snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "-%04d%02d%02d-%02d%02d",

        snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "-%04d%02d%02d-%02d%02d%02d",

                 loc->tm_min);

                 loc->tm_min,
                 loc->tm_sec);

Crawl is a fun game in the grand tradition of games like Rogue, Hack and Moria. 
Your objective is to travel deep into a subterranean cave complex and retrieve 
the Orb of Zot, which is guarded by many horrible and hideous creatures.

Crawl is a fun game in the grand tradition of games like Rogue,
Hack and Moria.  Your objective is to travel deep into a subterranean
cave complex and retrieve the Orb of Zot, which is guarded by many
horrible and hideous creatures.

If you have never played Crawl (or a similar game) before, you may want to try
out a tutorial. These are accessed by entering 'T' in the class or species
selection screens. You can choose among three quite popular and rather straight 
forward combinations: a strong melee fighter with the additional help
a mighty war god, a Centaur hunter using bow and arrows and a battle magician 
of Elven type. The tutorials primarily intend to explain Crawl's interface. 
They do not focus on 'optimal' gameplay (also, many experienced players share 
different views on the latter). The tutorial has a special help screen viewed 
by pressing '?' and ends when you reach the fifth experience level.

If you have never played Crawl (or a similar game) before, you may
want to try out a tutorial. These are accessed by entering 'T' in
the class or species selection screens. You can choose among three
quite popular and rather straight forward combinations: a strong
melee fighter with the additional help of a mighty war god, a Centaur
hunter using bow and arrows, and an Elven battle magician. The
tutorials are primarily intended to explain Crawl's interface.  They
do not focus on 'optimal' gameplay (also, many experienced players
share different views on the latter). The tutorial has a special
help screen (viewed by pressing '?') and ends when you reach the
fifth experience level.

Detailed instructions for playing Crawl follow. If you want to get the most
important facts more quickly, read the quick-start guide (quickstart.txt) and 
learn as you play. Otherwise, it may be worth your while to read at least part
of this file (although it will probably confuse you somewhat). Read at least the
disclaimer in section L of this document and the licence.txt file, though.

Detailed instructions for playing Crawl follow. If you want to get
the most important facts more quickly, read the quick-start guide
(quickstart.txt) and learn as you play. Otherwise, it may be worth
your while to read at least part of this file (although it will
probably confuse you somewhat). Read at least the disclaimer in
section L of this document and the licence.txt file, though.

While Dungeon Crawl is a strict single player game, you can play on a server
together with many others. The relevant webpage and telnet address are
    www.akrasiac.org
    yiff.mit.edu

While Dungeon Crawl is a strict single player game, you can play
on a server together with many others. The relevant webpage and
telnet address are:
    http://crawl.akrasiac.org
    telnet://crawl.akrasiac.org

 o meet ghost of other players

 o meet ghosts of other players

>> Insert paragraph on akrasiac right here?

The server carries no guarantees, though it is pretty much always
running and no one has lost their save file yet. :) More information
is available at the URL above.

After starting Crawl, you'll be asked to type in a name. If there is a saved
game of that character, it will be restored, otherwise you proceed to choose a
race and class (a full list of all saved games is displayed, which you can
navigate with the cursor Up and Down keys). You can make these two choices in
either order, and randomising (one of) them is possible, as well. Pressing Enter
allows you to skip choosing a name until species and class are settled.

After starting Crawl, you'll be asked to type in a name. If you
wish to choose a name after deciding on the species and class of
your new character, press Enter.  You will see a full list of all
saved games is displayed, which you can navigate with the cursor
Up and Down keys, and entering a name that is already attached to
a save game will continue that game. Otherwise, enter a new name,
and you will proceed to choose a race and class for a new character.
You can make these two choices in either order, and you can randomize
your choice of class, race, or both if you would rather the game
decided for you.

The choice of species affects several important characteristics, in particular 
the speed with which the different skills are learned. This is very important, 
and helps to differentiate clearly the many available races. To be complete, the
following factors are species-dependent:

The choice of species affects several important characteristics,
in particular the speed at which you learn different skills. This
is very important, and helps to differentiate clearly the many
available races. The following factors are species-dependent:

The choice of class is definitely less decisive than that of species in Crawl.
Basically, it determines what the character has learned prior to entering the
dungeon (i.e. the starting skills), and also has impact on equipment and 
hit/magic points at start.

The choice of class is definitely less decisive than that of species
in Crawl.  Basically, class determines what the character has learned
prior to entering the dungeon (i.e. the starting skills), and also
helps determine equipment and hit/magic points at start.

Some species are slower than humans in most/all skills. For some classes these 
races may seem to have very few skills because they haven't quite earned the 
first level of several of their skills (Centaurs are notable in this regard... 
although non-human Wanderers can appear to start with no apparent skills at 
all). This isn't a bug or an oversight, these species are just particularly 
weaker than humans at these classes.

Some species are slower than humans in most/all skills. For some
classes these races may seem to have very few skills because they
haven't quite earned the first level of several of their skills
(Centaurs are notable in this regard...  although non-human Wanderers
can appear to start with no apparent skills at all). This isn't a
bug or an oversight, these species are just particularly weaker
than humans at these classes. They may have other advantages beyond
skill development, though in some cases they may not.

You will notice that no species (except Humans) has access to all classes.
Looking at the available combinations should give you a rough impression about
the weaknesses and strengths of the different races.

You will notice that no species (except Humans) has access to all
classes.  Looking at the available combinations should give you a
rough impression about the weaknesses and strengths of the different
races.

For some combinations of race and class, some further choices have to be made,
e.g. of starting god for Chaos Knights, or of starting weapon for Fighters.

For some combinations of race and class, you must make additional
choices before starting the game: for example,  you must pick a
starting god for Chaos Knights, or a starting weapon for Fighters.

You can choose a tutorial from both the species and class selection screens
by pressing 'T'. There are three different combinations available.

You can choose a tutorial from both the species and class selection
screens by pressing 'T'. There are three different tutorial
combinations available.

The stat area to the right of the playing map shows a lot of numbers. These
describe different aspects of the hero. The most basic ones are

The stat area to the right of the playing map shows a lot of numbers.
These describe different aspects of the hero. The most basic ones
are

Hit points:     A measure of life force. Death results from hit-points dropping 

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

                The main screen shows hit points in the format HP: 8/10
                which means that the number of maximal hit points is 10, of 
                which the character currently has 8. Resting (by pressing 's', 
                '.', Del) will slowly restore hit points; for longer resting use 
                '5' or Shift-Num-5.

                The main screen shows hit points in the format HP: 8/10,
                showing that your character's maximum hit points are 10, and 
                the character currently has 8. Resting (by pressing 's', 
                '.', Del) will slowly restore hit points; for longer resting 
                use '5' or Shift-Num-5.

                250 hit points, yet some spellcasters are known to have finished 
                the game victorious with less than 100 hit points.

                250 hit points, yet some spellcasters are known to have 
                finished the game victorious with less than 100 hit points.

Magic points:   A measure of magic or other intrinsic power. This is used for 
-------------   spellcasting, but also berserking and invoking of many special 
                abilities. Displayed in a style similar to hit points, nothing 
                bad happens if these drop to zero. Resting restores these, too.

Magic points:   A measure of magic or other intrinsic power. This is used 
-------------   primarily for spellcasting, but is sometimes also used for
                berserking and invoking of many other special 
                abilities. They are displayed in the same way as hit points;
                nothing bad happens if these drop to zero. (Except, of course,
                that you can't cast any spells...) Resting restores these, too.

Level:          Starting characters have experience level 1; the highest level
------          is 27. The current level is displayed in the stat area after
                "Experience". Gaining a level nets additional hit and magic 
                points, as well as spell slots and sometimes primary attributes.

Level:          Starting characters have experience level 1; the highest 
------          possible level is 27. The current level is displayed in the 
                stat area after "Experience". Gaining a level nets additional 
                hit and magic points, and will sometimes grant spell slots 
                or primary attributes (see immediately below).

The following primary attributes describe the abilities of a character to fight,
dodge, learn spells etc. They grow permanently from gaining levels, and 
temporarily from using appropriate artifacts or abilities. Crawl has only three:

Primary attributes describe the abilities of a character to fight,
dodge, learn spells etc. They grow permanently from gaining levels,
and temporarily from using appropriate artifacts or abilities. Crawl
has only three:

If any one of these drops to zero, you die. Note that upon gaining Levels 3, 6,
9 etc. you get to choose which one of these attributes to raise. Random 
increases can also occur (which Levels give an increase is determined by race,
as is the attribute(s) to be chosen).

If any one of these drops to zero, you die. Note that upon gaining
Levels 3, 6, 9 etc. you get to choose one of these attributes to
raise. Random increases can also occur (which levels give an increase
is determined by race, as is the attribute(s) to be increased).

Furthermore, the following numbers settle the appearance of your character.

The following numbers provide additional information about your character.

Armour Class:   Also called AC, when something injures you, your AC reduces the 

Armour Class:   Also called AC; when something injures you, your AC reduces the 

-----           final score, and can be used to purchase items in shops.

-----           final score and can be used to purchase items in shops.

                able to affect you. MR is an internal variable, so you can't see 
                what yours is, but you can get a rough idea by pressing '@'.

                able to affect you. MR is an internal variable, so you can't 
                see what yours is, but you can get a rough idea by pressing '@'.

Stealth:	  Another internal variable like Magic Resistance. First of all, 

Stealth:	  Another internal variable like Magic Resistance. First, 

		  pieces are notable in this regard), while all heavy armours will
		  hamper it.

		  pieces are notable in this regard), while all heavy armours 
                  will hamper it. Stealth's effects include allowing your
                  character to move through the dungeon undetected.

Sometimes characters will be able to use special abilities, for example the 
Naga's ability to spit poison or the magical power to turn invisible granted by
a ring. These are accessed through the 'a' command.

Sometimes characters will be able to use special abilities, for
example the Naga's ability to spit poison, or the magical power to
turn invisible granted by a ring. These are accessed through the
'a' command.

There are many ailments or enchantments that can temporarily befall you. These
are noted in the stats area below the experience line. Many of them are 
self-explaining, like Pray, or Hungry. Many others, however, can be subtle, and
a full list with explanations is given in appendix 5.

There are many ailments or enchantments that can temporarily befall
you. These are noted in the stats area below the experience line.
Many of them are self-explaining, like Pray, or Hungry. Many others,
however, can be subtle, and a full list with explanations is given
in Appendix 5.

You can make your character walk around with the numeric keypad (try both 
Numlock on and off) or the "Rogue" keys (hjklyubn). If this is too slow, you can
make your character walk repeatedly by pressing Shift and a direction. They will
walk in that direction until any of a number of things happen: a hostile monster
is visible on the screen, a message is sent to the message window for any
reason, you type a key, or you are about to step on anything other than normal
floor or an undiscovered trap and it is not your first move of the long walk.
Note that this is functionally equivalent to just pressing the direction key
several times.

You can make your character walk around with the numeric keypad
(try both Numlock on and off) or the "Rogue" keys (hjklyubn). If
this is too slow, you can make your character walk repeatedly by
pressing Shift and a direction. You will walk in that direction
until any of a number of things happen: a hostile monster is visible
on the screen, a message is sent to the message window for any
reason, you type a key, or you are about to step on anything other
than normal floor or an undiscovered trap and it is not your first
move of the long walk.  Note that this is functionally equivalent
to just pressing the direction key several times.

If you press Shift and '5' on the numeric keypad (or just the number '5' on the
keyboard) you rest for 100 turns or until your hit points or magic return to 
full, whichever is sooner. You can rest for just one turn by pressing '.', 
Delete, 's', or '5' on the keypad. Whenever you are resting, you are assumed to 
be observing your surroundings, so you have a chance of detecting any traps or 
secret doors adjacent to you.

If you press Shift and '5' on the numeric keypad (or just the number
'5' on the keyboard) you rest for 100 turns or until your hit points
or magic return to full, whichever is sooner. You can rest for just
one turn by pressing '.', Delete, 's', or '5' on the keypad. Whenever
you are resting, you are assumed to be observing your surroundings,
so you have a chance of detecting any traps or secret doors adjacent
to you.

The section of the viewing window which is coloured (with the '@' representing
you at the centre) is what you can see around you. The dark grey around it is
the parts of the level which you have visited, but cannot currently see. The 'x'
command lets you move the cursor around to get a description of the various 
dungeon features, and typing '?' when the cursor is over a monster brings up a 
short description of that monster. You can get a map of the whole level (which 
shows where you've already been) by typing the 'X' key. This map specially 
colour-codes stairs and known traps, even if something is on top of them.

The section of the viewing window which is coloured (with the '@'
representing you at the centre) is what you can see around you. The
dark grey around it is the parts of the level which you have visited,
but cannot currently see. The 'x' command lets you move the cursor
around to get a description of the various dungeon features, and
typing '?' when the cursor is over a monster brings up a short
description of that monster. You can get a map of the whole level
(which shows where you've already been) by typing the 'X' key. This
map specially colour-codes stairs and known traps, even if something
is on top of them.

>> This is not true anymore. As I've said before, the optimal default IMO would
be to treat the '>' and '<' as on top of a pile, where the pile is shown per the
heap_brand setting. <<

>> This is not true anymore. As I've said before, the optimal default
IMO would be to treat the '>' and '<' as on top of a pile, where
the pile is shown per the heap_brand setting. <<

You can make your way between levels by using staircases, which appear 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.

You can make your way between levels by using staircases, which
appear 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.

Besides the dungeon you start in, there are many branches in Crawl. All of them
are themed and host opponents of some special sort. It is not mandatory to visit
any particular branch, but you must explore some of them: progress to the Realms
of Zot (where the Orb is located) is only allowed for adventurers who happen to
have at least three magical runes of Zot. Several branch end levels contain such 
a rune.

Besides the dungeon you start in, Crawl's dungeon has many branches.
All of them are themed and host opponents of some special sort. It
is not mandatory to visit any particular branch, but you must explore
some of them: progress to the Realms of Zot (where the Orb is
located) is only possible for adventurers who have at least three
magical runes of Zot. The bottoms of several branches contain such
runes.

Occasionally you will find an archway; these lead to special places like shops, 
magical labyrinths, and Hell. Depending on which type of archway it is, you can 
enter it by typing '<' or '>'.

Occasionally you will find an archway ('\'); these lead to special
places like shops, magical labyrinths, and Hell. Depending on which
type of archway it is, you can enter it by typing '<' or '>'.

Doors can be opened with the 'o' command and closed with the 'c' command. 
Pressing Control plus a direction also opens doors. If there is no closed door
in the indicated space, you will attempt to attack any monster which may be
standing there (this is the only way to attack a friendly creature hand-to-
hand). If there is no creature there, you will attempt to disarm any trap in
the target square. If there is apparently nothing there you will still attack 
it, just in case there's something invisible lurking around.
A variety of dangerous and irritating traps are hidden around the dungeon. Traps
look like normal floor until discovered. Some traps can be disarmed with the 
control-direction commands.

Doors can be opened with the 'o' command and closed with the 'c'
command.  Pressing Control plus a direction also opens doors. If
there is no closed door in the indicated space, you will attempt
to attack any monster which may be standing there (this is the only
way to attack a friendly creature hand-to- hand). If there is no
creature there, you will attempt to disarm any trap in the target
square. If there is apparently nothing there you will still attack
it, just in case there's something invisible lurking around. (There
is.)

A variety of dangerous and irritating traps are hidden around the
dungeon. Traps look like normal floor until discovered. Some traps
can be disarmed with the control-direction commands.

When you are in a shop, you are given a list of the shopkeeper's stock from
which to choose. Unfortunately the shopkeepers all have an enterprise bargaining
agreement with the dungeon teamsters union which prevents them using non-union
labour to obtain stock, so you can't sell anything in a shop (but what
shopkeeper would buy goods from a disreputable adventurer like you, anyway?) In
shops you have access to the inventory and the list of already discovered items.

When you are in a shop, you are given a list of the shopkeeper's
stock from which to choose. Unfortunately the shopkeepers all have
an enterprise bargaining agreement with the dungeon teamsters union
which prevents them using non-union labour to obtain stock, so you
can't sell anything in a shop (but what shopkeeper would buy goods
from a disreputable adventurer like you, anyway?) In shops you have
access to the shop's inventory and to your list of already discovered
items. You can purchase items by pressing the letter of each item in the
shop menu; by pressing 'v' and then the letter, you can get information
about the item you are considering purchasing.

Crawl has an extensive automated travel command: pressing Ctrl-G lets you chose 
any dungeon level; the game will then take the shortest path to reach this
destination. You can also use autotravel on the level map: move the cursor to 
the place where you want to go and hit Enter. There are several shortcuts when
choosing destinations: try '<' and '>' to quickly reach the staircases. When
your autotravel gets interrupted, Crawl will remember the previous destination.
Hitting Ctrl-G again and following with Enter puts the cursor on that square.
See appendix 4 for all commands and shortcuts in level-map mode.

Crawl has an extensive automated travel system: pressing Ctrl-G
lets you chose any dungeon level; the game will then take the
shortest path to reach this destination. You can also use autotravel
on the level map ('X'): move the cursor to the place where you want
to go and hit Enter. There are several shortcuts when choosing
destinations: try '<' and '>' to quickly reach the staircases. When
your autotravel gets interrupted, Crawl will remember the previous
destination.  Hitting Ctrl-G again and following with Enter puts
the cursor on that square.  See Appendix 4 for all commands and
shortcuts in level-map mode.

Another use of autotravel is exploration: Ctrl-O makes your character move to 
the nearest unexplored area. This can be dangerous - do not use it when known
hostiles are around! Also note that this algorithm is not optimal: by manual
exploration you can save turns, but auto-explore will probably save real-time.

Another use of autotravel is exploration: Ctrl-O makes your character
move to the nearest unexplored area. This can be dangerous - do not
use it when known hostiles are around! Also note that this algorithm
is not optimal: by manual exploration you can save turns, but
auto-explore will usually save real time.

Since you can only carry 52 items, you will occassionally want to safely stash
things away. When you want to search for something in your stashes, you can do

Since you can only carry 52 items, you will occassionally want to
safely stash things away (by dropping them with the 'd' command).
When you want to search for something in your stashes, you can do

expressions, although you will mostly just need strings like 'mutation', 'heal
wounds' etc. A list with all places is presented, where objects matching the
search are (or have been) located; you can then travel there or examine the
pile. The Find command will also search in shop inventories. Furthermore, you
can search for skills like 'long blades' (this will find all weapons that train
the long blades skill) or general terms like 'artefact'.

expressions, although you will mostly just need strings like
'mutation', 'heal wounds' etc. You will be presented with a list
of all places where objects matching the search are (or have been)
located; you can then travel there or examine the pile. The Find
command will also search in shop inventories. Furthermore, you can
search for skills like 'long blades' (this will find all weapons
that train the long blades skill) or general terms like 'artefact'.

The above assumes that you use the default option 'stash_tracking = all'. If for
some reasons (e.g. to speed up performance) the value has been changed, you can
press Ctrl-S to tell Crawl that this square is considered a stash. Ctrl-E will
manually erase stashes.

The above assumes that you use the default option 'stash_tracking
= all'. If for some reasons (e.g. to speed up performance) the value
has been changed, you can press Ctrl-S to tell Crawl that a given
square is considered a stash. Ctrl-E will manually erase stashes.

You goal is to locate the Orb of Zot, which is held somewhere deep beneath the
world's surface. The Orb is an ancient and incredibly powerful artifact, and
the legends promise great things for anyone brave enough to extract it from
the fearsome Dungeon. Some say it will grant immortality or even godhood to
the one who carries it into the sunlight; many undead creatures seek it in the
hope that it will restore them to life. But then, some people will believe

Your goal is to locate the Orb of Zot, which is held somewhere deep
beneath the world's surface. The Orb is an ancient and incredibly
powerful artifact, and the legends promise great things for anyone
brave enough to extract it from the fearsome Dungeon. Some say it
will grant immortality or even godhood to the one who carries it
into the sunlight; many undead creatures seek it in the hope that
it will restore them to life. But then, some people will believe

Crawl's help menu is accessed by pressing '?'. You get the list of all commands
by pressing '?' again. A different, more verbose description of the commands 
also appears in appendix 4 of this text. Various other help texts are available 
as well, including this manual. You can also read the logbook of your character 
from there by pressing ':'. 
Note that both level map mode and targeting interface have their own help
screen, to be displayed by presing '?'.

To access Crawl's help menu, press '?'. To get the list of all
commands, press '?' again. A different, more verbose description
of the commands also appears in Appendix 4 of this text. Various
other help texts are available as well, including this manual. You
can also read your character's logbook from there by pressing ':'.
Note that both level map mode and targeting interface have their
own help screens; again, press '?'.

If you don't like the standard keyset (either because some keys do not work 
properly, or because you want to decrease the amount of typing necessary), 
you can use keymaps and macros. See macro.txt in the Docs directory, or read it
from the in-game help menu.

If you don't like the standard keyset (either because some keys do
not work properly, or because you want to decrease the amount of
typing necessary), you can use keymaps and macros. See macro.txt
in the Docs directory, or read it from the in-game help menu.

When you kill monsters, you gain experience points (XP) and you also receive one
half of the experience for monsters killed by friendly creatures. When you get
enough XP, you gain an experience level, making your character more powerful. As
they gain levels, characters gain more hit points, magic points, and spell levels.

When you kill monsters, you gain experience points (XP). You receive
half normal experience for monsters killed by friendly creatures.
When you get enough XP, you gain an experience level, making your
character more powerful. As they gain levels, characters gain more
hit points, magic points, and spell levels.

Additionally, the experience you gain is used for your experience pool. This
pool of points is used up whenever you practice a skill. These skills represent
proficiency with all areas of endeavour an ambitious adventurer might need in
the dungeons. They range from different weapon skills (both for close and ranged
combat) to many magical skills and several additional activities like Dodging or
Stabbing. See appendix 3 for a detailed description of all skills present in
Crawl. It is important to note that the ease with which a character learns a
skill depends solely on race. These aptitudes are hinted at in the list of
species (see appendix 1).

Additionally, the experience you gain goes into your experience
pool. This pool of points is used up whenever you practice a skill.
These skills represent proficiency with all areas of endeavour an
ambitious adventurer might need in the dungeons. They range from
different weapon skills (both for close and ranged combat) to many
magical skills and several additional activities like Dodging or
Stabbing. See Appendix 3 for a detailed description of all skills
present in Crawl. The ease with which a character learns a skill
depends solely on race. These aptitudes are hinted at in the list
of species (see Appendix 1).

You can see your character's skills by pressing the 'm' key; the higher 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. 
fight with a certain type of weapon, cast a certain type of spell, or walk 
around wearing light armour to practise stealth). The amount of unassigned 
experience points is shown next to your experience total on the main screen as 
well as on the skills screen, and the number in blue next to each skill counts 
up from 0% to 100% as you get closer to gaining a level in that skill.

You can see your character's skills by pressing the 'm' key; the
higher 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.  fight with a certain
type of weapon, cast a certain type of spell, or walk around wearing
light armour to practise stealth). The amount of unassigned experience
points is shown next to your experience total on the main screen
as well as on the skills screen, and the number in blue next to
each skill counts up from 0% to 100% as you get closer to gaining
a level in that skill.

You can elect not to practise a particular skill by selecting it in the skill
screen (making it turn dark grey). This means that you will be less likely to
increase that skill when you practise it (and will also 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 can elect not to practise a particular skill by selecting it
in the skill screen (making it turn dark grey). This means that you
will be less likely to increase that skill when you practise it
(and will also 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.

Occasionally you fill a manual of a skill which allows to make quick progress in
this area. Whenever you read it, all free experience is transferred into 
exercising this particular skill. This can be done until the manual crumbles,
after a random number of uses.

Occasionally you fill a manual of a skill which allows to make quick
progress in this area. Whenever you read it, all free experience
is transferred into exercising this particular skill. This can be
done until the manual crumbles, which will occur after a random
number of uses.

In the caverns of Crawl, you will find a great variety of creatures, most of
which are displayed by capital or small letters of the alphabet. Many of them 
would very much like to eat you. To stop them doing this, you will need to 
fight. To attack a monster, stand next to it and move in its direction; this 
makes you attack it with your wielded weapon. Of course, some monsters are just 
too nasty to beat, and you will find that discretion is often the better part of
valour.

In the caverns of Crawl, you will find a great variety of creatures,
most of which are displayed by capital or small letters of the
alphabet. Many of them would very much like to eat you. To stop
them from doing this, you will generally need to fight them. To
attack a monster, stand next to it and move in its direction; this
makes you attack it with your wielded weapon. Of course, some
monsters are just too nasty to beat, and you will find that discretion
is often the better part of valour.

There are several more feasible methods to kill monsters. Hunters and similarly
oriented characters will prefer ranged combat to mindless bashing. When wielding
some launcher, the 'f' command will fire appropriate missiles. See the section 
on Targeting in the Items Chapter for more on this. Likewise, many magicians 
will rather want to use spells from a safe distance. They can use 'Z' to cast 
spells previously memorised. Again see the Targeting section.

There are several other less dangerous methods you can use to kill
monsters. Hunters and similarly oriented characters will prefer
ranged combat to mindless bashing. When wielding some launcher, the
'f' command will fire appropriate missiles. See the section on
Targeting in the Items Chapter for more on this. Likewise, many
magicians will prefer to use spells from a safe distance. They can
use 'Z' to cast spells previously memorised. Again, see the Targeting
section.

Some monsters can be friendly; friendly monsters will follow you around and 
fight on your behalf (you gain 1/2 the normal experience points for any kills
they make). You can command your allies using the '!' key, which lets you either
shout to attract them or tell them who to attack.

Some monsters can be friendly; friendly monsters will follow you
around and fight on your behalf (you gain half the normal experience
points for any kills they make). You can command your allies using
the '!' key, which lets you either shout to attract them or tell
them who to attack. You can also shout to get the attention of all
sleeping monsters in range if, for some reason, you wanted to do
that.

A special kind of monsters are Uniques. Many of these come up with very nasty
ideas how to rid the dungeon of you. Treat them very carefully, in particular if
you meet a unique for the first time.

Some special monsters are Uniques. You can identify a unique because
he or she will have a name and personality. Many of these come up
with very nasty ideas how to rid the dungeon of you. Treat them
very carefully, particularly if you meet a unique for the first
time.

Other, even rarer, obstacles are statues. These appear in a variety of ways,
ranging from harmless granite ones (who still often signify something of
interest) to really dreadful ones. Be alert whenever seeing such a statue. The
best method to destroy statues is by means of wands of disintegration; you can
also bash one by brute force, however.

Other, even rarer, obstacles are statues. A variety of statues can
appear, ranging from harmless granite ones (who still often signify
something of interest) to really dreadful ones. Be alert whenever
seeing such a statue. The best method to destroy statues is by using
wands of disintegration; you can also bash one into pieces by brute
force, however.

When playing Crawl, you will undoubtedly want to develop a feeling for the 
different monster types. For example, some monster leave edible corpses, others
don't, and still others are 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 then closed combateers. Learn from past deaths 
and remember which monsters pose the most problems. Try to treat them with
different measures in future encounters.

When playing Crawl, you will undoubtedly want to develop a feeling
for the different monster types. For example, some monsters leave
edible corpses, others don't, and still others 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 closed combateers. Learn from past deaths and
remember which monsters pose the most problems. Try to treat problem
opponents with different measures in future encounters.

In the dungeons of Crawl there are many different kinds of normal and magical
artifacts to be found and used. Some of them are useful, some are nasty, and 
some give great power, but at a price. Some items are unique; these have
interesting properties which can make your life rather bizarre for a while.
They all fall into several classes of items, each of which is used in a
different way. Here is a general list of what you might find in the course of
your adventures, how these are displayed and what commands there are to use
them:

In the dungeons of Crawl there are many different kinds of normal
and magical artifacts to be found and used. Some of them are useful,
some are nasty, and some give great power, but at a price. Some
items are unique; these have interesting properties which can make
your life rather bizarre for a while.  They all fall into several
classes of items, each of which is used in a different way. Here
is a general list of what you might find in the course of your
adventures, how these are displayed, and what commands there are
to use them:

You pick items up with the 'g'et or ',' (comma) command and drop them with the 
'd'rop command. When you are given a prompt like "drop which item?", if you type
a number before the letter of the item, you will drop that quantity of the item.
(similarly when picking up). Note that picking up items from one square takes 
always one turn. Dropping several items in one go takes _more_ turns, so be 
careful here.

You pick items up with the 'g'et or ',' (comma) command and drop
them with the 'd'rop command. When you are given a prompt like "drop
which item?", if you type a number before the letter of the item,
you will drop that quantity of the item.  (similarly when picking
up). Note that picking up items from one square takes exactly one
turn. You can drop multiple items by pressing 'd' and then '@';
dropping several items in one go takes _more_ turns, so be careful
here.

Typing 'i' gives you an inventory of what you are carrying. When you are given a
prompt like "Throw [or wield, wear, etc] which item?", you usually get a list of
all available options (this behaviour can be changed with the auto_list option).
You can press '*' in case you want to wield something unusual. When the
inventory screen is showing "-more-", to show you that there is another page of
items, you can type the letter of the item you want instead of Space or Enter.

Typing 'i' displays your inventory (what you are carrying). When
you are given a prompt like "Throw [or wield, wear, etc] which
item?", you usually get a list of all available options (this
behaviour can be changed with the auto_list option).  You can press
'*' in case you want to wield something unusual. When the inventory
screen shows "-more-", to show you that there is another page of
items, you can type the letter of the item you want, even if it is
not visible, instead of pressing Space or Enter to see the next
page.

You can carry at most 52 items at once, and the total weight is bounded by your 
carrying capacity. Both of these are printed at the top of the inventory screen.

You can carry at most 52 items at once, and the total weight is
bounded by your carrying capacity. Both of these are printed at the
top of the inventory screen.

You can use the adjust command (the '=' key) to change the letters to which your
possessions are assigned. This command can be used to change spell letters, too.

You can use the adjust command (the '=' key) to change the letters
to which your possessions are assigned. This command can be used
to change spell letters, too.

Some items can be stickycursed, in which case they weld themselves to your body
when you use them. Such items usually carry some kind of disadvantage: a weapon
or armour may be damaged or negatively enchanted, while rings can have all
manner of unpleasant effects on you. If you are lucky, you might find magic
which can rid you of cursedness for welded items.

Some items can be stickycursed, in which case they weld themselves
to your body when you use them. Such items usually carry some kind
of disadvantage: a weapon or armour may be damaged or negatively
enchanted, while rings can have all manner of unpleasant effects
on you. If you are lucky, you might find magic which can rid you
of cursedness for welded items.

Items like scrolls, potions and some other types each have a characteristic,
like a label or a colour, which will let you tell them apart on the basis of 
their function. However, these characteristics change between each game, so
while in one game every potion of healing may be yellow, in another game they 
might all be purple and bubbly. Once you have discovered the function of such an
item, you will remember it for the rest of the current game. You can access your
item discoveries with the '\' key.

Items like scrolls, potions, and some other types each have a
characteristic, like a label or a colour, which will let you tell
them apart on the basis of their function. However, these characteristics
change between each game, so while in one game every potion of
healing may be yellow, in another game they might all be purple and
bubbly. Once you have discovered the function of such an item, you
will remember it for the rest of the current game. You can access
your item discoveries with the '\' key.

A very useful command is the 'v' key, which gives you a description of what an 
item does. Try this when comparing different types of armours and weapons, but 
don't expect too much information from examining unidentified items.

The 'v' key, which gives you a description of what an item does,
is very useful. Try this when comparing different types of armours
and weapons, but don't expect too much information from examining
unidentified items.

Another useful command is the '{' key, which lets you inscribe items with a
comment. You can also inscribe commands; in particular inscribing '=k' will
cause the item to be completely ignored from then on (it can only be picked up
if all items on that square have the '=k' mark). An item with '@w9' can be
wielded with the command 'w9', regardless of its actual item slot (here 'w'ield
could be replaced by any sensible command key, using '*' signifies all keys at
once; and any digit could be substituted for '9'). An item with '!w' demands
confirmation before wielding. For more on this, and especially auto-inscription,
see crawl-options.txt.

Another useful command is the '{' key, which lets you inscribe items
with a comment. You can also inscribe commands; in particular
inscribing '=k' will cause the item to be completely ignored from
then on (it can only be picked up if all items on that square have
the '=k' mark). An item with '@w9' can be wielded with the command
'w9', regardless of its actual item slot (here 'w'ield could be
replaced by any sensible command key, using '*' signifies all keys
at once; and any digit could be substituted for '9'). An item with
'!w' demands confirmation before wielding. For more on this, and
especially auto-inscription, see crawl-options.txt.

These are rather important. You will find a variety of weapons in the dungeon,
ranging from small and quick daggers to huge, cumbersome battleaxes and 
pole-arms. Each type of weapon does a differing amount of damage, has a 
different chance of hitting its target, and takes a different amount of time to 
swing. There are several weapon skills (press 'm' to show a list of those that
you are training) like Short Blades, Long Blades, Axes, Unarmed Combat etc.
These skills affect damage, accuracy and speed.

These are rather important. You will find a variety of weapons in
the dungeon, ranging from small and quick daggers to huge, cumbersome
battleaxes and pole-arms. Each type of weapon does a different
amount of damage, has a different chance of hitting its target, and
takes a different amount of time to swing. There are several weapon
skills (press 'm' to show a list of those that you are training)
like Short Blades, Long Blades, Axes, Unarmed Combat etc.  These
skills affect damage, accuracy, and speed.

Weapons can be enchanted; when they are identified, they have values which tell 
you how much more effective they are than an unenchanted version. The first 
number is the enchantment to-hit, which affects the weapon's accuracy, and the 
second is its damage enchantment; weapons which are not enchanted are simply 
'+0'. Some weapons also have special magical effects which make them very 
effective in certain situations. Some types of hand weapons (especially daggers,

Weapons can be enchanted; when they are identified, they have values
which tell you how much more effective they are than an unenchanted
version. The first number is the enchantment to-hit, which affects
the weapon's accuracy, and the second is its damage enchantment;
weapons which are not enchanted are simply '+0'. Some weapons also
have special magical effects which make them very effective in
certain situations. Some types of hand weapons (especially daggers,

You can wield weapons with the 'w' command, which is a very quick action. If for
some reason you want to go bare-handed, type 'w' followed by a hyphen ('-'). 
Note that weapons are not the only class of item which you can wield.

You can wield weapons with the 'w' command, which is a very quick
action. If for some reason you want to go bare-handed, type 'w'
followed by a hyphen ('-').  Note that weapons are not the only
class of item which you can wield.

The ' (apostrophe) key is a shortcut which automatically wields item a. If item 
a is being wielded, it causes you to wield item b instead, if possible. Try 
assigning the letter a to your primary weapon, and b to your bow or something 
else you need to wield only sometimes. Note that this is just a typing shortcut 
and is not functionally different to wielding these items normally.

The ' (apostrophe) key is a shortcut which automatically wields
item a. If item a is being wielded, ' causes you to wield item b
instead, if possible. Try assigning the letter a to your primary
weapon, and b to your bow or something else you need to wield only
sometimes. Note that this is just a typing shortcut and is not
functionally different to wielding these items normally.

You can press '(' or ')' to show your primary (wielded) and secondary (slot b)
weapons, as well as the preferred missiles (to be shot when using 'f' to fire).

You can press '(' or ')' to show your primary (wielded) and secondary
(slot b) weapons, as well as the preferred missiles (to be shot
when using 'f' to fire).

If you would rather pick off monsters from a safe distance, you will need
ammunition for your sling or bow. Darts are effective when simply thrown;
other kinds of ammunition require you to wield an appropriate device to
inflict worthwhile damage. Ammunition has only one "plus" value, which
affects both accuracy and damage. If you have ammunition suitable for
what you are wielding, the 'f' command will choose the first lot in your
inventory, or you can use the 't' command to throw anything. If you are
using the right kind of hand weapon, you will "shoot" the ammunition,
otherwise you "throw" it. At times it also sensible to throw weapons like
spears, daggers, or hand axes.

If you would rather pick off monsters from a safe distance, you
will need ammunition for your sling, bow, or other appropriate
launcher. Darts are effective when simply thrown; other kinds of
ammunition require you to wield an appropriate device to inflict
worthwhile damage. Ammunition has only one "plus" value, which
affects both accuracy and damage. If you have ammunition suitable
for what you are wielding, the 'f' command will choose the first
lot in your inventory, or you can use the 't' command to throw
anything. If you are using the right kind of hand weapon, you will
"shoot" the ammunition, otherwise you "throw" it. At times it also
sensible to throw weapons like spears, daggers, or hand axes.

The following paragraph describes how to target monsters using your ranged
attack. The same interface is employed for the casting of many spells, and the 
zapping of certain wands.

The following paragraph describes how to target monsters using your
ranged attack. The same interface is employed for the casting of
many spells, and the zapping of certain wands.

This is also rather important. Most worn armour improves your Armour Class, 
which decreases the amount of damage you take when something injures you. 
Unfortunately, the heavier types of armour also hamper your movement, making it 
easier for monsters to hit you (i.e. reducing your evasion score) and making it 
harder for you to hit monsters. These effects can be mitigated by a high Armour 
skill. Wearing heavy armour also increases your chances of miscasting spells, an
effect which is not reduced by your Armour skill.

This is also rather important. Most worn armour improves your Armour
Class, which decreases the amount of damage you take when something
injures you.  Unfortunately, the heavier types of armour also hamper
your movement, making it easier for monsters to hit you (i.e.
reducing your evasion score) and making it harder for you to hit
monsters. These effects can be mitigated by a high Armour skill.
Wearing heavy armour also increases your chances of miscasting
spells, an effect which is not reduced by your Armour skill.

A Shield normally affects neither your AC or your evasion, but it lets you block
some of the attacks aimed at you and absorbs some of the damage you would 
otherwise receive from things like dragon breath and lightning bolts. Wearing a 
shield (especially a large shield) makes you less effective in hand combat. 
Shields are more effective when you're fighting a small number of foes than when
you're surrounded. There are three types: bucklers, shields, and large shields. 
While it is possible to use bows (or other launchers) and rods together with a
shield, the effectivity of doing so is hampered. 

A Shield normally affects neither your AC or your evasion, but it
lets you block some of the attacks aimed at you and absorbs some
of the damage you would otherwise receive from things like dragon
breath and lightning bolts. Wearing a shield (especially a large
shield) makes you less effective in hand combat.  Shields are more
effective when you're fighting a small number of foes than when
you're surrounded. There are three types: bucklers, shields, and
large shields.  While it is possible to use bows (or other launchers)
and rods while wearing a shield, you will be much less effective.

Some magical armours have special powers. These powers are sometimes automatic, 
affecting you whenever you wear the armour, and sometimes must be activated with
the 'a' command.

Some magical armours have special powers. These powers are sometimes
automatic, affecting you whenever you wear the armour, and sometimes
must be activated with the 'a' command.

You can wear armour with the 'W' command, and take it off with the 'T' command. 
With '[' you can have a quick look at your current gear.

You can wear armour with the 'W' command, and take it off with the
'T' command.  With '[' you can have a quick look at your current
gear.

Food is extremely important. You can find many different kinds of food in the 
dungeon. If you don't eat when you get hungry, you will eventually die of 
starvation. Fighting, carrying heavy loads, casting spells, and using some 
magical items will make you hungry. When you are starving you fight less 
effectively as well. You can eat food with the 'e' command.

Food is extremely important. You can find many different kinds of
food in the dungeon. If you don't eat when you get hungry, you will
eventually die of starvation. Fighting, carrying heavy loads, casting
spells, and using some magical items will make you hungry. When you
are starving, you fight less effectively as well. You can eat food
with the 'e' command.

You will also like to dine on the carrions of your casualties (except if you are
a Spriggan - these despise meat). Despite the fact that corpses are represented
by the same '%' sign as food, you can't eat them without first cutting them into
pieces with the 'D' command. Being extremely hungry helps as well in gulping
down the raw flesh. Even then, you should choose your homemade food with great
care. In order to dissect a corpse with the 'D' command, you need to have a
proper tool (like a knife or short sword). Cutting off the least bad parts will
take some turns and produce a number of 'chunks' eventually. These can then be
eaten with 'e' command as above. Crawl will automatically switch to an uncursed
butchering tool when you type 'D', and it will also switch back to your previous
weapon in case you didn't get interrupted.

You may wish to dine on the corpses of your casualties (unless you
are a Spriggan - these despise meat). Despite the fact that corpses
are represented by the same '%' sign as food, you can't eat them
without first cutting them into pieces with the 'D' command. Being
extremely hungry helps you choke down the raw flesh. Even then, you
should choose your homemade food with great care. In order to dissect
a corpse with the 'D' command, you need to have a proper tool (like
a knife or short sword). Cutting off the least bad parts will take
some turns and produce a number of 'chunks' eventually. These can
then be eaten with 'e' command as above. Crawl will automatically
switch to an uncursed butchering tool when you type 'D', and it
will also switch back to your previous weapon as long as you didn't
get interrupted.

Some classes are less restricted about selfmade food: Trolls can use their
claws, so do not need a cutting device. Also Trolls, Orcs, Ogres, and Kobolds
care less (in different degrees) about the quality of the corpse. Ogres and 
Trolls are happy to have corpse-snacks anytime. This does not apply to Ogre
Mages, as that race separated itself from the brutish traits of their distant
relatives.

Some classes are less restricted about selfmade food: Trolls can
use their claws, so do not need a cutting device. Also Trolls, Orcs,
Ogres, and Kobolds care less (in different degrees) about the quality
of the corpse. Ogres and Trolls are happy to have corpse-snacks
anytime. This does not apply to Ogre Mages, as that race separated
itself from the brutish traits of their distant relatives.

Scrolls have many different magical spells enscribed on them, some good and some
bad. One of the most useful scrolls is the scroll of Identify, which will tell 
you the function of any item you have in your inventory; save these up for the 
more powerful and inscrutable magic items, like rings. You can read scrolls (and
by doing so invoke their magic) with the 'r' command.

Scrolls have many different magical spells enscribed on them, some
good and some bad. One of the most useful scrolls is the scroll of
Identify, which will tell you the function of any item you have in
your inventory; save these up for the more powerful and inscrutable
magic items, like rings. You can read scrolls (and by doing so
invoke their magic) with the 'r' command.

While scrolls tend to affect your equipment or your environment, most potions 
affect your character in some way. The most common type is the simple healing 
potion, which restores some hit points and cures many ailments, but there are 
many other varieties of potions to be found. Potions can be quaffed (drunk) with
the 'q' command. Try to avoid drinking poisonous potions! 
By the way, you can also drink from fountains you encounter in the dungeon.

While scrolls tend to affect your equipment or your environment,
most potions affect your character in some way. The most common
type is the simple healing potion, which restores some hit points
and cures many ailments, but there are many other varieties of
potions to be found. Potions can be quaffed (drunk) with the 'q'
command. Try to avoid drinking poisonous potions!  By the way, you
can also drink from fountains you encounter in the dungeon.

Sometimes you will be lucky enough to find a stick which contains stored magical
energies. Wands each have a certain amount of charges, and a wand will cease to 
function when its charges run out. You must identify a wand to find out how many
uses it has left. Wands are aimed in the same way as missile weapons, and you 
can invoke the power of a wand by 'z'apping it. There are a number of beneficial

Sometimes you will be lucky enough to find a stick which contains
stored magical energies. Wands each have a certain amount of charges,
and a wand will cease to function when its charges run out. You
must identify a wand to find out how many uses it has left. Wands
are aimed in the same way as missile weapons, and you can invoke
the power of a wand by 'z'apping it. There are a number of beneficial

Magical rings are among the most useful of the items you will find in the
dungeon, but can also be some of the most hazardous. They transfer various
magical abilities onto their wearer, but powerful rings like rings of
regeneration or invisibility make you hunger very quickly when activated. Use 
the 'P' command to put on rings, and remove them by typing 'R'. You can  wear up
to two rings simultaneously, one on each hand; which hand you put a ring on is 
immaterial to its function. If you want to put on a rings while both ring 
fingers are full, you will be asked which one to remove. Some rings function 
automatically, while others require activation (the 'a' command).

Magical rings are among the most useful of the items you will find
in the dungeon, but can also be some of the most hazardous. They
transfer various magical abilities onto their wearer, but powerful
rings like rings of regeneration or invisibility make you hunger
very quickly when they are activated. Use the 'P' command to put
on rings, and 'R' to remove them.  You can wear up to two rings
simultaneously, one on each hand; which hand you put a ring on is
immaterial to its function. If you try to put on a ring while both
ring fingers are full, you will be asked which one to remove. Some
rings function automatically, while others require activation (the
'a' command).

Amulets are similar to rings, but have a different range of effects (which tend 
to be more subtle). Amulets are worn around the neck, and you can wear only one 
at a time.

Amulets are similar to rings, but have a different range of effects
(which tend to be more subtle). Amulets are worn around the neck,
and you can wear only one at a time.

There are a number of types of magical staves. Some enhance your general
spellcasting ability, while some greatly increase the power of a certain class 
of spells (and possibly reduce your effectiveness with others).

There are a number of types of magical staves. Some enhance your
general spellcasting ability, while some greatly increase the power
of a certain class of spells (and possibly reduce your effectiveness
with others).

Some are spell staves (called 'rods' in the game), and hold spells which you can
cast without having to memorise them first, and also without consuming food. You 
must wield a rod like a weapon in order to gain from its power, and magical 
staves are as effective as +0 quarterstaves in combat. Rods can be invoked with 
the 'E' command while you are wielding them. They have a pool of magical energy
which regenerates rather quickly when you are wielding it (drawing from your own

Some are spell staves (called 'rods' in the game), and hold spells
which you can cast without having to memorise them first and without
consuming food. You must wield a rod like a weapon in order to gain
from its power, and magical staves are as effective as +0 quarterstaves
in combat. Rods can be invoked with the 'E' command while you are
wielding them. They have a pool of magical energy which regenerates
rather quickly when you are wielding it (drawing from your own

Most books contain magical spells which your character may be able to learn. You
can read a book with the 'r' command, which lets you access a description of 
each spell, or memorise spells from it with the 'M' command. Use 'Z' to cast 
previously memorised spells. For spells demanding a target, the comments on 
using missile weapons apply.

Most books contain magical spells which your character may be able
to learn. You can read a book with the 'r' command, which lets you
access a description of each spell, or memorise spells from it with
the 'M' command. Use 'Z' to cast previously memorised spells. For
spells demanding a target, the comments on using missile weapons
apply.

Some books have other special effects, and powerful spellbooks have been known
to punish the attentions of incompetent magicians. Occasionally you will find
manuals of some skill. Reading these will cause your free experience to go
straight into that skill.

Some books have other special effects, and powerful spellbooks have
been known to punish the attentions of incompetent magicians.
Occasionally you will find manuals of some skill. Reading these
will cause your free experience to go straight into that skill.

These are items which don't fall into any other category. You can use many of 
them by wielding and 'E'voking them. You can also use some other special items 
(such as some weapons) by invoking them in this way. Particular items in this
class are runes. These have no functions whatsoever, except being keys which
open the endgame. You have to collect at least three of them.

These are items which don't fall into any other category. You can
use many of them by wielding and 'E'voking them. You can also use
some other special items (such as some weapons) by invoking them
in this way. Runes, a particular item in this category, have no
function whatsoever except to open the endgame.  You must collect
at least three in order to enter the Realm of Zot.

Some items have been crafted by members of a gifted race, and have special
properties. In addition, items made by a specific race work better in the hands 
of people of that race.

Some items have been crafted by members of a gifted race, and have
special properties. In addition, items made by a specific race work
better in the hands of people of that race.

Dwarven weapons and armours are very durable, and do not rust or corrode easily.

Dwarven weapons and armours are very durable, and do not rust or
corrode easily.

Orcish (cross)bows are particularly effective with orcish arrows/bolts. In 
general, Orcs do better with gear from their own kin.

Orcish (cross)bows are particularly effective with orcish arrows/bolts.
In general, Orcs do better with gear from their own kin.

Elven armour is unusually light, and does not affect the dodging or stealth of 
its wearer to the extent that other armours do. Elven cloaks and boots are 
particularly useful to those who wish to be stealthy, and elven bows are
particularly effective in conjunction with elven arrows.

Elven armour is unusually light, and does not affect the dodging
or stealth of its wearer to the extent that other armours do. Elven
cloaks and boots are particularly useful to those who wish to be
stealthy, and elven bows are particularly effective in conjunction
with elven arrows.

Centaurs and Nagas have uniquely shaped bodies. With luck, however, a character 
of these species might find a Centaur or Naga barding.

Centaurs and Nagas have uniquely shaped bodies. With luck, however,
a character of these species might find a Centaur or Naga barding.

Magical spells are a very important part of surviving in the dungeon. Every
character class can make use of magical spells, although those who enter the
dungeon without magical skills must practise by reading scrolls before they can 
attempt spellcasting.

Magical spells are a very important part of surviving in the dungeon.
Every character class can make use of magical spells, although those
who enter the dungeon without magical skills must practise by reading
scrolls before they can attempt spellcasting.

There are many skills related to magic, the principal one being Spellcasting.
This determines the number of Magic available and higher Spellcasting helps at
several places when spells are involved. Next there are several general areas
(Conjuration, Enchantment, Summoning, Necromancy, Translocation, Transmigration,
and Divination) as well as several elemental areas (Fire, Ice, Air, and Earth) 
and finally, Poison. A particular spell can belong (and thus train) to up to 
three areas. Being good in the areas of a spell will improve the casting chance 
and in many cases the effect as well.

There are many skills related to magic, the principal one being
Spellcasting.  This determines the number of Magic available and
higher Spellcasting helps at several places when spells are involved.
Next there are several general areas (Conjuration, Enchantment,
Summoning, Necromancy, Translocation, Transmigration, and Divination)
as well as several elemental areas (Fire, Ice, Air, and Earth) and,
finally, Poison. A particular spell can belong (and thus train) to
up to three areas. Being good in the areas of a spell will improve
the casting chance and in many cases the effect as well.
Spells are stored in books, which you will occasionally find in the
dungeon. You can read books with 'r' to check what spells they
contain; doing so will allow you to read the individual spells'
desriptions. In order to try to memorise a certain spell, use the
'M' command. Memorising can take a while.

Spells are stored in books, which you will occasionally find in the dungeon. You
can read books with 'r' to check what spells they contain; furthermore, you can
read the individual spells' desriptions. In order to try to memorise a certain 
spell, use the 'M' command. Memorising can take a while. Each spell has a Level, 
which denotes the amount of skill required to use it as well as indicating how 
powerful it may be. You can only memorise a certain number of levels of spells; 
type 'M' to find out how many. When you gain experience levels or advance the
Spellcasting skill, you can memorise more, and you will need to save up for 
several levels to memorise the more powerful spells. When you cast a spell, you 
temporarily expend some of your magical energy as well as becoming hungrier 
(although more intelligent spellcasters hunger less quickly from using magic).

Each spell has a Level. A spell's level denotes the amount of skill
required to use it and indicates how powerful it may be. You can
only memorise a certain number of levels of spells; type 'M' to
find out how many. When you gain experience levels or advance the
Spellcasting skill, your maximum increases; you will need to save
up for several levels to memorise the more powerful spells. When
you cast a spell, you temporarily expend some of your magical energy
as well as becoming hungrier (although more intelligent spellcasters
hunger less quickly from using magic).

You activate a memorised spell by pressing 'Z' (for Zap). The spells available
are labelled with letters; you are free to change this labelling with the '='
command. You can assign both lowercase and uppercase letters to spells. Some 
spells, for example most damage dealing ones, require a target. This is done in
the same way as throwing projectiles: choose a target with the '+' or '-' keys 
or just move the cursor there manually and press '.' (or Enter or Space or Del)
to fire; or press Shift-direction to shoot straight away in that direction. 
Press '?' for targeting help or see appendix 4 for a list of all commands.

You activate a memorised spell by pressing 'Z' (for Zap). The spells
available are labelled with letters; you are free to change this
labelling with the '=' command. You can assign both lowercase and
uppercase letters to spells. Some spells, for example most damage
dealing ones, require a target. This is done in the same way as
throwing projectiles: choose a target with the '+' or '-' keys or
just move the cursor there manually and press '.' (or Enter or Space
or Del) to fire; or press Shift-direction to shoot straight away
in that direction.  Press '?' for targeting help or see appendix 4
for a list of all commands.

High level spells are difficult to cast, and you may miscast them every once
in a while (resulting in a waste of magic and possibly dangerous side-effects). 
Your chance of failing to cast a spell properly depends on your skills, your 
intelligence, the level of the spell and whether you are wearing heavy armour. 
Failing to cast a spell exercises your spell skills, but not by as much as 

High level spells are difficult to cast, and you may miscast them
every once in a while (resulting in a waste of magic and possibly
dangerous side-effects).  Your chance of failing to cast a spell
properly depends on your skills, your intelligence, the level of
the spell and whether you are wearing heavy armour.  Failing to
cast a spell exercises your spell skills, but not by as much as

Many of the more powerful spells carry disadvantages or risks; you should read
the spell description (obtained by reading the spellbook in which you found
the spell) before casting anything.

Many of the more powerful spells carry disadvantages or risks; you
should read the spell description (obtained by reading the spellbook
in which you found the spell) before casting anything.

There is a completely different way to the use spells: via rods. These are
magical staves holding a number of spells. Rods store a certain number of magic
points, which are used for powering the spells they contain; when not fully
charged, they regenerate magic points from their holder's pool (this happens
much more quickly if the rod is wielded.) You can spend scrolls of recharging on
rods in order to increase the maximal size of their magical reservoir. The
effectiveness of your rod's spells are gouverned by your Evocations skill.

There is a completely different way to the use spells: via rods.
These are magical staves holding a number of spells. Rods store a
certain number of magic points, which are used for powering the
spells they contain; when not fully charged, they regenerate magic
points from their holder's pool (this happens much more quickly if
the rod is wielded.) You can spend scrolls of recharging on rods
in order to increase the maximal size of their magical reservoir.
The effectiveness of your rod's spells are gouverned by your
Evocations skill.

Be careful of magic-using enemies! Some of them can use magic just as well as
you, if not better, and often use it intelligently.

Be careful of magic-using enemies! Some of them can use magic just
as well as you, if not better, and often use it intelligently.

There are a number of Gods, Demons and other assorted Powers who will accept
your character's worship, and sometimes give out favours in exchange. You can
use the '^' command to check the requirements of whoever it is that you
worship, and if you find religion to be an inconvenience you can always
renounce your faith (use the 'a' command - but some Gods resent being
scorned!).

There are a number of Gods, Demons, and other assorted Powers who
will accept your character's worship, and sometimes give out favours
in exchange. You can use the '^' command to check the requirements
of whoever it is that you worship, and if you find religion to be
an inconvenience you can always renounce your faith (use the 'a'
command - but some Gods resent being scorned!).

The 'p' command lets you pray to your God. Anything you do while praying, you
do in your God's name - this is how you dedicate your kills or corpse-sacrifices
('D' command) to your God, for example. Note that not all gods like this. 
Praying also gives you a sense of what your God thinks of you, and can be used 
to sacrifice things at altars.

The 'p' command lets you pray to your God. Anything you do while
praying, you do in your God's name - this is how you dedicate your
kills or corpse-sacrifices ('D' command) to your God, for example.
Note that not all gods like this.  Praying also gives you a sense
of what your God thinks of you, and can be used to sacrifice things
at altars.

To use any powers which your God deems you fit for, access the abilities menu
with the 'a' command; God-given abilities are listed as invocations.

To use any powers which your God deems you fit for, access the
abilities menu with the 'a' command; God-given abilities are listed
as invocations.

Some classes start out religious; others have to pray at an altar to dedicate
themselves to a life of servitude. There are altars scattered all over the
dungeon, and your character has heard rumours of a special temple somewhere
near the surface. At an altar, you can read a description of that god's general
attitude by pressing 'p'. You will be asked afterwards if you really want to 
attend this circle.

Some classes start out religious; others have to pray at an altar
to dedicate themselves to a life of servitude. There are altars
scattered all over the dungeon, and your character has heard rumours
of a special temple somewhere near the surface. At an altar, you
can read a description of that god's general attitude by pressing
'p'. You will be asked afterwards if you really want to attend this
circle.

If you like to start the game with a religion, choose your class among healer,
priest, paladin, berserker or chaos knight.

If you like to start the game with a religion, choose your class
from healer, priest, paladin, berserker, or chaos knight.

Although it would doubtless be a nice thing if you could remain genetically
pure, there are too many toxic wastes and mutagenic radiations in the Dungeon
for that to be possible. If your character is so affected by these that he or
she undergoes physiological change, you can use the 'A' command to see how
much of a freak they've become and the 'a' command to activate any mutations
which can be controlled. Many mutations are actually beneficial to the 
characters, but there are plenty of nasty ones, as well. Many mutations have
three levels, each of which counts as a single mutation. Some changes to the
primary attributes Strength, Intelligence, and Dexterity (apart from those by
levelling) are also handled as mutations - in particular, these are not
necessarily permanent.

Although it would doubtless be a nice thing if you could remain
genetically pure, there are too many toxic wastes and mutagenic
radiations in the Dungeon for that to be possible. If your character
is so affected by these that he or she undergoes physiological
change, you can use the 'A' command to see how much of a freak
they've become and the 'a' command to activate any mutations which
can be controlled. Many mutations are actually beneficial to the
characters, but there are plenty of nasty ones as well. Many mutations
have three levels, each of which counts as a single mutation. Some
changes to the primary attributes Strength, Intelligence, and
Dexterity (apart from those by levelling) are also handled as
mutations - in particular, these are not necessarily permanent.

particularly Haste (not the kind you get from being berserk) and Invisibility,
as your system absorbs too much magical energy - but you would have to spend
almost all of your time hasted or invisible to be affected. However, some
powerful items radiate dangerous levels of magical energy. More often than
not, the mutations caused by magical radiations express harmfully.

particularly Haste (not the kind you get from being berserk) and
Invisibility, as your system absorbs too much magical energy - but
you would have to spend almost all of your time hasted or invisible
to be affected. However, some powerful items radiate dangerous
levels of magical energy. More often than not, the mutations caused
by magical radiations express harmfully.

Furthermore, certain corpses are mutagenic, and there are traps with mutation
effects. There are some spells invoking mutations.

Furthermore, certain corpses are mutagenic, and there are traps
with mutation effects. There are some spells invoking mutations.

It is much more difficult to get rid of bad mutations. A lucky mutation 
attempt can actually remove mutations. However, the only sure-fire way is to
quaff a potion of cure mutation, which will attept to remove three random
mutations.

It is much more difficult to get rid of bad mutations. A lucky
mutation attempt can actually remove mutations. However, the only
sure-fire way is to quaff a potion of cure mutation, which will
attempt to remove three random mutations.

A special case are Demonspawn. Characters of this species get certain special
powers during their career; these are listed in red. They are permanent and 
can never be removed. If one of your Demonspawn powers has been augmented by a 
mutation, it is displayed in a lighter red colour.

A special case are Demonspawn. Characters of this species get certain
special powers during their career; these are listed in red. They
are permanent and can never be removed. If one of your Demonspawn
powers has been augmented by a mutation, it is displayed in a lighter
red colour.

Many a race starts with some special intrinsical feats, like the greater speed 
of Centaurs or Spriggans and the eating habits of Trolls, Ogres, and others.
These are often, but not always, like a preset mutation. In case such an innate
feature gets amplified by an ordinary mutation, it is displayed in a light blue
colour.

Many a race starts with some special intrinsic feats, like the
greater speed of Centaurs or Spriggans and the eating habits of
Trolls, Ogres, and others.  These are often, but not always, like
a preset mutation. In case such an innate feature gets amplified
by an ordinary mutation, it is displayed in a light blue colour.

Crawl supports redefining keys via key maps. This is useful when your keyboard
layout makes some key awkward to use. You can also define macros: these are
command sequences which can make playing a great deal more convenient. Note
that mapping 'a' to some other key will treat almost all pressings of 'a' in 
that new way (including dropping and wielding etc.), so is not recommended.
Macroing 'a' to some other key will only change the command key 'a'.

You can set up key maps and macros in-game with the ~ key; this also allows for
saving all current key bindings and macros. Alternatively, you can directly edit
the macros.txt file. For more information on both and for examples, see the 
crawl_macros.txt.

Crawl supports redefining keys via key maps. This is useful when
your keyboard layout makes some key awkward to use. You can also
define macros: these are command sequences which can make playing
a great deal more convenient. Note that mapping 'a' to some other
key will treat almost all pressings of 'a' in that new way (including
dropping and wielding etc.), so is not recommended.  Macroing 'a'
to some other key will only change the command key 'a'.

Crawl supports a large number of options, which allows for great flexibility in
the interface. They are fully documented in the file crawl_options.txt.  The
options themselves are set in the file ~/.crawlrc (for UNIX systems - copy over
init.txt to ~/.crawlrc) or init.txt (for Windows).

You can set up key maps and macros in-game with the ~ key; this
also allows for saving all current key bindings and macros.
Alternatively, you can directly edit the macros.txt file. For more
information on both and for examples, see crawl_macros.txt.

Several interface routines are outsourced to external Lua scripts. The standard
distribution has them in the Lua directory. Have a look at the single scripts
for short descriptions.

Crawl supports a large number of options that allow for great
flexibility in the interface. They are fully documented in the file
crawl_options.txt.  The options themselves are set in the file
~/.crawlrc (for UNIX systems - copy over init.txt to ~/.crawlrc)
or init.txt (for Windows).

Generally, Crawl should run swiftly on all machines (it compiles out of the box
for Linux, Windows, OS/X, and to some lesser extent DOS and Unix). If, for some
reason, you find Crawl runs unacceptably slowly on your machine, there are a few
measures which may improve the situation:
 - avoid greedy autoexplore
 - set the option stash_tracking = explicit
 - set travel_delay = 0 to avoid screen output

Several interface routines are outsourced to external Lua scripts.
The standard distribution has them in the Lua directory. Have a
look at the single scripts for short descriptions.

>> 'some reason' could be play over internet in the future (that's why screen 
>> I/O can become important)
>> BTW, akrasiac must be mentioned somewhere in this manual - at least once
>> near the start...

Generally, Crawl should run swiftly on all machines (it compiles
out of the box for Linux, Windows, OS/X, and to some lesser extent
DOS and Unix). If, for some reason, you find Crawl runs unacceptably
slowly on your machine, there are a few measures which may improve
the situation:
 - avoid greedy autoexplore 
 - set the option stash_tracking = explicit 
 - set travel_delay = 0 to avoid screen output (this might 
   be useful if playing on a remote server)

Some players, especially those on crawl.akrasiac.org, also frequent ##crawl
on IRC's freenode network.

also submit bug reports and feature requests there. Be sure to have a look if
you bug/feature isn't already in the list. For more complicated requests it 
might be a good idea to discuss them at the newsgroup first.

also submit bug reports and feature requests there. Be sure to make sure that 
your bug/feature isn't already in the list. For more complicated requests, it 
might be a good idea to discuss them in the newsgroup first.

The history of Crawl is somewhat twisted, as is the case with many open-source
projects of this size. It started in 1995, when Australian based Linley
Henzell decided to create a game that takes its cue from Angband and Nethack
but avoids several things annoying him in both these games. Progress was made
rapidly, and Linley produced Crawl versions up to 3.30 in March 1999. During
this time all of the basic design principles discussed in the next section were
already established. Further work was then carried out by a group of developers
who released 3.40 in February 2000. Of them, Brent Ross emerged as the single
maintainer, producing versions until 4.0.0.beta26 in 2002. After a long period
of silent work, he went a great step by releasing 4.1.2alpha in August 2005. 
This version is generally considered unplayable due to severe balancing issues. 
It is likewise accepted, however, that 4.1.2 contained many valuable ideas for 
future progress. In the meantime, several patches appeared, improving Crawl's
interface tremendously. Several of them formed a new devteam; after figuring
out that rebalancing 4.1.2 threatened to become an impossible task, they created
a new branch. This was coined Stone Soup for some reason, and is the game this
manual describes. 

The history of Crawl is somewhat twisted, as is the case with many
open-source projects of this size. It started in 1995, when Australian
based Linley Henzell decided to create a game that takes its cue
from Angband and Nethack but avoids several things annoying him in
both these games. Progress was made rapidly, and Linley produced
Crawl versions up to 3.30 in March 1999. During this time all of
the basic design principles discussed in the next section were
already established. Further work was then carried out by a group
of developers who released 3.40 in February 2000. Of them, Brent
Ross emerged as the single maintainer, producing versions until
4.0.0.beta26 in 2002. After a long period of silent work, he went
a great step by releasing 4.1.2alpha in August 2005.  This version
is generally considered unplayable due to severe balancing issues.
It is likewise accepted, however, that 4.1.2 contained many valuable
ideas for future progress. In the meantime, several patchers appeared,
improving Crawl's interface tremendously. Several of them formed a
new devteam; after figuring out that rebalancing 4.1.2 threatened
to become an impossible task, they created a new branch. This was
coined Stone Soup for some reason, and is the game this manual
describes.

It should be mentioned that there have been other Crawl variants over the years,
among them Ax-Crawl by... and Tile Crawl by....

It should be mentioned that there have been other Crawl variants
over the years, among them Ax-Crawl by... and Tile Crawl by....

>> [r] Is there any reason not to explain the name "Stone Soup?"

The object of your quest in Crawl (the Orb of Zot) was taken from Wizard's 
Castle, a text adventure written in BASIC.

The object of your quest in Crawl (the Orb of Zot) was taken from
Wizard's Castle, a text adventure written in BASIC.

You may ponder about the wisdom of certain design decisions of Crawl. This 
section tries to explain some of them. It could also be of interest if you are 
used to other roguelikes and want a bit of background on the differences. In a
nutshell, prime mainstays of Crawl development are the following, most of which 
are explained in more detail below. Note that almost of all of these date back

You may ponder about the wisdom of certain design decisions of
Crawl. This section tries to explain some of them. It could also
be of interest if you are used to other roguelikes and want a bit
of background on the differences. In a nutshell, prime mainstays
of Crawl development are the following, most of which are explained
in more detail below. Note that almost of all of these date back

One basic design principle is avoidance of grinding (also known as scumming).
These are activities that have low risk, take a lot of time, and bring some
reward. This is bad for a game's design, because it encourages players to bore
themselves. We try to avoid this!

One basic design principle is avoidance of grinding (also known as
scumming).  These are activities that have low risk, take a lot of
time, and bring some reward. This is bad for a game's design because
it encourages players to bore themselves. We try to avoid this!

This explains why shops don't buy: otherwise players would hoover the dungeon
for items to sell. Of course, there are gods accepting all kinds of sacrifices
(and thus altar hoovering) but there are generally better ways to increase piety
there. Another instance: there's no infinite commodity available: food, monster
and item generation is generally not enough to support infinite play. Not
messing with lighting also falls into this category: there might be a benefit to
mood when players have to carry candles/torches, but we don't see any gameplay
benefit as yet. The deep tactical gameplay Crawl aims for necessitates permanent
dungeon levels.  Many a time characters have to choose between descending or
battling. While carefulness is a virtue in Crawl, as it is in many other
roguelikes, there are strong forces driving characters deeper.

This explains why shops don't buy: otherwise players would hoover
the dungeon for items to sell. Of course, there are gods accepting
all kinds of sacrifices (and thus altar hoovering) but there are
generally better ways to increase piety there. Another instance:
there's no infinite commodity available: food, monster and item
generation is generally not enough to support infinite play. Not
messing with lighting also falls into this category: there might
be a benefit to mood when players have to carry candles/torches,
but we don't see any gameplay benefit as yet. The deep tactical
gameplay Crawl aims for necessitates permanent dungeon levels.  Many
a time characters have to choose between descending or battling.
While caution is a virtue in Crawl, as it is in many other roguelikes,
there are strong forces driving characters deeper.

Another key feature is clarity: things ought to work in an intuitive way. While
not true for everything, Crawl definitelyy is winnable without spoiler access. 
Concerning important, but hidden details (i.e. facts subject to spoilers) our
policy is this: the joy of discovering something spoily is nice, once. (And 
disappears before it can start if you feel you need to/must read spoilers - a
legitimate feeling.) The joy of dealing with ever-changing, unexpected, and 
challenging strategic and tactical situations that arise out of transparent 

Another key feature is clarity: things ought to work in an intuitive
way.  Crawl definitely is winnable without spoiler access (unlike
some other games).  Concerning important but hidden details (i.e.
facts subject to spoilers) our policy is this: the joy of discovering
something spoily is nice, once. (And disappears before it can start
if you feel you need to/must read spoilers - a legitimate feeling.)
The joy of dealing with ever-changing, unexpected, and challenging
strategic and tactical situations that arise out of transparent

The skills and aptitude system is one of the factors for strategic play. It also
serves to clearly differentiate the many species; thus providing replayability, 
in particular since the class/race combinations are by no means homogeneous in 
difficulty. Note that a rough idea about aptitudes is definitely enough to win, 
yet players can optimise here, as well. It can be said that race differentiation
is still not finished - what sets the High and Grey Elves really apart?
A weak spot of the current skill system is 'victory dancing', where characters 
spend experience accumulated in a big battle with stupid actions (like casting 
Magic Dart at the wall) in order to increase specific skills.

The skills and aptitude system is one factor encouraging strategic
play. It also serves to clearly differentiate the many species,
thus providing replayability, in particular since the class/race
combinations are by no means homogeneous in difficulty. Note that
a rough idea about aptitudes is definitely enough to win, yet players
can optimise here, as well. It can be said that race differentiation
is still not finished - what sets the High and Grey Elves really
apart?  A weak spot of the current skill system is 'victory dancing',
where characters spend experience accumulated in a big battle with
stupid actions (like casting Magic Dart at the wall) in order to
increase specific skills.

A very important point in Crawl is steering away from nobrainers. Speaking about
games in general, wherever there's a no-brainer, that means the development team
put a lot of effort into providing a "choice" that's really not an interesting 
choice at all. And that's a horrible lost opportunity for fun.
Examples for this are the resistances: there are very few permanent sources, 
most involve a choice (like rings or specific armour) or are only semi-permanent
(like mutations). Another example is the absence of clearcut best items, which
comes from the fact that most artifacts are randomly generated. Furthermore, 
even fixed artifacts cannot be wished for, as scrolls of acquirement produce 
random items in general. Likewise, there are no sure-fire means of life saving 
(the closest equivalent are controlled blinks, and good religious standings for 
some deities).

A very important point in Crawl is steering away from nobrainers.
Speaking about games in general, wherever there's a no-brainer,
that means the development team put a lot of effort into providing
a "choice" that's really not an interesting choice at all. And
that's a horrible lost opportunity for fun.  Examples for this are
the resistances: there are very few permanent sources, most involve
a choice (like rings or specific armour) or are only semi-permanent
(like mutations). Another example is the absence of clearcut best
items, which comes from the fact that most artifacts are randomly
generated. Furthermore, even fixed artifacts cannot be wished for,
as scrolls of acquirement produce random items in general. Likewise,
there are no sure-fire means of life saving (the closest equivalent
are controlled blinks, and good religious standings for some deities).

Concerning replayability again, Crawl's dungeon layout was also constructed with
this in mind: even veteran players will find the Hells exciting (which
themselves are construed such that life endangering situations can always pop up
- this tries to avoid the walking tank phenomenon). Another strong point is the
religous system, because Crawl allows you to choose gods in the game, regardless
of class or race (and even to switch to other gods).  Likewise, there are many
fundamentally different playing styles to discover (melee oriented fighter,
stabber, etc.). There have been even deliberate design choices that allow
meta-styles: For example, Mummies do not need to eat and so are principally
suited for a infinite play. On the precise opposite end, players who prefer to
be rewarded for accepting a more severe "clock" can play Demigods with their
near-godly stats, or centaurs, with amazing missile skills and the speed to take
advantage of them. Draconians, on the other hand, reveal their adult form
(including aptitudes, and sometimes resistances) only at level 7.  These are a
deviation from the usual rule that after choosing a race, the complete future of
that character lies in the hand of the player. Nearly every race in the game
"offers" a style of its own like the above! Sadly, however, at present some do
so far less than others.

Concerning replayability again, Crawl's dungeon layout was also
constructed with this in mind: even veteran players will find the
Hells exciting (which themselves are construed such that life
endangering situations can always pop up - this tries to avoid the
walking tank phenomenon). Another strong point is the religous
system, because Crawl allows you to choose gods in the game,
regardless of class or race (and even to switch to other gods).
Likewise, there are many fundamentally different playing styles to
discover (melee oriented fighter, stabber, etc.). There have been
even deliberate design choices that allow meta-styles: For example,
Mummies do not need to eat and so are principally suited for a
infinite play. On the precise opposite end, players who prefer to
be rewarded for accepting a more severe "clock" can play Demigods
with their near-godly stats, or centaurs, with amazing missile
skills and the speed to take advantage of them. Draconians, on the
other hand, reveal their adult form (including aptitudes, and
sometimes resistances) only at level 7.  These are a deviation from
the usual rule that after choosing a race, the complete future of
that character lies in the hand of the player. Nearly every race
in the game "offers" a style of its own like the above! Sadly,
however, at present some do so far less than others.
From time to time a discussion about Crawl's unfair OOD (out of
depth) monsters turns up, like a dragon on the second dungeon level.
These are not bugs! They serve as motivation, first of all: in many
cases, such a situation can be survived somehow and the mental bond
to the character will then surely grow. OOD monsters also help to
keep more experienced players on their toes. The same can be said
of uniques.

From time to time a discussion about Crawl's unfair OOD (out of depth) monsters
turns up, like a dragon on the second dungeon level. These are not bugs! They 
serve as motivation, first of all: in many cases, such a situation can be 
survived somehow and the mental bond to the character will then surely grow. OOD
monsters also help to keep more experienced players on their toes. The same can
be said of uniques.

Finally, the interface of Crawl is designed to be understood at a
glance and to support gameplay as far as possible. In particular,
it should make tedious activities (like making notes of important
stashed items, or doing long travels) less tedious. This is how
interlevel travel, autoexplore, the stash tracker, the dump file,
inscriptions, and macros got into the game.

Finally, the interface of Crawl is designed to be understood at a glance and to
support gameplay as far as possible. In particular, it should make tedious
activities (like making notes of important stashed items, or doing long travels)
less tedious. This is how interlevel travel, autoexplore, the stash tracker, the
dump file, inscriptions, and macros got into the game.

Still, we make a lot of effort to care for new players (who naturally
have no access to most of these utilities). In particular, all
information should be clearly available and documented in-game. We
hope to have achieved this at least partially.

Still, we make a lot of effort to care for new players (who naturally have no
access to most of these utilities). In particular, all information should be
clearly available and documented in-game. We hope to have that achieved this, at
least partially.
 

Humans tend to be hardworking and industrious, and learn new things quickly. The
human race is the most versatile of all the species available to players: humans
can be of any class. Humans advance quickly in levels and have equal abilities 
in all skills. 

Humans tend to be hardworking and industrious, and learn new things
quickly. The human race is the most versatile of all the species
available to players: humans can be of any class. Humans advance
quickly in levels and have equal abilities in all skills.

There are a number of distinct races of elf. Elves are all physically slight but
long-lived people, quicker-witted than humans but sometimes slower to learn new 
things. Elves are especially good at using those skills which require a degree 
of finesse, such as stealth, sword-fighting and archery, but tend to be poor at 
using brute force and inelegant forms of combat. They find heavy armour to be
uncomfortable, and make the finest, lightest armours to be found anywhere. Elves
are particularly good at using elven weapons.

There are a number of distinct races of elf. Elves are all physically
slight but long-lived people, quicker-witted than humans but sometimes
slower to learn new things. Elves are especially good at using those
skills which require a degree of finesse, such as stealth,
sword-fighting and archery, but tend to be poor at using brute force
and inelegant forms of combat. They find heavy armour to be
uncomfortable, and make the finest, lightest armours to be found
anywhere. Elves are particularly good at using elven weapons.

Due to their fey natures, all elves are good at using enchantments and air
elemental magic and most are poor at invoking the powers of earth and death
(necromancy).

Due to their fey natures, all elves are good at using enchantments
and air elemental magic and most are poor at invoking the powers
of earth and death (necromancy).

  they're not listening, as common elves. Common elves have good intelligence

  they're not listening, common elves. Common elves have good intelligence

Dwarves are short, hardy people. They love to fight, and often venture forth
from their subterranean cities 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.

Dwarves are short, hardy people. They love to fight, and often
venture forth from their subterranean cities 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.

  aptitude are earth, fire and conjurations. They advance in levels at a similar
  rate to common elves.

  aptitude are earth, fire, and conjurations. They advance in levels at a 
  similar rate to common elves.

Halflings, who are named for being about half the size of a human, live in small
villages. They live simple lives, and have simple interests. Some times a 
particularly restless halfling will leave his or her village in search of 
adventure.

Halflings, who are named for being about half the size of humans,
live in small villages. They live simple lives and have simple
interests. Sometimes a particularly restless halfling will leave
his or her village in search of adventure.

Halflings are very small and are among the least robust of any character 
species. Although only average at most fighting skills, they can use short
blades well and are good at all forms of missile combat. They are also very
stealthy and good at dodging and stabbing, but are poor at magic (except
enchantments and, for some reason, translocations). They advance in levels as 
rapidly as humans. Halflings cannot wield large weapons.

Halflings are very small and are among the least robust of any
character species. Although only average at most fighting skills,
they can use short blades well and are good at all forms of missile
combat. They are also very stealthy and good at dodging and stabbing,
but are poor at magic (except enchantments and, for some reason,
translocations). They advance in levels as rapidly as humans.
Halflings cannot wield large weapons.

Gnomes are an underground-dwelling race of creatures, related to the dwarves but 
even more closely in touch with the earth.

Gnomes are an underground-dwelling race of creatures, related to
the dwarves but even more closely in touch with the earth.

They are quite small, and share many of their characteristics with halflings 
(except for the great agility), although they advance slightly more slowly in 
experience levels. They are okay at most skills, but excellent at earth 
elemental magic and very poor at air magic.

They are quite small, and share many characteristics with halflings
(except for the great agility), although they advance slightly more
slowly in experience levels. They are okay at most skills, but
excellent at earth elemental magic and very poor at air magic.

Occasionally they can use their empathy with the earth to sense their
surroundings; this ability increases in power as they gain experience levels.

Occasionally they can use their empathy with the earth to sense
their surroundings; this ability increases in power as they gain
experience levels.

Hill orcs are orcs from the upper world who, jealous of the riches which their 
cousins the cave orcs possess below the ground, descend in search of plunder and
adventure.

Hill orcs are orcs from the upper world who, jealous of the riches
which their cousins the cave orcs possess below the ground, descend
in search of plunder and adventure.

Hill orcs are as robust as the hill dwarves, but have very low reserves of
magical energy. Their forte is brute-force fighting, and they are skilled at
using most hand weapons (with the exception of short blades, at which they are 
only fair), although they are not particularly good at using missile weapons. 
They prefer to use their own weapons. Orcs are poor at using most types of magic
with the exception of conjurations, necromancy, and earth and fire elemental 
magic. They advance as quickly as humans.

Hill orcs are as robust as the hill dwarves, but have very low
reserves of magical energy. Their forte is brute-force fighting,
and they are skilled at using most hand weapons (with the exception
of short blades, at which they are only fair), although they are
not particularly good at using missile weapons.  They prefer to use
their own weapons. Orcs are poor at using most types of magic with
the exception of conjurations, necromancy, and earth and fire
elemental magic. They advance as quickly as humans.

Kobolds are small, ugly creatures with few redeeming features. They are not the 
sort of people you would want to spend much time with, unless you happen to be a
kobold yourself.

Kobolds are small, ugly creatures with few redeeming features. They
are not the sort of people you would want to spend much time with,
unless you happened to be a kobold yourself.

They have poor abilities and have similar aptitudes to halflings, without the 
excellent agility. However, they are better than halflings at using some types 
of magic, particularly summonings and necromancy. They often live as scavengers,
surviving on carrion (which they can eat even when not hungry), but are 
carnivorous and can only eat meat. They advance in levels as quickly as humans.

They have poor abilities and have similar aptitudes to halflings
without the excellent agility. However, they are better than halflings
at using some types of magic, particularly summonings and necromancy.
They often live as scavengers, surviving on carrion (which they can
eat even when not hungry), but are carnivorous and can only eat
meat. They advance in levels as quickly as humans.

As creatures brought back from beyond the grave they are naturally immune to
poisons, negative energy and torment, have little warmth left to be affected
by cold, and are not susceptible to mutations.

As creatures brought back from beyond the grave they are naturally
immune to poisons, negative energy and torment, have little warmth
left to be affected by cold, and are not susceptible to mutations.

  Mummies progress very slowly in level, half again as slowly as humans, and in

  Mummies progress very slowly in level, half again as slowly as humans in

The Naga are a race of hybrids: humanoid from the waist up, with a large snake 
tail instead of legs.

Nagas are a hybrid race: humanoid from the waist up with a
large snake tail instead of legs.

They are reasonably good at most things and advance in experience levels at a 
decent rate. They are naturally immune to poisons, can see invisible creatures, 
and have tough skin, but their tails are relatively slow and cannot move them 
around as quickly as can other creatures' legs (this only affects their movement
rate; all other actions are at normal speed). Their body shape also prevents 
them from gaining full protection from most armour. A Naga's biggest forte is 
stealth: Nagas are very good at moving unnoticed.

They are reasonably good at most things and advance in experience
levels at a decent rate. They are naturally immune to poisons, can
see invisible creatures, and have tough skin, but their tails are
relatively slow and cannot move them around as quickly as can other
creatures' legs (this only affects their movement rate; all other
actions are at normal speed). Their body shape also prevents them
from gaining full protection from most armour. A Naga's biggest
forte is stealth: Nagas are very good at moving unnoticed.

Every now and then, a naga can spit poison; the range, accuracy and damage of 
this poison increases with the naga's experience level.

Every now and then, a naga can spit poison; the range, accuracy and
damage of this poison increases with the naga's experience level.

Ogres are huge, chunky creatures related to orcs. They are terrible monsters who
usually live to do nothing more than smash, smash, smash, and destroy.

Ogres are huge, chunky creatures related to orcs. They are terrible
monsters who usually live to do nothing more than smash, smash,
smash, and destroy.

They have great physical strength, but are bad at almost everything except
fighting and learn quite slowly. Because of their large size they can only wear
loose robes, cloaks and animal skins. Although ogres can eat almost anything, 
their size means that they need to do so more frequently than smaller folk.

They have great physical strength, but are bad at almost everything
except fighting and learn quite slowly. Because of their large size
they can only wear loose robes, cloaks and animal skins. Although
ogres can eat almost anything, their size means that they need to
do so more frequently than smaller folk.

Ogre-mages are a separate race of ogres who are unique among the beefier species
in their ability to use magic, especially enchantments. Although slighter than 
their common ogre relatives they nevertheless have great strength and can 
survive a lot of punishment. They advance in level as slowly as high elves. In 
contrast to their Ogre cousins, Ogre Mages have lost the abilities to digest 
corpses when not hungry.

Ogre-mages are a separate race of ogres who are unique among the
beefier species in their ability to use magic, especially enchantments.
Although slighter than their common ogre relatives they nevertheless
have great strength and can survive a lot of punishment. They advance
in level as slowly as high elves. In contrast to their Ogre cousins,
Ogre Mages have lost the ability to digest corpses when not hungry.

Trolls are like ogres, but even nastier. They have thick, knobbly skins of any
colour from putrid green to mucky brown and their mouths are full of
ichor-dripping fangs.

Trolls are like ogres, but even nastier. They have thick, knobbly
skins of any colour from putrid green to mucky brown and their
mouths are full of ichor-dripping fangs.

They can rip creatures apart with their claws, and regenerate very quickly from
even the most terrible wounds. They learn very slowly indeed - even more slowly 
than high elves - and need a great amount of food to survive.

They can rip creatures apart with their claws, and regenerate very
quickly from even the most terrible wounds. They learn very slowly
indeed - even more slowly than high elves - and need a great amount
of food to survive.

Draconians are human-dragon hybrids: humanoid in form and approximately 
human-sized, with wings, tails and scaly skins. Draconians start out in an 
immature form with brown scales, but as they grow in power they take on a 
variety of colours. This happens at an early stage in their career, and the 
colour is determined by chromosomes, not by behaviour.

Draconians are human-dragon hybrids: humanoid in form and approximately
human-sized, with wings, tails and scaly skins. Draconians start
out in an immature form with brown scales, but as they grow in power
they take on a variety of colours. This happens at an early stage
in their career, and the colour is determined by chromosomes, not
by behaviour.

Some types of draconians have breath weapons or special resistances. Draconians
advance very slowly in level, but are reasonably good at all skills but armour 
(most types of which they cannot wear) and missile weapons. Still, each colour 
has its own strengths and some have complementary weaknesses, which sometimes 
requires a bit of flexibility.

Some types of draconians have breath weapons or special resistances.
Draconians advance very slowly in level, but are reasonably good
at all skills but armour (most types of which they cannot wear) and
missile weapons. Still, each colour has its own strengths and some
have complementary weaknesses, which sometimes requires a bit of
flexibility on the part of the player.

      frost. They are versed with ice magic, but bad at fire.

      frost. They are versed in ice magic, but bad at fire.

  Green Draconians are used to venomenous surroundings. They are especially 
      good in the arts of poison but without deficiencies in other magic realms.

  Green Draconians are used to venomous surroundings. They are especially 
      good in the arts of poison and without deficiencies in other magic realms.

  Yellow Draconians have sulphuritic odem. Contrary to other Draconians, they

  Yellow Draconians have sulphurous breath. Unlike other Draconians, they

      learning and they also get no breath weapon. But their scales become 
      particularly hard over time, they gain more HP, and they grow a spiked
      tail, making them particularly fit for battle.

      learning, and they get no breath weapon. Their scales, however, become 
      particularly hard over time, they gain more HP than other draconians, 
      and they grow a spiked tail, making them particularly fit for battle.

  Mottled Draconians are somewhat in touch with fire, yet not weak at ice. Their
      breath consists of special sticky fire, thus burning the target.

  Mottled Draconians are somewhat in touch with fire, yet are not weak with 
      ice. Their breath consists of special sticky fire which burns the target.

  Pale Draconians are slightly biased towards fire magic, but without any 

  Pale Draconians are slightly biased towards fire magic, and have no 

The Centaurs are another race of hybrid creatures: horses with a human torso. 
They usually live in forests, surviving by hunting.

The Centaurs are another race of hybrid creatures: horses with a
human torso. They usually live in forests, surviving by hunting.

Centaurs can move very quickly on their four legs, and are excellent with bows
and other missile weapons; they are also reasonable at the Fighting skill while
being slow learners at specific weapon skills. They advance quite slowly in 
experience level and are rather sub-average at using magic. Due to their large 
bulk, they need a little extra food to survive.

Centaurs can move very quickly on their four legs, and are excellent
with bows and other missile weapons; they are also reasonable at
the Fighting skill while being slow learners at specific weapon
skills. They advance quite slowly in experience level and are rather
sub-average at using magic. Due to their large bulk, they need a
little extra food to survive.

Demigods are mortals (humans, orcs or elves, for example) with some divine or 
angelic ancestry, however distant; they can be created by a number of processes
including magical experiments and the time-honoured practice of interplanar 
miscegenation.

Demigods are mortals (humans, orcs, or elves, for example) with some
divine or angelic ancestry, however distant; they can be created
by a number of processes including magical experiments and the
time-honoured practice of interplanar miscegenation.

Demigods look more or less like members of their mortal part's race, but have 
excellent attributes (strength, int, dex) and are extremely robust; they can 
also draw on great supplies of magical energy. On the downside they advance very
slowly in experience, gain skills slightly less quickly than humans, and due to
their status cannot worship the various Gods and Powers available to other 
classes of being.

Demigods look more or less like members of their mortal part's race,
but have excellent attributes (strength, int, dex) and are extremely
robust; they can also draw on great supplies of magical energy. On
the downside they advance very slowly in experience, gain skills
slightly less quickly than humans, and due to their status cannot
worship the various Gods and Powers available to other classes of
being.

Spriggans are small magical creatures distantly related to elves. They love to
frolic and cast mischevious spells.

Spriggans are small magical creatures distantly related to elves.
They love to frolic and cast mischevious spells.

They are poor fighters, have little physical resilience, and are terrible at
destructive magic - conjurations, summonings, necromancy and elemental spells.
On the other hand, they are excellent at other forms of magic and are very good
at moving silently and quickly. So great is their speed that a spriggan can 
overtake a centaur.

They are poor fighters, have little physical resilience, and are
terrible at destructive magic - conjurations, summonings, necromancy
and elemental spells.  On the other hand, they are excellent at
other forms of magic and are very good at moving silently and
quickly. So great is their speed that a spriggan can overtake a
centaur.

The minotaur is yet another hybrid - a human body with a bovine head. It delves
into the Dungeon because of its instinctive love of twisting passageways.

The minotaur is yet another hybrid - a human body with a bovine
head. It delves into the Dungeon because of its instinctive love
of twisting passageways.

Minotaurs are extremely good at all forms of physical combat, but are awful at
using any type of magic. They can wear all armour except for some headgear.

Minotaurs are extremely good at all forms of physical combat, but
are awful at using any type of magic. They can wear all armour
except for some headgear.

Demonspawn are horrible half-mortal, half-infernal creatures - the flip side of 
the Demigods. Demonspawn can be created in any number of ways: magical
experiments, breeding, unholy pacts, etc. Although many demonspawn may be
indistinguishable from those of pure mortal stock, they often grow horns, scales
or other unusual features. Powerful members of this class of beings also develop
a range of unholy abilities, which are listed as mutations (and can sometimes be
activated with the 'a' command).

Demonspawn are horrible half-mortal, half-infernal creatures - the
flip side of the Demigods. Demonspawn can be created in any number
of ways: magical experiments, breeding, unholy pacts, etc. Although
many demonspawn may be indistinguishable from those of pure mortal
stock, they often grow horns, scales or other unusual features.
Powerful members of this class of beings also develop a range of
unholy abilities, which are listed as mutations (and can sometimes
be activated with the 'a' command).

Demonspawn advance quite slowly in experience and learn most skills at about the
same rate as do Demigods. However, they are a little better at fighting and much
better at conjurations, summonings, necromancy and invocations.

Demonspawn advance quite slowly in experience and learn most skills
at about the same rate as do Demigods. However, they are a little
better at fighting and much better at conjurations, summonings,
necromancy and invocations.

The Kenku are an ancient and feared race of bird-people with a legendary
propensity for violence. Basically humanoid with bird-like heads and clawed
feet, the kenku can wear all types of armour except helmets and boots. Despite
their lack of wings, powerful kenku can fly and very powerful members of this 
race can stay in the air for as long as they wish to do so.

The Kenku are an ancient and feared race of bird-people with a
legendary propensity for violence. Basically humanoid with bird-like
heads and clawed feet, the kenku can wear all types of armour except
helmets and boots. Despite their lack of wings, powerful kenku can
fly and very powerful members of this race can stay in the air for
as long as they wish to do so.

They are experts at all forms of fighting, including the magical arts of combat
(conjurations, summonings and, to a lesser extent, necromancy). They are good at
air and fire elemental magic, but poor at ice and earth magic. Kenku do not 
appreciate any form of servitude, and so are poor at using invocations. Their 
light avian bodies cannot sustain a great deal of injury.

They are experts at all forms of fighting, including the magical
arts of combat (conjurations, summonings and, to a lesser extent,
necromancy). They are good at air and fire elemental magic, but
poor at ice and earth magic. Kenku do not appreciate any form of
servitude, and so are poor at using invocations. Their light avian
bodies cannot sustain a great deal of injury.

The Merfolk are a hybrid race of half-human, half-fish that typically live in 
the oceans and rivers and seldom come onto the land. The merfolk aren't as 
limited on land as some myths suggest, their tails will quickly reform into legs
once they leave the water (and, likewise, their legs will quickly reform into a 
tail should they ever enter water). Their agility is often misjudged, and they 
tend to be surprising nimble on land as well as in the water. Experts at 
swimming they need not fear drowning as they can quickly slip out of any 
encumbering armour during the transformation into their half-fish form.

The Merfolk are a hybrid race of half-human, half-fish that typically
live in the oceans and rivers and seldom come onto the land. The
merfolk aren't as limited on land as some myths suggest, their tails
will quickly reform into legs once they leave the water (and,
likewise, their legs will quickly reform into a tail should they
ever enter water). Their agility is often misjudged, and they tend
to be surprising nimble on land as well as in the water. Experts
at swimming, they need not fear drowning as they can quickly slip
out of any encumbering armour during the transformation into their
half-fish form.

The Merfolk have developed their martial arts strongly on thrusting and 
grappling, since those are the most efficient ways to fight underwater. They, 
therefore, prefer polearms and short swords above all other weapons, although 
they can also use longer swords quite well.

The Merfolk have developed their martial arts strongly on thrusting
and grappling, since those are the most efficient ways to fight
underwater. They therefore prefer polearms and short swords above
all other weapons, although they can also use longer swords quite
well.

As spellcasters, they tend to be quite good in specific areas. Their mystical 
relationship with water makes it easier for them to use divination, poison, and 
ice magics... which use water occasionally as a material component. The 
legendary water magic of the merfolk was lost in ancient times, but some of 
that affinity still remains. The instability of their own morphogenic matrix has 
made them very accomplished transmuters, but most other magics seem foreign to 

As spellcasters, they tend to be quite good in specific areas. Their
mystical relationship with water makes it easier for them to use
divination, poison, and ice magics... which use water occasionally
as a material component. The legendary water magic of the merfolk
was lost in ancient times, but some of that affinity still remains.
The instability of their own morphogenic matrix has made them very
accomplished transmuters, but most other magics seem foreign to

In your quest, you play as one of a number of different types of characters.
Although each has its own strengths and weaknesses, some are definitely easier 
than others, at least to begin with. The best classes for a beginner are 
probably Gladiators, Fighters and Berserkers; if you really want to play a 
magician, try a Conjurer. Each class starts out with a different set of skills 
and items, but from there you can shape them as you will.

In your quest, you play as one of a number of different types of
characters.  Although each has its own strengths and weaknesses,
some are definitely easier than others, at least to begin with. The
best classes for a beginner are probably Gladiators, Fighters, and
Berserkers; if you really want to play a magician, try a Conjurer.
Each class starts out with a different set of skills and items, but
from there you can shape them as you will.

Fighters start with a decent weapon, a suit of armour and a shield. They have a 
good general grounding in the arts of fighting.

Fighters start with a decent weapon, a suit of armour, and a shield.
They have a good general grounding in the arts of fighting.

The Gladiator is trained to fight in the ring, and so is an expert in the art of
fighting but is not so good at anything else. In fact, Gladiators are pretty 
terrible at anything except bashing monsters with heavy things. They start with 
a nasty weapon, a small shield, and armour.

The Gladiator is trained to fight in the ring, and so is an expert
in the art of fighting but is not so good at anything else. In fact,
Gladiators are pretty terrible at anything except bashing monsters
with heavy things. They start with a nasty weapon, a small shield,
and armour.

Berserkers are hardy warriors who worship Trog the Wrathful, from whom they get 
the power to go berserk (as well as a number of other powers should they prove 
worthy) but who forbids the use of spell magic. They enter the dungeon with an 
axe and a set of leather armour.

Berserkers are hardy warriors who worship Trog the Wrathful, from
whom they get the power to go berserk (as well as a number of other
powers should they prove worthy) but who forbids the use of spell
magic. They enter the dungeon with an axe and a set of leather
armour.

The Hunter is a type of fighter who specialises in missile weapons. A Hunter
starts with a bow and some arrows, as well as a hunting knife and a set of
leathers.

The Hunter is a type of fighter who specialises in missile weapons.
A Hunter starts with a bow and some arrows, as well as a hunting
knife and a set of leathers.

The Monk is a member of an ascetic order dedicated to the perfection of one's 
body and soul through the discipline of the martial arts. Monks start with very 
little equipment, but can survive without the weighty weapons and spellbooks 
needed by other classes.

The Monk is a member of an ascetic order dedicated to the perfection
of one's body and soul through the discipline of the martial arts.
Monks start with very little equipment, but can survive without the
weighty weapons and spellbooks needed by other classes.

The Thief is one of the trickiest classes to play. Thieves start out with a
large variety of useful skills, and need to use all of them to survive. Thieves
start with a short sword, some throwing darts, and light armour.

The Thief is one of the trickiest classes to play. Thieves start
out with a large variety of useful skills, and need to use all of
them to survive. Thieves start with a short sword, some throwing
darts, and light armour.

An Assassin is a thief who is especially good at killing. Assassins are like
thieves in most respects, but are more dangerous in combat.

An Assassin is a thief who is especially good at killing. Assassins
are like thieves in most respects, but are more dangerous in combat.

The Crusader is a decent fighter who can use the magical art of enchantment to 
become more dangerous in battle. Crusaders start out lightly armed and armoured,
but equipped with a book of martial spells.

The Crusader is a decent fighter who can use the magical art of
enchantment to become more dangerous in battle. Crusaders start out
lightly armed and armoured, but equipped with a book of martial
spells.

Reavers are warriors who learn the magics of destruction in order to complement
their deadliness in hand combat.

Reavers are warriors who learn the magics of destruction in order
to complement their deadliness in hand combat.

The Death Knight is a fighter who aligns him or herself with the powers of 
death. There are two types of Death Knights: those who worship and draw their 
abilities from the Demon-God Yredelemnul, and those who study the fearsome arts 
of necromancy.

The Death Knight is a fighter who aligns him or herself with the
powers of death. There are two types of Death Knights: those who
worship and draw their abilities from the Demon-God Yredelemnul,
and those who study the fearsome arts of necromancy.

The Chaos Knight is a fighter who chooses to serve one of the Gods of Chaos. 
There are two choices: Xom or Makhleb. Xom is a very unpredictable (and possibly
psychotic) entity who rewards or punishes according to whim. Makhleb the 
Destroyer is a more purposeful God, who appreciates destruction and offers a 
variety of very violent powers to the faithful.

The Chaos Knight is a fighter who chooses to serve one of the Gods
of Chaos.  There are two choices: Xom or Makhleb. Xom is a very
unpredictable (and possibly psychotic) entity who rewards or punishes
according to whim. Makhleb the Destroyer is a more purposeful God,
who appreciates destruction and offers a variety of very violent
powers to the faithful.

The Paladin is a servant of the Shining One, and has many of the abilities of 
the Fighter and the Priest. He or she enters the dungeon with a sword, a shield,
a robe, and a healing potion.

The Paladin is a servant of the Shining One, and has many of the
abilities of the Fighter and the Priest. He or she enters the dungeon
with a sword, a shield, a robe, and a healing potion.

Priests serve either Zin, the ancient and revered God of Law, or the rather less
pleasant Death-God Yredelemnul. Although priests enter the dungeon with a mace 
(as well as a priestly robe and a few healing potions), this is purely the 
result of an archaic tradition the reason for which has been lost in the mists 
of time; Priests are not in any way restricted in their choice of weapon skills.

Priests serve either Zin, the ancient and revered God of Law, or
the rather less pleasant Death-God Yredelemnul. Although priests
enter the dungeon with a mace (as well as a priestly robe and a few
healing potions), this is purely the result of an archaic tradition
the reason for which has been lost in the mists of time; Priests
are not in any way restricted in their choice of weapon skills.

The Healer is a priest of Elyvilon. Healers begin with minor healing powers, but
can gain far greater abilities in the long run.

The Healer is a priest of Elyvilon. Healers begin with minor healing
powers, but can gain far greater abilities in the long run.

Magicians: These are not a class, but a type of class, including Wizards, 
Conjurers, Enchanters, Summoners, Necromancers, various Elementalists, Venom 
Mages, Transmuters and Warpers. A magician is the best at using magic. Magicians 
start with a dagger, a robe, and a book of spells which should see them through 
the first several levels. 

Magicians: These are not a class, but a type of class, including
Wizards, Conjurers, Enchanters, Summoners, Necromancers, various
Elementalists, Venom Mages, Transmuters and Warpers. A magician is
the best at using magic. Magicians start with a dagger, a robe, and
a book of spells which should see them through the first several
levels.

A Wizard is a magician who does not specialise in any area of magic. Wizards 
start with a variety of magical skills and the magic dart spell in memory.

A Wizard is a magician who does not specialise in any area of magic.
Wizards start with a variety of magical skills and the magic dart
spell in memory.

The Conjurer specialises in the violent and destructive magic of conjuration 
spells. Like the Wizard, the Conjurer starts with the magic dart spell.

The Conjurer specialises in the violent and destructive magic of
conjuration spells. Like the Wizard, the Conjurer starts with the
magic dart spell.

The Enchanter specialises in the more subtle area of enchantment magic.
Although not as directly powerful as conjurations, high-level enchantments
offer a wide range of very handy effects. The Enchanter begins with lightly 
enchanted weapons and armour, but no direct damage spell (since enchantments 
does not deal with direct attacks).  Instead they begin with the "confusing 
touch" spell and some enchanted darts, which should help them out until they 
can use the higher level enchantment spells.

The Enchanter specialises in the more subtle area of enchantment
magic.  Although not as directly powerful as conjurations, high-level
enchantments offer a wide range of very handy effects. The Enchanter
begins with lightly enchanted weapons and armour, but no direct
damage spell (since enchantments do not deal with direct attacks).
Instead they begin with the "confusing touch" spell and some enchanted
darts, which should help them out until they can use the higher
level enchantment spells.