Forays into Norrendrin 0.8.4: a tactical fantasy roguelike with no classes and no experience: shrines, feats and five weapons you always carry.

About the game

Forays into Norrendrin (Derrick Creamer; version 0.8.4, 2015) is a streamlined fantasy roguelike about tactical combat. There are no classes and no experience points: you get stronger by finding the shrines on each level (combat, defense, magic, spirit, stealth), which raise a skill and let you pick feats. Every character carries the same five weapons (sword, mace, dagger, staff, bow) and three armors and switches between them; weapons pick up enchantments and armors get damaged on the way. Light matters: your torch shows you the dungeon and shows you to the monsters. The descent is one way, 20 levels deep, and ends at the demons' pit.

Keyboard controls

The keys to remember

?: In-game help: overview, skills, feats, spells, items, tips
x: Explore automatically until something happens
Enter: Menu of all commands
i: Inventory with a cursor: letter = use, Shift+letter = drop, Enter = all actions
>: Take the stairs down (from anywhere: walks to the stairs you have seen; press again to take them)
q: Quit or save (the browser also saves by itself)

Essential keys

Moving

1-9/arrows/hjklyubn: Walk, attack by walking into a monster
5/.: Wait a turn
x: Explore
X: Travel to a place
>: Stairs down (walks there first)
w: Walk in a direction

Fighting

e: Equipment: switch weapon and armor
1-5: Switch weapon (top row)
8 9 0: Switch armor (top row)
s: Shoot the bow
z: Cast a spell
r: Rest (once per level)

Items

i: Inventory
a: Apply (use) an item
f: Fling an item
g: Pick up
d: Drop
\: Known item types

Looking

Tab: Look around
m: Dungeon map
p: Previous messages
c: Character sheet and feats
t: Torch on/off

Complete key list (32 commands)

TabLook around (Tab again to cycle between targets)

rRest to recover health/mana/exhaustion & repair equipment

tTurn your torch on/off

zCast a spell

eView and change equipment

sFire an arrow

iView your inventory

aUse a consumable item

fFling an item

gPick up an item

dDrop an item

xExplore automatically until something happens

XTravel to a specific location

.Wait one turn

>Take (or walk to) the stairs down

oOperate terrain

wWalk automatically in a direction

mView dungeon map

pView previous messages

\View known items

cView character info, including feats/other active abilities

qQuit or save

=Change options

?View the help screen

-View this command list

EnterMenu of all commands

<There are no up stairs (says so)

1-9/arrows/hjklyubnWalk, attack by walking into a monster

1-5Switch weapon (top row)

8 9 0Switch armor (top row)

Shift+letterDrop that item (inventory list)

Ctrl+letterExamine that item (inventory list)

Saving your game

Saving is automatic. The game is stored in this browser (IndexedDB) while it waits for your command, every two minutes and when you switch tabs. Reloading the page and choosing Resume saved game continues from there.
q offers the game's own choices: save and return to the menu, save and quit, abandon the character.
When your character dies or is abandoned, the save is deleted: death is final. High scores, options and your name stay.
Export save downloads forays.sav; Import save loads one; New game deletes the save in this browser.
Private/incognito windows and "clear site data" delete the stored game. Export first if it matters.

Tips

Rest (r) once per level to heal fully and repair your equipment — use it after the big fight, not before.
Find every shrine before you go down: the game warns you when one is left. Skills are the only way to grow.
Switch weapons for the job: sword crits take half a foe's maximum health, the mace ignores armor and knocks back, the dagger always hits in darkness, the staff swaps places and trips, the bow hits from afar.
Put your torch away (t) to sneak past sleeping monsters; take it out to fight things that hide in the dark.
Unknown potions and scrolls are identified by using them; try them when you are healthy and alone.
Terrain is a weapon: doors, corridors, fire, oil, webs and chasms change fights. Look around with Tab.

New player's guide

Your first minutes

Start a game from the menu with a, type a name (or Enter for a random one).
Read the tip boxes: they explain each thing the first time it happens.
Press x to explore. It stops when something shows up; press it again to go on.
Walk into monsters to attack. When hurt, finish the level's fights and rest with r.
Step on a shrine (_) to raise a skill, then press > to walk to the stairs and go down.

Health and danger

Health does not come back by itself: resting once per level, bandages and potions are all you have. Watch the status column: bleeding, poison, burning and stuns show there. Retreating into a corridor so only one monster reaches you is often the best move.

Equipment

You never find new weapons, only better versions of the ones you carry: enchantments (e.g. of echoes) and damage (weak point, dulled, stuck…) show on the equipment screen e; resting repairs it. Full plate protects most but clanks with every step.

Playing in the browser

Windows: Map, Character, Messages, Inventory and Visible (monsters and items in view) are separate windows; Equipment can be added from Windows ▾. Drag title bars to rearrange, drag the gaps to resize, hover a title for rename and text size. One window shows the original 88×28 screen.
The newest message or question is shown in a box at the top left of the map; the full history is in Messages.
Keys: the numeric keypad, arrow keys or h j k l y u b n move you. Browsers keep some shortcuts (Ctrl+W, Ctrl+T, F5…) for themselves.
No [more] stops: messages go on to the Messages window.
Sound effects are off by default; switch them on with Sound in the top bar.
The game runs in a Web Worker; the first visit installs a small service worker so it can (it reloads once).
If the game ever crashes, a message appears at the top; reload the page to continue from the last autosave.

Credits

Forays into Norrendrin 0.8.4 (2015): Derrick Creamer (2011–2015), an original roguelike (no ancestor game). Licence: MIT (LICENSE.txt).
Sound effects: synthesized for this port at build time (the game has none).
Web port (.NET browser-wasm), stairs walking, command and item menus, windows, autosave, save/load fixes: memmaker (github.com/memmaker/forays).

About this version

Based on Forays into Norrendrin 0.8.4 by Derrick Creamer (MIT licence), upstream source Forays/ForaysIntoNorrendrin @ 3ed1559 (0.8.4 plus the author's later clean-ups).
Our changes (web backend replacing the console, stairs walking, command menu, inventory cursor, window layout, autosave, save/load fixes): memmaker/forays, compare view.
Built with .NET (browser-wasm); text mode, the game's own colours.