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diff --git a/stone_soup/crawl-ref/docs/crawl.txt b/stone_soup/crawl-ref/docs/crawl.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 355522e792..0000000000 --- a/stone_soup/crawl-ref/docs/crawl.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1250 +0,0 @@ - Dungeon Crawl version 3.40 - (Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999 Linley Henzell) - -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. - -Detailed instructions for playing Crawl follow. If you want to get into the -game quickly, read the quick-start guide (README.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 -at the end of this document and the LICENCE.TXT file, though. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - CHARACTER SPECIES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -You have a number of different species to choose from. This affects several -characteristics: - - o Your choice of classes - o Your initial attributes - o Occasional bonus points added to some abilities - o The amount of hit points you get each level - o The amount of magic points you get each level - o Your initial equipment - o Your rate of level advancement - o Your rate of skill advancement - o Various special abilities and powers - -Note: 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. - -If you practise the skills you think or know are missing early on, they -should pick up the remaining skills very quickly (and their training will be -more complete). - - -The species: - -Human: - - 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 advance quickly in levels and have equal abilities in all - skills. Humans can also be of any class. - -Elves: - - There are a number of distinct races of elf in the world. 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 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). - - Those of the most common strain are referred to simply as elves or, when - they're not listening, as common elves. Common elves have good intelligence - and dexterity, but suffer a bit in strength. They have slightly fewer HP and - slightly more magic than humans, and advance in experience a bit more - slowly. - - High elves are a tall and powerful elven race who advance in levels very - slowly, requiring half again as much experience as do humans. They share the - same attributes as common elves in most respects, but their strengths and - weaknesses tend to be more pronounced. - - Grey elves also advance slowly, but not as slowly as high elves. They excel - at using short and long swords and bows, but are poor at other fighting - skills. They are excellent at all forms of magic except for necromancy. - - The deep elves are an elven race who long ago fled the overworld to live in - darkness underground. There they developed their mental powers, evolving a - natural gift for all forms of magic (including necromancy and earth magic), - and adapted physically to their new environment, becoming shorter and weaker - than other elves and losing all colouration. They are poor at hand-to-hand - combat but excellent at fighting from a distance. - - Sludge elves are a somewhat degenerate race of elves. They are mirror images - of normal elves in some respects: they have no special proficiency with bows - or swords (long or short), nor do they have any aptitude in the traditional - areas of high elven magic (enchantments, conjurations and divinations). On - the other hand, they are superlative transmuters, and are comfortable - dabbling in necromantic, poison and elemental magic. As fighters they are - often more dangerous unarmed than armed. They advance in level slightly - faster than their common brethren. - -Dwarves: - - 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. - - Hill dwarves are extremely robust but are poor at using magic. They are - excellent at hand combat, especially favouring axes or bludgeoning weapons, - and are good at using armour and shields, but are poor at missile combat or - at using polearms (which are usually too big for them to wield comfortably). - The only forms of magic which they can use with even a minimal degree of - aptitude are earth, fire and conjurations. They advance in levels at a - similar rate to common elves. - - Mountain dwarves come from the larger, more civilised communities of the - mountains. They advance slightly more quickly than hill dwarves and are - almost as robust while having similar aptitudes, but are slightly worse at - fighting while being slightly better at more civilised pursuits. - -Halflings: - - 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 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: - - 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. - - Occasionally they can use their empathy with the earth to sense their - surroundings; this ability increases in power as they gain experience - levels. - -Orcs: - - 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. - -Kobolds: - - 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. - - 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, but are carnivorous and can - only eat meat. They advance in levels as quickly as humans. - -The Undead: - - As creatures brought back from beyond the grave they are naturally immune to - poisons and negative energy, have little warmth left to be affected by cold, - and are not susceptible to reductions in their physical or mental abilities. - - There are two type of undead available to players: Mummies and Ghouls. - -Mummies: - - Mummies are undead creatures who travel into the depths in search of - revenge, redemption, or just because they want to. - - Mummies progress very slowly in level, half again as slow as humans, and in - all skills except fighting, spellcasting and necromancy. As they increase in - level they become increasingly in touch with the powers of death, but cannot - use some types of necromancy which only affect living creatures. The side - effects of necromantic magic tend to be relatively harmless to mummies. - However, their dessicated bodies are highly flammable. They also do not need - to eat or drink, and in any case are incapable of doing so. - -Ghouls: - - Ghouls are horrible undead creatures, slowly rotting away. Although ghouls - can sleep in their graves for years on end, when they rise to walk among the - living they must eat flesh to survive. Raw flesh is preferred, especially - rotting or tainted meat, and ghouls gain strength from consuming it. - - They aren't very good at doing most things, although they make decent - fighters and, due to their contact with the grave, can use ice, earth and - death magic without too many difficulties. - -Naga: - - The Naga are a race of hybrids: 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. - - 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 and Ogre Mages: - - 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. - - 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. - -Trolls: - - 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. - -Draconians: - - Draconians are a race of 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. - - Some types of draconians have breath weapons. 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. - -Centaurs: - - 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. - -Demigods: - - 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 abilities (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: - - 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 keep pace with a centaur. - -Minotaurs: - - 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. - -Demonspawn: - - 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. - -Kenku: - - 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. - -Merfolk: - - 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. - - 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 them. - -Note: - - Some species have special abilities which can be accessed by the 'a' - abilities menu. Some also have physical characteristics which allow them - to make extra attacks using the Unarmed Combat skill. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - CHARACTER CLASSES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -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: - - Fighters start with a decent weapon, a suit of armour and a shield. They - have a good general grounding in the arts of fighting. - -Gladiators: - - 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: - - 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. - -Hunters: - - 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. - -Monks: - - 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. - -Thieves: - - 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. - -Assassin: - - An Assassin is a thief who is especially good at killing. Assassins are like - thieves in most respects, but are more dangerous in combat. - -Stalkers: - - The stalker is an assassin who has trained in the use of poison magic. - -Crusaders: - - 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: - - Reavers are warriors who learn the magics of destruction in order to - complement their deadliness in hand combat. - -Death Knights: - - 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. - -Chaos Knights: - - The Chaos Knight is a fighter who chooses to serve one of the fearsome and - unpredictable Gods of Chaos. He or she has 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. - -Paladins: - - 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: - - 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. - -Healers: - - The Healer is a priest of Elyvilon. Healers begin with minor healing - powers, but can gain far greater abilities in the long run. - -Magicians: - - The magician is not a class, but a type of class. 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. There are - various kinds of magicians: - - 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 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 Summoner specialises in calling creatures from this and other worlds - to give assistance. Although they can at first summon only very wimpy - creatures, the more advanced summoning spells allow summoners to call on - such powers as elementals and demons. - - The Necromancer is a magician who specialises in the less pleasant side of - magic. Necromantic spells are a varied bunch, but many involve some degree - of risk or harm to the caster. - - Elementalists are magicians who specialise in one of the four types of - elemental magic: air, fire, earth, or ice. - - Fire Magic tends towards destructive conjurations. - - Ice Magic offers a balance between destructive conjurations and - protective enchantments. - - Air Magic provides many useful enchantments in addition to some - unique destructive capabilities. - - Earth Magic is a mixed bag, with destructive, defensive and utility - spells available. - - Venom mages specialise in poison magic, which is extremely useful in the - shallower levels of the dungeon where few creatures are immune to it. Poison - is especially effective when used against insects. - - Transmuters specialise in transmigrations, and can cause strange changes - in themselves and others. - - Warpers specialise in translocations, and are experts in travelling long - distances and positioning themselves precisely. - -Wanderers: - - Wanderers are people who have not learned a specific trade. Instead, - they've travelled around becoming "Jacks-of-all-trades, master of none". - They start the game with a large assortment of skills and maybe some - small items they picked up along the way, but other than that they're - pretty much on their own. Non-human wanderers might not even know which - skills they have (since they haven't quite learned enough for one full - level), and therefore make for an additional challenge. You shouldn't - expect human wanderers to be easy either, as this class is typically - harder to play than the other classes. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - EXPERIENCE ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -When you kill monsters, you gain experience points (xp) (you also receive -one half 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. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - SKILLS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Your character has a number of skills which affect his or her ability to -perform certain tasks. 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 (eg 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 down from 9 to 0 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. - -The species you have chosen for your character has a significant effect on -your rate of advancement in each skill. Some races are very good at some -skills and poor at others. If your character is naturally quick to learn a -skill, they will require less experience and take less time to advance in it; -being bad at a skill has the opposite result. - -Here is a description of the skills you may have: - - -Fighting skills: - - Fighting is the basic skill used in hand-to-hand combat, and applies no - matter which weapon your character is wielding (if any). It is also the - skill which determines the number of hit points your character gets as - they increase in level (note that this is calculated so that you don't get - a long run advantage by starting out with a high fighting skill). - - Weapon skills affect your ability to fight with specific melee weapons. - Weapon skills include: - - o Short Blades - o Long Blades - o Maces & Flails - o Axes - o Staves - o Polearms - - If you are already good at a weapon, say a long sword, and you practise - for a while with similar weapon such as a short sword, your practise will - be speeded up (and will require less experience) until both skills are - equal. Similar types of weapons include: - - o Short Blades and Long Blades - o Maces & Flails and Axes - o Polearms and Axes - o Staves and Polearms - - Being good at a specific weapon improves the speed with which you can use - it by about 10% every two skill levels. Although lighter weapons are - easier to use initially, as they strike quickly and accurately, heavier - weapons increase in damage potential very quickly as you improve your - skill with them. - - Unarmed Combat is a special fighting skill. It allows your character to - make a powerful attack when unarmed and also to make special secondary - attacks (and increases the power of those attacks for characters who get - them anyway). You can practise Unarmed Combat by attacking empty-handed, - and it is also exercised when you make a secondary attack (a kick, punch - etc). Unarmed combat is particularly difficult to use in combination with - heavy armour, and characters wearing a shield or wielding a two-handed - weapon other than a staff lose the powerful punch attack. - -Throwing skills: - - Throwing is the basic skill used when throwing things, and there are a - number of individual weapon skills for missile weapons as well: - - o Darts - o Bows - o Crossbows - o Slings - -Magic skills: - - Spellcasting is the basic skill for magic use, and affects your reserves of - magical energy in the same way that Fighting affects your hit points. Every - time you increase your spellcasting skill you gain some magic points and - spell levels. Spellcasting is a very difficult skill to learn, and requires - a large amount of practice and experience. - - Only those characters with at least one magic skill at level one or above - can learn magical spells. If your character has no magic skills, he or she - can learn the basic principles of the hermetic arts by reading and reciting - the spells inscribed on magical scrolls (this stops being useful once you - reach level one in Spellcasting). - - There are also individual skills for each different type of magic; the - higher the skill, the more powerful the spell. Multidisciplinary spells use - an average of the two or three skills. - - Elemental magic is a special case. When you practise an elemental magic - skill (fire, ice, air or earth magic) you will improve much less quickly - than normal if you already have one or more elemental magic skills higher - than the one you are practising. This is especially true if those skills are - 'opposed' to the one you're practising: fire and ice are mutually opposed, - as are earth and air. - - Say you have level 2 fire magic, level 4 ice magic, and level 1 air magic. - Practising ice magic won't be a problem. Practising air magic will be a bit - slow, as you have other elemental skills at higher levels. Practising fire - magic will be very slow, as you have a higher level in ice magic. Right? - -Miscellaneous skills: - -Armour: - - Having a high Armour skill means that you are used to wearing heavy armour, - allowing you to move more freely and gain more protection. - -Dodging: - - When you are wearing light armour, a high dodging skill helps you evade - attacks. - -Stealth: - - Helps you avoid being noticed. Try not to wear heavy armour or be encumbered - if you want to be stealthy. Big creatures (like trolls and ogres) are bad at - stealth. - -Stabbing: - - Lets you make a very powerful first strike against a sleeping/resting - monster who hasn't noticed you yet. This is most effective with a dagger, - slightly less effective with a short sword, and less useful (although by - no means of negligible effect) with any other weapon. - -Shields: - - Affects the amount of protection you gain by using a shield, and the degree - to which it hinders you. - -Traps & Doors: - - Affects your ability to notice hidden traps and doors and to disarm traps - when you find them. With this skill at a high level you will often find - hidden things without actively looking for them. - -Invocations: - - An easy-to-learn skill which affects your ability to call on your God for - aid. Those skilled at invoking have reduced fail rates and produce more - powerful effects. The Invocations skill affects your supply of magic in a - similar way to the Spellcasting skill and to a greater extent, but the two - are not cumulative - whichever gives the greater increase is used. Some - Gods (such as Trog) do not require followers to learn this skill. - -If your character does not have a particular skill, s/he can gain it by -practising as above. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ABILITIES ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Your character is further defined by his or her abilities, which initially -vary according to class and species. - -Strength: - - Affects the amount of damage you do in combat, as well as how much stuff - you can carry. - -Intelligence: - - Affects how well you can cast spells as well as your ability to use some - magical items. - -Dexterity: - - Affects your accuracy in combat, your general effectiveness with missile - weapons, your ability to dodge attacks aimed at you, and your ability to use - thiefly skills such as backstabbing and disarming traps. Although your - dexterity does not affect your evasion score (EV) directly, any calculation - involving your EV score also takes account of your dexterity. - -Armour Class: - - Also called AC, when something injures you, your AC reduces the amount of - damage you suffer. The number next to your AC is a measure of how good your - shield (if any) is at blocking attacks. In both cases, more is better. - -Evasion: - - Also called EV, this helps you to avoid being hit by unpleasant things. - -Gold: - - This is how much money you're carrying. Money adds to your final score, - and can be used to purchase items in shops. - -Magic Resistance: - - Affects your ability to resist the effects of enchantments and similar - magic directed at you. Although your magic resistance increases with your - level to an extent determined by your character's species, the creatures you - will meet deeper in the dungeon are better at casting spells and are more - likely to be able to affect you. MR is an internal variable, so you can't - see what yours is. - -Special Abilities: - - 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. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ITEMS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - -In the dungeons of Crawl there are many different kinds of normal and magical -artefacts 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: - -Weapons: - - 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. You should choose your weapons - carefully; trying to hit a bat with a greatsword is about as clever as - bashing a dragon with a club. For this reason it is wise to have a good - mixture of weapon skills. 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, spears and hand axes) are quite effective - when thrown. - - 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. - -Ammunition: - - 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. - - When throwing something, you are asked for a direction. You can either - enter one of the directions on your keypad, or type '*' and move the - cursor over your target if they are not in a direct line with you. When - the cursor is on them, press '.' (period) or delete to target them (you - can also target an empty space if you want). If you press '>' instead of - '.', the missile will stop at that space even if it misses, and if the - target space is water, it may hit anything which might be lurking beneath - the surface (which would otherwise be missed completely). If you type '.' - (or del) instead of a direction or '*', or if you target yourself as - described above, you throw whatever it is at yourself (this can be useful - when zapping some wands; see later). Also, if you type 'p' instead of a - direction or '*', you will target your previous target (if still - possible). - -Armour: - - This is also rather important. When worn, most 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 (ie reducing your - evasion score) and making it harder for you to hit monsters. These effect - 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. - - 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. - -Food: - - This 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. - -Magical Scrolls: - - 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. - -Magical Potions: - - 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, 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! - -Wands: - - 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. - -Rings: - - 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. - You can put on rings with the 'P' command, 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. 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. - -Staves: - - 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, and hold spells which you can cast without having - to memorise them first, and also without consuming food. You must wield a - staff like a weapon in order to gain from its power, and magical staves - are as effective as +0 quarterstaves in combat. Spell staves can be - Invoked with the 'I' command while you are wielding them. - -Books: - - 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. - Some books have other special effects, and powerful spellbooks have been - known to punish the attentions of incompetent magicians. - -Carrion: - - If you manage to kill a monster delicately enough to avoid scattering bits - of it around the room, it may leave a corpse behind for you to play with. - 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, and being extremely hungry helps as well. Even then, you - should choose your homemade food with great care. - -Miscellaneous: - - These are items which don't fall into any other category. You can use many - of them by wielding and 'I'nvoking them. You can also use some other - special items (such as some weapons) by invoking them in this way. - -Racial Items: - - 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. - - Orcish bows/crossbows are particularly effective in combination with orcish - arrows/bolts. - - 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. - -Getting Items: - - You pick items up with the ',' (comma) command and drop them with the 'd'rop - command. When you are given a prompt like "drop which item?" or "pick up - <x>?", if you type a number before either the letter of the item, or 'y' or - 'n' for yes or no, you will drop or get that quantity of the item. - - 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 can type - the letter of the item, or you can type '?' or '*' to get an inventory list. - '?' lists all appropriate items, while '*' lists all items, appropriate or - not. 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. - - 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 as well. - - 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 cursed 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. - - A very useful command is the 'v' key, which gives you a description of what - an item does. This is particularly useful when comparing different types of - weapons, but don't expect too much information from examining unidentified - items. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - RELIGION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -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. 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. - -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. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - MUTATIONS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -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. - -You can also become mutated by overusing certain powerful enchantments, -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. - -Any demonic powers your character may have are listed in red; these are -permanent and can never be removed. If one of your powers has been augmented -by a mutation, it is displayed in a lighter red colour. - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - 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. - -Spells are stored in books, which you will occasionally find in the dungeon. -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, 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 powerful spellcasters hunger less quickly from using -magic). - -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 casting it successfully. - -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. - -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. - - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - EXPLORING THE DUNGEON ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -You can make your character walk around with the numeric keypad (turn numlock -off) or the "Rogue" keys (hjklbnyu). If this is too slow, you can make your -character walk repeatedly by typing 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. - -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. - -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. - -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 - -When you are in a shop, you are given a list of the shopkeeper's stock from -which to choose, and a list of instructions. 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 trust a scummy adventurer like -you, anyway?). - -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 artefact, 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 -anything. Good luck! - -A full list of the commands available to you can be accessed by typing '?' -(question mark). If you don't like them, they can be changed by the use of: - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - MACROS/KEYMAPS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -You can change the keys used to perform specific functions by editing the -macro.txt file (or creating a new one). The K: line indicates a key, and the -A: line assigns another key to that key's function. - -You can also redefine keys in-game with the ` key, and save them with the ~ -key. - -(Thanks to Juho Snellman for this patch) - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - MONSTERS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -In the caverns of Crawl, you will find a great variety of creatures, many of -whom 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. - -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. - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - MISCELLANEOUS STUFF ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- - -The scores file does not have to be present (as of v2.02), and is not included -in the distribution. You can unpack the zip file into your old crawl directory -and the new version will keep using the old scores file (scores files from any -version are usable by any later version). - -The initfile, INIT.TXT, lets you set various options affecting the game's user -interface, like the conditions for Autopickup and a default name for your -character. You can alter it with any reputable text editor. - -As of 2.60, a -c command line switch activates the alternative character set -for non-IBM graphics displays. A -nc switch activates the non-IBM char set -and, for Linux systems, disables colour. - -Crawl is available for a number of different systems, including Linux, DOS, -the Mac, etc. - -One strange thing you may notice about Crawl is that it does not keep your -saved games if you die. This is not a bug, it is a feature! If you could -restore your game after dying, you would probably finish the game rather -quickly and lose interest, because most of the fun in Crawl is in the -discovery of its bizarre secrets while taking risks with your characters. It -is possible to cheat by messing around with the save files, but you're only -cheating yourself out of experiencing this game as it was supposed to be -played. If you think Crawl is too difficult, tell me! - -Crawl was compiled using the djgpp compiler, and comes with the files -CWSDPMI.EXE and CWSDPMI.DOC. You can contact the author of CWSDPMI.EXE at -sandmann@clio.rice.edu. Read CWSDPMI.DOC for more details. - -Although version 3 of Crawl is a complete and finished game, it probably -contains a few unwanted features which crept in without me noticing (all of -the earlier versions did). So, if you find anything which you think may be a -bug, please send details of it to me, including version number, details of -your system, what you were doing (in the game) when it happened, and just what -exactly did happen. Hopefully this will never be necessary, but if it is you -can (as of 26/3/99) reach me at: -linley.henzell@student.adelaide.edu.au - -You can also discuss this game on the newsgroup rec.games.roguelike.misc. - -The object of your quest in Crawl (the Orb of Zot) was taken from Wizard's -Castle, a text adventure written in BASIC. - -A lot of people have been sending me feedback and bug reports, which is -extremely encouraging. I really appreciate that people have been taking the -time to play my game. Keep it up! - -Licence: -Read Licence.txt for information about the Crawl licence (which is practically -identical to the nethack GPL). - -Source Code: -The source code for the current version of Crawl is, at the time of writing -(30/12/97) available from the Crawl web site: -http://olis.net.au/~zel/index.html -Source for some earlier versions can be obtained from me, although -unfortunately I've lost most of it. - -Disclaimer: - -This software is provided as is, with absolutely no warranty express or -implied. Use of it is at the sole risk of the user. No liability is accepted -for any damage to the user or to any of the user's possessions. |