nlarn

Release 0.7.8

Sat, 13 Dec 2025 10:15:00 +0000

It’s the time again! A new version of NLarn has seen the light of the day!

The development of the last six months brought some improvements to the optical appearance of the game. On one hand, the colour scheme of the UI can be changed, besides the traditional colours there are five new and appealing colour schemes to pick from.

The new colour theme "sourlick"

On the other hand, the game’s setting always called for some blood and gore! Now the player’s character turns red when injured and blood spilled by critters and the player causes stains on the dungeon floor and walls.

Grave injuries and a lot of spilled blood

On the tactical front, world and combat interactions were enriched: gelatinous cubes now enguld and corrode items, rust monsters eat iron items they find on the floor, and colliding spheres of annihilation inflict real blast damage when they explode.

To reduce the differences to the original Larn, some monster resistances were added and key binding modified.

A healthy round of bugfixes underpins all of this, addressing crashes from traps and font scaling, correcting color and stealth behavior, fixing broken Spirit Naga attacks, rebalancing demon lord difficulty, and restoring proper post-victory challenge scaling.

Games started with the previous version 0.7.7 can be continued with this version.

Download NLarn 0.7.8 from Sourceforge.

Release 0.7.7

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 13:05:09 +0000

After another hiatus finally some news! Fresh and colourful comes NLarn 0.7.7.

In the last five years, most terminal emulators do no longer interpret bold as bright anymore, as 256 colours are supported everywhere and people seemingly decided that backwards compatibility to the eighties is not required anymore. In the result, the game looked quite broken and had to be fixed. With more colours!

256 colours

Games created by the previous version 0.7.6 are not compatible. Hopefully future additions will not break save files anymore!

Download NLarn 0.7.7 from Sourceforge.

Changes:

Switch to 256 colours
New weapon: the elven longsword - elves may be equipped with it
Overhaul the material of some weapon:
- All spears are made of wood
- The elven short sword is now made of mithril
- The flail is now made of wood
Reduce the probability of monsters with powerful weapons
Reduce the probability of weapons breaking
Reduce the probability of monsters dropping weapons
Show carried gold in yellow (suggested by jv84)
The potion of see invisible now cures blindness (suggested by jv84)
Modified potions of instant healing: they now always cure poisoning and sickness. The previous special behaviour of blessed potions of instant healing got removed.
Healing spell and healing potion no longer cure sickness
Show attended courses in school
Stay at home until explicitly leaving (with ESC)
More robust save file format. Future additions of items will not break existing savegames anymore
Toggle full screen mode with ALT-Enter (macOS and Windows)
Change font size while the game is running (macOS and Windows)
Switch Windows build to WIN64

Fixed bugs:

Fix a crash bug fighting regenerating monsters when playing on difficulty level 10 (spotted by r0cc0r0cc0)
Fix getting numeric input (macOS and Windows)
Fix enlightenment effect wrapping around map borders
Improve handling of terminal resizes while showing dialogues
Fix typo in monastery (spotted by jv84)
Fix compilation with recent compilers (patch by Frank Uhlig)
Fix compilation on FreeBSD (found in r7st’s fork)

Switching to 256 colours

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 20:03:00 +0000

Starting the game again after a long time, I’ve noticed that modern terminals no longer interpret the Curses attribute A_BOLD as bright colour. This sounds obscure, but as the traditional Curses interfaces only supported 8 colours, this was the way to go to get 16 (!) colours. Hence the display of this game was broken in some terminals in their default configuration! I’ve noticed this in the new Terminal included in Fedora 41, but also the sweet COSMIC Terminal behaves like this.

With 256 colours, we do not need to use A_BOLD to modify colours anymore and the first-time experience is okay again. Unfortunately PDCurses, which is essential for the Windows and macOS builds of the game, only supports 256 colour pairs, so we cannot use all possible combinations of foreground and background colours in the game.

Gladly, only a few colours require a background, so we can use the whole lot of colours in the game on the black background of the game. And fortune smiled upon us, as 8 colours of the 256 of the enhanced palette are duplicates! These redundant colours are now used for the UI colours.

To make the colours accessible in the game, each had to have an unique name. There are some lists of names to be found on the web, but unfortunately these all contain duplicates, leaving a lot of the colours without a name. Hence I had to find an distinct name for every colour.

XTerm 256 colours palette

The colour names were carefully assembled from various sources, mainly by using Thomas Dickey’s helper script closest-rgb.pl, which was designed to find the closest colour names for the XTerm colour palette. This script was run against the original X11 list of colours (which it was designed for), Wikipedia’s list of RAL colours, Crayola crayon colors and generic colour names (A-F) (G-M) (N-Z), and the list of traditional Japanese colour names (actually I found a JavaScript representation of the data, which was much easier to work with).

The script not only shows the closest match for a value, but also the distance of the colour to the named colour. Usually I’ve picked the colour name with the best match, but there were still quite a few duplicates and bad matches. Those I’ve fed into the ArtyClick Color Name Finder, which knew a nice name for most of the remaining colours.

I’m quite happy with the resulting names.

I have assigned new colours to most items and monsters. For the latter I’ve tried to assign a colour that matches the well-known D&D style of the monsters. Stay tuned for the next release, which will include these changes - soon (TM).

Release 0.7.6

Sat, 23 May 2020 06:43:00 +0000

New month, new features. This release mainly seeks to fix the macOS package, which was broken in 0.7.5. But also some other bugs, that only affected first time players were fixed and last but not least casting the spell “fireball” finally works in all cases and places on the maps.

But also something new will sure delight the heart of any adventurer: some monsters will now appear in packs and move through the caverns together.

Games created by the previous version 0.7.5 are compatible and can be continued.

Download NLarn 0.7.6 from Sourceforge.

The Changes:

Some monsters now appear in packs (e.g. osquips and rothes)

Pack of orcs

Some monsters produce sounds when attacking
Differentiate between amulets and talismans
Add some missing monster resistances
Shatter potions when exposed to fire
Consistently call the currency “gold”
Consistently show monastery messages as windows
Sort stats in obituary matching to order on main screen
Document that shop prices for item stacks are per item

The fixed bugs:

Fix macOS application bundle
Handle empty scoreboard correctly
Show undefined gender correctly in configuration dialogue
Several fixes to casting fireballs:
- now works in the topmost corridor
- selecting the location only allows valid selections
- red monsters are shown as light red when they’ll be hit.
Bring back the Eye of Larn (after red_kangaroo)
Keep townsfolk inside the town area
Fix debit message

Release 0.7.5

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 16:49:00 +0000

After three weeks the next release on NLarn is finished. Mainly driven by the desire to fix saving highscores on Windows, which was broken in the previous version 0.7.4, this release also brings some nice improvements which were long wished for.

A main menu now welcomes the player when starting the game; when a character dies, instead of disrespectfully terminating, the player returns to the main menu and can immediately start over. The interface has also been subtly improved in other aspects: important messages now stand out in bright colours and finally items on the player’s position are menitoned in the game log, sparing the effort of always examining places with items.

On winning the game, the difficulty level is raised and subsequent games will be more difficult then the previous games. Finally NLarn follows its paragon in this aspect. Except this automatism, everything related to increased difficulty was implemented more than a decade ago. Be prepared to pay your taxes to the Larn Revenue Service!

Games created by the previous version 0.7.4 are compatible and can be continued. I’m also happy to announce that the macOS installation package, which was missing for the previos release, has returned for this release.

Download NLarn 0.7.5 from Sourceforge and continue your endeavours in the caverns of Larn!

The changes.

Add a menu system: instead of dropping directly into the game on start, present a menu with the option to start a or continue the saved game, configure the settings and view the highscores. When the player dies, don’t drop out of the game, but return to the menu.

Main menu

Increase difficulty after winning the game
Emphasise important messages with color (e.g. a critical hit is shown in bright red)
Emphasise most recent message in the log, show others grayed out
Mention items at player’s position in the log
Improve the result of the charm monster spell
Improve monster status descriptions
Remove the option to set the game difficulty from the command line
Increased robustness against broken configuration files

The fixed bugs.

Fix saving highscores on Windows
They’re the caverns, not some random dungeon
Consistent naming of the buildings
Fix sleep and hold monster for townsfolk
Fix generating giant bats (not generated by 0.7.4)

Release 0.7.4

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 13:17:00 +0000

More than a year has passed since the last version of NLarn, but finally, due to external circumstances (hint: mainly the global lockdown), I had the time and felt the need to finish the last remaining issue that blocked this release.

The user interface received a significant amount of polish and should feel more consistent. When the player is involved in some action that takes many turns to complete, a popup window will indicate what is going on. And finally the game can be configured from within the game, without editing arcane configuration files in forbidden places. The random number generator got replaced; the new RNG allows to save it’s state within the savegame, thus ensures that the game will continue after saving and loading as if it had continued without the interruption.

Due to the changed RNG, games created by previous versions are not compatible.

Download your copy from Sourceforge and enjoy your expedition to the caverns of Larn!

The changes.

Replaced the random number generator (Mersenne Twister) with the much faster xoshiro128** and save it’s state with the savegame
Redesigned poisoning: instead of taking a huge amount of hp whenever poison kicks in, only take 1 hp, but increase the frequency depending on poisoning
Stay in bank, monastery and school until explicitly leaving (with ESC)
Configure game defaults with CTRL-P

Configuration dialogue

Show a popup window during actions that take more than ten turns

Long activity

Show item type description in auto-pickup configuration dialogue
Permanently show spell description below spell selection window
Describe spell type for most spells in spell description
Add worn amulet to player’s equipment overview
Allow intentionally triggering a teleport trap
Distribute Changelog in HTML format on macOS and Windows
Write a default configuration file when none is present
Allow specifying a custom user directory for the save and configuration file on the command line
Added a command line option to show the Hall of Fame (highscores)
Add author, icon and version number to Windows uninstaller
Moved auto-pickup configuration key from ‘@’ to CTRL-A
Auto-pickup settings are not stored with saved game anymore, but set from the defaults when loading a game
Got rid of the unfinished Lua integration

The fixed bugs.

Fix movement with keypad keys while Num lock is enabled (only affected Windows and macOS)
Fix “Cure Blindness” spell
Fix crash when reading large scoreboard file
Generate all items again (0.7.3 didn’t generate first item of type)
Disable auto-pickup when blinded
Don’t generate rooms with one floor tile in one direction
Correct the effect of the disenchantress on some item type
Fixed wrapping texts with indentation
Fix text wrapping in message popup
Hide the console windows on Windows

Release 0.7.3

Sat, 08 Sep 2018 21:36:00 +0000

After a seemingly endless deep slumber, which might have seemed like death, life returned to the effort to create a Larn for the 21st century.

This release focused on polishing and balancing the combat system. The Windows version no longer runs in a console window, but uses a graphical console emulation and thus catches up with the macOS version, which always presented itself to the player this way. To ease the transition, the font size for the game can be modified in the configuration file.

As usual, also some bugs got fixed. Unfortunately saved games created by previous versions are not compatible.

Download it from sourceforge and I hope you enjoy playing it!

The changes.

Generic SDL PDCurses support for all platforms
Configurable font size for the SDL version
Combat: take enemy size into account
Combat: balance weapon damage
Magic: Animate reflection of rays
Magic: Magic Missile is handled as ray spell
Magic: Terminate ray spells at medium sized monsters
Magic: Balance spell damage
Added cold resistance for monsters (the ice lizard, the yeti and the white dragon don’t take damage from cone of cold)
Minimalistic item descriptions when blinded
Blinking display for very low HP (always with SDL PDCurses, when compiled with ncurses blinking depends on terminal support)
Bright red warning when unarmed
The potion of treasure finding now detects the bank branch office
The potion of healing and the healing spell can now cure sickness
Mitigated the scroll of spell extension
Occasionally drop arrows when disarming arrow traps
Pay taxes in one step
Lock savegame file while the game is running (prevents accidentally launching the game multiple times from autosaves)
Code cleanup

The fixed bugs.

Only erode player’s exposed items from monster breath attacks
Prevent increasing max. HP with healing spell
Prevent wearing ring or body armour when wearing gloves or a cloak
Prevent swapping weapons when secondary weapon is two-handed and holding a shield
Match fountain event probabilities with those of the original Larn
Fixed type II demon lords (who lost all their special abilities with the previous release)
Fixed handling of itching when washing at a fountain
Fixed crash when reading scroll of identify without or very few unidentified items
Fixed burning of grass
Corrected some messages
Fixed some visual glitches

Project moved to GitHub

Fri, 18 May 2018 08:55:00 +0000

As SourceForge seems to die slowly and has proven very unreliable early this year, I’ve decided to move the entire project to GitHub.

The source code, the issue tracker, the wiki, and the homepage are now hosted on GitHub. Only downloads for older releases remain on SourceForge.

And yes, this is a clear sign that I picked up the game again and decided to continue working on it. I plan on releasing an update which will focus on bug fixes and balancing in the near future (lesson learned in the past: precise dates and release announcements should not appear in the same sentence).

After that release I’ll continue working on unfinished features, e.g. the summon daemon spell.

Release 0.7.2

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:54:50 +0000

After only a short span of time, the next release on NLarn is finished.

The most significant change is the availability of a MacOS X installer. NLarn uses SDL PDCurses on OS X, which allows to scale the window; the font size will change with the window size. It is known to work on Snow Leopard and Lion. As it is a 64-bit application it will not work on older Macs. Currently the ‘\’ key (which will open the list of discovered items) is not recognised (at least with a German keyboard layout), the reason is under investigation. If anybody has an idea how to solve this, I’d be more than glad to hear from you!

Except this, most predominantly a lot of bug fixing and mending was undertaken, but still some features were added. Saved games created by previous versions are obsolete.

Download it from sourceforge and I hope you enjoy playing it!

The changes.

Added an OS X disk image with “installer”.
Use SDL PDCurses per default on OS X. This allows to scale the window and set the window icon and title when running.
Implemented magic resistance for monsters. The hell hound, the spirit naga and the demon lords and prince are now resistant to damage cause by magic (currently only the magic missile).
The spells lightning, cone of cold and fireball can now destroy doors.
It is now possible to target a spell while blinded.
Implemented the disarming of traps and the removal of traps from containers(key: ‘D’). Moved the previous shortcut for the list of discovered landmarks from ‘D’ to CTRL+D.
When quaffing healing or power potions at full hp or mp the maximum for the specific stat is increased.
Allow ranged attacks on invisible monsters and decreased the chance to hit then with melee and ranged attacks.
Abort searching when monsters are close.
The metamorph will now drop it’s weapon when turning into a monster that cannot use it; the new monster’s hp depend on the relative amount of the new monster type’s maximum hp.
Show a message when an item is identified by wearing it.
Ensure that unique weapons won’t break.
Added version information to the Windows installer.
Display a message when using the potion of full healing.

The fixed bugs.

Fixed a crash that could occur when a blast of fire (caused by hell hounds or red dragon) destroyed items in the inventory.
Fixed a crash when a monster triggered a trap with a specific message.
Various fixes and enhancements for spheres of annihilation.
Do not swap weapons when none is readied.
Inhibit various actions while paralysed.
Corrected combat messages and disable looking around while blinded.
Fixed the spell “polymorph”.
Ensure the townsfolk don’t block important places.
Some fixes to the monastery:
- Fix two crashes: one occurred when aborting the item selection; the other when uncursing uncursed, but unidentified items.
- The monastery will no longer “remove curses” on containers (i.e. traps).
- Ensure the price for remove curse is at least 1gp.
- Handle plural case in a monastery message.
Avoid ammo that is stuck inside walls.
Fix repair price calculation for blessed items.
Ensure the scroll of blank paper is unlabelled.
Show sec. weapon and quivered item in obituary.
Corrected the description of the spell “cancellation”.
Don’t show the name of unseen monsters.

Release 0.7.1

Sun, 27 May 2012 14:34:45 +0000

I’m happy to announce another iteration of NLarn. This release focuses on bug fixes and balancing. Some of the changes made this version incompatible to the previous version’s save files.

Download it today and spend all your free time playing it, but don’t blame me if you miss your next exam.

Changes in this release are:

More armour:
- a simple cloak.
- Boots of Speed (unique).
- Cloak of Invisibility (unique).
Weapons can break during combat. The number of broken weapons is counted and shown in the postmortem.
Make damaged items less effective: burnt, corroded or rusty weapons and ammunition will now cause less damage, damaged armour will protect less.
Redesigned armour and weapon distribution in the dungeon. The elven chain is more heavy and unique.
Reduced the availability of items in the store.
Replaced the amulet of invisibility by the amulet of sustainment, which protects against attribute draining attacks.
The bank pays less interest on player’s savings.
Increased school course prices. The course prices now depend on the length of the course, thus maintaining the balance between benefit and cost.
Raise item identification and repair prices. The prices will now depend on the item’s value. For lower-prices items the minimum charge stays at 50 gold. Repair prices for item stacks depend on the amount of items.
Generate monster item adequate to dungeon level. Previously troglodytes on dungeon level 3 could carry an amulet of power, which was not desirable. Another effect of this change is that monsters in the deep dungeon levels carry more interesting items.
Do not erode items inside containers.
Implemented scroll of hold monster. This scroll was in error set up as a scroll that affects the player, and as the effect “hold monster” has no effect on the player, this mistake went unnoticed until now.
Reduced the range of enlightenment.
Wizard Mode: allow to select stationary objects as teleport destination (as for auto-travel).
Improved the help file.
Modernised the Windows Installer.
Windows Resources now allow icons for the executable and embedded dynamic version information in the executable.
Accept ^U/^D in the inventory, spell list and message windows as PGUP/PGDOWN.
Expanded scores in the memorial file onto two lines. This avoids ugly wraps and allows to display more information. Spelled out explanational remarks and added the dungeon level.
Enhanced saving the memorial file:
- Save the file in the user’s home directory; on Windows save it under “My Documents”.
- Offer to chose a new file name if a file exists.
- Wrap and indent long lines at column 78.
- Choose the line terminator matching the platform.
Implemented working setgid for system-wide installations on *nix systems.

Quite a lot of bugs got fixed:

Adapted the map loading code to native EOL. This fixes unreachable areas when playing on Windows (reported by many).
Fixed enlightenment for the upper left corner of the map (Reported by Krice).
Fixed a crash after shooting the last ammo.
Ensure player’s experience can not sink below zero. This fixes a crash that occurred when drinking from a fountain and loosing more experience than the player has.
Calculate adjacent monsters while enlightened. This fixes targeting and allows to abort running or auto-travel.
Fixed increase of spell effect duration when casting a spell known at a higher level of knowledge multiple times.
Prevent swapping cursed weapons.
Fixed the descriptions for item stacks in the shop (use the plural form when applicable).
Fix the order of message when unequipping multiple item types: log success only after the time is passed. Fixed the order of messages when climbing out of a pit.
Fixed ranged attacks to monsters over water/lava.
Waste ammo when dropped on deep water or lava.
Slings and bows are two-handed weapons, too.
Recalc burdened status after fighter courses.
Colour first headline in identified item’s list.
Count scrolls scribed at the school as item purchase, not as educational purpose.
Fixed a memory leak and accesses to freed memory found by valgrind.