Hit and run
Hit and run is a trick used for fighting monsters which may have powerful melee attacks, but are slower than the player, such as mimics, black puddings, and rothes. This tactic is known as hack-and-back in Angband circles.
A monster can use each turn it gets for either movement or attacking you, but not both. For example, if a monster moves at least twice as slowly as the player, it cannot melee you the turn immediately after it moves, and you can safely attack it on that turn.
All slow monsters have to pause a turn at a predictable rhythm, e. g. always after three movements. You can hit such a monster as often as you wish without a single counterattack: You start stepping back immediately after you attack it, and then you attack it only when it moves adjacent to you right before its scheduled pause. You can use hit and run tactics for all of your attack types: melee, pounding, missiles, and spells.
When you are only fast, the extra speed is random (2 in 3 chance of +6).[1]. Thus, you should not count on it for hit-and-run tactics unless you can take a hit or two or are attacking from a distance, even if that means to waste turns. When you are very fast, however, you are guaranteed at least 18 speed (and a 1 in 3 chance of another +6), and can successfully defeat anything slower while never getting hit. Extra speed from polymorphing yourself or riding is always reliable.
If you are hit-and-running in a circle along hallways or around a boulder, watch out for monsters that could block the path ahead of you. Using hit and run on puddings when using an iron weapon is not totally safe since if the monster divides, that extra monster could appear adjacent to you and block the way or attack the next turn.
