The [url=http://dobrazupa.org/tournament/0.19/]Crawl 0.19 Tournament[/url] has ended. Congrats to winners, first-timers and high-scorers!

[b]Hang out in the new Discord server while you play! [url]https://discord.gg/3JEyRYg[/url][/b]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/IdbvjmJ.png[/img]

[b]What is Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup?[/b]

Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup is a popular, free [URL=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roguelike]roguelike[/URL] game focusing on [URL=http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/about]tactics, balance, variety and a lasting challenge[/URL]. A roguelike is generally a turn-based RPG, with an emphasis on randomly generated worlds, a high depth of play, huge menageries of monsters, and some MacGuffin you have to dig up and escape with. Most roguelikes use ASCII characters for graphics, though an increasing number utilize graphical tiles, like Crawl. Roguelikes are usually very tough to beat, and death is often permanent: once you're dead, you're dead.

This has all of the elements of a classic roguelike, but avoids the major annoyances and monotonous requirements present in many of them. It makes playing the game a natural experience, without "gotcha" deaths that demand an encyclopedia of knowledge. Everything you need to know to survive is present in each turn, whether it be through careful observation, making use of the resources you've collected and learned, or referring to the help by pressing "?" if you're not sure what each key does yet.

Crawl is great because it demands attention to survive, but skips or automates a lot of the boring shit that slows down similar games. New changes always have reasoning based in fun or balance. When you die, it's usually because you overestimated your strength, took a chance, and lost. You'll learn from each death; you will die early and often. When the game smiles upon you with some really good items and luck, hubris often becomes your worst enemy. Although the game is heavily dependent on luck, victory is always possible even if you are getting the short stick at every turn. Veteran players can streak wins together with random characters.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/jas7Lxu.png [/img]

[U]Major design goals[/U]:
[list]
[*]challenging and unpredictable gameplay, with an emphasis on tactical skill
[*]meaningful decisions (no no-brainer, works-every-time-with-every-character play choices)
[*]grinding is unnecessary
[*]a simplified and elegant interface, with a helpful tutorial and mouse support for new players
[/list]
[U]Minor design goals[/U]:
[list]
[*]clarity of design (playable without the need for external spoilers)
[*]thematic consistency (no lightsaber-wielding orcs)
[*]replayability and lasting challenge (with optional branches, multiple race/background/god choices, and optional challenges)
[*]proper use of out-of-depth monsters
[/list]

[b]What's new in v0.19?[/b]

New Gods: [b]Uskayaw the Reveler[/b] and [b]Hepliaklqana the Forgotten[/b]!

[img]http://i.imgur.com/yHXdzdf.gif [/img]

Uskayaw the Reveler offers remarkable combat powers to acolytes, peaking at the ability to instantly kill any targeted foe, but the piety that powers those abilities drops back to nothing after every battle. Hepliaklqana the Forgotten gives followers a single, permanent ally, which grows in strength alongside the player.

[b]Other Notable Changes:[/b]
[list]
[*][b]Branches[/b]: Lair and its sub-branches have been made shorter but deadlier, Zot offers new perils to the unwary adventurer, and the Desolation of Salt, a new timed portal vault, offers hoards of ancient artefacts to those strong enough to face down the unique threats hidden in its blinding saltstorms.
[*][b]Spells[/b]: Two new spells have been added: Lesser Beckoning, which pulls enemies straight to your feet, and Infestation, a high-level Necromancy spell that spawns death scarabs from the remains of slain foes.
[*][b]Items[/b]: All Long Blades now offer a ‘riposte’ effect, giving a chance for an automatic counterattack whenever an enemy misses the player. The Fencer’s Gloves let you riposte with any weapon.
[*][b]Characters[/b]: Halflings and Kobolds have had their aptitudes and stats reworked, pushing the former to be powerful heavy-armour fighters, and the latter toward stabbing and spellcasting.
[*][b]Gods[/b]: Pakellas was removed for being a bit overpowered. Nemelex Xobeh’s decks have been streamlined and reworked, and Sif Muna’s abilities have been overhauled to be much more fun to use.
[*]Lots of updated monster sprites and other tiles.
[/list]

There's tons of little changes, so read the [url=https://github.com/crawl/crawl/blob/stone_soup-0.19/crawl-ref/docs/changelog.txt]Full 0.19 Changelog[/url] if you play often.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/N7UNdY6.gif [/img]

[b]Why play Online?[/b]
[list]
[*]Spectate live games and chat with the player and others! Check out [url=http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/player-status]this list[/url] of everyone playing right now, and click "Watch" to see their live game.
[*]Progress and settings (rcfile) are saved.
[*]Keep track of your victories, defeats, and [url=http://crawl.akrasiac.org/scoring/overview.html]all kinds of stats[/url].
[*]Always up-to-date, with nightly builds available to play.
[*]Participate in the [url=http://dobrazupa.org/tournament/0.19/]November 4 - 20 Tournament[/url] to show off your skill!
[/list]

You can play Crawl in your browser very easily. The most popular servers are:
[list]
[*][url=http://crawl.akrasiac.org:8080/]CAO[/url]:  US West
[*][url=http://crawl.berotato.org:8080/]CBRO[/url]: US East
[*][url=https://crawl.jorgrun.rocks:8081/]CJR[/url]: Montreal
[*][url=http://crawl.xtahua.com:8080/]CXC[/url]:  France
[*][url=http://underhound.eu:8080/]CUE[/url]:  Germany
[*][url=http://crawl.project357.org/]CPO[/url]:  Australia
[*][i]CSZO is dead. you can get your morgues/rcfiles [url=https://dobrazupa.org/]here[/url].[/i]
[/list]

Other servers and instructions for joining via SSH/Telnet (with a client such as [url=http://www.fosshub.com/KiTTY.html]KiTTY[/url] or [url=http://www.putty.org/]PuTTY[/url]) are available here: [url=http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/howto]How to play Online[/url].

[b]Play Offline[/b]

If you prefer a lagless experience offline, you can [url=https://crawl.develz.org/download.htm]Download Crawl[/url] for Windows, Max OSX, Linux and Android.

[img]http://i.imgur.com/J18fIHG.gif [/img]

The chats, communities and resources:
[list]
[*][url=http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23crawl]##crawl on Freenode[/url] - Official Dungeon Crawl IRC. You can chat, ask for help, and get up-to-date information from bots, veterans, and devs.
[*][url=http://crawl.chaosforge.org/]Crawl Wiki[/url] - A good source for general information and spoilers. Be wary of the game version displayed on each page; some will be quite outdated!
[*][url="https://lookupdb.guy.ht/"]LearnDB[/url] - Searchable repository of Dungeon Crawl lore. Almost always up to date & accurate, but sometimes its terseness and in-jokes do it no favors.
[*][url=http://crawl.develz.org/wordpress/bots]Knowledge Bot[/url] - Uses LearnDB, IRC bots and sprites to provide a very nice search engine for almost anything about the game.
[*][url="https://crawl.develz.org/tavern/"]The Tavern[/url] - Official Dungeon Crawl forum.
[*][url=http://www.reddit.com/r/DCSS]/r/DCSS[/url] - le reddit.
[*][url=http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=%23%23gooncrawl]##gooncrawl on Freenode[/url] - For a goonier chat.
[/list]

[img]http://i.imgur.com/fQukBBW.png [/img]

Other Stuff:
[list]
[*][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCDdJzKV82E]Hito's Let's Play aimed at beginners[/url]
[*]:nws: [url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3718266]Pyke's Crawl Diary[/url] - solid crawl advice, ramblings of a lunatic, and much more
[/list]

Below is a screenshot of a typical early-game experience. I am a Kobold Assassin who got a little overzealous in fighting these three very basic enemies. The adder has poisoned me while the jackal and hobgoblin did little chunks of damage quickly. I only had one unidentified potion available, so I drank it in hopes that it would heal me or cure my poison. Unfortunately, it turned me into a tree, and now I will likely die. If I had faced these enemies one at a time in these weak early stages, or ran away from them, I would have lived to see the next floor!

[timg]http://i.imgur.com/ScTA4ok.jpg[/timg]

[B]Earlier threads:[/B]
[url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3773875]Crawl 0.18: Purple Reign[/url]
[url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3750248]Crawl 0.17: Corn enemies no longer popcorn[/url]
[url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3706035]Crawl 0.16: Ru asks you to sacrifice your free time! This is a trivial butt[/url]
[url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3661030]Crawl 0.15: Terrifying, Ever-Gnashing Radulae[/url]
[url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3624207]Crawl 0.14: You feel energized by your suffering![/url]
[url=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3585776]Crawl 0.13: FoIE GrAs: You are engorged.[/url]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3547339]Crawl 0.12: Erolcha banished me and gave me apocalypse crabs[/url]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3510054]Crawl 0.11: Eight legs and it's not an Octopode: Welcome to Spider[/url]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3468734]Crawl 0.10: Your tentacles turn into razor-sharp scythe blades[/URL]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3432171]Crawl 0.9: A meow rips itself from your throat[/URL]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3407877]Crawl 0.8: Mennas II Society[/URL]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3332877]Crawl 0.7: The Dying Game[/URL]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3285755]Crawl 0.6: Slouching towards The Abyss[/URL]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3155652]Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup 0.5.0: Now with less Oklob![/URL]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2902303]Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup 0.4.0[/URL]
[URL=http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2671349]Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup 0.3.0[/URL]

[sub]I am not always playing or checking on this game week to week. Please PM me if any important info is missing/changed.[/sub]