• FrequentlyAskedQuestions

ToME Frequently Asked Questions

For help with the wiki, see Wiki Frequently Asked Questions.

Please read the game Documentation for basic help before posting here.

Guidelines for use of this page:

1. Please do not put any spoilers on this page! Spoily information lives in the SpoilerArchive. If the answer to a question is spoily, please create the answer there in the most appropriate place (if it doesn't already exist) and link back to it here. Thanks.

2. Please don't put an unanswered question in the main body of this page. Instead, ask it in the Chatter section. If you are answering a question, move it and the answer into the main body of the document.

3. Consider whether your question is truly a "frequently asked" question or not. If it is simply a question, you might want to ask it over in GeneralDiscussion.

What is ToME? Where can I download it?

See the ToME homepage.

What are ToME competitions? Where can I download them and post my entries?

See the link above.

Technical issues (compiling, display, etc.)

Q: How do I get the dots to show up on floor tiles in Windows XP? I've tried changing the tile character to the brighter dot. Toggling 'Bizarre Display' mode helped with the trailing @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ problem. Any suggestions? I gave up a long time ago and play with graphics tiles now, but I'd like to be able to fix this.

• A:
  • In the file ./lib/pref/font_win.prf, either remove or comment out with # the lines that end in /0x1F, e.g.

    # open floor
    # F:1:0x01/0x1F
      

  • Another possibility is to manually change the symbols used with the '%' command, but the previous solution is faster.
• It seems all tiles using '.' are not able to be displayed properly. These seems to be:

  # open floor
  # F:1:0x01/0x1F
  
  # dirt
  # F:88:0x0F/0x1F
  
  # patch of grass
  # F:89:0x0D/0x1F
  
  # ice
  # F:90:0x09/0x1F
  
  # sand
  # F:91:0x0B/0x1F
  
  # ash
  # F:93:0x02/0x1F
  
  # mud
  # F:94:0x07/0x1F
  
  # nether mist
  # F:102:0x0A/0x7F
  
  # field
  # F:181:0x05/0x1F
  
  # glass wall
  # F:188:0x0E/0x1F
  
  # cobblestone road
  # F:200:0x01/0x1F
  
  # cobblestone with outlet
  # F:201:0x01/0x1F
  
    

• Otherwise, you also remove font-win.prf and use the classic characters.

Q:: How do I compile ToME using MS Windows?

1. Download the MinGW Minimal System tools.

2. Use CVS to acquire the latest sources, or download one of the released source archives.

3. See BugReport364 for a makefile to use.

Q: How do you compile ToME for Mac OS X?

• A: See this thread on the forum.

Q: Many things are written in a dark grey color which is next to impossible to read against a black background. Also, some monsters appear in dark grey and are easy to miss! What can I do to fix this?

• A: Fix the gamma control of your display. If your display software does not include such a tool, access the 'Interact with Colors' screen in ToME via &, type '4', and modify the gamma correction there.

Q: When the game panic saves, it reloads an old savefile. Where's my panic save?

• A: The panic saves use a different filename to save: savefile.pnc. This file will be loaded first, if present, when the game is started. If it loads successfully, save the game immediately. Otherwise, delete the panic save, and your old (non-panic) savefile should be safe.

Q: When is save file compatibility preserved? When must I delete my save files when upgrading ToME?

• A: Usually, when only the third number in the ToME version changes (like from 2.2.6 to 2.2.7), the save files are compatible and characters may be carried from one version to the next. We try to avoid it, but once in a while a break happens that way though (such as from 2.3.0 to 2.3.1). We do not attempt to preserve compatibility when the first or second number changes, though. From 2.2.7 to 2.3.0 one must delete save files, and the same will be true from 2.3.9 to 3.0.0.

Game concepts

Q: Why don't you make X class less powerful or Y class more powerful?

• A: In ToME the player determines how hard the game is. Classes, races, and subraces are neither meant nor desired to be equal in game difficulty. So no, we won't make Axemasters more powerful just to "balance them out", nor will we make Sorcerors weaker. The only reason Rohan Knights are being weakened in ToME 3.0 is that they weren't intended to be that fast in the first place.

Q: Why do I always start in a terribly difficult, very deep dungeon instead of a town? Is the game really this hard?

• A: You have chosen a "Lost soul" character subrace. That's where Lost souls start. They tend to die very quickly, so don't choose them if you're new to ToME.

Q: How do I convert between percentile stats and "linear" stats?

• A:

  • Original	"Linear"
    3	3
    4	4
    ...	...
    17	17
    18	18
    18/01	18
    ...	...
    18/09	18
    18/10	19
    18/11	19
    ...	...
    18/19	19
    18/20	20
    18/21	20
    ...	...
    18/29	20
    18/30	21
    18/31	21
    ...	...
    18/219	39
    18/***	40

Q: Why do female elves always seem to have very masculine names?

• A: In an appendix of the Lord of the Rings, it is explained that in "translating" the Red Book and others from the languages of Middle-earth to English, name endings are altered because names like Bilba sound too feminine in English.

Game commands / Game interface

Q: How do I create a character sheet that I can post on the wiki or on http://angband.oook.cz/?

• A: See Creating a Character Sheet in the Documentation.

Q: My character is invisible. That's great, but how do I know where she is if I can't see her?!

• A:
  • You could seek for a way to see invisible things.
  • You could go to game options:
    1. Type = (game options)
    2. Type 4 (efficiency options)
    3. Arrow down to 'hilite the player with the cursor'
    4. Type y to toggle the option to 'yes'

Q: I'm standing on a pile of items. How do I see what's in the pile without picking it all up, moving it, or destroying it all?

• A:
  1. Stand on the pile in question
  2. Type shift + i (examine)
  3. Type - (examine items on floor)
  4. Type * (expand list of items on floor)
  5. (as needed) Type letter associated with item to look at it more closely.

Q: If I'm standing on a pile of items. Is there a command to see if there is a stairway or jumpgate beneath the pile?

• A: Stairs/jumpgates obscured by clutter do still function. You are advised to take a good hard look at your surroundings before creating lots of dungeon clutter.
  1. You can pick up, move, or eliminate the pile.

  2. Press l (look), then select the square you wish to inquire about. Press <enter>; it will scroll through everything on the ground, and eventually it ends with "It is in a Void Jumpgate", or whatever.

Q: What do the colors in the "visible monsters" display indicate?

• A: The colors of the names of the visible monsters reflect relative depth, kill count, and uniqueness. Monster level refers to the native level of that monster, i.e. the dungeon level (DL) it is normally found on.

  • Color	Unique?	Depth	Description
    green	no	n/a	never killed before, including former lives
    grey	no	shallow for or at depth	monster level shallower or equal to current DL
    purple	no	out of depth	monster level deeper than current DL
    cyan	yes	shallow for or at depth	monster level shallower or equal to current DL
    red	yes	out of depth	monster level deeper than current DL and has been killed before

Q: Where has the option gone to set the number of random quests?

• A: Turning on either of the options "Allow permanent dungeon levels" or "Always create special rooms" will disable random quests.

Gameplay questions

Q: What is a good starting character?

• A: Make sure to read the parchment you start the game with! If you're new to ToME, understand that your characters are going to die a lot. Be prepared for that. In fact, take advantage of it by using the various characters you run to experiment and learn the game's various facets. Try a warrior. A Dunadan Swordmaster is an excellent combination of race and class. Try a priest. A Rohan Knight Paladin gives you some magic to go with strong combat, but your terrible stealth will give you a tougher time in some respects. Try an archer. A Wood-elf Archer will have fewer hitpoints than you're used to, but lets you use excellent ranged combat instead. Also note how your higher stealth wakes up fewer monsters, letting you fight them more on your own terms. Try a mage. A Dark-elf Mage lets you keep using weapons, while getting a taste of the various magic schools. You have even fewer hitpoints, though, so beware. Try another mage. A Hobbit Sorceror is a fun character, but the hitpoint penalties make you need to be very careful. You get high-powered magic, though, to more than make up for it. Try a Loremaster. Summoners, Possessors, and other exotic classes are drastically different from the usual Angband classes. Once you know how the game works, you can use them to their fullest.

  I would just add that for those who get frustrated in the early levels and want to run a more powerful character that I think the three easiest combinations are probably the Zombie RohanKnight Unbeliever, the Thunderlord (or Vampire Half-Ogre) Sorceror, and the High-Elf (or Deathmold if you can figure it out) Possessor. Also, you might want to try a priest of Eru or Tulkas. Most of these have low stealth, but should be pretty easy to play up to around level 30, and they offer an attractive range of experiences for the new player.

  Lastly, see GeneralDiscussion/What is a good starting character? for more information and opinions.

Q: Do I really have to hike up and down all those stairways in the dungeon each time?

• A: For the most part, no. Please see the Documentation for Scrolls of Word of Recall.

Q: Farmer Maggot and Melinda Proudfoot keep shouting at me, and I cannot kill them. What's going on?

• A: Both these people need to talk to you about something. Have a chat with them. (See the file List of commands for how to chat.)

Q: I'm getting killed a lot. Can you recommend some starting options to make my chances a little better?

• A: Realize that getting killed a lot is to be expected. Having said that, try this:
  • At character creation:
    1. Turn off "always generate very unusual rooms".
    2. Turn off joke monsters.
    3. Turn off "always make small levels".
    4. Regarding the number of random quests: See the Q/A below.
    5. Do not choose a Lost Soul character.
  • Later, set these options:
    1. Turn on "expand the power of the look command".
    2. Turn on "allow some monsters to carry light".
    3. Turn on "map remembers all perma-lit grids".
    4. Turn on "map remembers all torch-lit grids".
    5. Turn off "monsters learn from their mistakes".
    6. Turn off "monsters exploit player weaknesses".
    7. Turn on "monsters behave stupidly".
    8. Turn off "allow unusually small dungeon levels".
    9. Turn off "allow empty 'arena' levels".

Q: How many random quests should I choose?

• A: One big question a beginner is faced with is: How many (random) optional quests to choose? I think this is another area where the beginner should mix it up. The early items from princesses are a great benefit to beginners, but coming to rely on those can be a problem when it comes time to enter Angband and the real nasty quests begin. Also, high counts, especially, 98 quests can be very frustrating for a beginner when it puts an especially difficult quest on dungeon level 1 or 2.

Q: Are Amulets of Anti-magic and the Anti-magic skill related?

• A: No. The Anti-magic shell of the Amulet of Anti-magic has nothing to do with the Anti-magic field given off by the skill and Dark Swords.

Q: What schools of Magic does Spell-power affect?

• A: Read the in-game help. The schools Spell-power does affect are explicitly listed. If a school is not listed there, Spell-power doesn't affect it. (Link this to Documentation later.)

My wrists are hurting

Q: My wrists hurt a lot when playing the game. Should I take precautions?

• A: Yes, you should. Repetitive strain on wrists (which results from a badly placed keyboard, for example) can lead to serious injury of the wrist ligaments called Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. If you feel your wrists are strained, here is an exercise posted by Jason Maskell in rec.games.roguelike.angband which might help: Hold your arms out horizontally, make a fist, and then point the fist towards the floor, as much as you can. This will stretch one side's tendons. Hold for 5 seconds. Then make a flat hand and hold it level with your arm, hold for 5 seconds. Now splay your fingers and attempt to make your hand point toward the ceiling (this one is hard, so don't push it too much). You should feel your tendons stretching. Repeat this a few times. Take frequent breaks and do this if it starts to hurt a little bit. I was sliding very fast towards CTS and this corrected it. If you notice a bulge on your wrist about the size of a grape, get it checked by a doctor. Chances are that it is a ganglion cyst (a benign condition), but you should get it checked just to be sure it is not something more nasty.

Chatter

Discussion about information above, corrections needed, FAQ requests, whatever else: