angband

Roguelike dungeon exploration game

TLDR

Start a new game

$ angband

Load a specific character savefile

$ angband -u[character]

Start a brand-new character (skip load)

$ angband -n

Run with the X11 front end, opening 4 windows

$ angband -mx11 -- -n4

Run with the SDL front end

$ angband -msdl

Start in wizard (debug) mode, disables high scores

$ angband -w

Show top high scores

$ angband -s[10]

Display the usage message

$ angband -h

SYNOPSIS

angband [options] [-- suboptions]

Angband is a classic single-player roguelike dungeon exploration game. The player creates a character and descends through 100 levels of a dungeon to ultimately defeat Morgoth, the Lord of Darkness. The game features permadeath, procedurally generated levels, and turn-based gameplay.Characters are created from multiple races (Human, Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, etc.) and classes (Warrior, Mage, Priest, Rogue, etc.), each with different abilities and playstyles. Combat, magic, and equipment management are central mechanics, with rare artifacts providing powerful bonuses.The game runs in a terminal using ASCII characters to represent the dungeon, monsters, and items, though graphical tilesets are available. Each session saves automatically, and death is permanent by default, deleting the savefile.

PARAMETERS

-h

Display usage information.

-n

Start a new character (do not load an existing savefile).

-w

Enable wizard (debug) mode; high scores are disabled.

-g

Request graphics mode when the front end supports it.

-r

Rebalance monsters.

-snum

Show the specified number of high scores and exit.

-uwho

Load the savefile belonging to character who.

-msys

Select the core display system (gcu for curses/console, x11, sdl, etc.).

-dlib=path

Override a library subdirectory path. Valid lib keys include help, info, user, save, data, scores, xtra, edit, and file.

Pass any remaining arguments to the selected front end (e.g. -nN to open N X11 windows).

CONFIGURATION

~/.angband/Angband/

User directory containing save files, character dumps, and preferences.

~/.angband/Angband/user/pref.prf

User preference file for keymaps, colors, and display settings.

PREVIEW

 ######
 #....#  ####
 #..@.####..#
 #....#  #..#
 ######  ####

GAMEPLAY BASICS

Movement: Use number pad or hjklyubn keysCommands: i inventory, e equipment, m magic, g get item, d drop, R restStairs: > descend, < ascendTarget: *** to target, t** to fireSave and quit: Ctrl-X

CAVEATS

Permadeath means losing hours of progress to a single mistake. The learning curve is steep with many keyboard commands to memorize. Save scumming is possible but defeats the intended experience. Some terminal emulators may have issues with the display or key bindings.

HISTORY

Angband originated as a variant of Moria (1983), which itself was inspired by Rogue (1980). The name comes from Tolkien's fortress of Morgoth. Development began in 1990 by students at the University of Warwick. It became one of the most influential roguelikes, spawning numerous variants including ZAngband, ToME, and Sil. The game remains actively maintained by the community.