Experience

Sil has neither classes nor levels, but it is far from the case that all characters of a given race are the same. As you adventure, you will accrue experience points, which you can spend in the character screen (accessed by pressing the @ symbol) to improve your prowess. There is a lot of flexibility in how you spend your experience, and this is a major part of the game.

Sources of experience

All characters begin the game with 5,000 experience points to allocate. There are four sources of further experience in the game: encountering monsters; killing monsters; descending deeper into the Iron Hells; identifying objects.

Encountering monsters

You gain experience for encountering each individual enemy the first time you see it (or if you kill it without ever seeing it).

For the first monster of a given type you encounter, you get d/5 experience points, where d is the depth (in feet) at which it is normally met. For subsequent encounters with monsters of the same type, the amount that you get decays: when you meet the second one you will only received 1⁄2 this amount of experience, then 1⁄3, then 1⁄4…

Killing monsters

For the first monster of a given type you kill, you get d/5 experience points, where d is the depth (in feet) at which it is normally met. The experience gained for killing additional monsters decays in exactly the same way as for encounters.

Thus there is the same amount of experience available for killing monsters as for encountering them. All characters are likely to get more experience from encounters than from kills, and for some this may be much more.

Descending

The first time you reach a depth of d feet (or deeper), you are awarded d experience points.

Identification

Whenever your character identifies a new type of potion, herb, ring, amulet, horn, stave or special item, you are awarded 100 experience points.

In the halls of Angband one may find ancient or renowned items of great power, which we collectively refer to as artefacts. Each time you identify an artefact, you are awarded 200 experience points.

Note that there are several ways to deal with enemies apart from killing them: you may, for instance, sneak past them, make them flee before you, or run yourself. Characters who kill few enemies may thus get a little less experience than those who do, but may also have a higher chance of survival (combat is dangerous!). It is possible to complete the game without ever attacking.

Spending Experience points

Your character may use the lessons learned to train any of the eight skills detailed below. Your first point in a skill will cost 100 experience, your second 200, your third 300, and so on.

You may also learn various unique abilities. Each ability is linked to a skill, and may have requirements before you are able to learn it. For each skill, the first linked ability costs 500 experience points, the second costs 1000, the third costs 1500, and so on.