Treasure Seeker
Welcome to Treasure Seeker, a handy little multiplayer dungeon-crawling game. At the game's outset, players enter a large (15x15, four-floor) dungeon at a random entrance, with none of the map visible. Your goal is to collect treasure and equipment to fight your way down to the third floor of the dungeon, where the Treasure Hoard waits for an adventurer powerful and daring enough to defeat the powerful guard watching over it. Once the Treasure Hoard has been reclaimed, it's a mad every-man-for-himself scramble to get out of the dungeon in time, because once the Treasure Hoard is taken to the surface, the game's over and scores are tallied.
Playing the Game
Once you enter the game, you'll notice a series of turn-passing messages going by--turns are not taken in strict round-robin fashion, but instead mark off when players move and combat results are handled. Each turn, you may (if you're not busy fighting) press a direction to indicate your planned direction of movement--if you're in a room with a staircase, you can also use the ascend/descend verbs to go up or down. Use the get verb to pick up valuables, and the greet verb to hail NPCs--some will join you on your expedition, others will barter goods or offer services.
Combat is initiated by entering a room with a monster (which will automatically attack you under most circumstances) or by using the attack verb on another player (or an unaware monster), but be aware that combat is strictly one-and-one (no ganging up on someone, much). Once combat is started, neither participant may move except by using the flee verb, which doesn't always work and won't let you pick a direction (normally)--instead, each turn they roll for combat results. Each side rolls two dice and adds their Attack bonus (plus any additional bonuses, from fighting companions or magic effects), and the side with the higher roll (if any) wins, inflicting damage. If their roll is 1 or 2 higher, they inflict 1 damage; a roll 3 or 4 higher does 2, a roll 5 or 6 higher does 3, and so on. Armor and magic can absorb some wounds, but beware venomous monsters and poisoned weapons which can do extra damage! Combat is generally risky and players should use the flee verb freely, but it can be important, as well--if a monster is guarding an item, it must be killed before you can take its treasure, and note that fleeing is a pretty undesirable method of navigating the dungeon. Additionally, note that if you kill several monsters, you get a small boost to your health; although often you'll find your health dropping in the long run regardless, if you're lucky enough to find enough weak monsters that you can easily kill, this bonus will prove to be a vital contribution to the success of your expedition!
Tips and Advice
If you're just starting out, you might want to consider sticking to the strong fighting classes for a while. Having a high Attack bonus means you can fight through weaker monsters on the upper levels fairly easily, and can save you on a lot of quick, frustrating deaths.
On the other hand, don't be too quick to write off the non-fighter classes, either. The hard-hitting classes might have an edge as they're entering the dungeon, but keep in mind that many of the magical artifacts that you'll find require a good Lore score to use effectively, and you need a high Charisma to attract plenty of companions to assist you in combat. A good heavy fighter like the Barbarian or Soldier can be relied upon to do well in the beginning, but a Priest or Engineer fortunate enough to get a good following of companions and plenty of magical equipment will be more effective in the long run, and a Scholar or Wizard with enough of the right artifacts is truly a terror to behold!
Try to pick an exploration strategy that will fit your chosen class well. Some of the weaker classes are a bit slow to warm up, and should consider staying on the upper levels for a while to collect equipment and gather companions. The Bounty Hunter, for instance, is a balanced but unspectacular character who generally needs some power-building to be effective--and the fact that you get a flat bonus for killing monsters encourages killing a lot of weak monsters. On the other hand, some classes have limited 'ammo' or abilities that do the most good on lower levels--a Priest's ability to instantly exorcise demonic or undead creatures is nice enough on the first two floors, but most of the weaker undead monsters aren't very threatening at all--it's on the lower floors where the Priest enjoys the biggest edge. The Wizard and Elementalist, similarly, can do well risking a deep run early on--both have very powerful attacks that they run out of very quickly, and neither has the combat strength to easily handle the upper floors, so it makes sense for them to try to get down to level 2 or 3 and use their powerful magic attacks to their fullest effect rather than wasting them on weaker monsters up above.