Roguelike

A roguelike game is a type of role-playing game named after the genre defining Rogue. Features that are common to all Roguelikes include depth (you can do lots of things in them, though the level of detail varies from game to game), high difficulty, lack of plot, permanent death, and randomization of content. Basically, expect lots of tactical options and such, though Crawl is more condensed than some others.

Definition

Roguelikes, at their core, are games with permanent death and relevant randomly generated content.

Permadeath

Crawl autosaves often. So barring cheat options like explore mode, once you die, you die. Your save file is erased. Therefore, everything is a legitimate threat to some extent, and this only abates slightly at higher levels. Things can kill you if you're not careful, even things you wouldn't normally consider dangerous. And yes, you will often die in horrible, random, arbitrary ways. Have fun starting over. Roguelikes are not easy.

No Permanent Progression

Crawl features 'true' permadeath. Unlike many more modern roguelikes (traditionally called roguelites), nothing tangible carries over between games. You don't unlock new characters, items, or perks, and nothing from your past game influences your next game. Well, player ghosts are based on previous games, but a large selection of challenging ghosts exist even on a fresh install, from Stone Soup 0.22 onwards. The thing that gets better is you, the player, and perhaps a bit of luck.

Relevant Random Content

While you'll likely encounter the same types of monsters in similar locations, where and when (if at all) are incredibly relevant details. What items you get, what gods appear early enough, even which branches appear, are random. The dungeon is for the most part randomly generated, and even the non-random vault is randomly placed (or may not appear at all). This hopefully makes a roguelike addictive, not repetitive or tiresome. And while not a strict requirement, Crawl follows the grand tradition of roguelikes by being a top down, tile based, turn based... dungeon crawller.

Non-existent plot

With a few exceptions (such as ADOM), a classic roguelike's plot consists of the following: go down into a randomly generated dungeon, reach the final level, and either kill the boss or, more commonly, grab an item and escape. Why do this? Well, in NetHack, you want to get the Amulet for your god. In Crawl, you want the Orb of Zot for absolutely no defined reason. Xom could tell you, but then it'd have to kill you. Other than getting runes and the Orb, there are no quests. Other than a shop (a glorified menu), there are no dedicated NPCs.

Dungeon Crawl compared to other roguelikes

Crawl seems easier, at first glance, but it's not. It is, however, friendlier. At least in DCSS, there are no instadeaths. If something kills you, it'll probably be something you at least half-expected: an out-of-depth monster at an early level, rather than a necklace you put on happening to be an amulet of strangulation. Stone Soup not only has a tutorial and in depth manual, but provides extensive information of any monster, item, or other noun you may come across; all accessible by right clicking them (x then v via keyboard controls). The goal is that, unlike the older roguelikes, Stone Soup should be playable without the aid of a guide or wiki.

The DevTeam of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup aims to remove 'tedious' mechanics from the game. Players in NetHack are heavily encouraged to go through Sokoban every game, a puzzle branch with 8 fixed layouts. With solutions easily available outside the game, the branch gives food that can last the entire game, along with helpful guaranteed end loot. Stone Soup has removed their own (completely random) puzzle branch, the Labyrinth, in 0.24. Meanwhile, food was continously simpfied and eventually removed entirely for being a GUI hassle. In the same vein, DCSS also tries to remove 'no-brainers', or completely dominant items/strategies. Balance is not perfect, and not even intentional, but Crawl remains fairly balanced. On the other hand, Stone Soup is famous for its countless removals, regardless of how beloved a feature is.

Compared to other classical roguelikes, Crawl places little importance on class (Crawl's backgrounds); there are no special, permanent rules for them. Skills, trained in game, are what really determine your character's specialties. Gods are another character defining aspect, also picked during the game (mostly). Adventuring with one of 26 unique gods will earn you piety, with a large variety of special abilities and perks. Almost all gods will get angry if you leave them, so characters completing a regular game will most likely stick to just one.