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Welcome to NetHack! ( description of version 3.4 )
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NetHack is a Dungeons and Dragons like game where you (the adventurer)
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descend into the depths of the dungeon in search of the Amulet of Yendor,
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reputed to be hidden somewhere below the twentieth level. You begin your
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adventure with a pet that can help you in many ways, and can be trained
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to do all sorts of things. On the way you will find useful (or useless)
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items, quite possibly with magic properties, and assorted monsters. You can
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attack a monster by trying to move onto the space a monster is on (but often
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it is much wiser to leave it alone).
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Unlike most adventure games, which give you a verbal description of
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your location, NetHack gives you a visual image of the dungeon level you are
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NetHack uses the following symbols:
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- and | The walls of a room, possibly also open doors or a grave.
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. The floor of a room or a doorway.
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# A corridor, or iron bars, or a tree, or possibly a kitchen
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sink (if your dungeon has sinks), or a drawbridge.
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> Stairs down: a way to the next level.
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< Stairs up: a way to the previous level.
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@ You (usually), or another human.
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) A weapon of some sort.
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[ A suit or piece of armor.
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% Something edible (not necessarily healthy).
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( Some other useful object (pick-axe, key, lamp...)
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* A gem or rock (possibly valuable, possibly worthless).
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+ A closed door, or a spellbook containing a spell
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^ A trap (once you detect it).
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" An amulet, or a spider web.
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_ An altar, or an iron chain.
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} A pool of water or moat or a pool of lava.
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` A boulder or statue.
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A to Z, a to z, and several others: Monsters.
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I Invisible or unseen monster's last known location
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You can find out what a symbol represents by typing
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'/' and following the directions to move the cursor
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to the symbol in question. For instance, a 'd' may
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y k u 7 8 9 Move commands:
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\|/ \|/ yuhjklbn: go one step in specified direction
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h-.-l 4-.-6 YUHJKLBN: go in specified direction until you
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/|\ /|\ hit a wall or run into something
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b j n 1 2 3 g<dir>: run in direction <dir> until something
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numberpad interesting is seen
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G<dir>, same, except a branching corridor isn't
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< up ^<dir>: considered interesting (the ^ in this
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case means the Control key, not a caret)
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> down m<dir>: move without picking up objects
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F<dir>: fight even if you don't sense a monster
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If the number_pad option is set, the number keys move instead.
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Depending on the platform, Shift number (on the numberpad),
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Meta number, or Alt number will invoke the YUHJKLBN commands.
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Control <dir> may or may not work when number_pad is enabled,
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depending on the platform's capabilities.
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NetHack knows the following commands:
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/ Tell what a symbol represents. You may choose to specify
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a location or give a symbol argument.
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& Tell what a command does.
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< Go up a staircase (if you are standing on it).
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> Go down a staircase (if you are standing on it).
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. Rest, do nothing for one turn.
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_ Travel via a shortest-path algorithm to a point on the map
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a Apply (use) a tool (pick-axe, key, lamp...)
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^A Redo the previous command
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C Call (name) an individual monster.
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d Drop something. d7a: drop seven items of object a.
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D Drop multiple items. This command is implemented in two
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different ways. One way is:
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"D" displays a list of all of your items, from which you can
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pick and choose what to drop. A "+" next to an item means
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that it will be dropped, a "-" means that it will not be
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dropped. Toggle an item to be selected/deselected by typing
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the letter adjacent to its description. Select all items
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with "+", deselect all items with "=". The <SPACEBAR> moves
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you from one page of the listing to the next.
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"D" will ask the question "What kinds of things do you want
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to drop? [!%= au]". You should type zero or more object
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symbols possibly followed by 'a' and/or 'u'.
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Da - drop all objects, without asking for confirmation.
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Du - drop only unpaid objects (when in a shop).
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D%u - drop only unpaid food.
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^D Kick (for doors, usually).
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E Engrave a message on the floor.
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E- - write in the dust with your fingers.
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f Fire ammunition from quiver.
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F Followed by direction, fight a monster (even if you don't
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i Display your inventory.
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I Display selected parts of your inventory, as in
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I* - list all gems in inventory.
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Iu - list all unpaid items.
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Ix - list all used up items that are on your shopping bill.
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I$ - count your money.
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O Review current options and possibly change them.
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A menu displaying the option settings will be displayed
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and most can be changed by simply selecting their entry.
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Options are usually set before the game with a NETHACKOPTIONS
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environment variable, or via a config file (defaults.nh,
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NetHack Defaults, nethack.cnf, .nethackrc, etc.), not with
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p Pay your shopping bill.
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P Put on an accessory (ring, amulet, etc).
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^P Repeat last message (subsequent ^P's repeat earlier messages).
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The behavior can be varied via the msg_window option.
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q Drink (quaff) something (potion, water, etc).
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Q Select ammunition for quiver.
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r Read a scroll or spellbook.
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R Remove an accessory (ring, amulet, etc).
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^R Redraw the screen.
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s Search for secret doors and traps around you.
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t Throw an object or shoot a projectile.
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^T Teleport, if you are able.
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v Displays the version number.
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V Display a longer identification of the version, including the
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w Wield weapon. w- means wield nothing, use bare hands.
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x Swap wielded and secondary weapons.
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X Switch the game to explore (discovery) mode.
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^X Show your attributes.
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: Look at what is here.
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; Look at what is somewhere else.
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, Pick up some things.
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@ Toggle the pickup option.
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^ Ask for the type of a trap you found earlier.
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) Tell what weapon you are wielding.
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[ Tell what armor you are wearing.
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= Tell what rings you are wearing.
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" Tell what amulet you are wearing.
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( Tell what tools you are using.
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* Tell what equipment you are using; combines the preceding five.
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$ Count your gold pieces.
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+ List the spells you know; also rearrange them if desired.
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\ Show what types of objects have been discovered.
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! Escape to a shell, if supported in your version and OS.
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# Introduces one of the "extended" commands. To get a list of
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the commands you can use with "#" type "#?". The extended
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commands you can use depends upon what options the game was
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compiled with, along with your class and what type of monster
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you most closely resemble at a given moment. If your keyboard
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has a meta key (which, when pressed in combination with another
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key, modifies it by setting the 'meta' (8th, or 'high') bit),
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these extended commands can be invoked by meta-ing the first
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letter of the command. An alt key may have a similar effect.
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If the "number_pad" option is on, some additional letter commands
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h displays the help menu, like '?'
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j Jump to another location.
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k Kick (for doors, usually).
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l Loot a box on the floor.
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n followed by number of times to repeat the next command
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N Name an object or type of object.
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u Untrap a trapped object or door.
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You can put a number before a command to repeat it that many times,
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as in "40." or "20s.". If you have the number_pad option set, you
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must type 'n' to prefix the count, as in "n40." or "n20s".
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Some information is displayed on the bottom line or perhaps in a
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box, depending on the platform you are using. You see your
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attributes, your alignment, what dungeon level you are on, how many
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hit points you have now (and will have when fully recovered), what
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your armor class is (the lower the better), your experience level,
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and the state of your stomach. Optionally, you may or may not see
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other information such as spell points, how much gold you have, etc.
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Have Fun, and Happy Hacking!
added
removed
dat/help
