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So, having played through a LOT of characters already in the short time I have been playing Angband Vanilla, I've racked up quite a lot of deaths. Each of them has been thoroughly instructive. Now that I have gotten one character to live past level 25 (level 29 and still kicking strong), I have also picked up on a lot of survival tricks. The two sets of data combined make up this guide. You may still die. But to any other comparative newbies who might read this, at least you can avoid dying in the specific WAYS that I did. May it help you in your own quest to plumb the depths of Angband.
1) Character Generation
If you are playing ANY melee class, whether you are using the roller or the point distribution system, prioritize Strength and Dexterity. Specifically, make sure you have 2 or more blows per round before you accept a character, and if you can get it, go for a race class combination which permits you to get three. Nothing will aid you early on quite like being able to smack the enemy multiple times per turn. Note that heavy weapons decrease your effective attack speed, lowering your blows per turn. (See Gearing Up, below.)
If you are playing a Mage, prioritize Intelligence and Dexterity. It increases your learn rate (how many spells you get on level up), and your max mana. Both are vital to a Mage. Because you are so frail in the beginning, your max mana is going to be key to making sure you have the juice to cast spells to kill your enemies and save yourself when needed. (See Spell Priorities, below.)
I haven't played a Priest yet, so I can't give any advice for them.
2) Gearing Up
First thing is first. When you are on the initial sex/race/class selection screen, press the "=" key on your keyboard. This will call up a menu of several birth options that you can select/deselect at will. One in particular is important here... the no sell option. This option, when activated, makes it so that you cannot get gold for selling gear in shops. However, money drops, both randomly placed treasure and that which drops from enemies, will be GREATLY increased.
In the end, this leads to having more money, for several reasons. The first is that you aren't constantly spending money on scrolls of Word of Recall to go sell off all of your loot. The second is that the cash drops are really pretty ridiculous. I am only on D25, I have been buying anything I saw in shops that even remotely caught my fancy, and I STILL have almost 20k gold in hand.
Last but not least, this option greatly increases your starting gold, but also starts you with no equipment at all. This is actually to your benefit; it allows you to be selective about what you start with. While we're on the topic...
On to starting gear. There are several items you should NEVER enter the dungeon without, irrespective of character class, if they are available in any of the stores. Even the Black Market. Pay the extra money, it's WORTH it. Some of these are basic supplies, things you would expect anyone to get, but even in these cases, there are choices to be made.
If you are playing anything other than a Priest (since I haven't got any advice for playing Priests), buy a Main Gauche as your default weapon. It deals 1d5 base damage, and most importantly, it doesn't reduce attack speed at all. It's the strongest weapon available at the start of the game of which this is true. That means that, if you followed the advice in the Character Generation section above, you will have at least two, and possibly three swings with it, every round. This will give you higher average damage per round than you can get with any other weapon affordable at the beginning of the game.
Also, irrrespective of character class, buy a sling. The reason is simple. Ranged combat is a vital part of the game if you really want an edge, no matter what your class. Slings are cheap, and ammo is plentiful (you'll often find piles of rocks just laying on the ground, and iron shots drop at an even higher rate than other ammo in the Dungeon). Using and abusing ranged weapons is the single greatest thing that contributed to my current Warrior surviving as long as he has.
Buy a Lantern, and some flasks of oil. Don't bother with torches. There are several reasons for this. The first is that in the long run, it means you will be carrying less weight around on deep dives. This is important, because your only consideration on inventory isn't how many slots you have. The other is carrying capacity. You CAN carry more than your capacity allows, but it slows you down, with greatly increasing penalties as your load grows. The second is that flasks of oil can, in a pinch, be used as ranged fire damage by throwing them. All torches do is provide light.
Next, buy three rations. There is no way that you should need more when you begin your first dive. Food is ridiculously common in the Dungeon, and in fact, you may find yourself TOSSING food later on to keep yourself under weight limit.
Finally, pick up a shovel. It's the cheapest tool you can buy that will let you tunnel through most blocks. Tunneling is also an important skill if you really want to get ahead in the early game.
Now hit the armor shop. Buy the strongest armor you can afford with your remaining money. Remember that if you are a Mage, some armor types (gloves come to mind) interfere with your casting abilities. Do NOT buy or wear gloves of any kind as a Mage. You may find gloves laying around in the Dungeon that might be worth the penalty, but nothing you are going to find in the starting stores, and actually be able to afford, is going to be worth it.
2b) Spell Priorities
This section only applies to Mages, since they are the only class I know about spell-casting for (also, divine casters can't PICK their spells; they just get them). As a mage, or any other arcane casting class, there are a few spells that you want as soon as they are available. The three big ones that come to mind are Magic Missile (your first offensive spell, and always the first spell you should be researching as a Mage (not necessarily a ranger or rogue, though... see below), Phase Door, and later, Identify. These three spells, even up into my early 20's with my first Mage, were the three that really got the most use, and gave me the best utility. Phase Door, in particular, frees up an inventory slot, though it DOES permanently tie up mana if you are planning on using it as a panic button, since you don't want to get surrounded, be depending on PD to get you out, and then discover you haven't got the mojo to CAST it. Also note that on non-mage casters, PD becomes the new number one spell to take. Since both rangers and rogues should have other means of dealing reliable damage, the extra escape hatch means more than a single-target attack spell ever could.
3) Townies
Around town, you may see certain NPCs wandering around. NPCs come in only two flavors in Angband. Shop owners, all of whom stay in their shops, and things you can fight. I refer to the wandering NPCs as "Townies". If you are about to make your first dive, here's a piece of simple advice. Avoid them. Even the ones that are not dangerous are a nuisance, most of them give you no experience or drops of any kind for killing them, and some of them are downright dangerous at this stage of the game.
In particular, if you are a Mage or other squishee, avoid Battle-Scarred Veterans and Mean-Looking Mercenaries at all costs. The street urchins are relatively harmless, but they CAN pick your pockets. Avoid them if you can, kill them if you can't. The exception to the above advice are the drunks and the merchants. They fairly regularly drop money when killed (rather a lot, if the no sell birth option is active), and are completely defenseless. Most Mages wielding a lowly dagger can shank them in one.
Should you encounter Farmer Maggot, a unique NPC that spawns ONLY on the town level, be aware that he has some fantastic drops for this stage of the game... but also be aware that, as a unique enemy, he may be tough. Offensively, however, he is a really bad joke, so as long as you aren't squishee or grossly underequipped, he should go down with sufficient patience.
4) Your First Dive
So, you've made your character. You've geared up. You have shown the townies who the local boss is. You're ready for your first dungeon dive. This is the part where this guide is really going to diverge from many other strategies you may have heard/read bandied about the forums. Most people recommend diving as fast and as deep as you think that you can possibly survive, grabbing the loot and a couple of free level ups, and then getting the hell out of dodge. Lather, rinse, repeat. This is great advice, as far as it goes, and I use this tactic often myself now. But if you are fresh off the banana boat and have no real idea of how to go navigate the dangers below, DO NOT DO THIS. It's a quick path to suicide for an inexperienced or ignorant player.
You may have noticed that on your initial shopping list, I left out a lot of things that many people would consider vital to survival in the dungeon. There are reasons for this. If you have followed the guide so far, your very best option is to take your first dive and cut it off short... go ONLY to D1, explore it fully, and then come back to town. This serves several important purposes.
First, it will (especially if you have, as instructed, enabled the no sell option) give you more than enough money to buy those other vitals I mentioned in the last paragraph, and if you are lucky (and the shops well stocked at the time), a significant armor/weapon upgrade or some magical gear to make your life easier. Second, it will provide you with at least 1 level up. Last but not least, it will provide you with valuable experience... Not XP for levelling (though that too, as mentioned previously), but actual experience that will stand you in good stead as you start to plumb the depths of Angband more vigorously.
If you are playing one of the newer versions, you should, by default, have many sub-windows open as you play, each of which will provide supplemental information about your character and your surroundings. Pay attention to them; they are there to help you. In particular, keep an eye on the one that details what monsters you can see. Sometimes, your character can see things that you, the player, cant... for whatever reason. It's a great early warning system, and it can save your life.
Proceed with caution. Look around. Pick up any and all potions, scrolls, and mushrooms you encounter. Most of these (even the bad ones) are comparatively harmless. If you are feeling gutsy, try experimenting with any that you have multiples of. Usually, you can ID them just by using them. However, note that if they had an effect that your character wouldn't necessarily notice, you may not successfully ID them. For instance, say you had a few Bubbly Potions, which in this game iteration, were Potions of Cure Light Wounds. To experiment, you drink one of them. If you were already at full HP, the potion would have no discernible effect, and as such, rather than being told what it was, it would gain the inscription <tried>, meaning that you have used it, but you still don't know what it does.
As to weapons, unless they are whips, daggers, or main gauches, ignore them at this point unless they were drops from an out-of-depth kill. Usually, they will have no magical properties at this stage, and since your starting weapon (which was hopefully a main gauche) will surpass any other weapon you are likely to find at this juncture in terms of average damage output, skip them. Armor you should always consider. Hold onto it in your inventory; after a while, if it is magical, you are likely to discern at least that much about it. If it's normal, you will be given it's exact stats... at which point, unless it represents an upgrade from what you bought in town, ditch it. If it turns out to be magical, toss it on, then wade in and let an enemy strike you. This will normally ID worn armor, no problem.
5) Monsters To Avoid
In the beginning of the game, there are lots of monsters you want to avoid completely, or at least take in ranged rather than melee combat. Some of them are described below.
Anything with a color designator of (not white): Often, creatures like this (such as the green jelly, the young black dragon, the red jelly, etc) have elemental attacks that, while they may or may not do much damage to you, can wreak havoc on your gear. Green and black often mean acid damage, red often means fire. Either of these two elements can cause armor or other gear to become damaged, or even get destroyed. Blue often means cold, which can shatter potions. Yellows can be electrics, which may destroy even magic gear such as rings and rods. White often means poison, and if you are properly built, believe me when I say that you have no reason in the world to care. If you cannot avoid these creatures, attack them at range if at all possible. In the case of jellies, they are immobile, so ranged fighting is literally so easy it ought to count as cheating. For mobile enemies, scooting away as needed is an important tactic.
Smeagol: While it is rare, this unique CAN be generated on D1. Simple solution... run away. Do not engage. For starters, he's a real tank (unlike Smeagol in the stories, who was always a bit of a pushover). Second, he can, and will, rob you blind if you let him. And if he steals from you, he teleports away, heals up, then returns to do it all again. While technically one of the most harmless uniques from an offensive viewpont, Smeagol can bankrupt you in Cracker Jack time. Don't let him.
Farmer Maggot's Dogs: These uniques should be effortless for any melee style character who is following this guide, but any Mage that encounters them without a few level ups under their belt first will get mauled and eaten before you can say "Puppy Chow". They seldom if ever drop anything, but are AMAZING XP (usually 1-2 level ups EACH) for an early PC, so if you have the guts and a good stabbin' arm, take the mutts down.
Breeders: These, in the beginning, are mostly limited to things like lice and white worm masses. Kill them quick, or bail; sticking around if you can't snuff them reliably can lead to the most shameful of ALL deaths... the "I couldn't get away, couldn't kill them, but they were too feeble to hurt ME; eventually ran out of food and @#$%ing starved to death" death. Yes, it can happen. Don't let it be you.
6) Ending Your First Run
Once you have explored everything, gotten any gear you actually intend to keep or ID, killed all of the monsters you can safely approach, and gotten the hang of the game, it's time to return to town. Use all your newfound loot to buy bigger and better stuff, and most especially, THE OTHER SURVIVAL GEAR.
This falls into two categories. Stuff that is meant to maintain you while you are in the pit, and "panic buttons". Panic buttons, for those who don't know, are the items you use when you are up to your neck and have no choice but to get out ASAP. The three most important panic buttons (and all things you should be buying as soon as you return from D1, if not before you leave the FIRST time if you have the cash), are...
Scrolls/Spell of Phase Door: Phase door jumps you, randomly, up to ten tiles away from your current location. Works instantly, so it's great for those surprise ambushes, or that "I didn't think they were THAT strong" moment. If you are ever even THINKING you are in over your head, PD can save your life.
Scrolls of WoR: Word of Recall is a fundamental. Now that you are getting ready for the dungeon proper, don't skimp. You want at LEAST two on hand at any given time, and more is not a bad idea. WoR scrolls serve two important purposes. The first is to haul you out of the dungeon in a pinch. This is the big one. In general, you should never leave the dungeon unless you need supplies, but often, you will be many floors down by the time you run low... Too far down to get back to town before you die for lack of food/light/whatever the heck it was you needed to get out to grab. It's also useful as a "screw these enemies, I'm in over my head and I want OUT" trick. Keep in mind, though, that it takes a while (~30 turns on average for me) for the effect to kick in after you have read the scroll, so if you even think you might need a quick escape, punch it then, don't wait.
Potions of Speed: Potions of Speed give you +10 speed. For a character with no other speed modifiers, +10 means double your effective speed. This can be a huge lifesaver. They are fairly common drops in the Dungeon even early on; nevertheless, save them for moments when you really need them, either to overpower a tough enemy quickly or to get the hell away if things swing to heavily against you. Having one and not needing it is a lot better than not having one and needing it. Come prepared.
This brings me to my final point in this section... DO NOT BE AFRAID TO BAIL. I don't care what cool treasure you see on the ground, what annoying unique is almost dead and will live to fight another day if you flee, or what other excuses you can come up with. If you even think there is the possibility that you are going to die if you hang around, leave. There will always be more loot. There will always be another chance to kill that obnoxious unique. There will always be another chance to go for the speed-diving record. This is a rogue-like, however, and that means that the one thing that you get ONLY one shot at is survival. Don't waste it.
7) Back Into the Breach
Once you've done some auxiliary shopping and restocked on the basics, head back in. This time, follow the traditional wisdom. Dive deep, dive fast. Grab the loot you can, snuff a few enemies, and leave before anyone knows what hit them, whether that's to the next level, the previous level, or back to town. Do NOT, under any circumstances, hang around for too long on any given level. There's two very good reasons for this.
First, the deeper you go, the better the loot you find. Getting this stuff sooner rather than later can only help you. Second, the longer you stay on a given floor, the greater chance you have of getting bum-rushed by the RNG. You know, having things like out-of-depth monsters spawn in groups of ten (don't laugh... I have seen it, and died for it), or even having regular monsters for that layer spawn in "awake, alert, and want to eat your face" mode. Your ONLY real purpose on any given floor is to look for the way down. The way up should be apparent from where you came in. Once you find the down route, take it. Grab any stuff and kill any monsters you can on the way, but at the end of the day, all that matters is getting down further, or getting out if needed. All other considerations are secondary.
8) Equipment Considerations
As you continue exploring the Dungeon, you will find gear. Lots. So, what do you keep, what do you toss (or sell, if you didn't turn no sell on)? Here are some good starting guidelines.
+ Speed gear: Keep it. Use it. Even if it has lower stats than what you already have equipped. NOTHING in this game is as heavy an advantage as being able to outmaneuver everything you encounter because they only get one turn for two or more of yours.
Rings: Anything that gives you resistances, boosts speed, or boosts survivability is good. If you can't find anything better, rings of searching can help make life a little easier. One note on Rings of Escape... If you find one, keep it in your inventory. But do not put it on, as it will cripple you in combat. Save it for a moment when you are sure the battle is lost... then slip it on and run like a motorhead with fire nipping at his heels. Remember, the only rule in Angband (or any rogue-like, really) is: DON'T DIE. You don't have to win every fight... but you can't afford to LOSE even one.
Amulets: Here's a simple but dirty trick. Save the highest Amulet of Charisma you find in your house. Don't touch it. But whenever you plan to go shopping, switch out whatever you have on at the time for it, and watch the merchants slash their prices just because you're more likeable now. Until you get something better, buying an Amulet of Slow Digestion is a great plan. They are almost always for sale in the magic shop early on, and it will reduce the risk of starvation to negligible levels.
Resistances: Anything with resistances is worth keeping for a while, even if you aren't using it at the moment. It's great to be able to throw on gear in a pinch depending on what you are facing. Don't be afraid to waste a turn switching gear to cover your bases. One turn will likely not cost you the game. Getting repeatedly blasted by elemental damage you are fully susceptible to, however, might.
A Special Note on Paralysis: I have never found a single piece of gear that gives paralysis resistance. If YOU do... use it. I don't care what you have to switch out for it. Paralysis is the single most deadly status ailment in the game, hands down. NOTHING else compares, because there is nothing you can do at all until it breaks... and by then, whatever paralyzed you in the first place is probably busy paralyzing you again. I have had very high power characters get stomped by single instances of a lowly carrion crawler simply because I failed to notice it was there until it had stung me, and then proceeded to perma-paralyze me while beating me to death as I watched, utterly helpless to prevent it. The only cure is prevention. Don't get punked like me, if you have an out.
9) General Tips
Look at everything. Items, monsters, terrain features you haven't seen before. If you don't know every detail of what it is, or what it does, or how it can help/hurt you, use the look command. It takes no game time, and Angband is great about giving you gobs of info about anything you actually care enough to glance at. The knowledge is well worth the short amount of time spent on it.
Don't Carry Junk: If you have no sell on, there is never a reason to carry anything that you have no use for. For example, high elves are born with the ability to see invisible things. Therefore, if you have no sell on, there is no reason for you ever to have scrolls of detect invisible or other similar items in your bag; at best they are a wasted slot. Ditch them in favor of something you can use.
Back Up Your Panic Buttons: Don't rely on one method to get you out of a bind. Scrolls of Phase Door are great at saving you when your neck is on the block, for example. Unless, of course, your character can't see. Then they're less useful than an iron spike. Those, at least, you can throw as a last ditch effort to try and kill a monster before it kills you. ALWAYS carry at least the three I specifically mentioned, and if you have them available, other stuff as well, such as the highest grade healing potions you can find. While not technically panic buttons, they can buy you much needed time.
That's it for now. If anyone has any questions, comments, or suggestions on how I might improve this guide, please feel free to reply to this post, or to PM me.
1) Character Generation
If you are playing ANY melee class, whether you are using the roller or the point distribution system, prioritize Strength and Dexterity. Specifically, make sure you have 2 or more blows per round before you accept a character, and if you can get it, go for a race class combination which permits you to get three. Nothing will aid you early on quite like being able to smack the enemy multiple times per turn. Note that heavy weapons decrease your effective attack speed, lowering your blows per turn. (See Gearing Up, below.)
If you are playing a Mage, prioritize Intelligence and Dexterity. It increases your learn rate (how many spells you get on level up), and your max mana. Both are vital to a Mage. Because you are so frail in the beginning, your max mana is going to be key to making sure you have the juice to cast spells to kill your enemies and save yourself when needed. (See Spell Priorities, below.)
I haven't played a Priest yet, so I can't give any advice for them.
2) Gearing Up
First thing is first. When you are on the initial sex/race/class selection screen, press the "=" key on your keyboard. This will call up a menu of several birth options that you can select/deselect at will. One in particular is important here... the no sell option. This option, when activated, makes it so that you cannot get gold for selling gear in shops. However, money drops, both randomly placed treasure and that which drops from enemies, will be GREATLY increased.
In the end, this leads to having more money, for several reasons. The first is that you aren't constantly spending money on scrolls of Word of Recall to go sell off all of your loot. The second is that the cash drops are really pretty ridiculous. I am only on D25, I have been buying anything I saw in shops that even remotely caught my fancy, and I STILL have almost 20k gold in hand.
Last but not least, this option greatly increases your starting gold, but also starts you with no equipment at all. This is actually to your benefit; it allows you to be selective about what you start with. While we're on the topic...
On to starting gear. There are several items you should NEVER enter the dungeon without, irrespective of character class, if they are available in any of the stores. Even the Black Market. Pay the extra money, it's WORTH it. Some of these are basic supplies, things you would expect anyone to get, but even in these cases, there are choices to be made.
If you are playing anything other than a Priest (since I haven't got any advice for playing Priests), buy a Main Gauche as your default weapon. It deals 1d5 base damage, and most importantly, it doesn't reduce attack speed at all. It's the strongest weapon available at the start of the game of which this is true. That means that, if you followed the advice in the Character Generation section above, you will have at least two, and possibly three swings with it, every round. This will give you higher average damage per round than you can get with any other weapon affordable at the beginning of the game.
Also, irrrespective of character class, buy a sling. The reason is simple. Ranged combat is a vital part of the game if you really want an edge, no matter what your class. Slings are cheap, and ammo is plentiful (you'll often find piles of rocks just laying on the ground, and iron shots drop at an even higher rate than other ammo in the Dungeon). Using and abusing ranged weapons is the single greatest thing that contributed to my current Warrior surviving as long as he has.
Buy a Lantern, and some flasks of oil. Don't bother with torches. There are several reasons for this. The first is that in the long run, it means you will be carrying less weight around on deep dives. This is important, because your only consideration on inventory isn't how many slots you have. The other is carrying capacity. You CAN carry more than your capacity allows, but it slows you down, with greatly increasing penalties as your load grows. The second is that flasks of oil can, in a pinch, be used as ranged fire damage by throwing them. All torches do is provide light.
Next, buy three rations. There is no way that you should need more when you begin your first dive. Food is ridiculously common in the Dungeon, and in fact, you may find yourself TOSSING food later on to keep yourself under weight limit.
Finally, pick up a shovel. It's the cheapest tool you can buy that will let you tunnel through most blocks. Tunneling is also an important skill if you really want to get ahead in the early game.
Now hit the armor shop. Buy the strongest armor you can afford with your remaining money. Remember that if you are a Mage, some armor types (gloves come to mind) interfere with your casting abilities. Do NOT buy or wear gloves of any kind as a Mage. You may find gloves laying around in the Dungeon that might be worth the penalty, but nothing you are going to find in the starting stores, and actually be able to afford, is going to be worth it.
2b) Spell Priorities
This section only applies to Mages, since they are the only class I know about spell-casting for (also, divine casters can't PICK their spells; they just get them). As a mage, or any other arcane casting class, there are a few spells that you want as soon as they are available. The three big ones that come to mind are Magic Missile (your first offensive spell, and always the first spell you should be researching as a Mage (not necessarily a ranger or rogue, though... see below), Phase Door, and later, Identify. These three spells, even up into my early 20's with my first Mage, were the three that really got the most use, and gave me the best utility. Phase Door, in particular, frees up an inventory slot, though it DOES permanently tie up mana if you are planning on using it as a panic button, since you don't want to get surrounded, be depending on PD to get you out, and then discover you haven't got the mojo to CAST it. Also note that on non-mage casters, PD becomes the new number one spell to take. Since both rangers and rogues should have other means of dealing reliable damage, the extra escape hatch means more than a single-target attack spell ever could.
3) Townies
Around town, you may see certain NPCs wandering around. NPCs come in only two flavors in Angband. Shop owners, all of whom stay in their shops, and things you can fight. I refer to the wandering NPCs as "Townies". If you are about to make your first dive, here's a piece of simple advice. Avoid them. Even the ones that are not dangerous are a nuisance, most of them give you no experience or drops of any kind for killing them, and some of them are downright dangerous at this stage of the game.
In particular, if you are a Mage or other squishee, avoid Battle-Scarred Veterans and Mean-Looking Mercenaries at all costs. The street urchins are relatively harmless, but they CAN pick your pockets. Avoid them if you can, kill them if you can't. The exception to the above advice are the drunks and the merchants. They fairly regularly drop money when killed (rather a lot, if the no sell birth option is active), and are completely defenseless. Most Mages wielding a lowly dagger can shank them in one.
Should you encounter Farmer Maggot, a unique NPC that spawns ONLY on the town level, be aware that he has some fantastic drops for this stage of the game... but also be aware that, as a unique enemy, he may be tough. Offensively, however, he is a really bad joke, so as long as you aren't squishee or grossly underequipped, he should go down with sufficient patience.
4) Your First Dive
So, you've made your character. You've geared up. You have shown the townies who the local boss is. You're ready for your first dungeon dive. This is the part where this guide is really going to diverge from many other strategies you may have heard/read bandied about the forums. Most people recommend diving as fast and as deep as you think that you can possibly survive, grabbing the loot and a couple of free level ups, and then getting the hell out of dodge. Lather, rinse, repeat. This is great advice, as far as it goes, and I use this tactic often myself now. But if you are fresh off the banana boat and have no real idea of how to go navigate the dangers below, DO NOT DO THIS. It's a quick path to suicide for an inexperienced or ignorant player.
You may have noticed that on your initial shopping list, I left out a lot of things that many people would consider vital to survival in the dungeon. There are reasons for this. If you have followed the guide so far, your very best option is to take your first dive and cut it off short... go ONLY to D1, explore it fully, and then come back to town. This serves several important purposes.
First, it will (especially if you have, as instructed, enabled the no sell option) give you more than enough money to buy those other vitals I mentioned in the last paragraph, and if you are lucky (and the shops well stocked at the time), a significant armor/weapon upgrade or some magical gear to make your life easier. Second, it will provide you with at least 1 level up. Last but not least, it will provide you with valuable experience... Not XP for levelling (though that too, as mentioned previously), but actual experience that will stand you in good stead as you start to plumb the depths of Angband more vigorously.
If you are playing one of the newer versions, you should, by default, have many sub-windows open as you play, each of which will provide supplemental information about your character and your surroundings. Pay attention to them; they are there to help you. In particular, keep an eye on the one that details what monsters you can see. Sometimes, your character can see things that you, the player, cant... for whatever reason. It's a great early warning system, and it can save your life.
Proceed with caution. Look around. Pick up any and all potions, scrolls, and mushrooms you encounter. Most of these (even the bad ones) are comparatively harmless. If you are feeling gutsy, try experimenting with any that you have multiples of. Usually, you can ID them just by using them. However, note that if they had an effect that your character wouldn't necessarily notice, you may not successfully ID them. For instance, say you had a few Bubbly Potions, which in this game iteration, were Potions of Cure Light Wounds. To experiment, you drink one of them. If you were already at full HP, the potion would have no discernible effect, and as such, rather than being told what it was, it would gain the inscription <tried>, meaning that you have used it, but you still don't know what it does.
As to weapons, unless they are whips, daggers, or main gauches, ignore them at this point unless they were drops from an out-of-depth kill. Usually, they will have no magical properties at this stage, and since your starting weapon (which was hopefully a main gauche) will surpass any other weapon you are likely to find at this juncture in terms of average damage output, skip them. Armor you should always consider. Hold onto it in your inventory; after a while, if it is magical, you are likely to discern at least that much about it. If it's normal, you will be given it's exact stats... at which point, unless it represents an upgrade from what you bought in town, ditch it. If it turns out to be magical, toss it on, then wade in and let an enemy strike you. This will normally ID worn armor, no problem.
5) Monsters To Avoid
In the beginning of the game, there are lots of monsters you want to avoid completely, or at least take in ranged rather than melee combat. Some of them are described below.
Anything with a color designator of (not white): Often, creatures like this (such as the green jelly, the young black dragon, the red jelly, etc) have elemental attacks that, while they may or may not do much damage to you, can wreak havoc on your gear. Green and black often mean acid damage, red often means fire. Either of these two elements can cause armor or other gear to become damaged, or even get destroyed. Blue often means cold, which can shatter potions. Yellows can be electrics, which may destroy even magic gear such as rings and rods. White often means poison, and if you are properly built, believe me when I say that you have no reason in the world to care. If you cannot avoid these creatures, attack them at range if at all possible. In the case of jellies, they are immobile, so ranged fighting is literally so easy it ought to count as cheating. For mobile enemies, scooting away as needed is an important tactic.
Smeagol: While it is rare, this unique CAN be generated on D1. Simple solution... run away. Do not engage. For starters, he's a real tank (unlike Smeagol in the stories, who was always a bit of a pushover). Second, he can, and will, rob you blind if you let him. And if he steals from you, he teleports away, heals up, then returns to do it all again. While technically one of the most harmless uniques from an offensive viewpont, Smeagol can bankrupt you in Cracker Jack time. Don't let him.
Farmer Maggot's Dogs: These uniques should be effortless for any melee style character who is following this guide, but any Mage that encounters them without a few level ups under their belt first will get mauled and eaten before you can say "Puppy Chow". They seldom if ever drop anything, but are AMAZING XP (usually 1-2 level ups EACH) for an early PC, so if you have the guts and a good stabbin' arm, take the mutts down.
Breeders: These, in the beginning, are mostly limited to things like lice and white worm masses. Kill them quick, or bail; sticking around if you can't snuff them reliably can lead to the most shameful of ALL deaths... the "I couldn't get away, couldn't kill them, but they were too feeble to hurt ME; eventually ran out of food and @#$%ing starved to death" death. Yes, it can happen. Don't let it be you.
6) Ending Your First Run
Once you have explored everything, gotten any gear you actually intend to keep or ID, killed all of the monsters you can safely approach, and gotten the hang of the game, it's time to return to town. Use all your newfound loot to buy bigger and better stuff, and most especially, THE OTHER SURVIVAL GEAR.
This falls into two categories. Stuff that is meant to maintain you while you are in the pit, and "panic buttons". Panic buttons, for those who don't know, are the items you use when you are up to your neck and have no choice but to get out ASAP. The three most important panic buttons (and all things you should be buying as soon as you return from D1, if not before you leave the FIRST time if you have the cash), are...
Scrolls/Spell of Phase Door: Phase door jumps you, randomly, up to ten tiles away from your current location. Works instantly, so it's great for those surprise ambushes, or that "I didn't think they were THAT strong" moment. If you are ever even THINKING you are in over your head, PD can save your life.
Scrolls of WoR: Word of Recall is a fundamental. Now that you are getting ready for the dungeon proper, don't skimp. You want at LEAST two on hand at any given time, and more is not a bad idea. WoR scrolls serve two important purposes. The first is to haul you out of the dungeon in a pinch. This is the big one. In general, you should never leave the dungeon unless you need supplies, but often, you will be many floors down by the time you run low... Too far down to get back to town before you die for lack of food/light/whatever the heck it was you needed to get out to grab. It's also useful as a "screw these enemies, I'm in over my head and I want OUT" trick. Keep in mind, though, that it takes a while (~30 turns on average for me) for the effect to kick in after you have read the scroll, so if you even think you might need a quick escape, punch it then, don't wait.
Potions of Speed: Potions of Speed give you +10 speed. For a character with no other speed modifiers, +10 means double your effective speed. This can be a huge lifesaver. They are fairly common drops in the Dungeon even early on; nevertheless, save them for moments when you really need them, either to overpower a tough enemy quickly or to get the hell away if things swing to heavily against you. Having one and not needing it is a lot better than not having one and needing it. Come prepared.
This brings me to my final point in this section... DO NOT BE AFRAID TO BAIL. I don't care what cool treasure you see on the ground, what annoying unique is almost dead and will live to fight another day if you flee, or what other excuses you can come up with. If you even think there is the possibility that you are going to die if you hang around, leave. There will always be more loot. There will always be another chance to kill that obnoxious unique. There will always be another chance to go for the speed-diving record. This is a rogue-like, however, and that means that the one thing that you get ONLY one shot at is survival. Don't waste it.
7) Back Into the Breach
Once you've done some auxiliary shopping and restocked on the basics, head back in. This time, follow the traditional wisdom. Dive deep, dive fast. Grab the loot you can, snuff a few enemies, and leave before anyone knows what hit them, whether that's to the next level, the previous level, or back to town. Do NOT, under any circumstances, hang around for too long on any given level. There's two very good reasons for this.
First, the deeper you go, the better the loot you find. Getting this stuff sooner rather than later can only help you. Second, the longer you stay on a given floor, the greater chance you have of getting bum-rushed by the RNG. You know, having things like out-of-depth monsters spawn in groups of ten (don't laugh... I have seen it, and died for it), or even having regular monsters for that layer spawn in "awake, alert, and want to eat your face" mode. Your ONLY real purpose on any given floor is to look for the way down. The way up should be apparent from where you came in. Once you find the down route, take it. Grab any stuff and kill any monsters you can on the way, but at the end of the day, all that matters is getting down further, or getting out if needed. All other considerations are secondary.
8) Equipment Considerations
As you continue exploring the Dungeon, you will find gear. Lots. So, what do you keep, what do you toss (or sell, if you didn't turn no sell on)? Here are some good starting guidelines.
+ Speed gear: Keep it. Use it. Even if it has lower stats than what you already have equipped. NOTHING in this game is as heavy an advantage as being able to outmaneuver everything you encounter because they only get one turn for two or more of yours.
Rings: Anything that gives you resistances, boosts speed, or boosts survivability is good. If you can't find anything better, rings of searching can help make life a little easier. One note on Rings of Escape... If you find one, keep it in your inventory. But do not put it on, as it will cripple you in combat. Save it for a moment when you are sure the battle is lost... then slip it on and run like a motorhead with fire nipping at his heels. Remember, the only rule in Angband (or any rogue-like, really) is: DON'T DIE. You don't have to win every fight... but you can't afford to LOSE even one.
Amulets: Here's a simple but dirty trick. Save the highest Amulet of Charisma you find in your house. Don't touch it. But whenever you plan to go shopping, switch out whatever you have on at the time for it, and watch the merchants slash their prices just because you're more likeable now. Until you get something better, buying an Amulet of Slow Digestion is a great plan. They are almost always for sale in the magic shop early on, and it will reduce the risk of starvation to negligible levels.
Resistances: Anything with resistances is worth keeping for a while, even if you aren't using it at the moment. It's great to be able to throw on gear in a pinch depending on what you are facing. Don't be afraid to waste a turn switching gear to cover your bases. One turn will likely not cost you the game. Getting repeatedly blasted by elemental damage you are fully susceptible to, however, might.
A Special Note on Paralysis: I have never found a single piece of gear that gives paralysis resistance. If YOU do... use it. I don't care what you have to switch out for it. Paralysis is the single most deadly status ailment in the game, hands down. NOTHING else compares, because there is nothing you can do at all until it breaks... and by then, whatever paralyzed you in the first place is probably busy paralyzing you again. I have had very high power characters get stomped by single instances of a lowly carrion crawler simply because I failed to notice it was there until it had stung me, and then proceeded to perma-paralyze me while beating me to death as I watched, utterly helpless to prevent it. The only cure is prevention. Don't get punked like me, if you have an out.
9) General Tips
Look at everything. Items, monsters, terrain features you haven't seen before. If you don't know every detail of what it is, or what it does, or how it can help/hurt you, use the look command. It takes no game time, and Angband is great about giving you gobs of info about anything you actually care enough to glance at. The knowledge is well worth the short amount of time spent on it.
Don't Carry Junk: If you have no sell on, there is never a reason to carry anything that you have no use for. For example, high elves are born with the ability to see invisible things. Therefore, if you have no sell on, there is no reason for you ever to have scrolls of detect invisible or other similar items in your bag; at best they are a wasted slot. Ditch them in favor of something you can use.
Back Up Your Panic Buttons: Don't rely on one method to get you out of a bind. Scrolls of Phase Door are great at saving you when your neck is on the block, for example. Unless, of course, your character can't see. Then they're less useful than an iron spike. Those, at least, you can throw as a last ditch effort to try and kill a monster before it kills you. ALWAYS carry at least the three I specifically mentioned, and if you have them available, other stuff as well, such as the highest grade healing potions you can find. While not technically panic buttons, they can buy you much needed time.
That's it for now. If anyone has any questions, comments, or suggestions on how I might improve this guide, please feel free to reply to this post, or to PM me.
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