Naqbu Field Guide

Depths

Each level down, the terminal is drawn one generation of graphics newer, and each place wears its own look on top: a tint and marks on the floor and walls, and a grade over the whole screen. At 150, 350 and 500 ft, Dumuzi's dream loosens the walls out of your light. The effects work on the letters themselves, and floors and walls keep their letters. The view holds still, except at 100 ft, where seeping water rocks it slowly all the while, and on the heavy water levels (400 and 500 ft), where now and then a swell rocks the view while every creature and item keeps its square.

The screen at 50 ft, The Reed Marsh: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 50 ft

The Reed Marsh

Interlaced: every other line is slightly dimmed, a raster beam paints the level in when you arrive, and newly seen squares draw in on alternate scanlines.

Reeds bend along the walls.

Below Eridu the ground turns to marsh, and the halls draw themselves in lines like reeds, one row at a time.

The screen at 100 ft, Ganzir: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 100 ft

Ganzir

Sixteen colors: bright text snaps to the EGA palette on clean black, and the letters become a blocky 8×16 DOS font.

Water seeps through the gate walls and pools at their feet, and the view rocks gently on it.

Seeping water: the view sways slowly and gently all the while, one way and then another, as if on the water, with the floor, walls, items and monsters standing a little apart; nothing tips and nothing slides.

Ganzir, the gate of the underworld. The colors here are few and coarse, and every letter is cut from square blocks.

The screen at 150 ft, The Seven Gates: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 150 ft

The Seven Gates

Early 3D: the picture snaps to a coarse grid.

Worn blue-gray stone over a dim slate floor; walls beyond your light slip away and return as you approach.

In Dumuzi's dream, floor and wall letters lean a little, and walls beyond your light slump off the tablet and come back as your light reaches them.

Inanna passed seven gates on her way down and left something at each. Blue-gray stone holds steady in your light; beyond it, the walls slip away like a half-remembered dream.

The screen at 200 ft, The Road of No Return: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 200 ft

The Road of No Return

HD: the screen goes flat, the color fringe disappears, and your torch gets a faint warm halo. Items sit slightly above the floor over a soft shadow.

Sand drifts along the road, in the color of baked clay.

On arrival: A road draws itself away from you into the dark; sand blows along it, and footprints fade.

This is the road whose traveler does not come back, from the old poem of Ištar's descent. The light is clean and even, and things on the floor seem to float.

The screen at 250 ft, The River Hubur: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 250 ft

The River Hubur

Frosted glass: the terminal becomes a pane with a lit rim, and a gleam crosses it as you arrive.

The river runs under the moonlight of Sîn.

The river Hubur runs between the living and the dead. A pane of cold glass hangs between you and the dark, and something moves behind it.

The screen at 300 ft, The Path of the Sun: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 300 ft

The Path of the Sun

Torchlight: walls, doors, items and monsters cast soft shadows away from you, across a pool of warm light.

Dust hangs in the light of Šamaš as he passes below.

Gilgamesh walked twelve double-hours in the dark, through the mountain where the sun goes at night. Here your torch is the only sun, and everything throws a shadow away from you.

The screen at 350 ft, The Garden of Jewels: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 350 ft

The Garden of Jewels

The level arrives out of noise, the way an image model denoises its last steps. Letters near you are bold and thin out toward the edge of sight.

Dumuzi's dream: moonlit lapis and teal, a few warm gold glints, and the walls you can't see slide away.

In Dumuzi's dream, floor and wall letters lean a little, and walls beyond your light slump off the tablet and come back as your light reaches them.

At the end of the sun's road, lapis and teal branches catch the moonlight, with a few warm glints of gold. The dark here is dreaming: close by, the world is drawn thick, and at the edge of your sight it thins.

The screen at 400 ft, The Waters of Death: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 400 ft

The Waters of Death

Afterimages: you and every monster leave a fading copy of your letter where you stood.

Black water stands at the foot of the walls.

Heavy water, one of the only places with parallax: now and then, not often, a swell takes the view down to the deep layered camera and rocks it to one side and back, the water swaying across it, then lets it settle. The swell changes only the picture: loot, gold, monsters and the hero keep their squares. Nothing you do tips it.

Urshanabi ferried Gilgamesh across the waters of death, which no hand may touch. The world is slow to let go here: whatever moves leaves an afterimage.

The screen at 450 ft, The House of Dust: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 450 ft

The House of Dust

Recursion: every wall is drawn as a tiny copy of the squares around it, so the map is built out of itself.

Dust falls like ash in the House of Dust.

Irkalla, the house of dust, where the dead eat clay and wear feathers like birds. The walls are built out of the halls themselves, and somewhere below, a smaller you is descending too.

The screen at 500 ft, The Abzu: the side panel on the left and the level's map, drawn in this depth's style. — 500 ft

The Abzu

Lensing: near Enki, the walls lean toward him and take on the blue-green of deep water, a ring of light circles him, and his letter stands huge behind the glass. From 250 ft down, a few void-touched creatures bend the light faintly around themselves.

Sweet water runs through the Abzu, and out of your light its walls come loose as in a dream.

In Dumuzi's dream, floor and wall letters lean a little, and walls beyond your light slump off the tablet and come back as your light reaches them.

Heavy water, one of the only places with parallax: now and then, not often, a swell takes the view down to the deep layered camera and rocks it to one side and back, the water swaying across it, then lets it settle. The swell changes only the picture: loot, gold, monsters and the hero keep their squares. Nothing you do tips it.

You have reached the Abzu, the sweet water under Eridu. Here Enki keeps the me, the decrees that make a city a city, and the light bends toward him.

Arriving

Going down a stair, the new level builds itself out of the old one's letters (1.2 s), each floor its own way: 50 ft draws itself row by row, 100 ft ripples out from you, 150 ft turns in column by column, like a gate opening, 200 ft settles out of drifting grains, 250 ft comes up around you as you dive in, 300 ft zooms in out of the light, 350 ft assembles from shards, 400 ft falls into place, 450 ft gathers out of scattered dust, 500 ft collapses inward into shape. A Word of Recall winds the new place in on a slow spiral (2.8 s). Going up a stair, or continuing a saved run, plays the era's own arrival: the raster beam at 50 ft, the gleam on the glass at 250 ft, the noise at 350 ft. The Seven Gates at 150 ft have no square overlay or turning emblem. At 200 ft a road draws itself away from you into the dark; sand blows along it, and footprints fade. With reduced motion and effects the road lies still, and a key ends it. Shops, guides and other reading screens open like still tablets, with a short wipe (0.22 s to open, 0.16 s between pages, 0.12 s to close). They keep the same clear lettering at every depth. The tombstone (1.6 s) and the town as a run begins (1.1 s) arrive as letter morphs from the screen before. Victory rises: the Abzu's letters float off like smoke and the victory screen rises into place from below (2.4 s). With reduced motion and effects or a reduced-motion setting, a stair or a recall plays the era's own arrival instead, and the rare screens simply cut.

Classes

Choose under Advanced settings on the name screen. The āšipu was the Mesopotamian exorcist-priest; Namburbi is the real Babylonian ritual of undoing. The Seal of Asalluhi calls on the god of exorcism, who in the old incantations goes to his father Enki to ask what to do.

Warrior

More health; gains extra blows and strength. Launcher damage +10%; wand damage -10%.

24 hit points to start, 7–13 more per level
Extra blows every five levels, and strength every four
Titles from Rookie to Warlord

Āšipu

Fewer hit points; learns powerful incantations. Wand damage +20%; launcher damage unchanged.

16 hit points to start, 4–8 more per level
6 spell points to start, 3 more per level; they return over time and while resting
Titles from Novice to Chief Āšipu

The āšipu's incantations

Level	Incantation	What it does	Looks like	Cost
1	Incantation of Fire	A bolt of fire: 3d4, plus 1 for every two levels. Aimed like a wand.	Girra's fire runs along the floor from you to where the bolt stops, then cools to embers.	2 SP
3	Light of Šamaš	Lights the room you are in and the area around you.	Rays of the sun spread from you, turn a little and fade. Marks wind out from you along a spiral.	2 SP
5	Seal of Asalluhi	Heals 15 hit points plus 2 per level, and cures poison.	A ward circle is drawn around you and marked with the gods' star sign, then holds for a few seconds. Marks wind in along a spiral.	5 SP
7	Namburbi	The ritual of undoing: moves you a short distance away.	The letters where you stood twist and unwind as it moves you. The glass bends for a moment. Marks wind in along a spiral.	4 SP
9	Word of Marduk	A storm-bolt: 6d8. Aimed like a wand.	Adad's lightning zigzags through the floor letters from you to where the bolt stops, strikes twice and fades. The glass bends for a moment.	8 SP
12	Gaze of Šamaš	Maps the dungeon within 30 squares.	A ripple runs out across the map and lights up the walls it passes, so the shape of the place shows for a moment. The glass bends for a moment. Marks wind out from you along a spiral.	10 SP
15	Banishing the Utukku	Strikes every monster in view for 4d8.	A ring sweeps out from you through the floor and walls. The glass bends for a moment. Marks wind out from you along a spiral.	15 SP
17	Maqlû, the Burning	A bolt of fire that bursts where it stops: 5d8, and 2d8 to all within two squares. Aimed like a wand.	Girra's fire runs along the floor from you to where the bolt stops, then bursts.	12 SP
19	Bīt rimki, the Bath House	The ritual bath: heals you fully, and washes away poison and confusion.	Flowers open in the floor around you and close again. Marks wind out from you along a spiral.	14 SP
21	The Net of Ningirsu	Ningirsu's battle net: every monster in view is held where it stands for a few turns.	The light drains out of the floor around you, then slowly comes back. The glass bends for a moment.	16 SP
23	Udug-ḫul, Against Evil Demons	The great exorcism: 6d8 to every monster in view, twice that to demons and the dead.	The floor and the walls jitter where you stand, and dust settles.	22 SP
25	The Word of Ea	Ea, lord of incantations, speaks for you: every monster in view is sent elsewhere on this level. The great ones stand firm.	The floor folds in where a monster stood and opens again where it is sent. The glass bends for a moment. Marks wind out from you along a spiral.	26 SP

Every spell plays its own look on the map's letters, and wands and monsters' spells do too: frost, a poison cloud, Gula's healing bloom for a healing potion, a blink, a summoning portal. Above the letters, some bend the glass for a moment, like a lens, and lay their marks along a spiral, drawn out from the caster or in to where it lands. The marks are stars and dots, never letters, so nothing on the map is hidden; reduced motion and effects leave all of it out.

Gods and shrines

An optional variant, off unless you say yes on the name screen or turn it on in Settings, so the game plays like the original by default. Every Mesopotamian had a personal god who spoke for them to the great gods. You pick yours there. Domains follow the Oracc list of Mesopotamian gods and goddesses.

Personal gods

God	Of	Gift (always on)	Prayer (p)
Šamaš	the sun, justice	Your light reaches 25% further; you are twice as likely to notice secret doors.	Reveals halls within 20 squares; light reaches at least 12 squares for 60 turns. Foes in view lose 20% of full health, the dead 40%.
Nanna-Suen	the moon	You sense monsters within three squares, even in the dark.	The moon shows you the halls within twenty squares.
Ištar	love and war	Your melee blows do 20% more damage.	Battle fury for twenty turns: +20% melee damage, melee hit chance and armor.
Gula	healing, her dogs	You recover health 100% faster.	Restores 50% of your full health and cures poison.
Nabû	scribes, wisdom	You can read what a scroll is the moment you pick it up.	Names every potion and scroll you carry.
Nergal	plague, the underworld	Poison wears off 50% sooner.	Plague takes 20% of each foe's full health in view.
Nidaba	grain, writing, accounts	You find 25% more gold.	Two rations appear in your pack.
Ninurta	war, the plow	Your melee hit chance is 10% higher.	Šarur, his mace, guides your next three hits: double damage.

Shrines

God	Of	Boon, once per shrine
An	the sky	Your body grows hardier: +20% maximum health, as you grow stronger too.
Enlil	wind and kingship	A great wind is at your back: you are fast for forty turns.
Ereškigal	queen of the underworld	The queen of the dead refuses you once: the next blow that would kill you leaves you standing.
Girra	fire	Your melee blows burn hotter: +10% damage, with any weapon.
Nuska	the lamp	The lamp of Nuska goes with you: +25% light radius, up to +50%.
Papsukkal	messenger, keeper of doors	The messenger shows you the way: the halls around you, and every staircase on this level.
Zababa	war, Kiš	Your melee blows strike truer and harder: +10% hit chance and damage, with any weapon.
Iškur	storms	Thunder fills each wand with 50% of its greatest starting charge.
Ninazu	healing, the underworld	You are made whole: full health, poison and confusion gone.
Geštinanna	dreams and their meaning	She reads your dreams: every item you carry is named.
Pabilsag	the archer of the sky	A quiver for your launcher: twenty shots.
Ningišzida	the tree, the gate of the dead	Your armor holds firmer: +10% armor, with whatever you wear.

More → Your god explains your gift, prayer and its remaining wait. A prayer comes back after 400 turns. A shrine asks 100 gold at 50 ft and 40 more for every level below; press 5 standing on it. About half of the levels have one.

Bestiary 45

Every monster wears its own style on the map: a tint or a pulse on its letter, marks and a tinted floor where it passes, a few particles. Marks only tint the floor and walls; a monster's letter is never covered.

Find

	Monster	Depth	HP	AC	XP	Attacks	Abilities
p	village idiot The village idiot grins at you and points at the sky. On the map: Scuffed tracks, and now and then a star rises where he points.	Town	1d4	1	0	drools on	erratic 75%
p	pitiful looking wretch The pitiful looking wretch holds out a cracked bowl. On the map: Gray with dust; a little falls off with each step.	Town	1d4	1	0	begs you for	erratic 50%
p	aimless looking merchant The aimless merchant eyes your purse. On the map: A glint of copper now and then.	Town	2d4	2	0	hits 1d2; touches (steal)	erratic 50%
p	grateful townsperson Someone in the crowd waves and starts running toward you. On the map: Running to you with a gift: a warm glint, and a few gold motes rising.	Town	2d4	1	0	none	fast ×2friendly Never placed at random: back in Eridu after going deeper than ever, four times in ten one runs up with a gift. Never attacks and is never attacked; walking into one talks to it.
C	scruffy little dog A scruffy little dog barks at your torch. On the map: Pawprints in the dust.	Town	1d6	1	0	bites 1d2	erratic 30%
r	giant rat A giant rat squeals in the dark. On the map: Tiny tracks that fade fast.	50 ft	1d5	1	1	bites 1d3
q	lesser utukku A lesser utukku hisses and raises a rusty blade. On the map: Wisps of smoke come off it.	50 ft	2d6	3	3	hits 1d5
j	jackal A pack of jackals spills out of the shadows. On the map: Paw tracks, and eye-shine in the dark.	50 ft	1d7	2	1	bites 1d3	comes in packs
w	white worm mass A white worm mass heaves on the floor. On the map: It writhes, and leaves a wet trail.	50 ft	3d4	1	2	bites 1d2 (poison)	slow ×0.5erratic 60%
H	Kusarikku, the Bull-Man Kusarikku, the Bull-Man, lowers his horns. On the map: Kusarikku carries the sun disc of Šamaš above his horns, and leaves hoofprints.	100 ft	6d4	4	30	gores 1d5	fast ×2uniqueerratic 20%
H	Urmahlullu, the Lion-Man Urmahlullu, the Lion-Man, bares his teeth. On the map: A golden mane: a soft halo around Urmahlullu that swells with his breath.	100 ft	7d4	4	30	mauls 1d7	fast ×2uniqueerratic 20%
S	cave spider Cave spiders pour from a crack in the wall. On the map: Webs where the floor meets the wall, and a silk thread behind it.	100 ft	1d4	2	1	bites 1d4	fast ×2comes in packs
e	floating eye A floating eye hangs in the air, unblinking. On the map: Its stare lights a line of floor toward you.	100 ft	5d8	2	4	gazes at (para)	never moves
q	utukku An utukku blocks the way, growling. On the map: A pool of shadow, a slow pulse of light, and smoke.	100 ft	3d9	4	9	hits 1d8
o	gallû whelp A gallû whelp sneers at you from the dark. On the map: Small cloven tracks; it twitches as it jeers.	150 ft	4d8	5	10	hits 1d8	comes in packs
o	gallû Gallû swarm out of a side passage. On the map: Cloven tracks and a rising stench.	150 ft	5d8	6	15	hits 1d8	comes in packs
P	Humbaba, Guardian of the Cedars Humbaba, Guardian of the Cedars, roars, and the passage shakes. On the map: The seven radiances of Humbaba turn around him; cedar needles fall.	150 ft	10d10	8	90	hits 1d10; hits 1d10	unique
J	yellow jelly A yellow jelly glistens wetly against the wall. On the map: It pulses slowly in a puddle of itself.	150 ft	10d8	1	15	touches 1d6 (poison)	never moves
B	Lamashtu, Daughter of Anu Lamashtu, Daughter of Anu, smiles thinly. On the map: Lamashtu holds a serpent in each hand; stolen coins drift toward her.	200 ft	15d10	10	150	hits 1d5; touches (steal)	uniquecasts 1 in 4: magic missile, heals itself, blinks away
o	black gallû A band of black gallû marches out of the dark. On the map: Dark and armored; light glints off the iron.	200 ft	6d10	10	20	hits 1d10	comes in packs
z	zombified human A zombified human shambles toward you. On the map: Drag marks behind it, and a few flies.	200 ft	10d10	6	18	hits 1d8; hits 1d8	slow ×0.5
p	shadow cultist A shadow cultist steps from the dark, chanting. On the map: A faint ring of marks turns around it while it chants.	200 ft	6d10	9	25	hits 1d8	casts 1 in 5: magic missile, confusion
,	shrieker mushroom patch A patch of pale mushrooms quivers as you approach. On the map: Spores on the floor nearby, and a few drifting up.	200 ft	1d3	1	1	none	never moves
C	plague hound Plague hounds! Gray shapes circle at the edge of the light. On the map: Sick gray tracks; it drips as it runs.	250 ft	6d8	8	30	bites 1d8	fast ×2comes in packs
P	clay giant A clay giant lumbers out of the dark. On the map: Clay crumbs fall from it and mark its trail.	250 ft	12d10	12	60	hits 1d12; stamps on 1d10
o	lahmu A lahmu, hairy and huge, bellows and hefts its club. On the map: Heavy tracks; it breathes slowly.	250 ft	13d10	12	50	hits 2d8; hits 2d8
G	lilû Something unseen knocks a stone across the floor. On the map: Half there: it fades, and a pale wind follows it.	250 ft	2d6	5	8	touches 1d2 (confuse)	fast ×3erratic 75%
P	basalt giant A basalt giant stands like part of the wall, until it moves. On the map: Gravel around its feet; grit drifts off it.	300 ft	15d10	16	85	hits 1d12; hits 1d12; crushes 3d4
V	edimmu An edimmu, a ghost of the unburied dead, crouches over something. On the map: The floor near it frosts over, cold as a grave.	300 ft	14d10	12	95	claws 1d6 (para); bites 1d8 (poison)
p	priest of Kur A priest of Kur raises a hand wreathed in shadow. On the map: Shadow pools at its feet; a wider ring of marks turns slowly.	300 ft	10d10	12	110	hits 1d10	casts 1 in 4: magic missile, confusion, heals itself, summons help
B	Pazuzu, King of the Wind Demons Pazuzu, King of the Wind Demons, spreads four wings. On the map: Four wings at his corners, and a hot wind blowing west.	300 ft	35d10	20	550	hits 1d12; hits 1d12; hits 1d10	unique
G	zaqiqu dream-spirit A zaqiqu turns toward you. You feel it behind your eyes. On the map: The floor sinks toward it, and dream bubbles rise.	350 ft	15d10	14	200	gazes at 2d6 (para)	casts 1 in 3: mind blast, confusionbends the light
o	gallû warden Gallû wardens march in close order, shields up. On the map: Shields up: small iron squares on the side that faces you.	350 ft	10d10	16	68	hits 1d12; hits 1d12	comes in packs
v	fire vortex A fire vortex roars through the corridor. On the map: Heat shimmer, scorch marks and sparks.	350 ft	9d9	10	100	engulfs 3d8 (fire)	fast ×2erratic 50%
p	illusionist An illusionist is here. Or there. Or both. On the map: Glints that are not quite there wink on the floor around it.	350 ft	6d8	12	120	hits 2d2; touches 1d6 (confuse)	fast ×2blinkscasts 1 in 3: blinks away, confusion
W	etemmu An etemmu drifts out of the cold. On the map: A wider frost, and rime falling from it.	400 ft	15d10	18	280	hits 1d8; touches 1d8 (drain)	casts 1 in 8: confusion
R	young bašmu A young bašmu, a horned serpent, uncoils, venom bright on its fangs. On the map: The horned serpent leaves a glistening trail of venom.	400 ft	29d10	25	300	bites 2d8 (poison); crushes 1d10; bites 1d8 (poison)
X	asakku rock-demon Asakku, rock-demons, huge and silent, close in. On the map: Huge and silent: it barely glows, and leaves rubble.	400 ft	24d10	25	400	hits 1d12; bites 2d8	comes in packs
d	young mušḫuššu A young mušḫuššu, the serpent-dragon, rises on its eagle hind legs, smoke curling from its jaws. On the map: A scorched trail, embers, and a serpent tail of its last steps.	450 ft	30d10	28	450	claws 1d9; bites 2d10 (fire)	casts 1 in 8: breathes fire
R	the Serpent The Serpent that ate the plant of youth while Gilgameš bathed slides out of the dark, new-skinned. On the map: Pale and quick; old skins it has shed drift off behind it.	450 ft	26d10	26	1100	bites 2d10 (poison); coils around 2d8; bites 1d10 (poison)	fast ×2uniquecasts 1 in 6: blinks away Below a third of its health it sheds its skin, once, and is whole again.
G	gidim shade A gidim shade seeps out of the wall. On the map: Deep shadow, and dark steps that follow a moment behind.	450 ft	30d10	30	600	touches 1d12 (drain)	casts 1 in 4: mind blast, blinks away, frost boltbends the light
Q	Maw of Kur A Maw of Kur pulses with sickly light. On the map: The floor sinks into it; motes are drawn in.	450 ft	6d8	1	250	none	never movescasts 1 in 2: summons help, blinks awaybends the light Has no blows and never walks, but casts one turn in two: it calls up one or two monsters of this depth, or blinks away.
B	Nergal, Lord of Plague Nergal, Lord of Plague, steps out of the dark, hot with fever. On the map: Fever heat around Nergal, and a slow sick wave rolling out.	450 ft	30d10	30	3000	hits 2d8 (fire); whips 2d8	uniquecasts 1 in 6: breathes fire, summons help
E	Enki, Lord of the Abzu Enki, Lord of the Abzu, rises out of the sweet water. The me lie heaped behind him. On the map: Sweet water around Enki, two streams from his shoulders, ripples, and the me (his divine powers) rising like tablets.	500 ft	30d10	30	3000	hits 2d8 (cold); lashes 2d10	uniquethe last foecasts 1 in 4: images of itself, trades places with you, breathes frost, confusion The trickster: he raises two images of himself out of the water, and the side panel can't tell them from him. Killing him wins the game.
E	image of Enki Another Enki rises out of the water. Which one is he? On the map: An image of Enki: water held in his shape, paler and quieter than the god, dripping where it stands.	500 ft	1d1	10	0	none	an image Water in Enki's shape: it can't hurt you, splashes away at a blow, and counts for nothing. Never placed at random.

Items 58

Potions and scrolls start unidentified each run: their colors and titles are shuffled, and using, buying or asking a Sage reveals them; an identified one decodes its name on the message line. Loot is graded common, fine, rare, epic or legendary by depth and enchantment: a name takes its tier's color, rare and better letters shimmer, and epic and legendary items sparkle on the floor.

	Item	What it does	Value	Found
Weapons 11
\|	Patru dagger	1d4 damage	10	from Town
\|	Short sword	1d7 damage	40	from 50 ft
\|	Sickle-sword	1d8 damage	80	from 100 ft
/	Šukur spear	2d5 damage	160	from 150 ft
/	Hassinnu axe	2d6 damage	240	from 200 ft, dungeon only
\|	Long sword	3d4 damage	320	from 250 ft
/	Pāšu axe	2d8 damage	380	from 300 ft
\	Šibirru rod	2d9 damage	560	from 350 ft, dungeon only
\	Kakku mace	3d6 damage	700	from 400 ft
\|	Anbar blade	4d5 damage	1600	from 450 ft
\	Mittu mace	3d8 damage	2600	from 500 ft, dungeon only
Armor 13
[	Kusītu robe	Armor class 2	4	from Town
[	Soft leather armor	Armor class 3	18	from Town
[	Studded jerkin	Armor class 4	35	from 50 ft
[	Hard leather armor	Armor class 5	60	from 100 ft
[	Studded leather	Armor class 6	100	from 150 ft
[	Siriam coat	Armor class 7	140	from 150 ft
[	Chain mail	Armor class 9	260	from 200 ft
[	Lamellar coat	Armor class 10	360	from 250 ft, dungeon only
[	Heavy chain mail	Armor class 11	480	from 300 ft
[	Full plate armor	Armor class 14	750	from 350 ft
[	Bronze scale	Armor class 15	1100	from 400 ft, dungeon only
[	Electrum mail	Armor class 17	1800	from 450 ft
[	Lapis mail	Armor class 19	2800	from 500 ft, dungeon only
Light 3
~	Wooden torch	Light radius 2	2	from Town
~	Brass lantern	Light radius 4	120	from 150 ft
~	Nūru stone	Light radius 5	900	from 300 ft
Launchers 4
}	Sling	×2 damage, fires iron shots	5	from Town
}	Qaštu bow	×2 damage, fires arrows	50	from 50 ft
}	Long bow	×3 damage, fires arrows	120	from 150 ft
}	Crossbow	×3 damage, fires bolts	240	from 250 ft
Ammunition 3
{	Iron shot	1d4 damage; sold in bundles of ten	1	from Town
{	Arrow	1d4 damage; sold in bundles of ten	1	from 50 ft
{	Bolt	1d5 damage; sold in bundles of ten	2	from 200 ft
Wands 4
-	Magic Missile	Fires a magic missile in a line: 3d4 damage. 8–14 charges.	200	from 50 ft
-	Stinking Cloud	Fires a stinking cloud: 12 poison damage. 6–12 charges.	250	from 100 ft
-	Lightning Bolts	Fires a lightning bolt in a line: 4d8 damage. 6–10 charges.	450	from 200 ft
-	Frost Bolts	Fires a frost bolt in a line: 6d8 damage. 5–9 charges.	700	from 300 ft
Potions 9
	Cure Light Wounds	Heals 15 hit points and eases poison.	20	from Town
	Cure Serious Wounds	Heals 40 hit points and cures poison and confusion.	60	from 150 ft
	Cure Critical Wounds	Heals 100 hit points and cures poison and confusion.	160	from 300 ft
	Heroism	Heroism for 25-40 turns: +12 to hit, +3 damage, and 10 hit points back.	40	from 100 ft
	Speed	Haste for 20-30 turns: you act twice as often.	150	from 200 ft
	Enlightenment	Maps the entire level around you.	200	from 250 ft
	Spoiled Potion	Poisons you. Best sold, or left on the shelf.	0	from 50 ft
	Sleep	Puts you to sleep for a few turns. Dangerous near monsters.	0	from 50 ft
	Salt Water	Makes you vomit, leaving you hungry.	0	from 50 ft
Scrolls 9
	Phase Door	Teleports you a short distance (4-10 squares). A quick escape.	15	from Town
	Light	Lights the room you are in and the area around you.	10	from Town
	Magic Mapping	Maps the dungeon within 30 squares.	80	from 100 ft
	Teleportation	Teleports you far across the level.	60	from 150 ft
	Word of Recall	After 15-30 turns, carries you to town, or from town back to your deepest level.	150	from 100 ft
	Enchant Weapon	Adds +1 to hit or +1 damage to the weapon you wield.	120	from 100 ft
	Enchant Armor	Adds +1 armor class to the armor you wear.	120	from 100 ft
	Blessing	Blessing for 12-24 turns: +5 armor class and +8 to hit.	25	from 50 ft
	Aggravate Monster	Wakes every monster on the level. Best sold.	0	from 100 ft
Food 2
,	Ration of Food	Keeps hunger away for about 2500 turns	3	from Town
,	Slime Mold	Keeps hunger away for about 1500 turns	2	from 50 ft

How loot is rolled

The dungeon is where the best gear is. Weapons and armor turn up there more often than their frequency alone would say, and they lean toward the depth they lie at, so an old starter piece is rare deep down. They are more often enchanted, by more the deeper they lie, and now and then by a great deal more. In a simulated descent that came to about one weapon or armor upgrade a level, and a legendary find about one level in three. Secret rooms hold better loot. Six kinds are found only in the dungeon: the hassinnu axe, šibirru rod, mittu mace, lamellar coat, bronze scale and lapis mail; no shop sells them, not even the Black Market.

Gear better than anything you own is picked up as you walk over it, and an upgrade goes straight on, found or bought. The ranged slot keeps its kind of tool: a launcher only replaces a launcher, and a wand a wand. When one goes on, its object turns once in a small Upgrade frame near you, colored for its tier (a common find stays quiet, a legendary one is gold), unless a monster is in view. A glint runs once around the frame, the name settles into the caption, and a rare or better find throws a few sparks. A carried piece that beats what you have on is tagged upgrade, and shops tag theirs too. Anything worse than your gear, used up or known to be bad goes in the Junk tab, but the best launcher of each kind stays in Gear.

Names that change

Weapons and armor use the Akkadian or Sumerian word where one is attested, with an English noun after it: a patru is a dagger, a pāšu an axe, a kusītu a robe, and a siriam a leather coat reinforced with metal. Enchant a piece and a word goes in front of its name, and its letter on the map and in the pack changes color. The name keeps its rarity color.

	Epithet	Earned by
\|	Keen	Weapons and launchers with more to hit than to damage
\|	Cruel	Weapons and launchers with more to damage, or an even split under +3
\|	Dread	Weapons and launchers with +3 or more to both, neither more than twice the other
[	Warded	Armor with any bonus to armor class

At legendary tier the epithet gives way to a name from myth that suits the weapon, and the English noun stays, so a legendary patru dagger becomes Gilgameš's dagger. A mace becomes Šarur, after the talking mace Ninurta carried against the Asakku. A blade becomes Gilgameš's, after the blades the smiths of Uruk cast for Gilgameš before he faced Humbaba, and an axe Gilgameš's, after the great axes cast for Gilgameš and Enkidu to fell the cedars. A spear becomes Ninurta's, after the warrior god whose weapons went before him against the Asakku. A bow becomes Marduk's, after the bow Marduk drew against Tiamat; a sling or crossbow, Ninurta's, after Ninurta, who brought the Anzû bird down from afar. Armor becomes Melammu, the awe-inspiring radiance the gods wear.

Some pieces have their own story and take its name instead: Šargaz for the šibirru rod (after Ninurta's other mace, Šarur's twin); Marduk's for the mittu mace (after the mace Marduk carries in Enūma Eliš); Enkidu's for the hassinnu axe (after the axes cast for Enkidu as for Gilgameš); Enkidu's for the kusītu robe, soft leather armor, studded jerkin, hard leather armor, studded leather, siriam coat (after the skins Enkidu wore before he came to Uruk). Legendary means exceptional for where a piece lies: the deeper its kind is found, the more enchantment it takes to count as legendary. No shop sells a legendary piece.

Town

The town is laid out at random once per run and stays the same every time you come back up. Its shops open with starter gear, restock when you come back up from a new deepest level, and stock deeper, better-enchanted goods as you level.

Door	Shop	Always stocked	Drawn when it restocks
1	General Store Ur-Nanshe the Friendly	Ration of Food, Wooden torch, Cure Light Wounds, Phase Door	Slime Mold, Brass lantern, Nūru stone, Light, Word of Recall
2	Armory Lugal-zage the Gruff	Soft leather armor	Kusītu robe, Studded jerkin, Hard leather armor, Studded leather, Siriam coat, Chain mail, Heavy chain mail, Full plate armor, Electrum mail
3	Weaponsmith Gimil-Ninurta the Smith	Patru dagger, Sling, Iron shot, Arrow	Qaštu bow, Long bow, Crossbow, Bolt, Short sword, Sickle-sword, Šukur spear, Long sword, Pāšu axe, Kakku mace, Anbar blade
4	Temple En-hedu the Humble	Cure Light Wounds	Cure Serious Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds, Blessing, Heroism, Word of Recall
5	Alchemy Shop Tappūtī the Perfumer	Cure Light Wounds, Phase Door	Cure Serious Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds, Magic Mapping, Word of Recall, Teleportation, Enlightenment, Speed
6	Magic Shop Ea-nasir the Greedy	Magic Missile	Stinking Cloud, Lightning Bolts, Frost Bolts, Enchant Weapon, Enchant Armor

Patronage

Stranger: everyone starts here
Regular: spend 250 gold in one shop; 5% off and one more item on its shelves
Valued: spend 900 gold in one shop; 10% off and one more item on its shelves
Friend of the house: spend 2500 gold in one shop; 15% off and one more item on its shelves

Bank (door 8)

3% interest (the starting vault)
5% interest, vault upgrade 400 gold
8% interest, vault upgrade 1500 gold
12% interest, vault upgrade 4000 gold

Home (door 7)

6 slots to start
10 slots, 250 gold for the shelves
14 slots, 900 gold for the shelves
20 slots, 2500 gold for the shelves

Your pack (bought at home, P)

22 slots to start
26 slots, 500 gold for the pack
30 slots, 1500 gold for the pack
34 slots, 4000 gold for the pack
scrolls take no slot at all

The obelisk (bought at home, O)

3000 gold: it stands beside the home (▲)
touch it to go straight back down to where you last came up from

Sometimes a 9th door

Black Market: rare and enchanted goods at 2.5× the price
Enchanters' Guild: a permanent +1 to your weapon or armor, for gold
The Sage's Tower: identifies unknown potions and scrolls

Shops restock, and the Bank pays interest, when you come back up from a new deepest level, so a quick trip down and back is not free money. Shops tag the pieces that would beat what you own as upgrade and show how many of each you already have; a piece you buy that beats yours goes straight on. In a shop, I shows your pack and loadout without leaving, and J sells all your junk.

Eridu for a hero at level 20: Lamps in every doorway: Eridu at its height, with the side panel on the left. — Eridu at level 20. Lamps in every doorway: Eridu at its height.

Eridu remembers you

The town's look grows with your level (see Eridu under Depths), and so do its signs of life: a wisp rising off the magic shop's roof, and one more every six levels up to four; a bubble from the alchemist's from level 8; a warmer temple sign from level 14; and a glint on the bank's sign from level 20. Reduced motion and effects still them.

Come back up after going deeper than ever before and, four times in ten, someone runs up through the crowd with a gift: a piece that beats what you own, or two strong potions they name for you. They never attack and are never attacked; walking into one talks to them.

The screen

The map fills most of the 80 by 30 letter terminal, with the side panel on its left, status and key hints above, and two message lines below. Levels are a little bigger than the screen (88 by 34 squares), so the view follows you, jumping half a screen when you near its edge.

The side panel at 300 ft: name and rank, level with its progress rule, health and food bars, the loadout with a sling and its shots, gold, two monsters in view with one hurt, the pack's quick list with more waiting, and two timed effects on the status line. You stand just right of the panel. — At 300 ft, in torchlight.

Name: Your name, then your rank as a title ("the Swordsman": Moria names a rank for each class at each level), then race and class.
LEV: Your level, with a thin rule under it for the way to the next. There is no experience count.
HP and SP: Health as a solid bar; an āšipu's spell points as pips.
FOOD: A shaded fill and a word for how fed you are: Full, Fed, Hungry, Weak and Starving.
Loadout: What you wield, wear, carry for light and fire, each with what it gives: the weapon's dice with its bonus and blows, your armor class, and the ranged slot's multiplier with its ammo, or a wand's charges. Click the ranged row to choose what Fire uses; the other loadout rows open the pack on its Gear tab.
GOLD: What you carry. The Bank keeps the rest safe from thieves.
IN VIEW: Each monster you can see, its name drawn as its health bar: the letters still lit are the health it has left.
PACK: Your potions, scrolls, food and wands, with how many you have, in the rows left over. A click uses one, or aims a wand; one worth a second look, like a Word of Recall, opens its About box instead, and "+N more" opens the pack.
Status line: Along the bottom: hunger and timed effects, each with a pip for every five turns left, a Word of Recall counting down, and the place's name and depth on the right.
Messages: The newest along the top; ".." means earlier text was pushed off. M shows the history.

Controls

arrows, hjklyubn, numpad: move, or attack by moving into a monster
SHIFT + direction: run
click / tap: travel to a seen square (tap @ to act here)
;: look: inspect a distant square without moving
> / <: go down / up a staircase
. or s: wait a turn, searching the squares around you
R: rest until healed or disturbed
5: act here: stairs, pick up, fire, eat or wait
f: fire what is ready (f again: the nearest)
W: ready a launcher or wand in the ranged slot
v: choose what to fire: ready weapon or a wand
a or z: aim a wand from the pack
c: speak an incantation (āšipu; a to l)
p: pray to your personal god (gods variant)
g or ,: pick up an item
i: pack: TAB/1-3 sections, ? inspect, D drop junk
q r E: quaff a potion / read a scroll / eat
w: wear, wield, or ready a launcher or wand
x / d: use any item / drop an item
/: item guide: what every item does
1-6, 7, 8, 9: doors: shops, home, bank, sometimes a 9th
in a shop: 1-9 buy, TAB sell, J sell junk, I your pack
at home: U shelves, P a bigger pack, O the obelisk
M or CTRL-P: message history
F / V: reduced motion and effects / event labels (Accessibility)
wheel, drag or 0: zoom; pan; double-click empty floor returns
touch: buttons for commands; tap rows in menus
CTRL-S / CTRL-X: save / save and quit (autosaves too)

Other screens

Title

C or Enter: continue the saved run
N: new game (any key, when there is no saved run)
S: settings
L, H or K: the leaderboard (the King List)
F: reduced motion and effects

Name

name field: your name, up to 12 letters or numbers
Tab: move between native controls
1 / 2: change class / starting gear outside the name field
3: worship a god, or not
↑ ↓: pick a personal god (gods variant)
Enter / Esc: begin / back to the title

Stairs

Enter, > or <: take the stairs (> going down, < going up)
Esc: stay
any other key: stay, and do what that key does

Shop

1-9, 0: buy (it shows how many you have)
TAB or s: switch to selling; then a pack letter sells
J: sell all junk
I: your pack and loadout, without leaving
Esc or Enter: leave

Tombstone

any key: your heir takes up the house
Esc: back to the title
K: the King List

King List

1-4 or TAB: pick a board
F: only runs without an inheritance
Esc or K: back

On a phone held upright the map is framed around you between a status strip (messages, health, food, depth and gold) and a pad. Tap a direction to step and hold it to run; the center waits, or while you aim, fires at the nearest monster. Six actions sit beside it: Fire (Cast, for an āšipu), Read and Quaff above Rest, Pack and More. Pray replaces Rest when available; unavailable item actions are dimmed. A context button appears just above them when where you stand offers something (stairs, an item, a shrine, or food when you are hungry) and while you aim. Menus, shops, the King List and Settings use narrow terminal pages with native navigation, while the message log is a scrollable reader with Earlier, Later and Explain controls. Character creation asks for a name, with class, weapons and worship under Advanced settings. The title, tombstone and victory screens get real buttons. Pinch the map to zoom. Held sideways, the full terminal shows with buttons down each side.

With a mouse the wheel zooms toward the cursor, and a pinch on a trackpad zooms the same way. Dragging moves the view. It follows you and recentres when you near the edge, until you drag or zoom, and follows again once you step. 0, or a double-click on empty floor, returns the whole screen, and the zoom is remembered in this browser. Aiming and the stairs prompt keep it; menus, shops, the title, the tombstone and the King List stay the whole screen. The side panel and the message lines zoom with the map. A modest zoom keeps them in view when it can, and zoomed in closer a drag brings them back until you step. Reduced motion and effects and a reduced-motion setting cut to the new view instead of gliding.

On the heavy water levels (400 and 500 ft) a swell comes now and then, not often: the view goes to the deep layered camera and rocks evenly to one side and back. Swells change only the view. Every creature, item and pile of gold keeps its square, regardless of real time or display settings. Reduced motion and effects and a reduced-motion setting have no swells.

Settings and save files

S on the title opens Settings; a number switches its line, and Esc goes back.

Key	Setting	What it does
`1`	Heirs inherit bank gold	Gold in the House of Egibi passes to your next character.
`2`	Heirs inherit experience	Your next character starts with this share of your experience. Choices: off, 5% and 10%.
`3`	Reduced motion and effects	Less motion and fewer effects. F does the same in play.
`4`	Event labels	Short labels for level-ups, upgrades and danger. V in play.
`5`	Post high scores	Name, class, depth, level, kills, turns and gold. Nothing else.
`6`	Gods and shrines	A personal god and shrines. The name screen asks as well.
`7`	Export game and character	Your saved run and your record (deaths, wins, the estate) in one file.
`8`	Load game and character	Replaces the run and record in this browser with the ones in a file.
`9`	Tutorial hints	Optional advice; the Descent guide stays in Help.
`0`	Clean display	Crisp, steady letters without the screen treatments.

Inheritance (zittu). When a run ends, the family home, whatever is in the bank and a share of the experience wait in this browser for your next character, the way the House of Egibi passed estates down on inheritance tablets. After a death, any key on the tombstone brings the heir (the same class and god, the name with a numeral after it: Ea, then Ea II) out of the home's door into the same Eridu: its shops and their regulars, the shelves at home and what is on them, and every potion and scroll the family has learned to tell apart. What the dead hero carried is lost with the body. Esc goes to the title instead, and the next new game takes up the house the same way; a shared seed builds its own town.

Save files. Export writes one file holding the run saved in this browser, if there is one, and the record kept across runs: deaths, wins, the inheritance rules and the estate waiting for the next hero. Load reads such a file, checks every part of it and asks first, then puts it in place of this browser's run and record, so a run can move to another browser or be kept as a backup. Watch-mode runs never touch the estate.

The title and attract mode

The title is the name in block letters with a box-drawing shadow, "by Luke Steuber" under it, and the originals credited in turn at the foot: "Moria was written by Robert Alan Koeneke in 1983", then Rogue, Hack, Larn, NetHack, Omega, Angband and ADOM, each change scrambling and settling a letter at a time, over "MIT License". When the game opens, the page settles out of a full sheet of script that then falls away; the banner reads MORIA, then decodes into NAQBU from left to right, and a faint glint crosses it now and then. A key finishes the opening; reduced motion and effects and a reduced-motion setting skip it.

Attract mode. Left alone on the title for 30 seconds, the game behaves like an arcade cabinet. The King List shows board by board, all four of them, 6 seconds each, its names rolling in. Then a 36-second demo plays: the game playing itself, at the next depth each round from 50 ft down to 500 ft, labelled DEMO along the bottom with the place's name. Then the title comes back, and the next round starts 16 seconds later. Any key or tap ends it at once and only wakes the screen, so it never starts a run. The demo is never saved or posted to the King List, and your deaths, wins and estate are put back as they were. Reduced motion and effects, a reduced-motion setting and a hidden page keep the title still.

Accessibility

Screen readers. Game messages are announced through a live region, and warnings (low health, death, a boss in sight) are announced at once. On a phone every button has a name, and menus open as dialogs that give focus back when they close.
Event labels (V, or Settings). A brief high-contrast label for a level-up, an upgrade found, a gift, low health, a new depth, the boss and the end of a run.
Reduced motion and effects (F, Settings, or a reduced-motion setting, which turns it on). Calm is a hard limit: no flashes, glitches, screen shake or flying letters. Arrivals skip the letter morphs, spells leave out their lens and spiral, the town's wisps are still, and the title stays put. Zooming cuts to the new view instead of gliding.
Clean display. Settings and More offer flat, steady letters without CRT distortion, perspective, bloom or letter effects. Gameplay stays the same.
Look. Press ; or choose More → Look. Move the cursor, tap a cell or cycle visible targets; Details reads what the hero can know without spending a turn. Unseen contents and unknown item identities remain hidden.
Descent guide. Help keeps short notes about backups, inheritance, Home, recall and incantations. Optional Read/Skip invitations start with floor 4 or a dungeon return carrying 500 gold. Tutorial hints can be turned off in Settings or More. The backup reader exports the live hero.
Flash safety. Bright full-screen pulses share a budget: at most two start in any second (WCAG 2.3.1 allows three flashes a second), so mashing the stairs or trading blows can't strobe the screen.
Letters stay letters. Looks, marks and spells only tint the floor and walls; a floor still reads as . and a wall as #, and nothing covers a monster, an item, a door, the stairs or you.

Features

The descent

A Warrior or an āšipu, ten dungeon levels from 50 to 500 ft, and Enki at the bottom in the Abzu, holding the me
Enki is a trickster: he raises images of himself and trades places with you
The Serpent waits at 450 ft: fast, venomous, quick to slip away, and once in a fight it sheds its skin and is whole again
Levels a little bigger than the screen (88×34, eleven to fifteen rooms); the view jumps half a screen when you near its edge
Secret rooms hold better loot. Doors can be noticed within four squares; each extra square quarters the chance. Waiting searches more carefully, and Šamaš doubles the chance. Walls and darkness hide them; walking into a door still finds it for certain.
Turn-based bump combat, field of view, lit rooms and dark corridors
Stopping on stairs asks whether to take them. 5 acts where you stand: pick up, use a shrine or take the stairs; otherwise fire at the nearest foe with a clear shot (the ready launcher or wand, else an aimed incantation or the weakest wand in the pack), eat when hungry with nothing hostile in view, or wait, which also searches
Hunger, poison, paralysis, confusion, haste, heroism and blessing
Permadeath with a tombstone; one autosave that survives reloads

Gear

Weapon, armor, light and a ranged slot (a launcher or a wand)
Slings, bows and crossbows multiply their ammo; most shots can be picked up again
Upgrades go straight on, found or bought, and turn once in an Upgrade frame colored for the piece's tier; shops tag the pieces that would beat yours
Akkadian and Sumerian names; enchanted gear earns an epithet and a new color, and legendary gear a name from myth
Gold, scrolls, ammo for your launcher, anything that stacks with what you carry and gear better than anything you own are picked up as you walk
A steeper loot curve in the dungeon, six pieces found only there, and better loot in secret rooms

Runs and records

Inheritance (zittu): after a death your heir steps out of the family home in the same Eridu, with the bank balance and a share of the experience (both in Settings)
The King List: global high scores inside the game (K), one best run per player on four boards
Save files: export the game and the character to a file, and load it in another browser (Settings)
Attract mode: left on the title, the King List and then a demo play by themselves
Seeds: ?seed= replays a run exactly
Watch mode: ?mode=ambient plays a run by itself
Gods and shrines: an optional variant, off by default

The pack

Tabs for Consumables, Gear and Junk; the best launcher of each kind stays in Gear
Inspect any item to read what it does; every kind of item has a turning object of its own under its About box
Drop or sell all junk at once
A quick list in the side panel: a click uses a potion or scroll, or aims a wand
Rarity colors, shimmer on rare and better, sparkles on the best

Presentation

A Three.js terminal: an 80×30 grid of letters on glass, drawn last so the text stays sharp
Each depth one graphics era newer, and each place its own look and screen grade (see Depths)
Dumuzi's dream at 150, 350 and 500 ft; swells on the heavy water levels
Arrivals: each floor builds itself its own way down a stair, a recall spirals in, and at 200 ft a road draws itself out
Every monster wears its own style; spells and wands play their own looks, some with a lens and a spiral of marks
Names decode on the message line when you identify a potion or scroll
Objects turn in characters: in an item's About box and for an upgrade
Floors and walls always keep their letters
Calm mode (F) for less motion; on by default with a reduced-motion setting