Angband FAQ Part Two

From: benh@phial.com (Ben Harrison)
Newsgroups: rec.games.roguelike.angband
Subject: rec.games.roguelike.angband FAQ part 2
Followup-To: rec.games.roguelike.angband
Organization: Adventurers Anonymous
Summary: Some *SPOILERS* for the roguelike game Angband

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Angband Frequently Asked Questions - Part 2 (Spoilers)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Compiled and maintained by Ben Harrison (benh@phial.com).
For Angband version 2.8.3 - May be inaccurate with other versions.

Angband FAQ Part One (Non-Spoilers) is available separately.

Based on the old Angband FAQ by Charles F. Teague II & Charles Swiger, and
information provided by Jules Bean, Matt Craighead, Joseph W. DeVincentis,
Leonard Dickens, Ben Harrison, Jason Holtzapple, Randy Hutson, Stephen S.
Lee, Rick Lim, Steve Linberg, Mike Marcelais, Ross Millikan, Adam Schenker,
Andrew Schoonmaker, Cliff Stamp, Billy Tanksley, Pat Tracy, and others.

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Table of Contents
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Angband FAQ - Part Two:

  1. Spoiler Files
       a. Where can I get spoiler files and what are their contents?
  2. Abilities and Resistances
       a. I don't have see invisible, but I occasionally see invisible
          monsters. What's going on?
       b. What's the best way to identify items?
       c. I just got a feeling about an item. What does it mean?
       d. What does free action do? Is it important?
       e. My stats got shuffled by a nexus attack! How do I prevent this?
          Can they be restored?
       f. What is the difference between resist confusion and resist chaos?
       g. What is the difference between ignore, resist and immune?
  3. Items
       a. What is a weapon of freezing/burning/shocking/melting?
       b. What does a [insert item here] do ?
       c. I found a weapon of Morgul. Is is worth anything?
       d. What are the special powers of Dragon Scale Mail?
       e. Explain "good" and "great" items.
       f. Which items can have extra powers?
       g. How do I discover an item's special powers?
  4. Artifacts
       a. Will I ever see an artifact in one of the stores in town?
       b. Explain the generation of artifacts.
       c. Can an artifact be stolen or destroyed by a monster attack?
       d. I found an artifact on a level that was not "special." What's up?
       e. One of my items/artifacts was disenchanted! How can I prevent
          this? Is there any way to restore the item?
       f. I found Calris. Joy! But how do I uncurse it?
  5. Combat & Survival
       a. Is there a trick for surviving an attack by a group of monsters?
       b. What are some general survival tips?
       c. How many attacks should my character be getting?
       d. How do missile weapon to-hit and to-damage bonuses work?
       e. How do damage multipliers work?
       f. What are the damage mulipliers for ego weapons?
       g. I got a critical hit with my weapon. How much damage did it do?
       h. My priest character doesn't feel comfortable wielding his or her
          weapon. Why?
  6. Spellcasting
       a. How do I keep my spellbooks from being destroyed by fire?
       b. Why did my maximum mana suddenly go down?
       c. I don't have enough mana to cast a spell. What are the
          consequences if I cast it anyway?
       d. I cast a spell twice in a row. Why doesn't the duration double?
       e. My bolt spell took out a row of monsters! What happened?
       f. Where do I find the higher-level spellbooks?
  7. Monsters
       a. Are monsters susceptible to certain attacks, like they were in
          Moria?
       b. Why are there two different entries in my monster memory for the
          same monster?
       c. I killed a monster that I couldn't see. Do I get credit in the
          monster memory for the kill? What about experience?
       d. How do I kill large numbers of orcs or trolls fairly easily?
       e. Why can't I target a monster in a wall?
       f. Should I kill Farmer Maggot?
       g. I'm having lots of trouble with a unique monster. Help!
  8. Dungeon Features
       a. How is the treasure in chests generated?
       b. What are monster pits?
       c. What are monster nests?
       d. What are lesser vaults?
       e. What are greater vaults?

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Angband Faq - Part Two
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1. Spoiler Files
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1a. Where can I get spoiler files and what are their contents?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The most recent spoiler files can be obtained via anonymous FTP from the
official developement FTP site (Help-Info directory) at
ftp://clockwork.dementia.org/angband/Help-Info.

Descriptions of some useful spoiler files follow:

   * initstat.spo: details how the computer generates starting statistics
     for a character based on class and race (outdated)
   * stat.spo: modifiers to abilities based on statistics (outdated)
   * store.spo: information on storekeepers (outdated)
   * spells.spo: spell effects (outdated)
   * dungeon.spo: information on dungeon level creation and level feelings
   * obj-long.spo: detailed information on every object found in the game,
     mundane and magical, except for artifacts. Also includes information on
     wand/staff/rod failure rates
   * obj-good.spo: how good and great items are created and their abilities
   * artifact.spo: artifact list with complete descriptions
   * attack.spo: determining player combat skill
   * mon-blow.spo: information on monster attacks
   * mon-info.spo: very long spoiler detailing monsters and uniques

By adding spoiler files to the ./lib/info directory, you should be able to
access them via the online help, if you have the appropriate "menu" files in
addition to the spoiler files themselves.

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2. Abilities And Resistances
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

2a. I don't have see invisible, but I occasionally see invisible monsters.
What's going on?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Infravision allows you to see some invisible monsters if they aren't
cold-blooded. This is not a bug.

2b. What's the best way to identify items?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some items are junk and don't have to be identified: broken bones, skulls
and sticks, empty bottles, shards of pottery and skeletons. Some items look
like junk but have value: filthy rags can be worn if you have no armor and
broken swords and daggers can be wielded as weapons. Occasionally, even the
lowliest filthy rag or broken sword can have amazing powers.

For warriors, paladins and rogues, carry all the weapons and armor your
character finds. The 'pseudo-identify' will give some idea of the item's
value. For mages and rangers who have the identify spell and know it well
enough to cast fairly often, ID everything. Warriors, priests, and low level
mages and rangers have to depend on Scrolls of Identify and Rods and Staves
of Perception. Priests with 'Orb of Draining' can use it to weed out
non-artifact cursed items on the floor. Even priests, mages and rangers do
get some feeling of 'good' or 'cursed' items if they carry things long
enough, but this is much more general than the feelings other classes
receive. See the next question.

2c. I just got a feeling about an item. What does it mean?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warriors, rogues and paladins can get these feelings:

 'terrible'  - cursed artifact, usually bad
 'worthless' - cursed ego item
 'cursed'    - cursed item
 'broken'        - useless normal item
 'average'   - normal item
 'good'      - item with bonuses
 'excellent' - item with special powers (ego item)
 'special'   - artifact, usually good

But note that at least one 'terrible' item is actually good (Calris).

While priests, mages and rangers are limited to:

 'good'    - can be 'special,' 'excellent,' or 'good' as above
 'cursed'  - can be 'terrible,' 'worthless,' or 'cursed' as above

2d. What does free action do? Is it important?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Free action prevents you from being paralyzed or slowed by most attacks. It
does not protect against certain slowing attacks, like the breath of gravity
hounds. It is essential after about 1000', as paralyzation at those levels
can often mean instant death. Thankfully, many items provide it, and it is
not too difficult to obtain.

2e. My stats got shuffled by a nexus attack! How do I prevent this? Can they
be restored?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The nexus "stat-shuffling" attack can be prevented by resist nexus. PDSM,
Aule, Bloodspkike, Soulkeeper, Bladeturner, Isildur, Arvedui, Iron Crown of
Morgoth, Hammerhand and Feanor all resist nexus. You also get a saving
throw, so high WIS helps. If your stats do get shuffled, there is no way to
restore them, short of getting them shuffled again until they get restored.
Of course, if all your stats are maximized then it doesn't matter if they
get shuffled.

2f. What is the difference between resist confusion and resist chaos?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resist chaos grants resist chaos and resist confusion. But resist confusion
only resists confusion. I hope the confusion over this issue has ended. :)

2g. What is the difference between ignore, resist and immune?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
An item with an 'ignore' power cannot be damaged by that attack.

Items with 'resist' powers make your character resist damage and side
effects from those attacks, but they do not protect other equipment from
harm.

Items with 'immune' powers make your character immune to damage of that type
and protect carried items from harm.

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3. Items
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3a. What is a weapon of freezing/burning/shocking/melting?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
These weapons are "branded" with one of the four elements,
cold/fire/electricity/acid (respectively). A monster that is not resistant
to the branded element will take x3 base damage from any attack with that
weapon.

3b. What does a [insert item here] do ?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   * Potion of Life - restores lost experience, restores any drained stats,
     cures poison, confusion, blindness, hallucination, removes fear and
     stunning, heals cuts and fully heals you.

   * Potion of Augmentation - restores all your stats, then attempts to
     raise each one.

   * Potion of Death or Ruinations - Need you ask? Don't drink it!

   * Potion of Detonations - Don't drink it! It makes a good thrown weapon,
     though, inflicting 25d25 points of damage.

   * Potion of Enlightenment - a Potion of Enlightenment maps and lights the
     entire level, like the 'Clairvoyance' prayer. It also detects all
     objects.

   * Potion of *Enlightenment* - completely lights and maps the level,
     identifies all your items, restores your INT and WIS and then increases
     them if below maximum, grants self-knowledge, and detects all objects
     in the immediate vicinity.

   * Staff or Rod of Enlightenment - acts as the priest spell of sense
     surroundings (basically, it maps one screen, without detecting
     anything).

   * Staff of the Magi - restores your INT and mana to the maximum.

   * Scroll of Acquirement - Creates one item of great quality on the floor
     near the player. *Acquirement* creates several.

   * Curse Weapon/Armor Scroll - these will ruin an equipped weapon or piece
     of armor. Artifacts have only a small chance to survive ruination. Can
     be used to remove a heavily cursed weapon, as the scroll will "lower"
     the curse to a normal curse.

3c. I found a weapon of Morgul. Is is worth anything?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
No! Not only do they have large minuses to hit and to damage, they are
*cursed*, meaning if your character wields one they cannot unwield it until
they read a scroll of *Remove Curse*.

3d. What are the special powers of Dragon Scale Mail?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
All DSMs except for the rare Power DSM start at [30,+10] and weigh just 20
pounds, so they are great armor. No DSM can be damaged by the four elemental
attacks.

All DSMs provide resistance to the "natural" breath weapon(s) of that type
of dragon (i.e., Red DSM has resist fire, Green DSM has resist poison, etc.)
Some of these resistances are not very useful, but some are very rare and
precious high resistances. Some of the more powerful DSMs are the are the
only items in the game (except artifacts) that can provide multiple high
resistances.

In addition, all DSM can be activated for a breath weapon appropriate for
the type of dragon. This capability can very useful for a lower level
character who is lucky enough to find a DSM.

For information on the specific resistance(s) and activation provided by a
particular type of DSM, see the spoiler file obj-long.spo.

3e. Explain "good" and "great" items.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that this section is slightly out of date!

Any weapon or piece of armor created by Angband has a chance to become a
"good" item, based on the dungeon level on which it was created. "Good"
weapons have bonuses to hit and damage and "good" armor will have a bonus to
Armor Class.

Any "good" item has a chance (again based on dungeon level) to become a
"great" item. These items are most of the "named" items such as Holy
Avengers, Slay Weapons and special "resist" armors. Sometimes a "great" item
will have additional bonuses over the previous "good" item. These are also
called "ego items."

Any "great" item has a chance to become an artifact if several other
conditions exist.

For more information, see the spoilers obj-good.spo and artifact.spo.

3f. Which items can have extra powers?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seven ego-items in the game have random powers and are likely candidates for
*Identify* scrolls.

These items will sustain one statistic:

   * Holy Avenger weapons
   * Defender weapons

These items will have one ability chosen from the following: feather fall,
permanent light(1), see invisible, telepathy, slow digestion, regeneration,
free action, or hold life

   * Crown of the Magi
   * Blessed weapons

These items will have one high resist chosen from the following: blindness,
confusion, sound, shards, nether, nexus, chaos, disenchantment or poison.

   * Cloak of Aman
   * Robe of Permanence
   * Armor of Elvenkind

3g. How do I discover an item's special powers?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For most items, identify them and read the spoiler files obj-good.spo and
obj-long.spo. This is sufficient for all items except those with extra
powers.

Items with random powers take a little more work. The easiest way to find
out all their powers is to read a scroll of *Identify* on them. Another
magical way to find an item's powers is with a potion of Self Knowledge.
Unequip all your character's items except for the one in question then quaff
the potion. Subtract any special racial abilities, and you should be able to
tell the powers of the item.

Finally, there is always the method of trying it out. Some of the abilities
and resistances are easily deduced; others take work. Have your character
carry the item. When he/she runs into weak monsters with a particular attack
equip the item, let the monster hit or cast a spell, and see if the item
protects your character.

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4. Artifacts
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

4a. Will I ever see an artifact in one of the stores in town?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artifacts never appear in stores unless you sell one to them.

4b. Explain the generation of artifacts.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are not playing in preserve mode, artifacts, once created and left
behind on a level, are gone forever. This includes both artifacts generated
when the level is created and those dropped by monsters. If you use the "~"
command on the town level and see an artifact in the list you have never
found, it means you have missed it somehow in the dungeon. See obj-good.spo
for more detail.

4c. Can an artifact be stolen or destroyed by a monster attack?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artifacts resist destruction by monster attacks, and should never be picked
up or stolen. However, artifacts are somewhat vulnerable to disenchant
attacks.

4d. I found an artifact on a level that was not "special." What's up?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artifacts can appear on a level that doesn't give you the "special" message.
The "special" message only lets you know if there is an artifact (or other
special feature) on the level when it's first generated. If a monster is
killed and drops an artifact, the only way you'll know about it is to ID it
(or carry it a while, and hope for the "pseudo-ID" to tell you). However, if
there is an artifact on the level at the time of creation, you will get the
"special" message, if not playing in preserve mode.

4e. One of my items/artifacts was disenchanted! How can I prevent this? Is
there any way to restore the item?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artifacts can be disenchanted, just like any other item. If you have an item
which gives you disenchantment resistance, then all of your items are
protected. There are a few items which always grant disenchantment
resistance: Chaos and Balance Dragon Scale Mail, Rilia, Calris,
Deathwreaker, Belthronding, Celeborn and Bladeturner.

In addition, certain ego items have a chance of granting disenchantment
resistance. See question 3f.

It is nearly impossible to restore any item past +10, and impossible past
+15. Artifacts are especially difficult. Be careful around disenchanting
monsters and uniques!

4f. I found Calris. Joy! But how do I uncurse it?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A *remove curse* or dispel curse will get rid of the curse permanently, and
enchant to hit can actually eliminate the curse. Each time an item is
enchanted to +0 or higher, a curse on it has a 1 in 4 chance of
disappearing. You will know this has occurred when the inscription changes
to {uncursed}.

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5. Combat & Survival
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The spoiler attack.spo provides a lot of detail on character attack skill.
These questions and answers only attempt to address the basics.

5a. Is there a trick for surviving an attack by a group of monsters?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Group monsters can be dangerous! Even if you can kill a single creature
without too much trouble, it's easy to get overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Make sure only 1 can attack you at a time, and for any spell-casting or
breathing groups, ambush them from around a corner so that only 1 can see
you at a time. This is the best way to deal with those pesky hounds. A
possible exception to this is novice rangers; they can only cast magic
missile, and missile spells (as opposed to ball spells or breath weapons)
cannot "jump" other monsters in Angband. So, if you're having trouble with
novice rangers, get them all lined up in a corridor, and then some of them
will be wounded/killed by magic missiles from other rangers. Of course, you
don't get experience for anything that you don't kill, but you may survive a
bit longer.

5b. What are some general survival tips?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

   * How do I know how far to dive?

     Try not to descend below a certain depth without certain powers. Free
     Action and Poison Resistance are particularly important.

      1000' - Free Action, See Invisible
      1500' - Fire, Cold, Acid and Lightning Resistance
      2000' - Poison and Nether Resistance, Hold Life

   * High-level characters should always have lots of Cure Critical potions
     or better on hand. If you receive a mortal wound, you cannot heal it on
     your own. They are also cheap ways to cure confusion, blindness and
     poison.

   * Carry multiple copies of the lower-level spellbooks to prevent losses
     to theft and fire damage.

   * If you are a warrior, or don't know the Satisfy Hunger spell, buy 6
     rations of food per visit to town. Leave any extra food in the dungeon
     to free up an inventory slot.

   * Teleport away and banishment (the latter for priests/paladins) are
     important magics for emergency use.

   * Have a way to escape in an emergency if there are too many monsters to
     teleport away. Scrolls of phase door/teleport/teleport level are good
     for characters who don't have an escape spell. Staves of Teleportation
     work also, but a thief can only steal 1 scroll at a time, or a fire
     attack can only burn up 1 scroll at a time. On the other hand, you can
     use a staff while blinded and confused.

   * For mages and those lucky to have some of the appropriate scrolls, mass
     genocide is very effective against high-level summoning uniques, as it
     gets rid of all monsters except uniques.

   * Speed is important. Items providing speed boosts should be treasured,
     and you should generally carry around items that temporarily boost
     speed (know the spells, or have potions/staffs/rods). However, speed
     over about +30 does your character little good, and may actually be
     annoying because of the increased food consumption. Also, you may now
     equip two rings of speed (unlike earlier versions of Angband).

   * When going deep into the dungeon, always have a way to invoke the spell
     of recall. Carry multiple scrolls, or have a Rod of Recall and a high
     level and/or dexterity (18/150+) to prevent theft.

Some combat tactics:

   * Hit-and-retreat - when you have a big edge in speed, you can hit the
     monsters, backup, and then hit the monster again when it follows you.
     Repeat. (This doesn't work well if the monster has a distance attack.)

   * Pillar Trick - Dig out a single section of dungeon thus:

       ....... ...D...
       ..D#... ...#@..
       ...@... .......

     If your player has a speed advantage over a monster, they can often hit
     and move as shown before the monster can even attack.

   * Shoot and scoot - for monsters that are dangerous up close (such as
     disenchanters), use a heavily enchanted shooting weapon and ammo, and
     phase door away every time the monster gets near you.

   * Against summoners - Summoners are not as dangerous when fought in a
     corridor, as they have less room to summon enemies against you. The
     disadvantage is that the potential treasure drop is also reduced, and
     summoned undead may be able to walk through walls and surround you
     anyway.

5c. How many attacks should my character be getting?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The blows per round formula is based on several factors including strength,
dexterity, class, level and weapon weight.

All characters can get a maximum of five attacks per round except for mages,
who only receive four and warriors, who can receive six. There is one
exception: a weapon of extra attacks can exceed this limit.

If you are playing version 2.7.9v3 or later, the character info screen ('C')
tells you exactly how many hits and shots your character should be
receiving.

Otherwise, you must consult the source code or a spoiler file, as it is a
rather complex formula.

5d. How do missile weapon to-hit and to-damage bonuses work?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The to-hit bonuses for using a bow can come from any source: rings, DEX,
gauntlets of slaying, the bow or the arrows. But the to-damage bonus for
shooting a bow come only from the arrows and the bow, so a Ring of Damage
(+18) won't help your bow damage.

5e. How do damage multipliers work?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that this section is slightly out of date!

For normal weapon attacks, damage is calculated as:

damage = (((base weapon damage rolled) * weap_mult * hit_mult)
          + to-dam + hit_bonus)

where weap_mult is the special multiplier for the weapon (if any), to-dam is
the total damage plusses from the weapon and the character, hit_mult is the
multiplier granted for a good or better hit, and hit_bonus is the plusses
granted for a good or better hit.

Note that, for weapon attacks, the special multiplier for the weapon (if
any) does not affect the damage bonuses. This means that a dagger (1d4),
even if it does x5 damage, is not as good as a two-handed sword (3d6) that
does x2 damage, unless you get more swings with the dagger, or the dagger
has a very high to-dam bonus.

For bows attacks with the correct ammo, damage is calculated as:

damage = (((base ammo damage rolled) + to-dam-ammo + to-dam-bow)
          * bow_mult * ammo_mult * hit_mult + hit_bonus)

where bow_mult is the basic multiplier for the bow, ammo_mult is the special
multiplier for the ammo (if any), to-dam-ammo is the damage plusses for the
ammo, to-dam-bow is the damage plusses for the bow, hit_mult is the
multiplier granted for a good or better hit, and hit_bonus is the plusses
granted for a good or better hit.

Note that, for bow attacks, the basic multiplier for the bow and the special
multiplier for the ammo (if any) both affect the damage bonuses. This makes
a heavy crossbow (x4) with a high to-dam-bow very powerful, even with
non-magical bolts.

5f. What are the damage mulipliers for ego weapons?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Most of the damage multipliers are x3, except for:

 *Slay* Dragon   x5
 Slay Animal     x2
 Slay Evil       x2

Note that only the highest applicable multiplier is used if several apply.

5g. I got a critical hit with my weapon. How much damage did it do?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Damage bonuses for critical hits are:

 "good hit"      x2 +5
 "excellent hit" x2 +10
 "superb hit"    x3 +15
 "*GREAT* hit"   x3 +20
 "*SUPERB* hit"  x3.5 +25

Heavier weapons have critical hits more often. See attack.spo for the odds
on receiving a critical hit.

5h. My priest character doesn't feel comfortable wielding his or her weapon.
Why?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Priests are penalized for wielding "non-priestly" weapons. Priests are
basically restricted to blunt weapons and "blessed blades." They should get
a warning message if they wield a non-priestly weapon. Priests get a
whopping +25% to their spell failure rate (before adjustments) for wielding
one of these, and also a -2 to hit and damage. However, some of the more
powerful artifact weapons may be worth wielding regardless of these
penalties. And of course, your character can always switch weapons before
praying.

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6. Spellcasting
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

6a. How do I keep my spellbooks from being destroyed by fire?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deathwreaker, Narya, and the One Ring grant immunity to fire. If you do not
have immunity to fire, always bring at least 2 copies of the first 4
spellbooks on trips to the dungeon. Take more if you have a high STR. The 5
most powerful spellbooks of each class are immune to destruction by fire.
You may also hide some books in a safe part of the dungeon if you are
hunting a monster that you know is going to incinerate your inventory.

6b. Why did my maximum mana suddenly go down?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are two possible equipment-related causes:

  1. All spellcasters are penalized for wearing a combination of armor items
     weighing over a certain amount. This simulates the general encumbering
     effects of heavy armor. Try removing some armor to restore your mana,
     if this is a problem.
  2. Mages, and other mage-type spell casters, lose mana for wearing gloves
     (or gauntlets or cestus). This simulates the interference they cause
     with the intricate gestures required for spellcasting. Gloves providing
     either free action and/or agility will not decrease mana. Among these
     are the artifacts Fingolfin and Cambeleg. Priests and paladins don't
     have this problem, as they invoke the power of their deity directly.

6c. I don't have enough mana to cast a spell. What are the consequences if I
cast it anyway?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Casting a spell without enough mana has a 1/3 chance of damaging your CON,
sometimes permanently. It can also cause you to faint from the effort.

6d. I cast a spell twice in a row. Why doesn't the duration double?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Haste Self and Essence of Speed spells are not cumulative in effect. For
example, if your character is already hasted (with a non-permanent spell or
item), casting addtional Haste Self spells will only extend the total
duration by 1-5 player turns, rather than the normal amount.

The effects of additional Heroism, Shield, Berserker, Globe of
Invulnerability, Bless, Chant, Sense Invisible, Protection From Evil and
Prayer spells/prayers are fully cumulative.

6e. My bolt spell took out a row of monsters! What happened?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Certain "bolt" spells (magic missile, lightning, fire and frost bolt, etc)
have a chance to become a "beam" based on your experience level. This chance
is 1% / level for mages and 0.5% / level for rangers. Magic Missile,
Lightning Bolt and Frost Bolt all have a -10% to the roll.

Wands have a 20% chance to "beam" and rods have a 10% chance.

6f. Where do I find the higher-level spellbooks?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are 9 spellbooks for mages and 9 for priests. The five higher-level
books can be found deeper in the dungeon, often as part of the treasure
drops of high-level monsters and uniques. You might get lucky and see them
at the Black Market. These books are not artifacts.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Monsters
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

7a. Are monsters susceptible to certain attacks, like they were in Moria?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monster spell resistances have been changed from Moria. In Moria, a white
dragon took extra damage from a fire bolt, and partial (1/4th) damage from a
frost bolt. In Angband, a white dragon takes normal damage from a fire bolt,
and almost no (1/9th) damage from a frost bolt. Basically, there are no more
"susceptibilities." There are a couple of exceptions to this. Monsters can
be susceptible to bright light (i.e. wand of light, not lightning), and holy
orb does extra damage vs. evil creatures. Earthy creatures are also
susceptible to stone-to-mud attacks.

7b. Why are there two different entries in my monster memory for the same
monster?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The monster memory does show more than one description for some monsters.
Some examples are novice mages/priests/warriors/rangers, mimics, gnome
mages, etc. There are two or more entries because there are actually two or
more different types of these monsters. Often the difference between them is
that one is found solo and the other is found in groups, at a slightly
deeper level.

7c. I killed a monster that I couldn't see. Do I get credit in the monster
memory for the kill? What about experience?
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Monster memory doesn't give you credit for killing a monster if you cannot
see the monster (if you are blind, or the monster is in a dark area beyond
your infravision range, etc). The recall code for unique monsters is
slightly different, and the monster memory will note their deaths, unless
you never saw them, even by an "ancestor." You will still gain experience
regardless.

7d. How do I kill large numbers of orcs or trolls fairly easily?
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You can line orcs and trolls up in a long corridor and then blast them with
a wand of light! (Not all types are susceptible.) A rod of light can be a
mid-level character's best friend, doing good damage against a whole line of
susceptible monsters, with a really fast (9 rounds) recharge. For
higher-level characters, dispel evil, orb of draining or a staff of power
can also work wonders.

7e. Why can't I target a monster in a wall?
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Monsters in walls can't be hit with spells or missiles, only by physical
attacks.

7f. Should I kill Farmer Maggot?
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Unfortunately, yes. He can't harm you, just hit him until he dies. He may
drop a nice item for your troubles.

7g. I'm having lots of trouble with a unique monster. Help!
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Run or teleport the monster away. You can kill the unique later, when you're
tougher. Speed helps a great deal, as does a nice missile weapon, especially
with uniques that resist all the major attack forms (Mim and Lorgan come to
mind).

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8. Dungeon Features
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8a. How is the treasure in chests generated?
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The treasure in chests is based on the dungeon level where they were
generated, not where the chest is opened.

8b. What are monster pits?
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Monster pits are rectangular rooms, 19x5, (they look like some of the rooms
that have an inside wall) filled with monsters. Jelly pits are filled with
jellies, molds, icky things, oozes, etc. Orc, Troll, Giant, Dragon and Demon
pits are filled with different types of those monsters (Dragon pits are
filled with the same color dragons). Undead pits (a.k.a. Graveyards) are
filled with some nasty undead. Inside monster pits there can be monsters
that are far out of depth, so you should be very careful around them.

8c. What are monster nests?
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Similar to a pit, but containing an inner room and a random assortment of
monsters of a given type. Monsters in a nest vary by depth, so a nest deep
in the dungeon can be very nasty.

8d. What are lesser vaults?
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Monster vaults are unusually shaped and sized rooms, filled with monsters,
treasures, and traps. Lesser vaults are about 40x20. They are filled with
all different kinds of monsters, and often have some really nice treasure to
go along with some out-of-depth monsters.

8e. What are greater vaults?
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Greater vaults are huge rooms (about 60x20), with outside walls of
impenetrable rock except for a couple of granite walls in the corners. They
are filled with all different kinds of out-of-depth monsters, with excellent
treasure (often more than 1 artifact), and some really out-of-depth
monsters. Taking on a greater vault is amazingly dangerous unless you have
some speed, lots of resistances, and a teleport away spell/wand/rod.

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