=== Attacking and Being Attacked ===
 
Attacking is simple in Angband.  If you move into a creature, you attack him.
You can attack from a distance by firing a missile or by magical means, such
as aiming a wand.  Creatures attack in the same way.  If they move into you,
they attack you.  Some creatures can also cast spells from a distance, and
others can use various breath weapons (such as fire) on you from a distance.

Creatures in walls cannot be attacked by wands or other magic attacks
normally stopped by walls, nor can they be shot at with bows and arrows.
Tunnelling into the wall (using the "tunnel" or "alter" command) will allow 
you to attack any creature in the wall. This applies to creatures which 
"pass through" walls: if they "bore through" walls, the wall is no longer
there, and the creature can be targetted normally.

If you are wielding a weapon, the damage for the weapon is used when you hit
a creature.  Otherwise you get a single punch which does minimal damage.

You may "w"ield one weapon for melee combat, and also one missile launcher
(bow, crossbow or sling.) You may also wear one amulet (around the one and 
only neck of the character), two rings (on the two "ring" fingers, i.e. the
third finger of each hand: a magic ring does not function when worn on any
other finger, nor may two be worn on the same finger), one light source, 
and a full set of armor - body armor, shield, helmet, gloves, boots and a
cloak. Any or all of these items may provide powers to the character in 
terms of bonuses to-hit, to-damage, to-armor class, or to other stats (in
the latter case, a single numerical bonus applies to all affected stats.)
 
Firing a missile (while wielding the appropriate launcher) is the only way to
get the "full" power out of the missile.  You may of course throw an arrow at
a monster without shooting it, but you will find the effects will not be what
you had hoped.

Hits and misses are determined by ability to hit versus armor class.  A hit
is a strike that does some damage; a "miss" is something that does no damage
(this includes, for instance, a blow that hits an armoured creature but 
glances off its armour without penetrating.)
 

=== Monster Memories ===

There are hundreds of different creatures in the pits of Angband, many of
which have the same letter symbol and color on the screen.  The exact species
of a creature can be discovered by looking at it.  It is also very difficult
to keep track of the capabilities of various creatures.  Luckily, Angband
automatically keeps track of your experiences with a particular creature.
This feature is called the monster memory.  You monster memory recalls the
particular attacks of each creature (whether or not technically a monster)
which you have suffered, as well as recalling if you have observed them to
multiply or move erratically, or drop treasure, etc.  Otherwise you would
simply have to take notes, which is an unnecessary bother.

If you have killed enough of a particular creature, or suffered enough
attacks, recalling the monster memory may also provide you with information
not otherwise available, such as a armor class or hit dice.  These are not
explained, but may be useful to give the relative danger of each creature.
This memory can be passed on to a new character even after you die by means
of a reduced save file. (You must start the new character by opening the 
existing save file of the "dead" character for this to happen: using the 
"start new character" option will not give access to old monster memories.)
 

=== Your Weapon ===

Carrying a weapon in your backpack does you no good.  You must wield a weapon 
before it can be used in a fight.  A secondary weapon can be kept by keeping
it in the backpack, and switching it with the primary weapon when needed. This 
is most often used when switching between a melee weapon and a digging tool, 
or when carrying two weapons, each of which provides a rare power that the 
character needs at two separate times.

Weapons have two main magical characteristics, their enchanted ability to hit
and their enchanted ability to do damage, expressed as `(+#,+#)'.  A normal
weapon would be `(+0,+0)'.  Many weapons in Angband have bonuses to hit
and/or do damage.  Some weapons are cursed, and have penalties that hurt the
player.  Cursed weapons cannot be unwielded until the curse is lifted.
Identifying a weapon will inform you of the magical bonuses and penalties
and whether or not it is cursed.

Angband assumes that your youth in the rough environment near the dungeons
has taught you the relative merits of different weapons, and displays as
part of their description the damage dice which define their capabilities.
Any damage enchantment is added to the dice roll for that weapon.  The dice
used for a given  weapon is displayed as "XdY".  The number "X" indicates
how many dice to roll, and number "Y" indicates how many sides they have. A
"2d6" weapon will thus give damage from 2 to 12, plus any damage bonus. The
weight of a weapon is also a consideration.  Heavy weapons may hit harder,
but they are also harder to use.  Depending on your strength, dexterity,
character class, and weapon weight, you may get several attacks per turn: 
high dexterity and strength and low weapon weight are the main factors.
Warriors may get up to a maximum of 6 attacks per turn: mages are limited 
to only 4: other classes may get up to 5.

Missile booster weapons, such as bows, have their characteristics added to
those of the missile used, if the proper weapon/missile combination is used,
and the the launcher multiplier is applied to the total damage, making
missile weapons very powerful given the proper missiles, especially if they
are enchanted.

Although you receive any magical bonuses an unidentified weapon may possess
when you wield it, those bonuses will not be added in to the displayed
values of to-hit and to-dam on your character sheet.  You must identify the
weapon before the displayed values reflect the real values used.

Finally, some rare weapons have special abilities.  These are called ego
weapons, and are feared by great and meek.  An ego weapon must be wielded
to receive the benefit of its abilities. It should be noted that some of 
these items are considerably more powerful than others, and generally the 
most powerful items are the rarest. Also important is the fact that not all
ego-items are nice...

Ego weapons are denoted by the following "names":  

(Defender)
     A magical weapon that actually helps the wielder defend himself, thus
     increasing his/her armour class, and protecting him/her against damage
     from fire, cold, acid, lightning, and falls.  This weapon also will
     increase your stealth, let you see invisible creatures, protect you
     from paralyzation and some slowing attacks, and help you regenerate hit
     points and mana faster.  As a result of the regeneration ability, you
     will use up food somewhat faster than normal while wielding such a
     weapon.  These powerful weapons also will sustain one stat, though this
     stat will vary from weapon to weapon.

(Holy Avenger)
     A Holy Avenger is one of the more powerful of weapons.  A Holy Avenger
     will increase your wisdom and your armour class.  This weapon will do
     extra damage when used against evil, demonic and undead creatures, and
     will also give you the ability to see invisible creatures.  These
     weapons are basically extremely powerful versions of Blessed Blades
     and can be wielded by priests with no penalty. These weapons, like 
     (Defender) weapons, also will sustain one random stat.

(Blessed)
     A blessed blade will increase your wisdom.  If you are a priest,
     wielding a non-blessed sword or polearm causes a small penalty while
     attacking and may infuriate your god, decreasing the chances that he
     will accept your prayers: a blessed blade may be wielded without 
     this penalty.  Blessed blades also have one extra, random, power.

Weapon of Westernesse.
     A Weapon of Westernesse is one of the more powerful weapons.  It slays
     orcs, trolls, and giants, while increasing your strength, dexterity, 
     and constitution.  It also lets you see invisible creatures and protects 
     from paralyzation and some slowing attacks.  These blades were made by 
     the Dunedain.

Weapon of Gondolin.
     A weapon of this kind, from the last kingdom of the High Elves to 
     fall under Morgoth's yoke, provides power against all his living 
     servants - orcs, trolls, demons and dragons. It also gives off light
     when there are enemies around (which, in Angband, is all the time), 
     and provides resistance to darkness, the ability to see invisible
     monsters, and one extra random power. These weapons are powerful
     but rare.

Weapon of Extra Attacks.
     A weapon of extra attacks will allow the wielder to deliver extra
     attacks during each round.

Weapon of Fury.
     This weapon is a gift for all those whose sole wish is to smash their
     enemies to an unreconizable pulp. It provides bonuses to-hit, to-dam
     and to extra attacks. However, the wielder will be driven into such a 
     berserk fury that his shouts and yells will awaken and aggravate every
     monster within earshot, and it will drain away his mana and curtail his 
     use of magic: nor is the wielder of such a weapon able to remain calm 
     enough to use psionic attacks effectively.

Elemental Branded Weapons.
     Each of the four basic elemental attacks (fire, cold, lightning, acid)
     has a corresponding weapon which will do treble its base damage to 
     creatures not resistant to that element. It should be noted that the 
     magical damage bonus is not affected by this: a weapon of Flame 
     (2d6) (+5,+6) does 6d6+6 damage per hit, not 6d6+18, against creatures 
     which are not fire-resistant.) Each of these weapons also provides 
     resistance to that element.

Weapons of Venom.
     These weapons have been dipped in deadly poison, and will do triple 
     their base damage against creatures not resistant to poison. Unlike 
     the other brands, though, they do not provide the relevant resistance:
     a character must be careful when handling his own poisoned weapon.

Weapons of Slaying enemies.
     These weapons do extra damage against creatures of a vulnerable type.
     Weapons of Slay Evil and Slay Animal do double the base damage, while
     weapons of Slay Orc, Troll, Giant, Dragon, Demon and Undead do triple
     the base damage. As with elemental branded weapons, the magical damage
     bonus is not affected.

Weapons of *Slaying* enemies.
     These weapons, in addition to doing extra damage to your enemies, have
     extra powers as well. 
      - Weapons of *Slay Animal* will give a bonus to intelligence (which is 
        what sets the sentient races apart from the animals), and provide slow 
        digestion so that the player does not need to eat so often. 
      - Weapons of *Slay Evil* provide a bonus to wisdom and are blessed, so 
        that priests may use them even if they are sharp: and they have a bonus 
        power, as other Blessed weapons do. 
      - Weapons of *Slay Undead* will allow you to see into the invisible world 
        of ghosts and wraiths, and provide a wisdom bonus. They are also 
        blessed so that priests can use them, but do not provide extra powers.
      - Weapons of *Slay Demon* provide resistance to fire, the chief weapon of 
        many demons, and grants extra intelligence.
      - Weapons of *Slay Dragon* do five times their base damage against 
        dragons, provide a constitution bonus, and resistance to fear. 
      - Weapons of *Slay Orc* will increase and sustain the character's 
        dexterity.
      - Weapons of *Slay Giant* will grant the wielder the strength of a giant
        and sustain it. 
      - Weapons of *Slay Troll* will impart the strength of a Troll and give 
        the trollish ability of regeneration.

Weapon of Morgul.
     These blades are so foully cursed with evil, it is rumored that it is
     nearly impossible to remove them without a special curse-removing spell,
     much stronger than normal Remove Curse. However, they can be powerful 
     in the right hands - for they are weapons of the undead, and will thus 
     give a certain amount of power over all things undead, as well as 
     keeping the character's life force mostly safe: and they will infect
     the living with deadly poison. However, they will themselves drain the 
     character's life force.

Shovels of Digging.
     These powerful diggers will dig through granite as if it were mere wood, 
     and mineral veins as if they were butter. Permanent rock is still an 
     impassable obstacle.

Shovels of Earthquakes.
     These powerful but unpredictable items are magically enchanted to dig
     even faster than shovels of Digging: moreover, they possess a fair
     bonus to-hit and to-damage, and thus might actually be useful when used
     as a melee weapon. They increase the wielder's strength as well. 
     They do, however, have a downside: the weapon will periodically cause
     a mighty earthquake when it hits a monster.

Ego Missile Launchers and Ammo:
-------------------------------
Launchers of Accuracy.
    These launchers have an unnaturally high to-hit number, making them 
    extremely accurate.

Launchers of Velocity.
    These launchers do an unnaturally high amount of damage due to their 
    high to-hit number.

Launchers of Extra Shots.
    These launchers allow the wielder to shoot more times per round than 
    normal.

Launchers of Extra Might.
    These launchers have a higher base damage than normally made launchers 
    of their type. For instance, a Long Bow of Extra Might (x3)(+X,+Y)(+2)
    is really a Long Bow (x5)(+X,+Y) where (+X,+Y) is the standard to-hit 
    and to-dam. As the damage multiplier with the bow affects *everything*
    - the base arrow damage, the magical damage bonus on both the bow and
    the arrow, and any bonuses for slaying or elemental-branded arrows - 
    this makes it a powerful weapon.

Slings of Buckland.
    These slings were made especially in the Shire by the most expert of 
    Hobbit slingers. They deliver their missiles - admittedly, the missiles
    in question are mere pebbles and iron shots - with extra force, and at 
    extra speed, and provide greater accuracy thanks to increased dexterity.

Bows of Lothlorien.
    These bows belong to the highly secretive elves of the Golden Wood, all
    of them excellent archers. They allow the wielder to shoot with much 
    greater power than normal (extra might), and increased accuracy (higher 
    dexterity), and cannot be destroyed by acid and fire.

Crossbows of the Haradrim.
    These mighty catapults are much faster to reload, and more powerfully 
    sprung, than normal crossbows. The end result of this is that the 
    character may shoot faster and with greater power than normal.

Launcher of the Nazgul.
    This cursed bow belongs to the Wraith-lords, and will drain the life 
    experience from living beings that wield it. It does, however, allow 
    the player to see into the wraith-world of invisibility.

Ammo of Wounding.
    This ammunition - whether it be pebbles, iron shots, arrows, bolts, 
    seeker arrows or seeker bolts - has big bonuses to-hit and to-damage.

Ammo of Elemental and Poison Brands, and Ammo of Slaying.
    This works in the same way as melee weapons of the same type: double
    damage for slay evil and slay animal, triple damage for all other 
    slays and for all elemental brands. Unlike melee weapons, the slays 
    and elemental brands *do* affect the magical damage bonus for ammo.

Ammo of Holy Might.
    This can only be heavy ammo - seeker arrows and bolts, silver arrows and 
    bolts, and mithril shots. It is very rare, but is blessed and does extra 
    damage to demons, undead and evil creatures, and is branded with holy 
    fire. It also cannot be damaged on the ground or in the player's 
    inventory by fire or acid.

Ammo of Backbiting.
    This cursed ammunition will never hit what it is aimed at. Rumour has
    it that it will curve round and hit the person who shot it in the 
    back: but so far, this rumour has proved unfounded, and is believed
    to be false.

Apart from these there are some very rare and well made blades in the
dungeon with intrinsic special abilities of their own: for instance, Blades 
of Chaos provide resistance to chaos, so that the character will never 
hallucinate or take the full damage from a monster breathing Chaos, and Maces 
of Disruption are intrinsically powerful against undead creatures. Scythes of 
Slicing simply do an abnormally high amount of damage against everything. 
Silver arrows and bolts intrinsically slay evil creatures, while seeker arrows
and bolts simply do more damage than normal arrows and bolts. And these items 
can become ego-items too: a Blade of Chaos (Holy Avenger) is in many cases 
more desirable than a large proportion of artifact weapons!

=== Your Armor Class ===

Your armor class (or AC) is a number that describes the amount and the
quality of armor being worn. Armor class will generally run from about 0 to
150, though exceptionally good armor can improve even on the latter figure.
 
The larger your armor class, the more protective it is.  A negative armor
class would actually help get you hit.  Armor protects you in three manners.
One, it makes you harder to be hit for damage.  A hit for no damage is as
good as a miss.  Two, good armor will absorb some of the damage that your
character would have taken from normal attacks.  Three, acid damage is
reduced by wearing body armor (but the armor will be damaged instead).  It
is obvious that a high armor class is a must for surviving the deeper levels
of Angband.

Each piece of armour has a base armor value, which, like the damage from
weapons, is assumed known by the player, and a magic bonus, which will not
be displayed unless the armor has been identified or was bought in a store.

Armor class values are always displayed between a set of brackets as "[#]"
or "[#,+#]".  The first value is the armor class of the item.  The second
number is the magical bonus of the item: which is only displayed if known,
and will always have a sign preceding the value.  Note that a few rings,
amulets, and weapons also have the "[+#]" notation in square brackets, 
indicating that they provide an armor bonus.  Many pieces of heavy body 
armor will also have a "(-#)" before the "[#,+#]", which indicates that 
the weight of the armor decreases your chances of hitting monsters.  
This can range from nonexistent for very light armor to (-8) for the very 
heaviest armor!

Some pieces of armor will possess special abilities denoted by the following
names:

Ego Armors and Shields:
-----------------------
of Resist Acid, Lightning, Fire or Cold.
     A character wearing armor or a shield with one such resistance will
     take only 1/3 of normal damage from attacks involving the relevant 
     element of acid, lightning, fire or cold. Note that multiple 
     permanent sources of resistance are NOT cumulative: wearing two is 
     no better than wearing one. However, armor which provides resistance
     to acid cannot itself be damaged by acid, and this is a good reason 
     to wear more than one such piece of armor.
 
of Resistance.
     A character wearing armor with this ability will have resistance to
     all four of Acid, Cold, Fire, and Lightning, as explained above.

Dwarven Armor.
     Dwarven armor is of better quality than normal armor: it cannot be 
     damaged by acid or fire, and will give its wearer the strength and 
     constitution of a Dwarf. The wearer also cannot be paralyzed, and
     will be able to see in the dark. It can only be heavy metal armor - 
     metal scale mail and above, and not rusty chain mail: as Dwarven 
     armor does not rust, nor do they use leather for their armor.

Armor of Elvenkind.
     This is the same as Resistance armor, only generally better enchanted.
     It will make you more stealthy.  This armor also possesses an extra 
     resistance, at random from the following list: poison, light, dark, 
     blindness, confusion, nexus, fear, nether, chaos, disenchantment,
     sound and shards. (See the section about Resistances below.)
 
Robes of Permanence.
     These robes are designed especially for wizards.  Just like Elvenkind
     armor, they provide resistance to fire, cold, acid, and electricity and
     cannot be damaged by acid.  They sustain all of your stats and protect
     you from a good deal of all experience draining.  Also like Elvenkind
     armor, they have one random resistance.

Dragon Scale Mails.
     These extremely rare pieces of armour come in many different colors,
     each protecting you against the relevant dragons.  Naturally they are
     all resistant to acid damage (although this resistance is not conferred
     on the player, unless the dragon itself breathes acid.) They also 
     occasionally allow you to breathe as a dragon would!

Shields of Preservation.
     This shield will preserve the character's body and soul from damage, 
     and also prevent the loss of magical energy: it provides resistance to 
     disenchantment, sustains strength, constitution and dexterity, and 
     also has one other random "high" resistance.

Armor and Shields of Vulnerability.
     This severely cursed armor appears to be powerful, but in fact lets 
     through the full force of every attack directed at it.

Ego Helms:
----------
Stat Boosting Helms.
     There are magical helms found in the dungeon that have the ability
     to boost the wearer's intelligence, wisdom, or charisma.  (Helms of 
     Beauty are the ones that boost charisma.)  In addition to boosting 
     the relevant stat these helms will also prevent that stat from being 
     drained.

Crown of the Magi.
     This is the great crown of the wizards.  The wearer will have an
     increased (and sustained) intelligence, and will also be given 
     resistance against fire, frost, acid, and lightning.  These valuable
     helms also have an additional random power.

Crown of Might.
     This is the great crown of the warriors.  The wearer will have an
     increased and sustained strength, dexterity, and constitution, 
     and will also be immune to any foe's attempt to slow or paralyze 
     him or her.

Crown of Lordliness.
     This is the great crown of the priests.  The wearer will have an
     increased and sustained wisdom and charisma.

Helm/Crown of Seeing.
     This is the great helmet or crown of the rogues.  The wearer will be 
     able to see invisible creatures, and will have an increased ability to 
     locate traps and secret doors.  It is also rumored that the wearer of 
     such a helm will not be able to be blinded.

Helm of Infravision.
     This helmet will allow the wearer to see warm-blooded creatures even
     in total darkness. This is very useful when dealing with warm-blooded
     invisible creatures.

Helm of Light.
     In addition to providing a permanent light source for the wearer, this 
     helm also provides resistance against light-based attacks.

Helm/Crown of Telepathy.
     This helm or crown grants the wearer the power of telepathy.

Helm of Regeneration.
     This helm will help you regenerate hit points and mana more quickly
     than normal, allowing you to fight longer before needing to rest.  You
     will use food faster than normal while wearing this helm because of
     the regenerative effects.

Helm/Crown of Serenity.
     The wearer of this helmet will always be able to keep his mind clear of
     noises and confusing distractions, nor will he ever be scared witless,
     as this item provides resistance to sound, confusion and fear.

Crown of Night and Day.
     The wearer of this rare crown has power over all of light and darkness, 
     and thus resists all attacks based on these things: and he also cannot 
     be blinded, and will never lack light to see by, nor will any monster 
     be able to hide from him with magical invisibility.

Helm of Teleportation.
     This cursed helm will always keep the player on the hop, never sure
     where he is and never able to stay in one place.

Crown of Sickliness.
     Ruling is such a drain on one's health... This crown will debilitate
     its wearer, reducing his strength, dexterity and constitution.

Helm/Crown of Dullness.
     You wonder why you never noticed the big "D" emblazoned on this headwear
     before putting it on: this dunce's cap reduces your intelligence and 
     wisdom, and also convinces shopkeepers that they can get away with 
     charging you higher prices - an effect simulated by the penalty also
     applying to charisma. It does, however, have a beneficial side-effect - 
     monsters trying to attack you psionically have trouble detecting your 
     mind, which is thus protected from them.
 
Ego Cloaks:
-----------
Cloak of Protection.
     This finely made cloak will come with an unnaturally high enchantment
     and is not affected by elemental-based attacks. It is also made of an
     exceptionally durable material which can keep out blasts of crystal
     shards.

Cloak of Stealth.
     This cloak will increase the wearer's stealth, making the wearer less
     likely to wake up sleeping monsters.

Cloak of the Magi.
     This cloak increases and sustains intelligence, and allows its wearer
     to remain hidden from monsters, all the better to surprise them by 
     casting a spell on them.

Cloak of Aman.
     These exceptionally rare cloaks provide great stealth, have a very 
     high enchantment, and one random resistance.

Cloak of Enveloping.
     This cloak gets in the way of everything you try to do. You can't seem 
     to hit monsters without having to shove aside several folds of cloth,
     and yet more layers cushion the blow and reduce the damage you do.

Cloak of Irritation.
     This cloak not only envelops its wearer but aggravates all who see it.

Ego Gloves:
-----------
Gloves of Free Action.
     The wearer of these gloves will find himself resistant to paralyzing
     attacks as well as some slowing attacks.  Because of the special 
     nature of these gloves, magic users may wear these gloves without
     incurring a mana penalty.   

Gloves of Slaying.
     These gloves will increase the wearer's fighting ability by boosting
     the wearer's to-hit and to-dam values.

Gloves of Agility.
     These gloves will increase the wearer's dexterity.  Because of the 
     special nature of these gloves, magic users may wear these gloves 
     without incurring a mana penalty.   

Gloves of Power.
     These gauntlets will boost the wearer's strength as well as the 
     wearer's to-hit and to-dam numbers.

Gloves of Thievery.
     These leather gloves will boost the wearer's dexterity and to-hit, also
     providing immunity to paralysis, and their wearer will automatically be 
     able to grab onto things and take no damage from falls.

Gauntlets of Combat.
     These gauntlets will increase the wearer's strength, and even allow him 
     to hit monsters more times in a round of combat: however, they also 
     imbue the character with unshakable belief in his own invulnerability, 
     and no monster will remain asleep while the character is yelling out 
     his challenges to all and sundry. 

Gauntlets of Weakness.
     These gauntlets sap your strength.

Gauntlets of Clumsiness.
     These gauntlets make you fumble.

Ego Boots:
----------
Boots of Slow Descent.
     These boots protect the wearer from the effects of small falls.

Boots of Stealth.
     These boots increase the wearer's stealth, like a Cloak of Stealth.

Boots of Free Action.
     The wearer of these boots will find himself resistant to paralyzing
     attacks as well as some slowing attacks.

Boots of Stability.
     The wearer of these boots will be stable in space and time, and 
     monsters will be unable to teleport him with nexus attacks. Magical
     teleportation will still work, of course, whether cast by the player
     or a monster. They also provide protection against paralysis.

Boots of Speed.
     The wearer of these boots will become unnaturally fast.

Boots of Slowness.
     They seem to be stuck to the ground, and you can hardly move at all 
     while wearing these things.

Boots of Annoyance.
     The wearer of these boots will make great echoing stamps as he walks 
     around the dungeon, waking up and aggravating all monsters. Worse still, 
     they will slow the player down.


Apart from these there are some very rare and well-made armours in the
dungeon with not necessarily any special abilities. These include Shields of
Deflection, Adamantite Plate Mail, Mithril Plate Mail, Mithril Chain Mail,
and Shadow Cloaks.  The first four cannot be damaged by acid because of the
quality metals they contain.

There are rumors of unique "artifact" items in the dungeon - weapons and 
armor of all types. Many of these are more powerful than even the greatest 
ego-items: some are weak and have little more than a name to recommend them. 
In all cases, and indeed if the player desires to find out the powers of an 
ego-item with random powers, use of a scroll of *Identify* will reveal all 
the powers of any given item.

=== Non-melee attacks and resistances ===

The player may at some time gain access to non-melee attacks, and many 
monsters also have them. Perhaps the most famous of this type of attack is 
dragon breath: but monsters may also cast spells at the player, and vice 
versa. This damage generally is not affected by armor class, and does not 
need a hit roll to hit the player or monster being aimed at.

Some attacks are purely magical: attack spells which blind, confuse, slow, 
scare or paralyze the target.  In some cases, a melee attack may also do 
this.  These attacks are resisted by monsters of higher level (native to 
deeper dungeon depths) and characters with a high saving throw - saving 
throws being dependent on class, level and wisdom. There are also available
resistances to fear, blindness and confusion, and the power of "free 
action" prevents magical paralysis and most slowing attacks (the player may 
still be paralyzed by being "knocked out" in melee or by a stunning attack,
but this is very rare.) It should also be noticed that unique monsters 
automatically pass their saving throws, and some monsters are naturally 
resistant to confusion, fear and sleep-monster attacks. Monster spells 
to "cause wounds" are included in this category, of attacks which do no 
damage if a saving throw is made, or full damage if it is failed.

Some melee attacks by monsters may drain a stat, as can some traps: this is 
prevented by having that stat sustained.

Some monsters may cast spells that teleport the player character. To these, 
there is no saving throw, except to those that would actually teleport him 
up or down one dungeon level. Having resistance to nexus will also prevent
being level-teleported, but not normal teleportation spell attacks. The 
player may teleport monsters in the same way, with a spell, wand or rod.

Other attacks are usually elemental-based, including the aforementioned
example of dragon breath. Many monsters can breathe various attacks or
cast bolt or ball spells, and the player may also have access to bolt and
ball spells (or breathe like a dragon, if he is wearing a dragon scale mail.)
The player, and the monsters, may be resistant to these forms of attack: 
and resistance is handled in different ways for the player and the monster, 
and for different attack forms.

Bolt spells will hit the first monster (or the player) in the line of fire:
ball spells and breaths may centre on a target which may be hiding behind
other targets. Ball spells and breath weapons affect an area: other monsters
caught in the blast take reduced damage depending on how close to the 
centre of the blast they are. Bolt and ball spells depend on the level of 
the monster or player: breath weapons are proportional to a fraction of the 
monster's current hit points, with a maximum cap on the damage - which is 
higher for the most common of such attacks, owing to the fact that the 
resistances are also easier to find.

In the case of fire, cold, lightning, acid and poison, if the monster has 
resistance to a player attack of this kind it will take almost no damage.
If the player has one or more permanent sources of resistance, he will take
1/3 of the damage he would normally take: if the player has a temporary
source of resistance (whether from potion, spell or artifact), this will 
also reduce the damage to 1/3 of its normal level, allowing the character
to take only 1/9 damage if he has both permanent and temporary resistance.
Having more than one source of permanent resistance confers no extra bonus,
and using more than one source of temporary resistance increases only the 
duration of the resistance: in both cases, either the resistance is present
or it is not. But one permanent resistance and one temporary resistance are
both effective simultaneously. 

The character may also gain immunity to fire, cold, lightning and acid, if 
he is fortunate to find any of the two or three artifacts that provide 
these immunities: immunity means that no damage is taken, and the 
character's equipment is also totally protected. Immunities are EXTREMELY
rare, and nothing else can protect the player's equipment or inventory
from damage. So expect your armor to take damage from acid attacks even if 
you yourself are resistant - unless you are wearing armor which cannot be 
damaged by acid (which may not necessarily provide the resistance to the
player, in the case of armor and shields made out of high-quality materials),
and expect your staffs, scrolls, spellbooks and arrows to be damaged by fire, 
your potions by frost, your wands, rings and amulets in your inventory (but 
not worn or wielded rings or amulets) by lightning, and weapons and armor in 
the inventory may both be damaged or destroyed by acid and fire.

     Another attack that the player will come into contact with all too often 
is the soul-chilling nature of the undead, which can drain the character's 
life experience. Some monsters have a life-draining melee attack, others may 
cast ball or bolt spells or, in extreme cases, breathe the very force of the 
netherworld (shortened by the game to "nether".) 
     There are two powers which are of assistance in this case: that of "hold 
life" will prevent 90% of all experience drains, and in the other 10% of cases, 
the amount of experience lost will be reduced by 90%. That of "resistance to 
nether forces" will provide resistance to nether bolts, balls and breaths, 
reducing the damage and preventing any experience drains from these attacks, 
but has no effect on melee "hits to drain experience".  Monsters caught in the 
blast from a nether ball or breath will take damage proportional to distance 
from the centre of the attack, except for undead who are totally immune. The 
player may find wands or rods of Drain Life, which are similar to nether-forces 
attacks in that undead creatures are immune to them, but they affect all other 
creatures equally. It should be noted that the wand of Drain Life bears no 
relation to the priest spell of "Orb of Draining", despite the similarity of 
name: the priest spell will actually do extra damage against undead, and indeed 
against all evil creatures.

Other attack forms are rarer, but may include: 
 - disenchantment (both in melee or by a monster breath), 
 - chaos (a monster breath only, which if unresisted will cause the player 
to hallucinate and be confused, and may drain life experience), 
 - nexus (which may teleport the player to the monster, away from the 
monster, up or down a level, or swap over two of the player's stats) 
 - confusion (by breath attack or by a monster hitting to confuse the 
player, there is an available resistance)
 - light and darkness (both of which will blind a non-resistant character)
 - sound (which will stun a non-resistant character and may destroy potions)
 - crystal shards (which will cut a non-resistant character and may destroy 
potions), 
 - inertia (which will slow a character even if he has free action)
 - gravity (which will blink a character, also stunning and slowing)
 - force (which will stun the character)
 - plasma (which will stun, and may destroy items which are vulnerable to 
either fire or lightning)
 - time (which may drain experience regardless of hold life, or drain stats 
regardless of sustains)
 - water bolts and balls (which may confuse and stun, and do considerable 
damage when cast by high-level monsters), 
 - ice bolts (which may cut and stun, and damage potions)
 - mana bolts and balls (the latter usually known as Mana Storms.) Magic 
missiles are included in the "mana" category, whether cast by the monster or 
the player.
 - disintegration blasts, which destroy rock walls as well as hurting 
monsters. Only the player can cast these at present, and they are 
unresistable.
 - psionic attacks, see below.

There are resistances available to chaos, disenchantment, confusion, nexus, 
sound, shards, light and darkness: all of these will reduce the damage and 
prevent side-effects other than physical damage. With these resistances, as 
with nether resistance, damage is a random fraction of what it would otherwise
be: for light and dark, it is between 4/7 and 4/12, for sound and confusion it 
is between 5/7 and 5/12, and for chaos, disenchantment, nexus, shards and 
nether it is between 6/7 and 6/12. 

     It should be noted that not all of these are actually vital to completing 
the game: indeed, of the above list, only fire, cold, acid, lightning and 
poison resists are regarded as truly vital, with blindness, confusion, chaos
and nether the next most desirable. Some attack forms are not resistable, but 
thankfully these are rare: 
 - the damage from ice bolts cannot be resisted, but resistance to shards will
prevent the player being cut by it.
 - attacks of force, gravity, plasma and water have no resistance to the damage
caused, but sound resistance will prevent the player being stunned.
 - and and confusion resistance will prevent confusion by a water bolt or 
ball.
 - there is no resistance to any of the side-effects of a time attack.
 - there is no resistance to the damage, the slowing or the "blink" effect of a 
gravity attack.
 - Nor is there any resistance to purely magical mana damage.

=== A note on speed ===

     Monsters which do not move at normal speed generally move "slowly" (-10 
to speed), "fast" (+10), "very fast" (+20) or "incredibly fast" (+30). It will 
surprise nobody that Morgoth is one of the few monsters in the last category...
This is further adjusted by the fact that any given individual monster may 
have a random adjustment from (-2) to (+2) to its own speed.

     Generally, (+10) is exactly double normal speed, and (-10) exactly 
half. (+20) is about three times normal speed, but after that there is less 
noticeable improvement as speed goes higher - for instance, (+30) is not
quite four times normal speed, and higher values than this are largely
irrelevant. The player may find items which can be worn or wielded that 
provide speed bonuses: these may include boots of speed, rings of speed
and a few very rare artifacts. Boots will provide a random 1d10 to speed: 
rings of speed may be bigger than that - generally the best that the player 
will get is two just over (+10), but individual rings of over +20 to speed 
have been known.

     Separate from the question of permanent speed (as determined by the 
player's speed items and the monster's natural speed) is that of temporary 
speed. The player may cast a spell of haste-self, or use a potion, staff or 
rod of speed, or use an artifact activation to speed him temporarily: or a 
monster may cast a haste-self spell, or be affected by another monster 
"shrieking for help" or the player reading a scroll of aggravate monster. In 
all cases, (+10) speed is added temporarily to the affected monster or player.
Using two or more sources of temporary speed is cumulative only in duration:
one cannot get from normal speed to (+20) using a potion and a spell of speed. 
Spells of temporary slowing (including monsters breathing inertia or gravity) 
are handled the same way, with exactly (-10) being subtracted from the player
or monster's speed temporarily, for the duration of the spell or breath's 
effect.

=== About psionic attacks ===

     Psionic attacks are handled in a different way to most other attacks, 
and have different and unpredictable effects.  They come in three different
levels (just like the psionic foci): referred to in the code as "Psi1", 
"Psi2" and "Psi3".  A psionic attack will not only damage the player's hit 
points but may have any number of unpredictable side effects, ranging from 
confusion, stunning and fear up to hallucination and temporary int/wis loss  
or paralysis.  There is available resistance to psionics, but it is not 
handled in the same way as other resistances (which totally prevent the 
side-effects): the nearest comparison is with the power of Hold Life, which 
mitigates but does not always completely prevent the effects of the relevant
attack.

     In particular, resist confusion may sometimes not be enough to stave 
off confusion caused by a psionic attack, if the attack came from one of the 
more powerful sources (a Psi2 or Psi3 attack.) The same is true of resist 
chaos preventing hallucination: although it does give a higher chance that 
the effect will be resisted, and free action does absolutely prevent 
paralysis. Resistance to mental attacks (whether temporary as with the spell 
of Mental Barrier, or permanent as with an item providing psionic resistance)
will also help against all forms of side-effects.  

Basically, if the attack is a Psi2 or Psi3 attack, a counter is set up, in 
which "positive" protection (such as RES_PSI, the relevant resistance to 
confusion, chaos or fear, and a passed saving throw) is weighed against the 
"negative" hindrances, such as being already berserk or confused, or failing 
the saving throw, or the attack being Psi3 rather than Psi2. Telepathy 
doubles the effect of the saving throw on this counter, for better or for 
worse, and only if the total is negative does the side-effect apply: so, 
for instance, having both resistance to confusion (+1 protection) and 
psionics (+1 protection) would protect against confusion by a Psi2 attack 
despite failing a saving throw (-1) when telepathic (to make total of -2 
protection), as the total would be zero. However, if the character was 
Berserk as well, the overall total would be -1, and the character would be
confused by the attack despite both his resistances. If the attack had been
a Psi3 attack, this also results in a penalty to the chance of resisting, 
so the character would have been confused.

Confusing, isn't it?

In any case, higher-rated Psi attacks have more intrinsic chance of causing 
nasty side-effects. Psionic attacks come in several forms:

  Mind Thrust - the player's first attacks spell. A bolt of "Psi1" damage:
      the easiest to resist, and the one which causes the least serious 
      side-effects anyway. Only the player has this attack.

  Psionic Blast - a radius-2 ball of "Psi1" damage, dependent on the player's
      or monster's level.

  Psychic Crush - a radius-0 ball of "Psi2" damage. Affects exactly one 
      creature within line of sight. It is harder to resist the side-
      effects of this, and it does more damage.

  Psychic Wave - a beam of "Psi2" damage.

  Mind Wrack - a radius-0 ball of "Psi3" damage. It does not do as much 
      hit point damage as Psionic Blast or Psychic Crush, but the side-
      -effects are at their worst, and there is a penalty to the player's
      chances of avoiding them.

  Ultrablast - this spell, belonging only to the player, hits all monsters in 
      line of sight with a large amount of Psi1 damage.

  *Ultrablast* - this spell, also belonging only to the player, hits all 
      monsters in line of sight with a *very* large amount of Psi2 damage.
      Not surprisingly, it nearly runs the player out of mana as well...

  In addition to this, monsters can cast the usual assortment of spells of 
confusion, blinding, slowing, amnesia, hallucination etc, all of which 
depend on the standard saving throw (wisdom- and level-dependent) and on 
having the right resistance available.

  The player also has some interesting new powers. Animals are usually too 
stupid to be hurt by psionic attacks: however, casting the spell of Empathy
will allow you to empathise with them, and thus affect them. It doesn't help
you against non-intelligent creatures, or constructed creatures such as 
golems: these are a psionicist's worst enemies, and he will just have to 
use his powers of mind over matter to burn, freeze or crush them, or use 
his meagre weapon skills to hack them to pieces the hard way.

  A note also on the player's spell of Amnesia: a monster hit by this 
attack will "forget" how to use some of its powers. This could be useful,
in that a dragon might forget how to breathe: or it might be non-useful, 
in that a black reaver might forget how to do some of its more wimpy 
powers but remember how to cast mana storms, and consequently cast them 
more often as that's the one thing it can remember... 

     A full description of all psionic powers is available in the 
"psionics.txt" file.
