
====== The Dungeon ======

     All levels other than 0 (or zero feet) lie within the dungeon.  Each level
of the dungeon is fifty feet high, and is divided into large rectangular regions
(several times larger than the screen) by impenetrable walls.  Once you leave a
level, you will never again find your way back to that region of that level, but
there are an infinite number of other regions at that same depth that you can
explore later.  Monsters move about just as you do, and you may see them again.


--- Terrain ---

     The following terrain types affect movement, combat, or both.  Because they
less frequently take advantage of terrain, monsters benefit more from favorable
and suffer less from unfavorable terrain than your character does.

Rubble:
     Greatly slows down any creature that cannot bore or pass through rock.
Ends LOS, stops missiles, bolts, and beams, and reduces the radius of ball
spells.  Grants the character and monsters within it some protection from melee,
ranged, or magical attacks.  Rubble may dissolve to normal floor.

Water:
     Cannot be passed by fiery, earthbound monsters, slows down other most other
monsters.  Slows you down, and cannot be crossed if you are carrying too much.
You and your enemies are easier to hit when in water, and most spells
(especially water-based ones) gain in strength.  It is hard to dodge in water.
However, fire-based spells become much less powerful, so find a lake if you
battle Smaug.  Water may evaporate.

Lava:
     Can be passed by any character, but inflicts substantial fire damage (less
for players with feather fall - they're light on their feet).  All monsters
other than fiery or strong flying creatures will not cross.  Water and cold-
based spells suffer and fire-based spells become more powerful against a target
in lava.  Lava may freeze to rubble or normal floor.

Trees:
     Slows down characters not familiar with druidic techniques, and all non-
natural monsters that neither fly nor pass through rock.  Ends LOS, stops
missiles, bolts, and beams, and reduces the radius of ball spells.  Grants the
character and monsters within it some protection from melee, ranged, or magical
attacks.  Trees can burn.

Permanent walls:
     You can dig through most walls but some are impenetrable.  The dungeon is
surrounded by these kinds of walls and some special rooms are made of them.

Staircases:
     Staircases allow your character to ascend or descend from one level to
another, and are represented by "<" (up) and ">" (down).  Each level has at
least one up staircase, and two down staircases, unless it is the home of Sauron
(level 99/4950') or Morgoth (level 100/5000'), whom you must kill before
staircases will appear.  Otherwise, the staircases are guaranteed, but they may
be difficult to find.  Once you leave a level, you can never return to it.  If
you found an artifact, identified it, and left it on the level, it is
permanently lost.  Watch out for spells and traps that can suddenly force you
off the level.

Secret doors:
     Many secret doors exist in the dungeon, and may lead to anything from a new
section of the dungeon level to an empty closet.  As your familiarity with the
dungeon grows, you will know where many secret doors are likely to be.  Secret
doors always look like granite until found.  You find hidden doors using the
's'earch command, or magic.

Locked and stuck doors:
     Doors may be locked or stuck; getting through them may not be easy.  Your
disarming skill makes all the difference to your ability to handle locks, but
you can also bash doors down, take a pickaxe to them, or blast them open with
magic.
     Monsters are also slowed down by doors; you can earn yourself valuable time
by jamming or locking them.

Open doors:
     Open doors (if unbroken) may be closed.  If a monster is in the way, you
instead attempt to slam the door:  The monster gets a free turn, then you
attempt to close the door.  If you succeed, the monster retreats out of the way
and loses a turn.

Traps:
     Traps also await you in the dungeon.  They look like normal terrain until
found, too often by your being caught by one.  They start out weak and easy to
disarm, but can get truly nasty further down...
     You find hidden traps by using the 's'earch command.  Many characters can
also use magic and everyone can use the appropriate magical device.  Be warned:
although magical disarming is convenient, it is never a sure thing.

Rooms:
     The Pits of Angband contain many kinds of rooms, including some that house
hordes of monsters, contain extraordinary items, or are filled with deadly
traps.  Some special rooms, known as vaults, are extremely dangerous and
lucrative.

Mining:
     There is much treasure in the walls of the dungeon, just waiting for an
industrious adventurer to come and dig it out.  Once you can afford it, and if
you can handle the weight, bring a shovel or pick along.  Your ability to tunnel
depends on strength, weapon weight, and any special digging bonus the weapon
provides.  Your success depends on these factors and the strength of the wall:
granite is very hard, quartz is hard, magma is soft, and rubble is very soft.
     As you get richer, the treasures in the wall won't seem so appealing
anymore, but keep an item or spell of tunneling handy.  Not only do all sorts of
special vaults lie deep below the surface, some completely enclosed by solid
rock, but smart adventurers deliberately alter the dungeon to make the most
dangerous breathers and summoners manageable.


--- Exploring ---

Light:
     Your character must have some source of light in order to see, unless the
area around him is magically lit.  Depending on the items he has equipped, he
may have a light radius of one (torches with low fuel), two (a lantern or well-
fueled torch), or more, up to a rarely-attained maximum of five.  Never risk
being without light ... unless you know what you are doing.
     A torch or lantern (usually) burns fuel, and may be refilled (use the
'F'uel command) with other torches or flasks of oil respectively.  It is
rumoured that other light sources exist which never need replenishing.  Light
sources can be lit or doused (use the '(' command).   When lit, they will
illuminate the surrounding area, even when placed on the floor.  They will
automatically light up when equipped, and will neither shed light nor use fuel
in your backpack.
     In addition you may get access to spells which permanently light up areas
of the dungeon; these can be truly handy, because a monster you can see coming
is much less dangerous.

Darkness:
     But darkness can be useful too.  Unseen monsters are harder to hit with
physical attacks, and take less damage from spells (because you can't aim at
them precisely).  You, likewise, are harder to hit if in and surrounded by
darkness, and will take less damage from ranged attacks.  Depending on your
skills, staying in darkness may yield other advantages as well.

Food and Regeneration:
     Never risk being without food.  You must eat every so often in order to
avoid starvation.  The speed at which you consume food depends on your race
(trolls and giants need to eat a lot) and the items you wear.
     The speed at which you regenerate is doubled when you are resting (so rest
in place instead of staying in place whenever possible), and is also affected by
various object attributes and temporary conditions.

Noise:
     Characters make a certain amount of noise all the time; this innate noise
decreases as stealth improves.  Moving more quickly increases noise somewhat
because you perform more actions in a given period of time.  Resting, sneaking,
and (if you have any stealth skill) moving in the dark all reduce base noise
substantially.
     To base noise is added extra noise.  Every time you engage in combat, cast
most kinds of spells that hurt monsters, bash a door or a chest, kill a monster,
or wreck the dungeon, you make extra noise.  Extra noise dies down over time.
     Sleeping monsters will be disturbed by noise, especially if you are nearby
and/or are in line of sight.  You may deliberately make noise by using the Bash
command.

Searching and Detection:
     The dungeon is full of secret doors and hidden traps.  Perception skill is
crucial for automatically finding traps and secret doors as you move around,
especially deep in the dungeon where they become very hard to find.  You can
also actively hunt for hidden things by typing 's' to search for a turn.   This
is much more effective and requires less perception skill.  However, the most
powerful way to reveal traps and secret doors is magic:  spells exist that make
finding doors and avoiding traps a easy task.
     The one thing that no magic spell can find for you is essences.  Once your
Magical infusion skill is at least 15, you start to notice essences, both
automatically and by deliberately searching.  As you descend into the dungeon,
be sure to keep raising your Magical infusion skill (raising Perception helps
also, but not as much), because high-level essences are much harder to find.

Level Feelings:
     Spend enough time on a given level and you will get a message describing
it.  The more interesting the choice of adjectives, the more dangerous and
lucrative the level is likely to be.  At the same time, the depth indicator
located at the bottom-right corner of the main screen will change color.  Whites
and yellows indicate relatively quiet levels, but oranges and reds mean danger
and rewards.
     Things that boost level feelings include:  out of depth monsters (small
effect), out of depth uniques (larger effect), out of depth objects, artifacts
and other powerful kinds of objects, and very unusual rooms.
     You will occasionally get the message "You feel there is something special
about this level.", indicating that this is either a quest level, or that there
is an active player ghost lurking there.  Artifacts and special rooms do not
make a level special.

Precognition Messages:
     If your Perception skill is great enough, you will start to get
"precognition" messages indicating the presence of many of the individual
monsters, objects, and special rooms that boost level feelings.  Unlike level
feelings, they appear immediately.  The higher you raise your Perception, the
more specific - and accurate - these messages become.


--- The Passage of Time ---

     Both monsters and characters gain energy each turn and use it to perform
actions.  Any creature that moves at normal speed gains 10 energy per game turn;
any monster move and most character actions take 100 energy.  Some monsters move
at double speed and you can too, if you quaff a Potion of Speed.  Actions still
take the same amount of energy, but they and you gain twice the energy each
turn.  Further down, monsters lurk that move even faster, and rare items exist
that allow you to keep pace.  If you can, avoid being slower than your foes.

An abbreviated speed-to-energy table:

(very slow creatures can get as little as 1 energy per turn)
  -20 speed:  3 energy
  -15      :  4
  -10      :  5
   -5      :  6
  normal   : 10
   +5      : 15
  +10      : 20
  +15      : 25
  +20      : 30
  +25      : 35
  +30      : 38 (energy only goes up very slowly above +30 speed)

Regeneration and recovery:
     Every 10 game turns, you regenerate some hitpoints and mana (unless you are
ill or wounded), and get hurt by cuts and poison.  Temporary conditions count
down, rods recharge, and light sources use fuel.  Every 100 game turns, you
digest some food.  Every hundred thousand game turns equals one day; the town
spends half that time in darkness and the other half in light.
     Every 10 game turns, every monster on the level gets a chance to recover
from all temporary conditions.  Every 100 game turns, monsters regenerate
hitpoints.















