to try out a tutorial. These are accessed by entering 'T' in the species
or job selection screens. You can choose among three quite popular and
rather straightforward combinations: a Minotaur fighter with the help of
a mighty war god, a Centaur hunter using a bow and arrows, and an Elven
magician. The prime aim of the tutorial is to explain Crawl's interface.
They do not focus on 'optimal' gameplay (also, many experienced players
share different views on the latter).

to try out a tutorial. In order to do so, press 'Ctrl-T' in the species
or job selection screens. You can choose among three popular and rather
straightforward combinations: a Minotaur fighter following a mighty war
god, a Centaur hunter using a bow and arrows, and an Elven magician. The
prime aim of the tutorial is to explain Crawl's interface. They do not
focus on 'optimal' gameplay (also, many experienced players will share
different views on the latter).

gameplay and design, to be accessed by pressing ?Q in the game.

gameplay and design, to be accessed by pressing '?Q' in the game.

telnet addresses:

telnet addresses (akrasiac is situated in Northern America, while develz
is located in Europe):

    http://crawl-ref.sourceforge.net
    telnet://crawl.develz.org 345

is available at the URL above.

is available at the URLs above.

You can choose a tutorial from the species and job selection screens
by pressing 'T'. Three different tutorial combinations are available.

You can choose a tutorial from the species and job selection screens by
pressing 'Ctrl-T'. Three different tutorial combinations are available.

 % - a general, if tense, overview over your gear and most attributes

Health:       A measure of life force. You die if your hit points drop

Health:       A measure of life force. Synonymous with Hit Points and
              sometimes abbreviated as HP. You die if your health drops

upon gaining Levels 3, 6, 9, etc., you get to choose one of the
attributes to raise. Random increases can also occur; which levels give
an increase is determined by species, as is the attribute to be
increased.
Crawl has only three:

upon gaining Levels 3, 6, 9, etc., you get to choose an attribute to
raise. Random increases can also occur; which levels give an increase
is determined by species, as is the attribute to be increased. Crawl
has only three primary attributes:

              but you can get a rough idea by pressing '@'.

              but you can get a rough idea by pressing '@' or '%'.

monsters by use of the monster list. Use Ctrl-L to toggle this on or off.

monsters by use of the monster list. Use 'Ctrl-L' to toggle this.

a direction; alternatively, press / followed by a direction. You will

a direction; alternatively, press '/' followed by a direction. You will

Another convenient method for moving long distances is described in
the section on Automated Travel and Exploration below.

Another convenient method for moving long distances is described in the
section on Automated Travel and Exploration below.

The section of the viewing window which is coloured (with the '@'

The section of the viewing window which is coloured (with the "@"

short description of that monster. You can get a map of the whole
level (which shows where you've already been) by typing 'X'.

short description of that monster. This is generally useful with 
monsters you've never encountered before. You can get a map of the
whole level (which shows where you've already been) by typing 'X'.

pressing '?'.

pressing '?', both in the 'x' and 'X' modes.

as '>' (down) and '<' (up), by pressing the '>' or '<' keys. If you
ascend an up staircase on level one, you will leave the dungeon forever;
if you are carrying the magical Orb of Zot, you win the game by doing
this. Otherwise, the game ends, and you lose.

as ">" (down) and "<" (up), by pressing the '>' or '<' keys. It is
important to know that most monsters adjacent to you will follow when
you change levels; this holds both for hostile and allied monsters.
Notable exceptions are zombies (and other mindless undead, who are too
stupid to properly operate stairs) and ghosts (who feel they belong to
their level).
If you ascend an up staircase on level one, you will leave the dungeon
forever; if you are carrying the magical Orb of Zot, you win the game
by doing this. Otherwise, the game ends, and you lose.

Occasionally you will find an archway (displayed as '`' or as an actual

Occasionally you will find an archway (displayed as "\" or as an actual

in level-map mode.

in level-map mode, or press 'X?' within the game.

command (Ctrl-F). The parser even accepts regular expressions, although

command 'Ctrl-F'. The parser even accepts regular expressions, although

of the stash_tracking option, you can press Ctrl-S to tell Crawl that a
given square is considered a stash. Ctrl-E will manually erase stashes.

of the stash_tracking option, you can press 'Ctrl-S' to tell Crawl that
a given square is considered a stash. 'Ctrl-E' manually erases stashes.

skill depends solely on species. These aptitudes are hinted at in the list
of species (see Appendix 1). For the curious, the full table can be

skill depends solely on species. These aptitudes are hinted at in the 
list of species (see Appendix 1). For the curious, the full table can be

the level of a skill, the better you are at it. Every time your
character gains experience points, those points become available to
increase skills. You convert experience points into skill levels by
practising the skill in question (e.g. fighting with a certain type of
weapon, casting a certain type of spell, or walking around wearing
light armour to practise stealth). The amount of unassigned experience

the level of a skill, the better you are at it. Almost all characters
start with a few skills already trained (which depends essentially on
their job), those which are not present have to be learned from scratch.
Each skill can go up to 27. 
Each time your character gains experience points, those points become
available to increase skills. You convert experience points into skill
levels by practising the skill in question (e.g. fighting with a certain
type of weapon, casting a certain type of spell, or walking around 
unnoticed to practise stealth). The amount of unassigned experience

not spend as many experience points on it). This can be useful for
skills like stealth, which use up points whenever you move. It can also
be used on a specific weapon skill if you want to spend more points on
Fighting, and similarly with magic skills and Spellcasting. You won't
lose any experience by deselecting skills, but you will rather spend it
elsewhere. It can happen that the pool grows rather large in this way;
the maximum is 20000 experience points.

not spend as many experience points on it). The main use of turning off
skills is to spend more points on other skills: You will not lose any
experience by deselecting skills, you will rather spend it elsewhere. 
It can happen that the pool grows rather large in this way; the maximum
is 20000 experience points.

you will find that discretion is often the better part of valour.

you will find that discretion is often the better part of valour. Sneaky
characters are known to choose encounters to their liking.

you want to do that.

you want to do that. Your allied monsters may or may not pick up items
from the ground - you can set their behaviour with the 'Ctrl-T' command.

such a statue. The best method to destroy statues is by using wands of
disintegration; you can also bash some of them into pieces by brute

such a statue. The best method to destroy most statues is by using wands
of disintegration; you can also bash some of them into pieces by brute

corpses, others don't, and still others do so sometimes. Guided by
intuition, you will soon figure out which monsters make the best meals.
Likewise, ranged or magic attackers will prove a different kind of
threat from melee fighters. Learn from past deaths and remember which
monsters pose the most problems. If particular monsters are giving you
trouble, try to alter your tactics for future encounters.

corpses, others don't, and still others do so sometimes. Likewise,
ranged or magic attackers will prove a different kind of threat from
melee fighters. Learn from past deaths and remember which monsters pose
the most problems. If particular monsters are giving you trouble, try
to alter your tactics for future encounters.

You can press ')' to show your primary (wielded) and secondary

You can press ']' to show your primary (wielded) and secondary

affects both accuracy and damage.

affects both accuracy and damage. Upon impact, missiles may become
destroyed. The chance for this to occur depends on the type of
missile. A higher "plus" value also helps.

reduction, but heavy armours do so more reliably.  Unfortunately, the

reduction, but heavy armours do so more reliably. Unfortunately, the

least three in order to enter the Realm of Zot.

least three in order to enter the Realm of Zot. Some people like to
brag about retrieving many more runes but those would probably boast
of any other silly little thing they've done.

pressing '%' allows you to do so.

pressing '$' (or '%') allows you to do so.

with a Magic Dart.

with a Magic Dart. In generally, it is a good idea to look at the output
of the 'I' and 'II' screens to get a picture on your casting abilities.
This is especially useful if you're about to change armour or rings.

but most gods resent being scorned).

but most gods resent being scorned). For most gods, there is a second
page with additional details, press '^!' to access it.

largest impact. So, yes, there may be situations where you are doomed --

largest impact. So, yes, there may be situations where you are doomed -

hand, is nice again and again.

hand, is nice again and again. That said, we believe that qualitative
feedback is often better than precise numbers. 

Dwarves
-------
Dwarves are generally short, hardy people. Originally inhabiting deep
underground caverns, some of them moved closer to the surface while
still sticking to the mountainous habitat. All Dwarves are particularly
dangerous when using Dwarven weaponry. Their armour and weapons are very
well-crafted and much more durable than the products of lesser artisans. 

----------------
Dwarves are generally short, hardy people. They love to fight, and often
venture forth to seek fame and fortune through battle. Their armour and
weapons are very well-crafted and much more durable than the products of
lesser artisans. Dwarves are particularly dangerous when using Dwarven
weaponry.

  Mountain Dwarves, as opposed to the subterranean specimen, come from
  cities far above the Dungeon. They love to fight, and often venture 
  forth to seek fame and fortune through battle. As such, they are very
  robust and excellent at hand combat, especially favouring axes or
  bludgeoning weapons, and are good at using armour and shields. They
  are poor at missile combat, the single exception being crossbows.
  Polearms usually are too big for them to wield comfortably and so
  make quite bad weapons for Mountain Dwarves.

Mountain Dwarves, as opposed to the subterranean specimen, come from
cities far above the Dungeon. They are very robust and excellent at hand
combat, especially favouring axes or bludgeoning weapons, and are good
at using armour and shields. They are poor at missile combat, the single
exception being crossbows, those being rather mechanical weapons. Since
polearms usually are too big for them to wield comfortably, they make
quite bad weapons for Dwarves.
In general, they are rather resistant to magic than capable of dealing
with it. However, they are very proficient at earth and fire magics.
Thus, many a Mountain Dwarf started career as an elementalist in one of
those schools. They advance in levels at a similar rate to Deep Elves.

  In general, they are rather resistant to magic than capable of dealing
  with it. However, they are very proficient at earth and fire magics.
  Thus, many a Mountain Dwarf started career as an elementalist in those
  schools. They advance in levels at a similar rate to Deep Elves.

------------
Deep Dwarves are a species who, unlike their Mountain Dwarf relatives,
never left the underground homelands. Living there for countless
generations made them turn pale and lose all ability to regenerate on
their own (nor are they receptive to outside effects which merely hasten
regeneration), as well as all ability to recover from losses to physical
attributes over time. On the other hand, Deep Dwarves have developed the
ability to instantly counteract small doses of damage. They can also use
their empathy with the earth to sense their surroundings; this ability
increases in power as they gain experience levels.

  Deep Dwarves are a species who, unlike their Mountain Dwarf relatives,
  never left the underground homelands. Living there for countless
  generations made them turn pale and lose all ability to regenerate on
  their own (nor are they receptive to any effects which merely hasten
  regeneration), as well as all ability to recover from losses to their
  primary attributes over time. On the other hand, Deep Dwarves have
  developed the ability to instantly counteract small doses of damage.
  They can also use their empathy with the earth to sense much of their
  surroundings; this ability increases in power as they gain experience
  levels.

Given their lack of innate healing, few Deep Dwarves venture out for
adventures or even combat. Those who do usually bring a wand of healing,
or rely on divine assistance.

  Given their lack of innate healing, few Deep Dwarves venture out for
  adventures or even combat. Those who do bring a wand of healing, or
  rely on divine assistance.

Naturally, Deep Dwarves are quite adept with all arts of avoiding blows
and damage and ungifted in the ways of physical combat. Those who have
to defend their ground most often go with ranged combat (except for
bows, which are too unwieldy for them) or spells. Deep Dwarves are
highly spiritual beings, often portrayed as actual spirits by outsiders.
They are most at home with the magics of earth and death.

  Naturally, Deep Dwarves are quite adept with all arts of avoiding
  blows and damage and ungifted in the ways of physical combat. Those
  who have to defend their ground most often go with ranged combat
  (except for bows, which are too unwieldy for them) or spells. Deep
  Dwarves are highly spiritual beings, often portrayed as actual
  spirits by outsiders. They are most at home with the magics of earth
  and death.

Like all other Dwarves, they are gifted forgers. In addition, Deep
Dwarves can tinker with gadgets so as to recharge them. However, each
time they do so, they lose a bit of their magical essence.

  Like all other Dwarves, they are gifted forgers. In addition, Deep
  Dwarves can tinker with gadgets so as to recharge them. However,
  each time they do so, they lose a bit of their magical essence.