NetHack

Introduction and general advice
Nethack is a roguelike computer game in which your objective is to go down to the bottom of the Dungeons of Doom and retrieve the Amulet of Yendor. It can be downloaded for free from the official Nethack home page.

Nethack is a complicated game, and it can be difficult to understand all the details of how it works. There are numerous "spoilers" available on the Web; here is a fairly complete list. If you'd prefer to figure out the game for yourself, here are a few tips that may help:


 * Read the Guidebook that comes with the game.
 * Inscribing the mystic word "Elbereth" on the ground can help to keep you safe. See the Guidebook for more details.
 * Fortune cookies, graffiti and the Oracle will all give you cryptic hints, but only the Oracle's hints are guaranteed to be helpful.
 * It's usually safe to try wielding or wearing items that aren't cursed (though a few particularly nasty items become cursed when worn). Pets are reluctant to step on cursed items.
 * To determine what a magical item is, read a scroll of identify.
 * To determine what special abilities your character has picked up, use a wand or potion of enlightenment.
 * As mentioned in the Guidebook, if you play in explore mode you will have infinitely many lives and will start with a wand of wishing. Ascensions (victories) in explore mode do not count, but it can enable you to explore more of the dungeon than you could reach in a real game.

What type of character to play?
If you are a beginner, it is much easier to stay alive as a big dumb warrior (such as a Barbarian, Valkyrie or Samurai) than as a highly intelligent but physically weak magic user (such as a Wizard or Healer). Race is not as significant as class, although Elves have very low limits on their strength and constitution, so are not recommended to beginners. Alignment (whether you are lawful, neutral or chaotic) is also not too important; its main effect is on the artifact weapons you can obtain by sacrificing to your deity.

Lawful Human Valkyrie is an excellent combination for several reasons. Valkyries start with a highly enchanted small shield which can remain part of their armour for a long time. They also start with a good weapon, and if they are lawful they can dip it in a fountain to convert it into Excalibur. (The Lady of the Lake does not insist that you are a Knight, but she gets annoyed if neutral or chaotic characters try this trick.) Another excellent weapon, Mjollnir, is their guaranteed first gift from sacrificing. The Valkyrie's quest artifact is the Orb of Fate, which halves any damage they take, making it well worth lugging it around despite its weight.

The advantage of a Human Valkyrie over a Dwarven Valkyrie is that all inhabitants of the Gnomish Mines will be friendly to the dwarf but not necessarily to the human. Some see this as a disadvantage, but nothing in the Mines is particularly deadly. Killing the inhabitants is not advisable if they are peaceful, because your god will not approve, but is a useful source of food, experience and equipment if they are hostile.

A few other classes have special features which may help you to learn about the game:


 * Barbarians have poison resistance, meaning that you can eat (almost) anything and learn which corpses are poisonous.
 * Priests can detect whether items are blessed, uncursed or cursed, which helps with discovering the effect of blessing or cursing items.
 * Wizards start with several magic items - useful for exploring what items exist in the game and what they do.
 * Healers start with a stethoscope, which is handy for checking the state of health of a monster. Note, though, that Healer is one of the most difficult classes.

Basic survival
Nethack is not Quake.

Always remember that Nethack is a turn-based game. You have as long as you need to consider your options, even in the heat of combat. In fact, when you find yourself in a sticky situation, it is wise to walk away from the keyboard while you think about what to do next. You could even save your game and consult the spoilers or the [news:rec.games.roguelike.nethack Nethack newsgroup].

The better part of valor is discretion.

In Nethack, there are no prizes for dying with honour. It is much better to run away. That's one reason why experienced players are so fond of speed boots.

Sometimes an indirect approach is best.

Walking right up to a monster and whacking it with your melee weapon is not always the best approach.

Newbie mistakes to avoid

 * Do not savescum, reroll, or use similar dodgy tactics.
 * Do not attack peaceful monsters.
 * Only pray if you have good reason to.
 * Eat only fresh corpses.
 * Don't eat while satiated.

Food
Eat these corpses:
 * wraith (level up)
 * giant (strength up)
 * mind flayer (intelligence up)
 * floating eye (you get telepathy-skill)
 * quantum mechanic (you get speed-skill if you don't already have it, but lose it if you do)
 * blobs, jellies and puddings (often hurts you a little, but a good way to gain poison resistance, which is very important)

Don't eat these corpses:
 * kobolds (sickens you, okay for Barbarians)
 * bats and stalkers (confuses you for a while)
 * mimics (you can't move for a while)
 * cockatrice, chickatrice, Death, Famine, Pestilence (you die)
 * your own race (cannibalism gives you aggravate monster -skill)
 * cats and dogs (gods don't like it)
 * werewolves, -rats, -jackals (you become one)

As a general rule, if your pet will eat it, you can too. (Exceptions: pets will eat dogs and cats, and tripe rations aren't for human consumption)

Genocide
It's a good idea to genocide all kinds of liches (use a blessed scroll of genocide and take out "L"), because they are powerful spellcasters who can curse your items and summon hordes of nasty monsters.

Mind flayers and master mind flayers should also be genocided, because they eat your brain, causing you to forget what you've learned, and in extreme cases, to die from brainlessness. If your character is a dwarf, remember to use two uncursed scrolls rather than one blessed scroll!

If you have spare scrolls of genocide, consider getting rid of the following monsters:


 * Eels (can drown you, but can be avoided with careful play, an oilskin cloak, or an amulet of magical breathing)
 * Rust monsters and disenchanters (can damage your armour and weapons)
 * Olog-hai and other trolls (have the annoying habit of constantly rising from the dead)

The Ascension Kit
"Ascension Kit" is a term experienced Nethack players use for the equipment they hope to have before entering Gehennom (Hell).