Dungeon Crawl - Definition and Overview

This article is about the computer game. For the general style of adventure it is named after, see dungeon crawl

Linley's Dungeon Crawl is a roguelike game. It was originated by Linley Henzell in 1995 with version 1.00 released in 1997 and is still being developed. The game is released on a open source license based on the Nethack General Public License.

Lineley’s Dungeon Crawl or Crawl starts by having the player choose one of 26 races. These races vary from the four different types of elves, the two types of dwarves, humans, ogres, kenku, merfolk, and other fantasy and mythological races. The race determines the starting attributes,how quickly different skills are advanced and the movement speed.

The next choice that the players makes is the class of the character. There are 28 different choices in total, with different races being limited to different jobs. The classes include the more traditional classes of fighter, wizard, and thief as well as various specialties. There are elementalists for fire, ice, wind and earth. There are also monks, berserkers, assassins, crusaders, and wanderers. Wanderers receive a random assortment of skills. The class and race determines the starting equipment and skills of the character. The character from then on is free to attempt to learn any other skills.

The goal of Crawl is to recover the Orb of Zot that is hidden deep within the dungeon. While accomplishing this goal, the player will have to visit other branches of the dungeon such as the orcish mines and the lair which is filled with more natural beasts. These branches have subbranches too,like the elf hall or the swamp.

The skill system in Crawl covers most things an adventure would need. The skills include the ability to move freely in armor, move silently, attack things effectively with different types of weapons (pole arms, long blades, short blades, maces, whips, and staffs), cast spells from different areas of magic (the elements, necromancy, conjuration, enchantments, summoning) and the ability to use magical artifacts or pray to the gods. Each skill is trained by doing the action that the skill controls (e.g. hitting a monster with a long sword trains long blades and fighting skills).

The religion system in Crawl is more varied than in most roguelike games. There are 12 gods in total. Each god expects the character to act a certain way and will give rewards for conforming to their code of conduct. The berserker god, Trog, expects his followers to abstain from casting spells but gives rewards to help in battle. Sif Muna expects characters to use spells very frequently and gives rewards to help in this area. Other gods campaign against evil, while still others are random in their actions. Xom treats his followers as toys giving punishments and rewards on a whim. Another god gives a deck of cards that produce many different results. If you want you could even join a evil god of death or chaos, who rewards you for killing the living.

The magic system is divided into many parts. Each part is used in conjunction with another one to make a result. The areas of ice and enchantment are used to give the caster ice armor while fire and conjuration produce fireballs. Each school contains different effects that are distinct from the other areas.

Typical Dungeon Crawl Screen

                                      wiki the Stabber
        ∙∙                            High Elf
       ∙∙∙    ▒▒▒▒                    HP: 5/16
      ▒∙∙[   ▒▒g∙∙ ▒▒                 Magic: 2/2
      ▒∙∙∙∙   ∙∙∙ ∙∙▒                 AC: 2     (0)
     ▒▒∙∙∙∙▒▒▒▒∙▒▒∙[▒                 EV: 11
     ▒∙∙∙∙∙∙▒∙∙<∙∙∙∙▒                 Str: 11
     ▒∙∙∙∙∙∙▒∙∙>∙∙∙▒▒▒▒               Int: 13
       ▒∙∙∙∙<∙∙∙@∙∙∙%∙▒               Dex: 16
       ▒▒▒▒▒∙∙∙∙▒▒▒▒▒ ▒               Gold: 131
           ▒∙∙▒∙∙∙∙                   Experience: 2/16  (2)
           ▒∙▒▒∙▒▒                    Level 2 of the Dungeon
           ▒∙ ∙∙▒  ▒                  a) +0 elf short sword
           ▒▒▒▒▒▒                     Encumbered

Dungeon Crawl Character Dump

Dungeon Crawl version 4.0.0 beta 26 character file.

wiki the Stabber (High Elf) (Level 2 Thief)

Play time: 00:03:20 Number of turns: 291

Experience : 2/16 Strength 11 Dexterity 16 Intelligence 13 Hit Points : 5/16 Magic Points : 2 AC : 2 Evasion : 11 Shield : 0 GP : 131

You are on level 2. You are encumbered. You are not hungry.

 Inventory:

Hand weapons

a - a +0 elven short sword (weapon)
b - a +0 elven dagger
o - a club
q - a dagger
A - an orcish club

Missiles

e - 26 +0 elven darts
l - 22 needles
w - 27 darts

Armour

c - a +0 elven robe (worn)
d - a +0 elven cloak (worn)
i - an elven cloak
v - an orcish ring mail

Comestibles

f - 2 bread rations

Scrolls

g - a scroll labeled UNONYV
p - a scroll labeled PESIFREHYC
u - a scroll labeled MINUGYKUGESHI
y - a scroll labeled QET FIP
z - a scroll labeled OGOTEQ D

Potions

h - an orange potion

Carrion

j - a rotting giant newt corpse
k - a rotting giant newt corpse
m - a hobgoblin corpse
n - a giant bat corpse
r - a kobold corpse
s - a goblin corpse
t - a giant cockroach corpse
x - a giant bat corpse
B - a hobgoblin corpse

You have 2 experience left.

  Skills:
+ Level 1 Fighting
+ Level 3 Short Blades
+ Level 1 Darts
+ Level 1 Throwing
+ Level 2 Dodging
+ Level 2 Stealth
+ Level 2 Stabbing
+ Level 2 Traps & Doors

You have one spell level left. You don't know any spells.

External link

• Official site (http://www.dungeoncrawl.org/)