NetHack/Choosing Role and Race

What type of character to play?

If you are a beginner, it is much easier to stay alive as a big dumb warrior (such as a Barbarian, Valkyrie or Samurai) than as a highly intelligent but physically weak magic user (such as a Wizard or Healer). Race is not as significant as class, although Elves have very low limits on their strength and constitution, so are not recommended to beginners. Alignment (whether you are lawful, neutral or chaotic) is also not too important; its main effect is on the artifact weapons you can obtain by sacrificing to your deity.

Lawful Human Valkyrie is an excellent combination for several reasons. Valkyries start with a highly enchanted small shield which can remain part of their armour for a long time. They also start with a good weapon, and if they are lawful they can dip it in a fountain to convert it into Excalibur. (The Lady of the Lake does not insist that you are a Knight, but she gets annoyed if neutral or chaotic characters try this trick.) Another excellent weapon, Mjollnir, is their guaranteed first gift from sacrificing. The Valkyrie's quest artifact is the Orb of Fate, which halves any damage they take, making it well worth lugging it around despite its weight.

The advantage of a Human Valkyrie over a Dwarven Valkyrie is that all inhabitants of the Gnomish Mines will be friendly to the dwarf but not necessarily to the human. Some see this as a disadvantage, but nothing in the Mines is particularly deadly. Killing the inhabitants is not advisable if they are peaceful, because your god will not approve, but is a useful source of food, experience and equipment if they are hostile.

A few other classes have special features which may help you to learn about the game:

• Barbarians have poison resistance, meaning that you can eat (almost) anything and learn which corpses are poisonous.
• Priests can detect whether items are blessed, uncursed or cursed, which helps with discovering the effect of blessing or cursing items.
• Wizards start with several magic items - useful for exploring what items exist in the game and what they do.
• Healers start with a stethoscope, which is handy for checking the state of health of a monster. Note, though, that Healer is one of the most difficult classes.