User Guide

Controls

Use arrow keys or mouse to move. Press Shift + direction to run.

Click on the sword icon to bring up a list of attacks. Click on the expander icon to bring up a list of skills. Click on the crescent icon to see spells.

Click on a spell or skill in the hotbar to use it. Alternately, you can use the hotkeys (displayed on the bar). Use the mouse to target skills or ranged attacks.

Attack by "bumping" the enemies.

Press PageUp or PageDown to scroll the hotbar pages, should you get so many spells that they don't fit on a single page.
PageUp and PageDown also double for scrolling descriptions if you don't have a mousewheel.

Press '.' (dot) to wait for a turn. It might be useful if you cannot move otherwise.

Press ESC to access the game menu. Click "Graphics Mode" to bring up a menu where you can toggle tiles on/off.

Press c to display character sheet.

Press p to display level-up screen.

Press m to display a full list of your activable abilities and to decide which ones should be present on your hotbar.

Press r to rest.

Press i to display inventory screen.

Press g to pick up items.

Press d to drop items.

Press b to display your spellbook, if you have it.

Press q to switch your weapons.

Press z to autoexplore.

Press F1 or h to display this screen again.
Press F2 to display the message log.

Press Space to bring up the chatbox.
Press Tab to choose the chat channels.

To use debug functions, press Shift + b to see a list of all entities on a level.
If you happen to run into an unkillable monster, press Ctrl + c to run a script which kills all such entities.
To flush the te4_log.txt file, press Shift + f.

ASCII legend

The legend applies only to ASCII mode.

@ player
Monsters
a animal
b bat / bird
c
d dog
e eye creature
f faerie creature
g goblinkin
h humanoid
i imp
j jelly/ooze
k kobold
l lycanthrope
m mimic
n naga
o orc
q quadruped
r rodent
s spider
t trapper
u hag
v vermin
w worm
x
y snake-men
z snake

A celestial
B beast
C construct
D dragon
E elemental
F fungus
G golem
H giant
I
J djinn/genie
K elementalkin /weirds
L lich
M mephit
N spectral undead
O outsider
P plant
Q swarm
R reptile
S skeleton
T troll
U corporeal undead
V vampire
W wraith/shadow
X aberration
Y hominid /monkey
Z zombie
ü - lesser demon
ū - greater demon
ǒ - lesser devil
ō - greater devil

Items
= a belt
σ a ring
♂ an amulet
♠ a cloak
ω boots
Ξ bracers
- a wand
? a scroll
! a potion
~ torch

$ money
% food or corpse

( light armor
] medium armor
[ heavy armor
) shield

/ polearms
| edged weapon
\ hafted weapon
} launcher
{ ammo

Walkthrough

As the game's world is randomly generated, it is impossible to write a detailed walkthrough.

How to gain EXP

  • spotting the first monsters of a kind (75 XP for the first one, 50 XP for the second, 25 XP for the third)
  • descent deeper (new dungeon level times 50 XP)
  • damage monsters (hp% dealt times half the XP total - see below)
  • kill monsters (the other half of the XP total - see below)
  • make successful skill checks (10 XP for a class skill, 5 XP for a cross-class skill)

The game uses a static experience table (see below), calculated as XP for situation where party EL and monster CR are identical (e.g. 3). If CR falls between the table rows, it is rounded up (so a CR 1 1/2 monster [e.g. due to class levels] would use the CR 2 row).

CR XP
1/10 30 XP
1/8 50 XP
1/6 65 XP
1/4 100 XP
1/3 135 XP
1/2 200 XP
1 400 XP
2 600 XP
3 900 XP
4 1200 XP
5 1500 XP
6 1800 XP
7 2100 XP
8 2500 XP
9 2700 XP
10 3000 XP
11 3300 XP
12 3600 XP
13 4000 XP
14 4200 XP
15 4500 XP
16 4800 XP
17 5000 XP
18 5400 XP
19 5700 XP
20 6000 XP

This value is divided in two. One half is gained upon the enemy death and the other half is multiplied by damage/total hp ratio (damage %) every time you deal damage. This means you get the same total when you kill the enemy, but also can gain up to 50% of the listed value if the enemy manages to run away.

Hints and tips

  • The best way to fight is to fight from distance, before the monster close up on you. Use a ranged weapon - while a sling only has a range of 4, the bow has a range of 10 or more and a crossbow has a range of 8 or more. Therefore if you can see a monster, you can definitely shoot it!
  • You will be notified of enemy actions in a range slightly greater than your sight range - use the foreknowledge appropriately!
  • If you're outnumbered or wounded, flee. In most cases you will be faster than your opponent - especially so if you're mounted.
  • Keep your skill points if you don't need them immediately, then spend them on Jump if you encounter chasms or Balance if you encounter ice.

Character builds

Human cleric of Xel, any background, any alignment

WIS 10+ required to cast spells

Pick any domain you want, then dump background skill points into Intuition and Knowledge to help you identify items and enemies. Spend the bonus human feat on Toughness to improve your HP or Dodge to improve your AC.

Heal up or rest after every fight and remember you'll probably miss a lot unless you have high STR. Xel will help you quite often by healing you up, too.

Human ranger of Xel, Survivor background, LG

WIS 13 required to be able to multiclass to Paladin, 10+ to cast spells
The LG alignment allows you to pick Paladin class later.

Pick vermin as your favored enemy - they spawn often. Alternately you might pick magical beasts, which are rarer, but there are lots of them to pick from. Dump background skill points into Intuition and Knowledge to help you identify items and enemies. Spend the bonus human feat on Toughness to improve your HP or Dodge to improve your AC.

There is a reason the ranger gets ranged weapon and ammo at start - use it. If forced into melee, you will probably get by OK. Xel will heal you until you get healing spells.

When you reach ranger level 5, you gain the ability to cast healing spells.

If you multiclassed into Paladin, you will gain Heavy Armor Proficiency as well as the ability to summon a mount.

Human paladin of (any paladin deity), any background

WIS 10+ to cast spells

Dump bonus skill points into Intuition and Knowledge to help you identify items and enemies. Spend the bonus human feat on Toughness to improve your HP or Dodge to improve your AC.

No ranged weapons, but you get a Lay on Hands ability to heal yourself up and start proficient in heavy armor. Summon a mount and ride it to gain a speed boost. If forced into melee, you'll get by OK.

Human fighter of Xel, Thug background

Use bonus skill points in Intuition and Knowledge to help you identify items and enemies. Spend the bonus human feat on Toughness. Use the bonus fighter feat on Weapon Focus in whatever you happened to start with.

Xel will heal you up.

No spellcasting or ranged weapons at start. Try to find a bow or a crossbow ASAP - many humanoid enemies carry one of those. However, you're probably the best at hitting enemies at lower levels out of all classes.

If you got high WIS, multiclass into cleric to gain spellcasting immediately.

Male human rogue of Xel, Bandit background

The Sneaky feat from the background grants you an additional +2 bonus.
Spend skill points in Hide/Move Silently to stay alive. Just don't run out of bolts. Xel will heal you up.

Multiclass into cleric or ranger if you have high WIS or wizard if you have high INT. Since a rogue benefits from high INT, too, the latter is more likely.

Male drow rogue of Xel, Bandit background

The Sneaky feat from the background grants you an additional +2 bonus.
Spend the skill points if you got any left over in Hide. Spend ALL skill points you get on Hide/Move Silently since they keep you alive.

No spellcasting for you, sorry, but you can take advantage of the fact that enemies' skills are often poor. Just use the Hide ability and sneak around, dealing additional damage the first round. The best darkvision range available in game and a ranged weapon will make it a deadly combo. Just don't run out of bolts.

Xel will heal you up.

Since you're male, you get favored class bonuses (+1 hp/level and +1 attack) on top of all that.

If you got high WIS, you can multi-class into cleric (immediate spellcasting, but lower attack bonuses), ranger (spellcasting at ranger 5, higher attack bonuses, favored enemy) or paladin (spellcasting at paladin 5, higher attack bonuses, heavy armor proficiency, mount).

Another good multi-class choice is wizard - it benefits from high INT most rogues have and the first rogue level or two helps keep you alive.

Note that Paladin requires a LG alignment - unless you pull off some gamey tricks or exploit a bug, it shouldn't be possible yet.

New player tips

Use the reroll button rather than determining stats by hand - this nets you a random perk. If you're lucky, you might get a feat you don't otherwise qualify for, an innate spell or even become immune to one of many dangers!

Reroll as many times as you wish - there is no penalty to rerolling multiple times.

The best race for a new player is human, due to an additional feat point and more skill points at start.

The game recommends cleric, ranger or paladin class for new players due to their ability to cast heal spells. However, to make use of their spellcasting ability your WIS needs to be higher than 10.

Take the Born Hero background if you want additional bonuses. You can't get this feat later, though - it's an exclusive chance.

The best deities for a beginner include Asherath (easy to ramp up favor and use it to pray for help), Xel (full heal as automatic divine help event) and Xavias (XP as automatic divine help event). Personally, I recommend Xel unless you have high INT and WIS scores to make full use of Xavias help event.


Tutorial

As the game starts, you are offered a single chance to go through a tutorial. If you decline, you cannot enter the tutorial unless you start a new game.

This 'dungeon' is static and there is no monster CR cap. You need to kill the boss to go back to normal game.

Most characters will have leveled up to level 2 or 3 by the time they beat the tutorial.

Dungeons

Small tunnels

The starting dungeon has a monster CR cap in place (player level + 1) and it is possible to find neutral NPCs (shopkeepers) or friendly ones (hirelings). 10 dungeon levels.

It is non-persistent, so if you use stairs or fall down a chasm and then climb back up, you will find a completely different level.

The in-universe explanation is that

you find yourself in a different region of the infinite tunnels.

Tunnels

This dungeon has a monster CR cap in place (player level + 3) and it is possible to find neutral NPCs (shopkeepers) or friendly ones (hirelings). Unlimited dungeon levels. Non-persistent.

Cavern

This dungeon has a monster CR cap in place (player level + 4) but no neutral or friendly creatures. Unlimited dungeon levels.

Similar to the starting dungeon, it is non-persistent.

Compound

At first glance, it might seem similar to the starting dungeon, but a different level generation method is used. You may find a lot of dead-ends here. No monster CR cap and no neutral or friendly creatures. Unlimited dungeon levels.

Just like the previous dungeons, it's non-persistent.

Labirynth

No monster CR cap or friendly creatures. Unlimited dungeon levels.

Non-persistent.

Arena

This dungeon was created purely for the sake of testing combat

Every five turns, a new monster will spawn.

No monster CR cap or friendly creatures. No more levels beyond 1.

Non-persistent.

Drow city / Drow outpost

No monster CR cap. Only neutral or friendly creatures. No more levels beyond 1.

Persistent.

Drow metropolis

No monster CR cap. Only neutral or friendly creatures.

Persistent.

<X> House Compound

No monster CR cap. Only neutral or friendly creatures. No more levels beyond 1.

Persistent.

Tavern

No monster CR cap. Only neutral or friendly creatures. No more levels beyond 1.

Persistent.

Inn

No monster CR cap. Only neutral or friendly creatures. No more levels beyond 1.

Persistent.

Fungi forest

No monster CR cap. Multiple levels.

Non-persistent.

Fungi maze

No monster CR cap. Multiple levels.

Non-persistent.

Cave grove

No monster CR cap. Multiple levels.

Non-persistent.

Town

Testing the town generator. No monster CR cap. Hostile, neutral or friendly creatures spawn. Only one dungeon level.

Kobold warrens

The first of strictly themed zones. Testing the traps. No monster CR cap, no neutrals, just humanoids. Five dungeon levels.

?

Debug zones

The following zones have no worldmap entrances or exits as of beta 8 but can be reached via the debug menu.

Jungle Tunnels

Testing the forest map generator. No monster CR cap, no friendlies. Unlimited dungeon levels.

Non-persistent.

Xorn Lair

A tunneling algorithm test which is not working for some reason. Limited monster types spawn here, including neutral xorn tunnelers unique to this dungeon. No monster CR cap. Maximum 10 dungeon levels.

Persistent.

Encounters test

What it says on the tin. Monster CR cap and neutrals as per tunnels, but less rooms. Unlimited dungeon levels.

Non-persistent.

The only reason this is not yet a non-debug zone is that there's too few encounters coded.

Elemental Planes (Air, Earth, Fire, Water)

What it says on the tin. No entrances (portals) yet because they're not perfect yet.

Non-persistent.

Test

As the name says, a test zone used whenever some code needs to be checked. Do NOT warp here unless you want to get bugged.

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