









                           A Guide to the Mazes of Menace
                              (Guidebook for SLASH'EM)


                                   Eric S. Raymond
                  (Extensively edited and expanded for NetHack 3.4)
                    (Revised for SLASH'EM 0.0.3 by Warren Cheung)
                    (Revised for SLASH'EM 0.0.6 by J. Ali Harlow)



          1.  Introduction

               Recently,  you  have  begun to find yourself unfulfilled and
          distant in your daily occupation.  Strange dreams of prospecting,
          stealing,  crusading,  and  combat have haunted you in your sleep
          for many months, but you aren't sure of the reason.   You  wonder
          whether  you have in fact been having those dreams all your life,
          and somehow managed to forget about them until now.  Some  nights
          you awaken suddenly and cry out, terrified at the vivid recollec-
          tion of the strange and powerful creatures that seem to be  lurk-
          ing  behind  every  corner  of  the dungeon in your dream.  Could
          these details haunting your dreams be real?  As each night  pass-
          es,  you feel the desire to enter the mysterious caverns near the
          ruins grow stronger.  Each morning, however, you quickly put  the
          idea  out  of  your head as you recall the tales of those who en-
          tered the caverns before you and did not return.  Eventually  you
          can  resist  the yearning to seek out the fantastic place in your
          dreams no longer.  After all, when other  adventurers  came  back
          this  way after spending time in the caverns, they usually seemed
          better off than when they passed through the first time.  And who
          was to say that all of those who did not return had not just kept
          going?


               Asking around, you hear about a bauble, called the Amulet of
          Yendor  by  some, which, if you can find it, will bring you great
          wealth.  One legend you were told even mentioned that the one who
          finds  the  amulet  will be granted immortality by the gods.  The
          amulet is rumored to be somewhere beyond the Valley of  Gehennom,
          deep  within  the Mazes of Menace.  Upon hearing the legends, you
          immediately realize that there is some profound and  undiscovered
          reason that you are to descend into the caverns and seek out that
          amulet of which they spoke.  Even if the rumors of  the  amulet's
          powers are untrue, you decide that you should at least be able to
          sell the tales of your adventures to the local  minstrels  for  a
          tidy  sum,  especially if you encounter any of the terrifying and
          magical creatures of your dreams along the way.   You  spend  one
          last  night  fortifying  yourself at the local inn, becoming more
          and more depressed as you watch the odds of  your  success  being


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          posted on the inn's walls getting lower and lower.


                 In the morning you awake, collect your belongings, and set
          off for the dungeon.  After several days  of  uneventful  travel,
          you  see the ancient ruins that mark the entrance to the Mazes of
          Menace.  It is late at night, so you make camp  at  the  entrance
          and  spend the night sleeping under the open skies.  In the morn-
          ing, you gather your gear, eat what may be your  last  meal  out-
          side, and enter the dungeon...


          2.  What is going on here?

               You  have  just  begun  a game of SLASH'EM.  Your goal is to
          grab as much treasure as you can, retrieve the Amulet of  Yendor,
          and escape the Mazes of Menace alive.

               Your abilities and strengths for dealing with the hazards of
          adventure will vary with your background and training:

               Archeologists understand dungeons pretty well; this  enables
          them  to  move  quickly  and sneak up on the local nasties.  They
          start equipped with the tools for a proper scientific expedition.

               Barbarians are warriors out of the hinterland,  hardened  to
          battle.   They  begin  their  quests  with  naught  but  uncommon
          strength, a trusty hauberk, and a great two-handed sword.

               Cavemen and Cavewomen start with exceptional  strength  but,
          unfortunately, with neolithic weapons.

               Flame  Mages  have managed to harness mystical energies into
          the control of the element of fire.   Notwithstanding  their  pet
          hell  hounds,   woe  be  unto  anyone  who stands in the way of a
          skilled mage casting a fireball.

               Healers are wise in medicine and apothecary.  They know  the
          herbs  and  simples  that  can restore vitality, ease pain, anes-
          thetize, and neutralize poisons; and with their instruments, they
          can  divine a being's state of health or sickness.  Their medical
          practice earns them quite reasonable amounts of money, with which
          they enter the dungeon.

               Ice  Mages  command the forces of cold.  An experienced Mage
          can summon great blizzards yet remain unaffected by  the  turmoil
          of the elements.

               Knights  are  distinguished  from  the  common skirmisher by
          their devotion to the ideals of chivalry and  by  the  surpassing
          excellence of their armor.

               Monks are ascetics, who by rigorous practice of physical and
          mental disciplines have become capable of fighting as effectively


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          without  weapons  as with.  They wear no armor but make up for it
          with increased mobility.

               Necromancers have delved into the  darkest  of  the  magical
          lore,  and  mastered  some  of  the most forbidden of the magical
          lore.  Many have fallen to the armies of the undead that they are
          capable of bringing forth and controlling.

               Priests  and Priestesses are clerics militant, crusaders ad-
          vancing the cause of righteousness with  arms,  armor,  and  arts
          thaumaturgic.   Their  ability to commune with deities via prayer
          occasionally extricates them from peril, but can also put them in
          it.

               Rangers are most at home in the woods, and some say slightly
          out of place in a dungeon.  They are, however, experts in archery
          as well as tracking and stealthy movement.

               Rogues  are  agile  and  stealthy thieves, with knowledge of
          locks, traps, and poisons.  They specialize  in  surprise,  which
          they employ to great advantage.

               Samurai  are  the elite warriors of feudal Nippon.  They are
          heavily armored but quick, and wear the dai-sho,  two  swords  of
          the deadliest keenness.

               Tourists  start out with lots of gold (suitable for shopping
          with), a credit card, lots of food, some maps, and  an  expensive
          camera.  Most monsters don't like being photographed.

               Undead  Slayers are specialists,  trained to hunt the undead
          as well as other incarnations of evil.  They are  well  aware  of
          the  weaknesses of their foes and come prepared.  Few denizens of
          darkness ever encounter such warriors of light and live  to  tell
          of it.

               Valkyries  are hardy warrior women.  Their upbringing in the
          harsh Northlands makes them strong, inures them  to  extremes  of
          cold, and instills in them stealth and cunning.

               Wizards  start out with a knowledge of magic, a selection of
          magical items, and a particular affinity for  dweomercraft.   Al-
          though seemingly weak and easy to overcome at first sight, an ex-
          perienced Wizard is a deadly foe.

               Yeomen are sturdy fighters. They are famed for their ability
          to stand doing nothing for hours. It is said that this is because
          they are none too bright. Yeomen can both take a  lot  of  damage
          and inflict it on others.

               You may also choose the race of your character:

               Doppelgangers  have  the  anviable ability to change form at
          will,  at a cost of some mystic  energy  (mana),   although  what


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          they become may be a bit of a surprise,  even for them.

               Dwarves are smaller than humans or elves, but are stocky and
          solid individuals.  Dwarves' most notable trait  is  their  great
          expertise  in mining and metalwork.  Dwarvish armor is said to be
          second in quality not even to the mithril armor of the Elves.

               Elves and Drows are agile, quick, and perceptive; very  lit-
          tle  of  what  goes  on will escape an Elf.  The quality of Elven
          craftsmanship often gives them an advantage in arms and armor.

               Gnomes are smaller than but generally  similar  to  dwarves.
          Gnomes  are known to be expert miners, and it is known that a se-
          cret underground mine complex built by this  race  exists  within
          the Mazes of Menace, filled with both riches and danger.

               Hobbits are quick of hearing and sharp-eyed, and though they
          are inclined to be fat and do not hurry unnecessarily,  they  are
          nonetheless  nimble and deft in their movements. A love of learn-
          ing (other than genealogical lore)  is  far  from  general  among
          them. Hobbits are difficult to daunt, or to kill, and at need can
          still handle arms.

               Humans are by far the most common race of the surface world,
          and  are  thus  the norm by which other races are often compared.
          Although they have no special abilities, they can succeed in  any
          role.

               Lycanthropes  are  wild  beasts who draw their strength from
          the phases of the moon,  and can transform into wolves when  they
          channel  their magical energies.  Even unarmed,  a Lycanthrope is
          a savage fighter,  as many scarred by their deadly claws can  at-
          test.

               Orcs  are  a  cruel and barbaric race that hate every living
          thing (including other orcs).  Above all others, Orcs hate  Elves
          with  a  passion unequalled, and will go out of their way to kill
          one at any opportunity.  The armor and weapons fashioned  by  the
          Orcs are typically of inferior quality.

               Vampires strike fear into the heart of many. Their super-hu-
          man strength, notorious dexterity and resiliance make them diffi-
          cult  to defeat while their almost hypnotic charm makes them dan-
          gerous opponents. Even their own Gods treat  vampires  with  some
          distaste.

          3.  What do all those things on the screen mean?

               On  the screen is kept a map of where you have been and what
          you have seen on the current dungeon level; as you  explore  more
          of the level, it appears on the screen in front of you.

               When  SLASH'EM's  ancestor  rogue first appeared, its screen
          orientation was  almost  unique  among  computer  fantasy  games.


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          Since  then,  screen  orientation has become the norm rather than
          the exception; SLASH'EM continues this  fine  tradition.   Unlike
          text  adventure games that accept commands in pseudo-English sen-
          tences and explain the results in words,  SLASH'EM  commands  are
          all  one  or two keystrokes and the results are displayed graphi-
          cally on the screen.  A minimum screen size of  24  lines  by  80
          columns  is  recommended;  if  the screen is larger, only a 21x80
          section will be used for the map.

               SLASH'EM can even be played by blind players, with  the  as-
          sistance of Braille readers or speech synthesisers.  Instructions
          for configuring SLASH'EM for the blind are included later in this
          document.

               SLASH'EM  generates  a  new  dungeon every time you play it;
          even the authors still find it an entertaining and exciting  game
          despite having won several times.

               SLASH'EM  offers  a variety of display options.  The options
          available to you will vary from port to port,  depending  on  the
          capabilities  of  your hardware and software, and whether various
          compile-time options were enabled when your executable was creat-
          ed.  The three possible display options are: a monochrome charac-
          ter interface, a color character interface, and a  graphical  in-
          terface using small pictures called tiles.  The two character in-
          terfaces allow fonts with other characters to be substituted, but
          the  default  assignments use standard ASCII characters to repre-
          sent everything.  There is no difference between the various dis-
          play options with respect to game play.  Because we cannot repro-
          duce the tiles or colors in the Guidebook, and because it is com-
          mon  to  all ports, we will use the default ASCII characters from
          the monochrome character display when  referring  to  things  you
          might see on the screen during your game.

               In  order  to understand what is going on in SLASH'EM, first
          you must understand what SLASH'EM is doing with the screen.   The
          SLASH'EM screen replaces the ``You see ...'' descriptions of text
          adventure games.  Figure 1 is a sample of what a SLASH'EM  screen
          might  look  like.   The  way the screen looks for you depends on
          your platform.

          --------------------------------------------------------------------
           The bat bites!

               ------
               |....|    ----------
               |.<..|####...@...$.|
               |....-#   |...B....+
               |....|    |.d......|
               ------    -------|--






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           Player the Rambler     St:12 Dx:7 Co:18 In:11 Wi:9 Ch:15  Neutral
           Dlvl:1 $:0  HP:9(12) Pw:3(3) AC:10 Exp:1/19 T:257 Weak

          --------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Figure 1


          3.1.  The status lines (bottom)

               The bottom two lines of the screen contain  several  cryptic
          pieces  of information describing your current status.  If either
          status line becomes longer than the  width  of  the  screen,  you
          might not see all of it.  Here are explanations of what the vari-
          ous status items mean (though your configuration may not have all
          the status items listed below):

          Rank
               Your character's name and professional ranking (based on the
               experience level, see below).

          Strength
               A measure of your character's strength; one of your six  ba-
               sic  attributes.   A  human character's attributes can range
               from 3 to 18 inclusive; non-humans may exceed  these  limits
               (occasionally you may get super-strengths of the form 18/xx,
               and magic can also cause attributes  to  exceed  the  normal
               limits).   The  higher  your strength, the stronger you are.
               Strength  affects  how  successfully  you  perform  physical
               tasks,  how  much damage you do in combat, and how much loot
               you can carry.

          Dexterity
               Dexterity affects your chances to hit in  combat,  to  avoid
               traps,  and do other tasks requiring agility or manipulation
               of objects.

          Constitution
               Constitution affects your ability to recover  from  injuries
               and other strains on your stamina.

          Intelligence
               Intelligence  affects  your  ability to cast spells and read
               spellbooks.

          Wisdom
               Wisdom comes from your practical experience (especially when
               dealing with magic).  It affects your magical energy.

          Charisma
               Charisma affects how certain creatures react toward you.  In
               particular, it can affect the prices shopkeepers offer you.

          Alignment
               Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic.  Often, Lawful is taken as good


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               and Chaotic as evil, but legal and ethical do not always co-
               incide.  Your alignment influences how other monsters  react
               toward you.  Monsters of a like alignment are more likely to
               be non-aggressive, while those of an opposing alignment  are
               more likely to be seriously offended at your presence.

          Dungeon Level
               How deep you are in the dungeon.  You start at level one and
               the number increases as you  go  deeper  into  the  dungeon.
               Some  levels  are  special, and are identified by a name and
               not a number.  The Amulet of Yendor is reputed to  be  some-
               where beneath the twentieth level.

          Gold
               The  number  of  gold  pieces you are openly carrying.  Gold
               which you have concealed in containers is not counted.

          Hit Points
               Your current and maximum hit points.   Hit  points  indicate
               how  much  damage you can take before you die.  The more you
               get hit in a fight, the lower they get.  You can regain  hit
               points  by  resting,  or  by  using certain magical items or
               spells.  The number in parentheses  is  the  maximum  number
               your hit points can reach.

          Power
               Spell  points.  This tells you how much mystic energy (mana)
               you have available for spell casting.  Again,  resting  will
               regenerate the amount available.

          Armor Class
               A measure of how effectively your armor stops blows from un-
               friendly creatures.  The lower this number is, the more  ef-
               fective the armor; it is quite possible to have negative ar-
               mor class.

          Experience
               Your current experience level and experience points.  As you
               adventure,  you  gain experience points.  At certain experi-
               ence point totals, you gain an experience level.   The  more
               experienced you are, the better you fight and withstand mag-
               ical attacks.  Many dungeons show only your experience level
               here.

          Weight
               The  total  weight of all items in your inventory, displayed
               if you have the showweight option set. The number after  the
               slash is your carrying capacity.

          Time
               The  number  of  turns elapsed so far, displayed if you have
               the time option set.




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          Hunger status
               Your current hunger status, ranging from  Satiated  down  to
               Fainting.   If  your hunger status is normal, it is not dis-
               played.

               Additional status flags may appear after the hunger  status:
          Conf  when you're confused, FoodPois or Ill when sick, Blind when
          you can't see, Stun when stunned, and Hallu when hallucinating.

          3.2.  The message line (top)

               The top line of the screen is reserved for messages that de-
          scribe  things that are impossible to represent visually.  If you
          see a ``--More--'' on the top line, this means that SLASH'EM  has
          another  message  to  display on the screen, but it wants to make
          certain that you've read the one that is there  first.   To  read
          the next message, just press the space bar.

          3.3.  The map (rest of the screen)

               The  rest  of the screen is the map of the level as you have
          explored it so far.  Each symbol on the screen  represents  some-
          thing.   You  can  set various graphics options to change some of
          the symbols the game uses; otherwise, the game will  use  default
          symbols.  Here is a list of what the default symbols mean:

          - and |
               The walls of a room, or an open door.  Or a grave (|).

          .    The floor of a room, ice, or a doorless doorway.

          #    A  corridor,  or iron bars, or a tree, or possibly a kitchen
               sink (if your dungeon has sinks), or a drawbridge.

          >    Stairs down: a way to the next level.

          <    Stairs up: a way to the previous level.

          +    A closed door, or a spellbook containing a spell you may  be
               able to learn.

          @    Your character or a human.

          $    A pile of gold.

          ^    A trap (once you have detected it).

          )    A weapon.

          [    A suit or piece of armor.

          %    Something edible (not necessarily healthy).




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          ?    A scroll.

          /    A wand.

          =    A ring.

          !    A potion.

          (    A useful item (pick-axe, key, lamp...).

          "    An amulet or a spider web.

          *    A gem or rock (possibly valuable, possibly worthless).

          `    A boulder or statue.

          0    An iron ball.

          _    An altar, or an iron chain.

          {    A fountain.

          }    A pool of water or moat or a pool of lava.

          \    An opulent throne.

          a-zA-Z and other symbols
               Letters  and certain other symbols represent the various in-
               habitants of the Mazes of Menace.  Watch out,  they  can  be
               nasty and vicious.  Sometimes, however, they can be helpful.

          I    This marks the last known location of an invisible or other-
               wise unseen monster.   Note  that  the  monster  could  have
               moved.  The 'F' and 'm' commands may be useful here.

               You  need  not  memorize  all these symbols; you can ask the
          game what any symbol represents with the  `/'  command  (see  the
          next section for more info).


          4.  Commands

               Commands  are  initiated  by  typing  one or two characters.
          Some commands, like ``search'', do not require that any more  in-
          formation be collected by SLASH'EM.  Other commands might require
          additional information, for example a direction, or an object  to
          be used.  For those commands that require additional information,
          SLASH'EM will present you with either a menu of choices or with a
          command  line  prompt requesting information.  Which you are pre-
          sented with will depend chiefly on how you have set the menustyle
          option.

               For  example,  a  common question, in the form ``What do you
          want to use? [a-zA-Z ?*]'', asks you to choose an object you  are


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          carrying.   Here,  ``a-zA-Z''  are  the inventory letters of your
          possible choices.  Typing `?' gives  you  an  inventory  list  of
          these  items, so you can see what each letter refers to.  In this
          example, there is also a `*' indicating that you  may  choose  an
          object  not on the list, if you wanted to use something unexpect-
          ed.  Typing a `*' lists your entire inventory, so you can see the
          inventory  letters  of every object you're carrying.  Finally, if
          you change your mind and decide you don't want to do this command
          after all, you can press the ESC key to abort the command.

               Some commands allow you to choose an object that you are not
          currently carrying. Such commands have an extra option  available
          as  in  ``What  do you want to drink? [fgh or ?*,.]''. Typing `,'
          gives you a list of the applicable objects  on  the  floor,  from
          which  you may make your choice.  For commands where it is possi-
          ble to choose your current location rather than  an  object,  the
          `.' option will be displayed. This can be used to read an engrav-
          ing or drink from a dungeon feature.

               You can put a number before some  commands  to  repeat  them
          that  many times; for example, ``10s'' will search ten times.  If
          you have the number_pad option set, you must type `n' to prefix a
          count,  so  the  example  above  would be typed ``n10s'' instead.
          Commands for which counts make no sense ignore  them.   In  addi-
          tion,  movement commands can be prefixed for greater control (see
          below).  To cancel a count or a prefix, press the ESC key.

               The list of commands is rather long, but it can be  read  at
          any  time during the game through the `?' command, which accesses
          a menu of helpful texts.  As well,  there  is  now  a  menusystem
          available through the '`' command for those who would rather page
          through menus than hunt and peck for keys. Here are the  commands
          for your reference:

          ESC  Cancel the current operation (where applicable) or skip mes-
               sages. If the menu_on_esc option is set, then this key  will
               access  the  menusystem  when  pressed  while the program is
               waiting for a command.

          ?    Help menu:  display one of several help texts available.

          `    Main menu:  access the menusystem.

          /    Tell what a symbol represents.  You may choose to specify  a
               location or type a symbol (or even a whole word) to explain.
               Specifying a location is done by moving the cursor to a par-
               ticular  spot  on the map and then pressing one of `.', `,',
               `;', or `:'.  `.' will explain the symbol at the chosen  lo-
               cation, conditionally check for ``More info?'' depending up-
               on whether the help option is on, and then you will be asked
               to  pick  another  location; `,' will explain the symbol but
               skip any additional information; `;'  will  skip  additional
               info  and also not bother asking you to choose another loca-
               tion to examine; `:' will  show  additional  info,  if  any,


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               without  asking  for confirmation.  When picking a location,
               pressing the ESC key will terminate this command, or  press-
               ing `?'  will give a brief reminder about how it works.

               Specifying  a  name  rather than a location always gives any
          additional information available about that name.

          &    Tell what a command does.

          <    Go up to the previous level (if you are on  a  staircase  or
               ladder).

          >    Go down to the next level (if you are on a staircase or lad-
               der).

          [yuhjklbn]
               Go one step in the direction indicated (see Figure  2).   If
               you  sense  or  remember a monster there, you will fight the
               monster instead.   Only  these  one-step  movement  commands
               cause   you  to  fight  monsters;  the  others  (below)  are
               ``safe.''

                                    y  k  u          7  8  9
                                     \ | /            \ | /
                                    h- . -l          4- . -6
                                     / | \            / | \
                                    b  j  n          1  2  3
                                              (if number_pad is set)

                                         Figure 2


          [YUHJKLBN]
               Go in that direction until you hit a wall or run into  some-
               thing.

          m[yuhjklbn]
               Prefix:   move  without picking up objects or fighting (even
               if you remember a monster there)

          F[yuhjklbn]
               Prefix:  fight a monster (even if  you  only  guess  one  is
               there)

          M[yuhjklbn]
               Prefix:  move far, no pickup.

          g[yuhjklbn]
               Prefix:  move until something interesting is found.

          G[yuhjklbn] or <CONTROL->[yuhjklbn]
               Prefix:   same  as `g', but forking of corridors is not con-
               sidered interesting.



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          _    Travel to a map location via a shortest-path algorithm.  The
               shortest  path is computed over map locations the hero knows
               about (e.g. seen or previously traversed).  If there  is  no
               known  path,  a guess is made instead.  Stops on most of the
               same conditions as the `G' command, but without  picking  up
               objects,  similar  to the `M' command.  For ports with mouse
               support, the command is  also  invoked  when  a  mouse-click
               takes place on a location other than the current position.

          .    Rest, do nothing for one turn.

          a    Apply (use) a tool (pick-axe, key, lamp...).

          A    Remove one or more worn items, such as armor.  Use `T' (take
               off) to take off only one piece of armor or `R' (remove)  to
               take off only one accessory.

          ^A   Redo the previous command.

          ^B   Borrow (steal) money from an adjacent monster.

          c    Close a door.

          C    Call (name) an individual monster.

          ^C   Panic button.  Quit the game.

          d    Drop  something.   Ex. ``d7a'' means drop seven items of ob-
               ject a.

          D    Drop several things.  In answer to the question ``What kinds
               of  things  do you want to drop? [!%= BUCXaium]'' you should
               type zero or more object symbols possibly  followed  by  `a'
               and/or  `i' and/or `u' and/or `m'.  In addition, one or more
               of the blessed/uncursed/cursed groups may be typed.

                    DB  - drop all objects known to be blessed.
                    DU  - drop all objects known to be uncursed.
                    DC  - drop all objects known to be cursed.
                    DX  - drop all objects of unknown B/U/C status.
                    Da  - drop all objects, without asking for confirmation.
                    Di  - examine your inventory before dropping anything.
                    Du  - drop only unpaid objects (when in a shop).
                    Dm  - use a menu to pick which object(s) to drop.
                    D%u - drop only unpaid food.

          ^D   Kick something (usually a door).

          e    Eat food. Vampires cannot eat as  such.  However,  they  can
               gain  nutrition  by  draining blood from fresh corpses using
               this command.

          E    Engrave  a  message  on  the  floor.   Engraving  the   word
               ``Elbereth''  will  cause  most  monsters  to not attack you


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               hand-to-hand (but if you attack, you will rub it out);  this
               is  often useful to give yourself a breather.  (This feature
               may be compiled out of the game, so your version  might  not
               have it.)

                    E- - write in the dust with your fingers.

          f    Fire  one of the objects placed in your quiver.  You may se-
               lect ammunition with a previous `Q' command, or let the com-
               puter pick something appropriate if autoquiver is true.

          i    List your inventory (everything you're carrying).

          I    List selected parts of your inventory.

                    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.  A menu showing the current option values will
               be displayed.  You can change most values simply by  select-
               ing  the  menu entry for the given option (ie, by typing its
               letter or clicking upon it, depending on  your  user  inter-
               face).   For  the  non-boolean  choices,  a  further menu or
               prompt will appear once you've closed this menu.  The avail-
               able  options  are  listed later in this Guidebook.  Options
               are usually set before the game rather  than  with  the  `O'
               command; see the section on options below.

          p    Pay your shopping bill/Shopkeeper services.

          P    Put on a ring or other accessory (amulet, blindfold).

          ^P   Repeat  previous  message.   Subsequent  ^P's repeat earlier
               messages.  The behavior can be varied via the msg_window op-
               tion.

          q    Quaff (drink) something (potion, water, etc).

          Q    Select  an  object for your quiver.  You can then throw this
               using the `f' command.  (In SLASH'EM versions prior to 0.0.6
               this  was  the  command to quit the game, which has now been
               moved to `#quit'.)

          r    Read a scroll or spellbook.

          R    Remove an accessory (ring, amulet, etc).

          ^R   Redraw the screen.




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          s    Search for secret doors and traps around  you.   It  usually
               takes several tries to find something.

          S    Save  (and suspend) the game.  The game will be restored au-
               tomatically the next time you play.

          t    Throw an object or shoot a projectile.

          T    Take off armor.

          ^T   Teleport, if you have the ability.

          v    Display version number.

          V    Display the game history.

          w    Wield weapon.

                    w- - wield nothing, use your bare hands.

          W    Wear armor.

          x    Exchange your wielded weapon with the item in your alternate
               weapon  slot.   The  latter is used as your secondary weapon
               when engaging in two-weapon combat.  Note  that  if  one  of
               these slots is empty, the exchange still takes place.

          X    Enter explore (discovery) mode, explained in its own section
               later.

          ^X   Display your name, role, race, gender, and alignment as well
               as the various deities in your game.

          ^Y   Polymorph yourself, if you have the ability.

          z    Zap a wand.  To aim at yourself, use `.' for the direction.

          Z    Zap  (cast)  a  spell.  To cast at yourself, use `.' for the
               direction.

          ^Z   Suspend the game (UNIX(R) versions with job control only).

          :    Look at what is here.

          ;    Show what type of thing a visible symbol corresponds to.

          ,    Pick up some things. May be preceded by `m' to force  a  se-
               lection menu.

          @    Toggle the autopickup option on and off.


          __________
          (R)UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T.


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          ^    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.

          *    Tell  what  equipment  you are using; combines the preceding
               five type-specific commands into one.

          $    Count your gold pieces.

          +    List the spells you know.  Using this command, you can  also
               rearrange  the  order in which your spells are listed.  They
               are shown via a menu, and if you  select  a  spell  in  that
               menu, you'll be re-prompted for another spell to swap places
               with it, and then  have  opportunity  to  make  further  ex-
               changes.

          \    Show what types of objects have been discovered.

          !    Escape to a shell.

          #    Perform an extended command.  As you can see, the authors of
               NetHack used up all the letters, so this is a way to  intro-
               duce  the less frequently used commands.  What extended com-
               mands are available depends on what features  the  game  was
               compiled with.

          #adjust
               Adjust inventory letters (most useful when the fixinv option
               is ``on'').

          #borrow
               Borrow (steal) money from an adjacent monster, if  you  have
               the ability.

          #chat
               Talk to someone.

          #conduct
               List  which challenges you have adhered to.  See the section
               below entitled ``Conduct'' for details.

          #dip Dip an object into something.

          #enhance
               Advance or check weapons and spell skills.



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          #force
               Force a lock.

          #invoke
               Invoke an object's special powers.

          #jump
               Jump to another location.

          #loot
               Loot a box or bag on the floor beneath you,  or  the  saddle
               from a horse standing next to you.

          #monster
               Use  a monster's special ability (when polymorphed into mon-
               ster form).

          #name
               Name an item or type of object.

          #offer
               Offer a sacrifice to the gods.

          #pray
               Pray to the gods for help.

          #quit
               Quit the program without saving your game.

          #ride
               Ride (or stop riding) a monster.

          #rub Rub a lamp or a stone.

          #sit Sit down.

          #technique
               Perform a role or race specific technique.  A  menu  showing
               the  techniques  available  to  your  character will be dis-
               played.

          #turn
               Turn undead.

          #twoweapon
               Toggle two-weapon combat on or off.  Note that you must  use
               suitable  weapons for this type of combat, or it will be au-
               tomatically turned off.

          #untrap
               Untrap something (trap, door, or chest).

          #vanquished
               List vanquished monsters (whether by you or not).


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          #youpoly
               Polymorph yourself, if you have the ability.

          #version
               Print compile time options for this version of SLASH'EM.

          #wipe
               Wipe off your face.

          #?   Help menu:  get the list of available extended commands.

               If your keyboard has a meta key (which, when pressed in com-
          bination  with  another  key,  modifies  it by setting the `meta'
          [8th, or `high'] bit), you can invoke many extended  commands  by
          meta-ing  the  first  letter of the command.  In NT, OS/2, and PC
          SLASH'EM, the `Alt' key can be used in this fashion.

          M-?  #? (not supported by all platforms)

          M-2  #twoweapon (unless the number_pad option is enabled)

          M-a  #adjust

          M-b  #borrow

          M-c  #chat

          M-d  #dip

          M-e  #enhance

          M-f  #force

          M-i  #invoke

          M-j  #jump

          M-l  #loot

          M-m  #monster

          M-n  #name

          M-o  #offer

          M-p  #pray

          M-q  #quit

          M-r  #rub

          M-s  #sit




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          M-t  #technique

          M-u  #untrap

          M-v  #version

          M-w  #wipe

          M-y  #youpoly

               If the number_pad option is on, some additional letter  com-
          mands are available:

          h    Help  menu:   display  one  of several help texts available,
               like ``?''.

          j    Jump to another location.  Same as ``#jump'' or ``M-j''.

          k    Kick something (usually a door).  Same as `^D'.

          K    List vanquished monsters (whether by you or not).   Same  as
               ``#vanquished''.

          l    Loot  a  box  or bag on the floor beneath you, or the saddle
               from a horse standing next to you.   Same  as  ``#loot''  or
               ``M-l''.

          N    Name  an  item or type of object.  Same as ``#name'' or ``M-
               n''.

          u    Untrap a trap, door, or chest.  Same as ``#untrap'' or  ``M-
               u''.


          5.  Rooms and corridors

               Rooms  and  corridors in the dungeon are either lit or dark.
          Any lit areas within your line of sight will be  displayed;  dark
          areas  are  only  displayed  if they are within one space of you.
          Walls and corridors remain on the map as you explore them.

               Secret corridors are hidden.  You can find them with the `s'
          (search) command.

          5.1.  Doorways

               Doorways connect rooms and corridors.  Some doorways have no
          doors; you can walk right through.  Others have  doors  in  them,
          which may be open, closed, or locked.  To open a closed door, use
          the `o' (open) command; to close it again, use  the  `c'  (close)
          command.

               You  can  get  through a locked door by using a tool to pick
          the lock with the `a' (apply) command, or by kicking it open with


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          the `^D' (kick) command.

               Open  doors  cannot be entered diagonally; you must approach
          them straight on, horizontally or vertically.   Doorways  without
          doors are not restricted in this fashion.

               Doors  can  be  useful for shutting out monsters.  Most mon-
          sters cannot open doors, although a few don't need to (ex. ghosts
          can walk through doors).

               Secret  doors  are  hidden.   You can find them with the `s'
          (search) command.  Once found they are in all ways equivalent  to
          normal doors.

          5.2.  Traps (`^')

               There  are  traps throughout the dungeon to snare the unwary
          delver.  For example, you may suddenly fall into  a  pit  and  be
          stuck for a few turns trying to climb out.  Traps don't appear on
          your map until you see one triggered by moving onto it, see some-
          thing fall into it, or you discover it with the `s' (search) com-
          mand.  Monsters can fall prey to traps, too, which can be a  very
          useful defensive strategy.

               There is a special pre-mapped branch of the dungeon based on
          the classic computer game ``Sokoban.''  The goal is to  push  the
          boulders  into  the pits or holes.  With careful foresight, it is
          possible to complete all of the levels according  to  the  tradi-
          tional  rules  of Sokoban.  Some allowances are permitted in case
          the player gets stuck; however, they will lower your luck.

          5.3.  Stairs (`<', `>')

               In general, each level in the dungeon will have a  staircase
          going up (`<') to the previous level and another going down (`>')
          to the next level.  There are some exceptions  though.   For  in-
          stance,  fairly  early  in the dungeon you will find a level with
          two down staircases, one continuing into the dungeon and the oth-
          er  branching  into  an  area  known as the Gnomish Mines.  Those
          mines eventually hit a dead end, so after exploring them (if  you
          choose  to  do so), you'll need to climb back up to the main dun-
          geon.

               When you traverse a set of stairs, or trigger a  trap  which
          sends  you to another level, the level you're leaving will be de-
          activated and stored in a file on disk.  If you're  moving  to  a
          previously visited level, it will be loaded from its file on disk
          and reactivated.  If you're moving to a level which has  not  yet
          been  visited,  it  will be created (from scratch for most random
          levels, from a template for some ``special''  levels,  or  loaded
          from  the  remains  of  an  earlier game for a ``bones'' level as
          briefly described below).  Monsters are only active on  the  cur-
          rent  level;  those  on  other levels are essentially placed into
          stasis.


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               Ordinarily when you climb a set of stairs, you  will  arrive
          on  the  corresponding  staircase  at your destination.  However,
          pets (see below) and some other monsters  will  follow  along  if
          they're close enough when you travel up or down stairs, and occa-
          sionally one of these creatures  will  displace  you  during  the
          climb.  When that occurs, the pet or other monster will arrive on
          the staircase and you will end up nearby.

          5.4.  Ladders (`<', `>')

               Ladders serve the same purpose as staircases,  and  the  two
          types  of  inter-level  connections  are nearly indistinguishable
          during game play.

          5.5.  Shops and shopping

               Occasionally you will run across a room  with  a  shopkeeper
          near  the  door  and  many items lying on the floor.  You can buy
          items by picking them up and then using the `p' command.  You can
          inquire  about the price of an item prior to picking it up by us-
          ing the ``#chat'' command while standing on it.   Using  an  item
          prior  to  paying  for it will incur a charge, and the shopkeeper
          won't allow you to leave the shop until you have  paid  any  debt
          you owe.

               You  can  sell items to a shopkeeper by dropping them to the
          floor while inside a shop.  You will either be offered an  amount
          of  gold  and  asked whether you're willing to sell, or you'll be
          told that the shopkeeper isn't interested (generally,  your  item
          needs  to  be  compatible with the type of merchandise carried by
          the shop).

               If you drop something in a shop by accident, the  shopkeeper
          will  usually  claim ownership without offering any compensation.
          You'll have to buy it back if you want to reclaim it.

               Shopkeepers sometimes run out of money.  When that  happens,
          you'll  be  offered  credit  instead of gold when you try to sell
          something.  Credit can be used to pay for purchases,  but  it  is
          only  good  in  the shop where it was obtained; other shopkeepers
          won't honor it.  (If you happen to find a "credit  card"  in  the
          dungeon, don't bother trying to use it in shops; shopkeepers will
          not accept it.)

               The `$' command, which reports the amount of  gold  you  are
          carrying (in inventory, not inside bags or boxes), will also show
          current shop debt or credit, if any.  The `Iu' command lists  un-
          paid items (those which still belong to the shop) if you are car-
          rying any.  The `Ix' command shows an inventory-like  display  of
          any  unpaid  items which have been used up, along with other shop
          fees, if any.





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          5.5.1.  Shop idiosyncracies

               Several aspects of shop behavior might be unexpected.

          * The price of a given item can vary due to a variety of factors.

          * A shopkeeper treats the spot immediately inside the door as  if
            it were outside the shop.

          * While the shopkeeper watches you like a hawk, he will generally
            ignore any other customers.

          * If a shop is "closed for inventory", it will not  open  of  its
            own accord.

          * Shops do not get restocked with new items, regardless of inven-
            tory depletion.


          6.  Monsters

               Monsters you cannot see are not  displayed  on  the  screen.
          Beware!   You  may  suddenly come upon one in a dark place.  Some
          magic items can help you  locate  them  before  they  locate  you
          (which some monsters can do very well).

               The  commands  `/' and `;' may be used to obtain information
          about those monsters who are displayed on the screen.   The  com-
          mand  `C'  allows you to assign a name to a monster, which may be
          useful to help distinguish one from another  when  multiple  mon-
          sters  are  present.  Assigning a name which is just a space will
          remove any prior name.

               The extended command ``#chat'' can be used to interact  with
          an  adjacent monster.  There is no actual dialog (in other words,
          you don't get to choose what you'll say), but chatting with  some
          monsters such as a shopkeeper or the Oracle of Delphi can produce
          useful results.

          6.1.  Fighting

               If you see a monster and you wish to fight it, just  attempt
          to  walk  into  it.   Many  monsters you find will mind their own
          business unless you attack them.  Some of them are very dangerous
          when angered.  Remember:  discretion is the better part of valor.

               If  you  can't  see a monster (if it is invisible, or if you
          are blinded), the symbol `I' will be shown when you learn of  its
          presence.   If you attempt to walk into it, you will try to fight
          it just like a monster that you can see; of course, if  the  mon-
          ster has moved, you will attack empty air.  If you guess that the
          monster has moved and you don't wish to fight, you  can  use  the
          `m'  command to move without fighting; likewise, if you don't re-
          member a monster but want to try fighting anyway, you can use the


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          `F' command.

          6.2.  Your pet

               You  start the game with a little dog (`d'), cat (`f'), hell
          hound pup ('d'), winter wolf cub  ('d'),  ghoul  ('Z'),  or  pony
          (`u'),  which  follows  you about the dungeon and fights monsters
          with you.  With the exception of ghouls, your pet needs  food  to
          survive.   It  usually  feeds  itself  on fresh carrion and other
          meats.  If you're worried about it or want to train it,  you  can
          feed it, too, by throwing it food.  A properly trained pet can be
          very useful under certain circumstances.

               Your pet also gains experience from  killing  monsters,  and
          can  grow  over  time,  gaining hit points and doing more damage.
          Initially, your pet may even be better  at  killing  things  than
          you, which makes pets useful for low-level characters.

               Your  pet  will  follow  you up and down staircases if it is
          next to you when you move.  Otherwise your pet will  be  stranded
          and  may  become wild.  Similarly, when you trigger certain types
          of traps which alter your location (for  instance,  a  trap  door
          which  drops you to a lower dungeon level), any adjacent pet will
          accompany you and any non-adjacent pet will be left behind.  Your
          pet  may trigger such traps itself; you will not be carried along
          with it even if adjacent at the time.

          6.3.  Steeds

               Some types of creatures in the dungeon can actually be  rid-
          den if you have the right equipment and skill.  Convincing a wild
          beast to let you saddle it up is  difficult  to  say  the  least.
          Many  a dungeoneer has had to resort to magic and wizardry in or-
          der to forge the alliance.  Once you do have the beast under your
          control  however,  you  can easily climb in and out of the saddle
          with the `#ride' command.  Lead the beast around the dungeon when
          riding, in the same manner as you would move yourself.  It is the
          beast that you will see displayed on the map.

               Riding skill is managed by the `#enhance' command.  See  the
          section on Weapon proficiency for more information about that.

          6.4.  Bones levels

               You  may encounter the shades and corpses of other adventur-
          ers (or even former incarnations of yourself!) and their personal
          effects.   Ghosts  are  hard  to  kill,  but easy to avoid, since
          they're slow and do little damage.  You can plunder the  deceased
          adventurer's  possessions; however, they are likely to be cursed.
          Beware of whatever killed the former player; it is probably still
          lurking around, gloating over its last victory.





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          7.  Objects

               When you find something in the dungeon, it is common to want
          to pick it up.  In SLASH'EM, this is  accomplished  automatically
          by  walking  over  the object (unless you turn off the autopickup
          option (see below), or move with the `m' prefix (see above)),  or
          manually by using the `,' command.

               If you're carrying too many items, SLASH'EM will tell you so
          and you won't be able to pick up anything  more.   Otherwise,  it
          will  add  the  object(s) to your pack and tell you what you just
          picked up.

               As you add items to your inventory, you also add the  weight
          of  that  object to your load.  The amount that you can carry de-
          pends on your strength and your constitution.  The  stronger  you
          are, the less the additional load will affect you.  There comes a
          point, though, when the weight of all of that stuff you are  car-
          rying  around  with  you  through  the dungeon will encumber you.
          Your reactions will get slower and you'll burn  calories  faster,
          requiring  food  more  frequently  to  cope with it.  Eventually,
          you'll be so overloaded that you'll either have to  discard  some
          of what you're carrying or collapse under its weight.

               SLASH'EM  will  tell you how badly you have loaded yourself.
          The symbols `Burdened', `Stressed', `Strained',  `Overtaxed'  and
          `Overloaded' are displayed on the bottom line display to indicate
          your condition.

               When you pick up an object, it is assigned an inventory let-
          ter.   Many commands that operate on objects must ask you to find
          out which object you want to use.   When  SLASH'EM  asks  you  to
          choose a particular object you are carrying, you are usually pre-
          sented with a list of inventory letters to choose from (see  Com-
          mands, above).

               Some  objects,  such  as weapons, are easily differentiated.
          Others, like scrolls and potions, are  given  descriptions  which
          vary  according to type.  During a game, any two objects with the
          same description are the same type.   However,  the  descriptions
          will vary from game to game.

               When you use one of these objects, if its effect is obvious,
          SLASH'EM will remember what it is for you.  If its  effect  isn't
          extremely  obvious,  you will be asked what you want to call this
          type of object so you will recognize it later.  You can also  use
          the  ``#name''  command for the same purpose at any time, to name
          all objects of a particular type or just  an  individual  object.
          When you use ``#name'' on an object which has already been named,
          specifying a space as the value will remove the  prior  name  in-
          stead of assigning a new one.





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          7.1.  Curses and Blessings

               Any  object  that you find may be cursed, even if the object
          is otherwise helpful.  The most common effect of a curse is being
          stuck  with (and to) the item.  Cursed weapons weld themselves to
          your hand when wielded, so you cannot unwield them.   Any  cursed
          item  you  wear is not removable by ordinary means.  In addition,
          cursed arms and armor usually, but not always, bear negative  en-
          chantments that make them less effective in combat.  Other cursed
          objects may act poorly or detrimentally in other ways.

               Objects can also be blessed.   Blessed  items  usually  work
          better  or more beneficially than normal uncursed items.  For ex-
          ample, a blessed weapon will do more damage against demons.

               There are magical means of bestowing or removing curses upon
          objects,  so  even  if you are stuck with one, you can still have
          the curse lifted and the item removed.  Priests  and  Priestesses
          have  an  innate  sensitivity  to this property in any object, so
          they can more easily avoid cursed objects  than  other  character
          roles.

               An  item with unknown status will be reported in your inven-
          tory with no prefix.  An item which you know the state of will be
          distinguished  in  your  inventory  by  the  presence of the word
          ``cursed'', ``uncursed'' or ``blessed'' in the description of the
          item.

          7.2.  Weapons (`)')

               Given  a  chance,  most monsters in the Mazes of Menace will
          gratuitously try to kill you.  You need weapons for  self-defense
          (killing  them  first).   Without  a  weapon, you do only 1-2 hit
          points of damage (plus bonuses, if any).  Monk characters are  an
          exception; they normally do much more damage with bare hands than
          they do with weapons.

               There are wielded weapons, like maces and swords, and thrown
          weapons,  like arrows and spears.  To hit monsters with a weapon,
          you must wield it and attack them, or throw it at them.  You  can
          simply elect to throw a spear.

               To  shoot an arrow, you should first wield a bow, then throw
          the arrow.  An alternative method would be wield a bow and  place
          the  arrows  in your Quiver, after which you fire the ammunition.
          Rangers and the like may find that having a  bow  as  their  sec-
          ondary  weapon  is  a  useful combination. In order to use a sec-
          ondary weapon to fire ammunition however, it must first be  moved
          to  the  primary  weapon slot. The ``x'' command is available for
          this use.  Crossbows shoot crossbow bolts.  Slings hurl rocks and
          (other) stones (like gems).

               Enchanted weapons have a ``plus'' (or ``to hit enhancement''
          which can be either positive  or  negative)  that  adds  to  your


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          chance  to  hit and the damage you do to a monster.  The only way
          to determine a weapon's enchantment is to have it magically iden-
          tified  somehow.  Most weapons are subject to some type of damage
          like rust.  Such ``erosion'' damage can be repaired.

               The chance that an attack will successfully hit  a  monster,
          and  the  amount  of damage such a hit will do, depends upon many
          factors.  Among them are: type of weapon, quality of weapon  (en-
          chantment and/or erosion), experience level, strength, dexterity,
          encumbrance, and proficiency (see below).   The  monster's  armor
          class  - a general defense rating, not necessarily due to wearing
          of armor - is a factor too; also, some monsters are  particularly
          vulnerable to certain types of weapons.

               Many  weapons  can be wielded in one hand; some require both
          hands.  When wielding a two-handed weapon, you  can  not  wear  a
          shield,  and  vice versa.  When wielding a one-handed weapon, you
          can have another weapon ready to use by setting  things  up  with
          the  `x'  command,  which  exchanges  your primary (the one being
          wielded) and alternate weapons.  And if you have  proficiency  in
          the  ``two  weapon combat'' skill, you may wield both weapons si-
          multaneously as primary and secondary; use the  `#twoweapon'  ex-
          tended  command  to engage or disengage that.  Only some types of
          characters (barbarians, for instance) have  the  necessary  skill
          available.   Even  with that skill, using two weapons at once in-
          curs a penalty in the chance to hit your target compared to using
          just one weapon at a time.

               There  might be times when you'd rather not wield any weapon
          at all.  To accomplish that, wield `-', or else use the `A'  com-
          mand  which  allows you to unwield the current weapon in addition
          to taking off other worn items.

               Those of you in the audience who are AD&D players, be  aware
          that each weapon which existed in AD&D does roughly the same dam-
          age to monsters in SLASH'EM.  Some of the  more  obscure  weapons
          (such as the aklys, lucern hammer, and bec-de-corbin) are defined
          in an appendix to Unearthed Arcana, an AD&D supplement.

               The commands to use weapons are `w'  (wield),  `t'  (throw),
          `f'  (fire,  an  alternative  way of throwing), `Q' (quiver), `x'
          (exchange), `#twoweapon', and `#enhance' (see below).

          7.2.1.  Throwing and shooting

               You can throw just about anything via the `t'  command.   It
          will  prompt  for the item to throw; picking `?' will list things
          in your inventory which are considered likely to  be  thrown,  or
          picking `*' will list your entire inventory.  After you've chosen
          what to throw, you will be prompted for a direction  rather  than
          for  a specific target.  The distance something can be thrown de-
          pends mainly on the type of object and your strength.  Arrows can
          be  thrown  by  hand,  but can be thrown much farther and will be
          more likely to hit when thrown while you are wielding a bow.


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               You can simplify the throwing operation  by  using  the  `Q'
          command  to select your preferred ``missile'', then using the `f'
          command to throw it.  You'll  be  prompted  for  a  direction  as
          above,  but  you  don't  have to specify which item to throw each
          time you use `f'.  There is also an option, autoquiver, which has
          SLASH'EM  choose  another  item to automatically fill your quiver
          when the inventory slot used for `Q' runs out.

               Some characters have the ability to fire a volley of  multi-
          ple  items  in a single turn.  Knowing how to load several rounds
          of ammunition at once -- or hold several missiles in your hand --
          and  still  hit  a target is not an easy task.  Rangers are among
          those who are adept at this task, as are those with a high  level
          of  proficiency  in  the  relevant  weapon skill (in bow skill if
          you're wielding one to shoot arrows, in crossbow skill if  you're
          wielding one to shoot bolts, or in sling skill if you're wielding
          one to shoot stones).  The number of items that the character has
          a  chance  to  fire varies from turn to turn.  You can explicitly
          limit the number of shots by using a numeric  prefix  before  the
          `t'  or  `f'  command.   For example, ``2f'' (or ``n2f'' if using
          number_pad mode) would ensure that at most 2 arrows are shot even
          if  you  could have fired 3.  If you specify a larger number than
          would have been shot (``4f'' in this example), you'll just end up
          shooting the same number (3, here) as if no limit had been speci-
          fied.  Once the volley is in motion, all of the items will travel
          in the same direction; if the first ones kill a monster, the oth-
          ers can still continue beyond that spot.

          7.2.2.  Weapon proficiency

               You will have varying degrees of skill in the weapons avail-
          able.   Weapon proficiency, or weapon skills, affect how well you
          can use particular types of weapons, and you'll be  able  to  im-
          prove  your  skills  as you progress through a game, depending on
          your role, your experience level, and use of the weapons.

               For the purposes of proficiency, weapons have  been  divided
          up   into  various  groups  such  as  daggers,  broadswords,  and
          polearms.  Each role has a limit on what level of  proficiency  a
          character  can achieve for each group.  For instance, wizards can
          become highly skilled in daggers or staves but not in  swords  or
          bows.

               The  `#enhance'  extended  command is used to review current
          weapons proficiency (also spell proficiency) and to choose  which
          skill(s) to improve when you've used one or more skills enough to
          become eligible to do so.  The skill rankings are ``none'' (some-
          times  also  referred  to as ``restricted'', because you won't be
          able to  advance),  ``unskilled'',  ``basic'',  ``skilled'',  and
          ``expert''.  Restricted skills simply will not appear in the list
          shown by `#enhance'.  (Divine  intervention  might  unrestrict  a
          particular skill, in which case it will start at unskilled and be
          limited to basic.)  Some characters can enhance their  barehanded
          combat  or  martial  arts  skill  beyond  expert to ``master'' or


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          ``grand master''.

               Use of a weapon in which you're restricted or unskilled will
          incur a modest penalty in the chance to hit a monster and also in
          the amount of damage done when you do hit; at basic level,  there
          is  no  penalty  or bonus; at skilled level, you receive a modest
          bonus in the chance to hit and amount of damage done;  at  expert
          level,  the  bonus  is  higher.  A successful hit has a chance to
          boost your training towards the next skill level  (unless  you've
          already  reached  the  limit for this skill).  Once such training
          reaches the threshold for that next level, you'll  be  told  that
          you  feel  more  confident in your skills.  At that point you can
          use `#enhance' to increase one or more skills.  Such  skills  are
          not  increased automatically because there is a limit to your to-
          tal overall skills, so you need to actively choose  which  skills
          to enhance and which to ignore.

          7.3.  Armor (`[')

               Lots of unfriendly things lurk about; you need armor to pro-
          tect yourself from their blows.  Some types of armor offer better
          protection  than  others.   Your armor class is a measure of this
          protection.  Armor class (AC) is measured as in AD&D, with 10 be-
          ing  the equivalent of no armor, and lower numbers meaning better
          armor.  Each suit of armor which exists in AD&D  gives  the  same
          protection  in SLASH'EM.  Here is an (incomplete) list of the ar-
          mor classes provided by various suits of armor:

                             dragon scale mail         1
                             plate mail                3
                             crystal plate mail        3
                             bronze plate mail         4
                             splint mail               4
                             banded mail               4
                             dwarvish mithril-coat     4
                             elven mithril-coat        5
                             chain mail                5
                             orcish chain mail         6
                             scale mail                6
                             studded leather armor     7
                             ring mail                 7
                             orcish ring mail          8
                             leather armor             8
                             leather jacket            9
                             no armor                 10

               You can also wear other pieces of armor (ex. helmets, boots,
          shields,  cloaks) to lower your armor class even further, but you
          can only wear one item of each category (one suit of  armor,  one
          cloak, one helmet, one shield, and so on) at a time.

               If  a piece of armor is enchanted, its armor protection will
          be better (or worse) than normal, and  its  ``plus''  (or  minus)
          will  subtract  from  your  armor class.  For example, a +1 chain


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          mail would give you better protection  than  normal  chain  mail,
          lowering your armor class one unit further to 4.  When you put on
          a piece of armor, you immediately find out the  armor  class  and
          any ``plusses'' it provides.  Cursed pieces of armor usually have
          negative enchantments (minuses) in addition to being unremovable.

               Many types of armor are subject to some kind of damage  like
          rust.   Such damage can be repaired.  Some types of armor may in-
          hibit spell casting.

               The commands to use armor are `W' (wear) and `T' (take off).
          The  `A'  command  can  also be used to take off armor as well as
          other worn items.

          7.4.  Food (`%')

               Food is necessary to survive.  If you go  too  long  without
          eating  you  will  faint, and eventually die of starvation.  Some
          types of food will spoil, and become unhealthy  to  eat,  if  not
          protected.  Food stored in ice boxes or tins (``cans'') will usu-
          ally stay fresh, but ice boxes are heavy, and tins take  a  while
          to open.

               When you kill monsters, they usually leave corpses which are
          also ``food.''  Many, but not all, of these are edible; some also
          give  you special powers when you eat them.  A good rule of thumb
          is ``you are what you eat.''

               Some character roles and some monsters are vegetarian.  Veg-
          etarian  monsters  will typically never eat animal corpses, while
          vegetarian players can, but with some rather unpleasant  side-ef-
          fects.

               You  can  name one food item after something you like to eat
          with the fruit option.

               The command to eat food is `e'.

          7.5.  Scrolls (`?')

               Scrolls are labeled with various titles, probably chosen  by
          ancient  wizards  for  their amusement value (ex. ``READ ME,'' or
          ``THANX MAUD'' backwards).  Scrolls disappear after you read them
          (except for blank ones, without magic spells on them).

               One  of  the most useful of these is the scroll of identify,
          which can be used to determine what another object is, whether it
          is  cursed  or  blessed, and how many uses it has left.  Some ob-
          jects of subtle enchantment are  difficult  to  identify  without
          these.

               A mail daemon may run up and deliver mail to you as a scroll
          of mail (on versions compiled with this feature).   To  use  this
          feature  on versions where SLASH'EM mail delivery is triggered by


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          electronic mail appearing in your system mailbox,  you  must  let
          SLASH'EM  know where to look for new mail by setting the ``MAIL''
          environment variable to the file name of your mailbox.   You  may
          also  want  to set the ``MAILREADER'' environment variable to the
          file name of your favorite reader, so SLASH'EM can  shell  to  it
          when  you read the scroll.  On versions of SLASH'EM where mail is
          randomly generated internal to the game, these environment  vari-
          ables  are  ignored.   You can disable the mail daemon by turning
          off the mail option.

               The command to read a scroll is `r'.

          7.6.  Potions (`!')

               Potions are distinguished by the color of the liquid  inside
          the flask.  They disappear after you quaff them.

               Clear  potions  are  potions  of water.  Sometimes these are
          blessed or cursed, resulting in holy or unholy water.  Holy water
          is  the  bane  of  the  undead, so potions of holy water are good
          things to throw (`t') at them.  It is also sometimes very  useful
          to dip (``#dip'') an object into a potion.

               The command to drink a potion is `q' (quaff).

          7.7.  Wands (`/')

               Magic  wands  usually  have  multiple magical charges.  Some
          wands are directional--you must give a direction in which to  zap
          them.   You can also zap them at yourself (just give a `.' or `s'
          for the direction). Be warned, however, for this is often unwise.
          Other  wands  are nondirectional--they don't require a direction.
          The number of charges in a wand is random and  decreases  by  one
          whenever you use it.

               When  the number of charges left in a wand becomes zero, at-
          tempts to use the wand will usually result in nothing  happening.
          Occasionally, however, it may be possible to squeeze the last few
          mana points from an otherwise spent wand, destroying  it  in  the
          process.   A  wand  may be recharged by using suitable magic, but
          doing so runs the risk of causing it to explode.  The chance  for
          such  an  explosion starts out very small and increases each time
          the wand is recharged.

               In a truly desperate situation, when your back is up against
          the  wall,  you might decide to go for broke and break your wand.
          This is not for the faint of heart.  Doing so  will  almost  cer-
          tainly cause a catastrophic release of magical energies.

               When  you have fully identified a particular wand, inventory
          display will include additional information in  parentheses:  the
          number  of  times  it  has been recharged followed by a colon and
          then by its current number of charges.  A current charge count of
          -1 is a special case indicating that the wand has been cancelled.


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               The  command  to use a wand is `z' (zap).  To break one, use
          the `a' (apply) command.

          7.8.  Rings (`=')

               Rings are very useful items, since they are relatively  per-
          manent  magic,  unlike  the  usually fleeting effects of potions,
          scrolls, and wands.

               Putting on a ring activates its magic.  You  can  wear  only
          two rings, one on each ring finger.

               Most  rings  also cause you to grow hungry more rapidly, the
          rate varying with the type of ring.

               The commands to use rings are `P' (put on) and `R' (remove).

          7.9.  Spellbooks (`+')

               Spellbooks are tomes of mighty magic.  When studied with the
          `r'  (read) command, they transfer to the reader the knowledge of
          a spell (and therefore eventually become  unreadable)  --  unless
          the  attempt  backfires.   Reading a cursed spellbook or one with
          mystic runes beyond your ken can be harmful to your health!

               A spell (even when learned) can also backfire when you  cast
          it.   If  you  attempt to cast a spell well above your experience
          level, or if you have little skill  with  the  appropriate  spell
          type,  or  cast  it at a time when your luck is particularly bad,
          you can end up wasting both the energy and the time  required  in
          casting.

               Casting  a  spell  calls  forth magical energies and focuses
          them with your naked mind.  Some of the magical  energy  released
          comes  from  within  you, and casting several spells in a row may
          tire you.  Casting of spells also requires practice.  With  prac-
          tice,  your skill in each category of spell casting will improve.
          Over time, however, your memory of each spell will dim if you  do
          not  use it, and you will need to relearn it. Casting a spell re-
          inforces your memory of it, so you may never need  to  relearn  a
          frequently used spell.

               Some  spells  are  directional--you must give a direction in
          which to cast them.  You can also cast  them  at  yourself  (just
          give  a  `.'  or  `s' for the direction). Be warned, however, for
          this is often  unwise.   Other  spells  are  nondirectional--they
          don't require a direction.

               Just as weapons are divided into groups in which a character
          can become proficient (to varying degrees), spells are  similarly
          grouped.  Successfully casting a spell exercises the skill group;
          sufficient skill may increase the potency of the spell and reduce
          the  risk  of spell failure.  Skill slots are shared with weapons
          skills.  (See also the section on ``Weapon proficiency''.)


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               Casting a spell also requires flexible movement, and wearing
          various types of armor may interfere with that.

               The  command to read a spellbook is the same as for scrolls,
          `r' (read).  The `+' command lists  your  current  spells,  their
          levels, categories, and chances for failure.  The `Z' (cast) com-
          mand casts a spell.  The ``#enhance'' extended  command  advances
          your spellcasting skills.

          7.10.  Tools (`(')

               Tools are miscellaneous objects with various purposes.  Some
          tools have a limited number of uses, akin to wand  charges.   For
          example,  lamps burn out after a while.  Other tools are contain-
          ers, which objects can be placed into or taken out of.

               The command to use tools is `a' (apply).

          7.10.1.  Containers

               You may encounter bags, boxes, and chests in  your  travels.
          A  tool  of  this  sort can be opened with the ``#loot'' extended
          command when you are standing on top of it (that is, on the  same
          floor  spot), or with the `a' (apply) command when you are carry-
          ing it.  However, chests are often locked, and are  in  any  case
          unwieldy  objects.   You must set one down before unlocking it by
          using a key or lock-picking tool with the `a' (apply) command, by
          kicking  it  with the `^D' command, or by using a weapon to force
          the lock with the ``#force'' extended command.

               Some chests are trapped, causing nasty things to happen when
          you unlock or open them.  You can check for and try to deactivate
          traps with the ``#untrap'' extended command.

          7.11.  Amulets (`"')

               Amulets are very similar to rings, and often more  powerful.
          Like rings, amulets have various magical properties, some benefi-
          cial, some harmful, which are activated by putting them on.

               Only one amulet may be worn at a time, around your neck.

               The commands to use amulets are the same as for  rings,  `P'
          (put on) and `R' (remove).

          7.12.  Gems (`*')

               Some  gems  are valuable, and can be sold for a lot of gold.
          They are also a far more efficient way of carrying  your  riches.
          Valuable gems increase your score if you bring them with you when
          you exit.

               Other small rocks are also categorized as gems, but they are
          much   less  valuable.   All  rocks,  however,  can  be  used  as


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          projectile weapons (if you have a sling).  In the most  desperate
          of cases, you can still throw them by hand.

          7.13.  Large rocks (``')

               Statues  and  boulders  are not particularly useful, and are
          generally heavy.  It is rumored that some statues  are  not  what
          they seem.

               Very  large humanoids (giants and their ilk) have been known
          to use boulders as weapons.

          7.14.  Gold (`$')

               Gold adds to your score, and you can  buy  things  in  shops
          with  it.  There are a number of monsters in the dungeon that may
          be influenced by the amount of gold you are carrying (shopkeepers
          aside).


          8.  Conduct

               As  if  winning  SLASH'EM were not difficult enough, certain
          players seek to challenge themselves by imposing restrictions  on
          the  way  they play the game.  The game automatically tracks some
          of these challenges, which can be checked at any  time  with  the
          #conduct  command or at the end of the game.  When you perform an
          action which breaks a challenge, it will  no  longer  be  listed.
          This gives players extra ``bragging rights'' for winning the game
          with these challenges.  Note that it is perfectly  acceptable  to
          win  the game without resorting to these restrictions and that it
          is unusual for players to adhere to  challenges  the  first  time
          they win the game.

               Several  of  the  challenges are related to eating behavior.
          The most difficult of these is the foodless challenge.   Although
          creatures can survive long periods of time without food, there is
          a physiological need for water; thus there is no  restriction  on
          drinking  beverages,  even  if they provide some minor food bene-
          fits.  Calling upon your god for help with  starvation  does  not
          violate any food challenges either.

               A  strict  vegan  diet  is one which avoids any food derived
          from animals.  The primary source of nutrition is fruits and veg-
          etables.  The corpses and tins of blobs (`b'), jellies (`j'), and
          fungi (`F') are also considered to be vegetable matter.   Certain
          human  food  is  prepared without animal products; namely, lembas
          wafers, cram rations, food rations (gunyoki), K-rations,  and  C-
          rations.   Metal  or another normally indigestible material eaten
          while polymorphed into a creature that can digest it is also con-
          sidered  vegan  food.   Note however that eating such items still
          counts against foodless conduct.




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               Vegetarians do not eat animals; however, they are  less  se-
          lective  about eating animal byproducts than vegans.  In addition
          to the vegan items listed above, they may eat any kind of pudding
          (`P') other than the black puddings, eggs and food made from eggs
          (fortune cookies and pancakes), food made with milk  (cream  pies
          and candy bars), and lumps of royal jelly.  Monks are expected to
          observe a vegetarian diet.

               Eating any kind of meat violates the vegetarian, vegan,  and
          foodless  conducts.   This includes tripe rations, the corpses or
          tins of any monsters not mentioned above, and the  various  other
          chunks  of meat found in the dungeon.  Swallowing and digesting a
          monster while polymorphed is treated as if you ate the creature's
          corpse.   Eating  leather, dragon hide, or bone items while poly-
          morphed into a creature that can digest  it,  or  eating  monster
          brains while polymorphed into a mind flayer, is considered eating
          an animal, although wax is only an animal byproduct.

               Regardless of conduct, there will be some  items  which  are
          indigestible,  and  others  which  are hazardous to eat.  Using a
          swallow-and-digest attack against a monster is equivalent to eat-
          ing the monster's corpse.  Please note that the term ``vegan'' is
          used here only in the context of diet.  You  are  still  free  to
          choose  not  to  use  or  wear  items  derived from animals (e.g.
          leather, dragon hide, bone, horns, coral), but the game will  not
          keep track of this for you.  Also note that ``milky'' potions may
          be a translucent white, but they do not contain milk, so they are
          compatible  with  a  vegan  diet.   Slime molds or player-defined
          ``fruits'', although they could be anything from ``cherries''  to
          ``pork chops'', are also assumed to be vegan.

               An atheist is one who rejects religion.  This means that you
          cannot #pray, #offer sacrifices to  any  god,  #turn  undead,  or
          #chat  with  a  priest.  Particularly selective readers may argue
          that playing Monk or Priest characters should violate  this  con-
          duct;  that  is a choice left to the player.  Offering the Amulet
          of Yendor to your god is necessary to win the  game  and  is  not
          counted against this conduct.  You are also not penalized for be-
          ing spoken to by an angry god, priest(ess),  or  other  religious
          figure; a true atheist would hear the words but attach no special
          meaning to them.

               Most players fight with a wielded weapon (or  tool  intended
          to be wielded as a weapon).  Another challenge is to win the game
          without using such a wielded weapon.  You are still permitted  to
          throw,  fire,  and kick weapons; use a wand, spell, or other type
          of item; or fight with your hands and feet.

               In SLASH'EM, a pacifist refuses to cause the  death  of  any
          other  monster  (i.e. if you would get experience for the death).
          This is a particularly difficult challenge, although it is  still
          possible to gain experience by other means.




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               An illiterate character cannot read or write.  This includes
          reading a scroll, spellbook, fortune cookie message, or  t-shirt;
          writing a scroll; or reading (or making) an engraving of anything
          other than a single ``x'' (the traditional signature of an illit-
          erate  person).  Reading any item that is absolutely necessary to
          win the game is not counted against this conduct.   The  identity
          of  scrolls  and  spellbooks  (and  knowledge  of spells) in your
          starting inventory is assumed to be learned  from  your  teachers
          prior to the start of the game and isn't counted.

               There  are several other challenges tracked by the game.  It
          is possible to eliminate one or more species of monsters by geno-
          cide;  playing  without  this  feature is considered a challenge.
          When the game offers you an opportunity to genocide monsters, you
          may  respond  with  the  monster type ``none'' if you want to de-
          cline.  You can change the form of an item into another  item  of
          the  same type (``polypiling'') or the form of your own body into
          another creature (``polyself'') by  wand,  spell,  or  potion  of
          polymorph; avoiding these effects are each considered challenges.
          Polymorphing monsters, including pets, does not break  either  of
          these  challenges.   Finally, you may sometimes receive wishes; a
          game without an attempt to wish for any items is a challenge,  as
          is  a  game without wishing for an artifact (even if the artifact
          immediately disappears).  When the game offers you an opportunity
          to  make  a  wish  for an item, you may choose ``nothing'' if you
          want to decline.


          9.  Options

               Due to variations in personal tastes and conceptions of  how
          SLASH'EM  should  do  things,  there  are  options you can set to
          change how SLASH'EM behaves.

          9.1.  Setting the options

               Options may be set in a number of ways.   Within  the  game,
          the `O' command allows you to view all options and change most of
          them.  You can also set options automatically by placing them  in
          the  SLASHEMOPTIONS  environment  variable  or in a configuration
          file.  Some versions of SLASH'EM  also  have  front-end  programs
          that allow you to set options before starting the game.

          9.2.  Using the SLASHEMOPTIONS environment variable

               The  SLASHEMOPTIONS  variable  is  a comma-separated list of
          initial values for the various options.  Some can only be  turned
          on  or  off.   You turn one of these on by adding the name of the
          option to the list, and turn it off by typing a `!' or ``no'' be-
          fore  the  name.  Others take a character string as a value.  You
          can set string options by typing the  option  name,  a  colon  or
          equals sign, and then the value of the string.  The value is ter-
          minated by the next comma or the end of string.



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               For example, to set up an environment variable so that ``au-
          toquiver''  is  on,  ``autopickup''  is  off,  the name is set to
          ``Blue Meanie'', and the fruit is set to  ``papaya'',  you  would
          enter the command

               % setenv SLASHEMOPTIONS "autoquiver,\!autopickup,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:papaya"

          in  csh  (note the need to escape the ! since it's special to the
          shell), or

               $ SLASHEMOPTIONS="autoquiver,!autopickup,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:papaya"
               $ export SLASHEMOPTIONS

          in sh or ksh.

          9.3.  Using a configuration file

               Any line in the configuration  file  starting  with  `#'  is
          treated  as a comment.  Any line in the configuration file start-
          ing with ``OPTIONS='' may be filled out with options in the  same
          syntax  as  in  SLASHEMOPTIONS.   Any  line  starting with ``DUN-
          GEON='', ``EFFECTS='', ``MONSTERS='',  ``OBJECTS='',  ``TRAPS='',
          or  ``BOULDER=''  is taken as defining the corresponding dungeon,
          effects, monsters, objects traps or boulder option in a different
          syntax,  a sequence of decimal numbers giving the character posi-
          tion in the current font to be used in displaying each entry.   A
          zero  in  any entry in such a sequence leaves the display of that
          entry unchanged; this feature is not available using  the  option
          syntax.   Such  a  sequence can be continued to multiple lines by
          putting a `\' at the end of each line to be continued.  Any  line
          starting  with ``TILESET='' defines a tile set in the same syntax
          as in SLASHEMOPTIONS (although the options  are  different).  See
          the section on tile sets, below, for more information.

               If your copy of the game included the compile time AUTOPICK-
          UP_EXCEPTIONS option, then any  line  starting  with  ``AUTOPICK-
          UP_EXCEPTION=''  is  taken  as defining an exception to the pick-
          up_types option.  There is a section of this Guidebook that  dis-
          cusses that.

               The default name of the configuration file varies on differ-
          ent operating systems, but SLASHEMOPTIONS can also be set to  the
          full  name  of  a  file  you want to use (possibly preceded by an
          `@').

          9.4.  Customization options

               Here are explanations of what the various options do.  Char-
          acter  strings  that  are too long may be truncated.  Some of the
          options listed may be inactive in your dungeon.

          align
            Your  starting  alignment  (align:lawful,   align:neutral,   or
            align:chaotic).   You  may  specify just the first letter.  The


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            default is to randomly pick an appropriate  alignment.   Cannot
            be set with the `O' command.

          autodig
            Automatically dig if you are wielding a digging tool and moving
            into a place that can be dug (default false).

          autopickup
            Automatically pick up things onto which you move (default  on).
            See pickup_types to refine the behavior.

          autoquiver
            This  option  controls  what  happens  when you attempt the `f'
            (fire) command with an empty quiver.  When true,  the  computer
            will  fill your quiver with some suitable weapon.  Note that it
            will not take into account the blessed/cursed status,  enchant-
            ment, damage, or quality of the weapon; you are free to manual-
            ly fill your quiver with the `Q' command instead.  If no weapon
            is found or the option is false, the `t' (throw) command is ex-
            ecuted instead.  (default false)

          boulder
            Set the character used to display  boulders  (default  is  rock
            class symbol).

          catname
            Name your starting cat (ex. ``catname:Morris'').  Cannot be set
            with the `O' command.

          character
            Pick your type of character (ex.  ``character:Monk'');  synonym
            for ``role''.  See ``name'' for an alternate method of specify-
            ing your role.  Normally only the first letter of the value  is
            examined; the string ``random'' is an exception.

          checkpoint
            Save  game state after each level change, for possible recovery
            after program crash (default on).

          checkspace
            Check free disk space before writing  files  to  disk  (default
            on).   You may have to turn this off if you have more than 2 GB
            free space on the partition used for your save and level files.
            Only applies when MFLOPPY was defined during compilation.

          cmdassist
            Have  the  game  provide some additional command assistance for
            new players if it detects some  anticipated  mistakes  (default
            on).

          confirm
            Have  user  confirm  attacks  on  pets,  shopkeepers, and other
            peaceable creatures (default on).



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          DECgraphics
            Use a predefined selection  of  characters  from  the  DEC  VT-
            xxx/DEC  Rainbow/ANSI line-drawing character set to display the
            dungeon/effects/traps instead of having to define a full graph-
            ics set yourself (default off).  This option also sets up prop-
            er handling of graphics characters for such terminals,  so  you
            should specify it when appropriate even if you override the se-
            lections with your own graphics strings.

          disclose
            Controls options for disclosing various  information  when  the
            game ends (defaults to all possibilities being disclosed).  The
            possibilities are:

                 i - disclose your inventory.
                 a - disclose your attributes.
                 v - summarize monsters that have been vanquished.
                 g - list monster species that have been genocided.
                 c - display your conduct.

            Each disclosure possibility can optionally  be  preceded  by  a
            prefix  which let you refine how it behaves. Here are the valid
            prefixes:

                 y - prompt you and default to yes on the prompt.
                 n - prompt you and default to no on the prompt.
                 - disclose it without prompting.
                 - - do not disclose it and do not prompt.

            (ex. ``disclose:yi na +v -g -c'') The example sets inventory to
            prompt  and default to yes, attributes to prompt and default to
            no, vanquished to disclose without prompting, genocided to  not
            disclose  and not to prompt, conduct to not disclose and not to
            prompt.  Note that the vanquished monsters  list  includes  all
            monsters killed by traps and each other as well as by you.

          dogname
            Name  your  starting dog (ex. ``dogname:Fang'').  Cannot be set
            with the `O' command.

          dumpfile
            The name of a file where the disclosure information is  written
            when  the  game ends. You may use the macro %n that will be re-
            placed with the name of your player character.  The  game  must
            have write permissions to the directory where the file is writ-
            ten. Normally /tmp may be used for unix systems.

          dungeon
            Set the graphics symbols for displaying  the  dungeon  (default
            `` |--------||.-|++##.##<><>_|\\##{}.}..## #}'').   The dungeon
            option should be followed by a string of 1-42 characters to  be
            used  instead  of the default map-drawing characters.  The dun-
            geon map will use the characters you specify instead of the de-
            fault  symbols, and default symbols for any you do not specify.


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            Remember that you may need to escape some of  these  characters
            on a command line if they are special to your shell.

            Note  that SLASH'EM escape-processes this option string in con-
            ventional C fashion.  This means that `\' is a prefix  to  take
            the following character literally.  Thus `\' needs to be repre-
            sented as `\\'.  The special escape form `\m' switches  on  the
            meta  bit in the following character, and the `^' prefix causes
            the following character to be treated as a control character.

            The order of the symbols is:  solid rock, vertical wall,  hori-
            zontal  wall, upper left corner, upper right corner, lower left
            corner, lower right corner, cross wall, upward T wall, downward
            T  wall,  leftward  T wall, rightward T wall, no door, vertical
            open door, horizontal open door, vertical closed door, horizon-
            tal  closed door, iron bars, tree, floor of a room, dark corri-
            dor, lit corridor, stairs up, stairs down,  ladder  up,  ladder
            down,  altar,  grave,  throne,  kitchen sink, toilet, fountain,
            pool or moat, ice, lava, vertical lowered drawbridge,  horizon-
            tal  lowered drawbridge, vertical raised drawbridge, horizontal
            raised drawbridge, air, cloud, under water.

            You might want to use `+' for the corners and  T  walls  for  a
            more aesthetic, boxier display.  Note that in the next release,
            new symbols may be added, or the present ones rearranged.

            Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          effects
            Set the graphics symbols for displaying  special  effects  (de-
            fault
            ``|-\\/*!)(0#@*/-\\||\\-//-\\| |\\-//-\\| |\\-//-\\| |\\-//-\\| |\\-//-\\| |\\-//-\\| |\\-//-\\| |\\-/'').
            The effects option should be followed by a string of 1-83 char-
            acters to be used instead of the default special-effects  char-
            acters.  This string is subjected to the same processing as the
            dungeon option.

            The order of the symbols is:  vertical beam,  horizontal  beam,
            left  slant, right slant, digging beam, camera flash beam, left
            boomerang, right boomerang, four glyphs giving the sequence for
            magic  resistance  displays,  the  eight surrounding glyphs for
            swallowed display, nine glyphs each for  magical,  fire,  cold,
            death,  lightning,  poison  and  acid explosions.  An explosion
            consists of three rows (top, middle, and bottom) of three char-
            acters.  The explosion is centered in the center of this 3 by 3
            array.

            Note that in the next release, new symbols may be added, or the
            present ones rearranged.

            Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          extmenu
            Changes  the  extended  commands  interface to pop-up a menu of


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            available commands.  It is keystroke compatible with the tradi-
            tional  interface  except that it does not require that you hit
            Enter. It is implemented only by the tty  port  (default  off),
            when the game has been compiled to support tty graphics.

          female
            An  obsolete synonym for ``gender:female''.  Cannot be set with
            the `O' command.

          fixinv
            An object's inventory letter sticks to  it  when  it's  dropped
            (default  on).   If  this is off, dropping an object shifts all
            the remaining inventory letters.

          fruit
            Name a fruit after something you enjoy eating (ex. ``fruit:man-
            go'')  (default  ``slime mold'').  Basically a nostalgic whimsy
            that SLASH'EM uses from time to time.  You should set  this  to
            something  you  find  more appetizing than slime mold.  Apples,
            oranges, pears, bananas, and melons already exist in  SLASH'EM,
            so don't use those.

          gender
            Your  starting  gender (gender:male or gender:female).  You may
            specify just the first letter.  Although you can  still  denote
            your  gender  using  the  ``male''  and ``female'' options, the
            ``gender'' option will take precedence.  The default is to ran-
            domly  pick  an appropriate gender.  Cannot be set with the `O'
            command.

          ghoulname
            Name your starting ghoul (ex. ``ghoulname:Casper'').  Cannot be
            set with the `O' command.

          help
            If  more  information is available for an object looked at with
            the `/' command, ask if you want to see it (default on).  Turn-
            ing  help  off  makes  just looking at things faster, since you
            aren't interrupted with the ``More info?'' prompt, but it  also
            means that you might miss some interesting and/or important in-
            formation.

          horsename
            Name your starting horse (ex.  ``horsename:Trigger'').   Cannot
            be set with the `O' command.

          IBMgraphics
            Use  a predefined selection of IBM extended ASCII characters to
            display the dungeon/effects/traps instead of having to define a
            full  graphics  set  yourself  (default off).  This option also
            sets up proper handling of graphics characters for such  termi-
            nals,  so  you  should  specify it when appropriate even if you
            override the selections with your own graphics strings.



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          ignintr
            Ignore interrupt signals, including breaks (default off).

          invweight
            Display the weights of items in your inventory  (and  at  other
            times) in braces (default off).

          keep_savefile
            Keeps  the  save  file after restore.  SLASH'EM usually deletes
            your savefile after you restore,  making death permanent.  This
            option  can  allow  you to restore from the last save. (default
            off).

          legacy
            Display an introductory message when starting the game (default
            on).

          lit_corridor
            Show  corridor  squares  seen by night vision or a light source
            held by your character as lit (default off).

          lootabc
            Use the old `a', `b', and `c' keyboard shortcuts when  looting,
            rather than the mnemonics `o', `i', and `b' (default off).

          mail
            Enable mail delivery during the game (default on).

          male
            An  obsolete  synonym  for ``gender:male''.  Cannot be set with
            the `O' command.

          menustyle
            Controls the interface used when you need to choose various ob-
            jects  (in  response  to  the Drop command, for instance).  The
            value specified should be the first letter of one of  the  fol-
            lowing:   traditional,  combination,  partial, or full.  Tradi-
            tional was the only interface available for  earlier  versions;
            it  consists  of a prompt for object class characters, followed
            by an object-by-object prompt for all items  matching  the  se-
            lected  object class(es).  Combination starts with a prompt for
            object class(es) of interest,  but  then  displays  a  menu  of
            matching  objects  rather  than  prompting one-by-one.  Partial
            skips the object class filtering  and  immediately  displays  a
            menu  of  all  objects.  Full displays a menu of object classes
            rather than a character prompt, and then a menu of matching ob-
            jects for selection.

          menu_deselect_all
            Menu  character  accelerator  to  deselect all items in a menu.
            Implemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11, GTK and tty ports.  Default
            '-'.




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          menu_deselect_page
            Menu  character  accelerator to deselect all items on this page
            of a menu.  Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty  ports.   De-
            fault '\'.

          menu_first_page
            Menu character accelerator to jump to the first page in a menu.
            Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.  Default '^'.

          menu_headings
            Controls how the headings in a menu  are  highlighted.   Values
            are 'bold', 'inverse', or 'underline'.  Not all ports can actu-
            ally display all three types.

          menu_invert_all
            Menu character accelerator to invert all items in a menu.   Im-
            plemented  by  the Amiga, Gem, X11, GTK and tty ports.  Default
            '@'.

          menu_invert_page
            Menu character accelerator to invert all items on this page  of
            a  menu.  Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.  Default
            '~'.

          menu_last_page
            Menu character accelerator to jump to the last page in a  menu.
            Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.  Default '|'.

          menu_next_page
            Menu  character accelerator to goto the next menu page.  Imple-
            mented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.  Default '>'.

          menu_on_esc
            Make the ESC key a synonym for the ``' (main menu) command (de-
            fault on).

          menu_previous_page
            Menu character accelerator to goto the previous menu page.  Im-
            plemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.  Default '<'.

          menu_search
            Menu character accelerator to search for a menu  item.   Imple-
            mented by the Amiga, Gem and X11 ports.  Default ':'.

          menu_select_all
            Menu  character accelerator to select all items in a menu.  Im-
            plemented by the Amiga, Gem, X11, GTK and tty  ports.   Default
            '.'.

          menu_select_page
            Menu  character accelerator to select all items on this page of
            a menu.  Implemented by the Amiga, Gem and tty ports.   Default
            ','.



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          monsters
            Set  the  characters  used  to display monster classes (default
            ``abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTU-
            VWXYZ@ '&;:~]'').   This  string  is subjected to the same pro-
            cessing as the dungeon option.  The order of the symbols is ant
            or  other insect, blob, cockatrice, dog or other canine, eye or
            sphere, feline, gremlin, humanoid, imp or minor  demon,  jelly,
            kobold,  leprechaun, mimic, nymph, orc, piercer, quadruped, ro-
            dent, arachnid or centipede, trapper or lurker above, horse  or
            unicorn,  vortex, worm, xan or other mythical/fantastic insect,
            light, Zouthern aminal, angelic being, bat  or  bird,  centaur,
            dragon,  elemental,  fungus or mold, gnome, giant humanoid, in-
            visible monster, jabberwock, Keystone Kop, lich,  mummy,  naga,
            ogre,  pudding  or ooze, quantum mechanic, rust monster, snake,
            troll, umber hulk, vampire,  wraith,  xorn,  apelike  creature,
            zombie,  human,  ghost, golem, demon, sea monster, lizard, long
            worm tail, and mimic.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          msghistory
            The number of top line messages to save (and  recall  with  ^P)
            (default 20).  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          msg_window
            Allows  you  to change the way recalled messages are displayed.
            (It is currently implemented for tty only.)  The possible  val-
            ues are:

                 s - single message (default, this was the behavior before 3.4.0).
                 c - combination, two messages as `single', then as `full'.
                 f - full window, oldest message first.
                 r - full window, newest message first.

            For  backward  compatibility,  no  value  needs to be specified
            (which defaults to `full'), or it can  be  negated  (which  de-
            faults to `single').

          name
            Set  your  character's  name (defaults to your user name).  You
            can also set your character's role by appending a dash and  one
            or more letters of the role (that is, by suffixing one of -A -B
            -C -F -H -I -K -M -N -P -Ra -Ro -S -T -U -V -W -Y).  If  -@  is
            used for the role, then a random one will be automatically cho-
            sen.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          news
            Read the SLASH'EM news file, if present  (default  on).   Since
            the  news  is  shown  at  the beginning of the game, there's no
            point in setting this with the `O' command.

          null
            Send padding nulls to the terminal (default off).

          number_pad
            Use the number keys to move instead of [yuhjklbn] (default 0 or


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            off).   (number_pad:2  invokes  the  old DOS behavior where `5'
            means `g', meta-`5' means `G',  and meta-`0' means `I'.)

          objects
            Set the characters used  to  display  object  classes  (default
            ``])[="(%!?+/$*`0_.'').   This  string is subjected to the same
            processing as the dungeon option.  The order of the symbols  is
            illegal-object  (should  never  be  seen), weapon, armor, ring,
            amulet, tool, food, potion, scroll, spellbook, wand, gold,  gem
            or  rock, boulder or statue, iron ball, chain, and venom.  Can-
            not be set with the `O' command.

          packorder
            Specify  the  order  to   list   object   types   in   (default
            ``")[%?+!=/(*`0_'').   The  value  of  this  option should be a
            string containing the symbols for  the  various  object  types.
            Any  omitted  types  are filled in at the end from the previous
            order.

          perm_invent
            If true, always display your current  inventory  in  a  window.
            This  only makes sense for windowing system interfaces that im-
            plement this feature.

          pettype
            Specify the type of your initial pet,  if  you  are  playing  a
            character  class that uses multiple types of pets; or choose to
            have no initial pet  at  all.   Possible  values  are  ``cat'',
            ``dog'' and ``none''.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          pickup_burden
            When  you  pick  up  an item that would exceed this encumbrance
            level (Unburdened, Burdened, streSsed, straiNed, overTaxed,  or
            overLoaded),  you  will be asked if you want to continue.  (De-
            fault `S').

          pickup_thrown
            If this boolean option is true and autopickup  is  on,  try  to
            pick  up  things  that  you threw, even if they aren't in pick-
            up_types.  Default is on.

          pickup_types
            Specify the object types to be picked up when autopickup is on.
            Default is all types.  If your copy of the game has the experi-
            mental compile time option AUTOPICKUP_EXCEPTIONS included,  you
            may  be  able  to  use  autopickup_exception configuration file
            lines to further refine autopickup behavior.

          prayconfirm
            Prompt for confirmation before praying (default on).

          pushweapon
            Using the `w' (wield) command when already  wielding  something
            pushes  the  old  item into your alternate weapon slot (default


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            off).

          race
            Selects your race (for example,  ``race:human'').   Default  is
            random.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          rest_on_space
            Make  the  space  bar a synonym for the `.' (rest) command (de-
            fault off).

          role
            Pick your type of character (ex. ``role:Samurai''); synonym for
            ``character''.   See ``name'' for an alternate method of speci-
            fying your role.  Normally only the first letter of  the  value
            is  examined;  `r'  is an exception with ``Rogue'', ``Ranger'',
            and ``random'' values.

          runmode
            Controls the amount of screen updating for the map window  when
            engaged  in multi-turn movement (running via shift+direction or
            control+direction and so forth, or via the  travel  command  or
            mouse click).  The possible values are:

                 teleport - update the map after movement has finished;
                 run - update the map after every seven or so steps;
                 walk - update the map after each step;
                 crawl - like walk, but pause briefly after each step.

            This option only affects the game's screen display, not the ac-
            tual results of moving.  The default is `run';  versions  prior
            to  3.4.1  used  `teleport' only.  Whether or not the effect is
            noticeable will depend upon the window port used or on the type
            of terminal.

          safe_pet
            Prevent you from (knowingly) attacking your pets (default on).

          scores
            Control  what  parts of the score list you are shown at the end
            (ex.  ``scores:5 top scores/4 around  my  score/own  scores'').
            Only  the  first  letter of each category (`t', `a', or `o') is
            necessary.

          showexp
            Show your accumulated experience points on bottom line (default
            off).

          showrace
            Display  yourself  as  the glyph for your race, rather than the
            glyph for your role (default off).  Note that this setting  af-
            fects  only the appearance of the display, not the way the game
            treats you.




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          showscore
            Show your approximate accumulated score on bottom line (default
            off).

          showdmg
            Show damage inflicted/damage received (default off).  Inflicted
            damage is only shown to characters who have become  experienced
            enough to quantify their damage.

          showweight
            Show total weight in inventory on bottom line (default off).

          silent
            Suppress terminal beeps (default on).

          sortpack
            Sort  the  pack contents by type when displaying inventory (de-
            fault on).

          sound
            Enable messages about what your character hears  (default  on).
            Note that this has nothing to do with your computer's audio ca-
            pabilities.  This option is only partly under  player  control.
            The  game toggles it off and on during and after sleep, for ex-
            ample.

          sparkle
            Display a sparkly effect when a monster (including yourself) is
            hit by an attack to which it is resistant (default on).

          standout
            Boldface monsters and ``--More--'' (default off).

          suppress_alert
            This  option may be set to a SLASH'EM version level to suppress
            alert notification messages about feature changes for that  and
            prior versions (ex. ``suppress_alert:0.0.6'').

          tiles
            This  option  may  be  set to the name of a tile set to use, or
            specified as ``notiles'' to disable the use of tiles.  Not  all
            windowing  interfaces  support  this option. The tile set named
            must also be defined. See the section on tile sets for more in-
            formation on that.

          time
            Show  the  elapsed  game  time in turns on bottom line (default
            off).

          timed_delay
            When pausing momentarily for display effect, such as  with  ex-
            plosions  and  moving  objects, use a timer rather than sending
            extra characters to the screen.  (Applies to ``tty''  interface
            only;  ``X11'' and ``GTK'' interfaces always uses a timer based


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            delay.  The default is on if configured into the program.)

          tombstone
            Draw a tombstone graphic upon your death (default on).

          toptenwin
            Put the ending display in a SLASH'EM window instead of on  std-
            out  (default  off).   Setting this option makes the score list
            visible when a windowing version of SLASH'EM is started without
            a  parent window, but it no longer leaves the score list around
            after game end on a terminal or emulating window.

          traps
            Set  the  graphics  symbols  for  displaying   traps   (default
            ``^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"^^^^'').   The  traps option should be fol-
            lowed by a string of 1-22 characters to be used instead of  the
            default traps characters.  This string is subjected to the same
            processing as the dungeon option.

            The order of the symbols is: arrow  trap,  dart  trap,  falling
            rock trap, squeaky board, bear trap, land mine, rolling boulder
            trap, sleeping gas trap, rust trap, fire trap, pit, spiked pit,
            hole,  trap  door,  teleportation trap, level teleporter, magic
            portal, web, statue trap, magic trap, anti-magic  field,  poly-
            morph trap.

            Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          travel
            Allow the travel command (default on).  Turning this option off
            will prevent the game from attempting unintended moves  if  you
            make inadvertent mouse clicks on the map window.

          verbose
            Provide more commentary during the game (default on).

          windowtype
            Select  which  windowing  system  to  use,  such  as ``tty'' or
            ``X11'' (default depends on version).  Cannot be set  with  the
            `O' command.

          wolfname
            Name  your  starting  wolf (ex. ``wolfname:Beast'').  Cannot be
            set with the `O' command.

          9.5.  Tile sets

               For those windowing ports which support tiles  (multicolored
          pictures instead of the traditional characters), tile sets can be
          defined using a  line  in  the  configuration  file  that  begins
          ``TILESET=''.  There  should  be one tile set definition line for
          each available tile set. Once defined, tile sets can be  selected
          for  initial  display (using the tiles option) or dynamically se-
          lected during the game (for those windowing  ports  that  support


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          this).

               A ``TILESET'' line has the same syntax as an ``OPTION'' line
          but with the following options available:

          name
            The name of the tile set  (for  selection).  This  can  be  any
            string of characters excluding the comma. It must be specified.

          file
            The  name of the file which contains the tile set. This must be
            specified.

          transparent
            Marks a tile set as being transparent (as opposed  to  opaque).
            Transparent  tile  sets  allow eg., monsters to be displayed on
            top of the background.  Tile sets must be designed to  be  used
            in this way in order to achieve meaningful results. This option
            is ignored by windowing ports which do not support  transparen-
            cy.

          pseudo3D
            Marks  a  tile  set  as  being  designed for use with Mitsuhiro
            Itakura's pseudo-3D display algorithm. They are assumed to have
            an  offset-X  value  equal to one third of the total tile width
            and an offset-Y value equal to  one  half  of  the  total  tile
            height.  Such  tile  sets are not compatible with standard tile
            sets and while amusing effects can be created by  setting  this
            option  incorrectly,  nothing useful can be achieved. Windowing
            ports that do not support pseudo-3D display  will  ignore  tile
            sets with this option set.

          9.6.  Window Port Customization options

               Here  are  explanations of the various options that are used
          to customize and change the  characteristics  of  the  windowtype
          that you have chosen.  Character strings that are too long may be
          truncated.  Not all window ports will  adjust  for  all  settings
          listed  here.   You  can  safely add any of these options to your
          config file, and if the window port is capable  of  adjusting  to
          suit  your  preferences, it will attempt to do so. If it can't it
          will silently ignore it.  You can find out if an option  is  sup-
          ported  by the window port that you are currently using by check-
          ing to see if it shows up in the Options list.  Some options  are
          dynamic  and  can  be specified during the game with the `O' com-
          mand.

          align_message
            Where to align or place the message window (top, bottom,  left,
            or right)

          align_status
            Where  to  align or place the status window (top, bottom, left,
            or right).


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          ascii_map
            SLASH'EM should display an ascii character map if it can.

          color
            SLASH'EM should display color if it can for different monsters,
            objects, and dungeon features

          eight_bit_tty
            SLASH'EM  should  pass eight-bit character values (for example,
            specified with the traps option) straight through to your  ter-
            minal (default off).

          font_map
            SLASH'EM  should use a font by the chosen name for the map win-
            dow.

          font_menu
            SLASH'EM should use a font by the chosen name for menu windows.

          font_message
            SLASH'EM should use a font by the chosen name for  the  message
            window.

          font_status
            SLASH'EM  should  use  a font by the chosen name for the status
            window.

          font_text
            SLASH'EM should use a font by the chosen name for text windows.

          font_size_map
            SLASH'EM should use this size font for the map window.

          font_size_menu
            SLASH'EM should use this size font for menu windows.

          font_size_message
            SLASH'EM should use this size font for the message window.

          font_size_status
            SLASH'EM should use this size font for the status window.

          font_size_text
            SLASH'EM should use this size font for text windows.

          fullscreen
            SLASH'EM should try and display on  the  entire  screen  rather
            than in a window.

          hilite_pet
            Visually  distinguish  pets from similar animals (default off).
            The behavior of this option depends on the  type  of  windowing
            you use.  In text windowing, text highlighting or inverse video
            is often used; with tiles, generally displays  a  heart  symbol


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            near pets or a red box around the pet.

          large_font
            SLASH'EM should use a large font.

          map_mode
            SLASH'EM should display the map in the manner specified.

          mouse_support
            Allow use of the mouse for input and travel.

          player_selection
            SLASH'EM should pop up dialog boxes, or use prompts for charac-
            ter selection.

          popup_dialog
            SLASH'EM should pop up dialog boxes for input.

          preload_tiles
            SLASH'EM should preload tiles into memory.  For example, in the
            protected  mode  MSDOS  version, control whether tiles get pre-
            loaded into RAM at the start of the game.   Doing  so  enhances
            performance  of  the  tile graphics, but uses more memory. (de-
            fault on).  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          scroll_amount
            SLASH'EM should scroll the display by this number of cells when
            the hero reaches the scroll_margin.

          scroll_margin
            SLASH'EM  should  scroll the display when the hero or cursor is
            this number of cells away from the edge of the window.

          softkeyboard
            Display an onscreen keyboard.  Handhelds  are  most  likely  to
            support this option.

          splash_screen
            SLASH'EM should display an opening splash screen when it starts
            up (default yes).

          tiled_map
            SLASH'EM should display a tiled map if it can.

          tile_file
            Specify the name of an alternative tile file  to  override  the
            default.

          tile_height
            Specify  the  preferred  height  of each tile in a tile capable
            port.

          tile_width
            Specify the preferred width of each tile in a tile capable port


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          use_inverse
            SLASH'EM should display inverse when the game specifies it.

          vary_msgcount
            SLASH'EM should display this number of messages at  a  time  in
            the message window.

          windowcolors
            SLASH'EM  should  display  windows  with  the  specified  fore-
            ground/background colors if it can.

          wraptext
            SLASH'EM port should wrap long lines of text if they don't  fit
            in the visible area of the window.

          9.7.  Platform-specific Customization options

               Here  are  explanations of options that are used by specific
          platforms or ports to customize and change the port behavior.

          altkeyhandler
            Select an alternate keystroke handler dll to  load  (Win32  tty
            SLASH'EM  only).   The name of the handler is specified without
            the .dll extension and without any path information.  Cannot be
            set with the `O' command.

          altmeta
            (default on, AMIGA SLASH'EM only).

          BIOS
            Use BIOS calls to update the screen display quickly and to read
            the keyboard (allowing the use of arrow keys to  move)  on  ma-
            chines  with  an IBM PC compatible BIOS ROM (default off, OS/2,
            PC, and ST SLASH'EM only).

          flush
            (default off, AMIGA SLASH'EM only).

          MACgraphics
            (default on, Mac SLASH'EM only).

          page_wait
            (default on, Mac SLASH'EM only).

          rawio
            Force raw (non-cbreak) mode for faster output and more  bullet-
            proof  input  (MS-DOS sometimes treats `^P' as a printer toggle
            without it) (default off, OS/2,  PC,  and  ST  SLASH'EM  only).
            Note:   DEC  Rainbows hang if this is turned on.  Cannot be set
            with the `O' command.

          soundcard
            (default on, PC SLASH'EM only).  Cannot be  set  with  the  `O'
            command.


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          subkeyvalue
            (Win32  tty  SLASH'EM only).  May be used to alter the value of
            keystrokes that the operating system  returns  to  SLASH'EM  to
            help   compensate   for  international  keyboard  issues.   OP-
            TIONS=subkeyvalue:171/92 will return 92 to SLASH'EM, if 171 was
            originally  going to be returned.  You can use multiple subkey-
            value statements in the config file if needed.  Cannot  be  set
            with the `O' command.

          video
            Set  the  video  mode used (PC SLASH'EM only).  Values are `au-
            todetect', `default', or `vga'.  Setting `vga' (or `autodetect'
            with  vga  hardware  present)  will  cause  the game to display
            tiles.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          videocolors
            Set the color palette for PC systems  using  NO_TERMS  (default
            4-2-6-1-5-3-15-12-10-14-9-13-11, (PC SLASH'EM only).  The order
            of  colors  is  red,  green,  brown,   blue,   magenta,   cyan,
            bright.white,  bright.red,  bright.green,  yellow, bright.blue,
            bright.magenta, and bright.cyan.  Unix and OS/2 ports  compiled
            with  VIDEOSHADES  option allow defining three more colors. The
            order of colors is red,  green,  brown,  blue,  magenta,  cyan,
            gray,  black,  bright.red,  bright.green,  yellow, bright.blue,
            bright.magenta, bright.cyan  and  white.   MS-Windows  and  Mac
            ports don't use this option. In Windows colors can be redefined
            from window properties.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          videoshades
            Set the intensity level of the three gray scales available (de-
            fault  dark  normal light, PC SLASH'EM only).  If the game dis-
            play is difficult to read, try adjusting these scales; if  this
            does  not  correct the problem, try !color.  Cannot be set with
            the `O' command.

          9.8.  Configuring autopickup exceptions

               There is an experimental  compile  time  option  called  AU-
          TOPICKUP_EXCEPTIONS.   If  your  copy  of the game was built with
          that option defined, you can further refine the behavior  of  the
          autopickup  option  beyond  what  is  available through the pick-
          up_types option.

               By placing autopickup_exception lines in your  configuration
          file,  you  can  define  patterns  to be checked when the game is
          about to autopickup something.

          autopickup_exception
            Sets an exception to the pickup_types  option.   The  autopick-
            up_exception  option  should  be  followed  by a string of 1-80
            characters to be used as a pattern to match against the  singu-
            lar form of the description of an object at your location.




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               You may use the following special characters in a pattern:

                 *--- matches 0 or more characters.
                 ?--- matches any single character.

               In  addition,  some characters are treated specially if they
          occur as the first character in the string pattern, specifically:

               < - always pickup an object that matches the pattern that follows.
               > - never pickup an object that matches the pattern that follows.

               Can be set with the `O' command, but the setting is not pre-
          served across saves and restores.

               Here's a couple of examples of autopickup_exceptions:

               autopickup_exception="<*arrow"
               autopickup_exception=">*corpse"
               autopickup_exception=">* cursed*"

          The  first example above will result in autopickup of any type of
          arrow.  The second example results in the exclusion of any corpse
          from  autopickup.   The  last example results in the exclusion of
          items known to be cursed from autopickup.  A `never pickup'  rule
          takes precedence over an `always pickup' rule if both match.

          9.9.  Configuring User Sounds

               Some  platforms allow you to define sound files to be played
          when a message that matches a user-defined pattern  is  delivered
          to the message window.  At this time the Qt port and the win32tty
          and win32gui ports support the use of user sounds.

               The following config file entries are  relevant  to  mapping
          user sounds to messages:

          SOUNDDIR
            The directory that houses the sound files to be played.

          SOUND
            An  entry  that  maps  a sound file to a user-specified message
            pattern.  Each SOUND entry is broken down  into  the  following
            parts:

                 MESG       - message window mapping (the only one supported in 3.4).
                 pattern    - the pattern to match.
                 sound file - the sound file to play.
                 volume     - the volume to be set while playing the sound file.

               The  exact  format  for  the  pattern depends on whether the
          platform is built to use ``regular  expressions''  or  SLASH'EM's
          own  internal  pattern  matching  facility. The ``regular expres-
          sions'' matching can be much more sophisticated than the internal
          SLASH'EM  pattern  matching,  but requires 3rd party libraries on


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          some platforms.  There are plenty of references  available  else-
          where  for  explaining  ``regular  expressions''.  You can verify
          which pattern matching is used by your  port  with  the  #version
          command.

               SLASH'EM's  internal  pattern matching routine uses the fol-
          lowing special characters in its pattern matching:

                 *--- matches 0 or more characters.
                 ?--- matches any single character.

               Here's an example of a sound mapping using SLASH'EM's inter-
          nal pattern matching facility:

                   SOUND=MESG "*chime of a cash register*" "gong.wav" 50

          specifies  that  any message with "chime of a cash register" con-
          tained in it will trigger the playing  of  "gong.wav".   You  can
          have multiple SOUND entries in your config file.

          9.10.  Configuring SLASH'EM for Play by the Blind

               SLASH'EM can be set up to use only standard ASCII characters
          for making maps of the dungeons. This makes the  MS-DOS  versions
          of  SLASH'EM  completely  accessible  to the blind who use speech
          and/or Braille access technologies.  Players will require a  good
          working  knowledge  of their screen-reader's review features, and
          will have to know how to  navigate  horizontally  and  vertically
          character  by character. They will also find the search capabili-
          ties of their screen-readers to be quite valuable. Be certain  to
          examine  this  Guidebook  before playing so you have an idea what
          the screen layout is like. You'll also need to be able to  locate
          the  PC  cursor.  It  is  always where your character is located.
          Merely searching for an @-sign will not always find your  charac-
          ter since there are other humanoids represented by the same sign.
          Your screen-reader should also have a function  which  gives  you
          the  row  and  column  of  your  review cursor and the PC cursor.
          These co-ordinates are often useful in giving  players  a  better
          sense of the overall location of items on the screen.

               While  it is not difficult for experienced users to edit the
          defaults.nh file to accomplish this, novices may find  this  task
          somewhat  daunting.   Included  in  all official distributions of
          SLASH'EM is a file  called  NHAccess.nh.   Replacing  defaults.nh
          with  this file will cause the game to run in a manner accessible
          to the blind. After you have gained some experience with the game
          and  with editing files, you may want to alter settings to better
          suit your preferences. Instructions on how to do this are includ-
          ed  in  the NHAccess.nh file itself. The most crucial settings to
          make the game accessible are:

          IBMgraphics
            Disable IBMgraphics by commenting out this option.



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          menustyle:traditional
            This will assist in the interface to speech synthesizers.

          number_pad
            A lot of speech access programs use the  number-pad  to  review
            the screen.  If this is the case, disable the number_pad option
            and use the traditional Rogue-like commands.

          Character graphics
            Comment out all character graphics sets found near  the  bottom
            of  the defaults.nh file.  Most of these replace SLASH'EM's de-
            fault representation of the dungeon using standard ASCII  char-
            acters  with  fancier  characters from extended character sets,
            and these fancier characters can annoy screen-readers.

          10.  Scoring

               SLASH'EM maintains a list of the top scores  or  scorers  on
          your machine, depending on how it is set up.  In the latter case,
          each account on the machine can post only one  non-winning  score
          on  this  list.   If  you  score higher than someone else on this
          list, or better your previous score, you will be inserted in  the
          proper  place  under your current name.  How many scores are kept
          can also be set up when SLASH'EM is compiled.

               Your score is chiefly based upon  how  much  experience  you
          gained, how much loot you accumulated, how deep you explored, and
          how the game ended.  If you quit the game, you escape with all of
          your  gold  intact.   If, however, you get killed in the Mazes of
          Menace, the guild will only hear about 90% of your gold when your
          corpse  is  discovered  (adventurers  have  been known to collect
          finder's fees).  So, consider whether you want to take  one  last
          hit  at  that  monster  and  possibly live, or quit and stop with
          whatever you have.  If you quit, you keep all your gold,  but  if
          you swing and live, you might find more.

               If  you  just want to see what the current top players/games
          list is, you can type slashem -s all on most versions.


          11.  Explore mode

               SLASH'EM is an intricate and difficult game.  Novices  might
          falter in fear, aware of their ignorance of the means to survive.
          Well, fear not.  Your dungeon may come  equipped  with  an  ``ex-
          plore''  or  ``discovery'' mode that enables you to keep old save
          files and cheat death, at the paltry cost of not getting  on  the
          high score list.

               There  are  two  ways  of  enabling explore mode.  One is to
          start the game with the -X switch.  The other is to issue the `X'
          command  while  already  playing the game.  The other benefits of
          explore mode are left for the trepid reader to discover.



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          12.  Credits

               The original hack game was  modeled  on  the  Berkeley  UNIX
          rogue  game.   Large  portions  of  this  paper  were shamelessly
          cribbed from A Guide to the Dungeons of Doom, by Michael  C.  Toy
          and  Kenneth  C.  R. C. Arnold.  Small portions were adapted from
          Further Exploration of the Dungeons of Doom, by Ken Arromdee.

               SLASH'EM is the product  of  literally  dozens  of  people's
          work.   Main events in the course of the game development are de-
          scribed below:


               Jay Fenlason wrote the original Hack, with help  from  Kenny
          Woodland, Mike Thome and Jon Payne.

               Andries Brouwer did a major re-write, transforming Hack into
          a very different game, and published (at  least)  three  versions
          (1.0.1, 1.0.2, and 1.0.3) for UNIX machines to the Usenet.

               Don  G. Kneller ported Hack 1.0.3 to Microsoft C and MS-DOS,
          producing PC HACK 1.01e, added support for DEC  Rainbow  graphics
          in  version 1.03g, and went on to produce at least four more ver-
          sions (3.0, 3.2, 3.51, and 3.6).

               R. Black ported PC HACK 3.51 to  Lattice  C  and  the  Atari
          520/1040ST, producing ST Hack 1.03.

               Mike Stephenson merged these various versions back together,
          incorporating many of the added features,  and  produced  NetHack
          1.4.   He  then  coordinated a cast of thousands in enhancing and
          debugging NetHack 1.4 and released NetHack versions 2.2 and 2.3.

               Later, Mike coordinated a major rewrite of the game, heading
          a team which included Ken Arromdee, Jean-Christophe Collet, Steve
          Creps, Eric Hendrickson, Izchak Miller, John Rupley, Mike Threep-
          oint, and Janet Walz, to produce NetHack 3.0c.

               NetHack  3.0  was  ported  to the Atari by Eric R. Smith, to
          OS/2 by Timo Hakulinen, and to VMS by David Gentzel.   The  three
          of them and Kevin Darcy later joined the main development team to
          produce subsequent revisions of 3.0.

               Olaf Seibert ported NetHack 2.3 and 3.0 to the Amiga.   Norm
          Meluch,  Stephen  Spackman  and Pierre Martineau designed overlay
          code for PC NetHack 3.0.  Johnny Lee ported NetHack  3.0  to  the
          Macintosh.   Along with various other Dungeoneers, they continued
          to enhance the PC, Macintosh, and Amiga ports through  the  later
          revisions of 3.0.

               A  scant  one month before the next major version release of
          NetHack, two adventurous souls undertook their  own  modification
          to  the  sacred NetHack formula. Tom Proudfoot and Yuval released
          Nethack++,  which was rapidly renamed Nethack--,   contained  new


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          monsters,  items and other miscellaneous modifications.

               Headed  by  Mike Stephenson and coordinated by Izchak Miller
          and Janet Walz, the development team which now included  Ken  Ar-
          romdee,  David  Cohrs,  Jean-Christophe Collet, Kevin Darcy, Matt
          Day, Timo Hakulinen, Steve Linhart, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin,  Eric
          Raymond,  and  Eric  Smith  undertook  a radical revision of 3.0.
          They re-structured the game's design, and re-wrote major parts of
          the  code.   They added multiple dungeons, a new display, special
          individual character quests, a new endgame  and  many  other  new
          features, and produced NetHack 3.1.

               Ken  Lorber,  Gregg  Wonderly and Greg Olson, with help from
          Richard Addison, Mike Passaretti,  and  Olaf  Seibert,  developed
          NetHack 3.1 for the Amiga.

               Norm  Meluch and Kevin Smolkowski, with help from Carl Sche-
          lin, Stephen Spackman, Steve VanDevender, and Paul Winner, ported
          NetHack 3.1 to the PC.

               Jon W{tte and Hao-yang Wang, with help from Ross Brown, Mike
          Engber, David Hairston, Michael Hamel, Jonathan  Handler,  Johnny
          Lee,  Tim  Lennan, Rob Menke, and Andy Swanson, developed NetHack
          3.1 for the Macintosh, porting it for MPW.  Building on their de-
          velopment, Barton House added a Think C port.

               Timo Hakulinen ported NetHack 3.1 to OS/2.  Eric Smith port-
          ed NetHack 3.1 to the Atari.  Pat Rankin, with help  from  Joshua
          Delahunty,  was  responsible  for the VMS version of NetHack 3.1.
          Michael Allison ported NetHack 3.1 to Windows NT.

               Dean Luick, with help from David  Cohrs,  developed  NetHack
          3.1  for  X11.   Warwick Allison wrote a tiled version of NetHack
          for the Atari; he later contributed the tiles to the DevTeam  and
          tile support was then added to other platforms.

               Time passed,  and Nethack-- was ported to 3.11 by Chris.

               Stephen  White  then  released his own modification known as
          Nethack Plus,  which  contained  new  character  classes.   Unbe-
          knownst  to  the  world at large,  Tom Proudfoot took this source
          and combined it with his Nethack--.  Stephen White went on to add
          weapon  skills,   which  were eventually integrated into the next
          version of Nethack,  and other features.

               In February 1996,  Tom Proudfoot released SLASH V1.  Includ-
          ing  part  of Stephen White's Nethack Plus and his own Nethack--,
          leaving unmentioned his own slew of further modifications,   this
          is perhaps the best known of the Nethack modifications.  Six ver-
          sions of this,  ending with SLASH V6,  are known to exist.

               The 3.2 development team, comprised of Michael Allison,  Ken
          Arromdee,  David  Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps, Kevin Darcy,
          Timo Hakulinen, Steve  Linhart,  Dean  Luick,  Pat  Rankin,  Eric


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          Smith,  Mike  Stephenson,  Janet  Walz, and Paul Winner, released
          version 3.2 in April of 1996.

               Version 3.2 marked the tenth anniversary of the formation of
          the  development team.  In a testament to their dedication to the
          game, all thirteen members of the original development  team  re-
          mained  on the team at the start of work on that release.  During
          the interval between the release of 3.1.3 and  3.2,  one  of  the
          founding  members of the development team, Dr. Izchak Miller, was
          diagnosed with cancer and passed away.  That release of the  game
          was dedicated to him by the development and porting teams.

               Larry Stewart-Zerba set along a different track - to enhance
          the spellcasting abilities of the Wizard.   Thus, in April  1996,
          he  released  version  0.1 of the Wizard Patch.  By July,  he was
          joined by Warwick Allison and version 0.4 of the Wizard Patch was
          released.  The final update came in April 1997,  with the release
          of Wizard Patch 1.0.

               Warwick Allison also ported NetHack to use the Qt interface.

               SLASH V6 was picked up by Enrico Horn, who managed  to  syn-
          chronize  it  with  the  3.2 source.  The new SLASH 4.1.2 was re-
          leased as far back as November 1996 went through at least  4  ed-
          itlevels  (E5,  E6,  E7)  with  the latest version being 4.1.2E8,
          synchronized with Nethack 3.2.2 and the Blackmarket option avail-
          able,  released in June 1997.

               Nathan  La  began  the arduous task of drawing tiles for the
          SLASH monsters.

               Kentaro Shirakata ported SLASH 4.1.2E8 to Unix.

               Lief Clennon ported SLASH 4.1.2E8 to OS/2 EMX.

               Romain Dolbeau ported SLASH 4.1.2E8 to Macintosh.

               Warren Cheung combined SLASH 4.1.2 and Wizard Patch to  cre-
          ate  SLASH'EM  0.1 in November 1997.  Several revisions including
          new  spells  and  other  additions  led  eventually  to  SLASH'EM
          0.0.5E7F1. Steven Uy generously made additional modifications.

               Dirk Schoenberger continued updating the SLASH/SLASH'EM mon-
          ster tiles.  He also ported SLASH'EM to Linux.

               Lief Clennon ported SLASH'EM to OS/2 EMX.

               Kevin Hugo ported SLASH'EM to Macintosh,  and also  contrib-
          uted additional changes and improvements.

               Robin Johnson finished the arduous task of drawing tiles for
          the SLASH'EM monsters.  He also contributed many more new tiles.




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          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             58



               Kevin later joined the DevTeam and incorporated the best  of
          these ideas in NetHack 3.3.

               JNetHack  (the  Japanese version of NetHack) has been around
          since at least 1994, developed by Issei Numata  and  others.  The
          GTK interface was written for this variant and released in 1999.

               Mitsuhiro  Itakura  headed a team which began the process of
          redrawing the NetHack tiles in 8-bit color at 32x32 pixels.

               The final update to 3.2 was the bug fix release 3.2.3, which
          was  released  simultaneously with 3.3.0 in December 1999 just in
          time for the Year 2000.

               The 3.3 development team, consisting of Michael Allison, Ken
          Arromdee,  David  Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps, Kevin Darcy,
          Timo Hakulinen, Kevin  Hugo,  Steve  Linhart,  Ken  Lorber,  Dean
          Luick,  Pat  Rankin, Eric Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and
          Paul Winner, released 3.3.0 in December 1999 and 3.3.1 in  August
          of 2000.

               Version 3.3 offered many firsts. It was the first version to
          separate race and profession. The Elf class was removed in  pref-
          erence to an elf race, and the races of dwarves, gnomes, and orcs
          made their first appearance in the game  alongside  the  familiar
          human  race.  Monk and Ranger roles joined Archeologists, Barbar-
          ians,  Cavemen,  Healers,  Knights,  Priests,  Rogues,   Samurai,
          Tourists,  Valkyries  and  of  course,  Wizards.  It was also the
          first version to allow you to ride a steed,  and  was  the  first
          version  to  have  a  publicly available web-site listing all the
          bugs that had been discovered.  Despite that  constantly  growing
          bug  list,  3.3 proved stable enough to last for more than a year
          and a half.

               The 3.4 development team initially consisted of Michael  Al-
          lison,  Ken Arromdee, David Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Kevin Hugo, Ken
          Lorber, Dean Luick, Pat Rankin, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz,  and
          Paul  Winner,  with   Warwick Allison joining just before the re-
          lease of NetHack 3.4.0 in March 2002.

               As with version 3.3, various people contributed to the  game
          as a whole as well as supporting ports on the different platforms
          that NetHack runs on:

               Pat Rankin maintained 3.4 for VMS.

               Michael Allison maintained NetHack 3.4 for the MS-DOS  plat-
          form.  Paul Winner and Yitzhak Sapir provided encouragement.

               Dean  Luick, Mark Modrall, and Kevin Hugo maintained and en-
          hanced the Macintosh port of 3.4.

               Michael Allison, David Cohrs, Alex  Kompel,  Dion  Nicolaas,
          and  Yitzhak  Sapir maintained and enhanced 3.4 for the Microsoft


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          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             59



          Windows platform.  Alex Kompel contributed a new graphical inter-
          face  for  the Windows port.  Alex Kompel also contributed a Win-
          dows CE port for 3.4.1.  Ron  Van  Iwaarden  maintained  3.4  for
          OS/2.

               Janne  Salmijarvi  and  Teemu Suikki maintained and enhanced
          the Amiga port of 3.4 after Janne Salmijarvi resurrected  it  for
          3.3.1.

               Christian  ``Marvin''  Bressler maintained 3.4 for the Atari
          after he resurrected it for 3.3.1.

               There is a NetHack web site  maintained  by  Ken  Lorber  at
          http://www.nethack.org/.

               Warren Cheung combined SLASH'EM 0.0.5E7F1 and NetHack 3.3 to
          create SLASH'EM 0.0.6 and continues to maintain the DOS  and  Mi-
          crosoft Windows ports.

               J.  Ali  Harlow incorporated the GTK interface and Mitsuhiro
          Itakura's 32x32 tileset into SLASH'EM  0.0.6  and  maintains  the
          UNIX  port of SLASH'EM.  Peter Makholm maintains the Debian pack-
          age.

               Paul Hurtley maintains the MAC port of SLASH'EM.

               - - - - - - - - - -

               From time to time, some depraved  individual  out  there  in
          netland  sends a particularly intriguing modification to help out
          with the game.  The Gods of the Dungeon sometimes  make  note  of
          the  names  of the worst of these miscreants in this, the list of
          Dungeoneers:























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          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             60



                    Adam Aronow            Izchak Miller         Mike Stephenson
                    Alex Kompel            J. Ali Harlow           Norm Meluch
                   Andreas Dorn              Janet Walz            Olaf Seibert
                    Andy Church           Janne Salmijarvi        Pasi Kallinen
                   Andy Swanson        Jean-Christophe Collet       Pat Rankin
                   Ari Huttunen            Jochen Erwied           Paul Winner
                   Barton House             John Kallen          Pierre Martineau
                Benson I. Margulies         John Rupley             Ralf Brown
                     Bill Dyer              John S. Bien            Ray Chason
                 Boudewijn Waijers           Johnny Lee          Richard Addison
                     Bruce Cox               Jon W{tte            Richard Beigel
                  Bruce Holloway          Jonathan Handler      Richard P. Hughey
                  Bruce Mewborne          Joshua Delahunty          Rob Menke
                   Carl Schelin            Keizo Yamamoto         Robin Johnson
                    Chris Russo              Ken Arnold         Roderick Schertler
                    David Cohrs             Ken Arromdee          Roland McGrath
                  David Damerell             Ken Lorber          Ron Van Iwaarden
                   David Gentzel           Ken Washikita          Ronnen Miller
                  David Hairston            Kevin Darcy             Ross Brown
                    Dean Luick               Kevin Hugo          Sascha Wostmann
                     Del Lamb               Kevin Sitze            Scott Bigham
                   Deron Meranda          Kevin Smolkowski       Scott R. Turner
                   Dion Nicolaas            Kevin Sweet          Stephen Spackman
                  Dylan O'Donnell           Lars Huttar           Stephen White
                    Eric Backus             Malcolm Ryan           Steve Creps
                 Eric Hendrickson          Mark Gooderum          Steve Linhart
                   Eric R. Smith            Mark Modrall        Steve VanDevender
                  Eric S. Raymond         Marvin Bressler          Teemu Suikki
                   Erik Andersen            Matthew Day             Tim Lennan
                 Frederick Roeber           Merlyn LeRoy          Timo Hakulinen
                    Gil Neiger            Michael Allison            Tom Almy
                    Greg Laskin             Michael Feir             Tom West
                    Greg Olson             Michael Hamel          Warren Cheung
                  Gregg Wonderly          Michael Sokolov        Warwick Allison
                   Hao-yang Wang            Mike Engber           Yitzhak Sapir
                   Helge Hafting            Mike Gallop
               Irina Rempt-Drijfhout      Mike Passaretti

          Brand and product names are trademarks or  registered  trademarks
          of their respective holders.
















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