Angband FAQ Part Two

From: benh@phial.com (Ben Harrison)
Newsgroups: rec.games.roguelike.angband
Subject: rec.games.roguelike.angband FAQ part 2
Followup-To: rec.games.roguelike.angband
Organization: Adventurers Anonymous
Summary: Some *SPOILERS* for the roguelike game Angband

Angband Frequently Asked Questions - Part 2 (Spoilers)

Compiled and maintained by Ben Harrison (benh@phial.com).
For Angband version 2.8.3 - May be inaccurate with other versions.

Angband FAQ Part One (Non-Spoilers) is available separately.

Based on the old Angband FAQ by Charles F. Teague II & Charles Swiger, and information provided by Jules Bean, Matt Craighead, Joseph W. DeVincentis, Leonard Dickens, Ben Harrison, Jason Holtzapple, Randy Hutson, Stephen S. Lee, Rick Lim, Steve Linberg, Mike Marcelais, Ross Millikan, Adam Schenker, Andrew Schoonmaker, Cliff Stamp, Billy Tanksley, Pat Tracy, and others.

Table of Contents
Angband FAQ - Part Two:
  1. Spoiler Files
    1. Where can I get spoiler files and what are their contents?
  2. Abilities and Resistances
    1. I don't have see invisible, but I occasionally see invisible monsters. What's going on?
    2. What's the best way to identify items?
    3. I just got a feeling about an item. What does it mean?
    4. What does free action do? Is it important?
    5. My stats got shuffled by a nexus attack! How do I prevent this? Can they be restored?
    6. What is the difference between resist confusion and resist chaos?
    7. What is the difference between ignore, resist and immune?
  3. Items
    1. What is a weapon of freezing/burning/shocking/melting?
    2. What does a [insert item here] do ?
    3. I found a weapon of Morgul. Is is worth anything?
    4. What are the special powers of Dragon Scale Mail?
    5. Explain "good" and "great" items.
    6. Which items can have extra powers?
    7. How do I discover an item's special powers?
  4. Artifacts
    1. Will I ever see an artifact in one of the stores in town?
    2. Explain the generation of artifacts.
    3. Can an artifact be stolen or destroyed by a monster attack?
    4. I found an artifact on a level that was not "special." What's up?
    5. One of my items/artifacts was disenchanted! How can I prevent this? Is there any way to restore the item?
    6. I found Calris. Joy! But how do I uncurse it?
  5. Combat & Survival
    1. Is there a trick for surviving an attack by a group of monsters?
    2. What are some general survival tips?
    3. How many attacks should my character be getting?
    4. How do missile weapon to-hit and to-damage bonuses work?
    5. How do damage multipliers work?
    6. What are the damage mulipliers for ego weapons?
    7. I got a critical hit with my weapon. How much damage did it do?
    8. My priest character doesn't feel comfortable wielding his or her weapon. Why?
  6. Spellcasting
    1. How do I keep my spellbooks from being destroyed by fire?
    2. Why did my maximum mana suddenly go down?
    3. I don't have enough mana to cast a spell. What are the consequences if I cast it anyway?
    4. I cast a spell twice in a row. Why doesn't the duration double?
    5. My bolt spell took out a row of monsters! What happened?
    6. Where do I find the higher-level spellbooks?
  7. Monsters
    1. Are monsters susceptible to certain attacks, like they were in Moria?
    2. Why are there two different entries in my monster memory for the same monster?
    3. I killed a monster that I couldn't see. Do I get credit in the monster memory for the kill? What about experience?
    4. How do I kill large numbers of orcs or trolls fairly easily?
    5. Why can't I target a monster in a wall?
    6. Should I kill Farmer Maggot?
    7. I'm having lots of trouble with a unique monster. Help!
  8. Dungeon Features
    1. How is the treasure in chests generated?
    2. What are monster pits?
    3. What are monster nests?
    4. What are lesser vaults?
    5. What are greater vaults?
Angband Faq - Part Two

1. Spoiler Files

1a. Where can I get spoiler files and what are their contents?

The most recent spoiler files can be obtained via anonymous FTP from the official developement FTP site (Help-Info directory) at ftp://export.andrew.cmu.edu/angband/Help-Info.

Descriptions of some useful spoiler files follow:

By adding spoiler files to the ./lib/info directory, you should be able to access them via the online help, if you have the appropriate "menu" files in addition to the spoiler files themselves.

2. Abilities And Resistances

2a. I don't have see invisible, but I occasionally see invisible monsters. What's going on?

Infravision allows you to see some invisible monsters if they aren't cold-blooded. This is not a bug.

2b. What's the best way to identify items?

Some items are junk and don't have to be identified: broken bones, skulls and sticks, empty bottles, shards of pottery and skeletons. Some items look like junk but have value: filthy rags can be worn if you have no armor and broken swords and daggers can be wielded as weapons. Occasionally, even the lowliest filthy rag or broken sword can have amazing powers.

For warriors, paladins and rogues, carry all the weapons and armor your character finds. The 'pseudo-identify' will give some idea of the item's value. For mages and rangers who have the identify spell and know it well enough to cast fairly often, ID everything. Warriors, priests, and low level mages and rangers have to depend on Scrolls of Identify and Rods and Staves of Perception. Priests with 'Orb of Draining' can use it to weed out non-artifact cursed items on the floor. Even priests, mages and rangers do get some feeling of 'good' or 'cursed' items if they carry things long enough, but this is much more general than the feelings other classes receive. See the next question.

2c. I just got a feeling about an item. What does it mean?

Warriors, rogues and paladins can get these feelings: 
 'terrible'  - cursed artifact, usually bad
 'worthless' - cursed ego item
 'cursed'    - cursed item
 'broken'	 - useless normal item
 'average'   - normal item
 'good'      - item with bonuses
 'excellent' - item with special powers (ego item)
 'special'   - artifact, usually good
But note that at least one 'terrible' item is actually good (Calris).

While priests, mages and rangers are limited to: 

 'good'    - can be 'special,' 'excellent,' or 'good' as above
 'cursed'  - can be 'terrible,' 'worthless,' or 'cursed' as above
2d. What does free action do? Is it important?
Free action prevents you from being paralyzed or slowed by most attacks. It does not protect against certain slowing attacks, like the breath of gravity hounds. It is essential after about 1000', as paralyzation at those levels can often mean instant death. Thankfully, many items provide it, and it is not too difficult to obtain.

2e. My stats got shuffled by a nexus attack! How do I prevent this? Can they be restored?

The nexus "stat-shuffling" attack can be prevented by resist nexus. PDSM, Aule, Bloodspkike, Soulkeeper, Bladeturner, Isildur, Arvedui, Iron Crown of Morgoth, Hammerhand and Feanor all resist nexus. You also get a saving throw, so high WIS helps. If your stats do get shuffled, there is no way to restore them, short of getting them shuffled again until they get restored. Of course, if all your stats are maximized then it doesn't matter if they get shuffled.

2f. What is the difference between resist confusion and resist chaos?

Resist chaos grants resist chaos and resist confusion. But resist confusion only resists confusion. I hope the confusion over this issue has ended. :)

2g. What is the difference between ignore, resist and immune?

An item with an 'ignore' power cannot be damaged by that attack.

Items with 'resist' powers make your character resist damage and side effects from those attacks, but they do not protect other equipment from harm.

Items with 'immune' powers make your character immune to damage of that type and protect carried items from harm.

3. Items

3a. What is a weapon of freezing/burning/shocking/melting?

These weapons are "branded" with one of the four elements, cold/fire/electricity/acid (respectively). A monster that is not resistant to the branded element will take x3 base damage from any attack with that weapon.

3b. What does a [insert item here] do ?

3c. I found a weapon of Morgul. Is is worth anything?
No! Not only do they have large minuses to hit and to damage, they are *cursed*, meaning if your character wields one they cannot unwield it until they read a scroll of *Remove Curse*.

3d. What are the special powers of Dragon Scale Mail?

All DSMs except for the rare Power DSM start at [30,+10] and weigh just 20 pounds, so they are great armor. No DSM can be damaged by the four elemental attacks.

All DSMs provide resistance to the "natural" breath weapon(s) of that type of dragon (i.e., Red DSM has resist fire, Green DSM has resist poison, etc.) Some of these resistances are not very useful, but some are very rare and precious high resistances. Some of the more powerful DSMs are the are the only items in the game (except artifacts) that can provide multiple high resistances.

In addition, all DSM can be activated for a breath weapon appropriate for the type of dragon. This capability can very useful for a lower level character who is lucky enough to find a DSM.

For information on the specific resistance(s) and activation provided by a particular type of DSM, see the spoiler file obj-long.spo.

3e. Explain "good" and "great" items.

Note that this section is slightly out of date!

Any weapon or piece of armor created by Angband has a chance to become a "good" item, based on the dungeon level on which it was created. "Good" weapons have bonuses to hit and damage and "good" armor will have a bonus to Armor Class.

Any "good" item has a chance (again based on dungeon level) to become a "great" item. These items are most of the "named" items such as Holy Avengers, Slay Weapons and special "resist" armors. Sometimes a "great" item will have additional bonuses over the previous "good" item. These are also called "ego items."

Any "great" item has a chance to become an artifact if several other conditions exist.

For more information, see the spoilers obj-good.spo and artifact.spo.

3f. Which items can have extra powers?

Seven ego-items in the game have random powers and are likely candidates for *Identify* scrolls.

These items will sustain one statistic:

These items will have one ability chosen from the following: feather fall, permanent light(1), see invisible, telepathy, slow digestion, regeneration, free action, or hold life These items will have one high resist chosen from the following: blindness, confusion, sound, shards, nether, nexus, chaos, disenchantment or poison. 3g. How do I discover an item's special powers?
For most items, identify them and read the spoiler files obj-good.spo and obj-long.spo. This is sufficient for all items except those with extra powers.

Items with random powers take a little more work. The easiest way to find out all their powers is to read a scroll of *Identify* on them. Another magical way to find an item's powers is with a potion of Self Knowledge. Unequip all your character's items except for the one in question then quaff the potion. Subtract any special racial abilities, and you should be able to tell the powers of the item.

Finally, there is always the method of trying it out. Some of the abilities and resistances are easily deduced; others take work. Have your character carry the item. When he/she runs into weak monsters with a particular attack equip the item, let the monster hit or cast a spell, and see if the item protects your character.

4. Artifacts

4a. Will I ever see an artifact in one of the stores in town?

Artifacts never appear in stores unless you sell one to them.

4b. Explain the generation of artifacts.

If you are not playing in preserve mode, artifacts, once created and left behind on a level, are gone forever. This includes both artifacts generated when the level is created and those dropped by monsters. If you use the "~" command on the town level and see an artifact in the list you have never found, it means you have missed it somehow in the dungeon. See obj-good.spo for more detail.

4c. Can an artifact be stolen or destroyed by a monster attack?

Artifacts resist destruction by monster attacks, and should never be picked up or stolen. However, artifacts are somewhat vulnerable to disenchant attacks.

4d. I found an artifact on a level that was not "special." What's up?

Artifacts can appear on a level that doesn't give you the "special" message. The "special" message only lets you know if there is an artifact (or other special feature) on the level when it's first generated. If a monster is killed and drops an artifact, the only way you'll know about it is to ID it (or carry it a while, and hope for the "pseudo-ID" to tell you). However, if there is an artifact on the level at the time of creation, you will get the "special" message, if not playing in preserve mode.

4e. One of my items/artifacts was disenchanted! How can I prevent this? Is there any way to restore the item?

Artifacts can be disenchanted, just like any other item. If you have an item which gives you disenchantment resistance, then all of your items are protected. There are a few items which always grant disenchantment resistance: Chaos and Balance Dragon Scale Mail, Rilia, Calris, Deathwreaker, Belthronding, Celeborn and Bladeturner.

In addition, certain ego items have a chance of granting disenchantment resistance. See question 3f.

It is nearly impossible to restore any item past +10, and impossible past +15. Artifacts are especially difficult. Be careful around disenchanting monsters and uniques!

4f. I found Calris. Joy! But how do I uncurse it?

A *remove curse* or dispel curse will get rid of the curse permanently, and enchant to hit can actually eliminate the curse. Each time an item is enchanted to +0 or higher, a curse on it has a 1 in 4 chance of disappearing. You will know this has occurred when the inscription changes to {uncursed}.

5. Combat & Survival

The spoiler attack.spo provides a lot of detail on character attack skill. These questions and answers only attempt to address the basics.

5a. Is there a trick for surviving an attack by a group of monsters?

Group monsters can be dangerous! Even if you can kill a single creature without too much trouble, it's easy to get overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Make sure only 1 can attack you at a time, and for any spell-casting or breathing groups, ambush them from around a corner so that only 1 can see you at a time. This is the best way to deal with those pesky hounds. A possible exception to this is novice rangers; they can only cast magic missile, and missile spells (as opposed to ball spells or breath weapons) cannot "jump" other monsters in Angband. So, if you're having trouble with novice rangers, get them all lined up in a corridor, and then some of them will be wounded/killed by magic missiles from other rangers. Of course, you don't get experience for anything that you don't kill, but you may survive a bit longer.

5b. What are some general survival tips?

Some combat tactics: 5c. How many attacks should my character be getting?
The blows per round formula is based on several factors including strength, dexterity, class, level and weapon weight.

All characters can get a maximum of five attacks per round except for mages, who only receive four and warriors, who can receive six. There is one exception: a weapon of extra attacks can exceed this limit.

If you are playing version 2.7.9v3 or later, the character info screen ('C') tells you exactly how many hits and shots your character should be receiving.

Otherwise, you must consult the source code or a spoiler file, as it is a rather complex formula.

5d. How do missile weapon to-hit and to-damage bonuses work?

The to-hit bonuses for using a bow can come from any source: rings, DEX, gauntlets of slaying, the bow or the arrows. But the to-damage bonus for shooting a bow come only from the arrows and the bow, so a Ring of Damage (+18) won't help your bow damage.

5e. How do damage multipliers work?

Note that this section is slightly out of date!

For normal weapon attacks, damage is calculated as: 

damage = (((base weapon damage rolled) * weap_mult * hit_mult)
          + to-dam + hit_bonus)
where weap_mult is the special multiplier for the weapon (if any), to-dam is the total damage plusses from the weapon and the character, hit_mult is the multiplier granted for a good or better hit, and hit_bonus is the plusses granted for a good or better hit.

Note that, for weapon attacks, the special multiplier for the weapon (if any) does not affect the damage bonuses. This means that a dagger (1d4), even if it does x5 damage, is not as good as a two-handed sword (3d6) that does x2 damage, unless you get more swings with the dagger, or the dagger has a very high to-dam bonus.

For bows attacks with the correct ammo, damage is calculated as: 

damage = (((base ammo damage rolled) + to-dam-ammo + to-dam-bow)
          * bow_mult * ammo_mult * hit_mult + hit_bonus)
where bow_mult is the basic multiplier for the bow, ammo_mult is the special multiplier for the ammo (if any), to-dam-ammo is the damage plusses for the ammo, to-dam-bow is the damage plusses for the bow, hit_mult is the multiplier granted for a good or better hit, and hit_bonus is the plusses granted for a good or better hit.

Note that, for bow attacks, the basic multiplier for the bow and the special multiplier for the ammo (if any) both affect the damage bonuses. This makes a heavy crossbow (x4) with a high to-dam-bow very powerful, even with non-magical bolts.

5f. What are the damage mulipliers for ego weapons?

Most of the damage multipliers are x3, except for: 
 *Slay* Dragon   x5
 Slay Animal     x2
 Slay Evil       x2
Note that only the highest applicable multiplier is used if several apply.

5g. I got a critical hit with my weapon. How much damage did it do?

Damage bonuses for critical hits are: 
 "good hit"      x2 +5
 "excellent hit" x2 +10
 "superb hit"    x3 +15
 "*GREAT* hit"   x3 +20
 "*SUPERB* hit"  x3.5 +25
Heavier weapons have critical hits more often. See attack.spo for the odds on receiving a critical hit.

5h. My priest character doesn't feel comfortable wielding his or her weapon. Why?

Priests are penalized for wielding "non-priestly" weapons. Priests are basically restricted to blunt weapons and "blessed blades." They should get a warning message if they wield a non-priestly weapon. Priests get a whopping +25% to their spell failure rate (before adjustments) for wielding one of these, and also a -2 to hit and damage. However, some of the more powerful artifact weapons may be worth wielding regardless of these penalties. And of course, your character can always switch weapons before praying.

6. Spellcasting

6a. How do I keep my spellbooks from being destroyed by fire?

Deathwreaker, Narya, and the One Ring grant immunity to fire. If you do not have immunity to fire, always bring at least 2 copies of the first 4 spellbooks on trips to the dungeon. Take more if you have a high STR. The 5 most powerful spellbooks of each class are immune to destruction by fire. You may also hide some books in a safe part of the dungeon if you are hunting a monster that you know is going to incinerate your inventory.

6b. Why did my maximum mana suddenly go down?

There are two possible equipment-related causes:
  1. All spellcasters are penalized for wearing a combination of armor items weighing over a certain amount. This simulates the general encumbering effects of heavy armor. Try removing some armor to restore your mana, if this is a problem.
  2. Mages, and other mage-type spell casters, lose mana for wearing gloves (or gauntlets or cestus). This simulates the interference they cause with the intricate gestures required for spellcasting. Gloves providing either free action and/or agility will not decrease mana. Among these are the artifacts Fingolfin and Cambeleg. Priests and paladins don't have this problem, as they invoke the power of their deity directly.

6c. I don't have enough mana to cast a spell. What are the consequences if I cast it anyway?

Casting a spell without enough mana has a 1/3 chance of damaging your CON, sometimes permanently. It can also cause you to faint from the effort.

6d. I cast a spell twice in a row. Why doesn't the duration double?

Haste Self and Essence of Speed spells are not cumulative in effect. For example, if your character is already hasted (with a non-permanent spell or item), casting addtional Haste Self spells will only extend the total duration by 1-5 player turns, rather than the normal amount.

The effects of additional Heroism, Shield, Berserker, Globe of Invulnerability, Bless, Chant, Sense Invisible, Protection From Evil and Prayer spells/prayers are fully cumulative.

6e. My bolt spell took out a row of monsters! What happened?

Certain "bolt" spells (magic missile, lightning, fire and frost bolt, etc) have a chance to become a "beam" based on your experience level. This chance is 1% / level for mages and 0.5% / level for rangers. Magic Missile, Lightning Bolt and Frost Bolt all have a -10% to the roll.

Wands have a 20% chance to "beam" and rods have a 10% chance.

6f. Where do I find the higher-level spellbooks?

There are 9 spellbooks for mages and 9 for priests. The five higher-level books can be found deeper in the dungeon, often as part of the treasure drops of high-level monsters and uniques. You might get lucky and see them at the Black Market. These books are not artifacts.

7. Monsters

7a. Are monsters susceptible to certain attacks, like they were in Moria?

Monster spell resistances have been changed from Moria. In Moria, a white dragon took extra damage from a fire bolt, and partial (1/4th) damage from a frost bolt. In Angband, a white dragon takes normal damage from a fire bolt, and almost no (1/9th) damage from a frost bolt. Basically, there are no more "susceptibilities." There are a couple of exceptions to this. Monsters can be susceptible to bright light (i.e. wand of light, not lightning), and holy orb does extra damage vs. evil creatures. Earthy creatures are also susceptible to stone-to-mud attacks.

7b. Why are there two different entries in my monster memory for the same monster?

The monster memory does show more than one description for some monsters. Some examples are novice mages/priests/warriors/rangers, mimics, gnome mages, etc. There are two or more entries because there are actually two or more different types of these monsters. Often the difference between them is that one is found solo and the other is found in groups, at a slightly deeper level.

7c. I killed a monster that I couldn't see. Do I get credit in the monster memory for the kill? What about experience?

Monster memory doesn't give you credit for killing a monster if you cannot see the monster (if you are blind, or the monster is in a dark area beyond your infravision range, etc). The recall code for unique monsters is slightly different, and the monster memory will note their deaths, unless you never saw them, even by an "ancestor." You will still gain experience regardless.

7d. How do I kill large numbers of orcs or trolls fairly easily?

You can line orcs and trolls up in a long corridor and then blast them with a wand of light! (Not all types are susceptible.) A rod of light can be a mid-level character's best friend, doing good damage against a whole line of susceptible monsters, with a really fast (9 rounds) recharge. For higher-level characters, dispel evil, orb of draining or a staff of power can also work wonders.

7e. Why can't I target a monster in a wall?

Monsters in walls can't be hit with spells or missiles, only by physical attacks.

7f. Should I kill Farmer Maggot?

Unfortunately, yes. He can't harm you, just hit him until he dies. He may drop a nice item for your troubles.

7g. I'm having lots of trouble with a unique monster. Help!

Run or teleport the monster away. You can kill the unique later, when you're tougher. Speed helps a great deal, as does a nice missile weapon, especially with uniques that resist all the major attack forms (Mim and Lorgan come to mind).

8. Dungeon Features

8a. How is the treasure in chests generated?

The treasure in chests is based on the dungeon level where they were generated, not where the chest is opened.

8b. What are monster pits?

Monster pits are rectangular rooms, 19x5, (they look like some of the rooms that have an inside wall) filled with monsters. Jelly pits are filled with jellies, molds, icky things, oozes, etc. Orc, Troll, Giant, Dragon and Demon pits are filled with different types of those monsters (Dragon pits are filled with the same color dragons). Undead pits (a.k.a. Graveyards) are filled with some nasty undead. Inside monster pits there can be monsters that are far out of depth, so you should be very careful around them.

8c. What are monster nests?

Similar to a pit, but containing an inner room and a random assortment of monsters of a given type. Monsters in a nest vary by depth, so a nest deep in the dungeon can be very nasty.

8d. What are lesser vaults?

Monster vaults are unusually shaped and sized rooms, filled with monsters, treasures, and traps. Lesser vaults are about 40x20. They are filled with all different kinds of monsters, and often have some really nice treasure to go along with some out-of-depth monsters.

8e. What are greater vaults?

Greater vaults are huge rooms (about 60x20), with outside walls of impenetrable rock except for a couple of granite walls in the corners. They are filled with all different kinds of out-of-depth monsters, with excellent treasure (often more than 1 artifact), and some really out-of-depth monsters. Taking on a greater vault is amazingly dangerous unless you have some speed, lots of resistances, and a teleport away spell/wand/rod.