The following is a segment of Revision 8.00 of the WCST Nethack Spoilers.

It
is Copyright (C) 1993, Paul Waterman, with all rights reserved. Distribution
is to be governed by the WCST Nethack Spoiler License Agreement. Summarized,
the WCST Nethack Spoiler License Agreement states that you may distribute
this file freely in unmodified format so long as you do not make money from
it. For the complete text of the WCST Nethack Spoiler License Agreement
please send electronic mail to the following address:

[email protected]

Alternately, you may send normal mail to the following address:

Paul Waterman
WCST
1361 Westchester Drive
Glendale Heights, IL 60139

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Section 2:
Commonalities
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Common Questions:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q: Help! Something is seriously wrong! I killed the Wizard of Yendor, but
he doesn't have the Amulet of Yendor! What's going on?
A: Well, in version 3.1 of Nethack, the Wizard of Yendor has finally gotten
tired of getting killed over that pesky little Amulet, so he's
entrusted it into the care of the High Priest of Moloch. Take a look
at the Winning the Game section for complete details about how to win
version 3.1.

Q: There're no more staircases going in the direction I'm heading! What's

the deal?
A: Nethack version 3.1 has the ability to have multiple branching levels. In
other words, there may be two different staircases on a level leading
down to two different levels. In many of the cases where a branch
occurs, one of the branches ends, and you have to retrace your steps
and go down the other branch. If this is all confusing, check out the
Overview of the Dungeon section, which goes into detail on the
structure of the Nethack dungeon.

Q: I've killed the Wizard of Yendor, but he keeps coming back and attacking
me. Is there anything I can do to get him off of my case?
A: For starters, the potion of paralyzation trick doesn't work any more. As
far as I can tell, the Wizard has three basic behaviors: First, if you
kill him, he will come back again and attack you wherever you are (with
more hit points and a better AC, for that matter). Second, if you have
the Amulet of Yendor, he will follow you relentlessly. Third, he will
come back and fight you one last time as you enter the Endgame. The
first two of these are most important in thwarting the Wizard. In
order to keep the Wizard away, don't kill him (although you obviously
have to kill him once to get the Amulet from him). Leave the level
without him (make sure he's not next to you), and he won't follow you
unless you have the Amulet. If you have the Amulet, drop it elsewhere
on the level, leave the level in such a way as to take the Wizard with
you (i.e. have him next to you), and then go back and get the Amulet.
This strategy has worked well for me. (Note: I haven't taken the time
to completely verify this with the source code)

Q: I've heard a lot about "named weapons," but I can't seem to get one. How
can I get one?
A: Well, there are five ways of getting named weapons, also known as
artifacts. The first, and perhaps most obvious one, is to wish for it.
When you are asked what you want to wish for, type "a (blessed) (+n)
[weapon type] named [name]," where blessed and +n (be sure to
substitute a number for n!) are optional, and the weapon type is
correct for that named weapon (see the Artifacts section and Wishing
section for more information). Another way to get a named weapon is to
have it given to you by your deity. If you sacrifice (#offer) enough,
eventually you will probably see an object appear at your feet. This
will be a named weapon. A third way to get a named weapon is to find
it. Some of them will just be randomly generated (although very rare),
so be on the lookout. You will know it's named when you pick it up -
it's not necessary to identify it. You can also gain some of the named
weapons by simply finding the appropriate weapon type and using the
#name command. Sting and Orcrist are notable in this regard. Finally,
you can get Excalibur by #dipping a normal longsword in a fountain (see
Fountain Effects for more details about this).
Q: I was playing a character and he/she got polymorphed into a new human. I
was asked to give the character a different name, and now I can't get
the character back. What do I do?
A: Nethack allows you to have multiple characters with different names, and
whenever Nethack saves a character it always uses the character's name,
regardless of whether that character used to have a different name. In
order to access a character of a particular name (or start one with a
different name), the easiest thing is to give Nethack a -u flag and
your name. For instance, type "nethack -u name" where "name" is your
character's name ("Endiel" in my case - and I'll send you updates to
the Spoilers if you can figure out where it came from).

Q: I was playing Nethack when I hit the '!' key by mistake. Now I'm sitting
at my prompt -- what's happened to my game?
A: In Nethack, the '!' key will create a shell for you. What this does is
allow you to quickly pop out of Nethack in order to do stuff, without
messing up your Nethack game. On most systems, you can exit the shell
and get back to your Nethack game by typing "exit."

Q: I've been punished, and I can't stand lugging around this ball and chain.
What can I do to get rid of it?
A: There are several ways to accomplish this. In the meantime, though,
unless you have a pretty good weapon, pick up the iron ball and wield
it! To get it off, try reading a scroll (or casting a spell) of remove
curse. Or, try feeding it to a rust monster, rock mole, or iron golem.
A nymph may steal it. Or, you can polymorph into a rust monster, rock
mole, or iron golem, and eat it yourself. Finally, you can polymorph
into a nymph and remove it. Note that lock-picks and keys won't work
to get it off.

Q: I've come up with some cool ideas for additions/modifications to Nethack.

What should I do with them?
A: You should send your ideas (also bugs) to [email protected].
Don't expect to receive back a confirmation that they received it - the
nethack-bugs account receives a lot of mail.

Q: I'm interested in making some modifications to Nethack (or already have

done so), and think they would make a cool addition to the game. I'd
like to make these modifications or additions public. What should I
do?
A: Once again, send some e-mail to [email protected]. Here's
some hints as to what all you should send: 1) If you have already made
the modifications, make sure they are well documented with comments,
and then send the changes (not the whole source code) to the Dev Team
(at nethack-bugs...). 2) Send a description of the planned (or
finished) code changes and how this affects other sections of the code.
3) Include a description of how you think the idea will impact the
game, and why you think your idea is good or necessary. 4) Be prepared
for a rejection on grounds that appear totally arbitrary to you. If
you do, consider the reasons given and think about re-working your
ideas and repeating the process. 5) If you really think your ideas are
worthwhile but the Dev Team refuses to agree (possible, but unlikely),
consider distributing them as optional add-ons through net newsgroups
such as rec.games.hack and comp.sources.games.

Q: I have these Spoilers, but where can I get a copy of Nethack from?
A: Please don't send e-mail to us! We're not in the habit of sending out
copies of Nethack, and rarely reply to messages asking where to get it
from. Information is posted on a regular basis on rec.games.hack about
where to get the latest version of Nethack. If you have access to
Compuserve, it is stored in the Gamers' Forum there. If you have
access to anonymous ftp, the official binaries can be retrieved from
linc.cis.upenn.edu.
Section 3:
The Character
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alignment:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Every character and monster in Nethack has an alignment. Even some objects
(specifically artifacts, or named weapons) have alignments. Describing
exactly what alignment is and what it entails is tricky, however. Expressed
simply, alignment is what side you've aligned yourself with - good, evil, or
neither. What is considered "good" and "evil" in Nethack is very much the
traditional medieval picture of good and evil. Thus, a brief description of
the three alignments and the behavior expected from a character of that
alignment follows:

Chaotic: A chaotic character has basically aligned him/herself with the side
of evil. He/she likes doing things that would normally be considered "bad"
just for the joy of it. Chaotics tend to have the attitude of "looking out
for number one." A chaotic character will probably kill anything that walks,
just for fun, and will tend to rob shops as a principle.

Neutral: Neutrality tends to be a refusal to take sides. The attitude of a

neutral is basically "live and let live." A character who is neutral
probably won't kill creatures that aren't bothering it, but won't have any
qualms about killing those that do. A neutral character won't really care
about robbing from shops, as long as it will benefit him/her.

Lawful: A lawful character has aligned him/herself with the side of good.
He/she will tend to follow societal rules, even if it won't benefit him/her.
A lawful character will have the attitude that "there is a higher good."
Lawful characters usually will try to befriend other creatures, but may
attempt to hunt down and kill those creatures that are by their very nature
"evil." (Chaotic monsters especially would be considered to be "evil" by a
lawful type.) A lawful character would never even think of robbing a shop.

Now, here's how alignment works in Nethack: There is a number associated

with your alignment, which will determine if you are "stridently aligned,"
etc. This number is increased for every action you perform which is in
keeping with your alignment, and decreased for every action you perform which
would be against your alignment. The chart below shows what actions can
affect your alignment and by how much.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Action | Aln +/- |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Sacrificing a unicorn of your alignment on an altar not of your | Becomes |
| alignment | -1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Refusing to give money to a co-aligned priest(ess) after | -1 |
| chatting with him/her | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Giving between two hundred times your level and one less than | +1 |
| four hundred times your level gold pieces to a co-aligned | |
| priest(ess) in a temple when your alignment is currently worse | |
| than -5 | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Giving six hundred times your level or more gold pieces to a | Becomes |
| priest(ess) in a temple when you're strayed | 0 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Giving more than six hundred times your level gold pieces to a | +2 |
| priest(ess) in a temple otherwise | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Displacing your pet in such a manner as to cause it to become | -5 |
| trapped | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Displacing your pet in such a manner as to cause it to drown or | -15 |
| die | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing a co-aligned priest | -2 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing a non-co-aligned priest | +2 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing a non-aligned priest | +Var |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing your leader on the Quest (i.e. Lord Carnarvon, Pelias, | -Var |
| etc.) | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing a "guardian" on the Quest (i.e. students, acolytes, | -Var |
| etc.) | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing your nemesis on the Quest (i.e. Lord Surtur, Dark One, | +Var |
| etc.) | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing a tame creature | -15 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Killing a peaceful creature | -5 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Angering a co-aligned priest | -5 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Angering a non-co-aligned priest | +2 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Angering any other creature | -1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Praying on a non-co-aligned altar and pleasing its deity | -1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Praying on a co-aligned altar and pleasing your deity | +1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Sacrificing a non-co-aligned unicorn on a co-aligned altar | +5 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Offering the Amulet of Yendor on the wrong altar in the Endgame | -99 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Offering the Amulet of Yendor on the correct altar in the | +10 |
| Endgame | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Offering a fake Amulet of Yendor in the Endgame | -1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Changing alignment | +/- Var |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Having a sacrifice rejected | -5 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Sacrificing a creature | + Var |
|=================================================================|=========|
| Non-Chaotic: Sacrificing a human corpse on an altar | -5 |
|=================================================================|=========|
| Chaotic: Sacrificing a human corpse on an altar | +5 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Chaotic: Genociding a human type of creature (i.e. Keystone | +1 |
| Kops, etc.) | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Chaotic: Genociding a type of demon (i.e. imps, etc.) | -1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Chaotic: Stealing from a shop (i.e. "Somehow you escaped the | +1 |
| shop without paying!" if not a Rogue | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Chaotic: Pacifying an angry shopkeeper if not a Rogue | -1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Chaotic: Refusing to pay a shopkeeper for damage done to the | +1 |
| shop | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Chaotic: Being seduced by a succubus/incubus | +1 |
|=================================================================|=========|
| Lawful: Genociding a human type of creature (i.e. Keystone | -1 |
| Kops, etc.) | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Lawful: Genociding a type of demon (i.e. imps, etc.) | +1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Lawful: Stealing form a shop (i.e. "Somehow you escaped the | -1 |
| shop without paying!") if not a Rogue | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Lawful: Pacifying an angry shopkeeper if not a Rogue | +1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Lawful: Refusing to pay a shopkeeper for damage done to the | -1 |
| shop | |
|=================================================================|=========|
| Knight: Kicking or attacking a monster that cannot move or is | -1 |
| sleeping or fleeing | |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Knight: Eating when satiated | -1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Chaotic Knight: Digging in a shop | +1 |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|---------|
| Lawful Knight: Digging in a shop | -1 |
|=================================================================|=========|
| Samurai: Attacking a peaceful creature | -1 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The chart at right will help you determine ---------------------------------

a little more about your alignment. The | Align. | Description |
description is the description as shown by |----------|--------------------|
a potion of enlightenment or the | > 20 | Piously aligned |
equivalent. Thus, if you quaff a potion of | 14 to 19 | Devoutly aligned |
enlightenment and are told that you are | 9 to 13 | Fervently aligned |
fervently aligned, you know that your | 4 to 8 | Stridently aligned |
alignment is somewhere in the nine to | 3 | Aligned |
thirteen range. | 1 to 2 | Haltingly aligned |
| 0 | Nominally aligned |
It should be noted that alignment is very | -3 to -1 | Strayed |
important in version 3.1 for the simple | -8 to -4 | Sinned |
reason that in order to be able to | Below -8 | Transgressed |
accomplish the Quest that will be set for ---------------------------------
your character (see The Quest for more
details) you will need to be piously aligned. So... watch that alignment!