Welcome to NetHack! ( description of version 3.0 ) NetHack is a Dungeons and Dragons like game where you (the adventurer) descend into the depths of the dungeon in search of the Amulet of Yendor (reputed to be hidden somewhere below the twentieth level). You are accompanied by a dog or cat that can help you in many ways and can be trained to do all sorts of things. On the way you will find useful (or useless) items (quite possibly with magic properties), and assorted monsters. You attack a monster by trying to move into the space a monster is in (but often it is much wiser to leave it alone). Unlike most adventure games, which give you a verbal description of your location, NetHack gives you a visual image of the dungeon level you are on. NetHack uses the following symbols: - and | The walls of a room, also open doors. . The floor of a room or a doorway. # A corridor, or kitchen sink (if your dungeon has sinks). > A way to the next level. < A way to the previous level. @ You (usually) or another human. ) A weapon of some sort. [ A suit or piece of armor. % A piece of food (not necessarily healthy). / A wand. = A ring. ? A scroll. ! A potion. ( Some other useful object (pick-axe, key, lamp...) $ A pile of gold. * A gem or rock (possibly valuable, possibly worthless). + A closed door, or a spell book containing a spell you can learn (if your dungeon has spell books). ^ A trap (once you detect it). " An amulet, or a spider web. 0 An iron ball. _ An altar (if your dungeon has altars), or an iron chain. } A pool of water or moat. { A fountain (your dungeon may not have fountains). \ An opulent throne (you may not have thrones either). ` A boulder or statue. A to Z, a to z, and several others: Monsters. You can find out what a character represents by typing '/' followed by the character, as in "/A", which will tell you that 'A' is an Ape. y k u 7 8 9 Move commands: \|/ \|/ yuhjklbn: go one step in specified direction h-.-l 4-.-6 YUHJKLBN: go in specified direction until you /|\ /|\ hit a wall or run into something b j n 1 2 3 g: run in direction until something numberpad interesting is seen G, same, except a branching corridor isn't ^: considered interesting m: move without picking up objects If the numberpad option is set, the number keys move instead. Commands: NetHack knows the following commands: ? Help menu. / (followed by any symbol): tell what this symbol represents. You may choose to specify a location or give a symbol argument. & Tell what a command does. < Go up a staircase (if you are standing on it). > Go down a staircase (if you are standing on it). . Rest, do nothing for one turn. a Apply (use) an tool (pick-axe, key, lamp...) A Remove all armor. ^A Redo the previous command c Close a door. C Call (name) an individual monster. d Drop something. d7a: drop seven items of object a. D Drop several things. In answer to the question "What kinds of things do you want to drop? [!%= au]" you should type zero or more object symbols possibly followed by 'a' and/or 'u'. Da - drop all objects, without asking for confirmation. Du - drop only unpaid objects (when in a shop). D%u - drop only unpaid food. ^D Kick (for doors, usually). e Eat food. E Engrave a message on the floor. E- - write in the dust with your fingers. i Print your inventory. I Print selected parts of your inventory, as in I* - list all gems in inventory. Iu - list all unpaid items. Ix - list all used up items that are on your shopping bill. I$ - count your money. o Open a door. O Set options. You will be asked to enter an option line. If the line is empty, the current options are reported. Descriptions of possible options and their formats can be obtained by entering "?". Options are usually set before the game with a NETHACKOPTIONS environment variable, not with the 'O' command. p Pay your shopping bill. P Put on a ring or amulet. ^P Repeat last message (subsequent ^P's repeat earlier messages). q Drink (quaff) a potion. Q Quit the game. r Read a scroll or spell book. R Remove a ring or amulet. ^R Redraw the screen. s Search for secret doors and traps around you. S Save the game. t Throw an object or shoot a projectile. T Take off armor. ^T Teleport, if you are able. v Prints the version number. V Prints a longer identification of the version, including the history of the game. w Wield weapon. w- means wield nothing, use bare hands. W Wear armor. x List the spells you know (same as '+'). X Switch the game to explore (discovery) mode. z Zap a wand. Z Cast a spell. ^Z Suspend the game. : Look at what is here. , Pick up some things. @ Toggle the pickup option. ^ Ask for the type of a trap you found earlier. ) Tell what weapon you are wielding. [ Tell what armor you are wearing. = Tell what rings you are wearing. " Tell what amulet you are wearing. ( Tell what tools you are using. $ Count your gold pieces. + List the spells you know (same as 'x'). \ Show what types of objects have been discovered. ! Escape to a shell. # Introduces one of the "extended" commands. To get a list of the commands you can use with "#" type "#?". The extended commands you can use depends upon what options the game was compiled with, along with your class and what type of monster you most closely resemble at a given moment. If your keyboard has a meta key (which, when pressed in combination with another key, modifies it by setting the 'meta' (8th, or 'high') bit), these extended commands can be invoked by meta-ing the first letter of the command. If the "number_pad" option is on, some additional letter commands are available: j Jump to another location. k Kick (for doors, usually). l Loot a box on the floor. N Name an object or type of object. u Untrap a trapped object or door. You can put a number before a command to repeat it that many times, as in "40." or "20s.". If you have the number_pad option set, you must type 'n' to prefix the count, as in "n40." or "n20s". Some information is displayed on the bottom line. You see your attributes, your alignment, what dungeon level you are on, how many hit points you have now (and will have when fully recovered), what your armor class is (the lower the better), your experience level, and the state of your stomach. Optionally, you may or may not see other information such as spell points, how much gold you have, etc. Have Fun, and Happy Hacking!