









                           A Guide to the Mazes of Menace
                           (Guidebook for SLASH'EM 0.0.6)


                                   Eric S. Raymond
            (Extensively edited and expanded for 3.0 by Mike Threepoint)
                    (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,  steal-
          ing,  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


          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              1





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              2



          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 NetHack.  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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              3



          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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              4



          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.

               You set out for the dungeon and after several  days  of  un-
          eventful  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 morning, you gather your gear, eat what may be  your  last
          meal outside, and enter the dungeon.

          3.  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.  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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              5



          the screen in front of you.

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

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



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              6






           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.  Your attributes can range from 3 to 18 in-
               clusive (occasionally you may  get  super-strengths  of  the
               form  18/xx).   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.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              7



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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              8



          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).




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                              9



          ?    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.

               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
          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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             10



          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.

               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,
               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 the staircase or
               ladder).




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             11



          >    Go down to the next level (if you are on  the  staircase  or
               ladder).

          [yuhjklbn]
               Go  one  step in the direction indicated (see Figure 2).  If
               you can sense 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.

          .    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.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             12



          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? [!%= aium]'' you should  type
               zero  or more object symbols possibly followed by `a' and/or
               `i' and/or `u' and/or `m'.

                    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.

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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             13



               available  options  are listed later in this Guidebook.  Op-
               tions 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 mes-
               sages).

          q    Quaff (drink) a potion.

          Q    Select an object for your quiver.  You can then  throw  this
               using  the  `f'  command.  (In NetHack versions prior to 3.3
               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.

          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 secondary
               weapon slot.  The latter is used as your  second  weapon  in
               two-weapon  combat.  Note that if one of these slots is emp-
               ty, the exchange still takes place.

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



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             14



          ^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.

          ^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.

          @    Toggle the autopickup option on and off.

          ^    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.



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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             15



          #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.

          #dip Dip an object into something.

          #enhance
               Advance or check weapons and spell skills.

          #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.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             16



          #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).

          #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-2  #twoweapon

          M-a  #adjust

          M-b  #borrow

          M-c  #chat

          M-d  #dip

          M-e  #enhance

          M-f  #force

          M-i  #invoke

          M-j  #jump




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             17



          M-l  #loot

          M-m  #monster

          M-n  #name

          M-o  #offer

          M-p  #pray

          M-q  #quit

          M-r  #rub

          M-s  #sit

          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:

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

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

          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.



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             18



          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
          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.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             19



               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.

               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.


          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.



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             20



          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.







          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             21



          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 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.





          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             22



          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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             23



          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  secondary weapons.  And if you have proficiency in
          the ``two weapon combat'' skill, you may wield both  primary  and
          secondary  weapons  simultaneously; use the `#twoweapon' extended
          command to engage or disengage that.  Only some types of  charac-
          ters  (barbarians, for instance), have the necessary skill avail-
          able.  Even with that skill, using two weapons at once  incurs  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 exists 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.


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             24



               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  will  throw multiple items in a single ac-
          tion.  Rangers, for instance, or anyone who achieves a high level
          of  proficiency  in  the  relevant  weapon skill (in bow skill if
          you're wielding one to shoot arrows, or in sling skill if  you're
          wielding  one  to  shoot  stones).  There is little you can do to
          control this; if SLASH'EM decides that you'll be shooting  3  ar-
          rows  on  the  current shot, then three arrows will travel in the
          direction you've indicated, even if the first or second  succeeds
          in  killing  the  target.  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  SLASH'EM  decides
          that  your skill warrants 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.

          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
          ``grand master''.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             25



               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
          mail would give you better protection  than  normal  chain  mail,
          lowering your armor class one unit further to 4.  When you put on


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             26



          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
          electronic  mail  appearing  in your system mailbox, you must let
          SLASH'EM know where to look for new mail by setting the  ``MAIL''


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             27



          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.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             28



               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.  Releasing the magical energy releases
          some of your memory of the spell with it.  Each time you  cast  a
          spell, your familiarity with it will dwindle, until you eventual-
          ly forget the details completely and must relearn it.

               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''.)

               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 and the
          number of spell points they  require.   The  `Z'  (cast)  command
          casts  a  spell.  The ``#enhance'' extended command advances your
          spellcasting skills.



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             29



          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  projec-
          tile  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.



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             30



               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 NetHack 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.

               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


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             31



          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 (master) mind flayer, is  consid-
          ered  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 NetHack, 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.

               An illiterate character cannot read or write.  This includes
          reading a scroll, spellbook, fortune cookie message, or  t-shirt;
          writing a scroll; or making an engraving of anything other than a
          single ``x'' (the traditional signature of an illiterate person).
          Reading an engraving, or 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.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             32



               There are several other minor challenges.  It is possible to
          eliminate a species of monsters by genocide; playing without this
          feature  is  considered  a challenge.  You can change the form of
          any object into another object 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.  Finally, you may sometimes re-
          ceive wishes; a game without an attempt to wish for an object  is
          a  challenge,  as is a game without wishing for an artifact (even
          if the artifact immediately disappears).


          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.

               For example, to set up an environment variable so that ``fe-
          male''  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 "female,\!autopickup,name:Blue Meanie,fruit:papaya"

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

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

          in sh or ksh.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             33



          9.3.  Using a configuration file

               Any line in  the  configuration  file  starting  with  ``OP-
          TIONS=''  may be filled out with options in the same syntax as in
          SLASHEMOPTIONS.   Any  line  starting  with  ``DUNGEON='',  ``EF-
          FECTS='',  ``MONSTERS='', ``OBJECTS='', or ``TRAPS='' is taken as
          defining the corresponding dungeon, effects, monsters, objects or
          traps option in a different syntax, a sequence of decimal numbers
          giving the character position in the current font to be  used  in
          displaying  each entry.  Such a sequence can be continued to mul-
          tiple lines by putting a `\' at the end of each line to  be  con-
          tinued.  Any line starting with `#' is treated as a comment.

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

          autopickup
               Automatically  pick  up  things onto which you move (default
               on).

          autoquiver
               This option controls what happens when you attempt  the  `f'
               (fire) command with an empty quiver.  When true, the comput-
               er will fill your quiver with some  suitable  weapon.   Note
               that  it  will not take into account the blessed/cursed sta-
               tus, enchantment, damage, or quality of the weapon; you  are
               free  to  manually fill your quiver with the `Q' command in-
               stead.  If no weapon is found or the option  is  false,  the
               `t' (throw) command is executed instead.  (default false)

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

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



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             34



          character
               Pick  your type of character (ex. ``character:Rogue''); syn-
               onym for ``role''.  See ``name'' for an alternate method  of
               specifying 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 recov-
               ery after program crash (default on).

          color
               Use  color for different monsters, objects, and dungeon fea-
               tures (default on for microcomputers).

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

          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
               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.

          extmenu
               Changes  the extended commands interface to pop-up a menu of
               available commands.  It is  keystroke  compatible  with  the
               traditional  interface  except that it does not require that
               you hit Enter. It is implemented only by the tty  port  (de-
               fault  off),  when the game has been compiled to support tty
               graphics.

          disclose
               Offer to disclose various information  when  the  game  ends
               (default  all).   The possibilities are identifying your in-
               ventory ('i'), disclosing your attributes ('a'), summarizing
               monsters  that  have been vanquished ('v'), and listing mon-
               ster species that have been genocided ('g').  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.

          dungeon
               Set the graphics symbols for displaying the dungeon (default
               `` |--------||.-|++##.##<><>_|\\##{}.}..## #}'').  The  dun-
               geon  option  should be followed by a string of 1-42 charac-
               ters to be used instead of the default  map-drawing  charac-
               ters.   The  dungeon map will use the characters you specify


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             35



               instead of the default symbols, and default symbols for  any
               you  do  not  specify.  Remember that you may need to escape
               some of these characters on a command line if they are  spe-
               cial to your shell.

               Note  that  SLASH'EM  escape-processes this option string in
               conventional C fashion.  This means that `\' is a prefix  to
               take  the  following character literally.  Thus `\' needs to
               be represented  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,
               horizontal wall, upper left corner, upper right corner, low-
               er  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, horizontal closed door, iron bars, tree,  floor
               of  a  room,  dark corridor, 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, horizontal 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 re-
               lease, new symbols may be added, or the present  ones  rear-
               ranged.

               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
               characters to be used instead of the default special-effects
               characters.  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  sur-
               rounding  glyphs for swallowed display, nine glyphs each for
               magical, fire, cold, death, lightning, poison and  acid  ex-
               plosions.  An explosion consists of three rows (top, middle,
               and bottom) of three characters.  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.


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             36



               Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          eight_bit_tty
               Pass eight-bit character values (for example, specified with
               the traps option) straight through to your terminal (default
               off).  Only applies to the tty port.

          extmenu
               Changes the extended commands interface to pop-up a menu  of
               available  commands.   It  is  keystroke compatible with the
               traditional interface except that it does not  require  that
               you  hit  Enter. It is implemented only by the tty port (de-
               fault 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:mango'') (default ``slime mold'').  Basically a nos-
               talgic 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 al-
               ready 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'' op-
               tions, the ``gender'' option will take precedence.  The  de-
               fault  is to randomly 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).  Turning  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 information.

          hilite_pet
               Visually distinguish  pets  from  similar  animals  (default
               off).   In  text windowing, use text highlighting when color


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             37



               is turned off; with X11 and Qt interfaces in tile mode, dis-
               play a heart symbol near pets.  In the GTK interface in tile
               mode, display a red box around the pet.

          horsename
               Name your starting horse (ex. ``horsename:Trigger'').   Can-
               not 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 op-
               tion also sets up proper handling of graphics characters for
               such  terminals,  so  you should specify it when appropriate
               even if you override the selections with your  own  graphics
               strings.

          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 (de-
               fault on).

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

          mail
               Enable mail delivery during the game.

          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
               objects  (in  response  to  the Drop command, for instance).
               The value specified should be the first letter of one of the
               following:   traditional,  combination,  partial,  or  full.
               Traditional was the only  interface  available  for  earlier
               versions;  it  consists of a prompt for object class charac-
               ters, followed by an object-by-object prompt for  all  items
               matching  the selected object class(es).  Combination starts


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             38



               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 objects for selection.

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

          menu_deselect_page
               Menu character accelerator deselect all items on  this  page
               of  a menu.  Implemented only by the tty port.  Default '\'.

          menu_first_page
               Menu character accelerator to jump to the first  page  in  a
               menu.  Implemented only by the tty port.  Default '^'.

          menu_invert_all
               Menu  character  accelerator  to invert all items in a menu.
               Implemented by the X11, GTK and tty ports.  Default '@'.

          menu_invert_page
               Menu character accelerator to invert all items on this  page
               of  a menu.  Implemented only by the tty port.  Default '~'.

          menu_last_page
               Menu character accelerator to jump to the  last  page  in  a
               menu.  Implemented only by the tty port.  Default '|'.

          menu_next_page
               Menu  character accelerator to goto the next menu page.  Im-
               plemented only by the tty port.  Default '>'.

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

          menu_previous_page
               Menu  character  accelerator to goto the previous menu page.
               Implemented only by the tty port.  Default '<'.

          menu_search
               Menu character accelerator to search for a menu  item.   Im-
               plemented only by the X11 port.  Default ':'.

          menu_select_all
               Menu  character  accelerator  to select all items in a menu.
               Implemented by the X11, GTK and tty ports.  Default '.'.

          menu_select_page
               Menu character accelerator to select all items on this  page
               of  a menu.  Implemented only by the tty port.  Default ','.


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             39



          monsters
               Set the characters used to display monster classes  (default
               ``abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ@ '&;:~]'').
               This string is subjected to the same processing as the  dun-
               geon  option.   The order of the symbols is ant or other in-
               sect, blob, cockatrice, dog or other canine, eye or  sphere,
               feline,  gremlin,  humanoid,  imp  or  minor  demon,  jelly,
               kobold, leprechaun, mimic, nymph, orc,  piercer,  quadruped,
               rodent,  spider,  trapper or lurker above, horse or unicorn,
               vortex, worm, xan or other mythical/fantastic insect, light,
               Zouthern  aminal, angelic being, bat or bird, centaur, drag-
               on, elemental, fungus or mold, gnome, giant humanoid, invis-
               ible  monster,  jabberwock, Keystone Kop, lich, mummy, naga,
               ogre, pudding  or  ooze,  quantum  mechanic,  rust  monster,
               snake, troll, umber hulk, vampire, wraith, xorn, yeti or ape
               or other large beast, 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.

          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 auto-
               matically chosen.  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
               off).

          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.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          packorder
               Specify   the   order  to  list  object  types  in  (default


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             40



               ``")[%?+!=/(*`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
               implement this feature.

          pettype
               Specify  the  type of your initial pet, if you are playing a
               character class that uses multiple type of  pets.   Possible
               values  are ``cat'' and ``dog''.  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.
               (Default `S').

          pickup_types
               Specify  the object types to be picked up when autopickup is
               on.  Default is all types.

          prayconfirm
               Prompt for confirmation before praying (default on).

          preload_tiles
               For 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. (default on).  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

          pushweapon
               Using  the  `w'  (wield) command when already wielding some-
               thing pushes the old item into your  secondary  weapon  slot
               (default off).

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

          radar
               Display a radar (overview)  map,  useful  when  using  large
               tiles. Implemented only by the GTK port (default off).

          rawio
               Force  raw (non-cbreak) mode for faster output and more bul-
               letproof input (MS-DOS sometimes treats `^P'  as  a  printer
               toggle  without it) (default off).  Note:  DEC Rainbows hang
               if this is turned on.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             41



          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
               specifying your role.  Normally only the first letter of the
               value is examined;  `r'  is  an  exception  with  ``Rogue'',
               ``Ranger'', and ``random'' values.

          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 (de-
               fault off).

          showscore
               Show your approximate accumulated score on bottom line  (de-
               fault off).

          showdmg
               Show damage inflicted/damage received (default off).

          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
               (default on).

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

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

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



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             42



          timed_delay
               When pausing momentarily for display effect,  such  as  with
               explosions and moving objects, use a timer rather than send-
               ing extra characters to the screen.  (Applies to ``tty'' in-
               terface  only;  ``X11'' and ``GTK'' interfaces always uses a
               timer based 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
               stdout (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 win-
               dow.

          traps
               Set the  graphics  symbols  for  displaying  traps  (default
               ``^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"^^^^'').   The  traps  option  should be
               followed 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 tele-
               porter, magic portal, web, statue trap,  magic  trap,  anti-
               magic field, polymorph trap.

               Cannot be set with the `O' command.

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

          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).  The order  of  colors  is
               red,   green,  brown,  blue,  magenta,  cyan,  bright.white,
               bright.red, bright.green, yellow, bright.blue, bright.magen-
               ta, and bright.cyan.  Cannot be set with the `O' command.

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

          windowtype
               Select  which  windowing  system  to use, such as ``tty'' or


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             43



               ``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.  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.

          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, turn  off  the  number_pad
               option and use the traditional Rogue-like commands.

          Character graphics
               Comment  out all character graphics sets found near the bot-
               tom  of  the  defaults.nh  file.   Most  of  these   replace
               SLASH'EM's default representation of the dungeon using stan-
               dard ASCII characters with fancier characters from  extended


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             44



               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.


          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:


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             45



               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
          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.




          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             46



               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
          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.



          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             47



               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  con-
          tributed 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.

               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 3.3 development team consisted of Michael  Allison,  Ken
          Arromdee,  David  Cohrs, Jessie Collet, Steve Creps, Kevin Darcy,
          Timo Hakulinen,  Kevin  Hugo,  Steve  Linhart,  Dean  Luick,  Pat


          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             48



          Rankin, Eric Smith, Mike Stephenson, Janet Walz, and Paul Winner.

               As with version 3.2, 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 3.3 for VMS.

               Michael Allison maintained NetHack 3.3 for the MS-DOS  plat-
          form.  Paul Winner and Yitzhak Sapir provided encouragement.

               Elvis was seen playing NetHack on an Amiga.  That is to say,
          like Elvis, it it might come back, but don't hold your breath.

               Dean Luick, Mark Modrall, and Kevin Hugo maintained and  en-
          hanced the Macintosh port of 3.3.

               The Atari port of NetHack was discontinued.

               Michael  Allison  maintained  and  enhanced  3.3 for the Mi-
          crosoft Windows NT platform.

               Ron Van Iwaarden took over responsibility for the OS/2 port.

               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:














          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000





          SLASH'EM Guidebook                                             49



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

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




















          SLASH'EM 0.0.6                                       Mar 15, 2000



