1 === Attacking and Weapons===
3 Attacking is simple in Hengband. If you move into a creature, you
4 attack it. If you are wielding a weapon (including digging implements
5 which are considered to be weapons) when you do so, the damage for the
6 weapon is used when you hit a creature. Otherwise, you will attack with
7 your bare hands which does minimal damage (unless you are playing a
10 Melee can do more damage per turn than any other form of attack, and
11 the basic equipment (a weapon) is easy to find. On the other hand,
12 melee only works against adjacent monsters and takes a great deal of
13 training and equipment to come into its own deeper in the dungeon.
14 Upgrading to weapons with higher base damage is vital but heavy
15 weapons are harder to master. You will have to find a compromise,
16 depending on class, experience level, and available equipment (use the
17 'C'haracter screen to see how various weapons affect your melee skill).
19 You may wield both a primary weapon for melee combat, and a bow or
20 other missile launcher for launching missiles at the same time. Most
21 classes will also benefit from carrying an assortment of magical
24 ***** <DistanceAttack>
25 --- Attacking from a Distance ---
27 You can attack creatures from a distance by firing a missile from a bow
28 or other missile launcher, by throwing an object or by using magical
29 items such as wands, rods and staffs. If you have chosen to play a
30 spell casting class, you may be able to learn some spells which allow
31 you to attack a creature from a distance. You can use distance attacks
32 even when your target is next to you.
34 Whenever you give a command to fire a weapon, cast a spell, or use an
35 attacking magical device (unless the spell or device has an area
36 effect), you will be prompted for a direction. You may choose any of
37 the eight movement directions or press '*' to enter targeting mode. A
38 detailed explanation of targeting mode can be found in the section on
39 Command Descriptions (see commdesc.txt#ThrowFire [b]).
41 You may also wish to make use of the use_old_target option which
42 automatically selects the last target. This prevents you from having to
43 target the same monster every time you attack it. An explanation of
44 this option is found the section on User Interface Options (see
45 option.txt#UserInterface [c]).
48 --- Attacking Monsters in Walls ---
50 You should note that some creatures, for example ghosts, can pass
51 through the dungeon walls. You can attack a creature in a wall with
52 your weapon by trying to move into the wall space which contains the
53 creature. If the creature is invisible and you do not have the ability
54 to see invisible creatures, you must tunnel into the wall space
55 containing the creature.
57 Bolt spells do full damage to a creature in a wall, but ball spells
58 will be stopped and blow up just in front of a wall and do only half
59 damage. Inversely, when you have ghost like form and are in a wall,
60 you will take only half damage from ball spells and breaths of
61 monsters, which is a very important privilege.
66 Carrying a weapon in your backpack does you no good. You must wield a
67 weapon before it can be used in a fight. A secondary weapon can be kept
68 by keeping it in the backpack, and switching it with the primary weapon
71 Weapons have two main magical characteristics, their enchanted ability
72 to hit and their enchanted ability to do damage, expressed as
73 `(+#,+#)'. A normal weapon would be `(+0,+0)'. Many weapons in Hengband
74 have bonuses to hit and/or do damage. Some weapons are cursed, and have
75 penalties that hurt the player. Cursed weapons cannot be unwielded
76 until the curse is lifted. Identifying a weapon will inform you of the
77 magical bonuses and penalties and whether or not it is cursed.
79 Hengband assumes that your youth in the rough environment near the
80 dungeons has taught you the relative merits of different weapons. Hengband
81 displays as part of their description the damage dice which define
82 their capabilities. Any damage enchantment is added to the dice roll
83 for that weapon. The dice used for a given weapon is displayed as
84 "#d#". The first number indicates how many dice to roll, and the second
85 indicates how many sides they have. A "2d6" weapon will give damage
86 from 2 to 12, plus any damage bonus. The weight of a weapon is also a
87 consideration. Heavy weapons may hit harder, but they are also harder
88 to use. Depending on your strength, dexterity, character class, and
89 weapon weight, you may get several attacks per turn.
93 === Missile Launchers ===
95 Firing a missile while wielding the appropriate launcher is the only
96 way to get the "full" power out of the missile. You may of course throw
97 an arrow at a monster without firing it from a bow, but you will find
98 the effects may not be what you had hoped. Slings will fire pebbles or
99 shots, bows will fire arrows and crossbows will fire bolts. Missiles of
100 varying type and quality can be bought in the town and may be found
101 throughout the dungeon.
103 Missile launchers, have their characteristics added to those of the
104 missile used, if the proper weapon/missile combination is used, and the
105 launcher multiplier is applied to the total damage, making missile
106 weapons very powerful given the proper missiles. This is especially
107 true if both the launcher and the missile are enchanted.
109 Hits and misses are determined by your ability to hit versus your
110 target's armor class. A hit is a strike that does some damage; a miss
111 may in fact reach a target, but fails to do any damage. Higher armor
112 class makes it harder to do damage, and so leads to more misses; it
113 will also reduce the damage from a strike that actually occurs.
115 The varying types of missile launchers each have their own strengths
116 and weaknesses. Which can be summarized as follows:
118 Shots per turn Multiplier
122 Light Crossbow: 0.83 3
123 Heavy Crossbow: 0.75 4
125 Bows tend to be good at dealing constant streams of damage. A sling is
126 good for killing many small monsters - it even does more damage per
127 round than a short bow if you can carry enough ammunition. Crossbows
128 deal enormous amounts of damage in one shot. However, the reload time
129 is such that a longbow will deal more damage over time.
131 Certain classes automatically receive additional shots as they become
132 more experienced. Rangers and Cavalry receive some additional shots
133 with a bow. Rogues receive some extra shots with a sling. Archers and
134 Warriors receive some additional shots with any missile launcher.
138 == Ego Weapons and Artifacts ===
140 In addition to the ordinary weapons your character may find in the
141 dungeon, some of them may be endowed with additional powers. These
142 weapons fall into two types: (1) artifacts; and (2) ego weapons. Unlike
143 artifacts which are unique and may only be found once in each game, it
144 is not unusual to find several ego weapons of the same type during the
145 course of a character's adventures.
147 In general, artifacts and ego weapons may boost one or more of your
148 primary statistics, may confer certain abilities upon your character,
149 may grant resistance to certain forms of attack and may be especially
150 deadly against certain types of creature. Take note that if your weapon
151 has two attributes that make it deadly to your opponent (for example
152 you are fighting a demon and your weapon slays both evil and demons
153 (demons are evil)), only the most effective slay will apply.
156 A magical weapon that actually helps defend the wielder by increasing
157 his/her armor class and providing resistance against damage from fire,
158 cold, acid and lightning attacks. It also grants levitation, increases
159 your stealth, let you see invisible creatures and protects you from
160 paralyzation and some slowing attacks. It also helps you regenerate
161 hit-points and mana faster. It has a randomly chosen ability to sustain
162 a key statistic and to provide additional resistance.
165 A Holy Avenger is one of the more powerful of weapons. It will
166 increase your wisdom and your armor class and prevent you from
167 becoming afraid. This weapon will do extra damage when used against
168 evil, demonic and undead creatures, and will also give you the
169 ability to see invisible creatures. These weapons are also blessed
170 and so can be wielded by priests with no penalty.
172 Weapon of Westernesse
173 A Weapon of Westernesse is one of the more powerful weapons. It
174 slays orcs, trolls and giants while increasing your strength,
175 dexterity, and constitution. It allows you to sense the presence
176 of nearby orcs, trolls, and giants. It also allows you to see
177 invisible creatures and protects you from paralyzation and some
181 A Trump Weapon is especially deadly against evil creatures and will
182 increase your ability to discover hidden dungeon features. It will
183 help you regenerate hit-points and mana faster and at the same time
184 will reduce your rate of food consumption. It provides resistance
185 to nexus and protects you from paralyzation and some slowing attacks.
186 It may have an additional resistance. In addition, it can be
187 activated for teleport once every 50+1d50 turns. A Trump Weapon
188 can cause you to teleport randomly. Random teleports can be
189 annoying when you don't need them, but, unless the weapon is cursed,
190 you may prevent them by inscribing the weapon with the '{' command.
193 A Pattern Weapon has been embedded with a fragment of the Pattern.
194 It will increase your strength and constitution and also has a
195 chance of increasing your dexterity. It is especially effective
196 when used against evil, undead and demonic creatures. It will allow
197 you to see invisible creatures and protects you from paralyzation
198 and some slowing attacks. It has an additional, random, resistance.
201 A blessed weapon will increase your wisdom and can be wielded by
202 priests with no penalty. It allows you to sense the presence of
203 nearby good creatures. It may have some other special abilities.
205 Weapon of Extra Attacks
206 These weapons will grant the user additional attacks per round.
208 Weapon of Sharpness (edged weapon only)
209 These are known to occasionally score vorpal hits (see below) and
210 will also increase your ability to tunnel through the dungeon
213 Weapon of Earthquakes (hafted weapon only)
214 These weapons may cause an earthquake when they strike an opponent
215 which potentially may cause other monsters in the area to take
216 damage from falling rocks and will destroy a small portion of the
217 surrounding dungeon. They also increase your ability to tunnel
218 through the dungeon walls. Some weapons of this type found deep
219 in the dungeon may grant extra attacks per round.
222 These weapons have a chance of being granted unusually high damage
223 dice. Some weapons of this type deal poison damage or cause vorpal
227 These digging implements increase your ability to tunnel through
228 the dungeon walls, and have the acid brand (see below).
230 --- The Elemental and Other Brands ---
232 For players of Angband, Zangband and older versions of Hengband, keep
233 in mind that activations have been added to the weapons with the acid,
234 electric, cold, fire or poison brands. Enjoy this new power to your
238 These bizarre, feared weapons have been manufactured in the Courts
239 of Chaos, and are very unpredictable in combat often producing
240 chaotic effects when they strike your opponent. Effects include
241 *destruction*, teleport away and vampiric drain among others. A
242 Chaotic weapon grants resistance to chaos attacks and cannot be
243 damaged by acid, fire and electricity. It may have an additional,
247 These foul weapons have been created by Death magic. They lust for
248 blood, and if such a weapon scores a hit, it greedily sucks life
249 from the hapless victim, transferring the life energy to its
250 master and healing them in the process. Some of these weapons
251 are especially effective against human-type opponents, dealing
252 2.5 times the normal dice against those creatures.
255 A magical weapon of acid that will inflict damage with 2.5 times
256 the normal dice when used against a creature that is not resistant
257 to acid. It also provides resistance against acid attacks. It may
258 be activated every 12 turns to attack with a ball of acid.
261 A magical weapon of lightning that will inflict damage with 2.5
262 times the normal dice when used against a creature that is not
263 resistant to electricity. It also provides resistance against
264 lightning attacks. It may be activated every 12 turns to attack
265 with a ball of electricity.
268 A magical weapon of ice that will inflict damage with 2.5 the
269 normal dice when used against a creature that is not resistant to
270 cold. It also provides resistance against cold attacks. It may
271 be activated every 12 turns to attack with a ball of cold air.
274 A magical weapon of fire that will inflict damage with 2.5 the
275 normal dice when used against a creature that is not resistant to
276 fire. It also provides resistance against fire attacks. It may
277 be activated every 12 turns to attack with a ball of fire.
280 A magical weapon, coated with poison, that will inflict damage
281 with 2.5 times the normal dice to creatures not resistant to
282 poison. It also provides resistance against toxic and poisonous
283 attacks. It may be activated every 12 turns to attack with a ball
284 of radioactive waste.
287 This weapon will attack monsters with your mana power and will
288 inflict damage with 3.5 times the normal dice. It also increases
289 your intelligence and wisdom and allows you to see invisible
292 --- Weapons of Slay {Monster-Type} ---
294 For players of Angband, Zangband and older version of Hengband, keep
295 in mind that the old weapons of Slay {Monster-Type} have been discontinued
296 since they weren't particularly useful. The old *Slay* {Monster-Type}
297 weapons are now Slay {Monster-Type}, and some of those that still seemed
298 weak have been tweaked further.
300 Weapon of Slay Animal
301 This weapon is especially effective against natural creatures and
302 will inflict damage with 4 times the normal dice against such
303 creatures. It allows you to always sense the presence of nearby
304 animals. It also raises your intelligence and helps you regenerate
305 hit-points and mana faster.
308 This weapon is especially effective against evil creatures and
309 will inflict damage with two times the normal dice against such
310 creatures. It allows you to always sense the presence of nearby
311 evil creatures. It also increases your wisdom.
314 This weapon is especially effective against human-type beings and
315 will inflict damage with 4 times the normal dice against such
316 beings. It allows you to always sense the presence of nearby
317 human-type creatures. It also increases your dexterity and
318 provides resistance to fear.
320 Weapon of Slay Undead
321 This weapon is especially effective against undead creatures and
322 will inflict 5 times the normal dice against such creatures.
323 It allows you to always sense the presence of nearby undead.
324 It will also increase your wisdom, allow you to see invisible
325 creatures and provide resistance against nether.
328 This weapon is especially effective against demonic creatures and
329 will inflict damage with 5 times the normal dice against such
330 creatures. It allows you to always sense the presence of nearby
331 demons. It will also increase your intelligence and provide
332 resistance against fire.
335 This weapon is especially effective against orcs and will inflict
336 damage with 5 times the normal dice against such creatures. It
337 allows you to always sense the presence of nearby orcs. It will
338 also increase your dexterity and provide darkness resistance.
341 This weapon is especially effective against trolls and will
342 inflict damage with 5 times the normal dice against such
343 creatures. It allows you to always sense the presence of nearby
344 trolls. It also increases your strength and accelerates how
345 rapidly you recover hit-points and mana.
348 This weapon is especially effective against giant humanoids and
349 will inflict damage with 5 times the normal dice against such
350 creatures. It allows you to always sense the presence of nearby
351 giants. It also increases your strength and protects you from
352 paralyzation and some slowing attacks.
354 Weapon of Slay Dragon
355 This weapon is especially effective against dragons and will
356 inflict damage with 5 times the normal dice against such
357 creatures. It allows you to always sense the presence of
358 nearby dragons. It also increases your constitution and
359 provides additional, random, resistances.
361 --- Cursed Weapons ---
363 Equipment that is simply cursed brings only disadvantages, but you
364 may find weapons with horrifying and powerful powers. Here, we'll
365 introduce the weapons with such powers.
368 A Morgul weapon was made by Sauron or one of his magicians.
369 It has larger than normal damage dice, poisons enemies, and
370 is especially effective against undead or human-type creatures.
371 It allows the wielder to always sense the presence of nearby
372 undead. It also grants resistance to cold and nether, allows
373 the wielder to see invisible creatures, and surrounds the
374 wielder with a sheath of cold air that damages those who
375 attack the wielder. However, it has a penalty to AC,
376 aggravates nearby monsters and is randomly and powerfully
379 For players of Angband, Zangband or older versions of Hengband,
380 keep in mind that Morgul weapons have become more powerful. It
381 seems that some maintainers have been corrupted by Morgoth,
382 and the dark powers that lie to the free people of Middle-earth
383 are becoming stronger.
386 A weapon of this type has larger than normal damage dice,
387 deals flame damage and allows the wielder to always sense
388 the presence of nearby demons. It also increases the wielder's
389 intelligence, grants resistance to fire and nether and
390 allows the wielder to see invisible creatures. It may have
391 a bonus to the number of attacks or cause a random effect,
392 like that of a Chaotic weapon, on a successful attack.
393 A Demonic weapon has a penalty to AC and also has a random
396 (Weird Weapon) (edged weapons only)
397 A weapon of this type has larger than normal damage dice,
398 produces vorpal hits, absorbs the vitality of enemies and
399 restores the wielder and also causes extra damage to orcs,
400 trolls, giants, natural animals, humans and dragons.
401 However, it is always strongly cursed, reduces intelligence
402 and wisdom, drains your experience points from time to time
403 and aggravates nearby monsters.
405 --- Missile Launchers ---
408 These missile launchers have an unusually high bonus to hit.
411 These missile launchers have an unusually high bonus to dam.
413 Launcher of Extra Might
414 These missile launchers have an unusually high damage multiplier.
415 They also provide some resistance.
417 Launcher of Extra Shots
418 These missile launchers grant additional shots per round.
422 Ammunition of Hurt Animal
423 This ammunition is especially effective against natural creatures
424 and will do 1.7 times the normal damage against such creatures.
426 Ammunition of Hurt Evil
427 This ammunition is especially effective against evil creatures and
428 will do 1.5 times the normal damage against such creatures.
430 Ammunition of Hurt Dragon
431 This ammunition is especially effective against dragons and will do
432 2 times the normal damage against such creatures.
434 Ammunition of Shocking
435 This ammunition will inflict 1.7 times the normal damage when
436 used against a creature that is not resistant to electricity.
439 This ammunition will inflict 1.7 times the normal damage when
440 used against a creature that is not resistant to fire.
443 This ammunition will inflict 1.7 times the normal damage when
444 used against a creature that is not resistant to cold.
446 Ammunition of Slaying
447 This ammunition will have unusually large damage dice.
449 Ammunition of Wounding
450 This ammunition will have unusually large bonuses +to-hit and
455 Apart from these there are some very rare and well made weapons in
456 the dungeon. These include Blades of Chaos (which grant resistance to
457 chaos), Maces of Disruption (which are especially effective against
458 undead creatures) and Scythes of Slicing (which may score vorpal hits).
459 You may also find a strange weapon called a Poison Needle which has a
460 chance to find an opponent's weakness and kill that opponent with a
463 Also, legendary weapons (artifacts) are similar to ego items but
464 usually have more abilities and are very powerful. Artifacts never
465 break. However, they may deteriorate and, if caught in the effect
466 range of *destruction*, may disappear forever.
468 In Hengband, there are two types of artifacts: fixed and random.
469 A fixed artifact has a predetermined name and attributes, so,
470 if you play the game many times, you may encounter the same fixed
471 artifact. The name and attributes of a random artifact are determined
472 when it is generated, so it is extremely unlikely that you would see
473 that artifact again in another game.
475 By the way, the rare weapons mentioned above can also become ego
476 items at the same time. A Blade of Chaos (Holy Avenger) will have
477 a more powerful attack than many artifacts.
479 Note on Vorpal Weapons: A weapon with the vorpal flag will have a
480 1-in-6 chance of doing additional damage each time it strikes. If it
481 passes the roll it has a chance of doing it again. This continues until
482 a roll is failed. The calculations are nasty but the net effect is an
483 average 22% increase in damage output.
487 === Magical Aids to Physical Combat ===
489 There are several magical means of increasing your physical combat
490 ability. The most common of these are potions of heroism and berserk
491 strength and various scrolls (blessing, holy prayer, etc.). Typically,
492 these grant small cumulative bonuses to your combat skill. Some magic
493 realms contain equivalent spells. Be aware that you can't cast spells
494 while berserk, for instance from drinking a potion of berserk strength.
495 Using a healing potion (or some staffs or rods with healing effects)
496 will clear your head, cancel the berserk effect (if you're not a
497 berserker), and allow you to cast spells.
503 A Monk or a ForceTrainer prefer to fight barehanded rather than
504 use a weapon like other characters in Hengband. As a Monk's
505 level increases, the number of attacks he or she gets per round
506 increases and new, increasingly powerful attacks become available.
507 Higher level attacks have a chance to stun the Monk's opponent.
509 While the type of attack that a Monk uses for each blow is chosen at
510 random from the list of available attacks, at higher levels there is a
511 bias towards the attacks which do greater damage. This is because at
512 these levels, the game will roll several times for each blow with the
513 highest attack type chosen.
516 ***** <MonkAttackTypes>
517 --- Monks Attack Types ---
519 Attack Name Min.lvl Damage Stun Notes
520 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
524 Knee 5 2d4 * Likely to stun male opponents
527 Ankle Kick 11 3d6 - May slow down the opponent
532 Eagle's Claw 28 7d9 -
533 Circle Kick 32 8d10 10
535 Flying Kick 39 8d12 12
536 Dragon Fist 43 9d12 16
537 Crushing Blow 48 10d13 18
541 === Basic Tactics ===
546 This tactic uses an isolated wall surrounded by eight empty spaces,
547 i.e. a pillar, so you can avoid an opponent's attacks while you
548 prepare for an attack or escape. If you are the same speed or faster
549 than the enemy, you lure it so it is at one face of the pillar while
550 you are one square away diagonally on another face. You then back
551 away diagonally to another face of the pillar, out of its line of
552 sight. You then repeat that procedure when the opponent moves into
555 In Hengband, that tactic is not recommended. Movement has a
556 randomized component so you won't be able to avoid all of the
557 opponent's attacks with pillardancing.
562 Requires a large room, Phase Door, and some type of ranged attack.
563 Stand at one end of the room while your enemy is at the other end.
564 Repeat your ranged attack until it gets close, then Phase Door.
565 Keep doing that until you can safely finish off the enemy with melee
566 attacks (or until you can't continue your ranged attack and need
572 Requires Teleport items. Fight the monster until you're almost dead,
573 teleport out, find him, and resume fighting. This is dangerous, because
574 you could teleport right next to some nasty that will kill you. Also,
575 it is not generally useful for killing unique monsters, as they
576 regenerate damage very quickly, and by the time you find them again,
577 they will have healed what you did to them.
580 The Anti-Summoning Corridor
581 ---------------------------
582 Requires a little time to set up. This can be done just about anywhere.
583 Dig a twisting corridor into the rock, and station yourself at one end
584 of it. When your opponent arrives, he won't be able to summon any
585 monsters next to you. This is a very important technique for fighting
586 many higher-end monsters which very quickly bring in a horde of other
591 Original : (??) Chris Weisiger and Leon Marrick
593 Updated : Zangband DevTeam
594 Updated : Hengband 1.5.2
595 Updated : Hengband 3.0.0, English translation backwardsEric
597 ***** Begin Hyperlinks
598 ***** [b] commdesc.txt#ThrowFire
599 ***** [c] option.txt#UserInterface
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