1 === Defending and Armor ===
3 In Hengband, monsters may damage and otherwise harm you in a number of
4 ways: in direct melee combat, by exploding next to you, by breathing
5 on you and by casting spells. Some monsters referred to as "summoners"
6 may not directly harm you but may summon other monsters to do their
9 Creatures will attack you in the same manner in which you attack them.
10 If they move into you, they attack you. Virtually all monsters can
11 lower your hit points by means of a melee attack, and if you lose too
12 many, you die. Fortunately, this is also the attack most easily guarded
13 against (by wielding armor). Each monster has a maximum of four melee
14 attacks which may be of varying type, power and effect.
16 In addition to pure damage, there can be a number of side-effects from
17 a monster hitting you. For example, an especially powerful attack may
18 stun you wound you. Stunning is cumulative and, if not addressed, may
19 eventually result in you becoming knocked out which allows your
20 opponent to continue attacking while you lie helpless. Wounds will
21 cause you to lose hit points each round until you either die or your
22 wound heals. You will slowly recover from any wound except a Mortal
23 Wound with time and all wounds can be healed magically.
25 In addition to cuts and stunning, some monsters melee attacks may have
26 other consequences. These include causing you to become blind, scared,
27 confused, poisoned or paralyzed. There are many others less common
28 effects. Full details of monsters melee ability may be found in the
29 section on Monsters (see monster.txt).
31 Many monsters also have an array of magical spells which they may use
32 against you and others can use various breath attacks on you from a
33 distance. For example, a red dragon might breathe fire at you. You can
34 defend yourself from the side-effects of melee attacks, monster spells
35 and breath attacks by searching for armor that is resistant to that
38 As you move down deeper into the dungeon in search of better items,
39 you will need to steadily improve your defenses against pure damage,
40 wounds, stunning, bolts, balls, and breaths of various kinds,
41 reductions of exp and stats, theft, and a variety of miscellaneous
47 Your armor class (or AC) is a number that describes the amount and the
48 quality of armor being worn. Armor class will generally run from about
49 0 to 150, but could become negative or greater than 150 with rarer
50 armor or by magical means. Note the spell casters receive a penalty
51 to their maximum mana for wielding armor that is too heavy. In addition,
52 monks lose much of their bare handed fighting skill if their armor
55 The larger your armor class, the more protective it is. A negative
56 armor class would actually help get you hit. Armor protects you in
57 three manners. One, it makes you harder to be hit for damage. A hit for
58 no damage is the same as a miss. Two, good armor will absorb some of
59 the damage that your character would have taken from normal attacks.
60 Three, acid damage is reduced by wearing body armor (but the armor will
61 be damaged instead). It is obvious that a high armor class is a must
62 for surviving the deeper levels of Hengband. Note, however, that armor
63 class by itself will not protect you from the side effects of monster
64 melee attacks mentioned above.
66 Each piece of armor has a base armor value, which, like the damage from
67 weapons, is assumed known by the player, and a magic bonus, which will
68 not be displayed unless the armor has been identified or was bought in
71 Armor class values are always displayed between a set of brackets as
72 '[#]' or '[#,+#]'. The first value is the armor class of the item. The
73 second number is the magical bonus of the item which is only displayed
74 if known, and will always have a sign preceding the value.
76 Note: A few rings, amulets, and weapons also have the '[+#]' notation,
77 indicating that they provide an armor bonus. Many pieces of heavy body
78 armor will also have a '(-#)' before the '[#,+#]', which indicates that
79 the weight of the armor decreases your chances of hitting monsters.
80 This can range from nonexistent for very light armor to (-8) for the
84 ***** <ResistingMagic>
85 === Resisting Magical Attacks ===
87 Against some magical attacks (such as cause wounds, cause blindness or
88 cause fear) the player will first get a saving throw (see the Skills
89 page). However, against attacks such as bolts and ball spells this does
90 not apply. Also, there is no saving throw against monster breaths. For
91 these types of attacks, your only recourse it to find items or other
92 means which grant you 'resistance' to that type of attack.
94 In Hengband there are many forms of resistance which may be obtained
95 either as bonuses from your equipment, as the result of casting a
96 magical spell, activating certain artifacts or as the result of a
97 mutation. Unfortunately, not all attacks available to monsters can be
98 resisted and most can only be partially resisted.
100 Each resistance has one or more corresponding monster attack which it
101 'resists'. By this we mean that it reduces the amount of damage that
102 your character will take as a result of an attack of that kind. For
103 example, fire resistance will reduce the damage to your character
104 resulting from fire attacks such as a fire bolt or being breathed upon
105 by a red dragon. Note that appropriate resistances will also negate or
106 reduce some side-effects of monster melee attacks.
108 There are two categories of resistances: (1) the low (or elemental)
109 resistances - acid, fire, cold and electricity; and (2) the high
110 resistances - poison, confusion, light, dark, blindness, sound, fear,
111 shards, nexus, chaos, nether, gravity, disenchantment and time. In
112 general, the low resistances are more commonly available, they can be
113 double-resisted and the corresponding attacks have a higher maximum
116 A common misconception amongst new players is that having multiple
117 sources of a particular resistance will increase your character's
118 resistance to attacks of that form. This is not true. You will get the
119 same benefit from wielding a single Amulet of Resist Acid as wielding a
120 Shield of Resist Acid, an {Armor-type} of Resist Acid and an artifact
121 weapon which grants acid resistance all at the same time.
123 As stated above, however, it is possible to get double resistance for
124 the low resists (and also poison). This is because these resistances
125 are also available on a temporary basis by casting certain spells or by
126 quaffing a Potion of Resistance. Some items may also activate for
127 temporary resistance and it may also be gained from one of the many
128 possible mutations. This temporary effect is cumulative with the
129 permanent effect and will increase your protection against these kinds
134 === Ego Armor and Artifacts ===
136 In addition to the ordinary armor items your character may find in
137 the dungeon, some of them may be endowed with additional powers.
138 These armors are fall into two types(1) artifacts; and (2) ego armors.
139 Unlike artifacts which are unique and may only be found once in each
140 game, it is not unusual to find several ego armors of the same type
141 during the course of a character's adventures.
143 In general, artifacts and ego armors may boost one or more of your
144 primary statistics, may confer certain abilities upon your character
145 and may grant resistance to certain forms of attack. Each Ego type may
146 only be found on certain types of armor - for example, you can find a
147 Shield of Elvenkind but not Boots of Elvenkind.
150 --- Armor/Shields ---
153 A character using such an object will take only one third normal
154 damage from any acid thrown upon him. In addition, armor so
155 enchanted will resist the acid's effects and not be damaged by it.
158 A character using a resist lightning object will take only one
159 third damage from electrical attacks.
162 A character using a resist fire object will take only one third
163 damage from heat and fire.
166 A character using a resist cold object will take only one third
167 damage from frost and cold.
170 A character wearing armor with this ability will have resistance
171 to Acid, Cold, Fire, and Lightning as explained in each part
175 This is the same as Resistance armor, only generally better
176 enchanted. It will also make you stealthier.
178 of Permanence (Robes Only)
179 These robes provide resistance to fire, cold, acid, and
180 electricity and cannot be damaged by acid. They also resist life
181 draining attacks and sustain all your primary statistics.
183 of Reflection (Shields Only)
184 These shields reflect missiles and bolt spells preventing damage
185 to the player character and often damaging the originating
186 monster. The reflection is not 100% effective but nearly so.
188 of Night and Day (Shields Only)
189 These shields provide resistance to light and darkness.
191 --- Caps/Helms/Crowns ---
194 This item will both increase and sustain your intelligence.
197 This item will both increase and sustain your wisdom.
200 This item will both increase and sustain your charisma.
203 This item will both increase and sustain your intelligence, and
204 grants resistance against fire, frost, acid, and lightning.
207 This item will both increase and sustain your strength, dexterity,
208 and constitution and will also make you immune to any foe's attempt
209 to slow or paralyze you.
212 This item will both increase and sustain your wisdom and charisma.
215 This item will grant the ability to see invisible creatures, and
216 will also increase your ability to locate traps and secret doors.
217 In addition it will also prevent you from being blinded.
220 This item will increase the range of you infravision and grants
221 infravision if you are a race which does not get it intrinsically.
224 This item provides a permanent light source.
227 This item grants its wielder telepathy.
230 This item will help you regenerate hit points and mana more
231 quickly than normal, allowing you to fight longer before needing
232 to rest. You will use food faster than normal while wearing this
233 crown because of the regenerative effects.
238 These cloaks cannot be harmed by acid, fire, cold or lightning
239 attacks but do not grant resistance to these elements.
242 These cloaks will make your character more stealthy.
245 These cloaks cannot be harmed by acid, fire, cold or lightning
246 attacks but do not grant resistance to these elements. They also
247 make your character more stealthy.
250 These cloaks cannot be harmed by acid or fire attacks. They also
251 grant resistance to fire and give out a fiery aura.
254 These cloaks cannot be harmed by acid or electricity attacks. They
255 also grant resistance to electricity and give out an electric
259 These very powerful cloaks grant speed, stealth, infravision,
260 levitation, ability to see invisible and resistance to
261 darkness. But in return for these ability, you will have large
262 penalty to to-hit and to-damage bonus.
264 --- Gloves/Gauntlets/Sets of Cesti ---
267 This item will make you immune to any foe's attempt to slow or
268 paralyze you. A mage-type spellcaster who wields them will not
269 have their mana penalized.
272 In addition to its armor bonus, this item will grant a bonus to
273 your +to-hit and +to-dam.
276 This item will increase your dexterity. A mage-type spellcaster
277 who wields them will not have their mana penalized.
280 This item will increase your strength and will also grant a bonus
281 to your +to-hit and +to-dam.
286 These boots will grant you levitation.
289 These boots will make your character more stealthy.
292 This item will make you immune to any foe's attempt to slow or
296 These boots will make your character more speedy.
298 --- Special Items ---
301 These extremely rare pieces of armor come in many different
302 colors, each protecting you against the relevant dragons.
303 Naturally they are all resistant to acid damage. They also
304 occasionally allow you to breathe as a dragon would!
306 Dragon Shields and Helms
307 These shields and helms have a chance of granting one or more
311 Apart from these there are some very rare, and well made armors
312 in the dungeon with not necessarily any special abilities. These
313 include Adamantite Plate Mail, Mithril Plate Mail, Mithril Chain
314 Mail, Shields of Deflection, and Shadow Cloaks. The first four
315 cannot be damaged by acid because of the quality metals they
316 contain. Shadow Cloaks grant resistance to both light and darkness
321 === The Resistances ===
323 This section describes the various attack-types available to monsters
324 and how they may be resisted.
327 Acid resistance will cut damage from acid attacks by two-thirds.
328 Temporary resistance will cut further damage by another two-thirds.
329 This means that a character with both permanent and temporary
330 resistance will only take one-ninth of the original damage. Acid
331 resistance will also protect your wielded equipment from being
332 corroded by acid but will not protect items in your inventory from
333 being destroyed by acid if they are susceptible to such attacks.
336 Fire resistance will cut damage from fire attacks by two-thirds.
337 Temporary resistance will cut further damage by another two-thirds.
338 This means that a character with both permanent and temporary
339 resistance will only take one-ninth of the original damage. Fire
340 resistance will not protect items in your inventory from being
341 destroyed by fire if they are susceptible to such attacks.
344 Cold resistance will cut damage from cold attacks by two-thirds.
345 Temporary resistance will cut further damage by another two-thirds.
346 This means that a character with both permanent and temporary
347 resistance will only take one-ninth of the original damage. Cold
348 resistance will not protect items in your inventory from being
349 destroyed by fire if they are susceptible to such attacks.
352 Electricity resistance will cut damage from fire attacks by
353 two-thirds. Temporary resistance will cut further damage by another
354 two-thirds. This means that a character with both permanent and
355 temporary resistance will only take one-ninth of the original
356 damage. Electricity resistance will not protect items in your
357 inventory from being destroyed by fire if they are susceptible to
361 Poison resistance will cut damage from poison attacks by
362 two-thirds. Temporary resistance will cut further damage by another
363 two-thirds. This means that a character with both permanent and
364 temporary resistance will only take one-ninth of the original
365 damage. Poison resistance will also protect you from becoming
366 'poisoned' but characters will not be healed of their 'poisoned'
367 status if they become resistant to poison after already being
368 poisoned. This must be cured by other means.
371 Confusion resistance will reduce the damage taken from confusion
372 attacks and breaths. It will also prevent your character from
373 becoming 'Confused' (if you are confused you will be unable to read
374 scrolls, cast spells or prayers and will have a dramatically
375 reduced ability to use magical devices). In particular, water
376 attacks may confuse as a side-effect - this is prevented if you
377 have confusion resistance
380 Light breaths damage the player and cause blindness as a
381 side-effect. Light resistance reduces the damage and also
382 prevents blindness caused from light attacks (but not from other
386 Dark breaths damage the player and cause blindness as a
387 side-effect. Dark resistance reduces the damage and also
388 prevents blindness caused from dark attacks (but not from other
389 attacks. In addition, some high-level monsters can cast Darkness
390 Storms, these are a particularly dangerous form of attack but are
391 resisted if you gave Dark resistance.
394 Resist blindness will protect you from spells which blind and from
395 being "hit to blind" (a few monsters can do this) as well as from
396 the blindness (but not the damage) caused by light and darkness
400 Sound resistance reduces damage from sound attacks and also the
401 stunning side effects of sound and some other attacks. (Sound,
402 plasma, water, force, gravity and shards attacks may all stun the
403 player as may ice-bolt attacks). Sound resistance does not protect
404 against stunning from melee attacks.
407 Fear resistance gives immunity to attacks which make your character
408 'Afraid' (being afraid prevents your character from participating
409 in melee combat but does not otherwise affect you).
412 Shards resistance will reduce the damage taken from shards attacks
413 (this includes a Cyberdemon's Rocket Launchers). It also prevents
414 the cuts that come from these attacks (and also ice-bolts). Some
415 shards attacks may also stun the player, this is prevented if you
416 have sound resistance and not by shard resistance.
419 Nexus attacks are one of the most annoying attacks in Hengband but
420 will rarely kill you directly. A Nexus attack will damage the player
421 and may teleport the player, teleport-level the player or swap two
422 of your primary statistics around. Nexus resistance will reduce the
423 damage taken from such attacks and prevent the side-effects but
424 will not prevent you from being teleported by non-nexus attacks (for
425 this you will need an item granting anti-teleportation).
428 Chaos attacks are one of the most dangerous attack types in
429 Hengband. They have a relatively high maximum damage, and may also
430 confuse the player, cause hallucination, reduce your character's
431 experience and cause you to mutate. Chaos resistance will the
432 damage taken from such attacks and negate all side-effects.
435 Another dangerous attack type. Nether attacks are common deeper in
436 the dungeon, have a high maximum damage and will also cause your
437 character's experience to be drained. Nether resistance will reduce
438 the damage taken and the experience loss. It will not reduce the
439 experience loss from non-nether attacks (for this you need
443 Gravity attacks damage the player and also cause you (and monsters
444 they hit) to be teleported a short distance. A side-effect of this
445 is that since the effect is calculated on each spot in turn, it is
446 possible to be blinked into a spot which hasn't been calculated yet
447 but is in line to be affected by the breath - the net result is to
448 be hit twice, blinked twice and damaged twice by the same breath.
449 Gravity attacks may also stun your character. Levitation provides
450 resistance to the damaging effect of gravity, resist teleportation
451 prevents the blinking around and resistance to sound prevents you
452 from becoming stunned.
455 Disenchantment attacks damage the player and may result in the
456 to-hit, to-dam, to-AC, pval bonuses on your wielded equipment
457 being reduced. Disenchantment resistance will reduce the damage
458 you take and will prevent the disenchantment of your equipment.
461 Resist poison will resist the damage and side effects from Toxic
462 Waste attacks. Otherwise, you will suffer fearful side effects
463 include reducing stats and changing your race.
467 --- Unresistable Attacks ---
469 There is no resistance to the following types of attacks although some
470 of their side-effects may be resisted.
473 Time attacks damage the player, drain experience and may reduce one
474 or more of your primary statistics.
477 Plasma can damage you, stun you and burn your equipment. Fire
478 immunity (not resistance) prevents burning of equipment, sound
479 resistance prevents the stunning but there is no resistance to the
483 Inertia will damage you and slow you down by -10 speed. There is no
484 resistance to damage or effects.
486 Mana and Disintegration
487 There is no resistance to the mana and disintegration attacks.
492 It is also possible that you may find items which grant immunity
493 to one or (very occasionally) more of the low resistances ie. Acid,
494 Fire, Cold and Electricity. In this case, when wielded, you will
495 take no damage from attacks of the relevant kind and, in addition,
496 your equipment and inventory are safe from being damaged or
497 destroyed by the attack.
499 In addition free action, fear and blindness resistance may be
500 thought of as immunities since having they protect totally from the
501 respective form of attack.
503 ***** <Miscellaneous>
504 --- Miscellaneous ---
506 The following are not properly resistances but may be sensibly included
510 Free action is immunity to paralysis: this is foolproof except in
511 the special case of the Ancient and Foul Curse which requires a
512 successful saving throw as well as free action to avoid should it
513 attempt to paralyze you. Spells, potions of paralysis and being
514 hit-to-paralyze are completely protected against.
517 Hold Life is protection from experience draining. It is 90%
518 foolproof: 10% of draining attacks will still drain you, but by
519 less than would otherwise have been the case.
523 === Recovering from Attacks ===
525 You cannot combat with the creatures in Hengband and expect to come out
526 unscathed every time. When a monster inflicts damage on you, you will
527 need to take steps to recover from the damage as soon as possible.
529 --- Healing Items ---
531 Healing is available in multiple forms including: Potions and Staves
532 of Cure Light Wounds, Potions of Cure Serious Wounds, Potions of Cure
533 Critical Wounds, Potions, Staves and Rods of Healing, Potions of
534 *Healing* and Potions of Life, from weakest to strongest. Both the Life
535 and Nature realms contain spells to heal the player.
538 restores 2d8 hitpoints and removes cuts, blindness and berserk.
541 restores 4d8 hitpoints and removes cuts, blindness, confusion and
545 restores 6d8 hitpoints and removes cuts, blindness, confusion,
546 stun, poison and berserk.
549 restores 50 hitpoints and removes cuts, blindness, confusion,
550 stun, poison and hallucination.
553 restores 300 hitpoints and removes cuts, blindness, confusion,
554 stun, poison and berserk.
557 restores 1200 hitpoints and removes cuts, blindness, confusion,
558 stun, poison and berserk.
562 restores 5000 hitpoints (about 5 times more than you'll ever
563 have), restores all drained stats and experience, and removes all
564 bad effects except hunger. These are very rare; save them in your
565 home for a dangerous fight.
567 --- Restoring Items ---
569 From time to time your primary statistics and/or experience may be
570 drained. Statistics can be restored by quaffing a Potion of Restore
571 {name of stat} or a Potion of {Name of stat} or by eating a Mushroom of
572 Restoring. Some towns may provide this service for a fee. Experience
573 may be restored by quaffing a Potion of Restore Life Levels or using a
574 Rod of Restoration. You may also regain it in the normal course of your
575 adventuring or by quaffing a Potion of Experience. The Life realm has
576 a spell called Restoration which restores any drained experience.
580 There are also other items in the dungeon which may help you to recover
581 from various things that monsters may do to you. For example, some
582 mushrooms may help you recover from confusion, a Potion of Heroism
583 will prevent you from becoming afraid, a Potion of Slow Poison will
584 reduce the effects of becoming poisoned, etc. Most objects' names give
585 a clear idea of the benefits and dangers of using them and so an
586 exhaustive list is not provided in this document.
590 Original : (??), Leon Marrick and Chris Weisiger
592 Updated : Zangband DevTeam
593 Updated : Hengband 1.0.11