From: smarsh@dcs.warwick.ac.uk (Sean Marsh)
Subject: *Read this* A New Moria hack...
Keywords: angband
Organization: Department of Computer Science, Warwick University, England
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 20:25:12 GMT

	This article is going to be a long one, so sorry if it doesn't
interest you... It concerns another 'hack' of Moria that may be released in
the near future (depending on response etc.)
	Well, the name of the game is Angband, and it is pretty much based on
Tolkien, with some D+D influence, and Rolemaster names and creatures. The
original hack was started over a year ago by two Computer Science students,
and then it was further hacked by myself with help from one or two others this
year. It is based on Umoria 5.2 Patch Level 1, so is a little out of date.
(but as far as I know, no great changes have been made since then. Comments
anyone?)
	As it is so long since I played Umoria, I'm afraid I can't remember
what was and wasn't in it - I'll outline the changes that I know of, and put
one or two examples in: some of the things included here may seem similar to
various other hacks, but in fact the bulk of this code was written a long time
ago now (such as the Ringwraiths in 'Morgul') so I'm not sure quite how
similar this game is going to be - it is however a considerable improvement
over Umoria, and is the only Umoria/Moria game ever played here at Warwick
now.
	Anyway, here goes for the changes:
	
	Two new races, High-Elf and Dunedain, both of which have generally
better stats and hit points, but need more xp to advance. (for example,
High-Elves need +100% xp/level)
	Races have intrinsics built in, such as resist light, dark, blindness,
sustain strength, see invisible etc.
	50 character levels instead of 40.
	Character stats are still maximised at 18/100 naturally, but may be
made to increase beyond this by artificial means, up to 18/*** which is
equivalent to 18/220. Each stat has a new set of bonuses meaning that a level
50 character with 18/*** constitution, for example, may have in the region of
1000 hit points - the other stats have bonuses equivalent to this.
	The town has the Black Market and your home, as well as the normal six
shops. (not sure if these are implemented in Umoria 5.5) Your house can be
used to store up to two pages of objects (but not money).
	A new object class, TV_ROD has been added. Rods never run out of
charges, but instead take a certain amount of time to recharge e.g. a Rod of
Firebolts has a timeout of 15 turns, whereas a Rod of Restoration has a
timeout of 999 turns. 'a' is used as the key to activate rods, 'A' is reserved
for activation of artifacts.
	A lot of creatures have been moved around. These are:
	 'A' is for Angels, Ant Lions have been moved to 'a' with Ants.
	 'B' is now unused.
	 'C' is now for Canines (Wolves, Wargs etc.)
	 'H' is for Hybrids (Minotaurs, Griffons, Chimeras etc.)
	 'I' is for Minor Demons (Quasits, Manes, Lemure, Imps etc.)
	 'J' is now for Jabberwocks! Jellies are on 'j'
	 'j' is for Jellies and Gelatinous Cubes, Oozes etc.
	 'O' is now for Ogres (of various types)
	 'q' is for Quadroped, such as Mumakil, Catoblepas etc.
	 'S' is now for Giant Spiders as well as Scorpions.
	 'v' is for Vortices, whirlwinds of various kinds.
	 'Z' is for Zephyr Hounds, with lots of nasty breath weapons. 8-)
	 '&' is for Major Demons (Types I-VI as well as Balrogs)
	Other then these, no other letter changes have been made, but a great
many creatures have been added to the current lists. Lots of boring monsters
have been removed (lots of bats for example) to provide more interest at lower
levels. There are now about 530 creatures, over half of which are new to
Angband.
	As well as lots of new creatures, there are now a large number of
unique creatures in Angband. The object of the game now is to destroy Morgoth
who can be found at 5000 feet. In the 100 levels of the dungeon, there are
over a hundred unique creatures (sometimes 3 or 4 on a level, sometimes none).
These uniques have a rarity flag with them, so they are not necessarily found
each time the level is visited. A lot of them are taken from Tolkien (Sauron,
Saruman, Gothmog, Mim, Ulfang, Smeagol etc.), others are taken from Rolemaster
(the names of the Ringwraiths for example), others from D+D (Baphomet, the
Tarrasque etc.) and others from Legend (Cerberus, Uriel, Azriel etc.).
	Creatures also have a lot more spells to play with now, such as Nether
Balls and Mana Storms. There are lots more breath weapons available for
creatures: light, darkness, shards, time, plasma, chaos, disenchantment,
nether, elemental force, inertia, gravity, nexus, sound, confusion.
	Special quests can also be assigned to monsters - the only one that
exists at the moment is the Sauron quest - Sauron must be killed before there
is any way to get from 4950ft to 5000ft. There are two quest planes written
(the Elemental plane and the Dragon plane) but the code to use these has been
lost so that needs to be redone. The maps are still around though 8-).
	For an example unique, this is Sauron: 
Sauron, the Sorcerer: 
No known battles to the death are recalled. He is Morgoth's most powerful
servant. Mighty in spells and enchantments he created the One Ring. His eyes
glow with power and his gaze seeks to destroy your soul. He has many servants,
and rarely fights without them. It is normally found at depths of 4950 feet,
and moves very quickly. A kill of this evil creature is worth 4950000.00 points
for a 1st level character. It is magical, casting spells intelligently which
teleport long distances, induce blindness, confuse, terrify, summon demonkind,
cast fire balls, cast mana bolts, wound its prey, cast plasma bolts, mass
summoning, cast ice bolts, cast darkness, cause amnesia, mind searing,
teleport its preys level, cast whirlpools, cast nether balls, cast mana
storms, summon greater undead or summon ancient dragons; 1 time in 2. It has
an armor rating of 160 and a maximized life rating of 99d105. It can open
doors. It resists frost, fire, lightning and poison. It cannot be charmed or
slept. It is ever vigilant for intruders, which it may notice from 1000 feet.
It may carry up to 16 objects. It can hit to disenchant with damage 10d12, hit
to disenchant with damage 10d12, touch to absorb charges, and touch to absorb
charges.
	And here is a sample new creature: 
The Great Wyrm of Balance: 
At least 32767 of these creatures have been killed by your ancestors. This
massive Dragon is the mightiest of Dragonkind. It is thousands of years old
and seeks to maintain the Balance. It sees you are an upstart troublemaker
without the wisdom to control your actions. It will destroy you. It is
normally found at depths of 3350 feet, and moves quickly. A kill of this
dragon is worth 2077000.00 points for a 1st level character. It can breathe
chaos, shards, sound and disenchantment, and is also magical, casting spells
which induce blindness, confuse, terrify, summon dragonkind or summon ancient
dragons; 1 time in 3. It has an armor rating of 170 and a maximized life
rating of 70d70. It cannot be charmed or slept. It pays very little attention
to intruders, which it may notice from 400 feet. It may carry up to 16
objects. It can claw to attack with damage 5d12, claw to attack with damage
5d12, claw to attack with damage 6d12, and bite to attack with damage 8d14.

	As for new items in Angband, the major new addition is Artifacts. Each
artifact has a flag so that it can only be found/missed once, and there are
well over a hundred unique items: Weapons (such as Ringil, Anduril, Belngil
etc.), Armour (Shield of Anarion, Helm of Dor-Lomin etc.), Rings (Narya,
Nenya, Vilya and the One Ring etc.), Amulets (Necklace of the Dwarves etc.)
and Light Sources (e.g. Phial of Galadriel). Each of these items can add to
stats, give resistance to various things and generally be given the same flags
as normal weapons. As an example, Ringil:
	  A Longsword named Ringil (4d5) (+22,+25)
               Haste. Light Source. Frost brand.
               Slays Evil, Demons, Undead and Trolls.
               Resist Cold, Light. Faster Regeneration and Slow Digestion.
               See Invisible, Free Action. Activate for Ice storms. 
 Or Deathwreaker:
          A Mace of Disruption named Deathwreaker (4d12) (+18,+18)
               +6 Str. Aggravates, Tunnels. Flame Tongue. Immunity to Fire.
               Slays Animals, Dragons and Evil.
               Resists Fire, Disenchantment, Dark. 
 Or Soulkeeper:
          Adamantite Plate Mail named Soulkeeper [40,+20]
               Resist Cold, Acid, Chaos, Dark.
               Chance of Resisting any life drain. Activate for full heal.
	Artifacts can be activated with 'A'. Also 'A' can be used for other
items such as Dragon Scale Mails, which are rare items that resist the
appropriate elements. Green, Multi-Hued and Power dragon Scale Mails also have
inbedded poison resistance, which can also be found in a rare ring and one or
two other items. Mages can also cast a temporary poison resistance spell (The
first resist takes 2/5 of the damage away, the second takes another 1/3 away
again, meaning that with double poison resist, you only take 2/5 damage. Quite
useful against AMHD eh?) There are various other resistances that can be found
- light, dark, confusion, sound, blindness, nether, nexus, chaos,
disenchantment etc. and some of these can be gained by wielding or wearing the
appropriate artifact.
	As well as artifacts, there are also some new items - Weapons of
Westernesse, Armour of Elvenkind, Cloaks of Aman, Shadowcloaks [6], Robes of
the Magi, Adamantite Plate Mail [40], Mithril Plate Mail [35], Mithril Chain
Mail [28], Shields of Deflection [10], Maces of Disruption (4d10), Scythes of
Slicing (8d4), Blades of Chaos (6d5) etc.
	As well as resistance, certain very rare items can give you immunity
to various elements (the Rings of Power do this for the appropriate element
e.g Narya to fire, as well as other items)
	Enhanced wizard commands (Rerate character hit points, allocation of
quality treasures, identify treasures up to certain depth)
	New flag for artifacts (Warrior classes identify them as 'special')
	Staffs of Perceptions to buy in Magic shop - no more waiting for
Scrolls of Identify.
	5 new Priest prayer books - spells like Banishment (mass teleport
away), Clairvoyance, Enchant Armour and Weapon, Elemental Brand and about 20
others.
	5 new Magic books - spells like Resist Poison, Hellfire, Create
Stairs, Globe of Invulnerability and about 20 others.
	No potions of Invulnerability any more by the way.
	Runes of Protection and Protection from Evil work differently and
generally aren't as effective as before.
	Huge new treasure rooms, meaning monsters a long way out of their
depth, but lots of nice treasure to compensate. Some of these are made from
permanent rock, and some don't allow phase dooring ("You feel a wrenching
sensation but do not move") so can be tricky to take on at low levels. Some
are bigger than the screen display.
	Lots of new summon spells for creatures - summon unique followers,
summon angels, summon greater undead, summon Ringwraiths etc.
	Time attacks can drain all stats and experience ("You're not as strong
as you used to be")
	Lots of new descriptions for spell effects.
	Plus loads of other stuff I've forgotten (it isn't easy trying to
remember all this when I don't even know what the Umoria code is like), I just
know a lot of code concerning the more basic functions (movement etc.) has
been changed. Anyway, if anything else springs to mind, I'll post it.
	To finish off, a couple of character sheets of good characters. (the
game has been finished quite a few times, but seems quite reasonably balanced
now!)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Name        : Sean                    Age          : 121     STR : 18/***
 Race        : High-Elf                Height       : 77      INT : 18/***
 Sex         : Male                    Weight       : 198     WIS : 18/***
 Class       : Mage                    Social Class : 34      DEX : 18/***
 Title       : Wizard (19th)                                  CON : 18/***
                                                              CHR : 18/***

 + To Hit    :     57        Level      :     49   Max Hit Points :    865
 + To Damage :     49        Experience : 9454645   Cur Hit Points :    865
 + To AC     :    107        Gold       : 1206361   Max Mana       :    281
   Total AC  :    155                              Cur Mana       :    152

(Miscellaneous Abilities)

 Fighting    : Superb       Stealth     : Very Good    Perception : Superb
 Bows/Throw  : Superb       Disarming   : Superb       Searching : Superb
 Saving Throw: Superb       Magic Device: Superb       Infra-Vision: 1290 feet

Character Background
 You are one of several children of a Green-Elf Ranger.  You
 have light grey eyes, straight black hair, and a fair
 complexion.

  [Character's Equipment List]

  a) You are wielding   : a Longsword named Ringil (2d5) (+22,+25).
  b) Worn on head       : an Iron Crown of Morgorth [0,+0] (+125) {cursed}.
  c) Worn around neck   : an Amulet of the Magi [+3] (+35).
  d) Worn on body       : Multi-Hued Dragon Scale Mail (-2) [30,+13].
  e) Worn on shield arm : a Large Metal Shield of Anarion [5,+22].
  f) Worn on hands      : a Set of Cestus of Fingolfin (+10,+10) [5,+22].
  g) Right ring finger  : a Ring of Constitution (+2).
  h) Left  ring finger  : a Ring of Speed (+1).
  i) Worn on feet       : a Pair of Soft Leather Boots named Dal-i-thalion
[2,+18] (+5).
  j) Worn about body    : a Shadow Cloak of Protection [6,+15].
  k) Light source is    : a Brass Lantern with 11191 turns of light.
  l) Secondary weapon   : a Bastard Sword named Calris (3d4) (+7,+20) {cursed}.

  [General Inventory List]

a) 4 Books of Magic Spells [Magic for Beginners].
b) 4 Books of Magic Spells [Conjurings and Tricks].
c) 4 Books of Magic Spells [Incantations and Illusions].
d) 4 Books of Magic Spells [Sorcery and Evocations].
e) 4 Books of Magic Spells [Resistance of Scarabtarices].
f) 11 Books of Magic Spells [Mordenkainen's Escapes].
g) 7 Books of Magic Spells [Kelek's Grimoire of Power].
h) 4 Books of Magic Spells [Tenser's Transformations].
i) a Book of Magic Spells [Raal's Tome of Destruction].
j) 38 Mushrooms of Restoring.
k) 6 Flasks of oil.
l) 19 Potions of Restore Life Levels.
m) 11 Potions of Restore Mana.
n) 22 Potions of Healing.
o) 22 Potions of Cure Critical Wounds.
p) 3 Scrolls of Word of Recall.
q) a Rod of Detection.
r) a Wand of Clone Monster (0 charges).
s) a Staff of Teleportation (10 charges).
t) a Lead-filled Mace named Grond (10d8) (+5) [+10].

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Name        : Geoff, Lord of Morgoths Age          :     55   STR : 18/200 
 Race        : Dunedain                Height       :     84   INT : 18/120 
 Sex         : Male                    Weight       :    151   WIS : 18/120 
 Class       : Warrior                 Social Class :     36   DEX : 18/210 
 Title       : Lord Noble                                      CON : 18/200 
                                                               CHR : 18/120 

 + To Hit    :     48        Level      :     50    Max Hit Points :   1099
 + To Damage :     42        Experience : 20451579    Cur Hit Points :   1099
 + To AC     :    139        Gold       : 394672    Max Mana       :      0
   Total AC  :    206                               Cur Mana       :      0

(Miscellaneous Abilities)

 Fighting    : Superb       Stealth     : Fair         Perception  : Bad
 Bows/Throw  : Superb       Disarming   : Superb       Searching   : Poor
 Saving Throw: Superb       Magic Device: Superb       Infra-Vision: 30 feet

Character Background
 You are one of several children of a Grey-Elf Ranger.  You
 have light grey eyes, straight black hair, and a fair
 complexion.

  [Character's Equipment List]

  a) You are wielding   : a Great Axe of Eonwe (4d4) (+15,+18) [+8].
  b) Worn on head       : an Iron Helm of Dor-Lomin [5,+21].
  c) Worn around neck   : an Amulet of the Dwarves (+3).
  d) Worn on body       : Adamantite Plate Mail named Soulkeeper (-4) [40,+23].
  e) Worn on shield arm : Shield of Deflection of Resistance [10,+25].
  f) Worn on hands      : a Set of Cestus of Fingolfin (+10,+10) [5,+22].
  g) Right ring finger  : a Ring of Speed (+1).
  h) Left  ring finger  : a Ring of Tulkas (+1).
  i) Worn on feet       : a Pair of Metal Shod Boots of Speed [6,+5].
  j) Worn about body    : a Cloak named Colluin [1,+21].
  k) Light source is    : The Phial of Galadriel.
  l) Secondary weapon   : a Blade of Chaos named Doomcaller (6d5) (+18,+28).

  [General Inventory List]

a) 35 Rations of Food.
b) 33 Mushrooms of Restoring.
c) 14 Potions of Heroism.
d) 22 Potions of Restore Life Levels.
e) 27 Potions of Cure Critical Wounds.
f) 19 Potions of Healing.
g) 34 Potions of Speed.
h) 41 Scrolls of Phase Door.
i) 13 Scrolls of Rune of Protection.
j) 3 Scrolls of Mass Genocide.
k) a Rod of Healing.
l) a Rod of Healing.
m) a Rod of Detection.
n) a Rod of Speed.
o) a Rod of Probing.
p) a Rod of Recall.
q) a Rod of Enlightenment.
r) a Rod of Teleport Away.
s) a Rod of Teleport Away.
t) a Rod of Perceptions.
u) a Staff of Teleportation (8 charges).

	Anyway, that's about it for Angband. Please mail me for further info,
or post here. Cheers,
		Sean.

	smarsh@dcs.warwick.ac.uk
	mauab@csv.warwick.ac.uk