===================
=== The Dungeon === 
===================

Welcome to the dark subworld catacombs!

There are 50 levels within the steamband dungeon. Symbols on your screen
represent the dungeon's walls, floor, objects, features, and creatures.

You will work your way up from the centre of the earth to the surface.

===========================
=== Symbols On Your Map ===
===========================

Symbols on your map can be broken down into three categories: Features of
the dungeon such as walls, floor, doors, and traps; Objects which can be
picked up such as treasure, weapons, technological devices, etc; and creatures
which may or may not move about the dungeon, but are mostly harmful to your
character's well being.

                           =Monsters=
 
            a   Automaton           A   Alien
            b   Small Beastman      B   Large Beastman
            c   Card                C   Construct
            d   Dinosaur            D   Large Dinosaur
            e   Equipment           E   Elemental
            f   Feline (Cat)        F   (unused)
            g   Golem               G   Ghost
            h   Humanoids           H   Hybrid
            i   Bird                I   Insect
            j   (unused)            J   Snake
            k   Chicken             K   Mechanical Chicken
            l   Giant Louse         L   (unused)
            m   Mold                M   Monkey
            n   Plant               N   (unused)
            o   (unused)            O   (unused)
            p   Human/person        P   Giant Humanoid
            q   Quadruped           Q   (unused)
            r   Rodent              R   Reptile/Amphibian
            s   (unused)            S   Spider/Scorpion/Tick
            t   Townsperson         T   Tree
            u   Minor Demon         U   Major Demon
            v   Vortex              V   Vampire/Revenant
            w   Worm or Worm Mass   W   Wight/Wraith
            x   (unused)            X   (Unused)
            y   (unused)            Y   (Unused)
            z   Zombie/Mummy        Z   Hound or canine

 
               =Features that do not block line of sight=
 
  .   A floor space                   1   Entrance to General Store
  .   A trap (hidden)                 2   Entrance to Clothing Store
  ^   A trap (known)                  3   Entrance to Gun Smith
  ;   A force field                   4   Entrance to Machinist
  '   An open door                    5   Entrance to Alchemy Shop
  '   A broken door                   6   Entrance to Magic Store
  <   A staircase up                  7   Entrance to the Black Market
  >   A staircase down                8   Entrance to your Home
                                      9   Entrance to the Library
                                      0   Entrance to the Steamware Vendor


                  =Features that block line of sight=

  #   A secret door                   #   A wall
  +   A closed door                   %   A mineral vein
  +   A locked door                   *   A mineral vein with treasure
  +   A jammed door                   :   A pile of rubble


                            =Objects=
 
  !   A tonic (or flask)              /   A pole-arm
  ?   A mechanism (or book)           |   An edged weapon
  ,   An anodyne (or food)            \   A hafted weapon
  -   A ray gun or apparatus          }   A pistol, rifle, or shotgun
  _   A tool                          {   A bullet, or buckshot
  =   A ring                          (   Soft armour
  "   An amulet                       [   Hard armour
  $   Gold or gems                    ]   Misc. armour
  ~   Lites, Tools, Chests, etc       )   (unused)
  ~   Junk, Sticks, Skeletons, etc    &   (unused)
 
Some symbols are used to represent more than one type of entity, and some
symbols are used to represent entities in more than one category.  The "@"
symbol (by default) is used to represent the character.

It will not be necessary to remember all of the symbols and their meanings.
The "slash" command ("/") will identify any character appearing on your map
(see "commands.txt").

Note that you can use a "user pref file" to change any of these symbols to
something you are more comfortable with.
   

======================
=== The Town Level ===
======================

The town level is where you will begin your adventure.  The town consists of
ten buildings (each with an entrance), some townspeople, and a wall which
surrounds the town.  The town is always filled with a dim glow.


===================
=== Townspeople ===
===================

The town contains many different kinds of people.  There are the chimney
sweeps, young children who will mob an adventurer for money, and seem to
come out of the woodwork when excited.  Flower girls are a constant 
annoyance, but not harmful.  Drunkards wander about the town singing,
and are of no threat to anyone.  Demimondaine hang about watching for a
likely victim to mug.  And finally, what town would be complete without a
swarm of half drunk coal miners, who take offense or become annoyed just for
the fun of it. (There are assumed to be other people in the town, but they 
are not represented on the screen as they do not interact with the player
in any way.)

Most of the townspeople should be avoided by the largest possible distance
when you wander from store to store.  Fights will break out, though, so be
prepared.  Since your character grew up in this world of intrigue, no
experience is awarded for killing the town inhabitants, though you may
acquire treasure.


======================
=== Town Buildings ===
======================

Your character will begin his adventure with some basic supplies, and some
extra gold with which to purchase more supplies at the town stores.

You may enter any open store and buy or sell items of the appropriate type.
A price is agreed on by the player and the shopkeeper, dependent on the 
price of the item, the player's charisma, the shopkeeper's "greed" factor 
(the Black Market shopkeepers are always *VERY* greedy), and the races of 
the player and shopkeeper.

Haggling will eventually be totally removed.

Once inside a store, you will see the name and race of the store owner, the
name of the store, the maximum amount of cash that the store owner will pay
for any one item, and the store inventory, listed along with the prices. If 
auto-haggle is on, the price listed is the price you pay: if you are haggling 
manually, the price listed is his starting offer, which you can haggle 
downwards.

You will also see an (incomplete) list of available commands.  Note that
many of the commands which work in the dungeon work in the stores as well,
but some do not, especially those which involve "using" objects.

Stores do not always have everything in stock.  As the game progresses,
they may get new items so check from time to time.  Also, if you sell them
an item, it may get sold to a customer while you are adventuring, so don't
always expect to be able to get back everything you have sold.  Note that
the inventory of a store will not change while you are in town, even if you
save the game and return.  You must spend time in the dungeon if you wish
the store owner to clear out his stock and acquire new items.  If you have
a lot of spare gold, you can purchase every item in a store, which will
induce the store owner to bring out new stock, and perhaps even retire.

Store owners will not buy harmful or useless items.  If an object is
unidentified, they will pay you some base price for it.  Once they have
bought it they will immediately identify the object.  If it is a good object,
they will add it to their inventory.  If it was a bad bargain, they simply
throw the item away.  In any case, you may receive some knowledge of the
item if another is encountered.

The General Store ("1")
     The General Store sells foods, drinks, some clothing, torches, lamps,
     oil, shovels, picks, and spikes.  All of these items and some others
     can be sold back to the General store for money.

The Clothing Store ("2")
     The Clothing store is where the town's armour is fashioned.  All sorts of
     protective gear may be bought and sold here.

The Gun Shop ("3")
     The Gun Shop is where the town's weapons are fashioned.  Hand
     and missile weapons may be purchased and sold here, along with different
     types of ammo. As with the Clothing Store, not all weapon types will be 
     stocked here, unless they are sold to the shop by the player first.

The Machine Store ("4")
     The Machine Store deals in different types of mechanical equipment.

The Alchemy shop ("5")
     The Alchemy Shop deals in all types of tonics.

The Magic User's Store ("6")
     The Magic User's Shop deals in all sorts of rings, wands, amulets, and
     staves, as well as magic user books.

The Black Market ("7")
     The Black Market will sell and buy anything at extortionate prices.
     However it occasionally has VERY good items in it. The shopkeepers are
     not known for their tolerance...

Your Home ("8")
     This is your house where  you  can  store  objects  that you 
     cannot carry on your travels, or will need at a  later date.
     
The Library ("9")
	If you find books in the dungeon, you can return them here for skill
	points. The library also hands out quests to those wishing to earn
	extra gold, skills or items.

The Steamware Vendor ("0")
	You can pay the owner to research a variety of enhancements for you
	and after a set amount of time, he will be able to install these
	fantastic devices directly within your body.


==========================
=== Within The Dungeon ===
==========================

Once your character is adequately supplied with food, light, armor, and
weapons, he is ready to enter the dungeon.  Move on top of the `<' symbol
and use the 'Up stairs' command ('<').

Your character will enter a maze of interconnecting staircases and finally
arrive somewhere on the first level of the dungeon.  Each level of the
dungeon is fifty feet high (thus dungeon level "Lev 50" is often called
"2500 ft"), and is divided into (large) rectangular regions (several times
larger than the screen) by titanium walls.  Once you leave a level by a
staircase, you will never again find your way back to that region of that
level, but there are an infinite number of other regions at that same "depth"
that you can explore later.  So be careful that you have found all the
treasure before you leave a level, or you may never find it again!  The
monsters, of course, can use the stairs, and you may eventually encounter
them again.

In the dungeon, there are many things to find, but your character must
survive many horrible and challenging encounters to find the treasure lying
about and take it safely back to the town to sell.

There are two sources for light once inside the dungeon.  Permanent light
which has been magically placed within rooms, and a light source carried by
the player.  If neither is present, the character will be unable to see.
This will affect searching, picking locks, disarming traps, rigging mechanisms,
casting spells, browsing books, etc.  So be very careful not to run out of
light!

A character must wield a torch or lamp in order to supply his own light.  A
torch or lamp burns fuel as it is used, and once it is out of fuel, it stops
supplying light.  You will be warned as the light approaches this point.
You may use the 'F'uel command ('F') to refuel your lantern (with flasks of
oil) or your torch (with other torches), so it is a good idea to carry extra
torches or flasks of oil, as appropriate.  There are rumours of objects of
exceptional power which glow with their own never-ending light.


====================================
=== Objects Found In The Dungeon ===
====================================

The mines are full of objects just waiting to be picked up and used.  How
did they get there?  Well, the main source for useful items are all the
foolish adventurers that proceeded into the dungeon before you.  They get
killed, and the helpful creatures scatter the various treasure throughout
the dungeon.  Many cursed items are placed there by evil sorcerers, who 
enjoy a good joke. Especially when it gets the player killed.

Only one object may occupy a given floor location, which may or may not also
contain one creature.  Doors, rubble, traps, and staircases are considered
"objects" for this purpose.  As below, any item may actually be a "pile" of
up to 99 identical items.  With the right choice of "options", you may be
able to "stack" several items in the same grid.

You pick up objects by moving on top of them.  You can carry up to 23
different items in your backpack while wearing and wielding up to 12 others.
Although you are limited to 23 different items, each item may actually be a
"pile" of up to 99 similar items.  If you "t"ake off an item, it will go 
into your backpack if there is room: if there is no room in your backpack,
it will drop onto the floor, so be careful when swapping one wielded weapon
or worn piece of armor for another when your pack is full.

You are, however, limited in the total amount of weight that you can carry.
As you approach this value, you become slower, making it easier for monsters
to chase you.  Note that there is no upper bound on how much you can carry,
if you do not mind being slow.  Your weight "limit" is determined by your
strength.

Many objects found within the dungeon have special commands for their use.
Ray guns must be 'a'imed, tools must be 'u'sed, mechanisms must be 'r'igged, 
and tonics must be 'q'uaffed.  You may, in general, not only use items in 
your pack, but also items on the ground, if you are standing on top of them.

Chests are complex objects, containing traps, locks, and possibly treasure
or other objects inside them once they are opened.  Many of the commands
that apply to traps or doors also apply to chests and, like traps and doors,
these commands do not work if you are carrying the chest.

One item in particular will be discussed here.  The mechanism of 'Returning' 
can be found within the dungeon, or bought at the machinist shop in town.
It acts in two manners, depending upon  your current location.  If rigged
within the dungeon, it will teleport you back to town.  If rigged in town, it
will teleport you back down to the deepest level of the dungeon which your
character has previously been on.  This makes the mechanism very useful for
getting back to the deeper levels of Steamband.  Once the mechanism has been
rigged it takes a while for the mechanism to act, so don't expect it to save 
you in a crisis.  Rigging a second mechanism before the first has had a chance 
to take effect will cancel both mechanisms.

You may 'inscribe' any object with a textual inscription of your choice.
These inscriptions are not limited in length, though you may not be able to
see the whole inscription on the item.  The game applies special meaning to
inscriptions containing any text of the form '@#' or '@x#' or '!x' or '!*',
see 'commands.txt'.

The game provides some 'fake' inscriptions to help you keep track of your
possessions.  Wands and staves which are known to be empty will be inscribed
with 'empty'.  Objects which have been tried at least once but haven't been
identified yet will be inscribed with 'tried'.  Cursed objects are inscribed
with 'cursed'.  Broken objects may be inscribed with 'broken'.  Also, any
item which was purchased at a discount, implying that it is slightly
'sub-standard', will be inscribed with the appropriate 'discount', such as
'25% off'.  Note that these inscriptions are fake, and cannot be removed.

Also, occasionally you will notice that something in your inventory or
equipment list seems to be magical.  High level characters are much more
likely to notice this than beginning characters.  When you do notice this,
the item in question will be inscribed with 'good' or 'cursed' as is
relevant. Adventurers, Aesthetes (both well acquainted with weapons and armor)
and rogues (who have handled many powerful items in their time as stolen
goods) are more sensitive, and can notice not just that an item is out of
the ordinary, but just *how* extraordinary it is: they can notice an 
'excellent' item (ego item), a 'worthless' one (cursed ego item), a 
'special' one (artifact) and a 'terrible' one (cursed artifact). All 
classes will know an item is 'special' if it cannot be destroyed with the 
'k' command (original keyset.)

It is rumored that items of power and extra rare spell books may be found
deeper in the dungeon...

And lastly, a final warning: not all objects are what they seem.  The line
between tasty food and a poisonous mushroom is a fine one, and sometimes 
surprises are to be found. . .


======================
=== Cursed Objects ===
======================

Some objects, mainly armor and weapons, have had curses laid upon them.
These horrible objects will look like any other normal item, but will
detract from your character's stats or abilities if worn.  They will also
be impossible to remove until a remove curse is performed.  In fact some
are so badly cursed that even this will not work, and more potent methods
are needed.

If you wear or wield a cursed item, you will immediately feel deathly cold,
and the item will be marked with the fake inscription 'cursed'.

Shopkeepers will refuse to buy any item which is known to be cursed, either 
by having been identified or by being marked with the fake inscription.


==============
=== Mining ===
==============

Much of the treasure within the dungeon can be found only by mining it out
of the walls.  Many rich strikes exist within each level, but must be found
and mined.  Quartz veins are the richest, yielding the most metals and gems,
but magma veins will have some hoards hidden within.

Mining is rather difficult without a pick or shovel.  Picks and shovels have
an additional magical ability expressed as `(+#)'.  The higher the number,
the better the magical digging ability of the tool.  A pick or shovel also
has plusses to hit and damage, and can be used as a weapon, because, in fact,
it is one.

When a vein of quartz or magma is located, the character may wield his pick
or shovel and begin digging out a section.  When that section is removed, he
can locate another section of the vein and begin the process again.  Since
granite rock is much harder to dig through, it is much faster to follow the
vein exactly and dig around the granite.  Eventually, it becomes easier to
simply kill monsters and discover items in the dungeon to sell, than to walk
around digging for treasure.  But, early on, mineral veins can be a wonderful
source of easy treasure.

If the character has a scroll, staff, or spell of treasure location, he can
immediately locate all strikes of treasure within a vein shown on the
screen.  This makes mining much easier and more profitable.

Note that a character with high strength and/or a heavy weapon does not need
a shovel/pick to dig, but even the strongest character will benefit from a
pick if trying to dig through a granite wall.

It is sometimes possible to get a character trapped within the dungeon by
using various magical spells and items.  So it can be a good idea to always
carry some kind of digging tool, even when you are not planning on tunneling
for treasure.

There are rumors of certain incredibly profitable rooms buried deep in the
dungeon and completely surrounded by titanium and granite walls, requiring
a digging implement or magical means to enter.  The same rumors imply that
these rooms are guarded by incredibly powerful monsters, so beware!


=====================================================
=== Staircases, Secret Doors, Passages, and Rooms ===
=====================================================

Staircases are the manner in which you get deeper or climb out of the
dungeon.  The symbols for the up and down staircases are the same as the
commands to use them.  A "<" represents an up staircase and a ">" represents
a down staircase.  You must move your character over the staircase before
you can use it.

Each level has at least one up staircase and at least two down staircases.
There are no exceptions to this rule.  You may have trouble finding some well
hidden secret doors, or you may have to dig through obstructions to get to
them, but you can always find the stairs if you look hard enough.  Stairs,
like titanium walls, and shop entrances, cannot be destroyed by any means.

Many secret doors are used within the dungeon to confuse and demoralize
adventurers foolish enough to enter.  But with some luck, and lots of
concentration, you can find these secret doors.  Secret doors will sometimes
hide rooms or corridors, or even entire sections of that level of the
dungeon.  Sometimes they simply hide small empty closets or even dead ends.
Secret doors always look like granite walls, just like traps always look
like normal floors.

Creatures in the dungeon will generally know and use these secret doors, and
can often be counted on to leave them open behind them when they pass
through.

For historical reasons, secret doors are never locked.


========================
=== Winning The Game ===
========================

Once your character has killed the tool of evil, who lives on level 49 (100') 
in the dungeon, a magical staircase will appear that will allow you to finally reach
level 50.  An untold evil lurks on this level of his dungeon, and you will not be
able to go below his level until you have killed him. 

If you should actually survive the attempt of killing the final evil, you 
will receive the status of WINNER.  You may continue to explore, and may even
save the game and play more later, but since you have defeated the toughest
creature alive, there is really not much point. 

When you are ready to retire, simply "commit suicide" (using the "Q" key)
to have your character entered into the high score list as a winner.  Note
that until you retire, you can still be killed, so you may want to retire
before wandering into yet another horde of greater demons.


============================
=== Upon Death and Dying ===
============================
 
If your character falls below 0 wound points, he has died and cannot be
restored.  A tombstone showing information about your character will be
displayed.  You are also permitted to get a record of your character, and
all your equipment (identified) either on the screen or in a file.

Your character will leave behind a reduced save file, which contains only
the monster memory and your option choices.  It may be restored, in which
case a new character is generated exactly as if the file was not there, but
the new player will find his monster memory containing all the experience
of past incarnations.

There are a variety of ways to "cheat" death (including using a special
"cheating option") when it would otherwise occur.  This will fully heal
your character, returning him to the town, and marking him in various
ways as a character which has cheated death.  Cheating death, like using
any of the "cheating options", will prevent your character from appearing
on the high score list.

