So I spend yesterday and today playing Angband. I’m actually doing fairly well considering I haven’t played seriously in years. I have a Ranger who just turned 9:
–
–
Angband has 6 classes: warrior, mage, priest, rogue, ranger, and paladin. It is definitely a different game to play than Nethack, and I can see why many people like one or the other but not both.
Rangers seem (so far) to be archers who get mage spells. I tend to use arrows and magic missiles about equally; you can “R”est to regain mana and health when no monsters are about. You can also close doors to prevent monsters from coming up on you while you rest. Food is much less of an issue so far than it is in Nethack – you find or buy food rations, and need to use them much less often. No monsters leave corpses behind to eat. When you fire a spell or arrow, you’re able to not just pick a direction, you can instead target the nearest monster if it’s within range.
Rogues also get some mage spells; I am unsure of how they are different from rangers so far. The one time I tried to disarm a trap in a corridor, it worked immediately. Paladins are some mix of warrior and priest – I’ll start one of them tonight, to see how melee characters do.
You can’t steal from shops as you can in Nethack, but the shop owners will say some amusing things – especially when you sell them a NICE potion or scroll for the standard amount they give for unidentified items. Then they will grumble when you sell crappy potions to them.
The dungeon so far has had few stuck doors, some traps, and no special objects such as fountains, sinks, or thrones. The levels are huge (you can “M”ap the entire area discovered on the level if you need to), and mages get a detect spell for traps, doors, and stairs – which my ranger uses frequently. It won’t cover the whole level, but you get a message when you leave the boundary, so you know to recast the spell.
I probably need to find a stronger bow. I understand Angband has enchanting scrolls to improve your weapons and armor, but so far the shops don’t sell any. (Also, the 7 shops each deal in specific items – you won’t be able to sell excess armor to the potions guy).
I actually think that Diablo (the original) takes most of its inspiration from the Angband type of roguelike, with some ideas from Nethack thrown in the mix. The gameplay, dungeon/town layout, and goal all seem to be much more akin to Angband than the puzzle-focused Nethack.
One Day, I Will Ascend 