Bones
When you die, there is a chance that the level as you left it is saved, to be reloaded in a later game. Such levels are known as bones levels, bones files or simply bones.
Clues
How to tell if a level is a bones level:
- Large concentration of different monsters
- Few items on the floor
- Presence of corpses, which are never randomly generated
Forensics
When encountering a bones level, it can be advantageous to know some details of the deceased, or at least the his or her class. For example, if you find a grave with a quarterstaff, a randomly named cloak, two spellbooks, and a magic marker, you can be fairly certain the corpse is that of an early wizard, from which you can deduce that the cloak is a cloak of magic resistance. This method comes with no guarantees, but the more "indicator items" you find, the more certain you can be.
Class | is indicated by |
---|---|
Archeologist | bullwhip, fedora, tinning kit |
Barbarian | two-handed sword |
Caveman | large number of rocks |
Healer | scalpel, stethoscope |
Knight | lance, many apples and carrots |
Monk | many apples and oranges |
Priest | 4 potions of [water]], both of: [mace]] and robe |
Ranger | two large stacks of arrows |
Rogue | |
Samurai | large stack of ya |
Tourist | Hawaiian shirt, expensive camera, credit card, stack of 4 scrolls |
Valkyrie | |
Wizard | quarterstaff, randomly named cloak, two spellbooks, many other magical items |
Rogues and Valkyries are hard to identify, since they both start with items common to other classes, or commonly generated.