RAVENBAND - The Domains of Dread
================================

A gothic horror roguelike set in Ravenloft, built on the Angband engine.
You are trapped in Barovia by the Mists.  To escape, you must enter Castle
Ravenloft and destroy its master, Strahd von Zarovich.


RUNNING IT (Windows)
--------------------

1. Unzip this folder anywhere you like - Desktop is fine.  Keep the folder
   together; the game needs the "lib" folder beside the .exe.
2. Double-click ravenband.exe.

That's it.  There is no installer and nothing is written outside this
folder, so to uninstall, delete the folder.

If Windows SmartScreen warns you the publisher is unknown, that is because
the game is not code-signed (signing costs money and this is a personal
project).  Click "More info" then "Run anyway".


THE BASICS
----------

Movement      arrow keys, or the number pad
Attack        walk into a monster
Pick up       g
Inventory     i          Equipment    e
Wear/wield    w          Take off     t
Rest          R then Enter
Look around   l
Full help     ?

Stairs are the important ones:

  >  go further INTO the castle
  <  come back toward the village

The castle runs in both directions from the village.  Going in takes you
down through the catacombs, the dungeons and the larders first; once you
are past those you are climbing the keep and then the towers.  So ">" is
always "deeper into Ravenloft", whether that means down or up.


A FEW THINGS WORTH KNOWING
--------------------------

- Death is permanent.  That is the genre.  Expect to lose characters, and
  play the next one better.
- The village shops are worth visiting first.  Buy Potions of Cure Light
  Wounds, and more Flasks of Oil than feels sensible - they are the best
  early weapon in the game, thrown with v.
- Rest (R, Enter) to heal between fights.  It costs game time, not real
  time, and there is no reason to walk around injured.
- If a monster looks unfamiliar, look it up before engaging.  Press l to
  look, then recall its lore.  This game rewards caution heavily.
- Save and quit with Ctrl-X.  Saving does not let you undo a death; the
  save is deleted when you die.


IF SOMETHING BREAKS
-------------------

This is a personal project in active development, so bugs are expected and
reports are genuinely welcome.  Useful things to include: what you were
doing, what you saw on screen, and your character's race/class and depth.

Built from Angband 4.2.6.  Angband is free software under the GNU GPL v2;
the source for this variant is available on request.