The mines are full of objects just waiting to be picked up and used. How did they get there? Well, the main source for useful items are all the foolish adventurers that proceeded into the dungeon before you. They get killed, and the helpful creatures scatter the various treasure throughout the dungeon.
Several objects may occupy a given floor location, which may or may not also contain one creature. However, doors, rubble, traps, and staircases cannot coexist with items. As below, any item may actually be a “pile” of up to 40 identical items. With the right choice of “options”, you may be able to “stack” several items in the same grid.
You pick up objects by moving on top of them. You can carry up to 23 different items in your backpack while wearing and wielding up to 12 others. Although you are limited to 23 different items, each item may actually be a “pile” of up to 40 similar items. If you take off an item, it will go into your backpack if there is room: if there is no room in your backpack, it will drop onto the floor, so be careful when swapping one wielded weapon or worn piece of armor for another when your pack is full.
You are, however, limited in the total amount of weight that you can carry. If you exceed this value, you become slower, making it easier for monsters to chase you. Note that there is no upper bound on how much you can carry, if you do not mind being slow. Your weight “limit” is determined by your strength.
Many objects found within the dungeon have special commands for their use. Wands must be Aimed, staves must be Used, scrolls must be Read, and potions must be Quaffed. You may, in general, not only use items in your pack, but also items on the ground, if you are standing on top of them. At the beginning of the game all items are assigned a random ‘flavor’. For example potions of ‘cure light wounds’ could be ‘red potions’. If you have never used, sold, or bought one of these potions, you will only see the flavor. You can learn what type of item it is by selling it to a store, or using it (although learning by use does not always apply to magic devices). Lastly, items in stores that you have not yet identified the flavor of will be labeled ‘{unseen}’.
Chests are complex objects, containing traps, locks, and possibly treasure or other objects inside them once they are opened. Many of the commands that apply to traps or doors also apply to chests and, like traps and doors, these commands do not work if you are carrying the chest.
One item in particular will be discussed here. The scroll of “Word of Recall” can be found within the dungeon, or bought at the alchemist in town. All classes start with one of these scrolls in their inventory. It acts in two manners, depending upon your current location. If read within the dungeon, it will teleport you back to town. If read in town, it will teleport you back down to the deepest level of the dungeon which your character has previously been on. This makes the scroll very useful for getting back to the deeper levels of Angband. Once the scroll has been read it takes a while for the spell to act, so don’t expect it to save you in a crisis. During this time the word ‘recall’ will appear on the bottom of the screen below the dungeon. Reading a second scroll before the first takes effect will cancel the action.
You may “inscribe” any object with a textual inscription of your choice. These inscriptions are not limited in length, though you may not be able to see the whole inscription on the item. The game applies special meaning to inscriptions containing any text of the form ‘@#’ or ‘@x#’ or ‘!x’ or ‘!*’, see ‘customize.txt’.
The game provides some “fake” inscriptions to help you keep track of your possessions. Weapons, armor and jewellery which have properties you don’t know about yet will get a ‘{??}’ label. Wands, staves and rods can get a ‘{tried}’ label after use, particularly if they have an effect on a monster and were tested in the absence of monsters.
It is rumored that rings of power and extra rare spell books may be found deeper in the dungeon…
And lastly, a final warning: not all objects are what they seem. The line between tasty food and a poisonous mushroom is a fine one, and sometimes a chest full of treasure will grow teeth in its lid and bite your hand off…