\tt \#adjust
}'' can also be used to split a stack of objects; when
1105 choosing the item to adjust, enter a count prior to its letter.
1107 \item[\tb{\#annotate
}]
1108 Allows you to specify one line of text to associate with the current
1109 dungeon level. All levels with annotations are displayed by the
1110 ``
{\tt \#overview
}'' command. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-A
}',
1111 and '
{\tt \^
{}N
}' if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} is on.
1114 Apply (use) a tool such as a pick-axe, a key, or a lamp.
1115 Default key is '
{\tt a
}'.
1117 \item[\tb{\#attributes
}]
1118 Show your attributes. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}X
}'.\\
1120 \item[\tb{\#autopickup
}]
1121 Toggle the
{\it autopickup\/
} -option. Default key is '
{\tt @
}'.\\
1124 Call (name) a monster, or a object in inventory, on the floor,
1125 or in the discoveries list, or add an annotation for the
1126 current level (same as ``
{\tt \#annotate
}''). Default key is '
{\tt C
}'.
1129 Cast a spell. Default key is '
{\tt Z
}'.\\
1132 Talk to someone. Default key is '
{\tt M-c
}'.\\
1135 Close a door. Default key is '
{\tt c
}'.\\
1137 \item[\tb{\#conduct
}]
1138 List voluntary challenges you have maintained. Autocompletes.
1139 Default key is '
{\tt M-C
}'.\\
1141 See the section below entitled ``Conduct'' for details.
1144 Dip an object into something. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-d
}'.
1147 Go down a staircase. Default key is '
{\tt >
}'.
1150 Drop an item. Default key is '
{\tt d
}'.
1152 \item[\tb{\#droptype
}]
1153 Drop specific item types. Default key is '
{\tt D
}'.
1156 Eat something. Default key is '
{\tt e
}'.
1158 \item[\tb{\#engrave
}]
1159 Engrave writing on the floor. Default key is '
{\tt E
}'.
1161 \item[\tb{\#enhance
}]
1162 Advance or check weapon and spell skills. Autocompletes.
1163 Default key is '
{\tt M-e
}'.
1165 \item[\tb{\#exploremode
}]
1166 Enter the explore mode.
1169 Fire ammunition from quiver. Default key is '
{\tt f
}'.
1172 Force a lock. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-f
}'.
1174 \item[\tb{\#glance
}]
1175 Show what type of thing a map symbol corresponds to. Default key is '
{\tt ;
}'.
1178 Show the help menu. Default key is '
{\tt ?
}', and '
{\tt h
}' if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} is on.
1180 \item[\tb{\#history
}]
1181 Show long version and game history. Default key is '
{\tt V
}'.
1183 \item[\tb{\#inventory
}]
1184 Show your inventory. Default key is '
{\tt i
}'.
1186 \item[\tb{\#inventtype
}]
1187 Inventory specific item types. Default key is '
{\tt I
}'.
1189 \item[\tb{\#invoke
}]
1190 Invoke an object's special powers. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-i
}'.
1193 Jump to another location. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-j
}', and '
{\tt j
}' if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} is on.
1196 Kick something. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}D
}', and '
{\tt k
}' if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} is on.
1199 Show what object types have been discovered. Default key is '
{\tt $
\backslash$
}'.
1201 \item[\tb{\#knownclass
}]
1202 Show discovered types for one class of objects. Default key is '
{\tt `
}'.
1204 \item[\tb{\#levelchange
}]
1205 Change your experience level. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1207 \item[\tb{\#lightsources
}]
1208 Show mobile light sources. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1211 Look at what is here, under you. Default key is '
{\tt :
}'.
1214 Loot a box or bag on the floor beneath you, or the saddle
1215 from a steed standing next to you. Autocompletes.
1216 Default key is '
{\tt M-l
}', and '
{\tt l
}' if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} is on.
1217 Precede with the `
{\tt m
}' prefix to skip containers at your location
1218 and go directly to removing a saddle.
1220 \item[\tb{\#monpolycontrol
}]
1221 Control monster polymorphs. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1223 \item[\tb{\#monster
}]
1224 Use a monster's special ability (when polymorphed into monster form).
1225 Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-m
}'.
1228 Name a monster, an individual object, or a type of object. Same as `
{\tt \#call
}'.
1229 Autocompletes. Default keys are '
{\tt N
}', '
{\tt M-n
}', and '
{\tt M-N
}'.
1232 Offer a sacrifice to the gods. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-o
}'.\\
1234 You'll need to find an altar to have any chance at success.
1235 Corpses of recently killed monsters are the fodder of choice.
1238 Open a door. Default key is '
{\tt o
}'.
1240 \item[\tb{\#options
}]
1241 Show and change option settings. Default key is '
{\tt O
}'.
1243 \item[\tb{\#overview
}]
1244 Display information you've discovered about the dungeon. Any visited
1245 level (unless forgotten due to amnesia) with an annotation is included,
1246 and many things (altars, thrones, fountains, and so on; extra stairs
1247 leading to another dungeon branch) trigger an automatic annotation.
1248 If dungeon overview is chosen during end-of-game disclosure, every visited
1249 level will be included regardless of annotations. Autocompletes.
1250 Default keys are '
{\tt \^
{}O
}', and '
{\tt M-O
}'.
1253 Test the panic routine. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1256 Pay your shopping bill. Default key is '
{\tt p
}'.
1258 \item[\tb{\#pickup
}]
1259 Pick up things at the current location. Default key is '
{\tt ,
}'.
1261 \item[\tb{\#polyself
}]
1262 Polymorph self. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1265 Pray to the gods for help. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-p
}'.\\
1267 Praying too soon after receiving prior help is a bad idea.
1268 (Hint: entering the dungeon alive is treated as having received help.
1269 You probably shouldn't start off a new game by praying right away.)
1270 Since using this command by accident can cause trouble, there is an
1271 option to make you confirm your intent before praying. It is enabled
1272 by default, and you can reset the
1273 {\it paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation\/
}
1274 option to disable it.
1276 \item[\tb{\#prevmsg
}]
1277 Show previously displayed game messages. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}P
}'.
1280 Put on an accessory (ring, amulet, etc). Default key is '
{\tt P
}'.
1283 Quaff (drink) something. Default key is '
{\tt q
}'.
1286 Quit the program without saving your game. Autocompletes.
1287 Default key is '
{\tt M-q
}'.
1289 Since using this command by accident would throw away the current game,
1290 you are asked to confirm your intent before quitting. By default a
1291 response of `
{\tt y
}' acknowledges that intent. You can set the
1292 {\it paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation\/
}
1293 option to require a response of ``
{\tt yes
}'' instead.
1295 \item[\tb{\#quiver
}]
1296 Select ammunition for quiver. Default key is '
{\tt Q
}'.
1299 Read a scroll, a spellbook, or something else. Default key is '
{\tt r
}'.
1301 \item[\tb{\#redraw
}]
1302 Redraw the screen. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}R
}', and '
{\tt \^
{}L
}' if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} is on.
1304 \item[\tb{\#remove
}]
1305 Remove an accessory (ring, amulet, etc). Default key is '
{\tt R
}'.
1308 Ride (or stop riding) a saddled creature. Autocompletes.
1309 Default key is '
{\tt M-R
}'.
1312 Rub a lamp or a stone. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-r
}'.
1315 Save the game. Default key is '
{\tt S
}'.
1317 \item[\tb{\#search
}]
1318 Search for traps and secret doors around you. Default key is '
{\tt s
}'.
1320 \item[\tb{\#seeall
}]
1321 Show all equipment in use. Default key is '
{\tt *
}'.
1323 \item[\tb{\#seeamulet
}]
1324 Show the amulet currently worn. Default key is '
{\tt "
}'.
1326 \item[\tb{\#seearmor
}]
1327 Show the armor currently worn. Default key is '
{\tt [}'.
1329 \item[\tb{\#seegold
}]
1330 Count your gold. Default key is '
{\tt \$
}'.
1333 Show seen vectors. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1335 \item[\tb{\#seerings
}]
1336 Show the ring(s) currently worn. Default key is '
{\tt =
}'.
1338 \item[\tb{\#seespells
}]
1339 List and reorder known spells. Default key is '
{\tt +
}'.
1341 \item[\tb{\#seetools
}]
1342 Show the tools currently in use. Default key is '
{\tt (
}'.
1344 \item[\tb{\#seetrap
}]
1345 Show the type of a trap near you. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}}'.
1347 \item[\tb{\#seeweapon
}]
1348 Show the weapon currently wielded. Default key is '
{\tt )
}'.
1351 Do a shell escape. Default key is '
{\tt !
}'.
1354 Sit down. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-s
}'.
1357 Show memory statistics. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1359 \item[\tb{\#suspend
}]
1360 Suspend the game. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}Z
}'.
1363 Swap wielded and secondary weapons. Default key is '
{\tt x
}'.
1365 \item[\tb{\#takeoff
}]
1366 Take off one piece of armor. Default key is '
{\tt T
}'.
1368 \item[\tb{\#takeoffall
}]
1369 Remove all armor. Default key is '
{\tt A
}'.
1371 \item[\tb{\#teleport
}]
1372 Teleport around the level. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}T
}'.
1374 \item[\tb{\#terrain
}]
1375 Show bare map without displaying monsters, objects, or traps.
1379 Throw something. Default key is '
{\tt t
}'.
1381 \item[\tb{\#timeout
}]
1382 Look at the timeout queue. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1385 Tip over a container (bag or box) to pour out its contents.
1386 Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-T
}'.
1388 \item[\tb{\#travel
}]
1389 Travel to a specific location on the map. Default key is '
{\tt _
}'.
1390 Using the ``request menu'' prefix shows a menu of interesting targets in sight
1391 without asking to move the cursor.
1394 Turn undead away. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-t
}'.
1396 \item[\tb{\#twoweapon
}]
1397 Toggle two-weapon combat on or off. Autocompletes. Default keys are '
{\tt X
}',
1401 use suitable weapons for this type of combat, or it will
1402 be automatically turned off.
1404 \item[\tb{\#untrap
}]
1405 Untrap something (trap, door, or chest). Default key is '
{\tt M-u
}', and '
{\tt u
}' if
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} is on.
1407 In some circumstancs it can also be used to rescue trapped monsters.
1410 Go up a staircase. Default key is '
{\tt <
}'.
1412 \item[\tb{\#vanquished
}]
1413 List vanquished monsters. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1415 \item[\tb{\#version
}]
1416 Print compile time options for this version of
{\it NetHack
}.
1417 Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-v
}'.
1419 \item[\tb{\#versionshort
}]
1420 Show version string. Default key is '
{\tt v
}'.
1422 \item[\tb{\#vision
}]
1423 Show vision array. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1426 Rest one move while doing nothing. Default key is '
{\tt .
}', and '
{\tt{ }}' if
{\it rest
\verb+_+on
\verb+_+space\/
} is on.
1429 Wear a piece of armor. Default key is '
{\tt W
}'.
1431 \item[\tb{\#whatdoes
}]
1432 Tell what a key does. Default key is '
{\tt \&
}'.
1434 \item[\tb{\#whatis
}]
1435 Show what type of thing a symbol corresponds to. Default key is '
{\tt /
}'.
1438 Wield a weapon. Default key is '
{\tt w
}'.
1441 Wipe off your face. Autocompletes. Default key is '
{\tt M-w
}'.
1443 \item[\tb{\#wizdebug
\verb+_+bury
}]
1444 Bury objects under and around you. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1446 \item[\tb{\#wizdebug
\verb+_+traveldisplay
}]
1447 Toggle travel display. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1449 \item[\tb{\#wizdetect
}]
1450 Search a room. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}E
}'.
1452 \item[\tb{\#wizgenesis
}]
1453 Create a monster. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}G
}'.
1455 \item[\tb{\#wizidentify
}]
1456 Identify all items in inventory. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1457 Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}I
}'.
1459 \item[\tb{\#wizintrinsic
}]
1460 Set intrinsic. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1462 \item[\tb{\#wizlevelport
}]
1463 Teleport to another level. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}V
}'.
1465 \item[\tb{\#wizmap
}]
1466 Map the level. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}F
}'.
1468 \item[\tb{\#wizrumorcheck
}]
1469 Verify rumor boundaries. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1471 \item[\tb{\#wizsmell
}]
1472 Smell monster. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1474 \item[\tb{\#wizwhere
}]
1475 Show locations of special levels. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1477 \item[\tb{\#wizwish
}]
1478 Wish for something. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only. Default key is '
{\tt \^
{}W
}'.
1481 Show wall modes. Autocompletes. Wizard-mode only.
1484 Zap a wand. Default key is '
{\tt z
}'.
1487 Help menu: get the list of available extended commands.
1491 \nd If your keyboard has a meta key (which, when pressed in combination
1492 with another key, modifies it by setting the `meta'
[8th, or `high'
]
1493 bit), you can invoke many extended commands by meta-ing the first
1494 letter of the command.
1495 In
{\it NT, OS/
2, PC\/
{\rm and
} ST NetHack
},
1496 the `Alt' key can be used in this fashion;
1497 on the
{\it Amiga\/
}, set the
{\it altmeta\/
} option to get this behavior.
1498 On other systems, if typing `Alt' plus another key transmits a
1499 two character sequence consisting of an
{\tt Escape
}
1500 followed by the other key, you may set the
{\it altmeta\/
}
1501 option to have nethack combine them into meta\+key.
1505 {\tt\#?
} (not supported by all platforms)
1508 {\tt\#twoweapon
} (unless the
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} option is enabled)
1584 \nd If the
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} option is on, some additional letter commands
1589 Help menu: display one of several help texts available, like ``
{\tt ?
}''.
1592 Jump to another location. Same as ``
{\tt \#jump
}'' or ``
{\tt M-j
}''.
1595 Kick something (usually a door). Same as `
{\tt \^
{}D
}'.
1598 Loot a box or bag on the floor beneath you, or the saddle
1599 from a steed standing next to you. Same as ``
{\tt \#loot
}'' or ``
{\tt M-l
}''.
1602 Name an object or type of object. Same as ``
{\tt \#name
}'' or ``
{\tt M-n
}''.
1603 Name a monster, an individual object, or a type of object. Same
1604 as ``
{\tt \#name
}'' (or ``
{\tt M-n
}'') which is the same as the `
{\tt C
}'
1608 Untrap a trap, door, or chest. Same as ``
{\tt \#untrap
}'' or ``
{\tt M-u
}''.
1612 \section{Rooms and corridors
}
1615 Rooms and corridors in the dungeon are either lit or dark.
1616 Any lit areas within your line of sight will be displayed;
1617 dark areas are only displayed if they are within one space of you.
1618 Walls and corridors remain on the map as you explore them.
1621 Secret corridors are hidden. You can find them with the `
{\tt s
}' (search)
1625 \subsection*
{Doorways
}
1628 Doorways connect rooms and corridors. Some doorways have no doors;
1629 you can walk right through. Others have doors in them, which may be
1630 open, closed, or locked. To open a closed door, use the `
{\tt o
}' (open)
1631 command; to close it again, use the `
{\tt c
}' (close) command.
1634 You can get through a locked door by using a tool to pick the lock
1635 with the `
{\tt a
}' (apply) command, or by kicking it open with the
1636 `
{\tt \^
{}D
}' (kick) command.
1639 Open doors cannot be entered diagonally; you must approach them
1640 straight on, horizontally or vertically. Doorways without doors are
1641 not restricted in this fashion.
1644 Doors can be useful for shutting out monsters. Most monsters cannot
1645 open doors, although a few don't need to (ex.\ ghosts can walk through
1649 Secret doors are hidden. You can find them with the `
{\tt s
}' (search)
1650 command. Once found they are in all ways equivalent to normal doors.
1653 \subsection*
{Traps (`
{\tt \^
{}}')
}
1656 There are traps throughout the dungeon to snare the unwary delver.
1657 For example, you may suddenly fall into a pit and be stuck for a few
1658 turns trying to climb out. Traps don't appear on your map until you
1659 see one triggered by moving onto it, see something fall into it, or you
1660 discover it with the `
{\tt s
}' (search) command. Monsters can fall prey to
1661 traps, too, which can be a very useful defensive strategy.
1664 There is a special pre-mapped branch of the dungeon based on the
1665 classic computer game ``
{\tt Sokoban
}.'' The goal is to push the boulders
1666 into the pits or holes. With careful foresight, it is possible to
1667 complete all of the levels according to the traditional rules of
1668 Sokoban. Some allowances are permitted in case the player gets stuck;
1669 however, they will lower your luck.
1671 \subsection*
{Stairs (`
{\tt <
}', `
{\tt >
}')
}
1674 In general, each level in the dungeon will have a staircase going up
1675 (`
{\tt <
}') to the previous level and another going down (`
{\tt >
}')
1677 level. There are some exceptions though. For instance, fairly early
1678 in the dungeon you will find a level with two down staircases, one
1679 continuing into the dungeon and the other branching into an area
1680 known as the Gnomish Mines. Those mines eventually hit a dead end,
1681 so after exploring them (if you choose to do so), you'll need to
1682 climb back up to the main dungeon.
1685 When you traverse a set of stairs, or trigger a trap which sends you
1686 to another level, the level you're leaving will be deactivated and
1687 stored in a file on disk. If you're moving to a previously visited
1688 level, it will be loaded from its file on disk and reactivated. If
1689 you're moving to a level which has not yet been visited, it will be
1690 created (from scratch for most random levels, from a template for
1691 some ``special'' levels, or loaded from the remains of an earlier game
1692 for a ``bones'' level as briefly described below). Monsters are only
1693 active on the current level; those on other levels are essentially
1697 Ordinarily when you climb a set of stairs, you will arrive on the
1698 corresponding staircase at your destination. However, pets (see below)
1699 and some other monsters will follow along if they're close enough when
1700 you travel up or down stairs, and occasionally one of these creatures
1701 will displace you during the climb. When that occurs, the pet or other
1702 monster will arrive on the staircase and you will end up nearby.
1704 \subsection*
{Ladders (`
{\tt <
}', `
{\tt >
}')
}
1707 Ladders serve the same purpose as staircases, and the two types of
1708 inter-level connections are nearly indistinguishable during game play.
1711 \subsection*
{Shops and shopping
}
1714 Occasionally you will run across a room with a shopkeeper near the door
1715 and many items lying on the floor. You can buy items by picking them
1716 up and then using the `
{\tt p
}' command. You can inquire about the price
1717 of an item prior to picking it up by using the ``
{\tt \#chat
}'' command
1718 while standing on it. Using an item prior to paying for it will incur a
1719 charge, and the shopkeeper won't allow you to leave the shop until you
1720 have paid any debt you owe.
1723 You can sell items to a shopkeeper by dropping them to the floor while
1724 inside a shop. You will either be offered an amount of gold and asked
1725 whether you're willing to sell, or you'll be told that the shopkeeper
1726 isn't interested (generally, your item needs to be compatible with the
1727 type of merchandise carried by the shop).
1730 If you drop something in a shop by accident, the shopkeeper will usually
1731 claim ownership without offering any compensation. You'll have to buy
1732 it back if you want to reclaim it.
1735 Shopkeepers sometimes run out of money. When that happens, you'll be
1736 offered credit instead of gold when you try to sell something. Credit
1737 can be used to pay for purchases, but it is only good in the shop where
1738 it was obtained; other shopkeepers won't honor it. (If you happen to
1739 find a ``credit card'' in the dungeon, don't bother trying to use it in
1740 shops; shopkeepers will not accept it.)
1743 The
{\tt \$
} command, which reports the amount of gold you are carrying
1744 (in inventory, not inside bags or boxes), will also show current shop
1745 debt or credit, if any. The
{\tt Iu
} command lists unpaid items
1746 (those which still belong to the shop) if you are carrying any.
1747 The
{\tt Ix
} command shows an inventory-like display of any unpaid
1748 items which have been used up, along with other shop fees, if any.
1751 \subsubsection*
{Shop idiosyncracies
}
1754 Several aspects of shop behavior might be unexpected.
1757 % note: a bullet is the default item label so we could omit [$\bullet$] here
1760 The price of a given item can vary due to a variety of factors.
1763 A shopkeeper treats the spot immediately inside the door as if it were
1767 While the shopkeeper watches you like a hawk, he will generally ignore
1768 any other customers.
1771 If a shop is ``closed for inventory'', it will not open of its own accord.
1774 Shops do not get restocked with new items, regardless of inventory depletion.
1781 Monsters you cannot see are not displayed on the screen. Beware!
1782 You may suddenly come upon one in a dark place. Some magic items can
1783 help you locate them before they locate you (which some monsters can do
1787 The commands `
{\tt /
}' and `
{\tt ;
}' may be used to obtain information
1789 monsters who are displayed on the screen. The command ``
{\tt \#name
}'', or
1790 its synonym `
{\tt C
}', allows you
1791 to assign a name to a monster, which may be useful to help distinguish
1792 one from another when multiple monsters are present. Assigning a name
1793 which is just a space will remove any prior name.
1796 The extended command ``
{\tt \#chat
}'' can be used to interact with an adjacent
1797 monster. There is no actual dialog (in other words, you don't get to
1798 choose what you'll say), but chatting with some monsters such as a
1799 shopkeeper or the Oracle of Delphi can produce useful results.
1802 \subsection*
{Fighting
}
1805 If you see a monster and you wish to fight it, just attempt to walk
1806 into it. Many monsters you find will mind their own business unless
1807 you attack them. Some of them are very dangerous when angered.
1808 Remember: discretion is the better part of valor.
1811 In most circumstances, if you attempt to attack a peaceful monster by
1812 moving into its location, you'll be asked to confirm your intent. By
1813 default an answer of `
{\tt y
}' acknowledges that intent,
1814 which can be error prone if you're using `
{\tt y
}' to move. You can set the
1815 {\it paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation\/
}
1816 option to require a response of ``
{\tt yes
}'' instead.
1819 If you can't see a monster (if it is invisible, or if you are blinded),
1820 the symbol `I' will be shown when you learn of its presence.
1821 If you attempt to walk into it, you will try to fight it just like
1822 a monster that you can see; of course,
1823 if the monster has moved, you will attack empty air. If you guess
1824 that the monster has moved and you don't wish to fight, you can use the `m'
1825 command to move without fighting; likewise, if you don't remember a monster
1826 but want to try fighting anyway, you can use the `F' command.
1829 \subsection*
{Your pet
}
1832 You start the game with a little dog (`
{\tt d
}'), cat (`
{\tt f
}'),
1833 or pony (`
{\tt u
}'), which follows
1834 you about the dungeon and fights monsters with you. Like you, your
1835 pet needs food to survive. It usually feeds itself on fresh carrion
1836 and other meats. If you're worried about it or want to train it, you
1837 can feed it, too, by throwing it food. A properly trained pet can be
1838 very useful under certain circumstances.
1841 Your pet also gains experience from killing monsters, and can grow
1842 over time, gaining hit points and doing more damage. Initially, your
1843 pet may even be better at killing things than you, which makes pets
1844 useful for low-level characters.
1847 Your pet will follow you up and down staircases if it is next to you
1848 when you move. Otherwise your pet will be stranded and may become
1849 wild. Similarly, when you trigger certain types of traps which alter
1850 your location (for instance, a trap door which drops you to a lower
1851 dungeon level), any adjacent pet will accompany you and any non-adjacent
1852 pet will be left behind. Your pet may trigger such traps itself; you
1853 will not be carried along with it even if adjacent at the time.
1856 \subsection*
{Steeds
}
1859 Some types of creatures in the dungeon can actually be ridden if you
1860 have the right equipment and skill. Convincing a wild beast to let
1861 you saddle it up is difficult to say the least. Many a dungeoneer
1862 has had to resort to magic and wizardry in order to forge the alliance.
1863 Once you do have the beast under your control however, you can
1864 easily climb in and out of the saddle with the ``
{\tt \#ride
}'' command. Lead
1865 the beast around the dungeon when riding, in the same manner as
1866 you would move yourself. It is the beast that you will see displayed
1870 Riding skill is managed by the ``
{\tt \#enhance
}'' command. See the section
1871 on Weapon proficiency for more information about that.
1874 Use the `
{\tt a
}' (apply) command and pick a saddle in your inventory to
1875 attempt to put that saddle on an adjacent creature. If successful,
1876 it will be transferred to that creature's inventory.
1879 Use the ``
{\tt \#loot
}'' command while adjacent to a saddled creature to
1880 try to remove the saddle from that creature. If successful, it will
1881 be transferred to your inventory.
1884 \subsection*
{Bones levels
}
1887 You may encounter the shades and corpses of other adventurers (or even
1888 former incarnations of yourself!) and their personal effects. Ghosts
1889 are hard to kill, but easy to avoid, since they're slow and do little
1890 damage. You can plunder the deceased adventurer's possessions;
1891 however, they are likely to be cursed. Beware of whatever killed the
1892 former player; it is probably still lurking around, gloating over its
1899 When you find something in the dungeon, it is common to want to pick
1900 it up. In
{\it NetHack
}, this is accomplished automatically by walking over
1901 the object (unless you turn off the
{\it autopickup\/
}
1902 option (see below), or move with the `
{\tt m
}' prefix (see above)), or
1903 manually by using the `
{\tt ,
}' command.
1905 If you're carrying too many items,
{\it NetHack\/
} will tell you so and you
1906 won't be able to pick up anything more. Otherwise, it will add the object(s)
1907 to your pack and tell you what you just picked up.
1909 As you add items to your inventory, you also add the weight of that object
1910 to your load. The amount that you can carry depends on your strength and
1911 your constitution. The
1912 stronger and sturdier
1913 you are, the less the additional load will affect you. There comes
1914 a point, though, when the weight of all of that stuff you are carrying around
1915 with you through the dungeon will encumber you. Your reactions
1916 will get slower and you'll burn calories faster, requiring food more frequently
1917 to cope with it. Eventually, you'll be so overloaded that you'll either have
1918 to discard some of what you're carrying or collapse under its weight.
1920 NetHack will tell you how badly you have loaded yourself. The symbols
1921 `Burdened', `Stressed', `Strained', `Overtaxed' and `Overloaded' are
1922 displayed on the bottom line display to indicate your condition.
1925 When you pick up an object, it is assigned an inventory letter. Many
1926 commands that operate on objects must ask you to find out which object
1927 you want to use. When
{\it NetHack\/
} asks you to choose a particular object
1928 you are carrying, you are usually presented with a list of inventory
1929 letters to choose from (see Commands, above).
1932 Some objects, such as weapons, are easily differentiated. Others, like
1933 scrolls and potions, are given descriptions which vary according to
1934 type. During a game, any two objects with the same description are
1935 the same type. However, the descriptions will vary from game to game.
1938 When you use one of these objects, if its effect is obvious,
{\it NetHack\/
}
1939 will remember what it is for you. If its effect isn't extremely
1940 obvious, you will be asked what you want to call this type of object
1941 so you will recognize it later. You can also use the ``
{\tt \#name
}''
1942 command, or its synonym `
{\tt C
}', for the same purpose at any time, to name
1943 all objects of a particular type or just an individual object.
1944 When you use ``
{\tt \#name
}'' on an object which has already been named,
1945 specifying a space as the value will remove the prior name instead
1946 of assigning a new one.
1949 \subsection*
{Curses and Blessings
}
1952 Any object that you find may be cursed, even if the object is
1953 otherwise helpful. The most common effect of a curse is being stuck
1954 with (and to) the item. Cursed weapons weld themselves to your hand
1955 when wielded, so you cannot unwield them. Any cursed item you wear
1956 is not removable by ordinary means. In addition, cursed arms and armor
1957 usually, but not always, bear negative enchantments that make them
1958 less effective in combat. Other cursed objects may act poorly or
1959 detrimentally in other ways.
1962 Objects can also be blessed. Blessed items usually work better or
1963 more beneficially than normal uncursed items. For example, a blessed
1964 weapon will do more damage against demons.
1967 Objects which are neither cursed nor blessed are referred to as uncursed.
1968 They could just as easily have been described as unblessed, but the
1969 uncursed designation is what you will see within the game. A ``glass
1970 half full versus glass half empty'' situation; make of that what you will.
1973 There are magical means of bestowing or removing curses upon objects,
1974 so even if you are stuck with one, you can still have the curse
1975 lifted and the item removed. Priests and Priestesses have an innate
1976 sensitivity to this property in any object, so they can more easily avoid
1977 cursed objects than other character roles.
1980 An item with unknown status will be reported in your inventory with no prefix.
1981 An item which you know the state of will be distinguished in your inventory
1982 by the presence of the word ``cursed'', ``uncursed'' or ``blessed'' in the
1983 description of the item.
1984 In some cases ``uncursed'' will be omitted as being redundant when
1985 enough other information is displayed.
1987 {\it implicit
\verb+_+uncursed\/
}
1988 option can be used to control this; toggle it off to have ``uncursed''
1989 be displayed even when that can be deduced from other attributes.
1992 \subsection*
{Weapons (`
{\tt )
}')
}
1995 Given a chance, most monsters in the Mazes of Menace will gratuitously try to
1996 kill you. You need weapons for self-defense (killing them first). Without a
1997 weapon, you do only
1--
2 hit points of damage (plus bonuses, if any).
1998 Monk characters are an exception; they normally do much more damage with
1999 bare hands than they do with weapons.
2002 There are wielded weapons, like maces and swords, and thrown weapons,
2003 like arrows and spears. To hit monsters with a weapon, you must wield it and
2004 attack them, or throw it at them. You can simply elect to throw a spear.
2005 To shoot an arrow, you should first wield a bow, then throw the arrow.
2006 Crossbows shoot crossbow bolts. Slings hurl rocks and (other) stones
2010 Enchanted weapons have a ``plus'' (or ``to hit enhancement'' which can be
2011 either positive or negative) that adds to your chance to
2012 hit and the damage you do to a monster. The only way to determine a weapon's
2013 enchantment is to have it magically identified somehow.
2014 Most weapons are subject to some type of damage like rust. Such
2015 ``erosion'' damage can be repaired.
2018 The chance that an attack will successfully hit a monster, and the amount
2019 of damage such a hit will do, depends upon many factors. Among them are:
2020 type of weapon, quality of weapon (enchantment and/or erosion), experience
2021 level, strength, dexterity, encumbrance, and proficiency (see below). The
2022 monster's armor class---a general defense rating, not necessarily due to
2023 wearing of armor---is a factor too; also, some monsters are particularly
2024 vulnerable to certain types of weapons.
2027 Many weapons can be wielded in one hand; some require both hands.
2028 When wielding a two-handed weapon, you can not wear a shield, and
2029 vice versa. When wielding a one-handed weapon, you can have another
2030 weapon ready to use by setting things up with the `
{\tt x
}' command, which
2031 exchanges your primary (the one being wielded) and alternate weapons.
2032 And if you have proficiency in the ``two weapon combat'' skill, you
2033 may wield both weapons simultaneously as primary and secondary; use the
2034 `
{\tt \#twoweapon
}' extended command to engage or disengage that. Only
2035 some types of characters (barbarians, for instance) have the necessary
2036 skill available. Even with that skill, using two weapons at once incurs
2037 a penalty in the chance to hit your target compared to using just one
2041 There might be times when you'd rather not wield any weapon at all.
2042 To accomplish that, wield `
{\tt -
}', or else use the `
{\tt A
}' command which
2043 allows you to unwield the current weapon in addition to taking off
2047 Those of you in the audience who are AD\&D players, be aware that each
2048 weapon which existed in AD\&D does roughly the same damage to monsters in
2049 {\it NetHack
}. Some of the more obscure weapons (such as the
%
2050 {\it aklys
},
{\it lucern hammer
}, and
{\it bec-de-corbin\/
}) are defined
2051 in an appendix to
{\it Unearthed Arcana
}, an AD\&D supplement.
2054 The commands to use weapons are `
{\tt w
}' (wield), `
{\tt t
}' (throw),
2055 `
{\tt f
}' (fire, an alternative way of throwing), `
{\tt Q
}' (quiver),
2056 `
{\tt x
}' (exchange), `
{\tt \#twoweapon
}', and `
{\tt \#enhance
}' (see below).
2059 \subsection*
{Throwing and shooting
}
2062 You can throw just about anything via the `
{\tt t
}' command. It will prompt
2063 for the item to throw; picking `
{\tt ?
}' will list things in your inventory
2064 which are considered likely to be thrown, or picking `
{\tt *
}' will list
2065 your entire inventory. After you've chosen what to throw, you will
2066 be prompted for a direction rather than for a specific target. The
2067 distance something can be thrown depends mainly on the type of object
2068 and your strength. Arrows can be thrown by hand, but can be thrown
2069 much farther and will be more likely to hit when thrown while you are
2073 You can simplify the throwing operation by using the `
{\tt Q
}' command to
2074 select your preferred ``missile'', then using the `
{\tt f
}' command to
2075 throw it. You'll be prompted for a direction as above, but you don't
2076 have to specify which item to throw each time you use `
{\tt f
}'. There is
2079 which has
{\it NetHack\/
} choose another item to automatically fill your
2080 quiver (or quiver sack, or have at the ready) when the inventory slot used
2081 for `
{\tt Q
}' runs out.
2084 Some characters have the ability to fire a volley of multiple items in a
2085 single turn. Knowing how to load several rounds of ammunition at
2086 once---or hold several missiles in your hand---and still hit a
2087 target is not an easy task. Rangers are among those who are adept
2088 at this task, as are those with a high level of proficiency in the
2089 relevant weapon skill (in bow skill if you're wielding one to
2090 shoot arrows, in crossbow skill if you're wielding one to shoot bolts,
2091 or in sling skill if you're wielding one to shoot stones).
2092 The number of items that the character has a chance to fire varies from
2093 turn to turn. You can explicitly limit the number of shots by using a
2094 numeric prefix before the `
{\tt t
}' or `
{\tt f
}' command.
2095 For example, ``
{\tt 2f
}'' (or ``
{\tt n2f
}'' if using
2096 {\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
}
2097 mode) would ensure that at most
2 arrows are shot
2098 even if you could have fired
3. If you specify
2099 a larger number than would have been shot (``
{\tt 4f
}'' in this example),
2100 you'll just end up shooting the same number (
3, here) as if no limit
2101 had been specified. Once the volley is in motion, all of the items
2102 will travel in the same direction; if the first ones kill a monster,
2103 the others can still continue beyond that spot.
2106 \subsection*
{Weapon proficiency
}
2109 You will have varying degrees of skill in the weapons available.
2110 Weapon proficiency, or weapon skills, affect how well you can use
2111 particular types of weapons, and you'll be able to improve your skills
2112 as you progress through a game, depending on your role, your experience
2113 level, and use of the weapons.
2116 For the purposes of proficiency, weapons have
2117 been divided up into various groups such as daggers, broadswords, and
2118 polearms. Each role has a limit on what level of proficiency a character
2119 can achieve for each group. For instance, wizards can become highly
2120 skilled in daggers or staves but not in swords or bows.
2123 The `
{\tt \#enhance
}' extended command is used to review current weapons proficiency
2124 (also spell proficiency) and to choose which skill(s) to improve when
2125 you've used one or more skills enough to become eligible to do so. The
2126 skill rankings are ``none'' (sometimes also referred to as ``restricted'',
2127 because you won't be able to advance), ``unskilled'', ``basic'', ``skilled'',
2128 and ``expert''. Restricted skills simply will not appear in the list
2129 shown by `
{\tt \#enhance
}'. (Divine intervention might unrestrict a particular
2130 skill, in which case it will start at unskilled and be limited to basic.)
2131 Some characters can enhance their barehanded combat or martial arts skill
2132 beyond expert to ``master'' or ``grand master''.
2135 Use of a weapon in which you're restricted or unskilled
2136 will incur a modest penalty in the chance to hit a monster and also in
2137 the amount of damage done when you do hit; at basic level, there is no
2138 penalty or bonus; at skilled level, you receive a modest bonus in the
2139 chance to hit and amount of damage done; at expert level, the bonus is
2140 higher. A successful hit has a chance to boost your training towards
2141 the next skill level (unless you've already reached the limit for this
2142 skill). Once such training reaches the threshold for that next level,
2143 you'll be told that you feel more confident in your skills. At that
2144 point you can use `
{\tt \#enhance
}' to increase one or more skills. Such skills
2145 are not increased automatically because there is a limit to your total
2146 overall skills, so you need to actively choose which skills to enhance
2147 and which to ignore.
2150 \subsection*
{Two-Weapon combat
}
2153 Some characters can use two weapons at once. Setting things up to
2154 do so can seem cumbersome but becomes second nature with use.
2155 To wield two weapons, you need to use the ``
{\tt \#twoweapon
}'' command.
2156 But first you need to have a weapon in each hand.
2157 (Note that your two weapons are not fully equal; the one in the
2158 hand you normally wield with is considered primary and the other
2159 one is considered secondary. The most noticeable difference is
2160 after you stop--or before you begin, for that matter--wielding
2161 two weapons at once. The primary is your wielded weapon and the
2162 secondary is just an item in your inventory that's been designated
2163 as alternate weapon.)
2166 If your primary weapon is wielded but your off hand is empty or has
2167 the wrong weapon, use the sequence `
{\tt x
}', `
{\tt w
}', `
{\tt x
}' to first swap your
2168 primary into your off hand, wield whatever you want as secondary
2169 weapon, then swap them both back into the intended hands.
2170 If your secondary or alternate weapon is correct but your primary
2171 one is not, simply use `
{\tt w
}' to wield the primary.
2172 Lastly, if neither hand holds the correct weapon, use `
{\tt w
}', `
{\tt x
}', `
{\tt w
}'
2173 to first wield the intended secondary, swap it to off hand, and then
2177 The whole process can be simplified via use of the
2179 option. When it is enabled, then using `
{\tt w
}' to wield something
2180 causes the currently wielded weapon to become your alternate weapon.
2181 So the sequence `
{\tt w
}', `
{\tt w
}' can be used to first wield the weapon you
2182 intend to be secondary, and then wield the one you want as primary
2183 which will push the first into secondary position.
2186 When in two-weapon combat mode, using the ``
{\tt \#twoweapon
}'' command
2187 toggles back to single-weapon mode. Throwing or dropping either of the
2188 weapons or having one of them be stolen or destroyed will also make you
2189 revert to single-weapon combat.
2192 \subsection*
{Armor (`
{\tt [}')
}
2195 Lots of unfriendly things lurk about; you need armor to protect
2196 yourself from their blows. Some types of armor offer better
2197 protection than others. Your armor class is a measure of this
2198 protection. Armor class (AC) is measured as in AD\&D, with
10 being
2199 the equivalent of no armor, and lower numbers meaning better armor.
2200 Each suit of armor which exists in AD\&D gives the same protection in
2201 {\it NetHack
}. Here is an (incomplete) list of the armor classes provided by
2202 various suits of armor:
2205 \begin{tabular
}{lllll
}
2206 dragon scale mail &
1 &
\makebox[20mm
]{} & plate mail &
3\\
2207 crystal plate mail &
3 & & bronze plate mail &
4\\
2208 splint mail &
4 & & banded mail &
4\\
2209 dwarvish mithril-coat &
4 & & elven mithril-coat &
5\\
2210 chain mail &
5 & & orcish chain mail &
6\\
2211 scale mail &
6 & & dragon scales &
7\\
2212 studded leather armor &
7 & & ring mail &
7\\
2213 orcish ring mail &
8 & & leather armor &
8\\
2214 leather jacket &
9 & & no armor &
10\\
2219 \nd You can also wear other pieces of armor (ex.\ helmets, boots,
2221 to lower your armor class even further, but you can only wear one item
2222 of each category (one suit of armor, one cloak, one helmet, one
2223 shield, and so on) at a time.
2226 If a piece of armor is enchanted, its armor protection will be better
2227 (or worse) than normal, and its ``plus'' (or minus) will subtract from
2228 your armor class. For example, a +
1 chain mail would give you
2229 better protection than normal chain mail, lowering your armor class one
2230 unit further to
4. When you put on a piece of armor, you immediately
2231 find out the armor class and any ``plusses'' it provides. Cursed
2232 pieces of armor usually have negative enchantments (minuses) in
2233 addition to being unremovable.
2236 Many types of armor are subject to some kind of damage like rust. Such
2237 damage can be repaired. Some types of armor may inhibit spell casting.
2240 The commands to use armor are `
{\tt W
}' (wear) and `
{\tt T
}' (take off).
2241 The `
{\tt A
}' command can also be used to take off armor as well as other
2245 \subsection*
{Food (`
{\tt \%
}')
}
2248 Food is necessary to survive. If you go too long without eating you
2249 will faint, and eventually die of starvation.
2250 Some types of food will spoil, and become unhealthy to eat,
2252 Food stored in ice boxes or tins (``cans'')
2253 will usually stay fresh, but ice boxes are heavy, and tins
2254 take a while to open.
2257 When you kill monsters, they usually leave corpses which are also
2258 ``food.'' Many, but not all, of these are edible; some also give you
2259 special powers when you eat them. A good rule of thumb is ``you are
2263 Some character roles and some monsters are vegetarian. Vegetarian monsters
2264 will typically never eat animal corpses, while vegetarian players can,
2265 but with some rather unpleasant side-effects.
2268 You can name one food item after something you like to eat with the
2269 {\it fruit\/
} option.
2272 The command to eat food is `
{\tt e
}'.
2275 \subsection*
{Scrolls (`
{\tt ?
}')
}
2278 Scrolls are labeled with various titles, probably chosen by ancient wizards
2279 for their amusement value (ex.\ ``READ ME,'' or ``THANX MAUD'' backwards).
2280 Scrolls disappear after you read them (except for blank ones, without
2281 magic spells on them).
2284 One of the most useful of these is the
%
2285 {\it scroll of identify
}, which
2286 can be used to determine what another object is, whether it is cursed or
2287 blessed, and how many uses it has left. Some objects of subtle
2288 enchantment are difficult to identify without these.
2291 A mail daemon may run up and deliver mail to you as a
%
2292 {\it scroll of mail
} (on versions compiled with this feature).
2293 To use this feature on versions where
{\it NetHack\/
}
2294 mail delivery is triggered by electronic mail appearing in your system mailbox,
2295 you must let
{\it NetHack\/
} know where to look for new mail by setting the
2296 ``MAIL'' environment variable to the file name of your mailbox.
2297 You may also want to set the ``MAILREADER'' environment variable to the
2298 file name of your favorite reader, so
{\it NetHack\/
} can shell to it when you
2300 On versions of
{\it NetHack\/
} where mail is randomly
2301 generated internal to the game, these environment variables are ignored.
2302 You can disable the mail daemon by turning off the
2303 {\it mail\/
} option.
2306 The command to read a scroll is `
{\tt r
}'.
2309 \subsection*
{Potions (`
{\tt !
}')
}
2312 Potions are distinguished by the
color of the liquid inside the flask.
2313 They disappear after you quaff them.
2316 Clear potions are potions of water. Sometimes these are
2317 blessed or cursed, resulting in holy or unholy water. Holy water is
2318 the bane of the undead, so potions of holy water are good things to
2319 throw (`
{\tt t
}') at them. It is also sometimes very useful to dip
2320 (``
{\tt \#dip
}'') an object into a potion.
2323 The command to drink a potion is `
{\tt q
}' (quaff).
2326 \subsection*
{Wands (`
{\tt /
}')
}
2329 Wands usually have multiple magical charges.
2330 Some types of wands require a direction in which to zap them.
2332 zap them at yourself (just give a `
{\tt .
}' or `
{\tt s
}' for the direction).
2333 Be warned, however, for this is often unwise.
2334 Other types of wands
2335 don't require a direction. The number of charges in a
2336 wand is random and decreases by one whenever you use it.
2339 When the number of charges left in a wand becomes zero, attempts to use the
2340 wand will usually result in nothing happening. Occasionally, however, it may
2341 be possible to squeeze the last few mana points from an otherwise spent wand,
2342 destroying it in the process. A wand may be recharged by using suitable
2343 magic, but doing so runs the risk of causing it to explode. The chance
2344 for such an explosion starts out very small and increases each time the
2348 In a truly desperate situation, when your back is up against the wall, you
2349 might decide to go for broke and break your wand. This is not for the faint
2350 of heart. Doing so will almost certainly cause a catastrophic release of
2354 When you have fully identified a particular wand, inventory display will
2355 include additional information in parentheses: the number of times it has
2356 been recharged followed by a colon and then by its current number of charges.
2357 A current charge count of
{\tt -
1} is a special case indicating that the wand
2361 The command to use a wand is `
{\tt z
}' (zap). To break one, use the `
{\tt a
}'
2365 \subsection*
{Rings (`
{\tt =
}')
}
2368 Rings are very useful items, since they are relatively permanent
2369 magic, unlike the usually fleeting effects of potions, scrolls, and
2373 Putting on a ring activates its magic. You can wear only two
2374 rings, one on each ring finger.
2377 Most rings also cause you to grow hungry more rapidly, the rate
2378 varying with the type of ring.
2381 The commands to use rings are `
{\tt P
}' (put on) and `
{\tt R
}' (remove).
2384 \subsection*
{Spellbooks (`
{\tt +
}')
}
2387 Spellbooks are tomes of mighty magic. When studied with the `
{\tt r
}' (read)
2388 command, they transfer to the reader the knowledge of a spell (and
2389 therefore eventually become unreadable) --- unless the attempt backfires.
2390 Reading a cursed spellbook or one with mystic runes beyond
2391 your ken can be harmful to your health!
2394 A spell (even when learned) can also backfire when you cast it. If you
2395 attempt to cast a spell well above your experience level, or if you have
2396 little skill with the appropriate spell type, or cast it at
2397 a time when your luck is particularly bad, you can end up wasting both the
2398 energy and the time required in casting.
2401 Casting a spell calls forth magical energies and focuses them with
2402 your naked mind. Some of the magical energy released comes from within
2404 Casting temporarily drains your magical power, which will slowly be
2405 recovered, and causes you to need additional food.
2406 Casting of spells also requires practice. With practice, your
2407 skill in each category of spell casting will improve. Over time, however,
2408 your memory of each spell will dim, and you will need to relearn it.
2411 Some spells require a direction in which to cast them, similar to wands.
2412 To cast one at yourself, just give a `
{\tt .
}' or `
{\tt s
}' for the direction.
2413 A few spells require you to pick a target location rather than just specify
2414 a particular direction.
2415 Other spells don't require any direction or target.
2418 Just as weapons are divided into groups in which a character can become
2419 proficient (to varying degrees), spells are similarly grouped.
2420 Successfully casting a spell exercises its skill group; using the
2421 `
{\tt \#enhance
}' command to advance a sufficiently exercised skill
2422 will affect all spells within the group. Advanced skill may increase the
2423 potency of spells, reduce their risk of failure during casting attempts,
2424 and improve the accuracy of the estimate for how much longer they will
2425 be retained in your memory.
2426 Skill slots are shared with weapons skills. (See also the section on
2427 ``Weapon proficiency''.)
2430 Casting a spell also requires flexible movement, and wearing various types
2431 of armor may interfere with that.
2434 The command to read a spellbook is the same as for scrolls, `
{\tt r
}' (read).
2435 The `
{\tt +
}' command lists each spell you know along with its level, skill
2436 category, chance of failure when casting, and an estimate of how strongly
2438 The `
{\tt Z
}' (cast) command casts a spell.
2441 \subsection*
{Tools (`
{\tt (
}')
}
2444 Tools are miscellaneous objects with various purposes. Some tools
2445 have a limited number of uses, akin to wand charges. For example, lamps burn
2446 out after a while. Other tools are containers, which objects can
2447 be placed into or taken out of.
2450 The command to use tools is `
{\tt a
}' (apply).
2453 \subsection*
{Containers
}
2456 You may encounter bags, boxes, and chests in your travels. A tool of
2457 this sort can be opened with the ``
{\tt \#loot
}'' extended command when
2458 you are standing on top of it (that is, on the same floor spot),
2459 or with the `
{\tt a
}' (apply) command when you are carrying it. However,
2460 chests are often locked, and are in any case unwieldy objects.
2461 You must set one down before unlocking it by
2462 using a key or lock-picking tool with the `
{\tt a
}' (apply) command,
2463 by kicking it with the `
{\tt \^
{}D
}' command,
2464 or by using a weapon to force the lock with the ``
{\tt \#force
}''
2468 Some chests are trapped, causing nasty things to happen when you
2469 unlock or open them. You can check for and try to deactivate traps
2470 with the ``
{\tt \#untrap
}'' extended command.
2473 \subsection*
{Amulets (`
{\tt "
}')
}
2476 Amulets are very similar to rings, and often more powerful. Like
2477 rings, amulets have various magical properties, some beneficial,
2478 some harmful, which are activated by putting them on.
2481 Only one amulet may be worn at a time, around your neck.
2484 The commands to use amulets are the same as for rings, `
{\tt P
}' (put on)
2485 and `
{\tt R
}' (remove).
2488 \subsection*
{Gems (`
{\tt *
}')
}
2491 Some gems are valuable, and can be sold for a lot of gold. They are also
2492 a far more efficient way of carrying your riches. Valuable gems increase
2493 your score if you bring them with you when you exit.
2496 Other small rocks are also categorized as gems, but they are much less
2497 valuable. All rocks, however, can be used as projectile weapons (if you
2498 have a sling). In the most desperate of cases, you can still throw them
2502 \subsection*
{Large rocks (`
{\tt `
}')
}
2504 Statues and boulders are not particularly useful, and are generally
2505 heavy. It is rumored that some statues are not what they seem.
2508 Very large humanoids (giants and their ilk) have been known to use boulders
2512 For some configurations of the program, statues are no longer shown
2514 but by the letter representing the monster they depict instead.
2517 \subsection*
{Gold (`
{\tt \$
}')
}
2520 Gold adds to your score, and you can buy things in shops with it.
2522 of monsters in the dungeon that may be influenced by the amount of gold
2523 you are carrying (shopkeepers aside).
2529 As if winning
{\it NetHack\/
} were not difficult enough, certain players
2530 seek to challenge themselves by imposing restrictions on the
2531 way they play the game. The game automatically tracks some of
2532 these challenges, which can be checked at any time with the
{\tt \#conduct
}
2533 command or at the end of the game. When you perform an action which
2534 breaks a challenge, it will no longer be listed. This gives
2535 players extra ``bragging rights'' for winning the game with these
2536 challenges. Note that it is perfectly acceptable to win the game
2537 without resorting to these restrictions and that it is unusual for
2538 players to adhere to challenges the first time they win the game.
2541 Several of the challenges are related to eating behavior. The most
2542 difficult of these is the foodless challenge. Although creatures
2543 can survive long periods of time without food, there is a physiological
2544 need for water; thus there is no restriction on drinking beverages,
2545 even if they provide some minor food benefits.
2546 Calling upon your god for help with starvation does
2547 not violate any food challenges either.
2550 A strict vegan diet is one which avoids any food derived from animals.
2551 The primary source of nutrition is fruits and vegetables. The
2552 corpses and tins of blobs (`b'), jellies (`j'), and fungi (`F') are
2553 also considered to be vegetable matter. Certain human
2554 food is prepared without animal products; namely, lembas wafers, cram
2555 rations, food rations (gunyoki), K-rations, and C-rations.
2556 Metal or another normally indigestible material eaten while polymorphed
2557 into a creature that can digest it is also considered vegan food.
2558 Note however that eating such items still counts against foodless conduct.
2561 Vegetarians do not eat animals;
2562 however, they are less selective about eating animal byproducts than vegans.
2563 In addition to the vegan items listed above, they may eat any kind
2564 of pudding (`P') other than the black puddings,
2565 eggs and food made from eggs (fortune cookies and pancakes),
2566 food made with milk (cream pies and candy bars), and lumps of
2567 royal jelly. Monks are expected to observe a vegetarian diet.
2570 Eating any kind of meat violates the vegetarian, vegan, and foodless
2571 conducts. This includes tripe rations, the corpses or tins of any
2572 monsters not mentioned above, and the various other chunks of meat
2573 found in the dungeon. Swallowing and digesting a monster while polymorphed
2574 is treated as if you ate the creature's corpse.
2575 Eating leather, dragon hide, or bone items while
2576 polymorphed into a creature that can digest it, or eating monster brains
2577 while polymorphed into a mind flayer, is considered eating
2578 an animal, although wax is only an animal byproduct.
2581 Regardless of conduct, there will be some items which are indigestible,
2582 and others which are hazardous to eat. Using a swallow-and-digest
2583 attack against a monster is equivalent to eating the monster's corpse.
2584 Please note that the term ``vegan'' is used here only in the context of
2585 diet. You are still free to choose not to use or wear items derived
2586 from animals (e.g. leather, dragon hide, bone, horns, coral), but the
2587 game will not keep track of this for you. Also note that ``milky''
2588 potions may be a translucent white, but they do not contain milk,
2589 so they are compatible with a vegan diet. Slime molds or
2590 player-defined ``fruits'', although they could be anything
2591 from ``cherries'' to ``pork chops'', are also assumed to be vegan.
2594 An atheist is one who rejects religion. This means that you cannot
2595 {\tt \#pray
},
{\tt \#offer
} sacrifices to any god,
2596 {\tt \#turn
} undead, or
{\tt \#chat
} with a priest.
2597 Particularly selective readers may argue that playing Monk or Priest
2598 characters should violate this conduct; that is a choice left to the
2599 player. Offering the Amulet of Yendor to your god is necessary to
2600 win the game and is not counted against this conduct. You are also
2601 not penalized for being spoken to by an angry god, priest(ess), or
2602 other religious figure; a true atheist would hear the words but
2603 attach no special meaning to them.
2606 Most players fight with a wielded weapon (or tool intended to be
2607 wielded as a weapon). Another challenge is to win the game without
2608 using such a wielded weapon. You are still permitted to throw,
2609 fire, and kick weapons; use a wand, spell, or other type of item;
2610 or fight with your hands and feet.
2613 In
{\it NetHack\/
}, a pacifist refuses to cause the death of any other monster
2614 (i.e. if you would get experience for the death). This is a particularly
2615 difficult challenge, although it is still possible to gain experience
2619 An illiterate character cannot read or write. This includes reading
2620 a scroll, spellbook, fortune cookie message, or t-shirt; writing a
2621 scroll; or making an engraving of anything other than a single ``x'' (the
2622 traditional signature of an illiterate person). Reading an engraving,
2623 or any item that is absolutely necessary to win the game, is not counted
2624 against this conduct. The identity of scrolls and spellbooks (and
2625 knowledge of spells) in your starting inventory is assumed to be
2626 learned from your teachers prior to the start of the game and isn't
2630 There are several other challenges tracked by the game. It is possible
2631 to eliminate one or more species of monsters by genocide; playing without
2632 this feature is considered a challenge. When the game offers you an
2633 opportunity to genocide monsters, you may respond with the monster type
2634 ``none'' if you want to decline. You can change the form of an item into
2635 another item of the same type (``polypiling'') or the form of your own
2636 body into another creature (``polyself'') by wand, spell, or potion of
2637 polymorph; avoiding these effects are each considered challenges.
2638 Polymorphing monsters, including pets, does not break either of these
2640 Finally, you may sometimes receive wishes; a game without an attempt to
2641 wish for any items is a challenge, as is a game without wishing for
2642 an artifact (even if the artifact immediately disappears). When the
2643 game offers you an opportunity to make a wish for an item, you may
2644 choose ``nothing'' if you want to decline.
2650 Due to variations in personal tastes and conceptions of how
{\it NetHack\/
}
2651 should do things, there are options you can set to change how
{\it NetHack\/
}
2655 \subsection*
{Setting the options
}
2658 Options may be set in a number of ways. Within the game, the `
{\tt O
}'
2659 command allows you to view all options and change most of them.
2660 You can also set options automatically by placing them in a configuration
2661 file, or in the ``NETHACKOPTIONS'' environment variable.
2662 Some versions of
{\it NetHack\/
} also have front-end programs that allow
2663 you to set options before starting the game or a global configuration
2664 for system administrators.
2667 \subsection*
{Using a configuration file
}
2670 The default name of the configuration file varies on different
2671 operating systems. On DOS and Windows, it is ``defaults.nh''
2672 in the same folder as nethack.exe or nethackW.exe. On Unix, Linux
2673 and Mac OS X it is ``.nethackrc'' in the user's home directory.
2674 The file may not exist, but it is a normal ASCII text file and
2675 can be created with any text editor.
2678 Any line in the configuration file starting with `
{\tt \#
}' is treated as a comment.
2679 Empty lines are ignore.
2682 You can use different configuration statements in the file, some
2683 of which can be used multiple times. In general, the statements are
2684 written in capital letters, followed by an equals sign, followed by
2685 settings particular to that statement. Here is a list of allowed statements:
2690 There are two types of options, boolean and compound options.
2691 Boolean options toggle a setting on or off, while compound options
2692 take more diverse values.
2693 Prefix a boolean option with `no' or `!' to turn it off.
2694 For compound options, the option name and value are separated by a colon.
2695 Some options are persistent, and apply only to new games.
2696 You can specify multiple OPTIONS statements, and multiple options
2697 in a single OPTIONS statement.
2703 OPTIONS=dogname:Fido
2704 OPTIONS=!legacy,autopickup,pickup_types:$"=/!?+
2710 Default location of files NetHack needs. On Windows HACKDIR
2711 defaults to the location of the NetHack.exe or NetHackw.exe file
2712 so setting HACKDIR to override that is not usually necessary or recommended.
2714 \item[\bb{LEVELDIR
}]
2715 The location that in-progress level files are stored. Defaults to HACKDIR,
2719 The location where saved games are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR, must be
2722 \item[\bb{BONESDIR
}]
2723 The location that bones files are kept. Defaults to HACKDIR, must be
2727 The location that file synchronization locks are stored. Defaults to
2728 HACKDIR, must be writeable.
2730 \item[\bb{TROUBLEDIR
}]
2731 The location that a record of game aborts and self-diagnosed game problems
2732 is kept. Defaults to HACKDIR, must be writeable.
2734 \item[\bb{AUTOCOMPLETE
}]
2735 Enable or disable an extended command autocompletion.
2736 Autocompletion has no effect for the X11 windowport.
2737 You can specify multiple autocompletions. To enable
2738 autocompletion, list the extended command. Prefix the
2739 command with ``
{{\tt !
}}'' to disable the autocompletion
2746 AUTOCOMPLETE=zap,!annotate
2751 \item[\bb{AUTOPICKUP
\_EXCEPTION}]
2752 Set exceptions to the
{{\it pickup
\_types\/
}}
2753 option. See the ``Configuring Autopickup Exceptions'' section.
2755 \item[\bb{BINDINGS
}]
2756 Change the key bindings of some special keys, menu accelerators, or
2757 extended commands. You can specify multiple bindings. Format is key
2758 followed by the command, separated by a colon.
2759 See the ``Changing Key Bindings`` section for more information.
2765 BIND=^X:getpos.autodescribe
2771 Change the way messages are shown in the top status line.
2772 See the ``Configuring Message Types`` section.
2774 \item[\bb{MENUCOLOR
}]
2775 Highlight menu lines with different colors.
2776 See the ``Configuring Menu Colors`` section.
2779 Override one or more symbols in the symbols files.
2780 See the ``Modifying NetHack Symbols'' section.
2791 Wizard-mode extra items, in a text file containing item names,
2792 one per line, up to a maximum of
128 lines. Each line is processed
2793 by the function that handles wishing.
2802 \item[\bb{SOUNDDIR
}]
2803 Define the directory that contains the sound files.
2804 See the ``Configuring User Sounds'' section.
2807 Define a sound mapping. See the ``Configuring User Sounds'' section.
2811 Here is a short example of config file contents:
2814 # Set your character's role, race, gender, and alignment.
2815 OPTIONS=role:Valkyrie, race:Human, gender:female, align:lawful
2817 # Turn on autopickup, and set automatically picked up object types
2818 OPTIONS=autopickup,pickup_types:$"=/!?+
2819 # Show colored text if possible
2821 # Show lit corridors differently
2822 OPTIONS=lit_corridor
2824 # No startup splash screen. Windows GUI only.
2825 OPTIONS=!splash_screen
2830 \subsection*
{Using the NETHACKOPTIONS environment variable
}
2833 The NETHACKOPTIONS variable is a comma-separated list of initial
2834 values for the various options. Some can only be turned on or off.
2835 You turn one of these on by adding the name of the option to the list,
2836 and turn it off by typing a `
{\tt !
}' or ``
{\tt no
}'' before the name.
2838 character string as a value. You can set string options by typing
2839 the option name, a colon or equals sign, and then the value of the string.
2840 The value is terminated by the next comma or the end of string.
2843 For example, to set up an environment variable so that
{\it autoquiver\/
}
2844 is on,
{\it autopickup\/
} is off, the
{\it name\/
} is set to ``Blue Meanie'',
2845 and the
{\it fruit\/
} is set to ``papaya'', you would enter the command
2848 setenv NETHACKOPTIONS "autoquiver,\!autopickup,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:papaya"
2853 (note the need to escape the ! since it's special to the shell), or
2856 NETHACKOPTIONS="autoquiver,!autopickup,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:papaya"
2857 export NETHACKOPTIONS
2861 \nd in
{\it sh\/
} or
{\it ksh
}.
2864 NETHACKOPTIONS can also be set to the full name of a configuration file you
2865 want to use (possibly preceded by an `
{\tt @
}').
2868 \subsection*
{Customization options
}
2871 Here are explanations of what the various options do.
2872 Character strings that are too long may be truncated.
2873 Some of the options listed may be inactive in your dungeon.
2876 Some options are persistent, and are saved and reloaded along with
2877 the game. Changing a persistent option in the configuration file
2878 applies only to new games.
2882 \item[\ib{acoustics
}]
2883 Enable messages about what your character hears (default on).
2884 Note that this has nothing to do with your computer's audio capabilities.
2888 Your starting alignment (
{\tt align:lawful
},
{\tt align:neutral
},
2889 or
{\tt align:chaotic
}). You may specify just the first letter.
2890 The default is to randomly pick an appropriate alignment.
2891 If you prefix the value with `
{\tt !
}' or ``
{\tt no
}'', you will
2892 exclude that alignment from being picked randomly.
2893 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command. Persistent.
2895 \item[\ib{autodescribe
}]
2896 Automatically describe the terrain under cursor when asked to get a location
2898 {\it whatis
\verb+_+coord\/
}
2899 option controls whether the description includes map coordinates.
2902 Automatically dig if you are wielding a digging tool and moving into a place
2903 that can be dug (default false). Persistent.
2905 \item[\ib{autoopen
}]
2906 Walking into a door attempts to open it (default true). Persistent.
2908 \item[\ib{autopickup
}]
2909 Automatically pick up things onto which you move (default on). Persistent.
2910 See ``
{\it pickup
\verb+_+types\/
}'' to refine the behavior.
2912 \item[\ib{autoquiver
}]
2913 This option controls what happens when you attempt the `f' (fire)
2914 command with an empty quiver (or quiver sack or have nothing at the ready).
2915 When true, the computer will fill
2916 your quiver or quiver sack or make ready some suitable weapon. Note that it
2918 into account the blessed/cursed status, enchantment, damage, or
2919 quality of the weapon; you are free to manually fill your quiver or quiver sack
2921 with the `Q' command instead. If no weapon is found or the option is
2922 false, the `t' (throw) command is executed instead. Persistent. (default false)
2925 Start the character permanently blind. Persistent. (default false)
2928 Allow saving and loading bones files. Persistent. (default true)
2931 Set the character used to display boulders (default is the ``large rock''
2932 class symbol, `
{\tt `
}').
2935 Name your starting cat (ex.\ ``
{\tt catname:Morris
}'').
2936 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
2938 \item[\ib{character
}]
2939 Pick your type of character (ex.\ ``
{\tt character:Monk
}'');
2940 synonym for ``
{\it role\/
}''. See
{\it role\/
} for more details.
2942 \item[\ib{checkpoint
}]
2943 Save game state after each level change, for possible recovery after
2944 program crash (default on). Persistent.
2946 \item[\ib{checkspace
}]
2947 Check free disk space before writing files to disk (default on).
2948 You may have to turn this off if you have more than
2 GB free space
2949 on the partition used for your save and level files
2950 (because too much space might overflow the calculation and end up
2951 looking like insufficient space).
2952 Only applies when MFLOPPY was defined during compilation.
2954 \item[\ib{clicklook
}]
2955 Allows looking at things on the screen by navigating the mouse
2956 over them and clicking the right mouse button (default off).
2958 \item[\ib{cmdassist
}]
2959 Have the game provide some additional command assistance for new
2960 players if it detects some anticipated mistakes (default on).
2963 Have user confirm attacks on pets, shopkeepers, and other
2964 peaceable creatures (default on). Persistent.
2967 \item[\ib{dark
\verb+_+room
}]
2968 Show out-of-sight areas of lit rooms (default off). Persistent.
2969 \item[\ib{disclose
}]
2970 Controls what information the program reveals when the game ends.
2971 Value is a space separated list of prompting/category pairs
2972 (default is `
{\tt ni na nv ng nc no
}',
2973 prompt with default response of `
{\tt n
}' for each candidate).
2975 The possibilities are:
2979 {\tt i
} --- disclose your inventory;\\
2980 {\tt a
} --- disclose your attributes;\\
2981 {\tt v
} --- summarize monsters that have been vanquished;\\
2982 {\tt g
} --- list monster species that have been genocided;\\
2983 {\tt c
} --- display your conduct;\\
2984 {\tt o
} --- display dungeon overview.
2988 Each disclosure possibility can optionally be preceded by a prefix which
2989 lets you refine how it behaves. Here are the valid prefixes:
2993 {\tt y
} --- prompt you and default to yes on the prompt;\\
2994 {\tt n
} --- prompt you and default to no on the prompt;\\
2995 {\tt +
} --- disclose it without prompting;\\
2996 {\tt -
} --- do not disclose it and do not prompt.
3000 The listing of vanquished monsters can be sorted,
3001 so there are two additional choices for `
{\tt v
}':
3004 {\tt ?
} --- prompt you and default to ask on the prompt;\\
3005 {\tt\#
} --- disclose it without prompting, ask for sort order.
3009 Asking refers to picking one of the orderings from a menu.
3010 The `
{\tt +
}' disclose without prompting choice,
3011 or being prompted and answering `
{\tt y
}' rather than `
{\tt a
}',
3012 will default to showing monsters in the traditional order,
3013 from high level to low level.
3017 (ex.\ ``
{\tt disclose:yi na +v -g o
}'')
3019 {\tt inventory
} to
{\it prompt\/
} and default to
{\it yes\/
},
3020 {\tt attributes
} to
{\it prompt\/
} and default to
{\it no\/
},
3021 {\tt vanquished
} to
{\it disclose without prompting\/
},
3022 {\tt genocided
} to
{\it not disclose\/
} and
{\it not prompt\/
},
3023 {\tt conduct
} to implicitly
{\it prompt\/
} and default to
{\it no\/
},
3024 {\tt overview
} to
{\it disclose without prompting\/
}.
3027 Note that the vanquished monsters list includes all monsters killed by
3028 traps and each other as well as by you.
3029 And the dungeon overview shows all levels you had visited but does not
3030 reveal things about them that you hadn't discovered.
3033 Name your starting dog (ex.\ ``
{\tt dogname:Fang
}'').
3034 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3037 Changes the extended commands interface to pop-up a menu of available commands.
3038 It is keystroke compatible with the traditional interface except that it does
3039 not require that you hit Enter. It is implemented only by the tty port
3040 (default off), when the game has been compiled to support tty graphics.
3043 An obsolete synonym for ``
{\tt gender:female
}''. Cannot be set with the
3047 An object's inventory letter sticks to it when it's dropped (default on).
3048 If this is off, dropping an object shifts all the remaining inventory letters.
3052 Name a fruit after something you enjoy eating (ex.\ ``
{\tt fruit:mango
}'')
3053 (default ``
{\tt slime mold
}''). Basically a nostalgic whimsy that
3054 {\it NetHack\/
} uses from time to time. You should set this to something you
3055 find more appetizing than slime mold. Apples, oranges, pears, bananas, and
3056 melons already exist in
{\it NetHack
}, so don't use those.
3059 Your starting gender (
{\tt gender:male
} or
{\tt gender:female
}).
3060 You may specify just the first letter. Although you can
3061 still denote your gender using the ``
{\tt male
}'' and ``
{\tt female
}''
3062 options, the ``
{\tt gender
}'' option will take precedence.
3063 The default is to randomly pick an appropriate gender.
3064 If you prefix the value with `
{\tt !
}' or ``
{\tt no
}'', you will
3065 exclude that gender from being picked randomly.
3066 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command. Persistent.
3069 If more information is available for an object looked at
3070 with the `
{\tt /
}' command, ask if you want to see it (default on).
3071 Turning help off makes just looking at things faster, since you aren't
3072 interrupted with the ``
{\tt More info?
}'' prompt, but it also means that you
3073 might miss some interesting and/or important information. Persistent.
3075 \item[\ib{hilite
\verb+_+pet
}]
3076 Visually distinguish pets from similar animals (default off).
3077 The behavior of this option depends on the type of windowing you use.
3078 In text windowing, text highlighting or inverse video is often used;
3079 with tiles, generally displays a heart symbol near pets.
3081 \item[\ib{hilite
\verb+_+pile
}]
3082 Visually distinguish piles of objects from individual objects (default off).
3083 The behavior of this option depends on the type of windowing you use.
3084 In text windowing, text highlighting or inverse video is often used;
3085 with tiles, generally displays a small plus-symbol beside the object
3086 on the top of the pile.
3088 \item[\ib{horsename
}]
3089 Name your starting horse (ex.\ ``
{\tt horsename:Trigger
}'').
3090 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3093 Ignore interrupt signals, including breaks (default off). Persistent.
3095 \item[\ib{implicit
\verb+_+uncursed
}]
3096 Omit ``uncursed'' from inventory lists, if possible (default on).
3099 Display an introductory message when starting the game (default on).
3102 \item[\ib{lit
\verb+_+corridor
}]
3103 Show corridor squares seen by night vision or a light source held by your
3104 character as lit (default off). Persistent.
3107 Use the old `
{\tt a
}', `
{\tt b
}', and `
{\tt c
}' keyboard shortcuts when
3108 looting, rather than the mnemonics `
{\tt o
}', `
{\tt i
}', and `
{\tt b
}' (default off).
3112 Enable mail delivery during the game (default on). Persistent.
3115 An obsolete synonym for ``
{\tt gender:male
}''. Cannot be set with the
3118 \item[\ib{mention
\verb+_+walls
}]
3119 Give feedback when walking against a wall (default off).
3121 \item[\ib{menucolors
}]
3122 Enable coloring menu lines (default off).
3123 See ``
{\it Configuring Menu Colors\/
}'' on how to configure the colors.
3125 \item[\ib{menustyle
}]
3126 Controls the interface used when you need to choose various objects (in
3127 response to the Drop command, for instance). The value specified should
3128 be the first letter of one of the following: traditional, combination,
3130 Traditional was the only interface available for
3131 early versions; it consists of a prompt for object class characters,
3132 followed by an object-by-object prompt for all items matching the selected
3134 Combination starts with a prompt for object class(es)
3135 of interest, but then displays a menu of matching objects rather than
3136 prompting one-by-one.
3137 Full displays a menu of
3138 object classes rather than a character prompt, and then a menu of matching
3139 objects for selection.
3140 Partial skips the object class filtering and
3141 immediately displays a menu of all objects.
3143 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+deselect
\verb+_+all
}]
3144 Menu character accelerator to deselect all items in a menu.
3145 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports.
3147 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+deselect
\verb+_+page
}]
3148 Menu character accelerator to deselect all items on this page of a menu.
3149 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.
3151 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+first
\verb+_+page
}]
3152 Menu character accelerator to jump to the first page in a menu.
3153 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.
3155 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+headings
}]
3156 Controls how the headings in a menu are highlighted.
3157 Values are ``
{\tt none
}'', ``
{\tt bold
}'', ``
{\tt dim
}'',
3158 ``
{\tt underline
}'', ``
{\tt blink
}'', or ``
{\tt inverse
}''.
3159 Not all ports can actually display all types.
3160 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+invert
\verb+_+all
}]
3161 Menu character accelerator to invert all items in a menu.
3162 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports.
3164 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+invert
\verb+_+page
}]
3165 Menu character accelerator to invert all items on this page of a menu.
3166 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.
3168 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+last
\verb+_+page
}]
3169 Menu character accelerator to jump to the last page in a menu.
3170 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.
3172 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+next
\verb+_+page
}]
3173 Menu character accelerator to goto the next menu page.
3174 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.
3176 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+objsyms
}]
3177 Show object symbols in menu headings in menus where
3178 the object symbols act as menu accelerators (default off).
3179 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+overlay
}]
3180 Do not clear the screen before drawing menus, and align
3181 menus to the right edge of the screen. Only for the tty port.
3183 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+previous
\verb+_+page
}]
3184 Menu character accelerator to goto the previous menu page.
3185 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.
3187 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+search
}]
3188 Menu character accelerator to search for a menu item.
3189 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports.
3191 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+select
\verb+_+all
}]
3192 Menu character accelerator to select all items in a menu.
3193 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11 and tty ports.
3195 \item[\ib{menu
\verb+_+select
\verb+_+page
}]
3196 Menu character accelerator to select all items on this page of a menu.
3197 Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.
3200 \item[\ib{msghistory
}]
3201 The number of top line messages to save (and recall with `
{\tt \^
{}P
}')
3202 (default
20). Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3204 \item[\ib{msg
\verb+_+window
}]
3205 Allows you to change the way recalled messages are displayed.
3206 (It is currently implemented for tty only.) The possible values are:
3210 {\tt s
} --- single message (default; only choice prior to
3.4.0);\\
3211 {\tt c
} --- combination, two messages as
{\it single\/
}, then as
{\it full\/
};\\
3212 {\tt f
} --- full window, oldest message first;\\
3213 {\tt r
} --- full window reversed, newest message first.
3217 For backward compatibility, no value needs to be specified (which
3218 defaults to
{\it full\/
}), or it can be negated (which defaults
3222 Set your character's name (defaults to your user name). You can also
3223 set your character's role by appending a dash and one or more letters of
3224 the role (that is, by suffixing one of
3225 ``
{\tt -A -B -C -H -K -M -P -Ra -Ro -S -T -V -W
}'').
3226 If ``
{\tt -@
}'' is used for the role, then a random one will be
3227 automatically chosen.
3228 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3231 Read the
{\it NetHack\/
} news file, if present (default on).
3232 Since the news is shown at the beginning of the game, there's no point
3233 in setting this with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3236 Start the character with no armor (default false). Persistent.
3239 Send padding nulls to the terminal (default on). Persistent.
3241 \item[\ib{number
\verb+_+pad
}]
3242 Use digit keys instead of letters to move (default
0 or off).\\
3248 \settowidth{\mwidth}{\tt -
0}
3249 \newcommand{\numbox}[1]{\makebox[\mwidth][r
]{{\tt #1}}}
3250 \numbox{0} --- move by letters; `
{\tt yuhjklbn
}'\\
3251 \numbox{1} --- move by numbers; digit `
{\tt 5}' acts as `
{\tt G
}' movement prefix\\
3252 \numbox{2} --- like
{\tt 1} but `
{\tt 5}' works as `
{\tt g
}' prefix instead of as `
{\tt G
}'\\
3253 \numbox{3} --- by numbers using phone key layout;
{\tt 123} above,
{\tt 789} below\\
3254 \numbox{4} --- combines
{\tt 3} with
{\tt 2}; phone layout plus MSDOS compatibility\\
3255 \numbox{-
1} --- by letters but use `
{\tt z
}' to go northwest, `
{\tt y
}' to zap wands
3259 For backward compatibility, omitting a value is the same as specifying
{\tt 1}
3261 {\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
}
3262 is the same as specifying
{\tt 0}.
3263 (Settings
{\tt 2} and
{\tt 4} are for compatibility with MSDOS or old PC Hack;
3264 in addition to the different behavior for `
{\tt 5}', `
{\tt Alt-
5}' acts as `
{\tt G
}'
3265 and `
{\tt Alt-
0}' acts as `
{\tt I
}'.
3266 Setting
{\tt -
1} is to accommodate some QWERTZ keyboards which have the
3267 location of the `
{\tt y
}' and `
{\tt z
}' keys swapped.)
3268 When moving by numbers, to enter a count prefix for those commands
3269 which accept one (such as ``
{\tt 12s
}'' to search twelve times), precede it
3270 with the letter `
{\tt n
}' (``
{\tt n12s
}'').
3272 \item[\ib{packorder
}]
3273 Specify the order to list object types in (default
3274 ``
\verb&")
[%?+!=/(*`0_&''). The value of this option should be a string
3275 containing the symbols for the various object types. Any omitted types
3276 are filled in at the end from the previous order.
3278 \item[\ib{paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation
}]
3279 A space separated list of specific situations where alternate
3280 prompting is desired. The default is ``
{\it paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation:pray
}''.
3283 \newlength{\pcwidth}
3284 \settowidth{\pcwidth}{\tt Confirm
}
3285 \addtolength{\pcwidth}{\labelsep}
3286 \blist{\leftmargin \pcwidth \topsep 1mm
\itemsep 0mm
}
3287 \item[{\tt Confirm
}]
3288 for any prompts which are set to require ``yes''
3289 rather than `y', also require ``no'' to reject instead
3290 of accepting any non-yes response as no;
3291 \item[{\tt quit~~~
}]
3292 require ``
{\tt yes
}'' rather than `
{\tt y
}' to confirm quitting
3293 the game or switching into non-scoring explore mode;
3294 \item[{\tt die~~~~
}]
3295 require ``
{\tt yes
}'' rather than `
{\tt y
}' to confirm dying (not
3296 useful in normal play; applies to explore mode);
3297 \item[{\tt bones~~
}]
3298 require ``
{\tt yes
}'' rather than `
{\tt y
}' to confirm saving
3299 bones data when dying in debug mode
3300 \item[{\tt attack~
}]
3301 require ``
{\tt yes
}'' rather than `
{\tt y
}' to confirm attacking
3303 \item[{\tt pray~~~
}]
3304 require `
{\tt y
}' to confirm an attempt to pray rather
3305 than immediately praying; on by default;
3307 require ``
{\tt yes
}'' rather than `
{\tt y
}' to confirm breaking
3309 \item[{\tt Remove~
}] require selection from inventory for `
{\tt R
}' and `
{\tt T
}'
3310 commands even when wearing just one applicable item.
3314 By default, the pray choice is enabled, the others disabled.
3315 To disable it without setting
3316 any of the other choices, use ``
{\it paranoid
\verb+_+confirmation:none
}''. To keep
3317 it enabled while setting others, include it in the list,
3318 such as ``
{\it par\-a\-noid
\verb+_+con\-fir\-ma\-tion:attack~pray~Remove
}''.
3320 \item[\ib{perm
\verb+_+invent
}]
3321 If true, always display your current inventory in a window. This only
3322 makes sense for windowing system interfaces that implement this feature.
3326 Specify the type of your initial pet, if you are playing a character class
3327 that uses multiple types of pets; or choose to have no initial pet at all.
3328 Possible values are ``
{\tt cat
}'', ``
{\tt dog
}'', ``
{\tt horse
}''
3330 If the choice is not allowed for the role you are currently playing,
3331 it will be silently ignored. For example, ``
{\tt horse
}'' will only be
3332 honored when playing a knight.
3333 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3335 \item[\ib{pickup
\verb+_+burden
}]
3336 When you pick up an item that would exceed this encumbrance
3337 level (Unencumbered, Burdened, streSsed, straiNed, overTaxed,
3338 or overLoaded), you will be asked if you want to continue.
3339 (Default `S'). Persistent.
3341 \item[\ib{pickup
\verb+_+thrown
}]
3342 If this option is on and ``
{\it autopickup\/
}'' is also on, try to pick up
3343 things that you threw, even if they aren't in ``
{\it pickup
\verb+_+types\/
}'' or
3344 match an autopickup exception. Default is on. Persistent.
3346 \item[\ib{pickup
\verb+_+types
}]
3347 Specify the object types to be picked up when ``
{\it autopickup\/
}''
3348 is on. Default is all types. You can use ``
{\it autopickup
\verb+_+exception\/
}''
3349 configuration file lines to further refine ``
{\it autopickup\/
}'' behavior.
3352 \item[\ib{pile
\verb+_+limit
}]
3353 When walking across a pile of objects on the floor, threshold at which
3354 the message ``there are few/several/many objects here'' is given instead
3355 of showing a popup list of those objects. A value of
0 means ``no limit''
3356 (always list the objects); a value of
1 effectively means ``never show
3357 the objects'' since the pile size will always be at least that big;
3358 default value is
5. Persistent.
3360 \item[\ib{playmode
}]
3361 Values are
{\it normal\/
},
{\it explore\/
}, or
{\it debug\/
}.
3362 Allows selection of explore mode (also known as discovery mode) or debug
3363 mode (also known as wizard mode) instead of normal play.
3364 Debug mode might only be allowed for someone logged in under a particular
3365 user name (on multi-user systems) or specifying a particular character
3366 name (on single-user systems) or it might be disabled entirely. Requesting
3367 it when not allowed or not possible results in explore mode instead.
3368 Default is normal play.
3370 \item[\ib{pushweapon
}]
3371 Using the `w' (wield) command when already wielding
3372 something pushes the old item into your alternate weapon slot (default off).
3373 Likewise for the `a' (apply) command if it causes the applied item to
3374 become wielded. Persistent.
3377 Selects your race (for example, ``
{\tt race:human
}''). Default is random.
3378 If you prefix the value with `
{\tt !
}' or ``
{\tt no
}'', you will
3379 exclude that race from being picked randomly.
3380 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command. Persistent.
3382 \item[\ib{rest
\verb+_+on
\verb+_+space
}]
3383 Make the space bar a synonym for the `
{\tt .
}' (rest) command (default off).
3387 Pick your type of character (ex.\ ``
{\tt role:Samurai
}'');
3388 synonym for ``
{\it character\/
}''. See ``
{\it name\/
}'' for an alternate method
3389 of specifying your role. Normally only the first letter of the
3390 value is examined; `r' is an exception with ``
{\tt Rogue
}'',
{\tt Ranger
}'',
3391 and ``
{\tt random
}'' values.
3392 If you prefix the value with `
{\tt !
}' or ``
{\tt no
}'', you will
3393 exclude that role from being picked randomly.
3394 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command. Persistent.
3396 \item[\ib{roguesymset
}]
3397 This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets found within
3398 {\tt symbols
} to alter the symbols displayed on the screen on the
3402 When writing out a save file, perform run length compression of the map.
3403 Not all ports support run length compression. It has no
3404 effect on reading an existing save file.
3407 Controls the amount of screen updating for the map window when engaged
3408 in multi-turn movement (running via
{\tt shift
}+direction
3409 or
{\tt control
}+direction
3410 and so forth, or via the travel command or mouse click).
3411 The possible values are:
3415 {\tt teleport
} --- update the map after movement has finished;\\
3416 {\tt run
} --- update the map after every seven or so steps;\\
3417 {\tt walk
} --- update the map after each step;\\
3418 {\tt crawl
} --- like
{\it walk\/
}, but pause briefly after each step.
3422 This option only affects the game's screen display, not the actual
3423 results of moving. The default is
{\it run\/
}; versions prior to
3.4.1
3424 used
{\it teleport\/
} only. Whether or not the effect is noticeable will
3425 depend upon the window port used or on the type of terminal. Persistent.
3427 \item[\ib{safe
\verb+_+pet
}]
3428 Prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pets (default on). Persistent.
3431 Control what parts of the score list you are shown at the end (ex.\
3432 ``
{\tt scores:
5top scores/
4around my score/own scores
}''). Only the first
3433 letter of each category (`
{\tt t
}', `
{\tt a
}' or `
{\tt o
}') is necessary.
3437 Show your accumulated experience points on bottom line (default off).
3440 \item[\ib{showrace
}]
3441 Display yourself as the glyph for your race, rather than the glyph
3442 for your role (default off). Note that this setting affects only
3443 the appearance of the display, not the way the game treats you.
3446 \item[\ib{showscore
}]
3447 Show your approximate accumulated score on bottom line (default off).
3451 Suppress terminal beeps (default on). Persistent.
3453 \item[\ib{sortloot
}]
3454 Controls the sorting behavior of pickup lists for inventory
3455 and \#loot commands and some others. Persistent.
3457 The possible values are:
3460 {\tt full
} --- always sort the lists;\\
3461 {\tt loot
} --- only sort the lists that don't use inventory
3462 letters, like with the \#loot and pickup commands;\\
3463 {\tt none
} --- show lists the traditional way without sorting.
3467 \item[\ib{sortpack
}]
3468 Sort the pack contents by type when displaying inventory (default on).
3472 Display a sparkly effect when a monster (including yourself) is hit by an
3473 attack to which it is resistant (default on). Persistent.
3475 \item[\ib{standout
}]
3476 Boldface monsters and ``
{\tt --More--
}'' (default off). Persistent.
3478 \item[\ib{statushilites
}]
3479 Enable coloring of status fields (default off).
3480 See ``
{\it Configuring Status Hilites\/
}'' for further information.
3482 \item[\ib{suppress
\verb+_+alert
}]
3483 This option may be set to a NetHack version level to suppress
3484 alert notification messages about feature changes for that
3485 and prior versions (ex.\ ``
{\tt suppress
\verb+_+alert:
3.3.1}'')
3488 This option may be used to select one of the named symbol sets found within
3489 {\tt symbols
} to alter the symbols displayed on the screen.
3490 Use ``
{\tt symset:default
}'' to explicitly select the default symbols.
3493 Show the elapsed game time in turns on bottom line (default off). Persistent.
3495 \item[\ib{timed
\verb+_+delay
}]
3496 When pausing momentarily for display effect, such as with explosions and
3497 moving objects, use a timer rather than sending extra characters to the
3498 screen. (Applies to ``tty'' interface only; ``X11'' interface always
3499 uses a timer based delay. The default is on if configured into the
3500 program.) Persistent.
3502 \item[\ib{tombstone
}]
3503 Draw a tombstone graphic upon your death (default on). Persistent.
3505 \item[\ib{toptenwin
}]
3506 Put the ending display in a NetHack window instead of on stdout (default off).
3507 Setting this option makes the score list visible when a windowing version
3508 of NetHack is started without a parent window, but it no longer leaves
3509 the score list around after game end on a terminal or emulating window.
3512 Allow the travel command (default on). Turning this option off will
3513 prevent the game from attempting unintended moves if you make inadvertent
3514 mouse clicks on the map window. Persistent.
3517 Provide more commentary during the game (default on). Persistent.
3519 \item[\ib{whatis
\verb+_+coord
}]
3520 When using the `
{\tt /
}' or `
{\tt ;
}' commands to look around on the map with
3521 ``
{\tt autodescribe
}''
3522 on, display coordinates after the description.
3523 Also works in other situations where you are asked to pick a location.
3526 The possible settings are:
3530 {\tt c
} ---
\verb#compass ('east' or '
3s' or '
2n,
4w')#;\\
3531 {\tt f
} ---
\verb#full compass ('east' or '
3south' or '
2north,
4west')#;\\
3532 {\tt m
} ---
\verb#map <x,y> (map column x=
0 is not used)#;\\
3533 {\tt s
} ---
\verb#screen
[row,column
] (row is offset to match tty usage)#;\\
3534 {\tt n
} ---
\verb#none (no coordinates shown)
[default
]#.
3540 {\it whatis
\verb+_+coord\/
}
3541 option is also used with
3542 the `
{\tt /m
}', `
{\tt /M
}', `
{\tt /o
}', and `
{\tt /O
}' sub-commands
3544 where the `
{\it none\/
}' setting is overridden with `
{\it map
}'.
3546 \item[\ib{windowtype
}]
3547 Select which windowing system to use, such as ``
{\tt tty
}'' or ``
{\tt X11
}''
3548 (default depends on version).
3549 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3551 \item[\ib{zerocomp
}]
3552 When writing out a save file, perform zero-comp compression of the
3553 contents. Not all ports support zero-comp compression. It has no effect
3554 on reading an existing save file.
3558 \subsection*
{Window Port Customization options
}
3561 Here are explanations of the various options that are
3562 used to customize and change the characteristics of the
3563 windowtype that you have chosen.
3564 Character strings that are too long may be truncated.
3565 Not all window ports will adjust for all settings listed
3566 here. You can safely add any of these options to your
3567 config file, and if the window port is capable of adjusting
3568 to suit your preferences, it will attempt to do so. If it
3569 can't it will silently ignore it. You can find out if an
3570 option is supported by the window port that you are currently
3571 using by checking to see if it shows up in the Options list.
3572 Some options are dynamic and can be specified during the game
3573 with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3577 \item[\ib{align
\verb+_+message
}]
3578 Where to align or place the message window (top, bottom, left, or right)
3580 \item[\ib{align
\verb+_+status
}]
3581 Where to align or place the status window (top, bottom, left, or right).
3583 \item[\ib{ascii
\verb+_+map
}]
3584 NetHack should display an ascii map if it can.
3587 NetHack should display
color if it can for different monsters,
3588 objects, and dungeon features
3590 \item[\ib{eight
\verb+_+bit
\verb+_+tty
}]
3591 Pass eight-bit character values (for example, specified with the
{\it
3592 traps \/
} option) straight through to your terminal (default off).
3594 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+map
}]
3595 NetHack should use a font by the chosen name for the map window.
3597 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+menu
}]
3598 NetHack should use a font by the chosen name for menu windows.
3600 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+message
}]
3601 NetHack should use a font by the chosen name for the message window.
3603 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+status
}]
3604 NetHack should use a font by the chosen name for the status window.
3606 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+text
}]
3607 NetHack should use a font by the chosen name for text windows.
3609 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+size
\verb+_+map
}]
3610 NetHack should use this size font for the map window.
3612 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+size
\verb+_+menu
}]
3613 NetHack should use this size font for menu windows.
3615 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+size
\verb+_+message
}]
3616 NetHack should use this size font for the message window.
3618 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+size
\verb+_+status
}]
3619 NetHack should use this size font for the status window.
3621 \item[\ib{font
\verb+_+size
\verb+_+text
}]
3622 NetHack should use this size font for text windows.
3624 \item[\ib{fullscreen
}]
3625 NetHack should try and display on the entire screen rather than in a window.
3627 \item[\ib{large
\verb+_+font
}]
3628 NetHack should use a large font.
3630 \item[\ib{map
\verb+_+mode
}]
3631 NetHack should display the map in the manner specified.
3633 \item[\ib{mouse
\verb+_+support
}]
3634 Allow use of the mouse for input and travel.
3636 \item[\ib{player
\verb+_+selection
}]
3637 NetHack should pop up dialog boxes or use prompts for character selection.
3639 \item[\ib{popup
\verb+_+dialog
}]
3640 NetHack should pop up dialog boxes for input.
3642 \item[\ib{preload
\verb+_+tiles
}]
3643 NetHack should preload tiles into memory.
3644 For example, in the protected mode MSDOS version, control whether tiles
3645 get pre-loaded into RAM at the start of the game. Doing so
3646 enhances performance of the tile graphics, but uses more memory. (default on).
3647 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3649 \item[\ib{scroll
\verb+_+amount
}]
3650 NetHack should scroll the display by this number of cells
3651 when the hero reaches the scroll
\verb+_+margin.
3653 \item[\ib{scroll
\verb+_+margin
}]
3654 NetHack should scroll the display when the hero or cursor
3655 is this number of cells away from the edge of the window.
3657 \item[\ib{selectsaved
}]
3658 NetHack should display a menu of existing saved games for the player to
3659 choose from at game startup, if it can. Not all ports support this option.
3661 \item[\ib{softkeyboard
}]
3662 Display an onscreen keyboard. Handhelds are most likely to support this option.
3664 \item[\ib{splash
\verb+_+screen
}]
3665 NetHack should display an opening splash screen when it starts up (default yes).
3667 \item[\ib{tiled
\verb+_+map
}]
3668 NetHack should display a tiled map if it can.
3670 \item[\ib{tile
\verb+_+file
}]
3671 Specify the name of an alternative tile file to override the default.
3673 \item[\ib{tile
\verb+_+height
}]
3674 Specify the preferred height of each tile in a tile capable port.
3676 \item[\ib{tile
\verb+_+width
}]
3677 Specify the preferred width of each tile in a tile capable port
3679 \item[\ib{use
\verb+_+darkgray
}]
3680 Use bold black instead of blue for black glyphs (TTY only).
3682 \item[\ib{use
\verb+_+inverse
}]
3683 NetHack should display inverse when the game specifies it.
3685 \item[\ib{vary
\verb+_+msgcount
}]
3686 NetHack should display this number of messages at a time in the message window.
3688 \item[\ib{windowcolors
}]
3689 NetHack should display windows with the specified foreground/background
3692 \item[\ib{wraptext
}]
3693 NetHack port should wrap long lines of text if they don't fit in
3694 the visible area of the window.
3698 \subsection*
{Platform-specific Customization options
}
3701 Here are explanations of options that are used by specific platforms
3702 or ports to customize and change the port behavior.
3706 \item[\ib{altkeyhandler
}]
3707 Select an alternate keystroke handler dll to load (
{\it Win32 tty\/ NetHack\/
} only).
3708 The name of the handler is specified without the .dll extension and without any
3710 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3713 On Amiga, this option controls whether typing ``Alt'' plus another key
3714 functions as a meta-shift for that key (default on).
3717 On other (non-Amiga) systems where this option is available, it can be
3718 set to tell nethack to convert a two character sequence beginning with
3719 ESC into a meta-shifted version of the second character (default off).
3722 This conversion is only done for commands, not for other input prompts.
3723 Note that typing one or more digits as a count prefix prior to a
3724 command---preceded by
{\tt n
} if the
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
}
3725 option is set---is also subject to this conversion, so attempting to
3726 abort the count by typing ESC will leave nethack waiting for another
3727 character to complete the two character sequence. Type a second ESC to
3728 finish cancelling such a count. At other prompts a single ESC suffices.
3731 Use BIOS calls to update the screen display quickly and to read the keyboard
3732 (allowing the use of arrow keys to move) on machines with an IBM PC
3733 compatible BIOS ROM (default off,
{\it OS/
2, PC\/
{\rm and
} ST NetHack\/
} only).
3736 (default off,
{\it Amiga NetHack \/
} only).
3738 \item[\ib{Macgraphics
}]
3739 (default on,
{\it Mac NetHack \/
} only).
3741 \item[\ib{page
\verb+_+wait
}]
3742 (default off,
{\it Mac NetHack \/
} only).
3745 Force raw (non-cbreak) mode for faster output and more
3746 bulletproof input (MS-DOS sometimes treats `
{\tt \^
{}P
}' as a printer toggle
3747 without it) (default off,
{\it OS/
2, PC\/
{\rm and
} ST NetHack\/
} only).
3748 Note: DEC Rainbows hang if this is turned on.
3749 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3751 \item[\ib{soundcard
}]
3752 (default off,
{\it PC NetHack \/
} only).
3753 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3755 \item[\ib{subkeyvalue
}]
3756 (
{\it Win32 tty NetHack \/
} only).
3757 May be used to alter the value of keystrokes that the operating system
3758 returns to NetHack to help compensate for international keyboard issues.
3759 OPTIONS=subkeyvalue:
171/
92
3760 will return
92 to NetHack, if
171 was originally going to be returned.
3761 You can use multiple subkeyvalue statements in the config file if needed.
3762 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3765 Set the video mode used (
{\it PC\/ NetHack\/
} only).
3766 Values are
{\it autodetect\/
},
{\it default\/
}, or
{\it vga\/
}.
3767 Setting
{\it vga\/
} (or
{\it autodetect\/
} with vga hardware present) will cause
3768 the game to display tiles.
3769 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3771 \item[\ib{videocolors
}]
3773 Set the
color palette for PC systems using NO
\verb+_+TERMS
3774 (default
4-
2-
6-
1-
5-
3-
15-
12-
10-
14-
9-
13-
11,
{\it PC\/ NetHack\/
} only).
3775 The order of colors is red, green, brown, blue, magenta, cyan,
3776 bright.white, bright.red, bright.green, yellow, bright.blue,
3777 bright.magenta, and bright.cyan.
3778 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3781 \item[\ib{videoshades
}]
3782 Set the intensity level of the three gray scales available
3783 (default dark normal light,
{\it PC\/ NetHack\/
} only).
3784 If the game display is difficult to read, try adjusting these scales;
3785 if this does not correct the problem, try
{\tt !
color}.
3786 Cannot be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command.
3790 \subsection*
{Regular Expressions
}
3793 Regular expressions are normally POSIX extended regular expressions. It is
3794 possible to compile NetHack without regular expression support on a platform where
3795 there is no regular expression library. While this is not true of any modern
3796 platform, if your NetHack was built this way, patterns are instead glob
3797 patterns. This applies to Autopickup exceptions, Message types, Menu colors,
3801 \subsection*
{Configuring Autopickup Exceptions
}
3804 You can further refine the behavior of the ``
{\tt autopickup
}'' option
3805 beyond what is available through the ``
{\tt pickup
\verb+_+types
}'' option.
3808 By placing ``
{\tt autopickup
\verb+_+exception
}'' lines in your configuration
3809 file, you can define patterns to be checked when the game is about to
3810 autopickup something.
3814 \item[\ib{autopickup
\verb+_+exception
}]
3815 Sets an exception to the `
{\it pickup
\verb+_+types
}' option.
3816 The
{\it autopickup
\verb+_+exception\/
} option should be followed by a regular
3817 expression to be used as a pattern to match against the singular form of the
3818 description of an object at your location.
3820 In addition, some characters are treated specially if they occur as the first
3821 character in the pattern, specifically:
3825 {\tt <
} --- always pickup an object that matches rest of pattern;\\
3826 {\tt >
} --- never pickup an object that matches rest of pattern.
3830 A `never pickup' rule takes precedence over an `always pickup' rule if
3834 Exceptions can be set with the `
{\tt O
}' command, but ones set that way will
3835 not be preserved across saves and restores.
3838 %.lp "Here are some examples:"
3839 Here are some examples:
3841 autopickup_exception="<*arrow"
3842 autopickup_exception=">*corpse"
3843 autopickup_exception=">* cursed*"
3847 The first example above will result in autopickup of any type of arrow.
3848 The second example results in the exclusion of any corpse from autopickup.
3849 The last example results in the exclusion of items known to be cursed from
3855 \subsection*
{Changing Key Bindings
}
3858 It is possible to change the default key bindings of some special commands,
3859 menu accelerator keys, and extended commands, by using BIND stanzas in the
3860 configuration file. Format is key, followed by the command to bind to, separated
3861 by a colon. The key can be a single character (``
{\tt x
}''),
3862 a control key (``
{\tt \^
{}X
}'', ``
{\tt C-x
}''), a meta key (``
{\tt M-x
}''),
3863 or a three-digit decimal ASCII code.
3869 BIND=^X:getpos.autodescribe
3870 BIND=
{:menu_first_page
3875 %.lp "Extended command keys"
3876 \item[\tb{Extended command keys
}]
3877 You can bind multiple keys to the same extended command. Unbind a key by
3878 using ``
{\tt nothing
}'' as the extended command to bind to. You can also bind
3879 the ``
{\tt <esc>
}'', ``
{\tt <enter>
}'', and ``
{\tt <space>
}'' keys.
3881 %.lp "Menu accelerator keys"
3882 \item[\tb{Menu accelerator keys
}]
3883 The menu control or accelerator keys can also be rebound via OPTIONS-lines
3884 in the config file. You cannot bind object symbols into menu accelerators.
3886 %.lp "Special command keys"
3887 \item[\tb{Special command keys
}]
3888 Below are the special commands you can rebind. Some of them can be bound to
3889 same keys with no problems, others are in the same "context", and if bound
3890 to same keys, only one of those commands will be available. Special command
3891 can only be bound to a single key.
3897 Prefix key to start a count, to repeat a command this many times. With
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} only. Default is ``
{\tt n
}''.
3900 Show inventory. With
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} only. Default is ``
{\tt 0}''.
3903 Prefix key to force fight a direction. Default is ``
{\tt F
}''.
3905 \item{\bb{fight.numpad
}}
3906 Prefix key to force fight a direction. With
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} only. Default is ``
{\tt -
}''.
3908 \item{\bb{getdir.help
}}
3909 When asked for a direction, the key to show the help. Default is ``
{\tt ?
}''.
3911 \item{\bb{getdir.self
}}
3912 When asked for a direction, the key to target yourself. Default is ``
{\tt .
}''.
3914 \item{\bb{getdir.self2
}}
3915 When asked for a direction, the key to target yourself. Default is ``
{\tt s
}''.
3917 \item{\bb{getpos.autodescribe
}}
3918 When asked for a location, the key to toggle
{\it autodescribe\/
}. Default is ``
{\tt \#
}''.
3920 \item{\bb{getpos.door.next
}}
3921 When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest door or doorway. Default is ``
{\tt d
}''.
3923 \item{\bb{getpos.door.prev
}}
3924 When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest door or doorway. Default is ``
{\tt D
}''.
3926 \item{\bb{getpos.help
}}
3927 When asked for a location, the key to show help. Default is ``
{\tt ?
}''.
3929 \item{\bb{getpos.mon.next
}}
3930 When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest monster. Default is ``
{\tt m
}''.
3932 \item{\bb{getpos.mon.prev
}}
3933 When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest monster. Default is ``
{\tt M
}''.
3935 \item{\bb{getpos.obj.next
}}
3936 When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest object. Default is ``
{\tt o
}''.
3938 \item{\bb{getpos.obj.prev
}}
3939 When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest object. Default is ``
{\tt O
}''.
3941 \item{\bb{getpos.menu
}}
3942 When asked for a location, show a menu of all interesting targets. Default is '
{\tt A
}'.
3944 \item{\bb{getpos.menu.cansee
}}
3945 When asked for a location, show a menu of interesting targets in view. Default is '
{\tt a
}'.
3947 \item{\bb{getpos.pick
}}
3948 When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and possibly ask for more info. Default is ``
{\tt .
}''.
3950 \item{\bb{getpos.pick.once
}}
3951 When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and skip asking for more info. Default is ``
{\tt ,
}''.
3953 \item{\bb{getpos.pick.quick
}}
3954 When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, skip asking for more info, and exit the location asking loop. Default is ``
{\tt ;
}''.
3956 \item{\bb{getpos.pick.verbose
}}
3957 When asked for a location, the key to choose the location, and show more info without asking. Default is ``
{\tt :
}''.
3959 \item{\bb{getpos.self
}}
3960 When asked for a location, the key to go to your location. Default is ``
{\tt @
}''.
3962 \item{\bb{getpos.unexplored.next
}}
3963 When asked for a location, the key to go to next closest unexplored location. Default is ``
{\tt x
}''.
3965 \item{\bb{getpos.unexplored.prev
}}
3966 When asked for a location, the key to go to previous closest unexplored location. Default is ``
{\tt X
}''.
3968 \item{\bb{getpos.valid
}}
3969 When asked for a location, the key to go to show valid target locations. Default is ``
{\tt \$
}''.
3971 \item{\bb{nopickup
}}
3972 Prefix key to move without picking up items. Default is ``
{\tt m
}''.
3975 Key to redraw the screen. Default is ``
{\tt \^
{}R
}''.
3977 \item{\bb{redraw.numpad
}}
3978 Key to redraw the screen. With
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} only. Default is ``
{\tt \^
{}L
}''.
3981 Key to repeat previous command. Default is ``
{\tt \^
{}A
}''.
3984 Prefix key to request menu from some commands. Default is ``
{\tt m
}''.
3987 Prefix key to run towards a direction. Default is ``
{\tt G
}''.
3989 \item{\bb{run.nopickup
}}
3990 Prefix key to run towards a direction without picking up items on the way. Default is ``
{\tt M
}''.
3992 \item{\bb{run.numpad
}}
3993 Prefix key to run towards a direction. With
{\it number
\verb+_+pad\/
} only. Default is ``
{\tt 5}''.
3996 Prefix key to rush towards a direction. Default is ``
{\tt g
}''.
4002 \subsection*
{Configuring Message Types
}
4005 You can change the way the messages are shown in the message area, when
4006 the message matches a user-defined pattern.
4009 In general, the config file entries to configure the message types
4012 MSGTYPE=type "pattern"
4017 how the message should be shown:
4021 {\tt show
} --- show message normally.\\
4022 {\tt hide
} --- never show the message.\\
4023 {\tt stop
} --- wait for user with more-prompt.\\
4024 {\tt norep
} --- show the message once, but not again if no other message is shown in between.
4029 the pattern to match. The pattern should be a regular expression.
4033 Here's an example of message types using NetHack's internal
4034 pattern matching facility:
4037 MSGTYPE=stop "You feel hungry."
4038 MSGTYPE=hide "You displaced *."
4041 specifies that whenever a message ``You feel hungry'' is shown,
4042 the user is prompted with more-prompt, and a message matching
4043 ``You displaced
\verb+<+something
\verb+>+'' is not shown at all.
4046 The order of the defined MSGTYPE-lines is important; the last matching
4047 rule is used. Put the general case first, exceptions below them.
4053 \subsection*
{Configuring Menu Colors
}
4056 Some platforms allow you to define colors used in menu lines when the
4057 line matches a user-defined pattern. At this time the tty, win32tty and
4058 win32gui support this.
4061 In general, the config file entries to configure the menu
color mappings
4064 MENUCOLOR="pattern"=
color&attribute
4070 the pattern to match;
4073 the
color to use for lines matching the pattern;
4075 \item[\ib{attribute
}]
4076 the attribute to use for lines matching the pattern. The attribute is
4077 optional, and if left out, you must also leave out the preceding ampersand.
4078 If no attribute is defined, no attribute is used.
4082 The pattern should be a regular expression.
4085 Allowed colors are
{\it black
},
{\it red
},
{\it green
},
{\it brown
},
4086 {\it blue
},
{\it magenta
},
{\it cyan
},
{\it gray
},
{\it orange
},
4087 {\it lightgreen
},
{\it yellow
},
{\it lightblue
},
{\it lightmagenta
},
4088 {\it lightcyan
}, and
{\it white
}.
4091 Allowed attributes are
{\it none
},
{\it bold
},
{\it dim
},
{\it underline
},
4092 {\it blink
}, and
{\it inverse
}.
4093 Note that the platform used may interpret the attributes any way it
4097 Here's an example of menu colors using NetHack's internal
4098 pattern matching facility:
4101 MENUCOLOR="* blessed *"=green
4102 MENUCOLOR="* cursed *"=red
4103 MENUCOLOR="* cursed *(being worn)"=red&underline
4106 specifies that any menu line with " blessed " contained
4107 in it will be shown in green
color, lines with " cursed " will be
4108 shown in red, and lines with " cursed " followed by "(being worn)"
4109 on the same line will be shown in red
color and underlined.
4110 You can have multiple MENUCOLOR entries in your config file,
4111 and the last MENUCOLOR-line in your config file that matches
4112 a menu line will be used for the line.
4115 Note that if you intend to have one or more
color specifications match
4116 " uncursed ", you will probably want to turn the
4117 {\it implicit
\verb+_+uncursed\/
}
4118 option off so that all items known to be uncursed are actually
4119 displayed with the ``uncursed'' description.
4123 \subsection*
{Configuring User Sounds
}
4126 Some platforms allow you to define sound files to be played when a message
4127 that matches a user-defined pattern is delivered to the message window.
4128 At this time the Qt port and the win32tty and win32gui ports support the
4132 The following config file entries are relevant to mapping user sounds
4137 \item[\ib{SOUNDDIR
}]
4138 The directory that houses the sound files to be played.
4141 An entry that maps a sound file to a user-specified message pattern.
4142 Each SOUND entry is broken down into the following parts:
4146 {\tt MESG
} --- message window mapping (the only one supported in
3.6);\\
4147 {\tt pattern
} --- the pattern to match;\\
4148 {\tt sound file
} --- the sound file to play;\\
4149 {\tt volume
} --- the volume to be set while playing the sound file.
4155 The pattern should be a regular expression.
4159 \subsection*
{Configuring Status Hilites
}
4162 Your copy of NetHack may have been compiled with support for
{\it Status Hilites
}.
4163 If so, you can customize your game display by setting thresholds to
4164 change the
color or appearance of fields in the status display.
4166 For example, the following line in your config file will cause
4167 the hitpoints field to display in the
color red if your hitpoints
4168 drop to or below a threshold of
30%:
4170 OPTION=hilite_status: hitpoints/
30%/red/normal
4173 For another example, the following line in your config file will cause
4174 wisdom to be displayed red if it drops and green if it rises.
4176 OPTION=hilite_status: wisdom/updown/red/green
4178 You can adjust the display of the following status fields:
4181 \begin{tabular
}{lll
}
4183 title & strength & dexterity\\
4184 constitution & intelligence & wisdom\\
4185 charisma & alignment & score\\
4186 carrying-capacity & gold & power\\
4187 power-max & experience-level & armor-class\\
4188 HD & time & hunger\\
4189 hitpoints & hitpoints-max & dungeon-level\\
4190 experience & condition\\
4191 %TABLE_END Do not delete this line.
4197 Allowed colors are
{\it black
},
{\it red
},
{\it green
},
{\it brown
},
4198 {\it blue
},
{\it magenta
},
{\it cyan
},
{\it gray
},
{\it orange
},
4199 {\it lightgreen
},
{\it yellow
},
{\it lightblue
},
{\it lightmagenta
},
4200 {\it lightcyan
}, and
{\it white
}.
4203 Behaviours can occur based on percentage thresholds, updown, or absolute values.
4204 The in-game options menu can help you determine the correct syntax for a
4208 The whole feature can be disable by setting option
{\it statushilites
} off.
4212 \subsection*
{Modifying NetHack Symbols
}
4215 NetHack can load entire symbol sets from the symbol file.
4218 The options that are used to select a particular symbol set from the
4224 Set the name of the symbol set that you want to load.
4228 \item[\ib{roguesymset
}]
4229 Set the name of the symbol set that you want to load for display
4233 You can also override one or more symbols using the
{\it SYMBOLS\/
} config
4234 file option. Symbols are specified as
{\it name:value\/
} pairs. Note that
4235 {\it NetHack\/
} escape-processes the
{\it value\/
} string in conventional C
4236 fashion. This means that `
\verb+\+' is a prefix to take the following
4237 character literally. Thus `
\verb+\+' needs to be represented as `
\verb+\\+'.
4238 The special escape form
4239 `
\verb+
\m+' switches on the meta bit in the symbol value, and the
4240 `
{\tt \^
{}}' prefix causes the following character to be treated as a control
4245 \begin{longtable
}{lll
}
4246 \caption[]{NetHack Symbols
}\\
4247 Default & Symbol Name & Description\\
4250 \verb@ @ & S
\verb+_+air & (air)\\
4251 \verb@_@ & S
\verb+_+altar & (altar)\\
4252 \verb@"@ & S
\verb+_+amulet & (amulet)\\
4253 \verb@A@ & S
\verb+_+angel & (angelic being)\\
4254 \verb@a@ & S
\verb+_+ant & (ant or other insect)\\
4255 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+anti
\verb+_+magic
\verb+_+trap & (anti-magic field)\\
4256 \verb@
[@ & S
\verb+_+armor & (suit or piece of armor)\\
4257 \verb@
[@ & S
\verb+_+armour & (suit or piece of armor)\\
4258 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+arrow
\verb+_+trap & (arrow trap)\\
4259 \verb@
0@ & S
\verb+_+ball & (iron ball)\\
4260 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+bars & (iron bars)\\
4261 \verb@B@ & S
\verb+_+bat & (bat or bird)\\
4262 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+bear
\verb+_+trap & (bear trap)\\
4263 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+blcorn & (bottom left corner)\\
4264 \verb@b@ & S
\verb+_+blob & (blob)\\
4265 \verb@+@ & S
\verb+_+book & (spellbook)\\
4266 \verb@)@ & S
\verb+_+boomleft & (boomerang open left)\\
4267 \verb@(@ & S
\verb+_+boomright & (boomerang open right)\\
4268 \verb@`@ & S
\verb+_+boulder & (boulder)\\
4269 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+brcorn & (bottom right corner)\\
4270 \verb@C@ & S
\verb+_+centaur & (centaur)\\
4271 \verb@_@ & S
\verb+_+chain & (iron chain)\\
4272 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+cloud & (cloud)\\
4273 \verb@c@ & S
\verb+_+cockatrice & (cockatrice)\\
4274 \verb@$@ & S
\verb+_+coin & (pile of coins)\\
4275 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+corr & (corridor)\\
4276 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+crwall & (wall)\\
4277 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+darkroom & (dark room)\\
4278 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+dart
\verb+_+trap & (dart trap)\\
4279 \verb@&@ & S
\verb+_+demon & (major demon)\\
4280 \verb@*@ & S
\verb+_+digbeam & (dig beam)\\
4281 \verb@>@ & S
\verb+_+dnladder & (ladder down)\\
4282 \verb@>@ & S
\verb+_+dnstair & (staircase down)\\
4283 \verb@d@ & S
\verb+_+dog & (dog or other canine)\\
4284 \verb@D@ & S
\verb+_+dragon & (dragon)\\
4285 \verb@;@ & S
\verb+_+eel & (sea monster)\\
4286 \verb@E@ & S
\verb+_+elemental & (elemental)\\
4287 \verb@/@ & S
\verb+_+explode1 & (explosion top left)\\
4288 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+explode2 & (explosion top center)\\
4289 \verb@\@ & S
\verb+_+explode3 & (explosion top right)\\
4290 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+explode4 & (explosion middle left)\\
4291 \verb@ @ & S
\verb+_+explode5 & (explosion middle center)\\
4292 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+explode6 & (explosion middle right)\\
4293 \verb@\@ & S
\verb+_+explode7 & (explosion bottom left)\\
4294 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+explode8 & (explosion bottom center)\\
4295 \verb@/@ & S
\verb+_+explode9 & (explosion bottom right)\\
4296 \verb@e@ & S
\verb+_+eye & (eye or sphere)\\
4297 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+falling
\verb+_+rock
\verb+_+trap & (falling rock trap)\\
4298 \verb@f@ & S
\verb+_+feline & (cat or other feline)\\
4299 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+fire
\verb+_+trap & (fire trap)\\
4300 \verb@!@ & S
\verb+_+flashbeam & (flash beam)\\
4301 \verb@
%@ & S\verb+_+food & (piece of food)\\
4302 \verb@
{@ & S
\verb+_+fountain & (fountain)\\
4303 \verb@F@ & S
\verb+_+fungus & (fungus or mold)\\
4304 \verb@*@ & S
\verb+_+gem & (gem or rock)\\
4305 \verb@ @ & S
\verb+_+ghost & (ghost)\\
4306 \verb@H@ & S
\verb+_+giant & (giant humanoid)\\
4307 \verb@G@ & S
\verb+_+gnome & (gnome)\\
4308 \verb@'@ & S
\verb+_+golem & (golem)\\
4309 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+grave & (grave)\\
4310 \verb@g@ & S
\verb+_+gremlin & (gremlin)\\
4311 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+hbeam & (wall)\\
4312 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+hcdbridge & (horizontal raised drawbridge)\\
4313 \verb@+@ & S
\verb+_+hcdoor & (closed door)\\
4314 \verb@.@ & S
\verb+_+hodbridge & (horizontal lowered drawbridge)\\
4315 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+hodoor & (open door)\\
4316 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+hole & (hole)\\
4317 \verb~@~ & S
\verb+_+human & (human or elf)\\
4318 \verb@h@ & S
\verb+_+humanoid & (humanoid)\\
4319 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+hwall & (horizontal wall)\\
4320 \verb@.@ & S
\verb+_+ice & (ice)\\
4321 \verb@i@ & S
\verb+_+imp & (imp or minor demon)\\
4322 \verb@J@ & S
\verb+_+jabberwock & (jabberwock)\\
4323 \verb@j@ & S
\verb+_+jelly & (jelly)\\
4324 \verb@k@ & S
\verb+_+kobold & (kobold)\\
4325 \verb@K@ & S
\verb+_+kop & (Keystone Kop)\\
4326 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+land
\verb+_+mine & (land mine)\\
4327 \verb@
}@ & S
\verb+_+lava & (molten lava)\\
4328 \verb@l@ & S
\verb+_+leprechaun & (leprechaun)\\
4329 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+level
\verb+_+teleporter & (level teleporter)\\
4330 \verb@L@ & S
\verb+_+lich & (lich)\\
4331 \verb@y@ & S
\verb+_+light & (light)\\
4332 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+litcorr & (lit corridor)\\
4333 \verb@:@ & S
\verb+_+lizard & (lizard)\\
4334 \verb@\@ & S
\verb+_+lslant & (wall)\\
4335 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+magic
\verb+_+portal & (magic portal)\\
4336 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+magic
\verb+_+trap & (magic trap)\\
4337 \verb@m@ & S
\verb+_+mimic & (mimic)\\
4338 \verb@
]@ & S
\verb+_+mimic
\verb+_+def & (mimic)\\
4339 \verb@M@ & S
\verb+_+mummy & (mummy)\\
4340 \verb@N@ & S
\verb+_+naga & (naga)\\
4341 \verb@.@ & S
\verb+_+ndoor & (doorway)\\
4342 \verb@n@ & S
\verb+_+nymph & (nymph)\\
4343 \verb@O@ & S
\verb+_+ogre & (ogre)\\
4344 \verb@o@ & S
\verb+_+orc & (orc)\\
4345 \verb@p@ & S
\verb+_+piercer & (piercer)\\
4346 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+pit & (pit)\\
4347 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+poisoncloud & (poison cloud)\\
4348 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+polymorph
\verb+_+trap & (polymorph trap)\\
4349 \verb@
}@ & S
\verb+_+pool & (water)\\
4350 \verb@!@ & S
\verb+_+potion & (potion)\\
4351 \verb@P@ & S
\verb+_+pudding & (pudding or ooze)\\
4352 \verb@q@ & S
\verb+_+quadruped & (quadruped)\\
4353 \verb@Q@ & S
\verb+_+quantmech & (quantum mechanic)\\
4354 \verb@=@ & S
\verb+_+ring & (ring)\\
4355 \verb@`@ & S
\verb+_+rock & (boulder or statue)\\
4356 \verb@r@ & S
\verb+_+rodent & (rodent)\\
4357 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+rolling
\verb+_+boulder
\verb+_+trap & (rolling boulder trap)\\
4358 \verb@.@ & S
\verb+_+room & (floor of a room)\\
4359 \verb@/@ & S
\verb+_+rslant & (wall)\\
4360 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+rust
\verb+_+trap & (rust trap)\\
4361 \verb@R@ & S
\verb+_+rustmonst & (rust monster or disenchanter)\\
4362 \verb@?@ & S
\verb+_+scroll & (scroll)\\
4363 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+sink & (sink)\\
4364 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+sleeping
\verb+_+gas
\verb+_+trap & (sleeping gas trap)\\
4365 \verb@S@ & S
\verb+_+snake & (snake)\\
4366 \verb@s@ & S
\verb+_+spider & (arachnid or centipede)\\
4367 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+spiked
\verb+_+pit & (spiked pit)\\
4368 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+squeaky
\verb+_+board & (squeaky board)\\
4369 \verb@
0@ & S
\verb+_+ss1 & (magic shield
1 of
4)\\
4370 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+ss2 & (magic shield
2 of
4)\\
4371 \verb+@+ & S
\verb+_+ss3 & (magic shield
3 of
4)\\
4372 \verb@*@ & S
\verb+_+ss4 & (magic shield
4 of
4)\\
4373 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+statue
\verb+_+trap & (statue trap)\\
4374 \verb@ @ & S
\verb+_+stone & (dark part of a room)\\
4375 \verb@
]@ & S
\verb+_+strange
\verb+_+obj & (strange object)\\
4376 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+bc & (swallow bottom center)\\
4377 \verb@\@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+bl & (swallow bottom left)\\
4378 \verb@/@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+br & (swallow bottom right )\\
4379 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+ml & (swallow middle left)\\
4380 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+mr & (swallow middle right)\\
4381 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+tc & (swallow top center)\\
4382 \verb@/@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+tl & (swallow top left)\\
4383 \verb@\@ & S
\verb+_+sw
\verb+_+tr & (swallow top right)\\
4384 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+tdwall & (wall)\\
4385 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+teleportation
\verb+_+trap & (teleportation trap)\\
4386 \verb@\@ & S
\verb+_+throne & (opulent throne)\\
4387 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+tlcorn & (top left corner)\\
4388 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+tlwall & (wall)\\
4389 \verb@(@ & S
\verb+_+tool & (useful item (pick-axe\, key\, lamp...))\\
4390 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+trap
\verb+_+door & (trap door)\\
4391 \verb@t@ & S
\verb+_+trapper & (trapper or lurker above)\\
4392 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+trcorn & (top right corner)\\
4393 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+tree & (tree)\\
4394 \verb@T@ & S
\verb+_+troll & (troll)\\
4395 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+trwall & (wall)\\
4396 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+tuwall & (wall)\\
4397 \verb@U@ & S
\verb+_+umber & (umber hulk)\\
4398 \verb@u@ & S
\verb+_+unicorn & (unicorn or horse)\\
4399 \verb@<@ & S
\verb+_+upladder & (ladder up)\\
4400 \verb@<@ & S
\verb+_+upstair & (staircase up)\\
4401 \verb@V@ & S
\verb+_+vampire & (vampire)\\
4402 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+vbeam & (wall)\\
4403 \verb@#@ & S
\verb+_+vcdbridge & (vertical raised drawbridge)\\
4404 \verb@+@ & S
\verb+_+vcdoor & (closed door)\\
4405 \verb@.@ & S
\verb+_+venom & (splash of venom)\\
4406 \verb@^@ & S
\verb+_+vibrating
\verb+_+square & (vibrating square)\\
4407 \verb@.@ & S
\verb+_+vodbridge & (vertical lowered drawbridge)\\
4408 \verb@-@ & S
\verb+_+vodoor & (open door)\\
4409 \verb@v@ & S
\verb+_+vortex & (vortex)\\
4410 \verb@|@ & S
\verb+_+vwall & (vertical wall)\\
4411 \verb@/@ & S
\verb+_+wand & (wand)\\
4412 \verb@
}@ & S
\verb+_+water & (water)\\
4413 \verb@)@ & S
\verb+_+weapon & (weapon)\\
4414 \verb@"@ & S
\verb+_+web & (web)\\
4415 \verb@w@ & S
\verb+_+worm & (worm)\\
4416 \verb@~@ & S
\verb+_+worm
\verb+_+tail & (long worm tail)\\
4417 \verb@W@ & S
\verb+_+wraith & (wraith)\\
4418 \verb@x@ & S
\verb+_+xan & (xan or other mythical/fantastic insect)\\
4419 \verb@X@ & S
\verb+_+xorn & (xorn)\\
4420 \verb@Y@ & S
\verb+_+yeti & (apelike creature)\\
4421 \verb@Z@ & S
\verb+_+zombie & (zombie)\\
4422 \verb@z@ & S
\verb+_+zruty & (zruty)
4428 \subsection*
{Configuring NetHack for Play by the Blind
}
4431 NetHack can be set up to use only standard ASCII characters for making
4432 maps of the dungeons. This makes the MS-DOS versions of NetHack completely
4433 accessible to the blind who use speech and/or Braille access technologies.
4434 Players will require a good working knowledge of their screen-reader's
4435 review features, and will have to know how to navigate horizontally and
4436 vertically character by character. They will also find the search
4437 capabilities of their screen-readers to be quite valuable. Be certain to
4438 examine this Guidebook before playing so you have an idea what the screen
4439 layout is like. You'll also need to be able to locate the PC cursor. It is
4440 always where your character is located. Merely searching for an @-sign will
4441 not always find your character since there are other humanoids represented
4442 by the same sign. Your screen-reader should also have a function which
4443 gives you the row and column of your review cursor and the PC cursor.
4444 These co-ordinates are often useful in giving players a better sense of the
4445 overall location of items on the screen.
4447 NetHack can also be compiled with support for sending the game messages
4448 to an external program, such as a text-to-speech synthesizer. If the \#version
4449 extended command shows "external program as a message handler", your NetHack
4450 has been compiled with the capability. When compiling NetHack from source
4451 on Linux and other POSIX systems, define
{\it MSGHANDLER\/
} to enable it. To use
4452 the capability, set the environment variable
{\it NETHACK
\_MSGHANDLER\/
} to an
4453 executable, which will be executed with the game message as the program's
4456 While it is not difficult for experienced users to edit the
{\it defaults.nh\/
}
4457 file to accomplish this, novices may find this task somewhat daunting.
4458 Included within the symbol file of all official distributions of NetHack
4459 is a symset called
{\it NHAccess\/
}. Selecting that symset in your
4460 configuration file will cause the game to run in a manner accessible
4461 to the blind. After you have gained some experience with the game
4462 and with editing files, you may want to alter settings via
{\it SYMBOLS=\/
}
4463 in your configuration file to better suit your preferences.
4464 The most crucial settings to make the game accessible are:
4468 \item[\ib{symset:NHAccess
}]
4469 Load a symbol set appropriate for use by blind players.
4471 \item[\ib{roguesymset:NHAccess
}]
4472 Load a symbol set for the rogue level that is appropriate for
4473 use by blind players.
4475 \item[\ib{menustyle:traditional
}]
4476 This will assist in the interface to speech synthesizers.
4478 \item[\ib{nomenu
\verb+_+overlay
}]
4479 Show menus on a cleared screen and aligned to the left edge.
4481 \item[\ib{number
\verb+_+pad
}]
4482 A lot of speech access programs use the number-pad to review the screen.
4483 If this is the case, disable the number
\verb+_+pad option and use the traditional
4484 Rogue-like commands.
4486 \item[\ib{autodescribe
}]
4487 Automatically describe the terrain under the cursor when targeting.
4489 \item[\ib{mention
\verb+_+walls
}]
4490 Give feedback messages when walking towards a wall or when travel command
4493 \item[\ib{whatis
\verb+_+coord:compass
}]
4494 When targeting with cursor, describe the cursor position with coordinates
4495 relative to your character.
4499 \subsection*
{Global Configuration for System Administrators
}
4502 If NetHack is compiled with the SYSCF option, a system administrator
4503 should set up a global configuration; this is a file in the
4504 same format as the traditional per-user configuration file (see above).
4506 This file should be named sysconf and placed in the same directory as
4507 the other NetHack support files.
4508 The options recognized in this file are listed below. Any option not
4509 set uses a compiled-in default (which may not be appropriate for your
4516 A space-separated list of user name who are allowed to play in wizard
4517 mode (the debugging mode, not the magic-useing role). A value of a single
4518 asterisk
(*) allows anyone to start a game in wizard mode.
4520 \item[\ib{SHELLERS}]
4521 A list of users who are allowed to use the shell escape command (`{\tt !}').
4522 The syntax is the same as WIZARDS.
4524 \item[\ib{EXPLORERS}]
4525 A list of users who are allowed to use the explore mode.
4526 The syntax is the same as WIZARDS.
4528 \item[\ib{MAXPLAYERS}]
4529 Limit the maximum number of games that can be running at the same time.
4532 A string explainign how to get local support (no default value).
4535 A string explaining how to recover a game on this system (no default value).
4538 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the SEDUCE option (see the source)
4539 for details on this function.
4541 \item[\ib{CHECK\verb+_+PLNAME}]
4542 Setting this to 1 will make the EXPLORERS, WIZARDS, and SHELLERS check
4543 for the player name instead of the user's login name.
4545 \item[\ib{CHECK\verb+_+SAVE\verb+_+UID}]
4546 0 or 1 to disable or enable, respectively, the UID checking for savefiles.
4550 The following options affect the score file:
4555 Maximum number of entries for one person
4557 \item[\ib{ENTRYMAX}]
4558 Maximum number of entries in the score file
4560 \item[\ib{POINTSMIN}]
4561 Minimum number of points to get an entry in the score file.
4563 \item[\ib{PERS\verb+_+IS\verb+_+UID}]
4564 0 or 1 to use user names or numeric userids, respectively, to identify
4565 unique people for the score file
4572 {\it NetHack\/} maintains a list of the top scores or scorers on your machine,
4573 depending on how it is set up. In the latter case, each account on
4574 the machine can post only one non-winning score on this list. If
4575 you score higher than someone else on this list, or better your
4576 previous score, you will be inserted in the proper place under your
4577 current name. How many scores are kept can also be set up when
4578 {\it NetHack\/} is compiled.
4581 Your score is chiefly based upon how much experience you gained, how
4582 much loot you accumulated, how deep you explored, and how the game
4583 ended. If you quit the game, you escape with all of your gold intact.
4584 If, however, you get killed in the Mazes of Menace, the guild will
4585 only hear about 90\,\% of your gold when your corpse is discovered
4586 (adventurers have been known to collect finder's fees). So, consider
4587 whether you want to take one last hit at that monster and possibly
4588 live, or quit and stop with whatever you have. If you quit, you keep
4589 all your gold, but if you swing and live, you might find more.
4592 If you just want to see what the current top players/games list is, you
4600 \section{Explore mode}
4603 {\it NetHack\/} is an intricate and difficult game. Novices might falter
4604 in fear, aware of their ignorance of the means to survive. Well, fear
4605 not. Your dungeon comes equipped with an ``explore'' or ``discovery''
4606 mode that enables you to keep old save files and cheat death, at the
4607 paltry cost of not getting on the high score list.
4610 There are two ways of enabling explore mode. One is to start the game
4612 command-line switch or with the
4613 {\it playmode:explore\/}
4614 option. The other is to issue the `{\tt \#exploremode}' extended command while
4615 already playing the game. Starting a new game in explore mode provides your
4616 character with a wand of wishing in initial inventory; switching
4617 during play does not. The other benefits of explore mode are left for
4618 the trepid reader to discover.
4622 \subsection*{Debug mode}
4625 Debug mode, also known as wizard mode, is undocumented aside from this
4626 brief description. It is intended for tracking down problems within the
4627 program rather than to provide god-like powers to your character, and
4628 players who attempt debugging are expected to figure out how to use it
4629 themselves. It is initiated by starting the game with the
4631 command-line switch or with the
4632 {\it playmode:debug\/}
4636 For some systems, the player must be logged in
4637 under a particular user name to be allowed to use debug mode; for others,
4638 the hero must be given a particular character name (but may be any role;
4639 there's no connection between ``wizard mode'' and the {\it Wizard\/} role).
4640 And on any system, the program might have been configured to omit debug
4641 mode entirely. Attempting to start a game in debug mode when not allowed
4642 or not available will result in falling back to explore mode instead.
4648 {\it hack\/} game was modeled on the Berkeley
4651 {\it rogue\/} game. Large portions of this paper were shamelessly
4653 {\it A Guide to the Dungeons of Doom}, by Michael C. Toy
4654 and Kenneth C. R. C. Arnold. Small portions were adapted from
4655 {\it Further Exploration of the Dungeons of Doom}, by Ken Arromdee.
4658 {\it NetHack\/} is the product of literally dozens of people's work.
4659 Main events in the course of the game development are described below:
4663 \nd {\it Jay Fenlason\/} wrote the original {\it Hack\/} with help from {\it
4664 Kenny Woodland}, {\it Mike Thome}, and {\it Jon Payne}.
4668 \nd {\it Andries Brouwer\/} did a major re-write, transforming {\it Hack\/}
4669 into a very different game, and published (at least) three versions (1.0.1,
4670 1.0.2, and 1.0.3) for UNIX machines to the Usenet.
4674 \nd {\it Don G. Kneller\/} ported {\it Hack\/} 1.0.3 to Microsoft C and MS-DOS,
4675 producing {\it PC Hack\/} 1.01e, added support for DEC Rainbow graphics in
4676 version 1.03g, and went on to produce at least four more versions (3.0, 3.2,
4681 \nd {\it R. Black\/} ported {\it PC Hack\/} 3.51 to Lattice C and the Atari
4682 520/1040ST, producing {\it ST Hack\/} 1.03.
4686 \nd {\it Mike Stephenson\/} merged these various versions back together,
4687 incorporating many of the added features, and produced {\it NetHack\/} version
4688 1.4. He then coordinated a cast of thousands in enhancing and debugging
4689 {\it NetHack\/} 1.4 and released {\it NetHack\/} versions 2.2 and 2.3.
4693 \nd Later, Mike coordinated a major rewrite of the game, heading a team which
4694 included {\it Ken Arromdee}, {\it Jean-Christophe Collet}, {\it Steve Creps},
4695 {\it Eric Hendrickson}, {\it Izchak Miller}, {\it Eric S. Raymond}, {\it John
4696 Rupley}, {\it Mike Threepoint}, and {\it Janet Walz}, to produce {\it
4701 \nd {\it NetHack\/} 3.0 was ported to the Atari by {\it Eric R. Smith}, to OS/2 by
4702 {\it Timo Hakulinen}, and to VMS by {\it David Gentzel}. The three of them
4703 and {\it Kevin Darcy\/} later joined the main development team to produce
4704 subsequent revisions of 3.0.
4708 \nd {\it Olaf Seibert\/} ported {\it NetHack\/} 2.3 and 3.0 to the Amiga. {\it
4709 Norm Meluch}, {\it Stephen Spackman\/} and {\it Pierre Martineau\/} designed
4710 overlay code for {\it PC NetHack\/} 3.0. {\it Johnny Lee\/} ported {\it
4711 NetHack\/} 3.0 to the Macintosh. Along with various other Dungeoneers, they
4712 continued to enhance the PC, Macintosh, and Amiga ports through the later
4717 \nd Headed by {\it Mike Stephenson\/} and coordinated by {\it Izchak Miller\/} and
4718 {\it Janet Walz}, the development team which now included {\it Ken Arromdee},
4719 {\it David Cohrs}, {\it Jean-Christophe Collet}, {\it Kevin Darcy},
4720 {\it Matt Day}, {\it Timo Hakulinen}, {\it Steve Linhart}, {\it Dean Luick},
4721 {\it Pat Rankin}, {\it Eric Raymond}, and {\it Eric Smith\/} undertook a radical
4722 revision of 3.0. They re-structured the game's design, and re-wrote major
4723 parts of the code. They added multiple dungeons, a new display, special
4724 individual character quests, a new endgame and many other new features, and
4725 produced {\it NetHack\/} 3.1.
4729 \nd {\it Ken Lorber}, {\it Gregg Wonderly\/} and {\it Greg Olson}, with help
4730 from {\it Richard Addison}, {\it Mike Passaretti}, and {\it Olaf Seibert},
4731 developed {\it NetHack\/} 3.1 for the Amiga.
4735 \nd {\it Norm Meluch\/} and {\it Kevin Smolkowski}, with help from
4736 {\it Carl Schelin}, {\it Stephen Spackman}, {\it Steve VanDevender},
4737 and {\it Paul Winner}, ported {\it NetHack\/} 3.1 to the PC.
4741 \nd {\it Jon W\{tte} and {\it Hao-yang Wang},
4742 with help from {\it Ross Brown}, {\it Mike Engber}, {\it David Hairston},
4743 {\it Michael Hamel}, {\it Jonathan Handler}, {\it Johnny Lee},
4744 {\it Tim Lennan}, {\it Rob Menke}, and {\it Andy Swanson},
4745 developed {\it NetHack\/} 3.1 for the Macintosh, porting it for MPW.
4746 Building on their development, {\it Barton House} added a Think C port.
4750 \nd {\it Timo Hakulinen\/} ported {\it NetHack\/} 3.1 to OS/2.
4751 {\it Eric Smith\/} ported {\it NetHack\/} 3.1 to the Atari.
4752 {\it Pat Rankin}, with help from {\it Joshua Delahunty},
4753 was responsible for the VMS version of {\it NetHack\/} 3.1.
4754 {\it Michael Allison} ported {\it NetHack\/} 3.1 to Windows NT.
4758 \nd {\it Dean Luick}, with help from {\it David Cohrs}, developed {\it NetHack\/}
4760 {\it Warwick Allison} wrote a tiled version of NetHack for the Atari;
4761 he later contributed the tiles to the DevTeam and tile support was
4762 then added to other platforms.
4766 \nd The 3.2 development team, comprised of {\it Michael Allison}, {\it Ken
4767 Arromdee}, {\it David Cohrs}, {\it Jessie Collet}, {\it Steve Creps}, {\it
4768 Kevin Darcy}, {\it Timo Hakulinen}, {\it Steve Linhart}, {\it Dean Luick},
4769 {\it Pat Rankin}, {\it Eric Smith}, {\it Mike Stephenson}, {\it Janet Walz},
4770 and {\it Paul Winner}, released version 3.2 in April of 1996.
4774 \nd Version 3.2 marked the tenth anniversary of the formation of the development
4775 team. In a testament to their dedication to the game, all thirteen members
4776 of the original development team remained on the team at the start of work on
4777 that release. During the interval between the release of 3.1.3 and 3.2,
4778 one of the founding members of the development team, {\it Dr. Izchak Miller},
4779 was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. That release of the game was
4780 dedicated to him by the development and porting teams.
4784 During the lifespan of {\it NetHack\/} 3.1 and 3.2, several enthusiasts
4786 their own modifications to the game and made these ``variants'' publicly
4791 {\it Tom Proudfoot} and {\it Yuval Oren} created {\it NetHack++},
4792 which was quickly renamed {\it NetHack$--$}.
4793 Working independently, {\it Stephen White} wrote {\it NetHack Plus}.
4794 {\it Tom Proudfoot} later merged {\it NetHack Plus}
4795 and his own {\it NetHack$--$} to produce {\it SLASH}.
4796 {\it Larry Stewart-Zerba} and {\it Warwick Allison} improved the spell
4797 casting system with the Wizard Patch.
4798 {\it Warwick Allison} also ported NetHack to use the Qt interface.
4802 {\it Warren Cheung} combined {\it SLASH} with the Wizard Patch
4803 to produce {\it Slash'em\/}, and
4804 with the help of {\it Kevin Hugo}, added more features.
4805 Kevin later joined the
4806 DevTeam and incorporated the best of these ideas into NetHack 3.3.
4810 The final update to 3.2 was the bug fix release 3.2.3, which was released
4811 simultaneously with 3.3.0 in December 1999 just in time for the Year 2000.
4815 The 3.3 development team, consisting of {\it Michael Allison}, {\it Ken Arromdee},
4816 {\it David Cohrs}, {\it Jessie Collet}, {\it Steve Creps}, {\it Kevin Darcy},
4817 {\it Timo Hakulinen}, {\it Kevin Hugo}, {\it Steve Linhart}, {\it Ken Lorber},
4818 {\it Dean Luick}, {\it Pat Rankin}, {\it Eric Smith}, {\it Mike Stephenson},
4819 {\it Janet Walz}, and {\it Paul Winner}, released 3.3.0 in
4820 December 1999 and 3.3.1 in August of 2000.
4824 Version 3.3 offered many firsts. It was the first version to separate race
4825 and profession. The Elf class was removed in preference to an elf race,
4826 and the races of dwarves, gnomes, and orcs made their first appearance in
4827 the game alongside the familiar human race. Monk and Ranger roles joined
4828 Archeologists, Barbarians, Cavemen, Healers, Knights, Priests, Rogues, Samurai,
4829 Tourists, Valkyries and of course, Wizards. It was also the first version
4830 to allow you to ride a steed, and was the first version to have a publicly
4831 available web-site listing all the bugs that had been discovered. Despite
4832 that constantly growing bug list, 3.3 proved stable enough to last for
4833 more than a year and a half.
4837 The 3.4 development team initially consisted of
4838 {\it Michael Allison}, {\it Ken Arromdee},
4839 {\it David Cohrs}, {\it Jessie Collet}, {\it Kevin Hugo}, {\it Ken Lorber},
4840 {\it Dean Luick}, {\it Pat Rankin}, {\it Mike Stephenson},
4841 {\it Janet Walz}, and {\it Paul Winner}, with {\it Warwick Allison} joining
4842 just before the release of NetHack 3.4.0 in March 2002.
4846 As with version 3.3, various people contributed to the game as a whole as
4847 well as supporting ports on the different platforms that {\it NetHack\/}
4852 \nd{\it Pat Rankin} maintained 3.4 for VMS.
4856 \nd {\it Michael Allison} maintained NetHack 3.4 for the MS-DOS platform.
4857 {\it Paul Winner} and {\it Yitzhak Sapir} provided encouragement.
4861 \nd {\it Dean Luick}, {\it Mark Modrall}, and {\it Kevin Hugo} maintained and
4862 enhanced the Macintosh port of 3.4.
4866 \nd {\it Michael Allison}, {\it David Cohrs}, {\it Alex Kompel}, {\it Dion Nicolaas}, and
4867 {\it Yitzhak Sapir} maintained and enhanced 3.4 for the Microsoft Windows platform.
4868 {\it Alex Kompel} contributed a new graphical interface for the Windows port.
4869 {\it Alex Kompel} also contributed a Windows CE port for 3.4.1.
4873 \nd {\it Ron Van Iwaarden} was the sole maintainer of NetHack for OS/2 the past
4874 several releases. Unfortunately Ron's last OS/2 machine stopped working in
4875 early 2006. A great many thanks to Ron for keeping NetHack alive on OS/2
4880 \nd {\it Janne Salmij\"{a}rvi} and {\it Teemu Suikki} maintained
4881 and enhanced the Amiga port of 3.4 after {\it Janne Salmij\"{a}rvi} resurrected
4886 \nd {\it Christian ``Marvin'' Bressler} maintained 3.4 for the Atari after he
4887 resurrected it for 3.3.1.
4891 The release of NetHack 3.4.3 in December 2003 marked the beginning of a
4892 long release hiatus. 3.4.3 proved to be a remarkably stable version that
4893 provided continued enjoyment by the community for more than a decade. The
4894 devteam slowly and quietly continued to work on the game behind the scenes
4895 during the tenure of 3.4.3. It was during that same period that several new
4896 variants emerged within the NetHack community. Notably sporkhack by
4897 Derek S. Ray, unnethack by Patric Mueller, nitrohack and its successors
4898 originally by Daniel Thaler and then by Alex Smith, and
4899 Dynahack by Tung Nguyen. Some of those variants continue to be developed,
4900 maintained, and enjoyed by the community to this day.
4904 At the beginning of development for what would eventually get released
4905 as 3.6.0, the development team consisted of {\it Warwick Allison},
4906 {\it Michael Allison}, {\it Ken Arromdee},
4907 {\it David Cohrs}, {\it Jessie Collet},
4908 {\it Ken Lorber}, {\it Dean Luick}, {\it Pat Rankin},
4909 {\it Mike Stephenson}, {\it Janet Walz}, and {\it Paul Winner}.
4910 Leading up to the release of 3.6.0 in early 2015, new members
4911 {\it Sean Hunt}, {\it Pasi Kallinen}, and {\it Derek S. Ray}
4912 joined the NetHack development team.
4916 In September 2014, an interim snapshot of the code under development was
4917 released publicly by other parties. Since that code was a work-in-progress
4918 and had not gone through the process of debugging it as a suitable release,
4919 it was decided that the version numbers present on that code snapshot would
4920 be retired and never used in an official NetHack release. An announcement
4921 was posted on the devteam's official nethack.org website to that effect,
4922 stating that there would never be a 3.4.4, 3.5, or 3.5.0 official release
4927 In November 2014, preparation began for the release of NetHack 3.6. The 3.6
4928 version merges work done by the development team since the previous release
4929 with some of the beloved community patches. Many bugs were fixed and a
4930 large amount of code was restructured.
4934 The development team, as well as {\it Steve VanDevender} and
4935 {\it Kevin Smolkowski} ensured that NetHack 3.6 continued to operate on
4936 various Unix flavors and maintained the X11 interface.
4939 {\it Ken Lorber}, {\it Haoyang Wang}, {\it Pat Rankin}, and {\it Dean Luick}
4940 maintained the port of NetHack 3.6 for Mac.
4944 {\it Michael Allison}, {\it Derek S. Ray}, {\it Yitzhak Sapir},
4945 {\it Alex Kompel}, and {\it Dion Nicolaas} maintained the port of
4946 NetHack 3.6 for Microsoft Windows.
4950 The 3.6 development team consisting of
4951 {\it Michael Allison}, {\it Warwick Allison}, {\it Ken Arromdee},
4952 {\it David Cohrs}, {\it Jessie Collet}, {\it Sean Hunt},
4953 {\it Pasi Kallinen}, {\it Ken Lorber}, {\it Dean Luick}, {\it Pat Rankin},
4954 {\it Mike Stephenson}, {\it Derek S. Ray}, {\it Janet Walz}, and {\it Paul Winner}
4955 released 3.6.1 as a bug fix release in January 2016.
4959 \nd The official NetHack web site is maintained by {\it Ken Lorber} at
4961 \special{html:<a href="http://www.nethack.org/">}}
4962 http:{\tt /}{\tt /}www.nethack.org{\tt /}.
4964 \special{html:</a>}}
4969 \subsection*{Shout Outs}
4970 \nd The devteam would like to give a special "shout-out" to thank the generous
4971 people primarily responsible for the public NetHack servers available for
4972 playing the game at nethack.alt.org and devnull.net. In addition to providing
4973 a way for the public to play a game of NetHack from almost anywhere, they
4974 have hosted annual NetHack tournaments for many, many years.
4976 \nd On behalf of the NetHack community, thank you very much to
4977 {\it M. Drew Streib}, {\it Pasi Kallinen} and {\it Robin Bandy}.
4980 \section*{Dungeoneers}
4982 \nd From time to time, some depraved individual out there in netland sends a
4983 particularly intriguing modification to help out with the game. The Gods of
4984 the Dungeon sometimes make note of the names of the worst of these miscreants
4985 in this, the list of Dungeoneers:
4988 \begin{tabular}{llll}
4990 Adam Aronow & Frederick Roeber & Kevin Smolkowski & Richard Beigel\\
4991 Alex Kompel & Gil Neiger & Kevin Sweet & Richard P. Hughey\\
4992 Andreas Dorn & Greg Laskin & Lars Huttar & Rob Menke\\
4993 Andy Church & Greg Olson & Leon Arnott & Robin Bandy\\
4994 Andy Swanson & Gregg Wonderly & M. Drew Streib & Robin Johnson\\
4995 Ari Huttunen & Hao-yang Wang & Malcolm Ryan & Roderick Schertler\\
4996 Barton House & Helge Hafting & Mark Gooderum & Roland McGrath\\
4997 Benson I. Margulies & Irina Rempt-Drijfhout & Mark Modrall & Ron Van Iwaarden\\
4998 Bill Dyer & Izchak Miller & Marvin Bressler & Ronnen Miller\\
4999 Boudewijn Waijers & J. Ali Harlow & Matthew Day & Ross Brown\\
5000 Bruce Cox & Janet Walz & Merlyn LeRoy & Sascha Wostmann\\
5001 Bruce Holloway & Janne Salmij\"{a}rvi & Michael Allison & Scott Bigham\\
5002 Bruce Mewborne & Jean-Christophe Collet & Michael Feir & Scott R. Turner\\
5003 Carl Schelin & Jeff Bailey & Michael Hamel & Sean Hunt\\
5004 Chris Russo & Jochen Erwied & Michael Sokolov & Stephen Spackman\\
5005 David Cohrs & John Kallen & Mike Engber & Stefan Thielscher\\
5006 David Damerell & John Rupley & Mike Gallop & Stephen White\\
5007 David Gentzel & John S. Bien & Mike Passaretti & Steve Creps\\
5008 David Hairston & Johnny Lee & Mike Stephenson & Steve Linhart\\
5009 Dean Luick & Jon W\{tte & Mikko Juola & Steve VanDevender\\
5010 Del Lamb & Jonathan Handler & Nathan Eady & Teemu Suikki\\
5011 Derek S. Ray & Joshua Delahunty & Norm Meluch & Tim Lennan\\
5012 Deron Meranda & Keizo Yamamoto & Olaf Seibert & Timo Hakulinen\\
5013 Dion Nicolaas & Ken Arnold & Pasi Kallinen & Tom Almy\\
5014 Dylan O'Donnell & Ken Arromdee & Pat Rankin & Tom West\\
5015 Eric Backus & Ken Lorber & Paul Winner & Warren Cheung\\
5016 Eric Hendrickson & Ken Washikita & Pierre Martineau & Warwick Allison\\
5017 Eric R. Smith & Kevin Darcy & Ralf Brown & Yitzhak Sapir\\
5018 Eric S. Raymond & Kevin Hugo & Ray Chason\\
5019 Erik Andersen & Kevin Sitze & Richard Addison
5020 %TABLE_END Do not delete this line.
5028 %Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.\\
5029 %%%Don't need next line if a UNIX macro automatically inserts footnotes.
5030 %UNIX is a registered trademark of AT\&T.\\
5031 %Lattice is a trademark of Lattice, Inc.\\
5032 %Atari and 1040ST are trademarks of Atari, Inc.\\
5033 %AMIGA is a trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc.\\
5035 %Brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks
5036 %of their respective holders.