H A C K H E L P for HACK version 3.6 (release B) -)(- 0.INTRODUCTION Introduction to HACKHELP HACKHELP is an extensive help file for the game HACK, and includes detailed accounts of monsters, items, treasures, and a good amount of helpful hints. The author has been working on it for quite some time now; other data has been compiled from other HACK help files, such as SCROLL.WIS, or HINTS.HAC. I extend my greatest admiration to the authors of HACKDOC, however, for its excellent content and detailed tables. Later patches include strategies, extra data (as discovered), and ways to complete the game. Since the original help file was so long (almost 90K!), I had to break it up into smaller files, since most text editors can only handle 50K or so at a time. Because of the detail and (hopefully) helpfulness of this file, I kindly ask that readers who find it extremely entertaining and/or helpful contribute a donation, anywhere from $1 to $30 and up. (This request sound ridiculous, but keep in mind - and the more experienced HACK players can vouch for this - the great amount of time it takes to search out kinks and data in HACK, and I -do- have to support myself, after all!) If you wish to contribute, see the address below. I also need to count on other HACK players for my knowledge of the game - it's important to hear strategies and ideas from other players as well! If you have any questions (I'd be more than happy to answer them, but it may take a while for my response to get through), comments, discoveries, etc., feel free to write to the address below. I'd love to hear from you. [By the way: once I get enough responses, I will begin to post HACKers' hints, solves, and strategies in a separate file (HACKHELP.NOT), with full credit to the HACKer (or HACKers).] Please be sure to include your version of HACK, and also your version of HACKHELP (sometimes even more important). After going through most of the help files out on the PD today, I realized that there wasn't one, complete, condensed volume on HACK at all. There were unorganized (though extremely helpful) lists and charts and tables, but nothing complete as far as a text file can go. When I began to compile the data, I soon realized the tremendous amount of information on HACK; HACK is a complex game! I intend to continue to add to the file, when I come across new hints, rumours, or discoveries. [Thanx to HH, and all the others who have helped!] "Despite all of the hints possible, HACK is still a difficult game. To master it, the player himself must tap the keys and make all the decisions. Even the best character may perish by starvation or by zapping a wand of death accidentally. Just because you know how to defeat a cockatrice doesn't mean your character can handle a cockatrice. At least it's good to know that hints and strategies do exist in HACK, and that the best way to prevent panic is knowledge." -HH This is dedicated to that adventurer who tried just -one last time- to get that damn Wizard, or the one who got killed trying to find the Amulet. Good luck. I hope you enjoy HACK, and HACKHELP as much as I did writing it. February, 1987 Erik Max Francis max@darkside.com ..!apple!uuwest!max -)(- 0.CONTENTS Contents of HACKHELP Sections are indexed by X.YY.Z, where X is the chapter index; Y is the section index; Z is the subsection index. Tables are prefixed with a "T." Table of contents. - 0.INTRODUCTION Introduction to HACKHELP 0.CONTENTS Contents of HACKHELP 1.00 General 1.01 History 1.02 Environment 1.03 Graphics and Icons T1.03-1 Icons 1.04 Commands T1.04-1 Commands 2.00 Playing 3.00 Food 3.01 Types of Food T3.01-1 Types of Food -2 Types of Canned Foods -2b Distribution of Canned Foods -2c Weapons for opening cans quickly 3.02 Rotten Food T3.02-1 Consequences of Rotten Food 3.03 Eating Dead Monsters T3.03-1 Eating Monsters 4.00 Monsters 4.01 Edible Monsters T4.01-1 Edible Monsters 4.02 Monster Data T4.02-1 Monsters 5.00 Objects 5.00.1 Plusses 5.00.2 Stickeycurses 5.01 Weapons T5.01-1 Weapons 5.01.1 Notes On Weapons 5.02.2 Projectile Weapons T5.02.2-1 Projectile Ammunitions 5.02 Armour T5.02-1 Armours 5.02.1 Additive Armours T5.02.1-1 Additive Armours 5.03 Special (Appliable) Items 5.04 Scrolls 5.05 Wands 5.06 Rings 6.00 Special Rooms 6.01 Shops 6.01.1 Strategies For Dealing With Shopkeepers 6.02 Magical Memory Vault 6.03 David's Treasure Zoo 6.04 The Maze 6.05 Morgues 7.00 Valuable Items A.00 Appendicies A.01 Rumour file A.01.1 Rumour File Summary S.00 Strategies S.01 About Strategies S.01.1 Just Starting Out S.01.2 Higher Levels S.02 Cheating (For Fun and Profit) S.03 Elbereth S.04 Orcrist S.05 Points S.06 Luck 1.00 General HACK is an excellent representation of Gary Gygax's "Dungeons & Dragons" game. Your mission, in HACK, is to descend countless levels of a dark dungeon in order to find the "amulet," rumoured to be on the 29th level. As a human, you have a wide choice of what you can be: a fighter, a cave-man, a wizard, a knight, a spelolegist, or a tourist. Each class has different advantages and disadvantages: for instance, a knight has a variety of good weapons and armor; a tourist has a great deal of food. HACK is available for MS-DOS machines: IBM PC/XT/AT, Rainbow, and a few other IBM compatables. [Warning: HACK has been proven to be mentally addicting to the user.] 1.01 History HACK is a "hacked" (i.e., illegally changed) version of the classic UN*X game of ROGUE. But for anyone who has played both, they know that HACK and ROGUE are -quite- different, in detail - but it is apparent that on the basic level, HACK and ROGUE had a common ancestor: an early version of ROGUE. Those who have played both can detail the differences. HACK was written (contrary to popular belief) in Amsterdam, Holland, -not- at Columbia. The ROGUE -source- code (HACK is written in 'C') was once posted to the Usenet, but have since been removed. Actually, there have been a myriad different D&D-type games, such as WIZARDRY, OUBLIETTE, etc., and some of these might have been ancestral to them all. But, HACK certainly is a very good game in its own right, and (since is in public domain) is free, and is a certainly good way to lose a few hours. Have fun. 1.02 Environment You can copy save files to make a backup file of a character - everything is in standard DOS files. If you get killed, then you can rename your backupfile, and start again from where the backupfile had been last saved. For instance: Before you traverse to another level, you can save the game (command shift-S, "S"). When HACK returns to DOS, you can then copy the .SAV file (with your character's name for the file name) to another extension, such as .BCK or .SV2. Thus, whenever you die (or something unacceptably bad happens to you,) you can simply copy (or rename) the .BCK file to a .SAV file, and resume play. Doing this, I believe, is -vitally- important to winning the game, or even lasting very long. 1.03 Graphics and Icons HACK uses standard ASCII characters for play, and indeed, this is all it really needs. They are not fancy; they do not really need to be. Walls of rooms are represented by '-' and '|', corners by '+', floors by '.', and secret passages by '#'. Monsters (and other creatures) are represent by lowercase and capital letters; a 'd' (dog) is different from a 'D' (dragon). Other ASCII characters used as symbols, are: [Table, 1.03-1: Icons] @ - a human (you, for instance). < - up staircase. > - down staircase. ` - large boulder. ^ - a trap. ) - a weapon. ( - another useful object (key, rope, camera, etc.). [ - a suit of armor. ] - a mimic 'M' posing as a suit of armor: see Monster Tables. % - a piece of food (not necessarily healthy). / - a wand. = - a ring. ? - a scroll. ! - a potion. $ - a pile/pot of gold. If, at any time, you are unsure of what a symbol represents (for instance, if you bump into a monster you do not recognize), all you need to do is type "/" (see Commands, section 1.04), and then the icon character you are unsure of, and HACK will display what that symbol represents; in some cases, it may prompt you for more information (not necessary, just helpful). 1.04 Commands HACK boasts a very large array of commands that are available to the explorer. They are: [Table 1.04-1: Commands] ? - help. Either long or short. Short displays a list of commands; long displays a rather complicated summary of the game. Q - quit game. You are prompted for confirmation. S - save game. < - up. Go up a staircase (if you are standing on it). > - down. Go down a staircase (if you are standing on it). kjhlyubn - Go one step in the direction indicated. k: north y: northeast j: south u: northwest h: west b: southeast l: east n: southwest You may also change the format of these commands to the numeric keypad by selecting "O" (Options, q.v.), and then "IBMBIOS." These eight commands will be herein abbreviated as "[direct]". Shift-[direct] - Move "far" in the direction indicated until you run into something "interesting." Interesting things are: monsters, scrolls, potions, wands, rings, gems, treasure, traps, doors, and forks in corridors. m + [direct] - Move in the direction indicated without picking up any objects. M + [direct] - Move "far," no pickup. f + [direct] - Move until something "interesting" is found. Same as above. F + [direct] - Move until something "interesting" is found; but forking of corridors is not considered interesting. i - print inventory. I - print selective inventory. ^ - request trap previously found. ) - list current wielded weapon. [ - list current worn armor. = - list current worn rings. . - rest; do nothing for a turn. ^R (Ctrl-R) - redraw the screen. ^P (Ctrl-P) - reprint last message. Subsequent ^P's print earlier messages. / + [any symbol] - display what this symbol represents. e - eat something (food, hopefully). q - drink ("quaff") a potion. r - read scroll. w - wield weapon. T - take off armor. R - remove ring. W - wear armor. P - put on a ring. t - throw an object, or shoot a weapon. Projectile weapons are fired by first wielding the weapon, and then throwing the ammunition. p - pay your shopping bill (at a shop, q.v.). d - drop something. "d7a" drops 7 items of object "a." D - drop several things; has complex prompt. A complex prompt consists of the prompt, "What kinds of things do you want to [verb]?" Following the question is a list of icons. Type one of these icons to selectively drop items from that category. Type one of the icons + "a" to drop all of the items in the category, without asking for confirmation. Type icon + "u" to drop all of the unpaid (at a shop, q.v.) items in that category. Press [ESC] to abort. c - name a certain object, or a class of objects. C - name an individual monster (for instance, baptize your dog). E - write a message in the dust on the floor. "E-" means write with bare hands. v - print version number. \ - give a list of all identified items (scrolls, potions, rings, wands, gems, etc.). ^T - teleport. O - options. To turn an option on, type the name of the option. To turn it off, type "!" + its name. See the long help file for more detailed information. ! - startup another copy of COMMAND.COM, if memory is available. # - introduces a long command; not really implemented. 2.00 Playing HACK is a simple game to play; but difficult to master. Essentially, all that one does is move around the dungeon, fight monsters (by trying to move onto their space), and get objects (simply by moving on top of them). Other commands are explained above. 3.00 Food Food is an essential part of HACK; if you do not eat, you will die very soon. The main source of food is a ration. A food ration is a type of super-food; it can bring you from "fainting" to content in one munch. But, unfortunately, a player cannot find enough food rations to survive the game. Therefore, he must find alternative sources of food. 3.01 Types of Food The various types of food are as follows: [Table 3.01-1: Types of Food] food ration - super food. tripe ration (dog food) - less than half as nutritious as a food ration. Has a 1-in-2 chance of vomiting, therefore leaving you just as bad off (or slightly worse) than before you ate it. Gain one experience point. pancake - small food value. Nothing special. dead lizard - small food value. Rumoured to help against cockatrices ('c'; see Monsters) fortune cookie - small food value. After eating, a rumour (tapped from the rumour file) is displayed. See Rumours. carrot - small food value. Returns eyesight, if blind. tin (q.v.) - takes a while to open. Contains random items (see Table 3.01-2). orange, apple, pear, melon, banana, candy bar The last seven items have only a 'food value' of 1, and therefore, are very unimportant. A 'tin' can contain a random variety of items: [Table 3.01-2: Types of Canned Foods] spinach - good food. Makes you stronger! (Remember Popeye.) Extremely valuable - strength is important. peaches - good food. No special effect. salmon - good food. Makes hands slippery for 1-15 turns (i.e., you drop weapons! [Including stickey-cursed items; q.v.]) apple juice - mediocre food. unknown substance - -disgustingly- nutritious. It is 10 times more nutritious than food rations. rotten meat - dangerous. Food value is -negative- 50; takes away food points! empty can - no food value, obviously. [Table 3.01-2b: Distribution of Canned Foods]] spinach - 1-in-2. others - 1-in-12. [Table 3.01-2c: Weapons for Opening Tins Quickly] axe, crysknife, and dagger 3.02 Rotten Food Sometimes food that is eaten is rotten. This means that its food value is one-fourth normal value, and that some consequences follow. Normal chances for rotten food (unless fortune cookie, or dead monster) is 1-in-7. [Table 3.02-1: Consequences of Rotten Food] 1 in 4 - confusion (2d4 turns). 3 in 16 - blindness (3d10 turns, if not blind already). 3 in 16 - loss of consciousness (1-10 turns). 3 in 8 - no harm. 3.03 Eating Dead Monsters Since most "normal" types of food are rather rare, players will have to eat the monsters they kill for food. Some monsters are -inedible-; they are "tainted." After eating an inedible monster, you get the message "Ulch -- that meat was tainted! You get very sick." If you do not have an extra healing potion (q.v.) or royal jelly, you are dead within a few moves - you die of food poisoning. Also, if the monster is not freshly killed (i.e., you killed him only a few turns ago), then you may also get food poisoning. A list of edible and inedible monsters follows in the Monsters section. Sometimes, after eating a monster, the monster bestows you with certain magical abilities. These are: [Table 3.03: Eating Monsters] acid blob, giant ant, giant beetle, dragon, homunculous, kobold, snake, vampire - poison (save 1-in-5). bat - you become confused. cockatrice - you turn to stone. (Avoid!) dog, human - you aggravate all monsters. (You get the message, "You cannibal! You'll pay for this!") dragon - you can resist fire. floating eye - you become telepathic (q.v.). freezing sphere, yeti - you can resist cold. invisible stalker, yellow light - you become confused; also enables you to see invisible. killer bee, scorpion - poison (save 1-in-5); you can resist poison thereafter. leprechaun, nymph, tengu - you teleport occasionally (uncontrollably). mimic - you mimic a treasure chest for 30 moves. nurse - all your hit points are restored; you aggravate all monsters. wraith - you gain a level of experience. (-Extremely- important!) floating eye, leprechaun, nymph, orc, purple worm, quasit, rust monster, umber hulk, unicorn, xan, zruty - you get sick (and lose 1d8 hit points). 4.00 Monsters Monsters are the beasties that are represented by the letters 'a' to 'z' and 'A' to 'Z'. A few monsters' symbols are punctuation; these are the special ones. The term "monster" merely means a creature that inhabits the dungeon; all monsters are -not- necessarily enemies. Some are even beneficial. 4.01 Edible Monsters Here is a list of the edible monsters (ones that will not kill you from food poisoning): [Table 4.01-1: Edible Monsters] a - acid blob. (No food value; does damage.) b - giant beetle. d - dog. e - ettin. f - fog cloud. i - imp. j - jaguar. l - leocrotta. m - minotaur; probably edible. n - nurse. (Aggravates all monsters). o - owlbear; probably edible. p - piercer. q - quivering blob. r - giant rat. t - tengu. (You teleport occasionally.) u - unicorn. Edible, but don't kill! This is a good guy. v - violet fungi. w - long worm; possible edible. x - xan; probably edible. z - zruty; probably edible. A - giant ant. B - giant bat; causes confusion. C - centaur; corpse is very heavy. D - dragon; corpse is unliftable (but nutritious enough). E - floating eye; causes telepathy. F - freezing sphere; gives cold protection. G - gnome. H - hobgoblin; good food source. I - invisible stalker; gives 'see invisible.' J - jackal; sometimes starts out a bit rotten (not enough to kill you, however). L - leprechaun. (You teleport occasionally.) M - mimic; you mimic a treasure chest for 30 turns. N - nymph. (You teleport occasionally.) O - orc; rarely edible. P - purple worm; probably edible. Q - quasit; probably edible. R - rust monster; probably edible. S - snake; probably edible. T - troll; probably edible. U - umber hulk; probably edible. V - vampire; probably edible. W - wraith; increases level. X - xorn; probably edible. Y - yeti; provides cold resistance. Z - zombie. @ - you, a shopkeeper; edible (shopkeeper), but aggravates all monsters. Note: "probably edible" indicates that they -should- be edible; the author has never ran into a corpse long enough to eat it. (A list of inedible monsters did -not- include these.) "rarely edible" (for orcs) indicates that the monster is usual edible, but sometimes starts out slightly rotten. If you do not eat it quickly, then it is definitely inedible. 4.02 Monster data Every monster has its own special strength, armour, and special magical abilities. They are: [Table 4.02-1: Monsters] a - acid blob. Never attacks unless confused; but when you hit it, it may splash you with acid and corrode your weapons/armour. (Elven cloaks and leather armor are not affected.) Worth 9 experience points (XP), so good for building your levels at first. An acid splash can do as much as 8 points of damage. Slow and easy to fake out. b - giant beetle. Nothing special. c - cockatrice. -Very dangerous.- If it hits you, it will turn you to stone (i.e., you die). Even if it misses, it has a one-in-five chance of doing so -just- by hissing (e.g., "You hear the cockatrice's hissing!"). Touching a dead cockatrice is also lethal, unless you are wearing gloves. If you threw things at it, do not try to retrieve them until detect food potion says there is no corpse underneath. Don't even think of eating it. Gloves are not even foolproof; watch the staircases. Any monster turned to stone by a living cockatrice (turned to your side through ring of conflict, scroll of taming, wand of polymorph (on your dog)) turns into a pile of rocks. Monsters you hit with a dead one seem to be normal corpses. The wand of cancellation does -not- stop petrification! There is a rumour that dead lizards may prevent the process, but it is uncertain. One untested theory is to wield the lizard and swing at the cockatrice. Unsure. d - dog; yours or that of a previous owner (ghost). If you throw tripe rations or anything else edible (but not rotten corpses) at a wild dog, it will become tame. If you leave a tamed dog on another level, it instantly turns wild. A tame dog (including yours) will not attack you unless confused. He can starve to death (just like you) and will become confused just before his demise. ("You feel worried about [your dog]." means he is getting dangerously low on food; "You have sad feelings for a moment, and then it passes." means your dog has just died.) Little dogs grow to become -big- dogs as the game progresses. There is nothing (except a cockatrice) that a big dog cannot at least and stand a reasonable chance of killing. He seems to kill only for food, however, with only a few exceptions (such as acid blobs or kobolds, q.v.). If you are fighting and he has a high "loyalty quotient" (q.v.), he may eventually get the idea. Note: Dogs will not step on a stickeycursed item. [Hint - dogs are fun to polymorph; ever had a tame cockatrice?] Eating a dog causes you to thereafter aggravate all monsters. Not sure if this affect continues through succeeding levels. e - ettin. In D&D, hard to surprise...in HACK, hard to kill (meaner than a troll!). f - fog cloud. Very weak. 24 XP, -real- bargain. g - gelatinous cube. Occasionally paralyzes by touch (only when it hits you, though). Not edible. h - homunculous. Its bite can put you to sleep. Not edible. i - imp. Poor attack, but very hard to hit. ...You might even starve to death trying to kill one. j - jaguar. Has multiple attacks, but does not inflict much damage. (Still an annoyance.) k - killer bee. Always appears in swarms. If you get hit, you may find that the bee's sting was poisoned (gulp!). If you haven't already eaten a killer bee or scorpion, eat one fast (see food hints, Section 3.03). Always created in swarms by scroll of create monster. Unlike orcs, these are medium-tough monsters, and there is no 'Orcrist' (q.v.) for them. l - leocrotta. Master of hit-and-run tactics. Tends to take three or so hits, and then step back. A real pain when you are fighting one or more other monsters at the same time. m - minotaur. The kind of the mazes which exist on the lowest levels of the dungeon (approx. 27 and lower). One of these 'bull-headed' monsters can be found in each maze level. Kill him, and you will find a wand of digging (-very- helpful). n - nurse. Tends to wear a ring, but not always. Eat to restore hit points, but you will thereafter aggravate all monsters, like the dog. The nurse does a -lot- of damage when she hits if you are wielding a weapon, or wearing any armour at all (including gloves and shields and helmets). If you are completely naked (and defenceless), she heals you, restores all hit points, and raises maximum hit points! ('Elbereth' works to stop her either way.) o - owlbear. If he gets a good hit on you, he will embrace you in a bear hug! You are then unlikely to be able to escape short of killing it, or teleporting away. p - piercer. Can drop from the ceiling by surprise. If it falls and hits you, it might do up to 30+HP damage! Once on the ground, however, it is not too much of a problem. (Helmets protect from this: "The blow glances off your helmet!") 10 XP. A hanging (hidden) piercer may be found by searching. q - quivering blob. Weak and slow. r - giant rat. Edible, and one of the prime sources of monster food in the dungeon. s - scorpion. Poisonous sting, as for killer bees. Edible for poison resistance (with poison damage the first time). Like snakes, scorpions often hide under objects on the ground. While he's under something, however, you can throw missiles at him from across the room. (He will hide under the first one, then sit still for you to hit him with more.) t - tengu. Tends to engage guerilla tactics, like the leocrotta. Tengus teleport short distance while in battle, and may even be able to follow you (!) when you teleport away. Eating the corpse causes you to teleport occasionally. u - unicorn. Don't fight! This is a good guy. Throw gems at it; if the gems are valuable, the unicorn will graciously accept your gift, and raise your luck by five points (without notifying you, however)...luck is an internal variable, and deals with "getting that last hit" on the monster, or how many monsters on each level, etc. If you throw an unidentified gem, he will raise it one point (maybe). If you throw glass that has been identified, you may get killed (unsure of how; rumour). v - violet fungi. Slow and edible. w - long worm. Has a long body (each segment appears as a '~') behind a head (as a 'w'). Only the head can hit you, though you can hit (and destroy) it at any segment along its length. Hitting the last segment is by far the best approach. Tends to hit in long bursts and then pause for a time. (Doesn't seem to do all that much damage per hit; it's the number of hits that he gets in.) Be careful when you are hacking away at the worm's middle; you can split it in half! Each broken segment becomes a -separate- long worm! (Better to attack from the last segment and go up to the head.) Worth a whopping 115 XP. [Hint: looking under the corpse reveals a worm tooth, and enchanting that (enchant weapon scroll while wielding tooth), produces a crysknife (!), one of the most powerful weapons in the dungeon. x - xan. Pricks your leg, and lowers your load capacity (the amount of objects you can carry without collapsing). Potion of speed or royal jelly (?) will cure it. A real pain; usually found under 20th level...good candidate for scroll of genocide. y - yellow light. if it hits, it will blind you and disappear. Blindness is temporary; much shorter than the potion of blindness. (q.v., floating eye) z - zruty. Nothing special (?). Multiple attacks. A - giant ant. Poisonous sting can lower your strength. B - giant bat. Jumps around a lot. Not very powerful, but fast enough that it can hit you and get out of hand-to-hand range. Eating corpse causes confusion like the potion, but no warning message. Good as dog treat, though. C - centaur. Fast and powerful. Edible, but corpse is -very- heavy. D - dragon. Megamonster. Nasty attack, or breathes fire (!). -The- best reason to own a ring of fire resistance (or have previously eaten a dragon's corpse) on the lower levels. Unfortunately, a dragon's corpse is an unliftable object; but can be eaten while standing over (takes a long time to eat, too!). Dragons can breathe flame at you -even- through walls, although they probably won't hit you. (Probably.) Particularly common in mazes (levels 27+). A dragon at the back of a 'zoo' (q.v.) can be helpful, flames at you, and fries the intervening monsters. Dragons can even flame through 'Elbereth'! Fire seems to be every bit as bad as a bolt of fire - maybe even worse. They and their breath are unaffected by the wand of cancellation. E - floating eye. Its gaze can paralyze you, leaving you game for other monsters. However, it can only do this when you are attacking hand-to-hand. Eating a corpse makes you sick (you lose some hit points), but bestows telepathy; whenever you are blind, you know what and where every monster on that level is. This turns yellow lights and potions of blindness into near godsends when you have most of the level mapped out. To get corpse without getting paralyzed, stand next to it while doggie gets it. Once he kills it, just step in and grab it before he can. (Note for tourists: use camera to blind it. Blinded floating eyes cannot defend themselves.) Or, throw things at it if you're dog is deceased. Unaffected by wand of cancellation; wand of invisibility doesn't work, either. F - freezing sphere. Eating corpse gives protection from cold, just as the ring, but permanent (but may do poison damage). Usually gives you a blast when fighting. Exploding freezing spheres leave no corpses. It is rather easy to kill at a distance; two crossbow bolts will do the job. Ring of cold resistance will protect you from explosions, as will having previously eaten a sphere corpse. G - gnome. Edible; another of the prime sources of monster- food in the dungeon. H - hobgoblin. Edible; the most common of the sources of monster-food. But a single attack can do up to 8 points of damage - enough to seriously disable a just-starting adventurer. I - invisible stalker. Monster is invisible; the letter 'I' is only what you see with ring/potion of see invisible (or telepathy while blinded). Eating corpse confuses you, and/or allows you to see invisible thereafter - not to mention making -you- invisible for a time! J - jackal. Usually edible, but seems to start out a bit rotten. (Not enough to kill you; just to confuse you.) K - kobold. Not edible. Nothing else special. L - leprechaun. If it hits while you are carrying gold, it will do no damage, but teleport away with a lot of your gold! (Have no fear - he is still somewhere on -that- level.) Can also pick up piles of gold...even from under your feet. Eating corpse may do poison damage, but always bestows teleportation as the ring, but permanently. Usually have a pile of gold on their person, including any they took from you previously during the game. Good for building up experience points in the lower levels - 40 or more XP! M - mimic. Poses as an object in a shop (q.v.) or elsewhere. Step outside of the ship, and the items that vanish are/were mimics. Once they hit you, they can prevent you from moving of the square you were on until you kill them, or teleport away. Edible - when eaten, you mimic a treasure chest for 30 moves! In shops, mimics are usually seen as "inverted" armour, i.e., if you see a ']', then it is a mimic. (Armour's icon is '['.) They also often pose as doorways, or chests of gold. They can be discovered by searching. Wand of cancellation will also find them out. N - nymph. "Seduces" you into letting her take some of your possessions. After she does this, she teleports away (but as with the leprechaun, she remains somewhere on that level). Kill her, and you get your possessions back. Eating a corpse is just like eating a leprechaun's corpse. Ignores 'Elbereth' - it is not considered -attacking.- (But...q.v. ring of adornment.) You can ignore her charms if you use the wand of cancellation. O - orc. Always appear in swarms. See one, and you know that there are others on the dungeon - probably right behind the first. Rarely edible. May have personal treasure. Scroll/wand of create monster (but not polymorph) may create 8 or 9 of them, surrounding you! [Special note: if you name your weapon "Orcrist," you get a -hefty- bonus on damage when you hit one of these - but this only works on orcs.] They can carry around items that they found on the floor. P - purple worm. Not that hard to deal with, by the time that you get to that level. They swallow and digest you (!) just like the trapper (q.v., explained there)...they digest faster than trappers do, and towards the (your) end, you cannot hit. This is their main attack, and it is very dangerous. Q - quasit. Fast! Can move/attack 3 spaces per turn, but does little damage per hit. R - rust monster. Rusts armour when it hits. Items which will rust are all armour except leather, and helmets. You will be glad to know that elven cloaks, shields, and gloves are unaffected. An even cloak will even protect the armour beneath it from rusting! Note, that once you start taking armour off, he cannot harm it. Takes no hit points. Try a wand of cancellation. An item may only be rusted to '-3' (?). S - snake. Can hide under objects on the floor, like a scorpion. Nothing special other than that. T - troll. In D&D and ROGUE, regenerates its wounds. HACK trolls do not seem to be as nasty as the ones in ROGUE, but are still quite a formidable enemy. Several hits per turn. U - umber hulk. Chance of confusing you (as for potion of confusion) if you "catch sight" of it. Save a potion of blindness (and a potion of healing, if you can) for the umber hulk if you detect him before hand. Unlike ROGUE, umber hulks seem to have more than one chance of confusing you. Alternately, you can just sit on 'Elbereth' and throw rocks at it as long as you can. [Note: an umber hulk can -definitely- confuse you even after you've been fighting it for a while.] V - vampire. In ROGUE, removed experience levels...in HACK, does not seem to (but might, however, in other versions). You can drive it away with one hit while wielding a clove of garlic. W - wraith. In D&D, drains one level/hit. In HACK, drops you an experience level if it gets in a good hit. In extreme cases, it may even take several levels if it hits well several times. When you kill it, you will go back up one level if you've lost any...but won't get the extra experience points. Wraiths usually don't drain levels if you have good armour. Eat corpse to gain an experience level (!) - one of the main ways to increase levels in HACK (and, as the game progresses, one of the only ones, excluding the potion of increase level). X - xorn. In HACK, a xorn is a rather tough monster, roughly equivalent to an ettin. Y - yeti. Large; gives cold resistance, when eaten. Z - zombie. Edible...nothing else special. Other (non-alphabetically iconned) monsters, are: @ - a human. Either you or a shopkeeper. Shopkeepers will kill you if you get them mad enough without killing them fast. They are very tough; three or more cold bolts, or -five- or more fire bolts. They -ignore- 'Elbereth.' If you teleport out with unpaid items, they will not hold a "grudge" (i.e., they will not kill you when you return), -but,- they will accept contributions instead of buying items. See shops for "other" ways of dealing with them. Don't try to genocide (with scroll) shopkeepers - you're only human, too! Rumours seem to indicate that killing/eating humans reduces your luck (an internal variable) dramatically. It -certainly- kills telepathy (but, you can regain it again in the usual manner). Eating a shopkeeper produces the message, "You cannibal! You'll pay for this!" Every monster on that level (and possible succeeding levels) heads after you with blood in its eye(s). You may encounter a shop on a ghost (q.v.) level which has been robbed by the ghost. In that case, the shopkeeper is likely to take -your- money for the items stolen by the ghost! , - trapper. Unlike its AD&D counterpart, the trapper in HACK does not bother to hide its presence. The trapper does possess a unique attack capability (which the purple worm also has) - it simple swallows and digests you. After being swallowed by a trapper, you will get the message "The trapper digests you!" every third turn or so. You can still hit him from within, and stand a fairly good chance of killing him...but if you don't, after about six such messages, you get the message, "The trapper digests you totally!" - you die. If you have been swallowed by a trapper, you may polymorph (with wand) into some other creature whose digestive tract may be less hostile. [Hint: ever been inside a nymph?] Wands of digging will blast through his stomach, leaving him very weak. Might take more than two bolts of cold (from inside) to kill him, though. When teleporting out of a trapper, a ring of teleport control will let you choose where you want to go as usual; but not which level while choosing! A wand of teleport monster will take you with the trapper. Note: Digestion seems to be cumulative...so if you escape a trapper after being digested five times, ve -very- wary of being swallowed by another - he may digest you totally in one turn! There may be something that cures digestion, like a potion of speed cures xan pricks, but it isn't extra healing. Possibly royal jelly. & - demon. A monster between the strength of a xorn and a purple worm. Has very good armour class and magic resistance. (Note: demons are -not- resistant to fire.) Demons can -replicate,- that is, one demon will give rise to a second (in an adjacent space - if there is one!), and then a third, etc. Either just destroy the replicants individually, or use a wand of cancellation (?). The wand of undead turning makes them -turn tail- and run. ~ - lurker above. In HACK, does not seem to do anything out of the ordinary. : - chameleon. While the mimic mimics objects, the chameleon will mimic other monsters. When hard-pressed, a chameleon may revert to its original form (':'). Also, unlike the mimic, the chameleon changes form constantly - so if you see one monster one minute, and the next turn it is different, then it is probably a chameleon. Warning: chameleons have at least some of the powers of the monster they appear as! Also, chameleons can pose as previously genocided monsters...so if you see a monster that you had genocided in that game, then you got a chameleon on your hands. Additional notes: chameleons posing as cockatrices -can- turn you to stone; when they pose as dragons, they can blow flame; when posing as invisible stalkers, they are invisible. Chameleons posing as unicorns accept gems! " ", a space - ghost. Incredibly hard to hit. Does little damage, but hits relatively often. Always has a "ghost horde" around (on the level somewhere), which can be obtained by killing the ghost, or by just sneaking around it. But, all items in the horde are stickeycursed - but -not- necessarily minus on protection/to hit! Sneaking around a ghost is much easier than trying to destroy it - they move slowly. But don't get caught in a dead end - you'll either get killed, or starve to death (or, survive, if you're lucky). Note: If a ghost kills you, you -become- a ghost (i.e., "John Ghost") on the same level, and on the same spot where you were killed. If many people get ghosted there, future adventurers could find 5 or 6 ghosts - and their dogs, too! This can get them killed before they can escape, which of course aggravates the problem. Ghosts are surprisingly easy to kill if you have a lot of experience (level 11+). Hack [sic] away. Worth 175 XP! If you are about to die on a ghost level (and you know it), drop everything you have - that way, when you become a ghost, your horde will not be stickeycursed! 5.00 Objects A very basic part of the game are objects - those things that you find in the dungeon and use to help you defeat the game. Most items are plussed (q.v.), and some are stickycursed (q.v.). Each object you will find has its own particular strongpoint...i.e., weapons are all wielded ('w') to attack monsters; armours are all worn ('W') to add to your armour class. 5.00.1 Plusses Most objects can be "plussed" - that is, they have a bonus (which is revealed before the name, e.g., "+3 mace")...this means that they do whatever they do "better"...a +3 mace hits better than a +1 mace. On the other hand, an object can also be -minussed-...almost all minussed items are "stickycursed." (q.v.) 5.00.2 Stickycurses A "stickycursed" item is one which you cannot remove once you put on/wield/wear, etc. For example, if you came across an armour that was stickycursed, when you put it on ('W'), it would act normally as far as an armour would. But, when you try to take it off ('T'), you get the message, "You can't. It appears to be cursed." This means that you will -have- to wear it until you can find a scroll of remove curse (q.v.). Usually, a stickycursed item will have a -negative- plus...e.g., -2 plate mail. 5.01 Weapons Weapons are, obviously, the things you use to kill monsters with. Every different weapon has its own unique strength value, and every separate weapon has its own plus (see Section 5.00.1). A weapon must be identified (via scroll of identify) before you know what the plus is - unless you started out with it in the start of the game. A list of them are: [Table 5.01-1: Weapons] (Listed from most powerful to least:) ball and chain (via scroll of punishment) crysknife long sword boomerang spear mace two-handed sword flail axe dagger worm tooth (un-enchanted) 5.01.1 Notes On Weapons Scroll of enchant weapon. There are two of these. Each one will increase the plus (bonus) on the weapon that you are wielding. If you are not wielding a weapon, then it will not enchant any weapon. The first kind says, "Your [weapon] glows green for a moment." This adds a +1 bonus to your weapon. The second is "...glows green for a while." This adds +2 to it. Crysknives. To create a crysknife, you must kill a long worm (q.v. under monsters), and then get the worm tooth from under its corpse (you may have to look under the body). Wield it, read a scroll of enchant weapon (+1 or +2, does not matter), and it will instantly become a crysknife: one of the most powerful weapons in the dungeon...rumour has it only the ball and chain are better. It will remain as a crysknife until you unwield it...so beware of accidentally 'w-'ing. Ball and chain. If you accidentally read a scroll of punishment (q.v.), a ball and chain (icon '@_0') attaches to your leg and slows your speed capability. But if you get it and wield it, it can serve has a devastating weapon. It will kill almost anything with one blow (?). 5.01.2 Projectile Weapons Projectile weapons are weapons that can be fired at a monster without having to get into a space adjacent to it (for hand-to-hand combat). To fire a projectile weapon, wield ('w' command) a ranged weapon (i.e., bow, crossbow, etc.), and throw ('t' command) the ammunition. After the battle, you can simply run around and pick up all the ammo you'd thrown. A list of them: [Table 5.01.2-1: Projectile Ammunitions] arrow sling bullet crossbow bolt rock dart 5.02 Armour Armour are the things you use to protect yourself when a monster attacks you. Each armour has its own special defence value; measured in "armour class" (AC). The -lower- the armour class, the better the protective value...for example, bare skin (no armour at all) has an AC of 10, while leather has one of 8. Also, any given suit can have a plus or minus (see Weapons, A list of them (in increasing order of protection), is as follows: Armour in general. In addition to each separate type of armour having its own special basic armour class, they can also be plussed or minussed...and also, each type takes a certain amount of time to put on/remove. Therefore, if you are fighting a monster, and you start taking off your armour, the monster will be free to hack away at you while you're taking it off. Once you start either (take off or put on) process, you will follow through no matter what is happening around you. [Table 5.02-1: Armours] none leather ring studded chain splint \ Have the same armour banded / armour class. plate mail 5.02.1 Additive Armours Additive armours (those which you can wear over the ones above) are: [Table 5.02.1-1: Additive Armours] shield helmet gloves elven cloak (All of which decrease [better protection, remember] your AC by one.) Elven cloaks. Elven cloaks are magic cloaks which decrease your armour class by one. Rumour also has it that they protect you from enchantments. Elven cloaks -do- protect the armour underneath from rusting (via rust monster attack) or being dissolved by a splash of an acid blob's acid. They can be enchanted via scroll of armour enchant. Helmets. Helmets, like elven cloaks, are prone to being dissolved by the acid blob's splash, but they protect you from falling (i.e., hidden) piercers...and from rocks dropping on you in mazes (if you get that far). Gloves. Gloves normally improve your armour class by one, but, by far their greatest advantages is preventing you from being turned to stone by cockatrice cadavers. Syntax is "a pair of +3 gloves." Gloves also allow you to pick up cockatrice cadavers and -wield- them, hitting other monsters with them and instantly turning -them- to stone! However, if you accidentally "fall down stairs" (from carrying too heavy a load), you will accidentally touch the cadaver, and die. (Note, this is also "inconsiderate" to future players, as if you become a ghost, any player taking your horde will encounter the cockatrice cadaver -before- getting the gloves, and therefore (if s/he does not already have a pair of gloves), will turn to stone.) Also note that the cockatrice cadaver -does- eventually rot away. 5.03 Special (Appliable) Items These are objects you can use/apply ('A' command), to make them do whatever their (usually obvious) purpose permits. These include blowing a whistle, opening an icebox, etc. Whistles. When you apply an ordinary whistle (syntax is "a whistle"), you "produce a high pitched sound," and your dog (possibly if within a certain range?) immediately heads in your direction. This is particularly helpful if you are getting ready to go down a level, or teleporting randomly from eating a dead leprechaun. Magic whistles (syntax is "magic whistle") produce a "strange" whistling sound, and your dog is instantly teleported to you. There seems to be one drawback to this, however, which is that whenever you blow (either?) whistle, you may wake up other denizens of the level whom you would rather not see awake - such as leprechauns, nymphs, etc. Icebox. This is the box that the spelolegist starts out with. Corpses promptly placed in it will not spoil! It is, however, terribly heavy, and you must be carrying -both- the corpse, -and- the box to use it in this respect. You might want to leave it on the first level until you've built up enough strength to handle it easily (such as, after eating some spinach [q.v.]). Camera. Tourists start out with this one. Flash in the direction of a monster, and it will be temporarily blinded! (Also, Tourists start the game with a tremendous amount of food.) Keys and ropes. Never seen one. They are mentioned in the help file (HH.; '?' command), and presumably they can be wished for (syntax unknown). Rumours indicate that the keys are (as expected) for locking and unlocking doors - however, I do not believe any of these exist. There are certainly no doors (known) in HACK. 5.04 Scrolls Scrolls (icons are '?') are magical scrolls of paper which have spells written on them. You read ('r' command) a spell to invoke its function. Scroll of identify. Very important. This will identify -any- object that you possess - including other scrolls. Reveals the nature of any weapon, armour, useful object, wand, ring, scroll, potion, etc., including the plus, if there is one (for instance, "+1 mace"). Scroll of food detection. Briefly shows the location of all food on the current level, and then returns to the normal viewing manner. Scroll of gold detection. As above, but reveals location of gold. (Note: four gold in a square pattern indicate a Magical Memory Vault - see special rooms.) Scroll of fire. Reduces your maximum hit points - permanently. Not good. Scroll of genocide. Everybody's favourite scroll. Enter the icon of the monster you don't want to put up with anymore, and - poof! - it's gone! Also prevents the creation by scroll or wand of more monsters of that type. (Note: genociding cockatrices will -not- remove the cadavers, so keep looking out for those ghost hoards!) However, you cannot genocide monsters represented by punctuation marks (chameleons, trappers, demons, lurkers above). Does -not- prevent you from polymorphing a monster into the genocided type, or chameleons (q.v.) from assuming that form. If you try to double-genocide a type, you lose - no effect, scroll is used up. Genociding humans ('@') is clearly suicidal. Scroll of destroy armour. One random item of armour - from those worn - destroyed: "Your armor turns to dust and falls to the floor!" A nightmare for most HACKers, but a near godsend for adventurers wearing stickeycursed armour. Scroll of enchant armour. There are two types of these. One of them makes your armor glow green "for a moment," and this adds +1 one to the plus on the armour. The other makes your armour glow green "for a while," and adds +2. Removes stickeycurse from the item if there is one. Don't try to go too far; armour seems to have a 50/50 chance of evaporating (!) every time you enchant it over +3. If you have only skin for armour, you get a strange feeling for a moment. Scroll of enchant weapon. Same as above, but for weapons. Also, a worm's tooth (see long worms, in monster descriptions) is enchanted into a crysknife, one of the most powerful weapons in the dungeon. If you are not wielding a weapon, you get a "strange feeling for a moment, and then it passes." Scroll of damage weapon. Similar to enchants, but -reduces- the plus by one. Makes the item "glow black." No effect on or of stickeycurses. If weapon is a crysknife, then it turns it back into a worm's tooth, and reports that your weapon seems duller. Scroll of magic mapping. All rooms, corridors, secret doors, and stairs on level are revealed, and remain on the screen during the adventure. Scroll of amnesia. The nemesis of magic mapping: makes you forget all of the level map (except for your spot and the eight points directly adjacent to it). Scroll of taming. Difficult to figure out. If a monster is in sight (or in the eight cardinal points only?) it becomes tame (just like your "little dog"), but there is no message. The monster is then equivalent to a polymorphed dog. Thereafter, the scroll -is- named in inventory as if identified. Reading it when surrounded by multiple monsters seems only to affect the ones in the eight cardinal points. If you abandon a tame monster on a level (and descend/ascend to another), it will go wild, and will -not- be pacified by throwing tripe rations to it. Scroll of remove curse. "You feel like someone is helping you." Gets rid of -all- stickeycurses on worn items. This scroll is -very- important! (Also removes the iron ball [q.v.]) Scroll of create monster. One monster in an adjacent square created, appropriate to level (usually?). Note, that if it creates an orc or killer bee, it will create a whole -swarm- of them. Scroll of monster confusion. "Your hands begin to glow blue." The next monster you hit with a hand-to-hand blow will be confused, and your hands will stop glowing. A confused monster, assuming it survives the blow that confused it, will move in random directions, attacking anything in its path. This includes you (or other monsters), so -don't- confuse your dog. It can occasionally (?) be set off when you kill a monster with a wand, etc. This scroll has variable effects. Sometimes monsters will attack at double speed (!), but usually they just wander aimlessly, or flee. Scroll of punishment. This cursed scroll outfits you with a ball and chain, indicated on the screen by '@_0'. The ball, if left to drag, can slow you down considerably. However, it can also be picked up, and if then wielded as a weapon, is devastatingly effective. It is also -very- heavy, however. The remove curse scroll (q.v.) will set you free; you can drop them - but it might be a good idea to stick with them, if you're strong enough. (If you're not, you might want to leave it someplace and come back for it later.) Also great for getting around fast: try picking up the ball, and throwing in the direction you want to go. Great for getting out of shops without paying, but won't work after the chain is loosened. A rumour indicates that this scroll may (?) reduce your luck to 0 for the duration. Scroll of scare monster. If you pick up a scroll that "turned to dust," it -was- a scare monster scroll that had already been dropped. If you read this scroll with monsters in the room, nothing will seem to happen (and thus, can be confused with taming - see above). You will find, however, that the monsters try to run away from you! Blank scroll. This scroll "appears to be blank." Never having gotten an effect out of it, or heard of anything similar, I can only assume that it -is- blank. It even identifies as blank. Scroll of teleportation. Zaps you to a random spot on the level. See ring of teleport control. Very useful in shops. (Needed to complete the game, see Completing the Game.) 5.05 Wands Wands are another magical item, whose powers are invoked by zapping ('z' command) them. Wand of wishing. You usually get three wishes, in which you enter the -exact- (i.e., 'syntax') name of an object, and you will get it! Wishing for wands of wishing produces wands with 0 charges left. Syntax is as the object would normally appear in the inventory. The wand -does not- identify the wished-for object for you, but if you wish for a wand of something, and you get a wand, it's probably what you asked for. Wishing for illegal/non-existent items produces random ones. You can usually (?) wish for any plussed item up to +3, but above that, you take your chances. You can wish for one wand or 3 of any other non- plussed item with each wish. Sample wishes are: "+3 plate mail," "+3 crysknife," "3 tins," "ring of regeneration," "ring of teleport control," etc. Do not wish for items when you are too loaded down, or you will get nothing! Wishing for "a wand of wishing (3)" will not work, either. Luck may influence the chance of getting many items. Wand of death. Kills target creature, but sometimes has bad side effects: like halving everything elses hit points - including yours! This is a ray. Wand of sleep. Puts the target creature to sleep, for a variable duration, but doesn't seem to work on bats (reason unknown). Some monsters get saving throws - i.e., chances of not being affected. This is a ray. Wand of fire; cold; lightning; magic missile. Do damage to anything they hit (ray). Cold seems to do the most damage, magic missile the least, and fire seems to have the longest range. Wand of striking. Hits the first monster in the direction you point it, over a considerable (but not infinite) distance. This is -not- a ray. Wand of polymorph. Turns the target monster into a random other monster! New monster could be anything. Of course, most people would rather turn a dragon to a bat than vice versa. Use on your dog until you get a monster well above normal for that level, or even a megamonster. May not change all the characteristics of the monster (i.e., speed may be unchanged). Warning: if you polymorph your dog, and leave the level (accidentally or intentionally), he will go wild and he will not be tamed merely by throwing tripe rations at him - you must use the taming scroll. HACK, apparently, forgets he ever -was- your dog. Although polymorphing your dog is fun, it may be a better idea to save it for the megamonsters you will be running into (dragons, demons, trappers)...your dog is a pretty strong monster in his own right. Wand of make invisible. Makes monster invisible, permanently (or while on level?). don't use on your dog, you'll just keep tripping over him (and attacking him - if you can't see what you're attacking, you don't get the "Really attack?" failsafe for friendly monsters). Easy to confuse with teleport away. No use whatsoever. This is a ray. Wand of teleport monster. Target monster is teleported to another spot on the level. Might be a wand of invisibility instead (note above). Note: the monster (if hostile) usually heads straight for you after being teleported at top speed. If he finds you still there, or on the way out... This is a ray. Wand of haste monster. Target monster moves twice as fast. Use on doggie, but watch you don't trip all over him. Wand of slow monster. Exactly the opposite as haste monster; target monster moves only half as fast. Helpful for those beasties that have two or more attack per turn. Wand of digging. This produces new corridor sections, and doors where the ray intersects a room wall. Naturally, this ray does not bounce. Rumours indicate that monster cannot enter a corridor created with this wand. Can dig through boulders, such as the one the Amulet is under. Also useful for blasting your way out of a trapper. Wand of undead turning. Somewhat like fear, but only works for "undead" monsters; they are: zombies, ghosts, wraiths, vampires, demons, and possibly others. Destroys weaker undead, causes bigger ones to turn and flee, including (!) demons. Wand of create monster. Creates a monster adjacent to you, just like the scroll. Occasionally (1-in-10?) when you zap this wand, you are surrounded by monsters on -all- eight sides! Useful to keep around, if you are desperately low on food, or, if you just need some experience points after completing a level. Wand of cancellation. Should (?) cancel the magical abilities of monsters. Some monsters which are affected: Nymphs - cancels her magical allure. Wraiths - cancels life (experience level) draining. Demons - cancels power of replication. Vampires - cancels life draining (if they have it?). Some monsters which are -not- affected, are: Chameleons - still pose as different monsters. Rust monsters - still rusts your armour. Dragons - still blow flame at you. Invisible stalkers - still invisible. Trappers - still swallow you. Cockatrices - still can petrify you (!). Floating eyes - still paralyze you. Unknown at present, are: giant ants, xans, leprechauns, freezing spheres, umber hulks, etc. Wand of secret door detection. Discovers all room or just in sight of a corridor. If there are none, a charge is used up, and the wand seems to do nothing. This is the only non- directional wand without a message (?). Wand also detects shape-changers in the room (e.g., mimics, piercers). Usually comes in 10+ charges. Wand of light. Illuminates dark rooms. Usually comes in 10+ charges. Special notes. Ray/straight-line wands are best fired when you are diagonally aligned with your target, so that ricochets can't hit you. Ricochets can be used to hit targets that won't get in line-of-sight (leprechauns, shopkeepers, unicorns, etc.), or to get two hits on a single target. Shots into corners bounce straight back out at you! Doors can reflect a diagonal shot back at you, also, and the wand of fire reflects diagonally back at you, just for "the heck of it." Wands seem to have differing, and probably partly random, maximum ranges. For a ray wand, the beam just doesn't reach, and for non-rays, there is no effect. 5.06 Rings Rings are put on ('P' command) and then taken off ('T' command). Rings can be stickeycursed, in that, when you put them on, you cannot remove them until you read a scroll of remove curse (q.v.). Some rings are plussed (see individual accounts, below). Ring of cold resistance. Makes you invulnerable to cold, including backblasts from the wand of cold, and exploding freezing spheres (q.v.). Ring of fire resistance. As above, but you are impervious to fire - including backblasts from the wand and dragonflame. Ring of teleport control. Gives you control of teleport destination, no matter -what- does the teleporting. Try to teleport into a wall or a monster and you get a random teleport. Gives no control of when you go, just where. Combined with a (un-stickeycursed) ring of teleport, and you -can't- lose. Ring of regeneration. Regain one extra hit point per round (but makes you eat a tremendous amount of food!). Ring of conflict. Causes monsters to attack each other instead of you, if they are near or adjacent to each other. Ring of hunger. Usually stickeycursed; increases your necessary food consumption without doing anything good. Ring of stealth. Causes monsters not to see you when you enter a room. Ring of searching. Finds secret doors/traps more easily, and occasionally without your even searching! -Not- necessarily on the first try of searching, however. Also finds mimics and piercers. Ring of increase damage. Increases the damage you do to monsters when hitting them. Ring of protection. Increase your armour class (q.v.), and probably your (internal) saving throws. Can be +1, +2..., or cursed: -1, -2, etc. Ring of teleportation. Usually stickeycursed. Teleports you randomly every few moves. Now way to control when, but ring of teleport control can control where. Without that ring, teleportation is entirely random on the level. Take it off (if you can!) when you're trying to get to anywhere, unless you're more than, say, halfway across the dungeon from it. Ring of adornment. Useless in ROGUE, but in HACK it can protect you against nymphs (temporarily) - they're dazzled by it and don't attack. It only retains this function if it has been identified (?). Ring of resistance to poison. You are resistant to poison, which includes poisoned corpses - but not rotted ones -and all poison stings, bites, and potions. Does -not- protect you from rotted/tainted meat or potions of sickness. Ring of gain strength. Just what it says - plusses as ring of protection. Ring of protection from shape-changers. Not a plussed item. Function unidentified...probably (just as the name says) identifies shape-changers (chameleons). Ring of warning. Glows in various colours, which are indications of approaching monsters, traps, etc. White is for monsters; red is for traps (possibly?). This ring may be a total fake. Even when it does show that there is a nearby monster, it is still almost useless (Ex: "Oh, monster coming? Okay...I'll run down here - oops! Wrong way...") Ring of levitation. Equivalent to a potion of levitation when worn. When levitating, an adventurer cannot pick things up from the ground. Has minor advantages if you wish to avoid traps, etc...but it is usually stickeycursed, and this can spell the end for your character! If you are on level one, get out as soon as possible (before you run out of food!), but if below that, rush up to level one (if you can) as soon as possible. Ring of see invisible. Same as potion - enables you to see anything that is invisible, such as invisible stalkers. 6.00 Special Rooms "Special rooms" are the rooms that have qualities about them that make them different from any "normal" room. 6.01 Shops Shops are part of what make HACK a good game. Shops are rooms, filled with items which are guarded by a shopkeeper. Shops may specialize in a particular object (e.g., armour, weapons, scrolls, wands, rings, potions), or they may be general ("antique shop"). Buying things is simple. You pick up the items that you want to buy, move adjacent to the shopkeeper, and pay ('p' command) your bill. Prices for magic (scroll, wands, rings, potions) are high, but you often may want to buy food or a weapon, if you aren't equipped to steal. Selling things is almost as simple. You drop (-not- throw) the items in a space adjacent to the shopkeeper only when he is standing next to the door, and if he is interested, he will buy it from you - you get gold for it. Warning: if he is not interested (i.e., this is an armour shop and you try to sell him a weapon), he might take the item(s) without paying. Stealing is harder. You must kill/sleep the shopkeeper and get out past him. A nasty buy lucrative tactic is to enter a shop, sell everything you can to him...then take (not buy) everything you want to keep - anything of his you can carry - and steal it all...including the gold he paid you. At the level which you find the shops, the shopkeepers are probably far too tough for you to dispatch easily. For them, you will have to rely on your magic items. Note, the shopkeeper has quite a bit of treasure of his own, which probably will not appear until he is dead. Shopkeepers occasionally hold grudges. If you raid a shop, and, later, return to that same one, he may accept your gold as a donation! ...Or, he may recognize you, and kill you right away. Shopkeepers have long memories. They will refuse to let you out of a shop if you have stolen any items from it, -even- if you are not stealing anything this visit. Shopkeepers are also crafty enough to stay out of your line-of-fire, unless you are within two spaces of the door. Make sure you have a means of escape -before- you try to steal anything; you will have to pay for or steal anything you use up or get stickeycursed by. If you know which scroll is teleportation, you can use one of his, but when trying his scrolls out to find out which one is teleportation, just make sure you don't get stranded. Trying out wands in a "walking cane" shop will avoid that problem (since wands are not (usually) used up in one shot), but if any wands if fired at, or any ray hits (look out for rebounds) the shopkeeper, he will get mad (and attack you!). 6.01.1 Strategies For Dealing With Shopkeepers Teleport out. This is by far the simples, safest method of getting away clean. The shopkeeper would love to chase you, but (luckily for you) he has to stay and take care of his shop. However, since teleporting is random, you might teleport - only to find you've blinked in on the other side of the shop! Dig your way out. This method is simple, too, provided you have a wand of digging. Or, you can apply ('A' command) a picky- axe (spelolegist only), and give '>' (down) for a direction. However, if you do this in a space adjacent to the shopkeeper's, he will warn you ("Be careful, sir, there is a hole in the floor!"), and if you do jump in, he will grab your backpack, and you will be left with only what you were wearing or wielding. (You will have to return later and -pay- for the items he grabbed.) Teleport the shopkeeper away. Use a wand of teleportation. This method is not very good, compared to the above two. Just don't meet him on the way out (he will be pretty mad)! He -will- be heading directly back towards the shop the moment he is teleported, so better get out fast. Avoid the shopkeeper. Lure him away from the door (when you have no unpaid for items), then zap him (diagonally, usually) with a wand of sleep. Tiptoe around him, and you're home-free. Just take care not to come back to that shop again, however. Kill the shopkeeper. The most direct approach, but very often not nearly as easy as it sounds. Wands work the best with this guy. Killing him, however, may have some bad side effects (see '@' [humans] in the monster section). They are much faster than you, and they ignore Elbereth! (You seem to have already violated it by attacking him in the first place.) If you quaff a potion of invisibility, he will stand in front of the doorway no matter -what- you shoot/zap/throw at him. However, he knows who's attacking him, and if you get too close... 6.02 Magical Memory Vault And no, this is -not- a myth. This little (two-by-two, always) room holds the "current balance of the Magical Memory Bank." It has no doors connecting to it from any room or corridor on the level. You may locate it in three ways. First, read a scroll of gold detection. The four piles of gold (in a two-by-two array) is unmistakable. Second, read a scroll of magic mapping. Any two-by-two rooms not connected with any others will be a MMV. Third, get there. There are two ways of actually getting into a Magical Memory Vault. First, teleport in. This is the fastest and easiest way in, but hope you can get out again. Second, use a wand of digging. (This is usually the best way.) There is a rumour going around that when there is something written/burned into the dust, and it reads, "A? ?eu?e?" or something similar (and you didn't engrave it), it implies that there is a secret (secret!) passage to a Vault nearby. Just search like mad until you find a door, enter it, search until you find a passage, and then follow it down to the MMV. ...This has not been positively indentified, however. If you stay in a Vault too long, a guard will come by and ask you to drop all your gold. The guard never initiates an attack; he simply waits for you to drop all your gold and exit, or teleport out. Teleport out (or give up your gold) if you have a weak character, or, kill him if you have a stronger one. To deal with the guard, follow this procedure. One. Drop all your gold ('D$'), and move one step toward the guard (once he gives you room, you may have to wait ['.' command]). He will move a step down the corridor. Two. Take a step back to pick up the gold; the guard will stay put. Three. Step toward the guard again, until you are next to him (don't hit him!). Drop your gold again; he will advance again. Repeat this procedure until the guard reaches the end of the corridor, well he will disappear. 6.03 David's Treasure Zoo The "zoo" is what corresponds to a monster room in ROGUE. There are some differences, however: a zoo is packed with monsters, except for the row facing the door. There are no magic items - except for what materializes when you kill a monster - but a pile of gold waits under every monster in the room. Monsters in a zoo are best dealt with by a ring of conflict, but zapping a missile wand (fire, cold, magic missile, lightning, death, etc.) will get a lot of them. Otherwise, you better run as fast as you can away from the zoo and come back when you are better prepared. Best thing is to use Elbereth and a strong wand. Or, you can just wait one step away from the door and attack (normal hand-to-hand) until each one, in turn, dies. Better watch the hit points, though. If there is a leprechaun in the room, he will go around picking up the gold. When he has gotten all of it, he will teleport - which is wise of him, since he is carrying quite a bit of gold! (He will still be on that level somewhere.) Orcs will also pick up gold, but won't teleport. 6.04 The Maze The maze is what you find on the lowest levels of the dungeon. The exact level may vary, depending on your version of HACK. The maze takes up the entire level, and it is inhabited by a variety of strong to very strong monsters. One peculiarity of the maze is that there are no staircases going down. All staircases in mazes lead up, even if you had just ascended the staircase from a lower level. The only way to get to the second (or greater) maze levels is to fall several levels through a trapdoor. Even then, you will have to repeat the fall if you want to return (down). You may wish to reserve a scroll of magic mapping for a maze, especially if you possess a ring of teleport control. Also useful are potions of object detections (see the Amulet), monster detection, and blindness (if you have telepathy; q.v. floating eye under monsters). Every maze is inhabited by a minotaur ('m' icon) who carries a wand of digging. You need this to get the Amulet out from under an immoble rock, crashing through maze walls, tearing through trappers' bellies, or digging to the Magical Memory Vault. The minotaur, by the time you get there, isn't so tough. There is an Amulet on each maze level. This amulet is always under a rock in a dead end, so that the rock cannot be pushed off the Amulet. 6.05 Morgues These rooms have not yet been confirmed. Some rumours (of rumours) indicate that they are total fakes; but every once in a while, upon entering a level, you will get the message, "You get an uncanny feeling..." Morgues are inhabited by the undead monsters: ghosts, zombies, vampires, wraiths, demons, etc. Other than that, very little is known about morgues. 7.00 Valuable Items Gold. This is a fair part of your score, and of course, you can buy extremely helpful items from shops with the stuff. But it seems that the writers of the game were a little... anarchistic?... even though gold can be an extreme help, it's also a hinderance: gold weighs quite a bit, and if you have a lot (as the game progresses, you get loaded with the stuff), you will lose your ability to carry other things that you -really- need. Gems. These are valuable gems, or worthless (or nearly so) Glass - you can't tell which it is until you identify them (via scroll). You can throw an indentified gem at a unicorn, and receive 5 points of luck; you can throw an unidentified gem at one for 1 point; intentionally throwing glass can get you killed! The varieties of gems are glass, jasper, topaz, agate, opal, turquoise, and diamond (the most expensive). Amulet. This is generally the big part of your final score (if you have one!). There is an amulet on the lowest maze level, hidden under an immovable (but diggable) boulder. Other amulets can be gotten from ghosts. When leaving the dungeon, the first Amulet scores 5000, and each successive (genuine) Amulet doubles your score. There are rumours that Amulets cut down on your need for food. You can wish (via wand of wishing) for an Amulet, but you get a cheap imitation instead. A.00 Appendicies A.01 Rumour file HACK contains a rumour file (RUMORS.) which is tapped when a user eats a fortune cookie - it goes through the file, picks a random message, and displays it. Important notes. Any rumours leading to the information about a potion/scroll/wand/ring indicating its colour, etc. and its found name (e.g., "the ebony potion is healing!") is false - the table of items and their unidentified labels is randomized at the beginning of each game. Also, any references to "the next level," "this level," or "the previous level" are also fakes: the rumour file is tapped entirely randomly, and therefore has no way of knowing when a certain level is coming up (or passed). In the interest of space (and sanity), these irrelevant rumours have been deleted. The following is a somewhat abridged list of rumours from HACK version 3.6. Most of the rumours which are unimportant have been left out, but the important ones are asterisked. The messages in brackets are explanations. A.01.1 Rumour File Summary "A fading corridor enlightens your insight." [Misleading; a wand of light zapped in a corridor will always cause the corridor to light briefly and then fade; the charge is wasted.] "A long worm hits with all of its length." [Sort of true; a long worm can hit only with its head ('w') segment, not with body segments - however, it gets one hit for every segment.] "A ring of adornment protects against nymphs." [True.] "A rumour has it that rumours are just rumours." [Almost always true.] "A spear will hit an ettin." [Sort of true; normal chances as any other monster.] "A spear might hit a nurse." [Sort of true.] "A tin of smoked eel is a wonderful find." [Misleading; no smoked eels in HACK.] "A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn." [True; unicorns are good guys.] "A two-handed sword usually misses." [Sort of true.] "A unicorn can only tamed by a fair maiden." [Still unknown at present.] "A visit to the Zoo is very educational; you meet interesting animals." [True, but you can also get killed. (q.v. Special rooms)] "A wand of vibration might bring the whole cave crashing about your ears." [Misleading; no such wand.] "Afraid of falling pierces? Wear a helmet!" [True - blow glances off (q.v.)] "All monsters are created evil, but some are more evil than others." [Sort of true - some are even helpful! (q.v. unicorns and nurses)] "An elven cloak protects against magic." [False; will not protect against scroll of destroy armour (q.v.).] "Any small object that is accidentally dropped will hide under a larger object." [Utter gibberish.] "Attack long worms from the rear - that is so much safer!" [True.] "Be careful when eating salmon - your fingers might become greasy." [True; you drop weapons (even stickeycursed ones!).] "Be careful when throwing a boomerang - you might hit the back of your head." [Still unknown at present.] "Beware of dark rooms - they may be the Morgue." [Misleading - dark rooms -are- dangerous, but dark rooms are not necessarily the Morgue (q.v. Special rooms).] "Beware of wands of instant disaster." [Misleading; no such wand, but wands -can- be dangerous to try out.] "Beyond the 23rd level lies a happy retirement in a room of your own. [Absolutely untrue - beyond level 23 lies Hell! (q.v. Completing the game)] "Blank scrolls make more interesting reading." [Untrue.] "Booksellers never read scrolls; it might carry them too far away." [True; shopkeepers -never- sample their goods.] "Dead lizards protect against a cockatrice." [Unknown at present. (q.v. cockatrice under monster descriptions)] "Descend in order to meet more decent monsters." [Absolutely untrue.] "Don't bother about money: only leprechauns and shopkeepers are interested." [Sort of true. Gold is a large part of your score, and you can buy/sell valuable items from/to shopkeepers. However, gold weighs a lot, and carrying a lot of gold wrecks your total load capacity.] "D