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There are thirty different races that you can choose from in Cthangband. Each race has its own adjustments to a character's statistics and abilities. Most races have their own special abilities. Races differ in how fast they can learn skills, humans learning very fast and Great Ones learning slowly.
Barbarian
Barbarians are hardy men of the north. They are fierce in combat, and their
wrath is feared throughout the world. Combat is their life: they feel no
fear, and they learn to enter battle frenzy at will even sooner than half-trolls.
Barbarians are, however, suspicious of magic, which makes magic devices
fairly hard for them to use. They make great fighting characters, but
lack the talent to be good magicians or shamans.
Broo
This race is a blasphemous abomination produced by Chaos. It is not an
independent race but rather a humanoid creature, most often a human, twisted
by the Chaos, or a nightmarish crossbreed of a human and a beast. All broo
are accustomed to Chaos so much that they are untroubled by confusion and
sound, although raw chaos can still have effects on them. Broo revel in
chaos, as it twists them more and more. Broo are subject to mutations:
when they have been created, they receive a random mutation. After that,
every time they gain proficiency with their racial power they have a little
chance of gaining yet another mutation.
Cyclops
With but one eye, a cyclops can see more than many with two eyes. They
are headstrong, and loud noises bother them very little. They are not quite
qualified for the magic using professions, but as a certain Mr Ulysses
can testify, their accuracy with thrown rocks can be deadly...
Dark Elf
Another dark, cave-dwelling race, likewise unhampered by darkness attacks,
the Dark Elves have a long tradition and knowledge of magic. With their
intelligence they can become superb with all arcane power, and they have an
inherent magic missile attack available to them at a low level. With their
keen sight, they also learn to see invisible things as their relatives,
the High-Elves, do but at a higher level.
Draconian
A humanoid race with dragon-like attributes. As they advance levels, they
gain new elemental resistances (up to Poison Resistance), and they also
have a breath weapon, which becomes more powerful with experience. The
exact type of the breath weapon depends on the draconian's class and level.
With their wings, they can easily escape any pit trap unharmed.
Dwarf
Dwarves are the headstrong miners and fighters of legend. Since dungeons
are the natural home of a dwarf, they are excellent choices for a
warrior or mindcrafter. Dwarves tend to be stronger and tougher but slower and
less intelligent than humans are. Because they are so headstrong and are
somewhat wise, they resist spells that are cast on them. Dwarves also have
very good infra-vision because they live underground. They do have one
big drawback, though. Dwarves are loudmouthed and proud, singing in loud
voices, arguing with themselves for no good reason, screaming out challenges
at imagined foes. In other words, dwarves have a miserable stealth. They
can never be blinded. Dwarves also learn to study the structure of a dungeon,
and can spot things that go unseen by the other races.
Elf
Elves are better magicians then humans, but not as good at fighting. They
tend to be smarter and faster than either humans or half-elves do and also
have better wisdom. Elves are better at searching, disarming, perception,
stealth, bows, and magic, but they are not as good at hand weapons. Elves
make good mages or mindcrafters or shamans. They resist light effects intrinsically.
Gnome
Gnomes are smaller than dwarves but larger than halflings. They, like the
halflings, live in the earth in burrow-like homes. Gnomes make excellent
mages, and have very good saving throws. They are good at searching, disarming,
perception, and stealth. They have lower strength than humans do so they
are not very good at fighting with hand weapons. Gnomes have fair infravision,
so they can detect warm-blooded creatures at a distance.
Gnomes are intrinsically
protected against paralysis and some slowing effects. At higher levels,
Gnomes learn to teleport at will.
Golem
A golem is an artificial creature, built from a lifeless raw material like
clay, and awakened to life. They are nearly mindless, making them useless
for
professions that rely on magic, but as warriors they are very tough. They
are resistant to poison, they can see invisible things, and move freely.
At higher levels, they also become resistant to attacks that threaten to
drain away their life force. They also learn to temporarily turn their
skin into a very hard, stonelike substance. In the most recent version,
golems gain very little nutrition from ordinary food. They need to collect
scrolls of satisfy hunger, or perish of exhaustion when the life force
animating their body runs out. In the most recent version golems also gain
natural armor class bonus from their tough body.
Great One
The Great Ones are a reputedly immortal race, who pass for gods in the
Dreamlands. They are fond of taking mortal lovers, though, and many humans
have some Great-One blood. They are very tough and enduring and their constitution
cannot be reduced. Their ability to heal wounds far surpasses that of any
other race. Having seen virtually everything, very little is new to them,
and they gain experience much slower than the other races. But should they
advance high enough, they will learn the innate powers of their kind and
be able to alter the very fabric of the Dreamlands.
Half-Elf
Half-elves tend to be smarter and faster than a human, but not as strong.
Half-elves are slightly better at searching, disarming, saving throws,
stealth, bows, and magic, but they are not as good at hand weapons. Half-elves
do not receive any intrinsic abilities.
Half-Giant
Half-Giants are not too unusual, as there has been a tradition according
to which it is a noble and brave thing to do to consort a giant (especially
a
giant-maid). Nevertheless, the poor offspring of such a union is seldom
very popular in the world of men. Their limited intelligence makes it impossible
for them to become full spellcasters, but with their huge strength they
make excellent warriors. They also love to wander in the wilderness, and
can become rangers. No ordinary wall can withstand the fury of a giant,
or a half-giant, and at higher levels they can learn the power of magical
digging. Their thick skin makes them resistant to shards, and like Half-Ogres
and Half-Trolls, they have their strength sustained.
Half-Ogre
Half-Ogres are like Half-Orcs, but only more so. They are big, bad, and
stupid. For warriors, they have all the necessary attributes, and they
can even become wizards: after all, they are related to Ogre Magi, from
whom they have learned the skill of setting trapped runes once their skill
is high enough. Like Half-Orcs they resist darkness, and like Half-Trolls
they have their strength sustained.
Half-Orc
Half-Orcs make excellent warriors and decent mindcrafters, but are terrible
at magic. They are as bad as dwarves at stealth, and horrible at searching,
disarming, and perception. Half-Orcs are, let's face it, ugly. They tend
to pay more for goods in town. Half-Orcs do make good warriors and rogues,
for the simple reason that Half-Orcs tend to have great constitutions and
lots of hit points. Because of their preference to living underground to
on the surface, half-orcs resist darkness attacks.
Fairly soon, a half-orc learns to dispel any fear that may be upon him or her.
Half-Titan
Half-mortal descendants of the mighty titans, these immensely powerful
creatures put almost any other race to shame. They may lack the fascinating
special powers of certain other races, but their enhanced attributes more
than make up for that. They learn to estimate the strengths of their foes,
and their love for law and order makes them resistant to the effects of
Chaos.
Half-Troll
Half-Trolls are incredibly strong, and have more hit points than any other
character race. They are also very stupid and slow. They will make great
warriors and iffy mindcrafters. They are bad at searching, disarming, perception,
and stealth. They are so ugly that a Half-Orc grimaces in their presence.
They also happen to be fun to run... Half-trolls always have their strength
sustained. At higher levels, Half-Trolls learn to enter a berserk fury,
and regenerate wounds automatically.
High-Elf
High-elves are a race of immortal beings dating from the beginning of time.
They are masters of all skills, and are strong and intelligent, although
their wisdom is sometimes suspect. They are good at all professions.
High-elves begin their lives able to see the unseen,
and resist light effects just like regular elves. However, there are few
things that they have not seen already, and experience is very hard for
them to gain.
Hobbit
Hobbits, or Halflings, are very good at bows, throwing, and have good saving
throws. They also are very good at searching, disarming, perception, and
stealth; so they make excellent rogues, but prefer to be called burglars.
They will be much weaker than humans will, and no good at melee fighting.
Halflings have fair infravision, so they can detect warm creatures at a
distance. Hobbits make decent rogues, and have a talent for any form
of magic. They
have their dexterity sustained. They are very fond of food, and learn,
in due time, to cook a delicious meal from available ingredients.
Human
The human is the base character. All other races are compared to them.
Humans can choose any class and are average at everything. Humans tend
to gain experience faster than any other race because of their shorter life
spans. No racial adjustments or intrinsics occur to characters choosing
human.
Imp
A demon-creature from the nether world, naturally resistant to fire attacks,
and capable of learning fire bolt and fireball attacks. They are little
loved by other races, but can perform fairly well in most professions.
Klackon
Klackons are bizarre semi-intelligent ant-like insectoid creatures. They
make great servants and warriors, but their mental abilities are severely
limited. Obedient and well ordered, they can never be confused. They are
also very nimble, and become faster as they advance levels. They are also
very acidic, inherently resisting acid, and capable of spitting acid at
higher levels.
Kobold
Kobolds are a weak goblin race. They love poisoned weapons, and can learn
to throw poisoned darts (of which they carry an unlimited supply). They
are also inherently resistant to poison, and can become adequate fighters,
although they are not one of the more powerful races.
Mind Flayer
A secretive and mysterious ancient race. Their civilization may well be
older than any other on our planet, and their intelligence and wisdom are
naturally sustained, and are so great that they enable Mind Flayers to
become more powerful spellcasters than any other race, even if their physical
attributes are a good deal less admirable. As they gain power, they
gain the powers of See Invisible, Telepathy and a mind blast attack.
Nibelung
The hated and persecuted race of nocturnal dwarves, these cave dwellers
are not much bothered by darkness. Their natural inclination to magical
items has made them immune to effects that could drain away magical energy,
and like ordinary dwarves, they can examine the dungeon to discover traps
and secret doors.
Skeleton
As undead
beings, skeletons need to worry very little about poison or attacks that
can drain life. They do not really use eyes for perceiving things, and
are thus not fooled by invisibility. Their bones are resistant to sharp
shrapnel (not much to cut there), and they will quickly become resistant
to cold. Should a skeleton be unlucky enough to lose some of his or her
remaining life, he or she will learn to restore it at will. It is very
hard for skeletons to eat food or drink potions. Although the magical effects
of these will affect the skeleton even without entering the skeleton's
(non-existent) belly, the potion / food itself will fall through the skeleton's
jaws, giving no nutritional benefit.
Spectre
Another powerful undead creature: the spectre is a ghastly apparition,
surrounded by an unearthly green glow. They exist only partially on our
plane of existence: half-corporeal, they can pass through walls, although
the density of the wall will hurt them in the process of doing this. The
spectre can scream an eldritch howl, which is enough to scare lesser monsters
witless. As undead, they have a firm hold on their life force, see invisible,
and resist poison and cold. They also resist nether; in fact, their half-corporeal
form actually grows stronger from the effects of nether. With increasing
power
they develop telepathic abilities. Spectres make superb spellcasters, but
their physical form is very weak, and they make miserable shamans.
Like Golems and Zombies, Spectres gain
almost no nutrition from ordinary food.
Sprite
One of the several faerie races, sprites are very small. They have tiny
wings, and can fly over traps that may open up beneath them. They enjoy
sunlight intensely, and need worry little about light based attacks. Although
physically among the weakest races, Sprites are very talented in magic,
and can become highly skilled wizards. Sprites have the special power of
spraying Sleeping Dust, and at higher levels they learn to fly faster.
Vampire
One of the mightier undead creatures, the Vampire is an awe-inspiring sight.
Yet this mighty creature has a serious weakness: the bright rays of sun
are its bane, and it will need to flee the surface to the deep recesses
of earth until the sun finally sets. Darkness, on the other hand, only
makes the Vampire stronger. As undead, the Vampire has a firm hold on its
life force, and resists nether attacks. The Vampire also resists cold and
poison-based attacks. It is, however, susceptible to its perpetual hunger
for fresh blood, which can only be satiated by sucking the blood from a
nearby monster, which is the Vampire's special power. It should be noted
that the vampires are so sensitive to daylight that even certain artifact
light items that are filled with daylight will hurt them if they try to
wield the items. Fortunately, the vampires do not really need these items,
since they radiate an aura of 'dark light' of their own. Light resistance
will, in any case, protect the vampire from the adverse effects of sunlight.
Yeek
Yeeks are among the most pathetic creatures. Fortunately, their horrible
screams can scare away less confident foes, and their skin becomes more
and more resistant to acid, as they gain experience. But having said that,
even a mediocre monster can proverbially wipe the floor with an unwary
yeek.
Zombie
Much like Skeletons, Zombies too are undead horrors: they are resistant
to life-draining attacks, and can learn to restore their life force. Like
skeletons, they become resistant to cold-based attacks (actually earlier
than skeletons), resist poison and can see invisible. While still vulnerable
to cuts (unlike skeletons), Zombies are resistant to Nether. Like golems,
they gain very little nutrition from the food of mortals. However, Zombies
are, as the name implies, practically mindless: in this company, Groo would
seem a genius.
All contents of these pages Copyright 2000 by David H. Thornley.