When you are ready to begin your adventures in the depths of the fortress of Angband, move your character to the stairs and press > to descend into the darkness (note: make sure you have your torch in hand as you go).

Dungeon Levels

Each time your character descends a staircase, he or she goes 50 feet deeper into Angband, or one dungeon level. There are many, many levels to the pits of Angband, an in the deepest Morgoth awaits the most intrepid of heroes. Each level is made of of a network of passages and rooms to be explored.

You will see from your character's exploration that each level is rectangular and bounded by walls that neither muscle nor magic can penetrate. The stairs that lead from level to level are labyrinthine networks rather than simple staircases, and so each time your character leaves a level, you will never be able to find your way back to exactly the same area again; you will however be able to find another area of rooms to explore at the same depth. Getting from one such area to another at the same depth is impossible, however.

Walls, Rubble and Digging

The walls of the passages and chambers are made of one of four types of rock.

The most common is granite; tunnels can be dug through this with sheer brawn and a good tool, but not easily - using magical means is much simpler.

Around the edge of the level are walls of a much tougher stone which looks exactly like granite, but which cannot be penetrated by any form of digging, including magical. This stone also forms the walls of certain special rooms in the depths of Angband, forcing your character to find the easier sections of wall to dig through.

Veins of quartz and magma also thread through the granite. Quartz is softer than granite, but harder than magma.

Both quartz and magma veins can contain precious metals and gemstones, which can be dug out and used as money in the town. In the early stages of exploration, this can be an extremely important source of wealth to your character.

You may also find rockfalls - piles of rubble - blocking corridors in places. These are easy to dig through, even without a special digging tool, and there can be rewards: very occasionally you may find some treasure or useful object once the rubble is cleared away.

Digging can be done with any tool to hand, from bare hands, through weapons, to shovels and picks. The ease with which your character can dig a tunnel depends on the type of tool used and the character's strength.

Stairs, Doors and Traps

Every level of Angband is always connected to levels above and below by stairs; there may be more than one stairway up or down. At the most profound depths, the stairs down are concealed by powerful enchantments, which are only dispelled on the death of the dread lords Sauron and Morgoth who inhabit those halls.

Your character will encounter many doors to rooms and passageways; while some doors are open, others may be locked, needing dextrous hands to open, or jammed shut through ages of disuse, and may need to be forced open through sheer physical strength, or through the use of opening magic.

Doors may even be concealed, and searching to uncover them may take quite some time. As you grow more experienced in exploring the depths of Angband, you will become more familiar with likely locations to search for secret doors. For reasons lost in the dim history of Angband's building, secret doors are never locked.

Traps abound in Angband: pits, often lined with vicious spikes; trap doors through which the unwary may tumble to the next level; magical traps to teleport your character around the level; and traps that release gasses or fire darts to paralyse, blind, confuse or weaken your character. Blundering into these traps, which are always cunningly concealed, can prove most unwelcome. Traps, like secret doors, can be found by searching; once a trap has been found, or set off, it will be shown on the map. Most traps can be triggered repeatedly, so your character may need to disarm them, or find alternative routes if one lies in the way. There is a full list in the Tables section of this manual.

Rooms, Pits and Vaults

The rooms and chambers of Angband may be large or small; rectangular or irregular in shape; empty, or contain monsters, treasures, traps - or all three...

Some larger chambers are known as pits, and are filled with hordes of creatures waiting to attack the unwary adsventurer who opens the door to such a room. Pits are generally filled with creatures of one type - for example orcs, or trolls - increasing in deadliness the deeper the level on which they occur; at great depths, pits filled with writhing masses of dragons, or serried ranks of undead horrors, are believed to exist.

Vaults are rooms which contain deadly monsters, but also great treasures. The dangers are greats but the rewards commensurate.