Difficulty Levels

👉 GnollHack features seven difficulty levels, ranging from Standard (very easy) to Grand Master (extremely challenging). This guide outlines the mechanical differences between each difficulty, helping you choose the right challenge level.

ℹ️ Note: The percentages below are shown with truncated values from the game's C codebase. Following standard formatting, values less than 10 use one decimal place of precision, while values 10 or greater use no decimals.

📊 Combat & Score Modifiers

Difficulty Level	Combat Difficulty	Monsters Deal	You Deal	Score Multiplier
Standard	9.9%	35% of normal	350% of normal	1.0%
Experienced	17%	45% of normal	255% of normal	3.3%
Adept	31%	59% of normal	187% of normal	10%
Veteran	56%	76% of normal	136% of normal	33%
Expert	100%	100% (normal)	100% (normal)	100%
Master	177%	130% of normal	73% of normal	200%
Grand Master	316%	169% of normal	53% of normal	400%

🎒 Starting Resources

Difficulty Level	Starting Inventory	Starting Stash (Dlvl 1 Chest)
Standard	4 × Scroll of identify 1 × Scroll of remove curse 1 × Wand of probing	2 × Manuals and Catalogues 2–3 random identified items
Experienced	3 × Scroll of identify 1 × Scroll of remove curse 1 × Wand of probing	2 × Manuals and Catalogues 2–3 random identified items
Adept	2 × Scroll of identify 1 × Wand of probing	2 × Manuals and Catalogues 2–3 random identified items
Veteran	1 × Scroll of identify 1 × Wand of probing	2 × Manuals and Catalogues 2–3 random identified items
Expert	1 × Scroll of identify	2–3 random identified items
Master	1 × Scroll of identify	2–3 random identified items
Grand Master	1 × Scroll of identify	2–3 random identified items

🕹️ Gameplay Assistance & Adjustments

Difficulty Level	Gameplay Hints	Level Gen Adjustments	Lindisse Spawn Chance
Standard	Yes	No Dlvl 1–2 secret passages No Dlvl 1 traps	100%
Experienced	Yes	No Dlvl 1–2 secret passages No Dlvl 1 traps	33%
Adept	Yes	No Dlvl 1–2 secret passages No Dlvl 1 traps	20%
Veteran	Yes	No Dlvl 1–2 secret passages No Dlvl 1 traps	14%
Expert	No	Normal generation	5.0%
Master	No	Normal generation	0.8%
Grand Master	No	Normal generation	0.4%

🛐 Prayer Safety

Difficulty Level	Prayer Safety Details
Standard	Prompts confirmation for all prayers to prevent accidental slips of Pray (Alt+p), warns if praying too early, and warns if attempting to pray in Gehennom (where praying is normally fatal).
Experienced	Warns if praying too early in the game (before the starting prayer timeout has expired).
Adept	Warns if praying too early in the game (before the starting prayer timeout has expired).
Veteran	Warns if praying too early in the game (before the starting prayer timeout has expired).