NOT YET REVISED

Monsters are worth experience

Defeat a monster, and you will gain experience. The amount you gain depends on the base monster value, multiplied by its native depth, divided by your level.

Your Monster Memory

When you see a monster for the first time, all you know are its physical attributes and whatever information the monster description may provide. As you fight and kill monsters, use various attacks on them, probe them with magic, and get killed by them, you learn more about their strengths and weaknesses.

You recall this memory in one of two ways: 'l'ooking at/e'x'amining the monster and then pressing 'r' for recall, or by pressing '/' and typing the monster's letter.

Unlike object memory, monster memory can be passed on even after your character dies. You may use menu commands or command-line options to open up a specific file that contains a character with a monster memory.

The Monster Health Bar

A good way to keep track of a specific monster is to target it. When you do so, its health bar appears on the left side of the main screen, just below the hitpoint and mana indicators. Similar health bars are also used when looking around and when displaying the closest monsters.

The health bar uses several colors to tell you more about the monster. Frightened - violet, Confused - brown, Stunned - light blue, Sleeping - dark blue, Otherwise - green when healthy, and yellow, orange, and red when wounded.

Monster attributes

The special attributes of monsters can make all the difference to the danger they pose to you. Some of the more interesting are listed and described.

• Hitpoints : Some monsters die easily, others can withstand almost anything.
• Armour : Some monsters are easy to hit with melee blows or missiles, others evade or block them quite often.
• Awareness : Some monsters will stay asleep even if you dance in front of them, others are ever vigilant. The distance that monsters can perceive you (if you are not in line of sight) also varies greatly.
• Color : The color of a monster can be a valuable hint.
• Multi-hued : Changes colors randomly.
• Invisible : Cannot be seen with normal sight.
• Warm-blooded : Some monsters can be seen with infravision, others can't.
• Telepathy : Some monsters are always visible with telepathy, others are rarely visible, and others still never visible.
• Uses symbol : Appears exactly like whatever terrain it is on.
• Groups : Monsters may appear in groups, or have escorts.
• Multiply : Monster breeds explosively.
• Drops : Monsters may drop anything from nothing at all to many excellent objects.
• Experience : The experience you get from killing monsters varies greatly.
• Bash Door : Most monsters (but not all) can either bash down or open doors. Everyone can close doors, and some characters can spike doors to delay their foes.
• Pass Wall : Ghosts and some other creatures can float right through ordinary walls.
• Hurt by ... : Monsters may be especially susceptible to light or rock remover.
• Resistant to ... : Monsters can be especially resistant to any or all of the elements or poison, or any of the esoteric magics.
• Cannot be ... : Monsters may be immune to fear, slowing, stunning, sleeping, or confusion.
• Regenerate : Recovers battle damage unusually quickly.
• Spells : Monsters may fire physical missiles, breathe, cast spells to hurt and hinder you, blink and teleport you and themselves, heal them- selves, haste themselves or other monsters, summon more opponents, and many other things!
• Casting speed : Be careful of monsters that cast spells very often, especially if they also move quickly.
• Smart : Monsters may be skilled at choosing spells, somewhat skilled, or unskilled
• Breath Powerfully : Dragon breaths have a larger blast radius.
• Blows : Monsters can do great damage and inflict nasty effects in melee.