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» (0) Quickstart
» (1) Introduction
» (2) Installation & setup
» (3) Creating a character & starting to play
» (4) The world
» (5) Item and flag details, elements
» (6) Monster details
» (7) Character details
» (7.5) Classes/professions
» (8) Tactics & strategy
» (9) Miscellanous

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(7.4) Races
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(7.5a) Start-up blows/round table (BpR)
(7.5) Classes/professions                                                       
-------------------------
Depending on your class, your start-up equipment and your skill tree will
vary. For example a warrior cannot learn magic spells.

Classes most straight-forward/most forgiving to play for starters are:
 -Warrior
 -Rogue (dual-wielding sword-type weapons makes them powerful early on)
 -Paladin (similarly tough as warriors)
 -Druid (utilise their shapeshifting powers they gain every 5 levels!)
 -Mindcrafter (just make sure to get Psionic Blast spell macroed right away)

Intermediate starting difficulty:
 -Archer (easy when teaming up with a meat shield who keeps monsters at bay)
 -Mimic (mostly plays straight-forward like a warrior, but need to hunt for
         monster forms which can be hard for beginners, especially if they
         don't know much about monsters)
 -Ranger (can do well in many fields such as melee, ranged weapons and spells,
         somewhat similar to an adventurer).

Hardest classes for beginners to play maybe:
 -Adventurer (cause it's a jack of all trades so you can end up mediocre in
             every regard if you don't know what you're doing)
 -Shaman (triple-relation of forms, combat skills and magic spells)
 -Priest (weak in almost all regards the beginning, but great early on party
         asset if he gets the 'Cure Wounds' spell and uses it to heal his party
         members from the back line)
 -Istar (glass cannon in the beginning, so if you are out of mana at the wrong
        time you could die fast)
 -Runemaster (needs some time to get a grip of the spell system, and has not
             that high hit points, ie glass cannonish).

Approximate 'power levels' for the classes are given further down in (7.5c).


List of all classes (make sure to read the paragraph about your class, when you
create a character!):
---------------------

- Warrior
    A warrior is a hack-and-slash character, who solves most of his problems
    by cutting them to pieces, but will occasionally fall back on the help of
    a magical device. His prime stats are strength and constitution, and a
    good dexterity can really help at times. Warriors will be good at melee
    and bows, but bad at most other skills. They don't learn any magic but can
    train to use magic devices; also they may dual-wield two one-handed weapons
    at once, although they will need to use light armour for this strategy to
    be effective (see (7.2)).
    Provided his strength is high enough, a two-handed weapon will usually
    be preferable over dual-wielding when a warrior seeks to forego defense to
    maximize damage, because two-handed weapons will still allow the use of
    heavy armour which dual-wielding doesn't.
    Warriors have more melee attacks per round than any other class.
    They may decide to become 'Unbelievers' by spending points irreversibly
    into the 'Anti-magic' skill. As soon as they spend the first point here
    they will immediately become unable to use any magic wand/staff/rod!
    The full opposite of sorcerers, unbelievers so strongly despise magic that
    not only do they refuse to use magic spells, they refuse all training in
    the use of magic items, which leaves them almost totally incompetent when
    trying to use a magic item, although they can still quaff potions and read
    scrolls. Because they are so unattuned to magic, trained unbelievers will
    suppress any sort of magic from occurring around them at high probability,
    which is dubbed 'anti-magic field'. They can further strengthen it by
    wielding a Dark Sword (see (5.9)).
    Warriors can also choose to become weaponless fighters, by training the
    'Martial Arts' skill. This will require them to wear no armour or only very
    light armour later on.
    The warrior class is recommended for beginners because it's forgiving in
    the early game and you can do fine with just a macro for potions of cure
    wounds and maybe also a macro for phase door scrolls until you reach a
    somewhat higher level.

    Hints:
    On character creation increase your strength to 18/30 at the very
    least to get a decent attack speed (3 blows per round with very light
    weapons).

    Pick one of the four weapon masteries (Sword/Blunt/Axe/Polearm),
    or Martial Arts if you don't want to use weapons, and always keep it
    maximized!

    Make sure to create a macro for your fighting techniques 'Sprint' and
    'Taunt' when you learn them, which you do pretty early on. They are great
    for catching annoying monsters that try to keep their distance to you.
    (See (7.12) for details about fighting techniques.)

    Dual-wield trick if you lose your items on death:
    If you die and revive, you could save a lot of money by foregoing heavy
    armour for attack power. Just buy some cheap, light armour and two cheap
    and very light 1-handed weapons which you wield both at once (Dual-wield)!
    The lightest weapons of each class are:
    - Daggers (Sword-mastery)
    - Whips (Blunt-mastery)
    - Cleavers (Axe-mastery)
    - Spears (Polearm-mastery)
    Dual-wielding requires light armour. This should be adequate until you find
    some heavy armour in the dungeon, then you can switch back to 1-handed
    weapon with a shield (or to a 2-handed weapon if you have excessive enough
    strength to get at least 2 blows per round with it).
    (For details on the benefits of dual-wielding, see (7.2).)

- Istar (the Quenya word for "mage")
    Istari use intelligence primarily, determining how much mana they have
    to cast spells and how low their failure rate is.
    They are the all-around best magicians, having both devastating and highly
    useful supportive spells (at least for their own benefit) of very wide
    variety.
    On the downside, they are the worst fighters, being unable to use any
    weapon but a Mage Staff comfortably, and until they learn how to
    effectively use the 'Disruption Shield' spell they are very vulnerable.
    A high-level istar can be very powerful, but getting there can be a
    difficult journey.
    As a specialty, vampire istari are able to learn the occult shadow school
    and the occult unlife school, as they cannot train water or nature school
    and also don't have access to the holy-fire based Fireflash spell.
    These two schools, Shadow and Unlife, are not affected by Sorcery though,
    so they have to be trained additionally to any Sorcery skill.

    Hint:
    An istar has very few hit points compared to other classes, making
    survival difficult in the beginning. That's why this class is not
    recommended for beginners.

- Priest
    Priests use certain divine magic, uttered as prayers. Unlike mages they
    have a fair fighting potential with blunt or blessed weapons. If a priest
    wields a blessed weapon he will get his 'Blunt-mastery' skill applied to it
    even if it's not actually a blunt-type weapon.
    Alternatively to blunt weapons, priests can choose the way of the monk by
    training Martial Arts instead, to fight without weapons.
    Priests can learn many spells that are helpful to their party members. They
    use mainly wisdom for their prayers, determining the amount of mana and how
    low their failure rate is.
    A Priest is a character of holy devotion. They explore the dungeon only
    to destroy the evil that lurks within, and if treasure just happens to
    fall into their packs, well, so much more to the glory of their church!
    They are very good with magical devices, preferring to call them
    instruments of their god, but are not as good as istari in their use.
    Priests also have excellent saving throws due to divine intervention.
    Although weak in the beginning, they can make decent fighters who strongly
    prefer blunt weapons over edged ones. They are not able to train in edged
    weapons, and if they wield one that isn't blessed, they receive an
    additional severe penalty.
    Priests are especially adept at sensing curses on any sort of item, an
    ability that grows with their character level, perfecting this at level 35
    at which they are able to notice curses almost instantly.
    Wisdom is the priest's primary stat and they get a bonus on 'Holy Curing'.

    Hints:
    Note that their spell Call Light can be used to deal decent damage
    after it's been brought up a few levels. Orcs are said to fear it a lot.

    Priests aren't easy to play in the beginning, since they don't deal much
    damage and also can't take a lot of punishment, so they aren't recommended
    for beginners.

    If you're a team player and want to support your team right from the
    beginning, get the spell 'Cure Wounds' as soon as possible and macro it.

- Corrupted Priest
    There are rumours of ultimately corrupted priests which have lost all their
    holiness and align with the forces of hell instead.
    They have the same abilities as priests in all regards but while they too
    can make use of shadowy occultism, they are not able to utilize any kind of
    holy prayers and are susceptible to holy effects.
    Instead they command blood magic and heretic magic of flame and chaos.

    While under the effect of Blood Sacrifice, Corrupted Priests can flip
    heavily cursed items same as Hell Knights and Vampires can. When the spell
    effect ends they will flip back though, so it might be a good idea to
    just 't'ake them off while still in Bloodthirster form, as due to its
    demonic might it can just do that without need for *Remove Curse*.
    See the end of (5.12) for details on item-flipping.

- Rogue
    A Rogue is a character that prefers to live by cunning, but is capable of
    fighting their way out of a tight spot. The master of traps and locks, no
    device is impossible for him to overcome.
    Their main way of combat is by either dual-wielding two sword-class weapons
    such as daggers, or - rather rarely seen - utilizing martial arts. (As a
    specialty the 'Backstabbing' skill actually works with martial arts.)
    Their primary stats are intelligence and dexterity, intelligence being very
    important if they aim to become proficient at magic, while dexterity makes
    up in combat prowess for what their strength might be lacking.
    Rogues have very high stealth allowing them to sneak around many creatures
    without having to fight, or to sneak up and get the first blow,
    backstabbing their opponents. They also have access to exclusive fighting
    techniques.
    Rogues are especially fond of dual-wielding two light one-handed weapons at
    once (see (7.2). They prefer light armour, since dual-wielding and many of
    their special abilities won't work with heavy armour or two-handed weapons
    (see (5.5)).
    A rogue's perception is higher than any other class, and often they
    notice traps or secret doors without needing a search. Rarely will a
    rogue be unable to avoid or disarm a trap. Rogues also have the unusual
    ability to train stealing from shops and their fellow men, a dangerous but
    sometimes very rewarding profession.
    Searching (or entering searching mode) will actually search within a radius
    instead of just the adjacent grids, another special trick of this class -
    this ability can even detect staircases, shops, hostile rune- or monster
    traps making navigation easier without relying on stair-detection magic or
    mapping magic.
    Rogues are better than warriors or paladins with magical devices, but still
    can not rely on their performance. They can also learn a few magic spells.
    When searching for hidden traps, doors and stairs, they may spot them more
    easily, even from a distance, which increases when the rogue gains levels.
    At level 15, rogues will learn another special ability: Cloaking mode.
    (Press 'V' to make your character prepare for cloaking up / uncloaking.)
    By cloaking their physical appearance and body warmth pattern perfectly,
    which takes a certain time to get prepared, they become completely
    untrackable to almost any monster, for exceptions see (0.2).
    Attacking, taking damage (with the exception of floor grid induced damage
    such as fire damage from lava) and a couple of other actions immediately
    break cloaking, again see (0.2) for details.
    Being masters of cloaking, at level 30 they become able to see through any
    similar cloaking or shadowing techniques employed by their opponents
    (monsters only).

    Hints:
    Make sure to create a macro for your fighting techniques 'Sprint' and
    'Taunt' when you learn them, which you do pretty early on. They are great
    for catching annoying monsters that try to keep their distance to you.
    (See (7.12) for details about fighting techniques.)

    Always keep your Sword-mastery skill at maximum (if you don't go for an
    unusual build that uses Martial Arts instead).

- Mimic
    Mimics are melee fighters who can learn how to shapechange and use the form
    of any monsters (except for unique ones) they slay, thereby inheriting
    nearly all of the monster's abilities. That way they may even cast spells
    the monster was able to use or breathe elements like the monster did.
    Their primary stats are same as the warrior i.e. strength and constituion
    with dexterity coming in handy too.
    Intelligence is not of primary importance but it can help somewhat to
    increase the mana pool for making use of monster spells/breaths, and it
    also affects the success chance when attempting to use a monster power.
    Mimics learn forms by killing an amount of that monster type that is the
    same as the monster's level. Further, their 'Mimicry' skill must be at
    least 1/2 of the monster level or you won't gain knowledge from the kills.

    Example: To use the form of an Ancient Bronze Dragon (level 40) the
    mimic has to kill 40 of them and have a mimicry skill of at least 20.

    To find out the level and special abilities of a monster form, press '~'
    followed by '7' and look it up, then consult section (7.7) for how the
    monster details translate into mimic abilities.
    To find out how many monsters you already killed, which forms you have
    learned and how many you need in total to learn a form, press the '~'
    key followed by '2'. To see all your learned forms, you can alternatively
    use the "/forms" chat command.

    To polymorph into a form, press 'm' key, like casting a magic spell.
    (Forms that have DISBELIEVE ability are skipped when using the normal
    'Polymorph Self' spell. You have to explicitely use your (c) power:
      'Polymorph Self into a specific form'
    if you want to use these forms.)

    A list of useful low-level humanoid forms for weapon-using mimics is given
    in (7.7b) because weapon-using mimics have a somewhat harder time to find
    usable forms early on than martial artists who might just utilize
    easy-to-get forms such as fruit bat, wild cat, crow or spiders right away
    for great effect.

    Mimics can get the highest amount of hit points of any class, even in the
    very long run ie at very high character levels far above 50, provided they
    acquire an appropriate high-level form (preferably level 80 or better).
    Low- and mid-level forms won't help high-level mimics that much to keep up
    their advantage in hit points, ie the extra hit points they gain from such
    forms will diminish as they continue to rise to very high character levels.

    Hints:
    Maybe there's a friendly mimicry-user around who can forge some
    'Rings of Polymorphing' for you from forms he or she no longer uses.

    As for all shape-shifters going with fruit bat body modification is not
    recommended, since it will restrict your equipment even if you polymorph.

    Pick one of the four weapon masteries (Sword/Blunt/Axe/Polearm), or Martial
    Arts if you don't want to use weapons, and always keep it maximized.

    Forms giving a strength bonus are relatively common, eg Forest Troll, so if
    your BpR is close to a break point and just requires +1 or +2 more STR, try
    using troll form to see if its STR bonus gives you that juicy +1 BpR.

- Archer
    Archers aren't good at fighting, but can deliever extremely high damage
    with their ranged weapons. They can die quickly too, however.
    Archers are to bows what warriors are to melee. They are the best class
    around with any bow, crossbow or sling and their primary stat is dexterity.
    An Archer is very bad at melee, being only better than mage-like classes.
    Archers will receive an array of special techniques to their disposal from
    training the 'Archery' skill, such as setting up a precise sniping shot at
    a target asleep or how to craft ammunition from rubble or from the bones
    of their opponents (see (7.12)), accessible via 'm' key or macro wizard.

    The first thing you should do when you created your character is making
    a macro for firing your bow. Press % and then z to start the macro wizard,
    and then c to create a firing macro. The F1 key already has such a macro
    predefined on it (if you didn't change it), test it in town on some townie
    or one of the target dummies.

    Even though archers start out with just a long bow for ranged weapon, they
    also get one of each of the 3 base types of ammo in the game (magic arrow
    for bow, magic bolt for crossbow, magic shot for sling) so you can buy any
    ranged weapon of your choice in the town stores and will have the matching
    type of ammo to go with it right from the start - press 'w' key to load it
    into your quiver. Magic ammunition always returns to you so you only need
    one, except if it gets destroyed by some elemental attack.

    Hints:
    Enchanting your ranged weapon to-damage is especially effective because
    the damage bonus will be multiplied by the weapons multiplier, eg (x3) for
    a long bow. So buy enchant to-dam scrolls from the alchemy shop as soon as
    you can afford them.

    Also make sure to have an ample supply of 'Scrolls of Phase Door' to stay
    out of melee range and keep shooting things from afar instead.

    Pick one of the three ranged masteries (Bow/Crossbow/Sling) and always
    keep it maximized.

    You can determine the order in which ammunition is listed in your backpack
    by simply dropping it and picking it up again in your preferred order.

    An amulet of infra-vision can help to greatly extend your view in dark
    hallways, to allow you shooting enemies before they can come close.

- Paladin
    Paladins are a combination of warrior and priest. Holy knights that
    fight evil with a variety of melee weapons and divine support.
    Their primary stats are thus strength for fighting and wisdom for making
    use of divine prayers, with constitution and dexterity helping as usual.
    Paladins are nearly as strong as pure warriors and also highly proficient
    with shields which they use to deflect incoming attacks - although there
    is certainly no rule stating that they may not instead choose to use huge
    two-handed weapons for bestowing divine retribution upon their foes.
    Paladins however are not very good at missile weapons. They are poor at
    stealth, perception, and searching. They are better than warriors with
    magical devices and have an outstanding saving throw due to divine
    protection. On the downside they lack the proficiency of warriors when it
    comes to handling ranged weapons and they do not benefit as much from
    equipment that increases their mana pool as priests do.
    While they may train in all sorts of holy schools, they are slightly less
    adept at 'Holy Curing'.

    Hints:
    Note that the spell Call Light can be used to deal decent damage after it's
    been brought up a few levels. Orcs are said to fear it a lot.

    Make sure to create a macro for your fighting techniques 'Sprint' and
    'Taunt' when you learn them, they are great for catching annoying monsters
    that try to keep their distance to you. (See (7.12) for details.)

    Pick one of the four weapon masteries (Sword/Blunt/Axe/Polearm), and always
    keep it maximized. Unlike priests, paladins cannot train Martial Arts.

- Death Knight
    Death Knights are unfortunate souls who were paladins in life. Unable to
    die in peace they rose again as bloodthirsty, undead warriors.
    They have the same abilities as paladins in all regards but they are not
    able to utilize any kind of prayers and are susceptible to holy effects,
    instead they command unholy blood, unlife and shadow magic.
    Also, they are significantly better than paladins at using magic devices.
    Death knights resist fear intrinsically.

- Hell Knight
    This ultimately corrupted paladin can only be brought into existance when
    an astral spirit on its way of becoming a paladin forsakes enlightenment
    and turns into a demonic traitor instead.
    Imbued by the powers of chaos and hellflame, these warriors represent
    absolute treason without remorse.
    They have the same abilities as paladins in all regards but they are not
    able to utilize any kind of prayers and are susceptible to holy effects,
    instead they command blood magic and heretic magic of flame and chaos.
    Unlike paladins they can actually also dual-wield two one-handed weapons at
    once, although they will need to use light armour for this strategy to be
    effective (see (7.2)).
    Also, they are somewhat better than paladins at using magic devices.
    Similar to Vampires, Hell Knights can wield some heavily cursed items to
    great effect, flipping their negative boni to positive ones. (With the same
    exception as for vampires: Weapons "of nothingness" will do them no good
    either, and some randarts may fail to flip.) See the end of (5.12) for
    details on item-flipping.
    Also similar to how vampires can be affected by items that are adverse to
    undead, inflicting hit point drain by burning them or mana drain if worn
    on the head or hands, hell knights can be affected in the same manner by
    items that are adverse to demons.
    Hell Knights have a very high chance to resist the adverse effects of
    encountering an eldritch horror (see (7.3) under 'Saving Throw' for details
    on those).

- Ranger
    Second only to adventurers regarding versatility rangers excel at a lot of
    skills: They are able to fight well in close combat and may even dual-wield
    two one-handed weapons at once which requires light armour to be effective.
    This goes well with magic or archery which also would suffer from heavy
    armour.
    Devoted to nature in a similar way as druids rangers will avoid corrupted
    magic such as necromancy. They are however very adept at most other types
    of magic and also skilled trappers. Last but not least rangers display
    great performance with ranged weapons, able to train 'Archery' skill up to
    10.000, which apart from increasing their damage dealt also unlocks various
    special techniques to employ as they see fit.
    Rangers have good stealth, perception, searching, saving throws, and are
    good with magical devices. Rangers can find several different ways out of
    any situation. They use intelligence for spellcasting same as mages, they
    need strength if they rely on fighting in close combat, and they should
    have good dexterity if they aim at training ranged weapons.
    At 7 they learn the ranger-exclusive fighting technique 'Track Animals'.
    At level 8 rangers learn to find paths passing thick woods, and at 15 they
    have become able swimmers as well.

    If you're planning to make use of ranged weapons, the first thing you
    should do when you created your character is making a macro for firing your
    bow. Press % and then z to start the macro wizard, and then c to create a
    firing macro. The F1 key already has such a macro predefined on it (if you
    didn't change it), test it in town on some townie or a target dummy.

    Buy arrows (to use with your bow) in store 1 or store 3 in town and put
    them in your quiver (w key). If you instead get a crossbow you will need
    bolts instead of arrows, and slings would need shots or pebbles. Inscribe
    the ammunition  !=  to pick it up automatically from the floor by simply
    walking over it.

    Hints:
    Make sure to create a macro for your fighting techniques 'Sprint' and
    'Taunt' when you learn them, which you do pretty early on. They are great
    for catching annoying monsters that try to keep their distance to you.
    (See (7.12) for details about fighting techniques.)

    Since rangers can dual-wield and you start with light armour which is
    required for dual-wielding you might want to buy a secondary weapon right
    away, for example a cheap dagger, or even dispose of your starter weapon
    completely and go with two cheap, light weapons instead. (See (7.2) for
    details on dual-wielding.) This will increase your BpR by 1 or even 2!

    You can determine the order in which ammunition is listed in your backpack
    by simply dropping it and picking it up again in your preferred order.

- Adventurer
    Adventurers are hardy and versatile, they have no preferred way of fighting
    or magic, and can adapt to any situation at hand.
    They have no big big strengths nor weaknesses.
    Adventurers can train nearly all skills, but do not excel at any specific
    one. The size of their mana pool depends on both their intelligence and
    their wisdom in equal parts.
    Adventurers are often hybrids that combine various features of different
    and more distinct classes in one character, creating unusual mixtures of
    abilities.

    Hint:
    Adventurers are difficult to play for beginners because to fully utilize
    them you need to know exactly what you are trying to achieve and how you
    want to distribute their skill points to make them effective.

- Druid
    Druids are able to call upon the mystical powers of nature. Their wisdom
    is of primary importance to determine their mana and success chances when
    casting spells. Apart from the druidic schools, the other magic schools
    available to druids use intelligence for determining spell success chance.
    Druids fight using Martial Arts, which is the only melee skill they are
    able to train, as well as a variety of magic spells. Martial Arts means
    weaponless combats, not even ranged weapons except for boomerangs, and only
    light armour, if any at all. (Martial artists actually get bonus armour
    class for each slot of armour that has no item equipped in it.)
    Druids can shapechange into several forms (mostly animals) without having
    to fight or kill them in order to learn those forms. Instead they learn
    one or more new forms automatically every five character levels.
    Even while transformed, druids can still equip all items they could equip
    in untransformed form, even if the monster form usually cannot use them.
    Because of this, going with a 'fruit bat' body modification in character
    creation would be especially ineffective for druids, because the fruit bat
    item restrictions would carry over to the druid forms, making otherwise
    usable slots unavailable.
    Despising the use of weapons they aren't as superb at close combat as
    warriors, but their Martial Arts training will make up for that and allow
    them quite a respectable performance.
    Druids learn how to quickly pass through thick forest at level 10 --
    note though that they can already do this at level 5 by simply polymorphing
    into an animal ('m' key), since all animals can pass forest easily.
    Also starting at 5 they learn the first form (cave bear) that can pass
    mountain terrain, and later they also learn flying forms (griffon).
    To review which forms you can transform into, use the "/ex" or the "/forms"
    chat command, or press ~ followed by 2 and @.
    To see an overview of the forms and their abilities, see (7.7c).

    Hints:
    Druids have a powerful ranged area attack spell they can use very early
    on: Toxic Moisture, from Arcane Lore skill. Look for it in the bookstore!
    They also have a spell that satisfies hunger, later on cures poison and
    more: Herbal Tea, from Physical Lore skill. Could also be essential.

    Make sure to create a macro for your fighting technique 'Sprint' when
    you learn it, which you do pretty early on. It is great for catching
    annoying monsters that try to keep their distance to you. (See (7.12).)

    As martial artists, druids do not require any armour early on in the game,
    it could even lower their AC instead of improving it.
    Always keep your Martial Arts skill maximized.

    If you find a weapon that grants you ESP (eg 'of Aman' or 'of Gondolin')
    inscribe it @x0 to be able to swap it in and out for quick monster ESP by
    pressing SHIFT+X (once to swap it in, again to swap it out again to resume
    using martial arts, since as a martial artist you cannot use weapons except
    for boomerangs).

- Shaman
    Shamans are able to call upon both spiritual and magical powers, whatever
    they deem most appropriate. Their mind is also trained in a very versatile
    manner, allowing them to collect energy from intelligence or wisdom,
    whatever currently is easiest for them!
    Shamans are able to shapeshift same as mimics (see mimics above for details
    about how to learn forms) but they are limited to animals, trolls, giants,
    dragons and dragonriders, angels, hybrid creatures, golems, spirits,
    elementals and ghosts.
    However, they may use the latter three types while still wearing their full
    equipment and they are always able to move straight even if the creature in
    whose shape they appear usually moves erratically - these two are feats
    that mimics cannot achieve.
    Shamans learn elemental ('E') and semi-elemental ('X') forms especially
    quickly (one kill of any of these counts as three kills towards learning
    the form).
    They cannot use non-living or undead forms except for ghosts, spirits,
    elementals and golems. Shamans also cannot learn the three non-elemental
    aberrations of the 'E' forms: Invisible Stalker, Unmaker and Death Orb.
    While shamans are excellent at magic they have weaker combat abilities than
    rangers or paladins but still don't need to hide from a melee if trained
    properly.
    Their spiritual abilities allow them to easily train various aspects of
    necromancy as they see fit. Accordingly at level 20 shamans learn to
    perceive the invisible.

    A list of useful low-level forms for mimicry users, that includes shamans,
    is given in (7.7b). It points out some forms that are usable exclusively
    by shamans too and are not so useful to normal mimics. It also lists some
    humanoid forms in case you are training a weapon skill.

    Hints:
    Maybe there's a friendly mimicry-user around who can forge some
    'Rings of Polymorphing' for you from forms he or she no longer uses.

    In the beginning shamans have few hit points and skill point distribution
    isn't easy either, that's why this class is not recommended for beginners.

    As for all shape-shifters going with fruit bat body modification is not
    recommended, since it will restrict your equipment even if you polymorph.

    Note that all 'O' Ogre type monsters count as 'giants' too, so their forms
    are usable in shaman mimicry.

    A tip for weapon-using shamans who are short on STR for gaining more BpR:
    Forms giving a strength bonus are relatively common, eg Forest Troll, so if
    your BpR is close to a break point and just requires +1 or +2 more STR, try
    using troll form to see if its STR bonus gives you that juicy +1 BpR.

- Runemaster
    Runemasters use arcane symbols or 'runes' to summon pure elemental magic.
    They use their intelligence and dexterity to both manipulate and protect
    themselves from the fickle and dangerous forces of their art. Runemasters
    are not the most dedicated or systematic of adventurers, and often rely on
    trickery and sleight-of-hand. Because of this, and their tendency towards
    thievery, they are often mistaken for rogues. This roguish nature allows
    them to train in rogue-specific weapon proficiencies and skills, although
    their lack of dedication leaves 'Weaponmastery' as an unattainable goal.
    Runemasters are unable to to train in the martial arts, but are adept with
    boomerangs. High level users of runecraft may eventually enhance their
    armor and weapon with runic 'sigils', benefitting from elemental boons.
    Elemental resistances are of particular importance to runemasters, who
    suffer backlash from the evoked element instead of outright spell failure.

    For more information about runecraft, see '(7.8b) Runes & Runemastery'.
    Note that physical runes are not required to cast runespells, and are
    instead used only to apply sigils to worn equipment, granting some boni
    depending synergistically on both the rune element and recipient item.

    Hint:
    Runespells cause backlash of the active element on spell failure.
    For that reason you might use basic elemental spells in the beginning,
    against which you can easily acquire the required resistance, for example
    by buying a ring or amulet from the magic shop or maybe even by choosing
    a race that has intrinsic resistance to the element you are planning to use
    mainly. If you want to test rune combinations that pose a risk of going
    wrong badly, do so in the arena of the 'Arena Monster Challenge' event so
    you will get away unscathed.

- Mindcrafter
    Mindcrafters are great melee fighters who additionally train the use of
    telepathy to unleash spells formed by their psychic powers.
    Their intellect is superior compared to primitive warriors, making them
    calm and silent fighters who are hard to read and are dangerously sharp.
    They have a lot of possibilities to positively or negatively influence the
    minds of others. However, their repertoire is more limited when they are up
    against creatures of little or no intelligence.
    Their primary attribute is intelligence, which determines their spell
    fail rates as well as the majority of their mana pool. Also somewhat
    affecting their mana pool are charisma and wisdom, although they are
    not mandatory for becoming an able telepathy user.
    Aside from intelligence as primary spell-casting stat they will also want
    decent strength for engaging in close combat.
    Putting on heavy head gear (above 4.0 lb) will negatively impact their
    amount of psychic energy.
    Mindcrafters will learn to resist sanity-draining effects a bit at level
    10, somewhat better at level 20 and even better at 40.
    They also have a high chance to resist the adverse effects of encountering
    an eldritch horror (see (7.3) under 'Saving Throw' for details on those),
    they also resist mind-blanking attemps and psionic attacks in general much
    better than other classes.
    A lot of their spells can actually be cast while blinded (or even
    confused), and their targetted spells often do not require a clean line of
    sight, since they manifest whereever their mind is focused on
    (e.g. Psionic Blast).
    Their spells also cannot be reflected by monsters for that same reason.
    Some of the mindcrafters' spells that interact with party members will
    require them to prepare and open their mind for telepathic contact. This
    is done by the party members pressing the 'p' key. Pressing it again will
    close off their mind again, disabling further telepathic attempts.
    The effects of some necromancy skills are distracting to mindcrafters, so
    training them will require more effort.
    They are able to detect 'Telepath' ego monsters via ESP which usually are
    able to conceal their presence telepathically versus all other classes.
    Similarly at level 30 they become able to pinpoint opponents that attempt
    to make use of cloaking or shadowing techniques (monsters only).
    Mindcrafters learn to judge their own sanity much more accurately as they
    gain levels, getting a more detailed sanity display at level 10, 20 and 40
    (same as other characters get when they actually train 'Health' skill to
    10, 20 or 40).

    Hints:
    Mindcrafters have a powerful ranged attack spell they can use very early
    on, Psionic Blast. Look for it in the bookstore right away.

    Get the spell 'Autokinesis I' early on, which is a form of phase door.

    Pick one of the four weapon masteries (Sword/Blunt/Axe/Polearm), or Martial
    Arts if you don't want to use weapons, and always keep it maximized.


As you gain levels, you will get new profession titles. These are displayed
between your class name and your character level in the main window. If you die
and become a ghost, the title will change to 'Ghost' until you get revived.
Titles change every 5 levels, the final title is received on level 50.
From level 60 and upwards there are special titles available every 10 levels.
You can find a list of all titles in (7.5b) further down.


Here is a table showing boni/mali of the different classes:
'Blows/Round' is the maximum base number of melee attacks per round a class
can get, based solely on strength and dexterity and on the weapon's weight.
You can further increase your BpR later via mastery skills, items or magic.
BpR limits count only for weapons, not for martial arts usage, see (5.3a).
"Parrying" is done with weapons, "blocking" is done with a shield, see (7.11).

Class         STR  INT  WIS  DEX  CON  CHR     HP dice  Exp%  Max. base attacks
 @ colour     Di   MD   ST   St   Pe   Sr   Fi   BT           Parrying/Blocking
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warrior       +5   -2   -2   +2   +2   -1        +10     +0%         6
 brown        25   18   18    1    2   14   70   55            superb   superb
Istar         -5   +3    0   +1   -2   +1         +0    +35%         1
 red          25   36   30    2   20   16   34   20            bad      bad
Priest (*)    -1   -3   +3   -1    0   +2         +5    +20%         4
 green        20   25   32    2    8   16   48   35            fair     fair
Rogue         +2   +1   -2   +3   +1   -1         +5    +15%         5
 blue         45   28   28    5   32   24   60   66            superb   fair
Mimic         +1    0    0   +1   +1   -4         +6    +30%         5
 light grey   20   30   28    1   18   18   60   46            good     good
Archer        +1    0   +2   +3   +1   -1         +5    +10%         3
 orange       25   22   28    2   20   24   56   72            fair     fair
Paladin       +3   -3   +1    0   +2   +2         +8    +30%         5
 yellow       10   21   54    1   16   13   60   40            good     superb
Ranger        +2   +2   -1   +1   +2    0         +7    +35%         5
 light brown  40   32   30    5   30   30   50   60            superb   fair
Adventurer     0    0    0    0    0    0         +6    +25%         4
 violet       30   22   20    3   15   15   50   50            fair     fair
Druid         +1    0   +2   -2   -2   +1         +5    +35%         4
 light green  25   35   30    4   25   25   50   44            poor     poor
Shaman         0   +1   +2   -2    0    0         +3    +40%         4
 light red    15   30   30    4   30   20   45   23            poor     poor
Runemaster     0   +2   -2   +2   -2    0         +4    +40%         4
 light blue   35   32   20    3   30   26   45   40            fair     poor
Mindcrafter   +2   +2    0    0    0   +1         +6    +25%         5
 grey         30   28   36    3   35   14   55   45            good     fair
Death Knight  +3   -3   +1    0   +2   +2         +8    +30%         5
 dark grey    10   28   54    1   16   13   60   40            good     superb
Hell Knight   +3   -3   +1    0   +2   +2         +8    +30%         5
 dark grey    10   25   54    1   16   13   60   40            good     superb

(Di:Disarming,      MD:Magic Device,        ST:Saving Throw,    St:Stealth,
Pe:Perception (sight range), Sr:Searching,  Fi:Fighting,        BT:Bows/Throw)

(*) Corrupted Priest is same as Priest in this table.

Some classes can make full use of parrying/blocking, others are less adept.
The last two columns in the table above show their effectiveness:
 'superb'  =  full benefit (100%)
 'good'    =   5/6 benefit  (83%)
 'fair'    =   2/3 benefit  (67%)
 'poor'    =   1/2 benefit  (50%)
 'bad'     =   1/3 benefit  (33%)
This makes up the character's base chance. The actual chance in-game to parry
or block specific effects will depend on weapon/shield type, type of effect,
status effects on the character and possibly other circumstances.

For melee characters, it's especially vital to know how many blows per round
they will get right after character creation, to avoid them being unnecessarily
weak during low-mid levels.
So a melee-oriented character should make sure to start with sufficient
STRength and DEXterity to be able to get at least 2 blows/round with the
lightest possible weapons. (Getting more BpR with heavy weapons is a luxury
that will have to be put aside until later in the game.)

Note that a (heavier) startup weapon at 2 BpR might beat a very light weapon at
3 BpR for a few levels at the beginning, maybe up to 4 or so. So you can wait
for a little a bit until spending $ on it.
Previous
(7.4) Races
Next
(7.5a) Start-up blows/round table (BpR)