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I've pretty close to never played NetHack before...

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narf_the_mouse

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Sep 4, 2011, 4:06:01 PM9/4/11
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I have a kitten (missed the backstory on that), a boulder blocking a
hallway, two hallways that probably end in secret doors that I don't
know how to search for (didn't see a command for that), haven't seen the
stairs down and how do you heal the kitten, because I'm a baaad, bad
kitten owner and an orc hit them with a knife?

Benjamin A. Schmit

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Sep 5, 2011, 5:25:23 AM9/5/11
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Welcome to Nethack, narf!

Yes, unless you have already discovered the stairway down, there must be
a secret door (probably even more than one) somewhere. Either at the
end of the corridors or also in the walls. Searching is done with the
's' command – best done multiple times, because you don't find
everything in just one turn. When I search a room, I usually start one
step from a corner with 'n10s' (search for 10 turns), then move on three
steps and repeat until I found what I seek. The command searches the 8
surrounding squares, so you usually affect 3 wall squares with a search
command. (You will find faster search options later on, but usually not
with the starting equipment only.) I.e.:

> ----------
> | @ |
> + f |
> ----------
> n10s
>
> ----------
> | @ |
> + f |
> ----------
> lll
>
> ----------
> | f@ |
> + |
> ----------
> n10s
> [...]

The kitten will heal by itself after a few turns, especially if you keep
it out of trouble when it has been wounded (e.g. by searching the
walls). Depending on what role you play, it may actually be tougher
than your character in the beginning (some people prefer to let the pet
do the fighting then). Also, it will grow stronger with time. If you
manage to find a stethoscope somewhere, you can easily check its health.

Benjamin


--
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires.
Seek discipline and find your liberty.
-- Frank Herbert, Dune Chronicles

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 5, 2011, 10:39:18 AM9/5/11
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On 05/09/2011 2:25 AM, Benjamin A. Schmit wrote:
> Pe dată de 2011-09-04 23:06, narf_the_mouse a scris:
>> I have a kitten (missed the backstory on that), a boulder blocking a
>> hallway, two hallways that probably end in secret doors that I don't
>> know how to search for (didn't see a command for that), haven't seen the
>> stairs down and how do you heal the kitten, because I'm a baaad, bad
>> kitten owner and an orc hit them with a knife?
> Welcome to Nethack, narf!
>
> Yes, unless you have already discovered the stairway down, there must be
> a secret door (probably even more than one) somewhere. Either at the
> end of the corridors or also in the walls. Searching is done with the
> 's' command – best done multiple times, because you don't find
> everything in just one turn. When I search a room, I usually start one
> step from a corner with 'n10s' (search for 10 turns), then move on three
> steps and repeat until I found what I seek. The command searches the 8
> surrounding squares, so you usually affect 3 wall squares with a search
> command. (You will find faster search options later on, but usually not
> with the starting equipment only.) I.e.:
>
*Snip search maps*

>
> The kitten will heal by itself after a few turns, especially if you keep
> it out of trouble when it has been wounded (e.g. by searching the
> walls). Depending on what role you play, it may actually be tougher
> than your character in the beginning (some people prefer to let the pet
> do the fighting then). Also, it will grow stronger with time. If you
> manage to find a stethoscope somewhere, you can easily check its health.
>
> Benjamin
>
>

Thanks. Should have thought of trying 's' - Most of the other common
commands were intuitive. I should clarify that I'm new to Nethack, not
roguelikes. :)

Good to know the kitten heals. I don't know how tough it is; I do know
it wanders off and so far always comes back. It's an independent kitten,
which is pretty standard for felines.

Thanks. :)

Benjamin A. Schmit

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Sep 5, 2011, 11:02:45 AM9/5/11
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Pe dată de 2011-09-05 17:39, narf_the_mouse a scris:
>> [...]

>> The kitten will heal by itself after a few turns, especially if you keep
>> it out of trouble when it has been wounded (e.g. by searching the
>> walls). Depending on what role you play, it may actually be tougher
>> than your character in the beginning (some people prefer to let the pet
>> do the fighting then). Also, it will grow stronger with time. If you
>> manage to find a stethoscope somewhere, you can easily check its health.
>>
> Thanks. Should have thought of trying 's' - Most of the other common
> commands were intuitive. I should clarify that I'm new to Nethack, not
> roguelikes. :)
The Nethack Guidebook has, among other things, a complete list of
in-game commands. It is distributed together with the game, or can be
read on-line at [1].

> Good to know the kitten heals. I don't know how tough it is; I do know
> it wanders off and so far always comes back. It's an independent kitten,
> which is pretty standard for felines.

Yeah, a kitten has a mind of its own… If you want to get a feeling for
their toughness, you can play a healer. They start with a stethoscope,
with which you can easily monitor its health (1 free usage per turn).

Benjamin


1. http://www.nethack.org/v343/Guidebook.html

Capt. Cave Man

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Sep 5, 2011, 11:35:30 AM9/5/11
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On Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:02:45 +0300, "Benjamin A. Schmit"
<benjami...@gmail.com> wrote:

In a lot of games, your pet has many opportunities to die in the early
game.

One is attacks by monsters, and another is finding a trap (the cat, not
you). If you find them, your pet will typically avoid it. They can also
starve if left upstairs when you want to take a quick peek downstairs,
and if you leave them in a shop, the shopkeeper may kill them for
shoplifting. They seem to only get away with it when you are there
'helping'.

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 6, 2011, 10:58:10 PM9/6/11
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I think my kitten might be evil. It just killed a Hobbit.

Benjamin A. Schmit

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Sep 7, 2011, 2:23:22 AM9/7/11
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Depending on your alignment, hobbits might well be evil. For the cat,
which is neutral, the hobbit, which is quite lawful, is definitely evil.
Nothing broken there… ;-)

Benjamin

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 7, 2011, 3:22:48 AM9/7/11
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On 06/09/2011 11:23 PM, Benjamin A. Schmit wrote:
> Pe dată de 2011-09-07 05:58, narf_the_mouse a scris:
>> On 04/09/2011 1:06 PM, narf_the_mouse wrote:
>>> I have a kitten (missed the backstory on that), a boulder blocking a
>>> hallway, two hallways that probably end in secret doors that I don't
>>> know how to search for (didn't see a command for that), haven't seen the
>>> stairs down and how do you heal the kitten, because I'm a baaad, bad
>>> kitten owner and an orc hit them with a knife?
>> I think my kitten might be evil. It just killed a Hobbit.
> Depending on your alignment, hobbits might well be evil. For the cat,
> which is neutral, the hobbit, which is quite lawful, is definitely evil.
> Nothing broken there… ;-)
>
> Benjamin
>
>

...In that case, I'm in danger of being attacked.

Capt. Cave Man

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Sep 7, 2011, 7:13:30 AM9/7/11
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On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:22:48 -0700, narf_the_mouse <lrgm...@telus.net>
wrote:

>On 06/09/2011 11:23 PM, Benjamin A. Schmit wrote:
That became true the moment you entered the dungeons.

Doug Freyburger

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Sep 7, 2011, 11:38:11 AM9/7/11
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narf_the_mouse wrote:
>
> I have a kitten (missed the backstory on that),

Players get pets. They can by dogs, cats or horses.

> a boulder blocking a hallway,

If you carry no items you can probably squeeze under it. Then maybe you
will be able to pass it or push the next boulder farther down the
corridor and end up being able to push it back out of the way.

> I'm a baaad, bad kitten owner and an orc hit them with a knife?

It's probably an orcish dagger not a knife. For most purposes most
daggers are better than most knives. So your kitten's noble jump in
front of that dagger just gave you a useful item for your inventory.

> I think my kitten might be evil. It just killed a Hobbit.

Nice. Hobbits sometimes carry daggers, even the best common type elven
dagger. And sometimes they carry good armor. Just wait until your evil
kitten grows up to be a housecat. Then it will start killing innocent
dwarves, who often carry a wide assortment of useful items. Evil
housecats leave nice items in their path of destruction.

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 7, 2011, 1:20:22 PM9/7/11
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On 07/09/2011 4:13 AM, Capt. Cave Man wrote:
> On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:22:48 -0700, narf_the_mouse<lrgm...@telus.net>
> wrote:
>
>> On 06/09/2011 11:23 PM, Benjamin A. Schmit wrote:
>>> Pe dat? de 2011-09-07 05:58, narf_the_mouse a scris:
>>>> On 04/09/2011 1:06 PM, narf_the_mouse wrote:
>>>>> I have a kitten (missed the backstory on that), a boulder blocking a
>>>>> hallway, two hallways that probably end in secret doors that I don't
>>>>> know how to search for (didn't see a command for that), haven't seen the
>>>>> stairs down and how do you heal the kitten, because I'm a baaad, bad
>>>>> kitten owner and an orc hit them with a knife?
>>>> I think my kitten might be evil. It just killed a Hobbit.
>>> Depending on your alignment, hobbits might well be evil. For the cat,
>>> which is neutral, the hobbit, which is quite lawful, is definitely evil.
>>> Nothing broken there� ;-)

>>>
>>> Benjamin
>>>
>>>
>>
>> ...In that case, I'm in danger of being attacked.
>
> That became true the moment you entered the dungeons.

Precise, correct and completely unhelpful. You must be a consultant! :)

Capt. Cave Man

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Sep 7, 2011, 10:06:28 PM9/7/11
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On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:20:22 -0700, narf_the_mouse <lrgm...@telus.net>
wrote:

>On 07/09/2011 4:13 AM, Capt. Cave Man wrote:
>> On Wed, 07 Sep 2011 00:22:48 -0700, narf_the_mouse<lrgm...@telus.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 06/09/2011 11:23 PM, Benjamin A. Schmit wrote:
>>>> Pe dat? de 2011-09-07 05:58, narf_the_mouse a scris:
>>>>> On 04/09/2011 1:06 PM, narf_the_mouse wrote:
>>>>>> I have a kitten (missed the backstory on that), a boulder blocking a
>>>>>> hallway, two hallways that probably end in secret doors that I don't
>>>>>> know how to search for (didn't see a command for that), haven't seen the
>>>>>> stairs down and how do you heal the kitten, because I'm a baaad, bad
>>>>>> kitten owner and an orc hit them with a knife?
>>>>> I think my kitten might be evil. It just killed a Hobbit.
>>>> Depending on your alignment, hobbits might well be evil. For the cat,
>>>> which is neutral, the hobbit, which is quite lawful, is definitely evil.
>>>> Nothing broken there… ;-)
>>>>
>>>> Benjamin
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> ...In that case, I'm in danger of being attacked.
>>
>> That became true the moment you entered the dungeons.
>
>Precise, correct and completely unhelpful. You must be a consultant! :)

A NetHack consultant to be precise! You get what you pay for!

Considering the game operates on things like "hit rolls" pretty much
has the same effect that "the house" has on gamblers. They win... you
lose. Few sidestep that destiny.

That covers a lot of things these days. Even breakfast joints.

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 8, 2011, 12:17:27 PM9/8/11
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...And here I was hoping for a sandwich! :)

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 9, 2011, 6:01:55 PM9/9/11
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On 04/09/2011 1:06 PM, narf_the_mouse wrote:
Anyway, thanks to all responders; I'm more oriented now. :)

Doug Freyburger

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Sep 9, 2011, 6:31:59 PM9/9/11
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narf_the_mouse wrote:
>
> I'm more oriented now. :)

There are a couple of types of potion that can take care of that issue.
;^)

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 9, 2011, 6:42:17 PM9/9/11
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...You can't scare me. I read fanfiction.

G-Mon

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Sep 10, 2011, 12:48:51 AM9/10/11
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On 09 Sep 2011, narf_the_mouse <lrgm...@telus.net> wrote in
news:WsudnTD1TaC5C_fT...@giganews.com:
Sorry, I don't think any fanfic will prepare you for one of the
aforementioned potions.

--
ATTENTION:

Our trolls are kept on a very strict diet.
Please do not feed them.

My Name Is Tzu How Do You Do

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Sep 10, 2011, 1:55:40 AM9/10/11
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On Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:01:55 -0700, narf_the_mouse <lrgm...@telus.net>
wrote:

There is a line in a Firesign Theater skit where he says something to
the effect of "let me orient you..." the certain way and inflection he
uses makes you smile. Your last remark made me think of that.

I think it was on the album

"Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers"

TutAmongUs

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Sep 10, 2011, 1:59:28 AM9/10/11
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On Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:42:17 -0700, narf_the_mouse <lrgm...@telus.net>
wrote:

Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!

Mouseturds, Mouseturds, Mouseturds!

Tee hee hee :-) Boo!

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 10, 2011, 11:09:14 AM9/10/11
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On 09/09/2011 9:48 PM, G-Mon wrote:
> On 09 Sep 2011, narf_the_mouse<lrgm...@telus.net> wrote in
> news:WsudnTD1TaC5C_fT...@giganews.com:
>
>> On 09/09/2011 3:31 PM, Doug Freyburger wrote:
>>> narf_the_mouse wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I'm more oriented now. :)
>>>
>>> There are a couple of types of potion that can take care of that
>>> issue. ;^)
>>
>> ...You can't scare me. I read fanfiction.
>>
>
> Sorry, I don't think any fanfic will prepare you for one of the
> aforementioned potions.
>

No; it's more that I don't read those.

*Zing!*

narf_the_mouse

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Sep 10, 2011, 11:14:51 AM9/10/11
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...Neither of them ship Hermione/Draco. Or Harry Potter/Severus Snape.
Or swapped combinations of either.

Raisse the Thaumaturge

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Sep 10, 2011, 12:04:40 PM9/10/11
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Capt. Cave Man wrote:

> if you leave them in a shop, the shopkeeper may kill them for
> shoplifting. They seem to only get away with it when you are there
> 'helping'.

Shopkeepers don't mind pets (or monsters for that matter) making away with
the merchandise; pets only get killed by shopkeepers if they are foolish
enough (and *almost* high level enough) to attack them. They can easily get
killed by mimics, though.

Raisse, killed by a small mimic

--
Status of Raisse (piously neutral): Level 8 HP 63(67) AC -3, fast.
LegoHack: http://www.valdyas.org/irina/stuff/legohack/

Doug Freyburger

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Sep 12, 2011, 4:55:50 PM9/12/11
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Raisse the Thaumaturge <rai...@valdyas.org> wrote:
>
> Shopkeepers don't mind pets (or monsters for that matter) making away with
> the merchandise; pets only get killed by shopkeepers if they are foolish
> enough (and *almost* high level enough) to attack them. They can easily get
> killed by mimics, though.

It's been a lot of games since I remember losing a pet to a mimic. I
think that's mostly because once I learned how to easily tell which
squares hold mimics I found it easy to clear a shop of mimics when
I start using that shop.

Mrguyman

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Oct 8, 2011, 11:17:55 PM10/8/11
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To search, all you have to do is press the 's' key.
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