Differences Between Slash'EM And Nethack

• Several new classes (Flame Mage, Ice Mage, Necromancer, Undead Slayer and Yeoman) and races (Doppelganger, Drow, Hobbit, Lycanthrope and Vampire). See J. Ali Harlow's spoiler on class- and race-dependent abilities, and my spoiler on classes, races and alignments in Slash'EM. Here is a spoiler on the Doppelganger's self-polymorph ability.
• Various changes relating to the character:
  • Different valid race/class combinations.
  • Different starting items for some classes.
  • Different maximum weapon (and other) skills for some classes.
• Techniques, such as Barbarians flying into a berserk rage and Valkyries practising to improve their skill with their weapon. Jake Kesinger and J. Ali Harlow have written a complete list of techniques and their effects.
• A much longer main dungeon, with many new special levels, and a much shorter Gehennom, with a special level for each demon lord. This means that you won't have to trek through large numbers of boring maze levels.
  • I have created a chart of all the Slash'EM special levels and the depths at which they can be located.
  • Fred Blau's spoiler on the new Sokoban levels.
  • Strategies for robbing One-Eyed Sam's Black Market.
  • Some information on the dreaded Demogorgon, who has his own lair in Slash'EM.
• Integration of the Lethe Patch.
• The GTK (including win32/gtk) and Allegro windowing interfaces.
• Shopkeeper services.
• Toilets.
• Many new monsters, items and artifacts. Cristan Szmajda has written an automatic spoiler generation program and used it to produce tables of all Slash'EM monsters and items and some of their properties. Darshan Shaligram has updated Dylan O'Donnell's artifact spoiler to include information on Slash'EM artifacts. The new monsters include gypsies who play card games with you and read your fortune, and Darshan has also written a spoiler on gypsies. Note that it is no longer possible to get more than one wish from a single gypsy - the second time she draws Infinity, she will wish she wasn't there and disappear. Here's a breakdown of the new items by type:
  • Lots of new weapons including several types of firearms and ammunition. Firearms and ammunition are not generated randomly, and except for bullets cannot appear in shops, but soldiers often have them. Christian Cooper has written a spoiler on firearms.
  • Armour, including the magical effects of the fedora.
  • There are five new rings: the mood ring, the ring of sleeping, and the rings of gain dexterity, gain intelligence and gain wisdom.
  • There are three new amulets: the amulet of flying, the amulet of drain resistance (i.e., immunity to level drain) and the amulet versus stone. An amulet versus stone will save your life if you turn to stone while wearing it. It will then disintegrate if it was cursed, become cursed if it was uncursed, and become uncursed if it was blessed.
  • The new tools are magic candles, torches, medical kits, fishing poles and four types of lightsabers. Unicorn horns also behave differently in Slash'EM and benefit greatly from being enchanted.
  • Several new types of food, including some which have magical effects.
  • There are six new potions: amnesia, blood, vampire blood, clairvoyance, ESP and invulnerability. Also, dipping objects into potions of gain level can have interesting effects.
  • There are no new scrolls.
  • There are many new spells and spellbooks, and Slash'EM's schools of magic are different from Nethack's.
  • There are several new wands: healing, extra healing, draining, fear, create horde and fireball. Also, most wands, including polymorph and cancellation, now have specific appropriate magical effects when they explode.
  • The only new gems or rocks are the healthstone and whetstone.
• Two new types of tame monster: minions sent down by your god and spell beings (magical projections of your mind). Here is more information about the different types of tame monster, and a spoiler on keeping and training pets in Nethack and Slash'EM.
• Two new types of shop: frozen food stores and pet stores.
• New types of special room: giant throne rooms, smelly zoos, dragon lairs, antholes, and abandoned stores.
• Very low or high dexterity affects your AC, and some classes/races also have ``natural protection''.
• Many other differences; here is an incomplete list.
  • Monsters and items can unpolymorph.
  • Invisible objects.
  • Gaining levels requires more XP than Nethack early on, but less later.
  • Magic lamps cost 1000 GP rather than 50.
  • Barbarians, Rogues and Samurai are vastly overcharged in shops.
  • A new challenge (celibacy).
  • Slash'EM monks do much more bare-handed damage than Nethack monks, and also have superb natural protection, making them one of the easiest classes.
  • The Amulet of Yendor no longer causes you to slide back when going up stairs in Gehennom, but you cannot teleport while carrying it.