Unused symbols
| Printable ASCII characters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ~ | ! | @ | # | $ | % | ^ | & | * | ( | ) | _ | + | space | |||||||||||||||||||||
| ` | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 | - | = | { | } | | | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ww | Ee | Rr | Tt | Yy | Uu | Ii | Oo | Pp | : | " | [ | ] | \ | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Aa | Ss | Dd | Ff | Gg | Hh | Jj | Kk | Ll | ? | ; | ' | Ctrl | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zz | Xx | Cc | Vv | Bb | Nn | Mm | , | . | / | < | > | Alt | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The ASCII characters 6, 7, 8, and 9 are not used to represent anything in NetHack by default. However, you can use the keys 0–9 to specify a numeric prefix for a command or in a menu.
, is used only on the Rogue level to represent an amulet. , is also the pick up command, and the command to select all things on the current page in a menu in the tty and curses interfaces.
Some players change the "monsters" option in the options file to take advantage of one of these unused symbols. A default line looks like:
OPTIONS=monsters:abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ@ '&;:~]
One alternative is:
OPTIONS=monsters:abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ@8'&;:~]
which uses "8" for ghosts and shades. This makes them detectable via telepathy as well as generally easier to see.
Historical uses
- 8 was used as the glyph for Medusa in some early versions of NetHack – from NetHack 2.2a through to NetHack 2.3e
- 9 was used as the glyph for the generic giant in some early versions of NetHack – from NetHack 1.3d through to NetHack 2.3e
- , was used as the glyph for the trapper in some early versions of NetHack – from NetHack 1.3d through to NetHack 2.3e
This page may need to be updated for the current version of NetHack.
It may contain text specific to NetHack 3.4.3. Information on this page may be out of date.
Editors: After reviewing this page and making necessary edits, please change the {{nethack-343}} tag to the current version's tag or {{noversion}} as appropriate.
