=== Command Descriptions ===
The following command descriptions are listed as the command name
plus the "underlying command" key. This is followed by the command name
and "roguelike" keyset key, if different from the underlying command key.
Then comes a brief description of the command, including information about
alternative methods of specifying the command in each keyset, when needed.
Some commands use the "repeat count" to automatically repeat the
command several times, while others use the "repeat count" to specify a
"quantity" for the command, and still others use it as an "argument" of
some kind. Some commands are auto-repeated several times if no repeat
count is given and the "always_repeat" option is set.
Most commands take no "energy" to perform, while most other commands
only take energy when they cause the world to change in some way.
--- Inventory Commands ---
Inventory list (i)
Displays a list of objects being carried but not equipped. You
can carry up to 23 different items, not counting those in your
equipment. Often, many identical objects can be "stacked" into
a "pile" which will count as a single item. This is always
true of things like potions, scrolls, and food, but you may have
to set options to allow wands, staves, and other such objects to
stack. Each object has a weight, and if you carry more objects
than your strength permits, you will begin to slow down.
Equipment list (e)
Use this command to display a list of the objects currently being
used by your character. Your character has 12 slots for equipment,
each corresponding to a different location on the body, and each of
which may contain only a single object at a time, and each of which
may only contain objects of the proper "type", and which include
WIELD (weapon), BOW (missile launcher), LEFT (ring), RIGHT (ring),
NECK (amulet), LITE (light source), BODY (armor), OUTER (cloak),
ARM (shield), HEAD (helmet), HANDS (gloves), FEET (boots). You
must be wielding/wearing certain objects to take advantage of
their special powers.
Drop an item (d)
This drops an item from your inventory or equipment onto the
dungeon floor. If the floor spot you are standing on already has
an object in it, Angband will attempt to drop the item onto an
adjacent space. Be warned that if the floor is full and you
attempt to drop something, it may disappear and be destroyed.
Doors and traps are considered objects for the purpose of
determining if the space is occupied. This command may take
a quantity, and takes some energy.
Destroy an item (k) or Destroy an item (^D)
This destroys an item in your inventory or on the dungeon floor.
If the selected pile contains multiple objects, you may specify
a quantity. You must always (currently) verify this command.
This command may take a quantity, and takes some energy.
Wear/Wield equipment (w)
To wear or wield an object in your inventory, use this command.
Since only one object can be in each slot at a time, if you wear
or wield an item into a slot which is already occupied, the old
item will be first be taken off, and may in fact be dropped if
there is no room for it in your inventory. This command takes
some energy.
Take off equipment (t) or Take off equipment (T)
Use this command to take off a piece of equipment and return it
to your inventory. Occasionally, you will run into a cursed item
which cannot be removed. These items normally penalize you in some
way and cannot be taken off until the curse is removed. If there
is no room in your inventory for the item, your pack will overflow
and you will drop the item after taking it off. This command takes
some energy.
--- Movement Commands ---
Walk (with pickup) (;)
Moves one step in the given direction. The square you are moving
into must not be blocked by walls or doors. You will pick up any
items in the destination grid if the "always_pickup" option is set,
or if the "query_pickup" option is set and you respond correctly.
You may also use the "original" direction keys (both keysets) or
the "roguelike" direction keys (roguelike keyset) to walk in a
direction. This command may take a count, requires a direction,
and takes some energy.
Walk (flip pickup) (-)
This is just like normal move, except that the "Pick things up"
option is inverted. In other words, if you normally pick up
anything you encounter (the default), you will not pick things up
when using this command. If you normally do not pick things up,
you will when using this command. This command may take a count,
requires a direction, and takes some energy.
Run (.) or Run (,)
This command will move in the given direction, following any bends
in the corridor, until you either have to make a "choice" between
two directions or you are disturbed. You can configure what will
disturb you by setting the disturbance options. You may also use
shift plus the "roguelike" direction keys (roguelike keyset), or
shift plus the "original" direction keys on the keypad (both keysets,
some machines) to run in a direction. This command may take an
argument, requires a direction, and takes some energy.
Go up staircase (<)
Climbs up an up staircase you are standing on. There is always at
least one staircase going up on every level except for the town
level (this doesn't mean it's easy to find). Going up a staircase
will take you to a new dungeon level unless you are at 50 feet
(dungeon level 1), in which case you will return to the town
level. Note that whenever you leave a level (not the town), you
will never find it again. This means that for all intents and
purposes, any objects on that level are destroyed. This includes
artifacts unless the "Create characters in preserve mode" option
was set when your character was created, in which case the artifacts
may show up again later. This command takes some energy.
Go down staircase (>)
Descends a down staircase you are standing on. There are always
at least two staircases going down on each level, except for the
town which has only one, and "quest" levels, which have none until
the quest monster is killed. Going down a staircase will take you
to a new dungeon level. See "Go Up Staircase" for more info.
This command takes some energy.
--- Resting Commands ---
Stay still (with pickup) (,) or Stay still (with pickup) (.)
Stays in the same square for one move. If you normally pick up
objects you encounter, you will pick up whatever you are standing
on. You may also use the "5" key (both keysets). This command
may take a count, and takes some energy.
Stay still (flip pickup) (g)
Stays in the same square for one move. If you normally pick up
objects you encounter, you will not pick up whatever you are
standing on. If you normally do not pick up objects, you will
pick up what you are standing on. This command is normally only
used when the "always_pickup" option is false. This command may
take a count, and takes some energy.
Rest (R)
Resting is better for you than repeatedly staying still, and can
be told to automatically stop after a certain amount of time, or
when various conditions are met. In any case, you always wake up
when anything disturbing happens, or when you press any key. To
rest, enter the Rest command, followed by the number of turns you
want to rest, or "*" to rest until your hitpoints and mana are
restored, or "&" to rest until you are fully "healed". This command
may take an argument (used for the number of turns to rest), and
takes some energy.
--- Searching Commands ---
Search (s)
This command can be used to locate hidden traps and secret doors
in the spaces adjacent to the player. More than a single turn of
searching will be required in most cases. You should always
search a chest before trying to open it, since they are generally
trapped. This command can take a count, which is useful if you
are fairly sure of finding something eventually, since the command
stops as soon as anything is found. This command may take a count,
and takes some energy.
Toggle search mode (S) or Toggle search mode (#)
This command will take you into and out of search mode. When
first pressed, the message "Searching" will appear at the bottom
of the screen. You are now taking two turns for each command, one
for the command and one turn to search. This means that you are
taking twice the time to move around the dungeon, and therefore
twice the food. Search mode will automatically turn off if you
are disturbed. You may also turn off search mode by entering the
Search Mode command again.
--- Alter Commands ---
Tunnel (T) or Tunnel (^T)
Tunneling or mining is a very useful art. There are many kinds of
rock, with varying hardness, including permanent rock (permanent),
granite (very hard), quartz veins (hard), magma veins (soft), and
rubble (very soft). Quartz and Magma veins may be displayed in a
special way, and may sometimes contain treasure, in which case they
will be displayed in a different way. Rubble sometimes covers an
object. It is hard to tunnel unless you are wielding a heavy weapon
or a shovel or a pick. Tunneling ability increases with strength
and weapon weight. This command may take a count, is affected by
the "always_repeat" option, requires a direction, and takes some
energy.
Open a door or chest (o)
To open an object such as a door or chest, you must use this
command. If the object is locked, you will attempt to pick the
lock based on your disarming ability. If you open a trapped chest
without disarming the traps first, the trap will be set off. Some
doors will be jammed shut and may have to be forced open. You may
need several tries to open a door or chest. This command may take
a count, is affected by the "always_repeat" option, requires a
direction, and takes some energy.
Close a door (c)
Non-intelligent and some other creatures cannot open doors, so
shutting doors can be quite valuable. Broken doors cannot be closed.
Bashing a door open may break it. This command may take a count,
is affected by the "always_repeat" option, requires a direction, and
takes some energy.
Jam a door (j) or Spike a door (S)
Many monsters can simply open closed doors, and can eventually
get through a locked door. You may therefore occasionally want
to jam a door shut with iron spikes. Each spike used on the door
will make it harder to bash down the door, up to a certain limit.
Smaller monsters are less able to bash down doors. In order to
use this command, you must be carrying iron spikes. This command
requires a direction, and takes some energy.
Bash a door (B) or Force a door (f)
This command allows you to bash down jammed doors. Your bashing
ability increases with strength. Bashing open a door can (briefly)
throw you off balance. Doors that are stuck, or which have been
jammed closed with spikes can only be opened by bashing, and all
closed doors can be bashed open if desired. Bashing a door open
may permanently break it so that it can never be closed. This
command may take a count, is affected by the "always_repeat" option,
requires a direction, and takes some energy.
Disarm a trap or chest (D)
You can attempt to disarm traps on the floor or on chests. If you
fail, there is a chance that you will blunder and set it off. You
can only disarm a trap after you have found it (usually with the
Search command). This command may take a count, is affected by the
"always_repeat" option, requires a direction, and takes some energy.
Alter (+)
This special command allows the use of a single keypress to select
any of the "obvious" commands above (attack, tunnel, bash, open,
disarm, close), and, by using macros or keymaps, to combine this
keypress with directions. In general, this allows the use of the
"control" key plus the appropriate "direction" key (including the
roguelike direction keys in roguelike mode) as a kind of generic
"alter the terrain feature of an adjacent grid" command. This
command may take a count, is affected by the "always_repeat" option,
requires a direction, and takes some energy.
--- Spell and Prayer Commands ---
Browse a book (b) or Peruse a book (P)
Only mages, rogues, and rangers can read magic books, and only
priests and paladins can read prayer books. Warriors cannot read
any books. When this command is used, all of the spells or prayers
contained in the selected book are displayed, along with information
such as their level, the amount of mana required to cast them, and
whether or not you know the spell or prayer.
Gain new spells or prayers (G)
Use this command to actually learn new spells or prayers. When you
are able to learn new spells or prayers, the word "Study" will appear
on the status line at the bottom of the screen. If you have a book
in your possession, containing spells or prayers which you may learn,
then you may choose to study that book. If you are a mage, rogue, or
ranger, you may actually choose which spell to study. If you are a
priest or paladin, your gods will choose a prayer for you. There are
nine books of each type, some normally found only in the dungeon.
This command takes some energy.
Cast a spell (m)
To cast a spell, you must have previously learned the spell and
must have in your inventory a book from which the spell can be
read. Each spell has a chance of failure which starts out fairly
large but decreases as you gain levels. If you don't have enough
mana to cast a spell, you will be prompted for confirmation. If
you decide to go ahead, the chance of failure is greatly increased,
and you may lose a point of constitution. Since you must read the
spell from a book, you cannot be blind or confused while casting,
and there must be some light present. This command takes some energy.
Pray a prayer (p)
To pray effectively, you must have previously learned the prayer
and must have in your inventory a book from which the prayer can
be read. Each prayer has a chance of being ignored which starts
out fairly large but decreases as you gain levels. If you don't
have enough mana to cast a spell, you will be prompted for
confirmation. If you decide to go ahead, the chance of failure
is greatly increased, and you may lose a point of constitution.
Since you must read the prayer from a book, you cannot be blind
or confused while praying, and there must be some light present.
This command takes some energy.
--- Object Manipulation Commands ---
Eat some food (E)
You must eat regularly to prevent starvation. As you grow hungry,
a message will appear at the bottom of the screen saying "Hungry".
If you go hungry long enough, you will become weak, then start
fainting, and eventually, you may will die of starvation. You
may use this command to eat food in your inventory. Note that
you can sometimes find food in the dungeon, but it is not always
wise to eat strange food. This command takes some energy.
Fuel your lantern/torch (F)
If you are using a torch and have more torches in your pack,
or you are using a lantern and have flasks of oil in your pack,
then your can "refuel" them with this command. Torches and Lanterns
are limited in their maximal fuel. In general, two flasks will fully
fuel a lantern and two torches will fully fuel a torch. This command
takes some energy.
Quaff a potion (q)
Use this command to drink a potion. Potions affect the player in
various ways, but the effects are not always immediately obvious.
This command takes some energy.
Read a scroll (r)
Use this command to read a scroll. Scroll spells usually have an
area effect, except for a few cases where they act on other objects.
Reading a scroll causes the parchment to disintegrate as the scroll
takes effect. Most scrolls which prompt for more information can be
aborted (by pressing escape), which will stop reading the scroll
before it disintegrates. This command takes some energy.
Inscribe an object ({)
This command inscribes a string on an object. The inscription is
displayed inside curly braces after the object description. The
inscription is limited to the particular object (or pile) and is
not automatically transferred to all similar objects. Under certain
circumstances, Angband will display "fake" inscriptions on certain
objects ("cursed", "broken", "tried", "empty", "NN% off") when
appropriate. These "fake" inscriptions are "covered up" by real
inscriptions, but will re-appear if the real inscription is removed.
In addition, Angband will occasionally place a "real" inscription on
an object for you, normally as the result of your character getting
a "feeling" about the item. All characters will get "feelings" about
weapons and armor after carrying them for a while. Warriors get the
most detailed feelings, and get them quicker than any other class.
An item labeled as "{empty}" was found to be out of charges, and an
item labeled as "{tried}" is a "flavored" item which the character
has used, but whose effects are unknown. Certain inscriptions have
a meaning to the game, see "@#", "@x#", "!*", and "!x", in the section
on inventory object selection.
Uninscribe an object (})
This command removes the inscription on an object. This command will
have no effect on "fake" inscriptions added by the game itself.
--- Magical Object Commands ---
Activate an artifact (A)
You have heard rumors of special weapons and armor deep in the
Pits, items that can let you breath fire like a dragon or light
rooms with just a thought. Should you ever be lucky enough to
find such an item, this command will let you activate its special
ability. Special abilities can only be used if you are wearing or
wielding the item. This command takes some energy.
Aim a wand (a) or Zap a wand (z)
Wands must be aimed in a direction to be used. Wands are magical
devices, and therefore there is a chance you will not be able to
figure out how to use them if you aren't good with magical
devices. They will fire a shot that affects the first object or
creature encountered or fire a beam that affects anything in a
given direction, depending on the wand. An obstruction such as a
door or wall will generally stop the effects from traveling any
farther. This command requires a direction and can use a target.
This command takes some energy.
Use a staff (u) or Zap a staff (Z)
This command will use a staff. A staff is normally very similar
to a scroll, in that they normally either have an area effect or
affect a specific object. Staves are magical devices, and there
is a chance you will not be able to figure out how to use them.
This command takes some energy.
Zap a rod (z) or Activate a rod (a)
Rods are extremely powerful magical items, which cannot be burnt
or shattered, and which can have either staff-like or wand-like
effects, but unlike staves and wands, they don't have charges.
Instead, they draw on the ambient magical energy to recharge
themselves, and therefore can only be activated once every few
turns. The recharging time varies depending on the type of rod.
This command may require a direction (depending on the type of
rod, and whether you are aware of its type) and can use a target.
This command takes some energy.
--- Throwing and Missile Weapons ---
Fire an item (f) or Fire an item (t)
You may throw any object carried by your character. Depending on
the weight, it may travel across the room or drop down beside you.
Only one object from a pile will be thrown at a time. Note that
throwing an object will often cause it to break, so be careful!
If you throw something at a creature, your chances of hitting it
are determined by your pluses to hit, your ability at throwing,
and the object's pluses to hit. Once the creature is it, the
object may or may not do any damage to it. You've heard rumors
that some objects found in the dungeon can do huge amounts of
damage when thrown, but you're not sure which objects those
are.... Note that flasks of oil will do a fairly large chunk
of damage to a monster on impact, supposedly representing fire
damage, but it works against fire elementals too... If you are
wielding a missile launcher compatible with the object you are
throwing, then you automatically use the launcher to fire the
missile with much higher range, accuracy, and damage, then you
would get by just throwing the missile. Fire or Throw requires
a direction. Targeting mode (see the next command) can be invoked
with "*" at the "Direction?" prompt. This command takes some energy.
Throw an item (v)
You may throw any object carried by your character. The lighter
the object, the farther you can throw it. Only one object from a
stack may be thrown at a time. Throwing an object may break it.
If you throw something at a monster, your chances of hitting it
are determined by your pluses to hit, your ability at throwing,
and the object's pluses to hit. If the object hits the monster,
it may or may not do damage. Some objects, such as weapons, or
flasks of oil, can do a substantial amount of damage. This
command requires a direction, and can take a target. This command
takes some energy.
Targeting Mode (*)
This will allow you to aim your spells and such at a specific
monster or grid, so that you can point directly towards that
monster or grid (even if this is not a "compass" direction) when
you are asked for a direction. You can set a target using this
command, or you can set a new target at the "Direction?" prompt when
appropriate. At the targeting prompt, you have many options. First
of all, targetting mode starts targetting nearby monsters which can
be reached by "projectable" spells and thrown objects. In this mode,
you can press "t" (or "5" or ".") to select the current monster,
space to advance to the next monster, "-" to back up to the previous
monster, direction keys to advance to a monster more or less in that
direction, "r" to "recall" the current monster, "q" to exit targetting
mode, and "p" (or "o") to stop targetting monsters and enter the mode
for targetting a location on the floor or in a wall. Note that if
there are no nearby monsters, you will automatically enter this mode.
Note that hitting "o" is just like "p", except that the location
cursor starts on the last examined monster instead of on the player.
In this mode, you use the "direction" keys to move around, and the
"q" key to quit, and the "t" (or "5" or ".") key to target the cursor
location. Note that targetting a location is slightly "dangerous",
as the target is maintained even if you are far away. To cancel an
old target, simply hit "*" and then ESCAPE (or "q"). Note that when
you cast a spell or throw an object at the target location, the path
chosen is the "optimal" path towards that location, which may or may
not be the path you want. Sometimes, by clever choice of a location
on the floor for your target, you may be able to convince a thrown
object or cast spell to squeeze through a hole or corridor that is
blocking direct access to a different grid. Launching a ball spell
or breath weapon at a location in the middle of a group of monsters
can often improve the effects of that attack, since ball attacks are
not stopped by interposed monsters if the ball is launched at a target.
--- Looking Commands ---
Full screen map (M)
This command will show a map of the entire dungeon, reduced by a
factor of nine, on the screen. Only the major dungeon features
will be visible because of the scale, so even some important
objects may not show up on the map. This is particularly useful
in locating where the stairs are relative to your current
position, or for identifying unexplored areas of the dungeon.
Locate player on map (L) or Where is the player (W)
This command lets you scroll your map around, looking at all sectors
of the current dungeon level, until you press escape, at which point
the map will be re-centered on the player if necessary. To scroll
the map around, simply press any of the "direction" keys. The top
line will display the sector location, and the offset from your
current sector.
Look around (l) or Examine things (x)
This command is used to look around at nearby monsters (to determine
their type and health) and objects (to determine their type). It is
also used to find out what objects (if any) are under monsters, and
if a monster is currently inside a wall, and what is under the player.
When you are looking at something, you may hit space for more details,
or to advance to the next interesting monster or object, or minus ("-")
to go back to the previous monster or object, or a direction key to
advance to the nearest interesting monster or object (if any) in that
general direction, or "r" to recall information about the current
monster race, or "q" or escape to stop looking around. You always
start out looking at "yourself".
Observe an item (I)
This command lets you observe a previously *identified* item.
This will tell you things about the special powers of the object.
Currently, it only makes sense for artifacts and ego-items.
--- Message Commands ---
Repeat level feeling (^F)
Repeats the feeling about the dungeon level that you got when you
first entered the level.
View previous messages (^P)
This command shows you all the recent messages. You can scroll
through them, or exit with ESCAPE.
Take notes (:)
This command allows you to take notes, which will then appear in
your message list (prefixed with "Note:").
--- Game Status Commands ---
Character Description (C)
Brings up a full description of your character, including your
skill levels, your current and potential stats, and various other
information. From this screen, you can change your name or use
the file character description command to save your character
status to a file. That command saves additional information,
including your background, your inventory, and the contents of
your house.
Check knowledge (~)
This command allows you to ask about the knowledge possessed by
your character. Currently, this includes being able to list all
known "artifacts", "uniques", and "objects". Normally, once an
artifact is "generated", and "lost", it can never again be found,
and will become "known" to the player. With "preserve" mode, an
artifact can never be "lost" until it is "known" to the player.
In either case, any "known" artifacts not in the possession of
the player will never again be "generated". The "uniques" are
special "unique" monsters which can only be killed once per game.
Certain "objects" come in "flavors", and you must determine the
effect of each "flavor" once for each such type of object, and
this command will allow you to display all "known" flavors.
Interact with the system (!)
Allow the user to interact with the underlying visual system.
This command is currently unused.
--- Saving and Exiting Commands ---
Save and Quit (Ctrl-X)
To save your game so that you can return to it later, use this
command. Save files will also be generated (hopefully) if the
game crashes due to a system error. After you die, you can use
your savefile to play again with the same options and such.
Save (Ctrl-S)
This command saves the game but doesn't exit Angband. Use this
frequently if you are paranoid about having your computer crash
(or your power go out) while you are playing.
Quit (commit suicide) (Q)
Kills your character and exits Angband. You will be prompted to
make sure you really want to do this, and then asked to verify
that choice. Note that dead characters are dead forever.
--- User pref file commands ---
Interact with options (=)
Allow you to interact with options. Note that using the "cheat"
options may mark your savefile as unsuitable for the high score
list. You may change normal options using the "X" and "Y" user
pref commands. The "window" options allow you to specify what
should be drawn in any of the special sub-windows (not available
on all platforms). See the help file "options.txt" for more info.
Interact with macros (@)
Allow you to interact with macros. You may load or save macros
from user pref files, create macros of various types, or define
keymaps. You must define a "current action", shown at the bottom
of the screen, before you attempt to use any of the "create macro"
commands, which use that "current action" as their action. This
is a horrible interface, and will be fixed eventually.
Interact with visuals (%)
Allow you to interact with visuals. You may load or save visuals
from user pref files, or modify the attr/char mappings for the
monsters, objects, and terrain features. You must use the "redraw"
command (^R) to redraw the map after changing attr/char mappings.
Interact with colors (&)
Allow the user to interact with colors. This command only
works on some systems.
--- Help ---
Help (?)
Brings up the Angband on-line help system. Note that the help
files are just text files in a particular format, and that other
help files may be available on the Net. In particular, there are
a variety of spoiler files which do not come with the standard
distribution. Check the place you got Angband from or ask on the
newsgroup rec.games.roguelike.angband about them.
Identify Symbol (/)
Use this command to find out what a character stands for. For
instance, by pressing "/.", you can find out that the "." symbol
stands for a floor spot. When used with a symbol that represents
creatures, the this command will tell you only what class of
creature the symbol stands for, not give you specific information
about a creature you can see. To get that, use the Look command.
There are three special symbols you can use with the Identify
Symbol command to access specific parts of your monster memory.
Typing Ctrl-A when asked for a symbol will recall details about
all monsters, typing Ctrl-U will recall details about all unique
monsters, and typing Ctrl-N will recall details about all
non-unique monsters.
If the character stands for a creature, you are asked if you want
to recall details. If you answer yes, information about the
creatures you have encountered with that symbol is shown in the
Recall window if available, or on the screen if not. You can also
answer "k" to see the list sorted by number of kills, or "p" to
see the list sorted by dungeon level the monster is normally found
on. Pressing ESCAPE at any point will exit this command.
Game Version (V)
This command will tell you what version of Angband you are using.
For more information, see the "version.txt" help file.
--- Extra Commands ---
Toggle Choice Window (^E)
Toggles the display in any sub-windows (if available) which are
displaying your inventory or equipment.
Redraw Screen (^R)
This command adapts to various changes in global options, and
redraws all of the windows. It is normally only necessary in
abnormal situations, such as after changing the visual attr/char
mappings, or enabling "graphics" mode.
Load screen dump (left-paren)
This command loads a "snap-shot" of the current screen from the file
"dump.txt", and displays it on the screen.
Save screen dump (right-paren)
This command dumps a "snap-shot" of the current screen to the file
"dump.txt", including encoded color information.