One life. No second chances.
Ashnar's Lair is a traditional roguelike in the classic mold: turn based, grid based, and unforgiving. Nothing moves until you do. Every step, every swing, every sip from a strange fountain is a decision, and the dungeon makes you pay for the bad ones.
Permadeath that means it
You get one character and one save. The game autosaves as you play, so quitting is only ever a pause, never a rewind. When you die, the run is over and the save is gone for good. All that survives is your progress across runs: class unlocks, achievements, and your record in the Hall of Records.
A new dungeon every run
The world map stays the same, but everything on it is rolled fresh: every floor of all 13 dungeons, the monsters that live there, the traps, the fountains, the vaults and the loot. Dungeons name their dangers in the title, the way an enchanted item does, so "The Vicious Barrows of Flooding" tells you exactly what waits inside. Clear one and the rest of its region rerolls, harder than before. Potions and rings hide behind random appearances that change every run, and some of what you find is cursed. You learn by drinking, wearing, and occasionally regretting.
Hard, but never unfair
This game is difficult, and it does not apologize. A champion can be waiting on the very first floor. Elites carry rolled affixes, a boss guards every dungeon, and 76 kinds of enemy open doors, hunt your last known position, and wind up their biggest attacks. But nothing is hidden. Every creature can be examined before you commit: its health, armour, resistances and abilities. Big attacks are telegraphed on the map a turn before they land. When you die, you learn something about the world.
Build your character run by run
- Seven classes. Start as the Adventurer and earn the Fighter, Rogue, Mage, Ranger, Cleric and Warlock through your deeds across runs. Each begins with a signature spell of its own.
- 43 talents across three trees, 29 spells from books, gear and talents, and 138 items with rolled prefixes and suffixes.
- Five gods who reward devotion and punish broken faith.
- No gold. Trade is barter against a merchant's hidden valuation, and what you carry is what you can spend.
Play it your way
- Sprite art or classic ASCII glyphs, switchable at any time.
- Play entirely on the keyboard, or click to walk, hover to inspect and drag to equip.
- Rebindable controls, a tutorial that teaches as you play, and an in depth Guide built from the game's own data.
- An Easy mode for learning the ropes that still earns every class unlock, then challenge yourself on Normal.
