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+                            Crawl Quick-Start Guide
+                        (Copyright 1999 Linley Henzell)
+
+So, you want to start playing Crawl straight away without bothering with the 
+manual? Read this, the guide to starting Crawl with a minimum of preparation. 
+When you get some more time, you can read crawl_manual.txt in the Docs 
+directory for more detailed information.
+
+I suggest printing it out and following its instructions while playing your 
+first few games (you can also press '?' while playing for a list of commands). 
+
+ INTRODUCTION TO CRAWL 
+
+Crawl is a large and very random game of subterranean exploration in a fantasy 
+world of magic and frequent violence. Your quest is to travel into the depths 
+of the Dungeon (which is different each time you play) and retrieve the Orb of 
+Zot. 
+
+Crawl is an RPG of the 'rogue-like' type, one of the descendants of Rogue. Its 
+graphics are simple but highly informative, designed to be understood at a 
+glance, and control is exercised largely through one-keystroke commands. 
+
+ STARTING OUT 
+
+After starting the program you will be greeted with a message asking for your 
+name. Don't spend too much time over this, as your first character will *not* 
+last very long (sorry, but it's true). 
+
+Next you are given menus of species and character classes from which to 
+choose. A dwarf, orc, ogre or troll Fighter is a good bet. Elves are quite 
+fragile, humans are pretty average at everything, and the weirder species are 
+mostly too tricky for beginning players. Finally, you may be given a choice of 
+weapons. I suggest an axe (axes are fun). 
+
+Now you are in the game. The game screen has three parts:
+ - the Map takes up the upper left part of the screen. In its very centre is 
+   the @ sign which represents You. The coloured parts of the Map are the parts 
+   you can see, while places which you have visited before but cannot currently 
+   see are shown in grey.
+ - the Message box is the large part of the screen below the map. It describes 
+   events as they happen and asks you questions from time to time. 
+ - the Stats area (to the right of the Map) contains various indicators of 
+   your health and abilities. 
+
+ EXPLORING 
+
+Try walking around, using either the numeric keypad (try numlock off and on) or 
+the Rogue (hjklyubn) keys. To move in a given direction until you reach 
+something interesting or see a hostile creature, press shift and the direction. 
+
+If you want to know what a certain character on the screen represents, you can 
+use the 'x' (examine) command to get a short description. You use the 'O', 'C' 
+commands to open or close doors, and the '<' (up) and '>' (down) commands to 
+climb staircases. Sometimes doors are hidden, and must be searched out by 
+standing next to walls and resting (a number of commands do the same thing: 
+'s', '.' (period), delete, or '5' on the numeric keypad; even better you rest 
+or search for a longer duration with either '5' on the digit row or Shift-5 on 
+the numeric keypad). 
+
+The Dungeon gets more dangerous (but more interesting!) as you go down. If you 
+get lost you can access a map of the whole level you are on with the 'X' 
+command, which uses the whole screen. 
+
+ ITEMS 
+
+After walking around for a while, you will no doubt come across some items 
+laying around (you may come across some monsters as well; for help in dealing 
+with them skip to the Monsters section). You can pick up items with the 'g' 
+(get) or ',' commands and drop them again with 'd' (drop), and the 'i' 
+(inventory) command shows you what you're carrying. 
+
+There are several different types of items: 
+
+ - Weapons, represented by the ) sign. Wield them with the 'w' (wield) 
+command. Some weapons are cursed and cannot be un-wielded without the use of 
+magic.
+
+ - Armour ([). Wear it, or take it off, with the 'W' (Wear) command. Heavier 
+ armours give more protection, but may hamper your ability to fight and to 
+ dodge attacks aimed at you. These can also be cursed.
+
+ - Ammunition (which has the ( sign). Throw it with 'f' (fire). Darts are 
+meant to be thrown by hand; other missiles need an appropriate launcher to be 
+wielded (eg arrows are much more effective when shot with a bow).
+
+ - Wands (/), Scrolls (?) and Potions (!) can be very valuable, but have 
+limited uses (scrolls and potions can only be used once each, wands contain 
+only a certain number of charges). Wands are 'Z'apped, scrolls are 'r'ead and 
+potions are 'q'uaffed.
+ Unfortunately, you won't at first know what a wand, scroll or potion does; it 
+will only be described by its physical appearance. But once you have used, for 
+example, a potion of healing, you will in future recognise all potions of 
+healing. 
+
+ - Rings (=) and Amulets (") often contain powerful magic, but it can be 
+difficult to work out exactly what one does. They are put on with 'P' (put on) 
+and can be removed with the same command, or also with 'R'. They can, like 
+weapons, be cursed. 
+
+ - Food (%) is vital to your survival. Eat it with the 'e' (eat) command when 
+hungry. Monsters' corpses, also %, can be eaten if chopped up (the 'c' ommand),
+but not all of them are healthful, and many species of player-character dislike
+eating raw flesh unless very hungry. 
+
+ - Money ($) can be used to buy stuff in shops, and increases your score if 
+you escape. 
+
+There are a few other types of items, but you will discover these as you play. 
+
+One vital command to remember when dealing with items is examing items more
+closely. In order to do so, bring up the inventory ('i') and press the key of
+any item therein. This gives you a short description of any item. Use it on 
+everything you find. The magical Scroll of Identify can also help for 
+identifying magical items of uncertain nature. 
+
+ MONSTERS 
+
+You will also run into monsters (most of which are represented by letters of 
+the alphabet). You can attack a monster by trying to move into the square it 
+is occupying. 
+
+When you are wounded you lose hit points (displayed near the top of the stats 
+list); these return gradually over time through the natural process of 
+healing. If you lose all of your hp you die. 
+
+To survive, you will need to develop a few basic tactics:
+ - Never fight more than one monster if you can help it. Always back into a 
+   corridor so that they must fight you one-on-one. 
+ - If you are badly wounded, you can run away from monsters to buy some time. 
+   Try losing them in corridors, or as a very last resort find a place where 
+   you can run around in circles to heal while the monster chases you. 
+ - Remember to use projectiles before engaging monsters in close combat.
+ - Rest between encounters. The 's', '.', delete or keypad-5 commands make you 
+   rest for one turn, while pressing '5' or shift-and-keypad-5 make you rest 
+   for a longer time (you will stop resting when fully healed). 
+ - Learn when to run away from things you can't handle - this is important! 
+   It is often wise to skip a dangerous level. But don't overdo this.
+
+ DEATH 
+
+Before long, you'll probably end up dead. 
+ 
+Death in Crawl is permanent; you cannot just reload a saved game and start again
+where you left off. The 'S' (save) command exists only to let you leave a game 
+part-way through and come back to it later. Quitting ('Q') lets you commit
+suicide if you can't even be bothered to help your character escape alive. 
+
+Well, that's it for the quick-start guide. This should help you through your 
+first few games, but Crawl is extremely (some would say excessively) complex 
+and cannot be adequately described in so short a document. So when you feel 
+ready to start playing with magic, skills, and religions, browse the manual.
+Happy Crawling!