=== Attacking and Being Attacked ===
 
Attacking is simple in Angband.  If you move into a creature, you attack him.
You can attack from a distance by firing a missile or by magical means (such
as aiming a wand).  Creatures attack in the same way.  If they move into you,
they attack you.  Some creatures can also cast spells from a distance, and
others can use various breath weapons (such as fire) on you from a distance.

Creatures in walls can not be attacked by wands or other magic attacks
normally stopped by walls, nor can they be shot at with bows and arrows.
Tunnelling into the wall (using the "tunnel" or "alter" command) will allow 
you to attack any creature in the wall. This applies to creatures which 
"pass through" walls: if they "bore through" walls, the wall is no longer
there, and the creature can be targetted normally.

If you are wielding a weapon, the damage for the weapon is used when you hit
a creature.  Otherwise you get a single punch which does minimal damage.

You may "w"ield one weapon for melee combat, and also one missile launcher
(bow, crossbow or sling.) You may also wear one amulet (around the one and 
only neck of the character), two rings (on the two "ring" fingers, i.e. the
third finger of each hand: a magic ring does not function when worn on any
other finger, nor may two be worn on the same finger), one light source, 
and a full set of armor - body armor, shield, helmet, gloves, boots and a
cloak. Any or all of these items may provide powers to the character in 
terms of bonuses to-hit, to-damage, to-armor class, or to other stats (in
the latter case, a single numerical bonus applies to all affected stats.)
 
Firing a missile (while wielding the appropriate launcher) is the only way to
get the "full" power out of the missile.  You may of course throw an arrow at
a monster without shooting it, but you will find the effects will not be what
you had hoped.

Hits and misses are determined by ability to hit versus armor class.  A hit
is a strike that does some damage; a miss may in fact reach a target, but
fails to do any damage.  Higher armor classes make it harder to do damage,
and so lead to more misses; they also reduce the damage from a strike that
actually occurs.
 

=== Your Weapon ===

Carrying a weapon in your backpack does you no good.  You must wield a weapon 
before it can be used in a fight.  A secondary weapon can be kept by keeping
it in the backpack, and switching it with the primary weapon when needed. This 
is most often used when switching between a melee weapon and a digging tool, 
or when carrying two weapons, each of which provides a rare power that the 
character needs at two separate times.

Weapons have two main magical characteristics, their enchanted ability to hit
and their enchanted ability to do damage, expressed as `(+#,+#)'.  A normal
weapon would be `(+0,+0)'.  Many weapons in Angband have bonuses to hit
and/or do damage.  Some weapons are cursed, and have penalties that hurt the
player.  Cursed weapons cannot be unwielded until the curse is lifted.
Identifying a weapon will inform you of the magical bonuses and penalties
and whether or not it is cursed.

Angband assumes that your youth in the rough environment near the dungeons
has taught you the relative merits of different weapons, and displays as
part of their description the damage dice which define their capabilities.
Any damage enchantment is added to the dice roll for that weapon.  The dice
used for a given  weapon is displayed as "XdY".  The number "X" indicates
how many dice to roll, and number "Y" indicates how many sides they have. A
"2d6" weapon will thus give damage from 2 to 12, plus any damage bonus. The
weight of a weapon is also a consideration.  Heavy weapons may hit harder,
but they are also harder to use.  Depending on your strength, dexterity,
character class, and weapon weight, you may get several attacks per turn: 
high dexterity and strength and low weapon weight are the main factors.
Warriors may get up to a maximum of 6 attacks per turn: mages are limited 
to only 4: other classes may get up to 5.

Missile booster weapons, such as bows, have their characteristics added to
those of the missile used, if the proper weapon/missile combination is used,
and the the launcher multiplier is applied to the total damage, making
missile weapons very powerful given the proper missiles, especially if they
are enchanted.

Although you receive any magical bonuses an unidentified weapon may possess
when you wield it, those bonuses will not be added in to the displayed
values of to-hit and to-dam on your character sheet.  You must identify the
weapon before the displayed values reflect the real values used.

Finally, some rare weapons have special abilities.  These are called ego
weapons, and are feared by great and meek.  An ego weapon must be wielded
to receive the benefit of its abilities. It should be noted that some of 
these items are considerably more powerful than others, and generally the 
most powerful items are the rarest. Also important is the fact that not all
ego-items are nice...


=== Your Armor Class ===

Your armor class (or AC) is a number that describes the amount and the
quality of armor being worn. Armor class will generally run from about 0 to
150, though exceptionally good armor can improve even on the latter figure.
 
The larger your armor class, the more protective it is.  A negative armor
class would actually help get you hit.  Armor protects you in three manners.
Firstly, it makes you harder to be hit for damage.  A hit for no damage 
counts as a miss, and is described as a miss.  Secondly, good armor will 
absorb some of the damage that your character would have taken from normal 
attacks.  Thirdly, acid damage is reduced by wearing body armor (but the 
armor will be damaged instead).  It is obvious that a high armor class is 
vital for surviving the deeper levels of Angband.

Each piece of armour has a base armor value, which, like the damage from
weapons, is assumed known by the player, and a magic bonus, which will not
be displayed unless the armor has been identified or was bought in a store.

Armor class values are always displayed between a set of square brackets, 
as "[#]" or "[#,+#]".  The first value is the base armor class of the armor.  
The second number is the magical bonus of the item, which is only displayed 
if known, and will always have a sign preceding the value.  Note that a few 
rings, amulets, and weapons also have the "[+#]" notation, indicating that 
they provide an armor bonus.  Many pieces of heavy body armor will also have 
a "(-#)" (in normal brackets) before the "[#,+#]", which indicates that the 
weight of the armor decreases your chances of hitting monsters.  This can 
range from nonexistent for very light armor to (-8) for the heaviest armor!