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Import XRogue 8.0 from the Roguelike Restoration Project (r1490)
author John "Elwin" Edwards
date Tue, 21 Apr 2015 08:55:20 -0400
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1 Welcome to XRogue
2 http://roguelike.sourceforge.net/xrogue
3
4 XRogue: Expeditions into the Dungeons of Doom
5 Copyright (C) 1991 Robert Pietkivitch
6 All rights reserved.
7
8 Based on "Advanced Rogue"
9 Copyright (C) 1984, 1985 Michael Morgan, Ken Dalka and AT&T
10 All rights reserved.
11
12 Based on "Rogue: Exploring the Dungeons of Doom"
13 Copyright (C) 1980, 1981 Michael Toy, Ken Arnold and Glenn Wichman
14 All rights reserved.
15
16 See the file LICENSE.TXT for full copyright and licensing information.
17
18
19 XRogue: Expeditions into the Dungeons of Doom
20 ---------------------------------------------
21
22 Introduction:
23
24 Rogue was introduced at the University of California at Berkeley as a
25 screen-oriented fantasy game. The game had 26 types of monsters that
26 the player could meet while exploring a Dungeon generated by the computer.
27 Scrolls, potions, rings, wands, staves, armor, and weapons helped the
28 player to battle these monsters and to gain gold, the basis for scoring.
29
30 The version of rogue described in this guide has been expanded to include
31 over 200 monsters with many new capabilities and has been renamed xrogue.
32 Many of the monsters are intelligent and they, like the player, must avoid
33 traps and decide when it is better to fight or to run. There are also a
34 number of new commands in this version not found in previous versions.
35
36 The game contains monsters, spells, weapons, armor, potions, and other
37 magical items that you will discover during your quest. The Dungeon's
38 geography changes with every game and although many magical items have
39 certain identifiable properties, such as turning the player invisible,
40 the physical manifestation of the magic changes each game. A red potion,
41 for example, will cause the same reaction throughout a given game but
42 it may be a completely different potion in a new game.
43
44 Entering the Dungeon with only a little food, armor, and a weapon, the
45 player must develop a good strategy of when to fight, when to run, and
46 how to best use any magical item found in the Dungeon. To make things
47 interesting the player has a quest to return one of several unique and
48 magical artifacts which are rumored to lie deep within the Dungeon.
49 Returning with this artifact to the surface brings great honor.
50
51 However, after finding the artifact, the player may wish to continue
52 his quest deeper into the Dungeon to match wits with an arch-devil, a
53 demon-prince, or perhaps Charon the Boatman. Defeating such a creature
54 will gain the player many experience points which is the basis for
55 scoring in xrogue. It is very difficult to return from the Dungeons
56 of Doom alive. Very few players have won this game.
57
58 Character Classes:
59
60 Before placing the player in the Dungeon, the game requests that you
61 select what type of character they would like to be: Fighter, Paladin,
62 Ranger, Magic-User, Cleric, Thief, Assassin, Druid, or Monk.
63
64 The Fighter
65
66 A Fighter has the best odds at winning battles with monsters. At high
67 experience levels, the Fighter is able to attack his opponent multiple
68 times in a single turn. Strength is the main attribute of the Fighter.
69
70 The Magic-User
71
72 A Magic-User is able to cast spells. Intelligence is the main attribute.
73 The number of spells a Magic-User can cast increases as he gains in
74 experience points and in intelligence. His spell casting ability allows
75 him to identify any item in the Dungeon. 16 spells.
76
77 The Cleric
78
79 A Cleric is able to pray for assistance in battle. Wisdom is the main
80 attribute. The number of prayers granted to the Cleric increases as he
81 gains in experience points and in wisdom. Clerics can affect (turn) the
82 undead monsters to avoid battle. Ie., zombies, ghouls, etc. If the
83 Cleric is very powerful relative to the undead monster, turning it will
84 utterly destroy it. 16 prayers.
85
86 The Paladin
87
88 A Paladin is a type of holy warrior, being a cross between a Cleric
89 and a Fighter. He is able to pray and affect the undead like the Cleric
90 and fight like the Fighter, but both to a lesser extent. He is on the
91 side of all that is righteous and good and would never attack a monster
92 that has not attacked him first. If he happens to kill such a monster,
93 inadvertantly or otherwise, he will begin to feel increasingly uneasy.
94 If he kills too many such monsters, he will face karmic retaliation and
95 be reduced to a mere Fighter, minus all of the Cleric's ability.
96 Charisma is the main attribute with Wisdom second.
97
98 The Ranger
99
100 A Ranger is a type of mystical warrior, being a cross between the
101 Magic-User and Fighter. Like the Paladin, he is on the side of all
102 that is righteous and good and would never attack a monster that
103 has not attacked him first. A Ranger is able to cast spells like the
104 Magic-User and fight like the Fighter, but both to a lesser extent.
105 Charisma is the main attribute with Intelligence second.
106
107 The Thief
108
109 A Thief is exceptionally dexterous and has great skill at being able
110 to set a traps for and/or rob (steal) items from monsters. Thieves have
111 the ability to detect all the gold and hidden traps on each level of
112 the Dungeon. Their dexterous nature gives Thieves the ability to move
113 very quietly, so they are not as likely as to wake up sleeping monsters
114 as are the other character types. If a Thief manages to sneak up on a
115 creature without waking it he may be able to backstab the monster. The
116 damage from a backstab is greatly increased based upon the experience
117 level. Dexterity is the main attribute.
118
119 The Assassin
120
121 An Assassin is a person trained in the art of killing monsters by
122 surprise. He has some of the abilities of the Thief, but he cannot
123 sense traps or backstab. Instead, the Assassin has the chance to kill
124 an opponent outright with one deadly blow. He can recognize and use
125 poison found in the Dungeon on his weapon, thereby, making his next
126 attack exceptionally lethal. Dexterity is the main attribute.
127
128 The Druid
129
130 A Druid is a type of magical warrior, being a cross between the Cleric
131 and the Magic-User. A Druid can chant both spells and prayers plus a
132 few of his own. The number of chants available to the Druid increases
133 as he gains in experience points and in Wisdom. Wisdom is the main
134 attribute. 16 chants.
135
136 The Monk
137
138 A Monk is trained in the martial arts. He wears no armor and does not
139 need a weapon (although using them is not forbidden). As the Monk gains
140 in experience points his natural defense or ability to dodge attackers
141 increases. The Mong is a cross between the Druid and Fighter, so he
142 can chant and also fight like the Fighter, but both to a lesser extent.
143 Constitution is the main attribute, with wisdom second.
144
145 Attributes Of The Charaters:
146
147 Strength - The primary attribute for encumberance.
148
149 Intelligence - The primary attribute for casting spells.
150
151 Wisdom - The primary attribute for prayers and chanting.
152
153 Dexterity - The primary attribute for stealthiness.
154
155 Charisma - The primary attribute for good will. High Charisma also
156 affects the cost of objects when making transactions.
157
158 Constitution - The primary attribute for health. High Constitution
159 affects the amount of hit points you receive when
160 moving up in experience levels.
161
162 Note: The Ranger, Paladin, and Monk do not receive their "special"
163 magical abilities until they have advanced a few experience levels.
164
165 Experience Levels:
166
167 Characters gain experience points mostly from killing monsters. Other
168 actions, such as stealing items from monsters, backstabbing, and turning
169 monsters, also add extra experience points. Each character type gains
170 experience points and moves up in experience levels at different rates.
171 Moving up in experience levels adds extra hit points to the character
172 which determines how many "hits" he can take before being killed.
173
174 Allocating Attribute Points To The Characters:
175
176 A player starts with 75 attribute points to distribute in to the character
177 he has chosen to play. When you are prompted to distribute the attribute
178 points, the screen displays the minimum and maximum allowable values for
179 that particular attribute. The player can type a backspace (Ctrl-H) to go
180 back and change a previous value and typing an escape (ESC) sets all the
181 remaining attributes to the maximum value possible, given the number of
182 remaining attribute points to be distributed.
183
184 THE SCREEN
185
186 During the normal course of play, the screen consists of three separate
187 sections: the top line, the bottom two lines, and the remaining screen
188 in the middle. The top line reports actions which occur during the game,
189 the middle section depicts the Dungeon, and the bottom two lines describe
190 the player's current condition.
191
192 Whenever anything happens to the player, such as finding a scroll, hitting
193 a monster, or being hit by a monster, a short report appears on the top
194 line of the screen. When you see the word 'More' on the top line, that
195 means you must press the space key to continue.
196
197 The following items may be found within the Dungeon. Some of them have
198 more than one interpretation, depending upon whether your character
199 recognizes them or not.
200
201 | A wall of a room.
202 - A wall of a room.
203 * A pile of gold.
204 % A way to another level.
205 + A doorway.
206 . The floor in a room.
207 # The floor in a passageway.
208 Solid rock (denoted by a space).
209 ^ The entrance to a Trading Post
210 @ The player.
211 _ The player, when invisible.
212 : Some food.
213 ! A flask containing a potion.
214 ? A sealed scroll.
215 = A ring.
216 ) A weapon.
217 ] Some armor.
218 ; A miscellaneous magic item
219 , An artifact
220 / A wand or a staff.
221 > A trapdoor leading to the next level
222 { An arrow trap
223 $ A sleeping gas trap
224 } A beartrap
225 ~ A trap that teleports you somewhere else
226 ` A poison dart trap
227 " A shimmering magic pool
228 ' An entrance to a maze
229 $ Any magical item. (During magic detection)
230 > A blessed magical item. (During magic detection)
231 < A cursed magical item. (During magic detection)
232
233 Monsters are depicted as letters of the alphabet. Note that all letters
234 denote multiple monsters, depending on which level of the Dungeon you are
235 on. The player may identify a current monster by using the identify
236 command ('/') or the clarify command ('=').
237
238 The bottom two lines of the screen describe the player's current status.
239 The first line gives the player's characteristics:
240
241 Intelligence, Strength, Wisdom, Dexterity, Charisma, and Constitution
242 all have a normal maximum value of 50 points, but they can go higher if
243 augmented by a ring. Encumberance is a measurement of how much the player
244 can carry versus how much he is currently carrying. The more you carry
245 relative to your maximum encumberance causes you to use more food. The
246 attribute of Strength fortifies one's encumberance.
247
248 The player's current number of hit points are denoted as (Hp) and it is
249 followed in parentheses by the player's current maximum hit points. Hit
250 points express the player's survivability. As a player heals by resting,
251 using potions, or spells, the player's current hit points gradually increase
252 until they reach the current maximum. This maximum number will be increased
253 each time a player goes up an experience level. If the player's current hit
254 points reach 0, the player becomes "metabolically challenged".
255
256 The player's armor class is denoted as (Ac). This number describes the
257 amount of protection provided by the armor, cloaks, and/or rings currently
258 worn by the player. It is also affected by high or low dexterity. Wearing
259 no armor is equivalent to an armor class of 10 (Monk excepted). The lower
260 the armor class number, the better.
261
262 The player's current experience level is denoted as (Exp), followed by
263 the player's experience points. A new experience level brings extra hit
264 points and possibly added abilities, such as new spells for a Magic-user,
265 new prayers for a Cleric, and new chants for a Druid. There are a total
266 of 26 experience levels per character.
267
268 Commands:
269
270 A player can invoke most commands by typing in a single character.
271 Some commands, however, require a direction, in which case the player
272 types the command character followed by a directional letter. Many
273 commands can be prefaced by a number, indicating how many times the
274 command should be executed.
275
276 When the player invokes a command referring to an item in the player's
277 pack (such as reading a scroll), the game prompts for the item. The
278 player can then type the letter associated with the item. Typing a '*'
279 will produce a list of eligible items.
280
281 A list of basic games commands:
282
283 ? Preceding a command by a '?' produces a brief explanation of the
284 command. The command '?*' gives an explanation of all the commands.
285 A '?@' gives information on things you encounter (rock, forest, etc).
286 / Preceding a symbol by a '/' identifies the symbol.
287 = Clarify. After typing an '=' sign, the player can use the movement
288 keys to position the cursor anywhere on the current level. As long
289 as the player can normally see the selected position, the game will
290 identify whatever is there.
291 h Move one position to the left.
292 j Move one position down.
293 k Move one position up.
294 l Move one position to the right.
295 y Move one position to the top left.
296 u Move one position to the top right.
297 b Move one position to the bottom left.
298 n Move one position to the bottom right.
299 H Run to the left until reaching something interesting.
300 J Run down until reaching something interesting.
301 K Run up until reaching something interesting.
302 L Run to the right until reaching something interesting.
303 Y Run to the top left until reaching something interesting.
304 U Run to the top right until reaching something interesting.
305 B Run to the bottom left until reaching something interesting.
306 N Run to the bottom right until reaching something interesting.
307
308 > Go down the stairs to the next level or enter the outer region if you
309 are standing upon the wormhole trap (must be "flying" for this to work).
310 < Go up the stairs to the next level or enter the outer region if you are
311 standing upon the wormhole trap (must be "flying" for this to work).
312
313 * Count the gold in the player's pack.
314 ! Escape to the shell level.
315 $ Price an item at the Trading Post.
316 # Buy an item at the Trading Post.
317 % Sell an item at the Trading Post.
318 . This command (a period) causes the player to rest one turn.
319 ^ This command sets traps and is limited to Thieves and Assassins. If the
320 command is successful the game will ask the player for the trap type and
321 sets it where the player is standing.
322 a Affect the undead. This command is restricted to Clerics and Paladins
323 and must be followed by a directional letter.
324 A Choose your quest item (at game startup only!).
325 c This command is restricted to Druids and Monks and it produces a list of
326 available chants. The player can select one of the displayed chants and
327 if the player's energy level is sufficiently high, "chant" it. The more
328 complicated the spell, the more energy it will take.
329 C This command is restricted to Magic-Users and Rangers and it produces a
330 list of available spells. The player can select one of the displayed
331 spells and if the player's energy level is sufficiently high, "cast" it.
332 The more complicated the spell, the more energy it will take.
333 d Drop an item from the player's pack.
334 D Dip something into a magic pool.
335 e Eat some food from the player's pack.