CHAPTER 4: SPOILERS WARNING AND PREFACE
The following section contains information which the player does not have to kn ow in order to play the game, but which can be found out through the normal cour se of play. Players who wish to win without any additional help should not read the following sections. Those who only wish to find some specific information may find what they want here, and then not read anything else. For those whose curiosity has gotten the better of them, read what you will.
SPOILERS ON NETHACK
 The following is a reprint of an article posted by Maarten Jan Huisjes on 13 Aug , 1987. It has been extended to include other useful information. All informat ion is for the nethack version of hack. For people playing other versions of ha ck, you may ignore all the items which do not appear in your game. In particula r, ignore all references to spell books. This is a nethack property only. FOOD
<0 Fainting
0-49 Weak
50-149 Hungry
150-999 Satiated
1000-1499 Having a hard time
1500+ Choke
 Example: If the player is Having a hard time getting food down, he has at le ast 1000 turns before fainting. Hunger goes down 1/turn; 10/turn if regeneratin g or wearing a hunger ring You are hungrier after vomiting and casting spells. [Information under rings says 5/turn. I don't know which is correct. -PG] Mea t becomes tainted after ~50 turns. It is best to eat it immediately, or not at all.
 Name = The name of the food. The name used when wishing for the obje ct.
 Chance = The chance that a "%" symbol is that type of food. Weight = weight in pounds.
Nutrition = The number of turns added to the players hunger count.
 Name Chance Weight Nutrition1 Remarks food ration 46 4 800
tripe ration 16 2 200 May make you vomit. Tastes okay if polymorphed.
pancake 3 1 200
 dead lizard 3 1 40 Try when turning to stone. fortune cookie 7 1 40 Some rumours are true, some
rumours are false. carrot 2 1 50 May improve vision slice of pizza 5 1 250
cream pie 3 1 100 Fun to throw tin 7 1 *
* Contents of Tins:
 Salmon 60 Will make your hands slippery Peaches 40
Apple Juice 20
Substance 500
Rotten meat -50 Makes you vomit Spinach 600 Strength++. orange 1 1 80
apple 1 1 50
pear 1 1 50
melon 1 1 100
banana 1 1 80
candy bar 1 1 100
egg 1 1 80
clove of garlic 1 1 40 Can wield against undead lump of royal jelly 0 1 200 Healing, Sometimes strength++.
 DEAD THINGS:
 It is advised that the player not save meat for long periods of time, as it may become tainted. Eating a dead monster often conveys one of its attributes. The se are listed in the Remarks.
 Name Chance Weight Nutrition Remarks
dead acid blob 0 3 p30 Try when turning to stone. dead centaur 0 50 500
dead cockatrice 0 3 30 If you want to be a statue (But may eat safely as a cockatrice.) dead daemon 0 80 800
dead dog 0 20 200 Aggravate monsters. dead dragon 0 150 p1500 Makes you fire resistant. dead ettin 0 3 30
dead floating eye 0 1 s10 Gives you telepathy. dead fog cloud 0 1 10
dead freezing sphere 0 1 10 Makes you Cold resistant. dead gelatinous cube 0 10 100
dead giant 0 70 700 Strength++. dead giant ant 0 3 p30
dead giant bat 0 3 30 Confuses dead giant beetle 0 1 p10
dead giant rat 3 30
dead giant scorpion 0 10 p100 Same as killer bee. dead gnome 10 100
dead hobgoblin 0 20 200
dead homunculus 0 20 p200
dead human 0 40 400 Permanent aggravate monster. dead imp 0 1 10
dead jackal 0 10 100
dead jaguar 0 30 300
dead killer bee 0 1 p10 Makes you poison resistant. dead kobold 0 10 p100
dead leocrotta 0 50 500
dead leprechaun 0 40 s400 Makes you teleport. dead long worm 0 50 500
dead mimic 0 40 400 Mimic a treasure chest. dead minotaur 0 70 700
dead nurse 0 40 400 Aggravate monsters,h
eal wounds. dead nymph 0 40 s400 Makes you teleport. dead orc 0 20 s200
dead owlbear 0 70 700
dead piercer 0 20 200
dead purple worm 0 70 s700
dead quantum mechanic 0 20 s200 Makes you teleport. dead quivering blob 0 10 100
dead rust monster 0 50 s500
dead snake 0 10 p100
dead stalker 0 40 400 Gives you see invisible (Also invisibility if invisible?)
dead tengu 0 30 300 Makes you teleport. dead troll 0 40 400
dead umber hulk 0 50 s500
dead unicorn 0 30 s300
dead vampire 0 40 p400
dead violet fungus 0 10 100 Cosmic indeed (Oh wow ). dead wraith 0 1 10 Gain level. dead xan 0 30 s300
dead xorn 0 70 700
dead yellow light 0 1 10 Confuses. May improve vision dead yeti 0 70 700 Cold resistance. dead zombie 0 3 30
dead zruty 0 60 s600
WEAPONS
 AXE, SWORD, KATANA, and TWO-HANDED SWORD are good for worm-cutting. (PICK-)AXE, DAGGER, and CRYSKNIFE are good for tin-opening. SPEAR is good against X, D, n, e.
The damage is the maximum damage done by the weapon against that size of creatur e, not including damage modifiers.
Name Chance Weight Small/Large-damage
aklys 1 3 6 3
arrow 6 0 6 6
axe 5 3 6 4
bardiche 1 3 4 4 /* +1d4 small, +2d4 large */ bec de corbin 1 3 8 6
bill-guisarme 1 3 4 10 /* +1d4 small */ boomerang 1 3 9 9
bow 4 3 4 6
broad sword 1 3 4 6 /* +d4 small, +1 large */ club 1 3 6 3
crossbow 5 3 4 6
crossbow bolt 6 0 4 6
crysknife 0 3 10 10
dagger 4 3 4 3
dart 6 0 3 2
fauchard 1 3 6 8
flail 5 3 6 5 /* +1 small +1d4 large */ glaive 1 3 6 10
guisarme 1 3 4 8 /* +1d4 small */ halberd 1 3 10 6 /* +1d6 large */ javelin 1 3 6 6
katana 1 3 12 12
lance 1 3 6 8
long sword 5 3 8 12
lucern hammer 1 3 4 6 /* +1d4 small */ mace 6 3 6 7 /* +1 small */ morning star 1 3 4 6 /* +d4 small, +1 large */ partisan 1 3 6 6 /* +1 large */ ranseur 1 3 4 4 /* +
d4 both */ rock 4 1 3 3
scimitar 1 3 8 8
short sword 1 3 6 8
shuriken 3 0 8 6
sling 4 3 6 6
sling bullet 6 0 4 6
spear 4 3 6 8
spetum 1 3 6 6 /* +1 small, +d6 large */ trident 1 3 6 4 /* +1 small, +2d4 large */ two handed sword 4 4 12 6 /* +2d6 large */ voulge 1 3 4 4 /* +d4 both */ worm tooth 0 4 2 2
Enormous Rocks- have an excellent chance of hitting, and will do 1-20 damage, bu t you must be a giant to wield them.
Heavy Iron Balls- will do 1-25 damage! (but are extremely heavy)
 ARMOR
 Name Chance Weight Ac
banded mail 9 5 4
chain mail 10 5 5
helmet 3 1 9
plate mail 5 5 3
ring mail 12 5 7
scale mail 10 5 6
splint mail 7 5 4
The armors below do not rust.
bronze plate mail 6 5 4
crystal plate mail 1 5 3
elfin chain mail 1 1 5
elven cloak 5 0 9
leather armor 15 3 8
pair of gloves 1 1 9
shield 3 0 9
studded leather 12 3 7
SCROLLS
 Many scrolls give strange effects when confused or hallucinating.
 Name Chance Remarks (Effects when the player is not confused) amnesia 3 Player loses all spells, maps and knowledge of what items are.
 blank paper 3 The player may write on the paper in magic marker, and create a scroll. Write the name of a scroll you have already found
 confuse monster 5 The player will confuse the next monster he hits. create monster 5 A monster appears next to the player. damage weapon 5 The weapon has a -1 penalty cast upon it. destroy armor 5 Destroy the player's worn armor. enchant armor 6 Gives the armor a +1 bonus.
Do not try more than a +4 armor or it might evaporate. enchant weapon 6 Gives the weapon a +1 bonus. fire 5 Player loses 1-6 h.p., and may lose some flammable material.
 food detection 1 Displays all food on the level. genocide 2 The player may destroy any one type of monster. Do not try genocide '@', or reading when confused. gold detection 4 Displays all gold on the level. identify 18 The player may identify items in his possession. light 10 If read in a room, the room is now lit. magic mapping 5 Maps the level.
punishment 1 The 
player is cursed with a heavy iron ball. remove curse 6 All cursed items wielded or worn are uncursed. scare monster 4 The scroll has two uses:
1) If read, all monster in sight will run in terror from the player
 2) If dropped on the ground, no monster may attack the player in hand to hand combat so long as he remains st anding on the scroll. If the player attempts to pick up th e scroll after he has dropped it, it disintegrates. taming 1 Any creature next to the player becomes the player's pet. teleportation 5 The player teleports to a (random) location on the level .
 EFFECTS OF SCROLLS WHEN CONFUSED
amnesia » you forget how to read.
confuse monster » Normal effect.
create monster » surrounds the player with eight acid blobs ("a"). damage weapon » weapon is now rustable
destroy armor » armor is rustable.
enchant armor » armor glows silver, and is now rust proof. enchant weapon » weapon is now rust proof.
fire » you burn your hands.
food detection » see fake food
genocide » kills all @. (including you)
gold detection » see fake gold
identify » identifies the scroll as an identify scroll light » room is now not lit.
magic mapping » gives random spaces of the map punishment » ?
remove curse » curses item
scare monster » aggravate monster blank paper » Normal effect. taming » tames EVERY creature in sight. (fun for treasure zoos) teleportation » the player is teleported to a random level. If the player has teleport control, he may choose the level. WANDS
 Some wands may be used on the player. Type "." for direction.
Name Chance Remarks - (D) indicates the player must specify a direction. cancellation 5 (D) The target loses any special abilities. If the targ et had or was a magic object, it loses any magic pluses and char ges.
 cold 5 (D) Fires a bolt of cold in the direction indicated. create monster 5 Acts as a scroll of create monster. death 1 (D) Death will kill any creature it hits. Use with care, it mig ht bounce.
 digging 5 (D) Digs a hole in walls in the direction the wand is pointed. fire 5 (D) Fires a bolt of fire in the direction indicated. light 10 Acts as a scroll of light when zapped. magic missile 10 (D) Fires a bolt of magic missle in the direction indica ted.
 make invisible 7 (D) Makes the target invisible. nothing 2 This wand does nothing when zapped. polymorph 5 (D) Use it on wands and you might find another. The pla yer changes the target(s). This is discussed further under POL YMORPHING YOURSELF AND YOUR ITEMS.
probing 2 (D) Displays the stats of any monster it is pointed at. secret door detection 5 All secret doors in sight of the player are foun d.
 sleep 5 (D) Will sleep any creature it hits. slow monster 5 (D) The monster's speed is halved. Not cumulative. speed monster 5 (D) The monster's speed is doubled. The player gains Sp eed.
 
striking 7 (D) The player gets a ranged attack on any creature or o bject it is pointed at.
teleportation 5 (D) Teleports the target (randomly). undead turning 5 (D) If zapped at undead creatures, they run in fear If zapped at a dead monster, it is brought back to life. wishing 1 Actually this chance is even smaller. The player may wi sh for an item. This is discussed under "WISHING FOR OBJECTS"
 SPELLS
 These spells are for nethack only. Level is the difficulty of learning the spel l, and its point cost. It is harder to transcribe spells before the player is 7 th level.
 Name Chance Level
cancellation 1 7
cause fear 4 3
charm monster 3 3
cone of cold 1 5
confuse monster 5 2
create familiar 1 6
create monster 4 2
cure blindness 3 2
cure sickness 3 3
detect food 5 2
detect monsters 5 1
detect treasure 3 4
detect unseen 4 3
dig 2 5
extra healing 3 3
finger of death 1 7
fireball 2 4
force bolt 4 1
genocide 1 7
haste self 3 3
healing 6 1
identify 1 5
invisibility 3 4
levitation 3 4
light 5 1
magic mapping 2 5
magic missile 4 2
polymorph 1 6
remove curse 2 5
restore strength 2 4
sleep 6 1
slow monster 4 2
teleport away 2 6
turn undead 1 6
RINGS
 Rings all weigh 1
 Name
 adornment No effect, other than its value. aggravate monster All monsters will be awake and angry at the player. cold resistance The player is immune to cold. conflict All creatures will attack the creature closest to themselves. G reat at treasure zoos.
fire resistance The player is immune to fire. gain strength The player's strength is increased. hunger The player becomes hungrier 5 times as quickly. increase damage The player's damage is increased. levitation The player floats off the ground, and can n
ot fall down, nor can he pick up items. He is immune to pit traps, trap doors and water spaces, and can carry more items up stairs.
poison resistance The player is unaffected by poison. (But watch out for biologically contaminated orange juice).
protection from
 shape changers All shape changers appear as a ":", and cannot c hange shape.
 protection The player gains a bonus on his A.C. regeneration The player heals one hit point per turn. Note: This ring makes the player become hungrier 5 times as quickly. Also, at high levels the rings SLOWS DOWN your regeneration. searching The player performs a free "s" command each turn. see invisible The player can see all invisible objects and creatures. stealth The player will not wake up sleeping monsters, unless he attacks them.
 teleport control The player may choose, when he teleports, where he wishe s to go to.
teleportation Bestows intrinsic teleportation. [But not control! -PG] warning The ring will glow when a monster is generated.
[These last two are additions as of NetHack 2.2 -PG] polymorph Randomly polymorphs player into another monster. May or may not be human. May or may not kill player from shock. polymorph control The player may choose what type of monster to Polymorph into.
 GEMS
 Name Chance Pecunia
dilithium crystal 1 4500
diamond 1 4000
ruby 1 3500
sapphire 1 3000
emerald 1 2500
turquoise 1 2000
aquamarine 1 1500
tourmaline 1 1000
topaz 1 900
opal 1 800
garnet 1 700
amethyst 1 650
agate 2 600
onyx 2 550
jasper 2 500
jade 2 450
 POTIONS
 Potions may be quaffed, or thrown. If a potion is thrown down (">" for directio n), the message listed next to Vapor is received.
Name Message(s)
restore strength Wow! This makes you feel great! ... looks sound and hale again! (Thrown to monster) gain energy Magical energies course through your body. You feel feverish. (Confused)
booze Ooph! This tastes like liquid fire!
You feel somewhat dizzy. (Vapor)
invisibility Gee! All of a sudden, you can't see yourself. For an instance you couldn't see your right hand.(Vapor) You feel rather airy. (Blinded)
fruit juice This tastes like fruit juice.
healing You begin to feel better.
... looks sound and hale agai
n! (Thrown to monster) paralysis Your feet are frozen to the floor!
Something seems to be holding you. (Vapor)
You are motionlessly suspended. (Levitated) monster detection You sense the presence of monsters. You feel threatened. (No monsters)
object detection You sense the presence of objects. You sense the presence of objects close nearby.
You feel a pull downward. (No objects)
sickness Yech! This stuff tastes like poison.
... looks rather ill. (Thrown to monster) confusion Huh, What? Where am I?
What a trippy feeling. (Hallucinating)
You feel somewhat dizzy. (Vapor)
gain strength Wow do you feel strong!
... looks sound and hale again! (Thrown to monster) speed You are suddenly moving much faster.
Your knees seem more flexible now. (Vapor)
Your legs get new energy. (Fast)
blindness A cloud of darkness falls upon you.
It suddenly gets dark. (Vapor)
Bummer! Everything is dark! Help! (Hallucinating) gain level You feel more experienced.
extra healing You feel much better.
... looks sound and hale again! (Thrown to monster) levitation Oh wow! You're floating in the air! (Hallucinating) hallucination Oh wow! Everything looks so cosmic!
You have a vision for a moment. (Vapor) holy water You feel full of awe.
This burns like acid. (When you are 'Z','V','W' or '&') ... shrieks in pain! (Thrown to 'Z','V','W',' ' or '&') Extended commands:
 #dip Dip arrows or darts in the potion and if it was a potion of: Sickness or Paralysis --> your dipped weapon gets stronger. Holy water --> your weapon gets blessed and is better in use against the undead. Note that this uses up the potion, just like quaffing it. #pray You can pray 300 turns after you last prayed (1000 if a demigod). Howev er, you can wait too long between prayers. You can also use the "time" option t o see how much time has passed. Terrible things may happen if you pray too soon , so be sure that your time has come. Possible effects include having your stre ngth, hit points and hunger restored, gaining 5 additional hp; gaining an intrin sic power; gaining an item, and becoming the hand of Elbereth (good luck). The negative effects of praying too s
oon are left to the player to discover.
#sit Use this command while you are on an throne (\). You might get a wish ( Chance 1 in 86), but also you can lose your gold or your possessions get cursed or identified!!
 #wipe Clean your face when dirty.
#breathe First polymorph yourself in a Dragon. Then you can breathe fire .
 #remove First polymorph into a Nymph. Then you can remove iron balls.
 SPECIAL NOTES FOR HACK:
 LUCK:
 Luck is used in many different features of hack. In particular, luck is used in combat to determine whether the player and his opponent hit, and how much d amage is done. Luck is also used when praying, and in using wands of wishing. Luck begins at 0, and increases or decreases as the game goes on. The highe r the player's luck, the luckier he is. The maximum luck is usually 10 (altho ugh this changes with the phases of the moon in some versions). The minimum luck is -10. The player should
try to be a
ware of two basic ways of modifying his luck. The first is that kill ing any tame creature (such as your dog), and killing any human (such as a sho pkeeper) will result in the player's luck being drastically reduced. The seco nd is that if the player throws a gem at a unicorn, his luck will be increased . It is the latter that we will discuss in depth. First, the gem must be an actual gem, and not a piece of colored glass. Also, if the gem has been identi fied as being real, then the inc
rease in the player's luck will be much greater than if the gem the was uniden tified. More importantly, it is fairly difficult to get into a position to thr ow a gem at a unicorn, since the unicorn will never move into such a space. S hould the unicorn be forced to move into such a space, it will teleport to ano ther space on the level. There are numerous methods to circumvent this. One me thod is to quaff a haste potion, and simply walk next to it during the player' s "free" move. Another, more mo
re useful method, is to get a teleport control ring and teleport next to the u nicorn (or along a line of sight). The unicorn does not have a chance to move away, since teleporting does not count as a turn for movement purposes. The latter method is more common, since teleportation is (can be) intrinsic to the c haracter, and teleport control is a necessity. One method to trap the unicorn , so that the player can move next to it without the use of ^T is the following: Unicorns in rooms only move dia
gnolly, and will only teleport if a move is impossible. Hence you can restric t the unicorn to two spaces as shown below:
|.....
 |..@..
 |1....
 |.2...
 ------
 The unicorn will only move in the spaces marked 1 and 2, and will not teleport away. This allows the player to teleport freely next to the unicorn.
 THE LITTLE DOG:
 To me, the most interesting (although by far not the most useful) feature of hac k is the little dog, and the way tame creatures work in general in hack. If the player wishes to try to make use of his pet, he should be aware of its abilitie s, limitations and its intelligence (or lack thereof). The dog is friendly tow ards the player, and will tend to follow him around the dungeon. However, the d og, like the player, requires food to live. The dog can eat every non-poisonous substance safely, and will not
eat tainted meat. Under normal circumstances, the dog will not eat food rations , fruit and other "human" foods. The dog goes through three stages of developm ent: little dog, dog and large dog. In fact, the dog actually goes through more , but they are divided equally into these three classes. All dogs may attack tw ice per turn, and move two spaces per turn (i.e. they are hasted). Dogs will d o about 1-6 points of damage per hit, so they can do 2-12 points of damage per round. A hasted dog can be quit
e vicious. The dog improves by gaining experience from killing monsters, just as the character does. The dog, however, is limited to level 6, and about 85 hp , so the dog cannot become as powerful as the character. However, initially, th e dog can be much better than the character at killing creatures, and so can be useful for low-level characters as a guard dog. If the player goes up or down levels for any reason, then if the dog is on a space adjacent to the character, he will change levels with the p
layer. But if the dog is not on an adjacent space, he is stranded on the old le vel. When a dog becomes stranded, he becomes wild. The player may also find ot her wild dogs in the dungeon. A wild dog will attack the player like any other monster. However, the dog will be tamed if the player throws any food (except f ruit) at the dog. The dog will then "devour" the food, and is from then on the pet of the player. Note, also, that the player is not limited to one pet, but m ay tame as many pets as he wishe
s. A pet has other abilities as well. The first is that the pet will tend not to walk over cursed items. This gives 
the player a cheap test to see if an ite m is cursed. In addition, the dog will pick up items that he finds, and bring them to the player. Finally, the dog will stay closer to the player if the play er has a tripe ration.
 GHOST LEVELS:
 Occasionally, when a character dies, hack will save the level he died on for fut ure use. This level is called a ghost level, and the reader is bound to find on e sooner or later. Everything on the level will be exactly as it was when the c haracter died, with one addition. The old character's ghost is also on the leve l. Ghosts, although hard to kill, can do almost no damage. The nice thing abou t ghost levels is that all of the old character's items are in one pile on the s pace the character died. It is
a simple matter to get these items. In fact, the hardest thing about ghost leve ls is that usually whatever killed the old character is powerful enough to kill the new character as well. There can be multiple ghost on one level. I recall one level which had three cockatrices and five ghosts. Fortunately, ghost level s are eventually cleared by the program after a certain period of time, so the p layer does not have to worry to much about them in general.
WISHING FOR OBJECTS:
Near the end of the game, the player will find wands of wishing. When these ar e zapped, the player is asked to wish for an item. One of the most frustrating things in hack is when a beginning player can not figure out what the exact na me of the item he wants to wish for is. Here is how wishing is accomplished. I n the previous item list, the name of the object is the name the player gives ha ck to wish for that item, not including the number wished for, and the plus of t he item (when wishing for weapon
s or armor). The general format is: <# wished for><plus of item><name of ite m> The player can NEVER wish for more than 3 of any item, or for an item with m agical plus greater than +3. Example: To wish for 3 potions of gain level, th e player would type "3 potions of gain level". To wish for a +3 elven cloak, "+ 3 elven cloak" [Note that if the program can't understand what you want, it wil l make a random selection. -PG]
THE CHARACTERS OF HACK2:
 ARCHAEOLOGIST: (or Speleoligist) This character has a passion for the explorat ion of the unknown. But don't let those spectacle deceive you. believe that mi ld mannered exterior lies a character as tough as the Sahara. The Archaeologist begins with a pick axe, and a large box for storing his lunch. Initial Stats: Strength: 14 Armour Class: 7 Hit Points: 12 Favorite dog names: Caesar, Rama Tut, Troy
Special abilities: Speed
Special items: pick axe, large box
TOURIST: Always cheerful, the tourist has always wanted to see the sights in the Dungeon of Doom. Although the weakest of the characters, he is ready ready to have a ball. He has his picnic lunch, his wallet, his ever ready camera and his custom made darts (just in case there's a pub down there.) The camera also h as the Fisso-Blast Nuclear Flash Bulb, making night into solar flare and blindin g any creature to stupid enough to let its picture be taken. Let's hope you rem embered the leash. The tourist:
He may not be strong, but he sure isn't hungry. Initial Stats: Strength: 11 Armour Class: 10 Hit Points: 10
Favorite dog names: Spot, Rover, Fluffy
Special abilities: None
Special items: expensive camera, leash, +2 darts, lots of food
BARBARIAN: [Changed from FIGHTER with NetHack 2.2 -PG] You heard that the Dun geon was a real challenge, but you heard that kind of talk before. Before you whip out your sword that is. It's not that accurate, but if it hits, you can ki ss that baby goodbye. Rough and tough, with a sword the size of the Sears build ing, this character is a foe to be reckoned with. 
 Initial Stats: Strength: 17 Armour Class: 7 Hit Points: 14 Favorite dog names: Spartan, Killer, Fluffy (don't laugh) Special abilities: None
Special items: Two-Handed Sword
 KNIGHT: Some people have called you a coward and a wimp because you wear so m uch armor, and you're not very strong. But then again, they're dead and you're not. After all, as long as you've got the armor available, why not use all at o nce. Plus you know a few tricks when it comes to turning undead. When it comes right down to it, a fellow can't be too careful. Initial Stats: Strength: 10 Armour Class: 3 Hit Points: 12 Favorite dog names: Arthur, Lancelot, Sir Robin
Special abilities: Turn undead
Special items: Long Sword
 CAVE-MAN: FOOD! It is the way of life. Food is good. Raw. The big cave has much food. Has funny trinket too. You kill food with bow and club. You kill food with bare hands. You kill food with mean glance. Smash anything in your w ay. You may be hungry, but you sure are strong. Initial Stats: Strength: 18 Armour Class: 8 Hit Points: 16 Favorite dog names: DOG, WOOF, FOOD
Special abilities: None
Special items: +1 club
 SAMURAI: Your honor is at stake. You must recover the sacred amulet, or die trying. The ancient fighting skills of all your warlord ancestors are yours to command, as is your mighty katana. You are quicker than your foes, and strong , and will defeat the evil creatures in your path. Favorite dog names: Sun-Tzu , Rising Sun, Tsunami Special abilities: Speed Special items: None NINJA: None can hear you come, and none can warn your passing. Silent as the night and deadly as a cobra, you stal
k your prize in the fabled dungeon. Your katana can dispatch the weak, and your stealth will allow you to pass the strong. Quicker than your foes, the prize is as good as yours. The ninja never fails.
Initial Stats: Strength: 16 Armour Class: 4 Hit Points: 16 Favorite dog names: Swift-wind, Night blade, Sushi Special abilities: Speed, Stealth
Special items: Katana, [Blindfold, as of NetHack 2.2 -PG]
PRIEST: You are on a holy quest to recover the sacred relic from the hands of the evil in the Dungeon. With the power of God, you will turn the undead monst rosities, and venture into the bowels of the earth. You know a little magic as well. If only you had remembered the holy hand grenade. Initial Stats: Strength: 15 Armour Class: 4 Hit Points: 13 Favorite dog names: Jonah, Samson, Gabriel
Special Abilities: Turn undead
Special items: Blessed +1 Mace, 2 Spellbooks
VALKYRIE: Fabled warrior of Norse legend, you enter the halls to do battle wi th the creatures of the dungeon. You wield your mighty spear, and use your qui ckness and fighting skills to defeat your terrible foes. You are tough, and are used to the frigid winters of Frygia. Glory in the battle to come! Initial Stats: Strength: 17 Armour Class: 6 Hit Points: 16 Favorite dog names: Thor, Odin's Blood, Balder
Special Abilities: Cold resistance
Special items: Long Sword
 ELF: How silly to take something like the Dungeon so seriously. After all, h ow can any of those nasty creatures catch you, let alone escape your bow? Beside s, you're pretty sneaky, and have really good eyesight.You may as well get the amulet, and then think of something else that would be fun to do. Initial Stats: Strength: 16 Armour Class: 9 Hit Points: 16 Favorite dog names: Happy, Hee-Hee, Keebler
Special Abilities: Stealth, Speed 
Special Items: Sword
 HEALER: As a doctor, you live to heal those in need. You also wouldn't mind making a lot of money. Stethoscope in hand, you venture bravely into the darkne ss of the dungeon. You were vaccinated, just in case, and have your poison ant idotes ready. You may be a healer, but you wouldn't mind kicking some butt down here.
 Initial Stats: Strength: 15 Armour Class: 10 Hit Points: 16 Favorite dog names: Casey, Kildare, Quincy
Special Abilities: Poison resistance
Special Items: Stethoscope
 WIZARD: The mighty one, who wields the forces few can guess at. With your po werful magical items, magical spells and good teleportational potential, the den izens of this dungeon will bow before you power. Either the weakest or most pow erful of characters, the wizard is in a class by himself. Initial Stats: Strength: 16 Armour Class:9 Hit Points: 15 Favorite dog names: Gandalf, Merlin, Skeeve
Special Abilities: Better with spells, teleport and magic whistles Special Items: lots of magic items
Each character has advantages, but some are more unusual than others. The Touri st is a weak human being, but is equipped with a camera and inexhaustible flash unit that blinds monsters. The Healer (with a stethoscope to diagnose monsters) and the Tourist are both weak and difficult to keep alive. (The idea is to get by until weapons, armor and magic can be found, so that the benefits of the pecu liar items can be enjoyed.) The Archaeologist/Speleologist starts with a pickax e to dig and box to keep food.
The remaining characters are self-explanatory.
POLYMORPHING YOURSELF AND YOUR ITEMS
(and other masochistic pastimes)
The following only applies to nethack, and certain updated versions of hack. T he player should be aware that he is able in some versions to cast polymorph on himself and on objects, as well as on monsters. To polymorph yourself (and, in fact, to cast any spell on yourself), you type "." for the spell's direction. Polymorphing yourself results in the character becoming some type of monster. T he character's hit points will be reduced to conform with the monster type, and the character will gain all abil
ities of the monster he is. Be forewarned, however, that any armor you are wea ring when you polymorph may be destroyed, and that non-humanoid monsters can not wear armor or wield weapons, in addition to there more limited hit points. Pol ymorphing is not for everyone. To polymorph an object, simply drop the object, and polymorph in the direction of the object, as if it were a monster. Objects are polymorphed into random objects of the same type. For instance, a food rati on can be polymorphed into a car
rot, a tripe ration, or any other comestible. The only exception is that rocks are polymorphed into gems. The uses for this become quite clear after some thou ght on the readers part. For instance, useless items can be transformed into mo re powerful ones. In particular, polymorphing wands has its own special side ef fects.