After the -ms version (1983). Last revised 1999-05-18.
[ Introduction | Architecture | Monsters | Objects | Experience | Fighting | More About Using Magic | Exploring | Secret Commands | Winning | Glossary | Acknowledgments ]
This document describes version 4.2 of Rogue. Discrepancies in other versions are noted in the text. In general, "V3" means version 3.6, "V4" means version 4.2 (and later versions to 5.2), and "V5" means version 5.3.
A room will always be at least two paces long and from two to five paces wide, not counting the walls. It may be lighted or dark. In a dark room you can see only one pace in each direction; in a lighted room you can see all over.
In V4 and V5, one level in twenty will have a treasure room. A treasure room is a room filled with lots of scrolls, flasks, weapons, sandwiches, and a horrible smell. The smell comes from having eight or ten monsters packed into one room. To make matters worse, some of the monsters may be denizens of the next level down. When you appear in the doorway, several of the monsters will attack you, as will any monsters you brush against.
It is entirely up to you whether to stand and fight or head for the stairs. If you want to fight, do it in the doorway.
In V5 passages may have secret connections.
Experience and good armor help avert arrows and poison darts.
The probability of a level's being booby trapped is the level number divided by 10. Levels 10 and below are always booby trapped.
-----------------
|.@..@..@..@..@.|
|...............|
When you are blind, searching is a waste of time.
Probability of Missing a Secret Door.
Number of Probability
Searches of Missing
------------------------
1 .800
2 .640
3 .512
4 .410
5 .328
6 .262
7 .210
8 .168
9 .134
10 .107
12 .069
15 .035
Monsters
name HD AC level damage
-----------------------------------------------
A giant ant 2 3 3-12 (1d6)
B bat 1 3 1-8 (1d2)
C centaur 4 4 8-17 (1d6/1d6)
D dragon 10 -1 22- (1d8/1d8/3d10)
E floating eye 1 9 2-11 (0d0)
F violet fungi 8 3 15-24 (variable)
G gnome 1 5 6-15 (1d6)
H hobgoblin 1 5 1-10 (1d8)
I invisible stalker 8 3 16-25 (4d4)
J jackal 1 7 1-7 (1d2)
K kobold 1 7 1-6 (1d4)
L leprechaun 3 8 7-16 (1d1)
M mimic 7 7 19- (3d4)
N nymph 3 9 11-20 (0d0)
O orc 1 6 4-13 (1d8)
P purple worm 15 6 21- (2d12/2d4)
Q quasit 3 2 10-19 (1d2/1d2/1d4)
R rust monster 5 2 9-18 (0d0/0d0)
S snake 1 5 1-9 (1d3)
T troll 6 4 13-22 (1d8/1d8/2d6)
U umber hulk 8 2 18- (3d4/3d4/2d5)
V vampire 8 1 20- (1d10)
W wraith 5 4 14-23 (1d6)
X xorn 7 -2 17-26 (1d3/1d3/1d3/4d6)
Y yeti 4 6 12-21 (1d6/1d6)
Z zombie 2 8 5-14 (1d8)
The first column tells the monster's hit dice: its hit points are determined by rolling as many eight-sided dice as this number. For example, a Dragon's hit points could be anywhere between 10 and 80. The remaining columns give the armor class (q.v.) of the monster, the dungeon levels it inhabits, and the damage it does to you. Slashes separate multiple attacks; for instance, a Xorn can attack you four times in one turn. Some monsters have special powers:
In version 5 the catalogue of monsters is slightly different:
Version 4 | Version 5
---------------------+-------------------
A giant ant | R rattlesnake
E floating eye | I ice monster
F violet fungi | F venus' fly-trap
G gnome | - ---------------
I invisible stalker | P phantom
J jackal | E emu
K kobold | K kestrel
M mimic | X xeroc
P purple worm | J jabberwock
Q quasit | Q quagga
R rust monster | A aquator
U umber hulk | M medusa
X xorn | U black unicorn
- ----------------- | G griffin
The Griffin has 13 hit dice, armor class 2, and 4d3/3d5 damage. It also regenerates. The Griffin, like the Bat and the Kestrel, can fly twice as fast as you can run.
Each dungeon level initially contains one or more monsters (the average number is four). They stay put until you do something to get their attention, and the Violet Fungi never stir under any circumstances. Sleeping bats, centaurs, eyes, gnomes, invisible stalkers, leprechauns, mimics, nymphs, orcs, purple worms, wraiths, and yetis go on snoring till you attack them. The other monsters usually wake up when you approach them.
Every 80 turns or so a new monster will crawl out of the woodwork and start prowling around the current level at random. This monster will not be a dragon, floating eye, violet fungi, leprechaun, mimic, or nymph.
When you kill a monster you will occasionally find gold or a magic object on the carcass. Such objects are no more likely to be beneficent than objects found in the ordinary way. The probability of finding something depends on the kind of monster:
Object-carrying Monsters.
Monster Probability
---------------------
Centaur .15
Dragon 1.00
Gnome .10
Mimic .30
Nymph 1.00
Orc .15
Purple Worm .70
Quasit .30
Troll .50
Umber Hulk .40
Vampire .20
Yeti .30
As you explore the dungeon, you will find various objects. Some are inherently magical; others are not magical unless they happen to bear a spell or curse.
Distribution of Items
Symbol Item %(V3) %(V4)
--------------------------------
] Armor 9 8
: Food 18 17
! Potion 27 27
= Ring 5 5
? Scroll 27 30
/ Staff or Wand 5 5
) Weapon 9 8
Distribution of Scrolls
Name %(V3) %(V4) %(V5)
-----------------------------------------------
Aggravate Monsters 1 4 3
Blank Paper 1 1 --
Create Monster 5 5 4
Enchant Armor 8 8 7
Enchant Weapon 10 10 8
Food Detection -- -- 2
Genocide 1 1 --
Gold Detection 4 4 --
Hold Monster 2 3 2
Identify 21 27 --
Identify Armor -- -- 7
Identify Potion -- -- 10
Identify Ring, Wand, or Staff -- -- 10
Identify Scroll -- -- 10
Identify Weapon -- -- 6
Light 10 -- --
Magic Mapping 5 5 4
Monster Confusion 8 8 7
Protect Armor -- -- 2
Remove Curse 8 8 7
Scare Monster 4 4 3
Sleep 5 5 3
Teleportation 7 7 5
Distribution of Potions
Name %(V3) %(V4) %(V5)
---------------------------------
Blindness 4 4 5
Confusion 8 8 5
Extra healing 5 5 5
Gain strength 15 15 13
Hallucination -- -- 8
Haste self 4 4 5
Healing 15 15 13
Levitation -- -- 6
Magic detection 6 6 6
Monster detection 6 6 6
Paralysis 10 10 --
Poison 8 8 8
Raise level 2 2 2
Restore Strength 14 14 13
See invisible 2 2 3
Thirst Quenching 1 1 --
Wearing almost any ring will make you get hungry faster. You can compute your rate of digestion by adding the appropriate increments from the table to 1.0.
Distribution and Metabolic Effect of Rings (V4)
Name | %(V3) %(V4) Effect
-------------------+-------------------
Add strength | 9 9 +1.00
Adornment | 1 1 ----
Aggravate monsters | 11 10 ----
Dexterity | 8 8 +.33
Increase damage | 8 8 +.33
Maintain armor | -- 5 +1.00
Protection | 9 9 +1.00
Regeneration | 4 4 +2.00
Searching | 10 10 +.33
See invisible | 10 10 +.25
Slow digestion | 9 9 -.50
Stealth | 7 7 +1.00
Sustain strength | 5 5 +1.00
Teleportation | 9 5 ----
A ring's increment or decrement does not affect its effect on your digestion.
When you first find a staff or wand, it bears 2+1d5 charges. When you have exhausted the charges, it has no more magic power.
Distribution of Staves and Wands (V3, V4)
Cancellation 5 Magic missile 10
Cold 3 Nothing 1
Drain life 9 Polymorph 15
Fire 3 Slow monster 11
Haste monster 9 Striking 9
Light 12 Teleport away 5
Lightning 3 Teleport to 5
Weapons
Weapon held thrown
--------------------------------------
arrow 1d1 2d3*
crossbow (not in V5) 1d1 1d1
crossbow bolt (not in V5) 1d2 1d10
dagger 1d6 1d4
dart 1d1 1d3
long sword 3d4 1d2
mace 2d4 1d3
rock (V3 only) 1d2 1d4
short bow 1d1 1d1
sling (V3 only) 0d0 0d0
shuriken (V5 only) 1d2 2d4
spear 1d8 1d6
two-handed sword 4d4 1d2
staff 2d3 1d1
wand 1d1 1d1
bare hands 1d4 ---
* In V3 an arrow does 1d6 damage.
To improve your aim, wield a short bow to shoot arrows, and a crossbow to shoot crossbow bolts. To shoot an item, wield the appropriate weapon and throw the item.
Every weapon has two increments, one for accuracy and one for damage. Against most monsters, damage increments are worth more than accuracy increments. Either increment may be raised by enchantments or lowered by curses. If a weapon is cursed, you can let go of it only by reading a scroll of Enchant Weapon or Remove Curse. One weapon in ten is accursed, and one in twenty is enchanted.
Staves and wands (except Striking) carry a damage increment of +1, which cannot be raised by magic scrolls.
Classes and Distribution of Armor
Name Class Class(V5) %
----------------------------------------
Leather armor [8] [2] 20
Studded leather armor [7] [3] 15
Ring mail [7] [3] 15
Scale mail [6] [4] 13
Chain mail [5] [5] 12
Splint mail [4] [6] 10
Banded mail [4] [6] 10
Plate mail [3] [7] 5
Enchantments may raise the strength of armor, curses may lower it, and Rust Monsters and Rust Traps may lower non-leather armor as far as class 9/1. (Street clothes are class 10/0.) Accursed armor cannot be taken off without a scroll of Enchant Armor, Protect Armor, or Remove Curse. Twenty per cent of all armor is accursed, and eight per cent is enchanted.
Class -5/15 armor is proof against bats and hobgoblins. Class -19/29 armor is proof against anything, even purple worms.
In V5 the better the armor, the higher its class. In older versions the better the armor, the lower its class.
Standard rations come in two flavors: good, and awful. They are equivalent except that you gain 1 experience point when you eat awful-tasting food. (Slime molds are always yummy in this game.)
An average ration of food will keep you going for 1300 turns. After at most 1700 turns without eating, you will be told that you are hungry. If you persist, you will be told 150 turns later that you are weak from hunger. The remedy is to eat some food. If you do not, after another 150 turns you will start fainting at frequent, unpredictable intervals. Eventually you will die of starvation.
Experience (V4)
A 9 | H* 3 | O* 5 | U 200
B* 1 | I 120 | P 4000 | V 350
C 15 | J* 2 | Q 32 | W 55
D 6800 | K* 1 | R 20 | X 190
E* 5 | L 10 | S* 2 | Y 50
F 80 | M 100 | T 120 | Z 6
G* 7 | N 37
To these values, add a bonus of one-sixth the monster's hit points (one-eighth for starred monsters). The bonus is multiplied by 4 for monsters with more than six hit dice, and by 20 for monsters with ten or more. You also get a bonus for killing monsters below dungeon level 26, since these monsters are abnormally tough.
You gain 1 experience point for eating awful-tasting food.
Your experience level is determined according to the following table. Each time your experience level rises, your current and maximum hit points increase by 1d10. You also grow more adept at fighting, and your wounds heal faster.
Experience Level
Experience Experience Experience Heal Rate
Points (V4) Points (V5) Level (HP:turns)
---------------------------------------------
0 0 1 1:18
10 10 2 1:17
20 20 3 1:15
40 40 4 1:13
80 80 5 1:11
160 160 6 1:9
320 320 7 1:7
640 640 8 1:3
1,280 1,300 9 1d2:3
2,560 2,600 10 1d3:3
5,120 5,200 11 1d4:3
10,240 13,000 12 1d5:3
20,480 26,000 13 1d6:3
40,960 50,000 14 1d7:3
81,920 100,000 15 1d8:3
163,840 200,000 16 1d9:3
327,680 400,000 17 1d10:3
655,360 800,000 18 1d11:3
1,310,720 2,000,000 19 1d12:3
2,621,440 4,000,000 20 1d13:3
--------- 8,000,000 21 1d14:3
The following table gives each monster's maximum ability to wound you.
Maximum Damage by Monster (V3, V4).
A 6 | H 8 | O 8 | U 34
B 2 | I 16 | P 32 | V 10
C 12 | J 2 | Q 8 | W 6
D 46 | K 4 | R 0 | X 33
E 0 | L 1 | S 3 | Y 12
F -- | M 12 | T 28 | Z 8
G 6 | N 0
Maximum Damage by Monster (V5).
A 0 | H 8 | O 8 | U 36
B 2 | I 0 | P 16 | V 10
C 12 | J 32 | Q 8 | W 6
D 46 | K 4 | R 6 | X 16
E 2 | L 1 | S 3 | Y 12
F -- | M 34 | T 28 | Z 8
G 27 | N 0
Thus, if you are fighting a Hobgoblin and your hit points fall to 8 or less, the Hobgoblin can kill you in a single turn and you had better think about running away.
How hard you can hit a monster depends on your weapon and your physical strength.
| Strength and Damage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Strength (V3) | Strength (V4) | Damage |
| 3 | 3 | -4 |
| 4 | 4 | -3 |
| 5 | 5 | -2 |
| 6 | 6 | -1 |
| 7-15 | 7-15 | 0 |
| 16-18/50 | 16-17 | +1 |
| 18/51-18/99 | 18 | +2 |
| 18/00 | 19-20 | +3 |
| 21 | +4 | |
| 22-30 | +5 | |
| 31 | +6 | |
When you start out as a level-1 rogue, your fights will tend to go badly for two reasons:
At level 1, Hobgoblins are your most dangerous opponents (1d8). With strength 16, no experience, a (+1,+1) mace, +1 ring mail, and 12 hit points, if you fight a Hobgoblin to the death you stand about one chance in eight of being killed, assuming that you attack first. (If you are down to 1 hit point, the odds turn against you.) But even a Jackal or Snake may land some lucky blows while avoiding your clumsy swings. When you are dangerously low on hit points, start running! This not only forestalls disaster, it gives you a chance to recover from your wounds.
Since monsters can run diagonally as well as you can, your best bet is to head straight for the nearest corridor in the opposite direction from the monster. When you have recovered enough to be able to withstand another blow, you can strike again. A set of rooms connected in a circle is especially useful; it lets you go on running indefinitely, or at least until your path is blocked by another monster.
The etiquette of fighting is as follows: if you step into a space adjacent to a monster, the monster will strike first. If you and the monster step simultaneously into adjacent spaces, you may strike first. A sleeping monster will not strike first.
If you are cornered, try to kill the most critical monsters first. Gnomes, Hobgoblins, and Orcs are critical because you can kill them fast and they can hurt you significantly if you don't. Trolls, Umber Hulks, and Xorns are critical for the opposite reason: they can kill you fast if you don't take them out of action. Monsters such as Centaurs, Jackals, and Mimics are not critical; their strength is not disproportionately greater than their endurance.
A set of rooms connected in a circle is especially useful; it lets you go on running indefinitely. Another way to go on running is to run around a monster that is sound asleep. These methods fail if another monster attacks you from the other direction, so if you are in great danger, consider using a magic wand instead of running away.
Long-range attacks are advisable against any special monster, provided you know the monster's position in advance. Normally you get such information by means of potions of Monster Detection or scrolls, staves, or wands of Light. Room size is not critical when you fight non-thieving monsters, since you can switch to a mace or sword when the monster is about to reach you.
In any case, when you finish dispatching a monster with bow and arrows, switch back to a mace or sword at your first opportunity.
The better your armor, the more likely you are to avoid this fate. This table gives your chances, assuming that your first blow fails to kill the Eye.
Probability of Being Permanently Transfixed
AC Prob. | AC Prob.
--------------+--------------
3 0.000 | 7 0.346
4 0.038 | 8 0.425
5 0.156 | 9 0.498
6 0.257 | 10 0.564
It helps to have a ring of Protection.
Naturally this advice does not hold if you are being attacked by other monsters, or if your armor is already so rusty that it cannot get worse, or if you are wearing accursed armor.
Rust Monsters are found at levels 9 to 18. At these levels you should usually wear your second-best or third-best suit of armor, to save your best suit from Rust Monsters.
If you are desperate, an unidentified potion may help you out.
The best place to drop a scroll of Scare Monster is in a straight passage. The monster will halt, gnashing its teeth at you. Being too stupid to run away, it can be dispatched at your leisure with missile weapons.
On the other hand, if you may have unwittingly used a staff of Haste Monster, you have only two options: fight or run. If you run, even a Snake can gradually do you in without sustaining a scratch from you. Never run from a hasty monster!
A few rings can be readily recognized by their effects. A ring of Add Strength will immediately alter your displayed strength. You can tell a ring of Regeneration by the remarkable speed with which your wounds heal after a battle. A ring of Sustain Strength makes itself known as soon as a Giant Ant stings you, and a ring of Maintain Armor as soon as a Rust Monster bites you. A ring of Teleportation jumps you all over the dungeon.
A ring of Searching announces itself when you first find a trap without searching for it. A ring of See Invisible has no effect until you see your first Invisible Stalker at level 16 or lower. You can tell that you are wearing a ring of Aggravate Monsters when a Leprechaun attacks you without provocation.
Other rings must be recognized by gradual inference.
Staves of Drain Life resemble staves of Teleport Away. The difference is that when you drain a monster's life away you will be told that you have defeated it, and your hit points will be lower.
A staff of Teleport To may be mistaken for a staff of Cancellation if you use it against a monster that is already attacking you. The only way to distinguish them is by zapping a distant monster. It is very hard to recognize a staff of Cancellation until you use it on a monster with special powers. You can easily mistake a staff of Nothing for either of these.
Wands of Slow Monster and Haste Monster are easy to recognize. You will land two blows to the monster's one, or one to its two. A wand of Polymorph is just as easy to recognize except when it happens to change a monster into itself.
If you are well supplied with wands of Polymorph early in your career, you can have some fun when you find a sleeping monster in a long, lighted room. Go as far away from the monster as you can, change it into something vicious, and kill it with arrows. The experience will promote you to a high level of wizardry.
Dragons, Purple Worms, and Xorns are not good candidates for this campaign. They are likely to ignore your arrows and eat you.
If you have a spare scroll of Scare Monster, you can take on any creature. You may even choose to read a scroll of Aggravate Monsters first.
Poison cures hallucination.
If you're afraid of Umber Hulks or Medusas (or Floating Eyes), quaff a potion of Blindness. Then again, maybe you're better off confused!
When two monsters are pursuing you through a room, use a wand of Haste Monster to speed up the monster you'd rather fight. When you reach the doorway, the Zombie and not the Troll will be attacking you; this may give you time for a draught of Healing or a change of armor.
Teleport To can also be used for this purpose.
There are only two foolproof ways to distinguish a dead-end passage from a passage that leads to a room:
If you cannot tell whether you are in a dead-end passage, search for a while and then give up. Do not judge by the length of the passage; some dead-end passages are very short.
When you enter a dark room, it is good practice to find the doorways at once. On the other hand, there is no need to walk along a wall that cannot have any doorways because of its position. If a room extends to the edge of the screen, you do not even need to verify that the wall on that side of the room exists.
To traverse a dark room with straight sweeps is easy but not economical. For example:
|.............
+@@@@@@@@@@@@.
----------+---
By running straight across the room, you explore an area three paces wide. A better method is shown below:
-----+--------
|.@.@.@.@.@.@.
+@.@.@.@.@.@..
----------+---
By zigzagging you can explore an area four paces wide. In this example you save a whole trip. In general you can expect to save 33% on mileage.
To avoid traps, retrace your steps as much as possible instead of treading on new spaces. By zigzagging as shown above, you can cut your risk roughly in half.
When you have descended to a level at which the monsters threaten to end your career permanently, it becomes very important to discover doorways and stairways. Do not stubbornly insist on exploring every room. Be content with finding a moderate hoard of gold or a valuable object or two. If pursued by something you cannot withstand, just head like blazes for the stairway.
And when you find a stairway on level 19 or lower, test it by walking on it. It could be a mimic!
You may also start out as a Dungeon Master by invoking rogue with a null argument; i.e.,
rogue '' ...
You will still need the password.
If you become a Dungeon Master, you can sense all monsters on the current level. You can also use the following special commands:
These commands are not robust. By abusing them you can go up to dungeon level -3, drink a tiger's eye potion, or wear a ring of Lightning.
Scrolls
-----------------------+-----------------------
Genocide ........ 300 | Remove curse ..... 105
Scare monster ... 200 | Identify ......... 100
Hold monster .... 180 | Create monster .... 75
Teleportation ... 165 | Gold detection .... 50
Enchant armor ... 160 | Aggravate monsters 20
Magic mapping ... 150 | Sleep .............. 5
Enchant weapon .. 150 | Blank paper ........ 5
Monster confusion 140 |
Potions
-----------------------+-----------------------
Raise level ..... 250 | Magic detection .. 105
Extra healing ... 200 | See invisible .... 100
Haste self ...... 190 | Blindness .......... 5
Gain strength ... 150 | Confusion .......... 5
Monster detection 130 | Paralysis .......... 5
Healing ......... 130 | Poison ............. 5
Restore strength 130 | Thirst quenching ... 5
Rings
-----------------------+-----------------------
Stealth ......... 470 | Maintain armor ... 380
Regeneration .... 460 | See invisible .... 310
Dexterity ....... 440 | Sustain strength . 280
Searching ....... 420 | Slow digestion ... 240
Protection ..... 400 | Teleportation ..... 30
Add strength .... 400 | Aggravate monster . 10
Increase damage . 400 | Adornment ......... 10
Staves & Wands
-----------------------+-----------------------
Slow monster 350 | Cancellation 280
Teleport away 340 | Light 250
Cold 330 | Magic missile 170
Lightning 330 | Striking 75
Fire 330 | Teleport to 50
Polymorph 310 | Haste monster 5
Drain life 300 | Nothing 5
The prices for rings, staves and wands are basic. Each increment on a ring, and each charge on a staff or wand, adds 20 gold pieces to the value. For example, a +1 ring of increase damage is worth 420. Any ring with a decrement is worth 50. All unidentified magic objects go for half price.
The price of armor and weapons is given below.
Market Prices of Armor and Weapons
Armor | Weapons
---------------------------+--------------------
leather armor ....... 120 |
studded leather armor 220 | dagger .......... 2
ring mail ........... 225 | spear ........... 5
scale mail .......... 330 | mace ............ 8
chain mail .......... 475 | long sword ..... 15
splint mail ......... 580 | short bow ...... 15
banded mail ......... 590 | crossbow ....... 30
plate mail .......... 750 | two-handed sword 75
Each increment (decrement) on a suit of armor raises (lowers) the price by 110 gold pieces. Each increment (decrement) on a weapon raises (lowers) its price by three times the basic price. No price can fall below zero.
Rations of food (including fruits) sell for 2 gold pieces each.