Runt

The Amulet of Dantom has been stolen and taken to a hiding place deep within a series of caverns, the dreaded Dungeons of Pique. Inside those caverns are dangerous creatures guarding magical secrets, vast wealth, and the bones of all the adventurers too stupid to stay on the surface world where they belonged. After so many poor sods were lost in those dungeons, everyone said only a great fool would ever go in to recover the Amulet.

That fool is you.

Bringing along only the bare minimum needed to fight the deadly dungeon creatures, you have set off to the entrance of the perilous caverns, never to return. (Well, at least that's what everyone's betting on.) Inside you will find gold; you will find weapons; you will find artifacts of brave suckers heroes long gone. You will also find yourself soon over your head if you aren't prepared for the danger.

First you will need to know your way around. As you move from room to room in the dungeons, you can use the Map command to show you where you are.

You can use items you find with the woefully self-explanatory Use command. Items that you can wear or wield like weapons and armor may be put away with the equally perspicuous Unuse command. You may also Drop items. Walking over an item will pick it up.

Don't be afraid to pick up weapons and armor lying around even if you have plenty. Under the stress of fighting off many determined creatures, your gear will surely break down from time to time. Since you don't know how to fix it, you'll have to replace it when the need arises.

Attacking monsters is easy: Just bump into them. Monsters will attack you in the same way, and they may surround you, so be careful. As you move around, your hit points will regenerate slowly.

Once you defeat enough monsters, you will gain enough experience to reach a new level. At each level the amount of experience you need to move up increases. As your level gets higher, you will gain hit points and regenerate them faster.

Deeper into the dungeons, the monsters you face will grow tougher. The good news is, once you've traveled far enough in, you should be able to find the Amulet of Dantom fairly easily. Once you've found it, monsters will appear along your path even in rooms you already cleared, trying to block your exit. Heading back along a different route will allow you to find more items that will protect you as you go along.

Some of the most common items you will find are weapons and armor. These are left behind by many dead adventurers or simply discarded by monsters who inhabit the dungeons. Many monsters, too, carry weapons. Gold is also fairly easy to find, and some monsters carry that as well.

Several other kinds of items can be found in the dungeons.

Potions may be used once each. Some have a simple effect, like healing, while others may have an effect which lasts for a short time.

Scrolls work like potions, but mostly affect other creatures. Most scrolls have a more powerful effect as your level increases, making you a more formidable foe.

Amulets and rings may also be found, although these powerful magical items are uncommon. Like weapons and armor, they have limited durability (with the exception of the Amulet of Dantom), and will eventually break. Some are so powerful that overreliance on them can kill you if they break at an inopportune moment. Although you have ten fingers, the rings will only fit on one because of their crafty design. And because of the great power of an amulet, only one of those may be worn at a time.