Surviving the dungeons of Angband can be difficult without the right tools and support. Your character can carry a lot of items during his or her adventures, divided into Inventory and Equipment.

• Inventory: Tools, weapons and useful items carried in a backpack, on a belt, in a quiver, and so on, ready to be used, activated or wielded when required
• Equipment: Anything that is worn (armour and other clothing, ring and amulets) or wielded (weapons, light sources) by the character

Inventory

To view your character's inventory at any time, press i. Items are stored in 'slots' in the inventory, each identified by a reference letter from a to x, making 24 slots. A slot can contain more than one item (in fact, up to 99) of the same sort, but they must be identical: for example, you can have up to 99 normal arrow in the same slot, but a single enchanted arrow will require a separate slot.

Initially most inventory slots are empty, but you will eventually have to make decisions about what your character should carry and what should be left behind. You will also need to keep some space in the inventory for items found during exploration of Angband, which can be brought back to the town and sold, or stored in your character's home. It is entirely up to you what your character's inventory contains.

Similar items – e.g. books of magic, or armour – are automatically grouped together in the inventory.

Whenever you enter a command that affects the inventory, you can either enter a slot letter immediately, or press * to display the inventory list, and then select the appropriate slot letter. When appropriate – i.e. When you have more than one item in the slot, and the can work on multiple items - you will be prompted for a quantity.

Equipment

To view your character's inventory at any time, press e. Like the inventory, equipment is in lettered slots, but in the equipment listing, each slot has a specific role, which is displayed after the reference letter, determining what you can place in this slot.

To wield something (i.e. put it in the equipment list), press w (for 'wear' or 'wield'). You can choose an item from the inventory list and it will automatically be placed in the appropriate equipment slot. If that slot already has something in it, that item will be swapped out to the inventory. If you choose to wear a ring, it will automatically be placed on your character's left hand if there is no ring on that hand; otherwise it will be placed on the left hand.

To take off an item without replacing it with something else, press t. Press * to see the full equipment list and press the slot letter for the item you wish to remove – it will be placed in the inventory, unless that is full, in which case your character will drop it on the floor.

General Notes

Certain actions and commands may be applicable both to items in the inventory and equipment list (for example, a to activate a magical item). When using such commands, the default list displayed is the inventory, but you can switch back and forth between the two lists by using the / key. If your character is standing on an item on the floor which can be used for the action you have chosen, you can press - to use the item.

Everything your character carries in their equipment or inventory weighs something – not much in the case of an arrow or a scroll, a reasonable amount for a staff or small weapon, and a lot for thick armour or a large weapon. Depending on STRength, the total burden (see The Character Screen) may become such that your character is slowed down, both for moving around the dungeon, and more importantly, in combat.

What Should You Buy?

Equipment is a matter of debate and individual preference, but some suggestions are:

• Check you have enough food rations and torches; dying of hunger or getting lost in the dark are unpleasant ways to begin your adventures in Angband.
• If you can afford it, a pick or shovel to dig out treasure embedded in the dungeon walls will help your character gain vital money in their early explorations.
• A cloak, and whatever armour you can afford to protect your character.
• A good weapon; this may not necessarily mean the largest one you can afford, as your character may get multiple attacks with a lighter weapon. You may be able to sell your character's starting weapon (some classes are automatically equipped with a melee and/or missile weapon at the start) and buy something more effective while also ending up with cash to spend on other important items.
• Any character using a missile weapon may want to make sure they have enough ammunition.
• Scrolls of Phase Door to help you escape overpowerful attackers, or Potions of Cure Light Wounds to boost your health when you can't escape, may also be useful.
• Scrolls of Trap Detection may also help avoid an early death from an unnoticed pit trap.