Hack 1.0.3

Hack 1.0.3 is the fourth public release of Hack. Andries Brouwer published it to the (now-obsolete) Usenet newsgroup net.sources.games in July 1985.

Availability
Hack 1.0.3 was distributed as a patch. This was presented as an "ed script", a method of distributing patches that is now obsolete.

Google Groups has archived the patch.

Andries Brouwer has a Hack 1.0.3 distribution at.

Ali Harlow has a Hack 1.0.3 distribution at.

Significant changes

 * Means are provided to avoid bugs and limitations on certain systems.
 * Wizard mode appears for the first time.
 * Inventory letters can be kept constant at the user's option.
 * Cursed weapons are handled more consistently.
 * A real amulet of Yendor can no longer be found in bones files.
 * An adventurer who walks into a pool has a chance to teleport to safety.
 * A #pray command exists, but is not functional (it just immobilizes you for a couple of turns).
 * Removing a ring of fire resistance while in hell leads to YASD unless naturally fire resistant.
 * Acid blobs no longer spoil.
 * Stoning is now gradual, and can be cured by eating a dead lizard or acid blob.
 * The dead lizard no longer affects confusion.
 * Invisibility is handled more consistently.
 * Smoky potions may release a ghost (not a djinni, as these do not yet exist).
 * Shopkeepers take exception to digging through the floor in a shop.
 * Support for System V UNIX as well as BSD.

The adventurer
The player may choose a Tourist, a Speleologist, a Fighter, a Knight, a Cave-(wo)man, or a Wizard. All classes permit male and female adventurers.

The adventurer has experience, hit points, armor class, and strength. He may advance to experience level 14.

The initial pet is a little dog.

Dungeon features
The dungeon in Hack 1.0.3 has no branches; there is one way up and one way down. The first 25 levels or so consist of rooms, and beyond that, the adventurer encounters mazes. The deepest dungeon level is 40.

Dungeon level 30 and deeper are designated as "Hell". Entering hell without fire resistance, or losing it once there, is an instadeath. As gremlins did not yet exist, the only way to lose fire resistance is to take off the ring. These levels have only up-stairs, and the only way to enter is by level teleportation.

Special rooms are shops, beehives, crypts, swamps, treasure zoos, and vaults.

The Amulet of Yendor is found in the posession of the wizard of Yendor in a maze level. He is in a small room in the center of a maze level, surrounded by water and accompanied by a hell hound.

Other maze levels have wands of wishing tucked under a boulder in a dead-end square. (Yes, there's more than one.) Since NetHack 3.1.0, one version of Medusa's lair has a random wand in a similar spot, commemorating the former location of the wand of wishing.

Bestiary
Hack 1.0.3 introduces no new monsters.

The following monsters may be encountered:

Objects
Hack 1.0.3 introduces no new objects.

Artifacts
Hack 1.0.3 has only one artifact, Orcrist. Any two handed sword may be named Orcrist and will do d10 extra points damage to orcs. There can even be more than one Orcrist.

Amulets
Only the Amulet of Yendor and the cheap plastic imitation exist in Hack 1.0.3.

Food
Food items in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * food ration
 * tripe ration
 * pancake
 * dead lizard
 * fortune cookie
 * carrot
 * tin
 * orange
 * apple
 * pear
 * melon
 * banana
 * candy bar
 * egg
 * clove of garlic
 * lump of royal jelly
 * corpse (called dead foo rather than foo corpse)

The tin did not contain the remains of monsters, but rather a randomly-chosen food such as peaches or, if the adventurer is lucky, spinach.

The dead lizard was a found object rather than a corpse; live lizards did not exist in Hack 1.0.3. It otherwise had its modern properties in this version.

Weapons
Weapons in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * arrow
 * sling bullet
 * crossbow bolt
 * dart
 * rock
 * boomerang
 * mace
 * axe
 * flail
 * long sword
 * two handed sword
 * dagger
 * worm tooth
 * crysknife
 * spear
 * bow
 * sling
 * crossbow

Tools
Tools in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * whistle
 * magic whistle
 * expensive camera
 * ice box
 * pick-axe
 * can opener

The ice box is the only container. Then as now, it preserved corpses, and was generally too heavy (and too rare) to be useful for inventory management.

Armor
Armor items in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * helmet
 * plate mail
 * splint mail
 * banded mail
 * chain mail
 * scale mail
 * ring mail
 * studded leather armor
 * leather armor
 * elven cloak
 * shield
 * pair of gloves

Potions
Potions in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * potion of restore strength
 * potion of booze
 * potion of invisibility
 * potion of fruit juice
 * potion of healing
 * potion of paralysis
 * potion of monster detection
 * potion of object detection
 * potion of sickness
 * potion of confusion
 * potion of gain strength
 * potion of speed
 * potion of blindness
 * potion of gain level
 * potion of extra healing
 * potion of levitation

Scrolls
Scrolls in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * scroll of mail (unconditional, even though mail daemon is dependent on MAIL)
 * scroll of enchant armor
 * scroll of destroy armor
 * scroll of confuse monster
 * scroll of scare monster
 * scroll of blank paper
 * scroll of remove curse
 * scroll of enchant weapon
 * scroll of damage weapon
 * scroll of create monster
 * scroll of taming
 * scroll of genocide
 * scroll of light
 * scroll of teleportation
 * scroll of gold detection
 * scroll of food detection
 * scroll of identify
 * scroll of magic mapping
 * scroll of amnesia
 * scroll of fire
 * scroll of punishment

The scroll of damage weapon acts as the modern scroll of enchant weapon does when cursed. The scroll of genocide acts, in all cases, as the modern blessed scroll; but most symbols refer to only one monster anyway.

Wands
Wands in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * wand of light
 * wand of secret door detection
 * wand of create monster
 * wand of wishing
 * wand of striking
 * wand of slow monster
 * wand of speed monster
 * wand of undead turning
 * wand of polymorph
 * wand of cancellation
 * wand of teleportation
 * wand of make invisible
 * wand of digging
 * wand of magic missile
 * wand of fire
 * wand of sleep
 * wand of cold
 * wand of death

Rings
Rings in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * ring of adornment
 * ring of teleportation
 * ring of regeneration
 * ring of searching
 * ring of see invisible
 * ring of stealth
 * ring of levitation
 * ring of poison resistance
 * ring of aggravate monster
 * ring of hunger
 * ring of fire resistance
 * ring of cold resistance
 * ring of protection from shape changers
 * ring of conflict
 * ring of gain strength
 * ring of increase damage
 * ring of protection
 * ring of warning
 * ring of teleport control

Because charisma does not exist in Hack 1.0.3, the ring of adornment is a useless item.

Gems
Gems in Hack 1.0.3 are:


 * diamond
 * ruby
 * sapphire
 * emerald
 * turquoise stone
 * aquamarine stone
 * tourmaline stone
 * topaz stone
 * opal stone
 * garnet stone
 * amethyst stone
 * agate stone
 * onyx stone
 * jasper stone
 * jade stone

and worthless pieces of blue, red, yellow, and green glass.

Other items
Other items not appearing in the above categories are:


 * heavy iron ball
 * iron chain
 * enormous rock

It is not possible to pick up an iron chain, nor can they be generated from iron golems, because these do not exist in Hack 1.0.3.

Legacy
Andries Brouwer ceased development of Hack after version 1.0.3.

Don Kneller ported Hack 1.0.3 to the PC, producing a long series of PC Hack versions, eventually implementing IBMgraphics.

Mike Stephenson took up development of Hack, eventually producing NetHack 1.3d.

Versions of Hack 1.0.3 are still distributed with operating systems of the BSD family.