rpg-cli is a minimalist computer RPG written in Rust. Its command-line interface can be used as a cd replacement where you randomly encounter enemies as you change directories.
Features:
- Character stats and leveling system.
- Automatic turn-based combat.
- Item and equipment support.
- Warrior, thief and mage player classes.
- 15+ Enemy classes.
- Extensible player and enemy classes via configuration.
- Permadeath with item recovering.
- Quests to-do list.
- Chests hidden in directories.
Just download the binary for your platform (linux/macOS/windows) from the GitHub releases page.
Assuming you have Rust and Cargo installed:
$ cargo install --git https://github.com/facundoolano/rpg-cli --force --tag 1.2.0
The binary should be available as rpg-cli (assuming you have ~/.cargo/bin in your $PATH).
Show details
You can use homebrew to install the binary on macOS::
$ brew install rpg-cli
If you use Nix/NixOS you can get rpg-cli from nixpkgs, either install it by adding it to your system config, with nix-env -i rpg-cli/nix profile install nixpkgs#rpg-cli or try it in a ephemeral shell with nix-shell -p rpg-cli/nix shell nixpkgs#rpg-cli.
If you use Gentoo, you can get rpg-cli from portage:
# emerge -av games-rpg/rpg-cli
rpg-cli can be installed from the extra repository for Arch Linux:
$ pacman -S rpg-cli
The game is designed to integrate with common file system operations, such as changing directories or deleting files.
The most basic type of integration consists in wrapping rpg-cli in a shell function, such that the working directory is updated to match the hero's progress, effectively working as a cd alternative:
rpg () {
rpg-cli "$@"
cd "$(rpg-cli pwd)"
}If you want to go all the way and really use it in place of cd:
cd () {
rpg-cli cd "$@"
builtin cd "$(rpg-cli pwd)"
}Other commands like rm, mkdir, touch, etc. can also be aliased. Check this example and the shell integration guide for more sophisticated examples, as well as their fish shell equivalents.
This example session assumes a basic rpg function as described in the previous section.
The first time you run the program, a new hero is created at the user's home directory.
~ $ rpg
warrior[1]@home
hp:[xxxxxxxxxx] 48/48
mp:[----------] 0/0
xp:[----------] 0/30
att:10 mag:0 def:0 spd:10
equip:{}
item:{}
0g
When running without parameters, as above, the hero status is printed (health points, accumulated experience, etc.).
The stats are randomized: if you run rpg reset you will get a slightly different character every time:
~ $ rpg reset; rpg
warrior[1]@home
hp:[xxxxxxxxxx] 50/50
mp:[----------] 0/0
xp:[----------] 0/30
att:13 mag:0 def:0 spd:12
equip:{}
item:{}
0g
You can also pick a different class (default options are warrior, thief and mage, but more can be added).
For example, the mage class enables magic attacks:
~ $ rpg class mage; rpg
mage[1]@home
hp:[xxxxxxxxxx] 32/32
mp:[xxxxxxxxxx] 12/12
xp:[----------] 0/30
att:3 mag:27 def:0 spd:9
equip:{}
item:{}
0g
If you use the cd subcommand with a path as parameter, it will instruct the hero to move:
~ $ rpg cd dev/
~/dev $ rpg
warrior[1]@~/dev
hp:[xxxxxxxxxx] 47/47
mp:[----------] 0/0
xp:[----------] 0/30
att:10 mag:0 def:0 spd:12
equip:{}
item:{}
0g
In this case, the warrior moved to ~/dev. Sometimes enemies will appear as you move through the directories,
and both characters will engage in battle:
~/dev $ rpg cd facundoolano/
snake[3][xxxx][----]@~/dev/facundoolano
snake[3][xxx-] -10hp
warrior[1][xxxx] -8hp
snake[3][xxx-] -9hp
warrior[1][xxx-] -10hp
snake[3][x---] -12hp
warrior[1][xx--] -9hp
snake[3][----] -14hp
warrior[3][xxx-] +117xp ++level +275g
warrior[3][xxx-][----][x---]@~/dev/facundoolano
Each character attacks in turn (the frequency being determined by their spd stat).
Whenever you win a fight, your hero gains experience points and eventually raises its level, along with its other stats.
When you return to the home directory, the hero's health points are restored and status effects are removed:
~/dev/facundoolano/rpg-cli $ rpg cd ~
warrior[3][xxxx][----][x---]@home +27hp
The further from home you move the hero, the tougher the enemies will get. If you go to far or too long without restoring your health, your hero is likely to die in battle, causing the game to restart at the home directory.
~ $ rpg cd ~/dev/facundoolano/rpg-cli/target/debug/examples/
zombie[3][xxxx][----]@~/dev/facundoolano/rpg-cli/target/debug
zombie[3][xxxx] -14hp
warrior[1][xxx-] -14hp
zombie[3][xxx-] -16hp
warrior[1][xxx-] -11hp
zombie[3][xx--] -16hp
warrior[1][xx--] -9hp
zombie[3][xx--] -15hp
warrior[1][x---] -9hp
zombie[3][x---] -12hp
warrior[1][----] -20hp critical!
warrior[1][----] 💀
Death is permanent: you can't save your progress and reload after dying, but if you take your new hero to the location of the previous one's death, you can recover gold, items and equipment:
~ $ rpg cd ~/dev/facundoolano/rpg-cli/target/debug/
🪦 +potionx1 +275g
In addition to winning items as battle rewards, some directories have hidden treasure chests that you can find with rpg ls:
~ $ rpg ls
📦 +potionx2
Finally, some items can be bought at the game directory running rpg buy:
~ $ rpg buy
sword[1] 500g
shield[1] 500g
potion[1] 200g
remedy 400g
escape 1000g
funds: 275g
~ $ rpg buy potion
-200g +potionx1
The shortcut rpg b p would also work above. An item can be described with the stat subcommand and used with use:
~ $ rpg stat potion
potion[1]: restores 25hp
~ $ rpg use potion
warrior[3][xxxx] +25hp potion
The rpg todo command will display a list of quest for your hero:
~ $ rpg todo
□ buy a sword
✔ use a potion
✔ reach level 2
✔ win a battle
Each time you complete an item on the list, you will receive a reward. The quests renew as your level raises, so be sure to check often!
The game difficulty increases as you go deeper in the dungeon; to raise your level, encounter the tougher enemies, find the rarest items
and complete all the quests, it's necessary to go as far as possible from the $HOME directory. One option to ease the gameplay
is to use a shell function that creates directories "on-demand".
Try rpg --help for more options and check the shell integration guide for ideas to adapt the game to your preferences.
The character class determines a character's initial stats and at what pace they increase when leveling up. By default, rpg-cli will use classes as defined by this file, but these definitions can be overridden by placing a YAML file with that same structure at ~/.local/share/rpg/classes.yaml. Check the dirs crate doc to find the data path on your OS.
The category field is used to distinguish between player and enemy classes, and in the latter case how likely a given enemy class is likely to appear (e.g. legendary classes will appear less frequently, and only when far away from home).
The hero's class can be changed at the home directory using rpg-cli class <name>. If the hero is at level 1 it will effectively work as a character re-roll with fresh stats; at higher levels the stats are preserved and the class change will start taking effect on the next level increment.
- The release binary for macOS is not signed. To open it for the first time, right click on the binary and select "Open" from the menu.
If you find any issue, have features ideas, gameplay suggestions or example shell scripts, feel free to file an issue to start a conversation.