--------------------- The NetHack Code 1.3n -------------------------- # Currently maintained by:# First version written by Raisse the Taumaturge. Updated for version 3.3.0 by Dylan O'Donnell. Updated for 3.4.1 by Aaron Davidson. Version information: This is an overhaul release which might bring the code close to an upgrade in version number. Before it is approved, i will not change the official serial identifier, though. Additions spawned by the 'forthcoming' section: inventory, playing speed. Changes in this version: overhaul of absolutely everything. Added &; sketched out AL. Removed 2 and Y. Rolled P, S and D into P (Religion); combined $ and t into $ (valuables). Removed wb - parts of it can be found in the new b entry (bones). Acknowledgements listed by Raisse: Aero (aero@clark.net) contributed large chunks of $, E, PS, PP, N, b and B, and also gave me the idea to put it into the first person; Ed Chang (changed@sina.eecs.berkeley.edu) contributed I and part of Sp and suggested the short overview, and John Fouhy (jfouhy@actrix.gen.nz) made some helpful suggestions for Sp. Philipp Lucas (phlucas@online-club.de) commented on some of the 1.2 updates. Wingnut (jry@pinn.net) made several *? suggestions. Pat Rankin, Adam Atkinson, Jukka Lahtinen, Viljo Viitanen, as well as a number of people whose names were unfortunately vaporized by a scroll of install Linux, told me about platforms. Martin Read (mpr22@hermes.cam.ac.uk) was probably the first person actually to *use* it. 0. Overview Abbreviations [ Armor G Genocide ) Weapons C Conflict P Religion I Intrinsics Z spell use @W The Wizard of Yendor p Pets N Nurses $ Valuables & Sex i Inventory L Alchemy s Shops X Experience b Bones Ps Playing speed W Wishing So Sources E Elbereth Sp Spoilers PS Polymorph self sb Save file backups PP Polypile + Death Examples NH 3.3.0L D Raisse-Wiz-Hum-Fem-Neu HP:150 Pw:150 AC:-20 /* no L or T as this is a "D" code */ [+ )++ 2 P S+ D+ p++ $ t s++ W+ E PS+ PP+ G C I++ @W(*) N !Y X+ So Sp++ sb-- !wb NH 3.3.0L A Reakk-Bar-Hum-Mal-Neu HP:161(257) Pw:65 AC:-40 L:20 T:54959 [+++ )++ !2 P S++ D++ p $ !t s W+ E--- PS-- PP++ G+ C- I++ @W(8)tw N-- !Y X++ So++ Sp++++ !sb wb-- +0 NH 3.4.1W C Yoshi-Val-Hum-Fem-Law HP:114 Pw:28 AC:-13 L:12 T:24887 [+ )+ 2 P S D !p $ t+ s+ W++ E- PS- PP+ G+ C- I++ !@W N Y+ X-- So+ Sp+++ !sb wb- +0 NH13n 3.4.1 W + Schnatterinchen Wiz-Gno-Fem-Neu HP:-1 (155) L:21 T:~180K [+ )+ P+++ Z++ p- $- i++ s+ b+ W- E+ !PS PP++ G-- !C I++ !@W !N !& !L X- Ps- So- Sp++ +1,genocidal confusion Note that the 'sb' variable isn't displayed, as it's the 'default' value of '!sb' 1. Preliminaries NH This is just to show that it's not a *geek* code. Version For instance: 3.4.1, +, S'EM If you play more than one version either separate with a slash or put the less often used one in parentheses, e.g. S'EM(3.3.0) Platform Your type of machine. This list is far from exhaustive, but it's being worked on. D DOS U Unix L Linux M Mac V VMS P Psion At Atari Am Amiga Ac Acorn O OS/2 W Windows 9x or NT and descendants CE Windows CE Type The type of game that the NHC refers to: D default - usual or preferred playing style A ascension - latest or best ascension C current game F most fun game + silliest, saddest, most stupid or most spectacular death (optionally include cause of death) 2. Status line Name, class, race, gender, alignment - these should be self-evident. Note: if you've got 'D' for Type above, you can use the rest of this section to indicate the minimum you want before you feel comfortable. Hit points Maximum hit points; optionally current hit points with max HP in parentheses, as they appear on the status line. Some people dislike having 'too many' hitpoints and may (additionally) add a maximum, preceded by a '<'. Power Maximum power; optionally current power with max Pw in parentheses, for spellcasting types. AC Current AC with your standard equipment, or desired maximum AC. Optionally with naked AC in parentheses. If AC greatly varies according to circumstances, separate the typical values with slashes. Level Self-evident. If you think this gives any useful information, you might provide Experience in non-D games. Turns If your status line shows them. Same goes for score. --- This section starts a new line of the NHC --- Note for the various 'attitude' indicators: As an optional rule, if you keep to one of the attitudes generally, but deviate in specific cases, add the "deviation" in brackets, like [-(+++) if e.g. you don't care much about armour in general but try really hard to get a +8 hawaiian shirt. 3. Equipment [ Armor [+++ I only accept the very best: i always wind up with a collection of highly powerful magic armour pieces, and all of them will be enchanted to the maximum. I will disenchant and re-enchant them until perfect, and if I have some spare magic marker charges, I'll spend them on backup armour in the hopes of getting some items past +5. I habitually reach AC ratings well below –40. [++ I take great care to get myself kitted out with a nice dragonscale armour and various magical armour pieces.I know the armour list by heart and mix and match what i can find to make a great combination. If I really want a specific armour item, I won't hesitate to spend a wish on it. I typically don't tackle Gehennom before i have –25 or better AC. [+ I spend a fair amount of time looking for good armours - pre-enchanted stuff and high-quality armours some creatures may wear. I know some tricks to 'create' better armour pieces and spend time with dragons or wands of polymorph in hopes of getting lucky. Of course, there still are wishes to fill the really dangerous gaps, but i prefer to use them for other purposes. [ There are some magical armours that i very much like, to the exclusion of all other items fitting in the same slot - mostly because i rarely manage to work out what the other sorts are and how they should be used. I have a reasonable idea of which AC ratings are good and don't engage in anything i know i'm not equipped for. [- Generally, i go with the 'if it's heavier, it's probably better' rule. Of course, when i'm too concerned with being burdened by my bronze plate mail, i'll drop it and wear some studded leather instead. I often end up stumbling through long stretches of dungeon to uncurse an unfortunate pair of boots or an annoying helmet. [-- Many of my characters get skewered by leocrottas in the deeper reaches of the mines, as so much of their stuff is rusty. If I avoid putting on unchecked items to steer clear of curses, I end up with vital slots staying open, which just invites mess-ups with mind flayers and the like. ![ This character is naked by design (or of course all characters, in case of a 'D' code). [? I've got this cloak on and I found this neat armour, but for some strange reason I can't wear both at the same time ?! ) Weapons )+++ I have the damage ratings for the various weapons memorised, and will always use one of the high-end artifact weapons, blessed, damageproofed and enchanted to +7. If at all possible, I'll use two-weapon combat, even if this requires self-polymorph. If my optimal artifact is difficult to obtain, i will make sure i can safely wish for it. )++ I have an artifact, donated by my deity, and enchanted as high as it can go without turning to dust. And it's one of the better artifacts, too, not one of the cheesy *bane-thingies. If I need no shield and the character has the skill available, I'll two- weapon it with another powerful and enchanted weapon. I won't hesitate to acquire an artifact weapon if I get an early wish. )+ I know which weapons are strong and which are weak, and use those that are strong and that I have skill in. If I get my hands on an artifact, i'll probably use it, unless I already have something better. Two-weapon combat can be a lot stronger than any single weapon, so i'll use it if it looks feasible. ) I determine which weapons are strongest by how much monsters seem to like them, but i'd be hard pressed if i had to choose between a silver sabre and a long sword. Pre-enchantments often elude me, but one or two points of enchantment don't make much of a difference anyway. I tend to stick to one 'good' weapon and enchant it. )- I determine the relative strengths of weapons by hitting monsters with them. I use them until they're really rusty, then replace them with something similar. Sometimes i need to replace a weapon because i realise i'm restricted in its skill and can't really hurt monsters with it. )-- I'm wielding a cursed bullwhip. Those mimics sure are tough. !) I'm trying to ascend bare-handed. )? This game is im-possible! I'm wielding the magic marker, which the game itself clearly states is mightier than the sword and can't even kill a measly ape! Especially notable weapons can be spelled out behind the 'weapon' entry; this will typically be an unorthodox weapon, like '+7 Stormbringer' in a Knight's code, 'banana' in a particularly silly game, but also '+9 Sting'. 4. Playing style P (prayer) Religion P+++ If gods can provide it, I'll get it. My main 'home base' in the dungeon is a sufficiently deep altar, preferably with a friendly cleric nearby. I'll spend a lot of time there, donating, sacrificing and offering a prayer whenever I'm eligible to. I take this to extremes, e.g. by swapping in a cursed luckstone before prayers to avoid inconvenient crowning. P++ I hang around altars a lot and invariably gain a lot of benefits from it: several artifacts, at least nine points of protection, a couple of books and crowning. I marvel at priests' carrying capacity - my characters couldn't even lift that much gold. P+ If I can find a convenient altar, I will stay a while and hope I can reap some rewards. Typically I get something out of it - an artifact or two, some protection etc. I won't waste time hunting for the last lousy point - there still are unicorns for luck. I rarely pray on an altar - prayers are much better used as last resort in a desperate situation. P I manage the religious parts of the game reasonably well, although I commit the occasional blunder. I can make holy water and get protection, but I prefer to avoid difficulties by not trying fancy things - getting yourself accidentally converted isn't much fun. P- I step carefully around altars, they've doomed a few too many of my characters. Just make an error sacrificing and you summon an angry demon! I prefer not to bother the gods too much. At least this means they won't bother me too much, either. P-- I hear chatting to priests is somehow helpful, but they only ever call me a cheapskate. What kind of donation do they expect, half my purse?! And whenever I pray, I lose a level or get roasted by lightning from the sky! !P I'm an atheist. I wish I could escape the dungeon with the amulet instead of handing it over to some silly deity. P? What are those strange underscore thingies good for? Whenever I sit on one or kick it, I hear some strange voices, does this mean anything? Z Spell use Z+++ Magic is my main method of doing things. If I'm playing anything but a wizard, I'll wish for one of the artifacts that allow recovering power points. Even the archetypical non-magical classes like cavepeople will be kitted out to cast several spells with good success. Z++ Magic is one of the features of the game I like most. All of my characters have a nice collection of spells in the end. Specialised spellcasters will often explore the dungeons with several temporary spells like detect monsters and haste self active at the same time. Z+ If I'm playing a spellcaster, I'll try to acquire a bunch of spellbooks and will also improve my casting skills. With non- spellcasters, I like to have a single spell memorised, to allow confusion on demand once I hit the endgame. Z Wizards are the only class I heavily use magic with. I don't bother reading spellbooks with fighters. A real shame so many spells are practically useless. Z- I don't really bother much with magic - even wizards can get along quite nicely with their staff or that special dagger. I'll pick off the occasional distant foe with a force bolt, but I often forget I have a spell around to do something that might interest me. Z-- Even when playing a wizard, I'm much too fond of my dwarven mithril to give it up for spell-friendly armour. And my non- wizards habitually get paralysed and killed when reading books, so I just leave them alone. !Z The only spellbook I read in this (every?) game was/is going to be the Book of the Dead. Z? This book made me go blind when I looked into it. Must be some kind of tasteless smut. p Pets p+++ I don't have a pet, I'm the pet of an Archon and his gang of purple worms, winged gargoyles and the Umber Hulk. There's nothing they can't handle, esp. since they get all the good equipment I stumble upon and anything that may grant an extra level. p++ I carefully acquire, equip and improve pets to have my own small army which often ends up doing most of the killing in the later stages of the game. p+ I don't like facing the dungeon alone. I keep my friends happy and healthy and if I can turn them into something stronger or make new friends, so much the better. I'm not too picky with 'upgraded' pets: anything that's nice and big is o.k. p Pets are pretty useful in the early game, but once they can't stand their own, they're not really worth it anymore. I won't go so far as abandoning them, but once i reached Minetown, I don't find the loss of a pet particularly lamentable. p- Pets generally get in the way and steal my experience points. And the pets I polymorph always turn into something even weaker than a kitten. p-- If I'm feeling generous, I'll abandon my pet on level one, instead of kicking it to death. !p My defaults.nh setting makes sure I start without any pets. p? Why is the studio audience applauding? $ Valuables (gold and gems) $++++ I'm collecting sacks so I have a chance of getting the 200K gold I've found up the stairs of level one. And once I'm done with this quest, I'll take my wand of polymorph to the rock piles I've created from a few hundred broken boulders... $+++ I hang onto every zorkmid I encounter. My first wish goes to a blessed touchstone. I have several thousand zorkmids of credit in every shop, even Itzchak's lighting store. I spend a lot of time mining hidden gold and jewels out of the walls. $++ When I notice a vault on a level, I'll mark the level and come back with detection gear and a pick-axe. I also hunt down every possible source of valuable gems - I love playing valkyries and cavemen because they can get so many gems on their quests. $+ I identify worthless glass by frequencies and hang onto most other gems I can find. I'll loot vaults, esp. on the levels that can have a portal to Ludios. I won't cart around gold once I've gained enough protection - gems are much more valuable. $ Money is for spending. Shopkeepers and priests can use it better than my character. If I see an 'ad aerarium' inscription on the ground, I take a look. I only check whether gems are hard or soft and only keep the hard ones, provided I can still carry some. $- I don't care much for treasure. Loose gold lying around will be picked up and if I stumble into a vault, I'll take what I can find; but often I have to leave it there, because the Guard won't let me take it. I don't bother with gems: scrolls of identify are too valuable to waste on mere baubles. $-- What should I carry gems for? That's just sling ammunition. And money's not much use either; you can simply kill the shopkeeper. !$ My character has taken a vow of poverty. I entirely ignore gold and precious stones. $? I found some strange metal objects with the head of some flat- headed king printed on them. Now where's the toll booth where I can give to the King what is the King's? i Inventory i+++ I always precisely know what is in my inventory, and in my various stashes on several key levels. I adjust specific items to customary 'slots' to make item use easier. I also know the exact weight of what I'm carrying. I might even arange non-vital stuff to allow for cute prompts like 'What do you want to eat (gruB or ?*) ?' I frequently switch between the various inventory styles. i++ I don't cart around stuff I'm not needing on my journey - that's what stashes are for. I adjust the inventory slots of my oft-used items to make their use easy and intuitive and know pretty well what I possess. I have a preferred inventory style and have my good reasons for using it as opposed to the others. i+ I don't carry too much and use special levels to store some of the things I wish to hang onto. I arrange some of my inventory slots around to get oft-used stuff into less awkward slots. I've tried out a few inventory styles and stick to the one I like best. i I occasionally spend time burdened and just can't decide to let go of some neat item. In a bad fix I just drop my bag until the danger is over. I stash items I don't need right now but rarely access these stashes again. I'm using whatever inventory style is in my defaults file - it works well enough. i- My characters are usually burdened, verging on stressed. In final inventory listings I frequently notice I'd been carrying entirely useless items. On occasion I break a wand by accident, because it ended up in an inventory slot in which I was expecting something else. i-- Going up stairs always requires my going up and down several times, because the game won't let me carry up all my stuff at once. I won't store any of my stuff anywhere - I worked hard to get it and won't let it sit on the floor where some filthy goblin can pick it up. !i I'm playing this game without once using the 'i' command or any other way of getting any inventory place displayed. I've also disabled fixinv. i? You mean the purpose of the game isn't determining how long it takes before you're unable to pick up anything else and get splattered by a grid bug??? s Shops s+++ I love shops. I have the 'identify objects by price' spoiler open all the time. I also won't rest before I own all of the shopkeeper's merchandise and money. A shopkeeper who has no more use for me gets slaughtered, or milked for infinite cream pies. s++ Shops are nice. They help me determine the nature of some of the more obscure or dangerous items and are a good source of income. If I want to have some piece of shop merchandise, I always know of a way to get it without paying for it. s+ When there's a shop around, I'll use the opportunity to sort through my inventory and maybe acquire some new provisions. I know the costs of some key items and prefer to identify them by shop service instead of just trying out. s I don't care too much for shops. If they have something good on offer, I'll buy it, and I'll also give away some junk to raise some funds, but there's much more fun and accomplishment in taking stuff from the monsters I vanquish. s- Shops never seem to have the stuff I need, and I'm not prepared to spend all my money shopping anyway. s-- Shopkeepers are my main cause of death - they sure can't take a joke! !s The entire shopping issue is crass commercialism! Burn down the shops! Hang the shopkeepers! s? Who is that person cursing shoplifters? b bone files b+++ I regularly collect my late-game equipment from bones files. I deliberately kill off powerful characters on promising levels, to generate bones to collect by later adventurers. I might even go so far as to deliberately 'seed' my dungeon with wizard mode bones. b++ Bones are a great feature of the game. I love to swap bones files with other players and 'prepare to die' if a character is in a hopeless situation. b+ Bones files give me the opportunity to grab good loot and exact revenge on whoever killed the unlucky adventurer. It's kind of comforting that if I get killed, someone might do the same for me. b If I stumble upon the remains of a previous adventurer, I sieve through whatever they left and try to not share their fate. I prefer not to leave bones - after all, it requires your death. b- If I run into a ghost, either someone was woefully under-equipped or they ran into something monstrously dangerous. I prefer not to encounter bones. b-- Every time I find a bones file, a new grave gets added to the level. !b I regularly erase all bones files from my NetHack directory. b? Help! I'm spooked by my own ghost! But how can that be - I'm still alive?! Can be added to any of the above: (H) I get many/most/all of my bonesfiles from Hearse or a similar bonefile exchange site. 5. Indulgences and restrictions W Wishing W+++ I wish for anything I desire, as long as the game allows it. And I'll do anything to improve the chances for more wishes, like dipping things into fountains and alchemising smoky potions. W++ I wish for what I like, when I have the opportunity. When I have all the 'musts' covered, I'll wish for neat things until my wish ressources run dry. But my wish list is so long this virtually never happens. W+ I practically never wish for artifacts, but anything else is fair game - if I find I'm really itching for it. W I wish for the things I need, but I won't invoke wishes for trivial things like neat boots. I use wishes sparingly and like to have two or three in reserve for when I really need them. W- I don't like wishing for things, and sometimes even postpone a wish for something that might save my character's life. W-- I have a knack of wishing for exactly the wrong thing like an artifact I cannot even pick up or an armour that turns out –3 when I wished for +3. !W I'm on a wishless ascension. W? I wished for the Amulet of Yendor and got it. Neat, huh? Now why does the game claim I 'escaped with a fake amulet' ? E Elbereth E+++ I'll reverse-genocide Master Liches to get an athame; I engrave 'Elbereth' at least once in every room in the dungeon. I also often scribble the name in the dust, to train Wisdom. E++ When in doubt, my first reaction is to engrave Elbereth to be on the safe side. Preferably a few copies. E+ I'm always prepared to put an E-word on the floor, preferably in a permanent fashion. Helped me out of countless tight corners, that. E Real Adventurers can handle most problems by themselves, but being able to gain some protection from the Star Queen is invaluable. If I'm in a bad pickle, I will invoke Elbereth to save my behind. E- The E-word is a last resort, and I use it as such. Admittedly, it happens that I remember it too late or use it against the wrong sort of foe. E-- I used my last possible turn to inscribe Elbereth and in the next round, an unimpressed captain cut me to ribbons. I won't try that stupid trick again. !E My source code has #define ELBERETH commented out. E? What was it again? "Owlbreath" or "Galadriel"? PS Polymorph self PS+++ I'm using the patch which allows starting in creature form. Or I love to juggle with polymorph+polymorph control and have a favourite form or two which will be 'fixed' by means of an amulet of unchanging. I rarely spend much time in my original shape. PS++ A ring of polymorph control is worth a wish. Once I have that, I'll switch shape to fit mood and opportunity; acquiring some intrinsics by eating rings is an occasion I rarely miss. PS+ If I have control, I'll turn myself into something else, if I can see a benefit coming from it. For actual combat and adventuring, though, my original shape is best. PS Self-Polymorph is more an accident I try to avoid than something I strive for. I won't do it unless it appears necessary to overcome an obstacle. PS- I prefer to solve my problems without turning myself into some freaky monstrosity. PS-- All the good stuff can't be polymorphed into, and what looks good as a monster just ends up very dead as a player - typically looking rather petrified. !PS I don't voluntarily polymorph-self. I might even go so far as to change the source to get rid of this stupid feature. PS? Why do I keep turning into all those monsters? Has it something to do with this cursed ring? PP Polypiling PP++++ My name is Efembe. PP+++ I'm tempted to downgrade to one of the older versions, where you could get infinite unicorn horns. I carefully sort and stack promising objects and keep polymorphing them until nothing is left. I know which items are magical and use lots of holy water to reduce item loss while polypiling. PP++ One of the main objectives in my games is creating a good polypile base, where loads of stuff will be accumulated and transmuted. This practice is my main source of important rings and scrolls, and also provides me with the odd magic tool. PP+ If I have a wand of polymorph or two, I'll shoot it at the immense armour stacks in Ludios or the Castle, spiced up with a bunch of miscellaneous magical gadgets. Once my wand is empty or the piles get too small, I'll move on. PP If I feel like it, I might try out polypiling, but I'm usually not patient enough to collect the amounts of items necessary to make it really worthwile. PP- I prefer using wands of polymorph on monsters, and maybe on myself. And the stuff I polypile usually turns into even less interesting items, so it's no real loss. PP-- Ugh, I accidentally turned my bag of holding full of goodies into a blessed greased tin opener. Never again! !PP I don't polypile on principle. I identify all potions by quaffing or throwing at monsters, just to avoid the accidental polymorphed item when dipping. PP? Wha' happen? Where'd the golem come from? G Genocide G+++ When genociding, nothing's holy. When I can, I genocide absolutely everything genocidable. A must-have item is an amulet of unchanging, so I can even wipe out my own original race. G++ I genocide everything that's even remotely dangerous. By the time I reach the planes even minotaurs are gone. I'll even wipe out ants, because they annoy me. G+ I have a few groups of monsters I will normally wipe out, because they're too scary or annoying to handle. G If I get an early genocide, it'll be goodbye for mumakil or rust monsters, depending on what scares or annoys me most. Later on, I tend to take out scary things like Liches. G- I'll use the genocides that come my way, but I'm often at a loss as to what to wipe out. G-- Hmm, genociding 'h' doesn't seem to be a good idea when you're a dwarf ... !G I prefer to wipe out a species with my own hands, thanks. G? This scroll must be broken - I specified Orcus, Demogorgon, the Wizard of Yendor, the Chromatic Dragon and even lowly shopkeepers, and the game refused them all. What am I supposed to genocide, newts? C Conflict C+++ Once I acquire a ring of conflict, it never goes off again, apart maybe from chatting with my quest leader. Given the chance, I'll even eat such a ring. C++ A ring of conflict is one of my main props. Who needs pets when you can get your enemies to do the dirty work for you? C+ I frequently put on a ring of conflict to make hacking through the crowds easier. C I occasionally use a ring of conflict to occupy monsters, taking some of the pressure off me. C- Sometimes I carry a ring of conflict, but I rarely remember to put it on. C-- Either I forget putting on the ring when I'm in the middle of a crowd, or I forget taking it off when I'm visiting a temple. !C a) I find conflict cheesy and won't use it. b) I prefer staying upon my steed. C? Ouch! What has Ms. Asidonhopo against me? I Intrinsics: --- This section starts a new line of the NHC --- I+++ I keep a checklist of which intrinsics I've got. I don't feel content before I have them all. Good or bad doesn't really matter: I might even acquire 'You aggravate monsters.' just to expand the list. I++ I know which intrinsics I will need when and plan accordingly. I'm especially pleased when I find a tinning kit, because that makes gaining intrinsics so much easier and safer. I+ I have a good idea of which intrinsics my character possesses and which might be needed next. Just to be on the safe side, I like to get crowned for the big parcel of resists. I I often play orcs, as they're least restricted in what they can eat. Monks are also a preferred choice, as they gain intrinsics as they level up, relieving me of the burden of keeping track of what I have and what I need. I- I invariably end up with unwanted intrinsics, like monster aggravation from cannibalism, or teleportitis from nymphs. I usually acquire a nice list of intrinsics by the end of a game, but I'm rather unsure where they've come from. I-- I go to great lengths trying to acquire poison resistance with my healers, and my lvl 19 tourists keep suffering instadeaths from poisoned spikes or stepping into lava. !I I'm playing an intrinsicless game. I hope I can collect enough potions of hallucination to wheather the touches of death the wizard of Yendor is bound to try on me. I? I just felt a chill - who left the door open? 6. @W The Wizard of Yendor This takes arguments in () to indicate what you did to him, what he did to you (alternatively: what you're prepared to do to him once you meet him) and how many times you killed him before you finally got him off your back. c I treated him with cockatrice products. cFc I petrified/stone-to-fleshed/stoned him again for lots of points. ( I broke his statue. % I stone-to-fleshed the rocks. p I polymorphed the rubble. j I jumped up and down on the bits (rocks/meatballs...). 2 I bisected or beheaded him. w I zapped a wand of death at him. t I tinned him. e I ate him/fed him to my pet. d He double-troubled me. S He stole items from me. T He teleported off the level at some point (most fun if in conjunction with S) * (as the only argument except (#)) Anything goes with the Wiz. (#) I killed him # times. !@W I still have to seen him. @W? I've never even heard of him. 7. Abuses N Nurses N++ I'll reverse-genocide nurses on a non-teleport level and carefully work with them to get my hitpoints to the 'nurse maximum'. After that, I'll preserve them for bad times - with my tinning kit. N+ Getting my life rating improved by the occasional co-operative nurse is part of my normal preparation for the confrontation with the wizard. N If I find a nurse on a no-teleport level with nothing dangerous nearby, I'm willing to take off my armour and get myself checked up. N- I never find a nurse in a convenient location - either she'll 'port away before doing a thing or there's too many monsters around. N-- Whenever I strip down for a nurse, up comes a black dragon and disintegrates me. No thanks. !N I don't take my clothes off for any monster, not even a nurse. N? Why is that nurse hitting me? I thought their job was helping people! & Sex (Incubi and Succbi) &+++ My male characters are called Stiffy Makane. I consort with any and every demonic seducer until they get a splitting headache. I'll adjust my character's gender to make sure I can have my way with every single one of them. &++ I spend time with in-/succubi to gain levels and recharge my power. I kick sinks to get more of them and engage any random one as long as I'm not in immediate danger. &+ I know when having some fun with a demon lover is safe and profitable and will chat them up once the occasion arises. I'm very careful to avoid getting myself exposed while, say, there's a master lich right next to me. & I prefer not to get involved with sex fiends, but if they can persuade my character, I hope for the best and might take a second try if the first encounter was unsatisfactory. &- I generally avoid passionate encounters - my characters don't want to scramble back into their clothes while in the middle of a nasty dungeon. &-- I avoid *cubi like the plague. I wish I could castrate or otherwise sexually mutilate my characters to make them forever impotent. !& My characters are chaste. Should they ever get seduced, they will commit suicide on the spot, out of shame. &? Argh! The dishwasher has returned! I'm fucked! L aLchemy L+++ I collect and alchemise every single potion I can find. My characters end up with hundreds of hitpoints, and a dozen or more potions of full healing. L++ Alchemy is a great tool to build up a truly powerful character. Everyone can and should get 500 HP before tackling the endgame. L+ I use alchemy to give my characters a final boost of up to a hundred hitpoints before facing the Wizard. L I use alchemy to get the more fragile classes up to something more durable and if necessary provide a few more potions of full healing as preparation for potential close calls. L- I know a few alchemy recipes and use them if I can get the components, but it's not that important for me and I could do just as well without. L-- I guess alchemy can be pretty powerful, but I can only make potions of sickness, and my character is lawful. !L The only potion I'll dip another potion into is the one of holy water. I don't use alchemy. L? I dipped a potion of fruit juice into one of acid and the mixture evaporated. What's going on here? 8. Experience and knowledge X Experience X++++ My default name is Marvin. X+++ I've ascended every class, every race and have succeeded with most single challenges; I've even combined a few of the easier ones to make the game more interesting. X++ I've ascended most/all classes and have also done the occasional moderate challenge game, e.g. without wishes or genocides. X+ I've ascended a couple of games and think about trying out some specific styles or challenges. X Any time now, I might score my first ascension. I've already seen Rodney, now I only need the one lucky sod who doesn't fall to the many tripwires the game provides. X- I've seen Medusa. Not a pretty sight. X-- I always pick classes who have a nice quest. But I still have to survive Sokoban. !X I play blindfolded. And I'm not using a screen reader, either. I never find out what's going on, let alone whether my character still lives. X? I WANT 2 HECK INTO SUM1Z DATABASE! NE1 HEAR KNOW HOW 2? These 'player expertise' ratings are for 'default' games. For an individual game, substitute the achievements of the character (so far). A player with X+++ expertise would still insert X-- if a '+'(recent death) code character died on the Oracle level or X+ if an encoded 'A' game was a plain no-tricks ascension. Ps Playing speed Ps++++ I've ascended in less than 10 000 turns. Ps+++ It's pretty trivial to win a wizard game before the first spell is forgotten. Ps++ I've won a game in about 30 000 turns once. Games that take more than 50 000 turns I consider unnecessarily slow. Ps+ I've had a few fast games of less than 50 000 turns, but 60 000 is closer to what I consider a normal ascension speed. Ps There's so much to do! I might hit the bottom of Gehennom around turn 60 000 when I hurry. For an ascension, something between 80 000 and 100 000 looks most likely. Ps- I play slowly and carefully. Many of my characters run into food trouble because they're so reluctant to descend. I regularly spend well over a hundred thousand turns before I tackle the endgame. Ps-- I play so slowly that I often quit because the game doesn't seem to advance at all. Ps--- I stay on dungeon level one until the Aleaxes drive me away. !Ps I play NetHack like others play chess by e-mail. One move per day, carefully considered. I still have to leave level one in my first game. Ps? If you start as a tourist and eat all your food at once, you can finish the game in less than a hundred turns! As for 'X', adjust for the current character if not a default code, based on how slow/fast the character in question feels/felt. So Sources So++++ I'm a Dev Team member. So+++ I know much of the source by heart and have my own collection of (working) NetHack patches. So++ I have the sources on my machine and can reference, compile and (with a bit of luck) alter them. So+ I've looked at the source and understand what's going on. I'd be reluctant to meddle with them, though. So I've looked at the sources, but my understanding of them is rather limited. So- I've looked at the sources and got all confused. So-- The sources are just so much chinese to me. I can hardly make head or tail of the commentary. !So I want to play the game, I'm not interested in fiddling with it; and looking behind the scenes can really spoil the fun. So? There's a bunch of strange text files on my computer. They consist of gibberish of the sort 'const char *point_msg; /* spellcasting monsters are impolite */' I don't have the faintest idea what they're good for. But I'll better not remove them, maybe my Win98 crashes otherwise. Sp Spoilers Sp++++ My name is Dylan O'Donnell Sp+++ I've written or edited publicly available spoiler files. Sp++ I know most of what's in the spoilers, and am able to spot most weird occurences or strange messages I encounter. Sp+ I have a voluminous collection of spoilers downloaded. Finding out things on my own has its own charme, so I won't „spoil“ myself about things that are of little importance. Sp I will read spoilerish information posted on the newsgroup; it often provides good information on things that are hard to spot by just playing the game. Sp- I consult the oracle to find out some more about the game. Sounds like I should keep the horn of the next unicorn I kill - it might be useful. Sp-- I've read the guidebook. This should provide enough information to play the game. !Sp I'm going to solve this damn game by myself, no matter how long it takes. Sp? Spoilers are people that look over your shoulder and keep commenting while you play. They really spoil the fun - I don't want to have anything to do with them. 9.Cheating Note: if your attitude is !sb , you can just as well ignore this. It's pretty much the 'default' attitude seen on r.g.r.n., so it's not going to add any tangible information whatsoever. sb Save file backups sb+++ I back up and restore save files to manipulate in-game variables: get a better sacrificing gift, scum up a wish from a throne... The game's way too hard if you don't force it to be nice. sb++ Of course I back up save files. It's the only way to win. sb+ I back up save files to insure against particularly stupid deaths. I've even used them on occasion. sb I make backups to insure against fatal typos. sb- I back up save files, but I've never used one. !sb Backing up savefiles to get around obstacles posed by the game is cheating. If the game suffers from serious bugs, especially if these can unrecoverably crash the game, backups against such eventualities are barely acceptable. sb? I don't know where the save files are on my system. 10. Death (yours) +# Number of times died. +0 I haven't died/I intend not to die (in a 'D' code) ++ only for 'D' codes: i try to die as often as possible and still ascend.