Blood on the Walls

Writing in blood on the walls.

Sometimes you will find cryptic messages written in blood on the dungeon walls. Most of them are easy to interpret, but some might not be. Below is a list of messages and what they are thought to mean.

List of Messages

Message	Interpretation
A bug was fixed here	This is referring to a bug in the game's code that may have been fixed.
Rodney was here	Rodney was the name of the hero in the original game "Rogue". Rodney spelled backwards is Yendor.
I left a present for you upstairs.	This refers to the Overworld chest.
I have no tongue, but these bones cut stone	The minion cannot speak, but it could leave messages by carving on the stone walls.
So weak, but not dead	The minion, though he became undead, was not fully destroyed by the Balrog.
Okay, technically dead	The minion, although physically dead, still has his soul. This is also in admittance to lying about the message above.
Eat it, wear it, it's all the same to me	Runes may be used both to enchant armor and be eaten.
Smite? It's like the holy punch of a god	Blessed weapons and attacks from above may smite enemies, dealing extra damage and knockback.
I've not made friends with any of these monsters	There are no friendly monsters in the dungeon.
At last I'm beyond madness	The minion, dead, is no longer driven insane by Chaos.
I will find you Red	The minion will always find and follow Red, except when busy fighting or stuck in the Underworld.
He's such a coward	The Balrog runs towards the stairs when Red approaches.
He's scared of you - I don't blame him	Red is faster, stronger, smarter, and often better-equipped than any other single creature of equal level in the dungeon.
I miss being able to pee, but don't miss smells	The minion talks about the benefits of being dead.
I will escape this place	The minion hopes to eventually escape after completing his quest.
Married to a bloody skeleton.	Red is married to Rogue, the minion, even though he is now dead.
What's that grinding noise?	There are gears and cogs turning behind most of the walls, visible when fake walls retract.
It's the Balrog that did it	The Balrog killed the minion and stole the Amulet of Yendor.
Don't give up my love	The minion encourages you to continue even after defeat.
Why did I let myself get killed by that demon?	The minion laments his death to the Balrog.
Madness	The Dungeons of Chaos can easily drive anyone mad.
Freedom	The minion is ever-hopeful for freedom from Chaos.
I have escaped the Underworld	The minion is able to cheat Death and return from Underworld portals when killed.
Three runes are all I could carry	It is unknown what exactly this is referencing, but it may refer to Red's seemingly-infinite Handbag of Holding, and how Rogue may have only been able to hold a few items.
At least Kobolds are weak here	Kobolds have the Chaotic Learner ability, meaning their stats are random at high levels, making it easy for them to be very strong or very weak.
Arm yourself darling	Weapons are crucial for suvival in the dungeon.
Sleep my love, restore your health	Sleeping can be used to quickly restore health.
Camping always refreshes me	A more subtle hint about how sleeping can heal you.
Hearts, eat them	Hearts grant health to those who eat them.
Use runes wisely	No matter what runes are used for, they have only one use, so it is important not to waste them.
You'd set off fewer traps if you'd look for them	This ambiguously refers to searching for traps so as to reveal them on the map, but also to being able to spot traps without searching, which hints at the expert discovery XP bonus.
Eat not the bleed rune	The bleed rune rapidly drains health for a period of time, so it is a bad idea to eat it.
Goblins are bloody cowards	Goblins often attack when they can and run away, and their speed makes them very difficult to fight back against.
Take two weapons into the fray for a whirlwind	Rogue and the minion are able to carry two weapons at a time, a melee weapon and a throwing weapon.
Do not wear the Balrog's face	A warning not to wear the Balrog's face. Further description will not be given due to spoilers.
Seriously, don't wear his face	Another warning not to wear the Balrog's face, although alone it may not be immediately obvious that it refers to the Balrog.
Indifference? They can't touch you	The item Indifference will make the player immune to attacks, but also unable to attack others.
We can take their form with their faces	Wearing a monster's face will transform you into that monster, giving you all of their stats and abilities.
I'm good with a throwing knife, me	A reminder that knives can be thrown as well as used as a melee weapon. The minion is also a rogue, so this is something he should be skilled at.
You sometimes smite them when you attack in the air	You can smite enemies if you fall onto them and hit them, or use the Amulet of Yendor to jump and do the same.
If I die, use magic to open a portal for me.	Runes can be used to open a portal to the Underworld, where the minion can respawn.
Leech magic is cursed	Leeches are automatically cursed until otherwise dealt with.
A leech can be destroyed and become armour	The curse on a Leech can be destroyed and Blood armor will be left instead.
Chakrams come bouncing back, like me	Chakrams are throwing weapons that will bounce off walls. This is also another reference to how the minion always returns.
Never a bad thing from a holy rune	Holy runes have no negative effects for the player, and will smite monsters they are thrown at.
Dive upon our enemies, literally	Dropping onto an enemy from above will always stun the enemy and sometimes smite it.
I'm not touching a werewolf ever again	Werewolves have a chance to polymorph enemies they hit into more werewolves.
Chaos magic everywhere here	This tip only appears in Chaos, where gears can randomly shoot Chaos runes.
I've no blood to bleed	Since the minion is a skeleton and has no blood, the bleed rune has no effect on him and other Undead creatures.
The Overworld will be a sort of time bubble	Time in the Overworld only passes when Rogue is there. Therefore, anything you do there will remain unchanged, including leaving behind an item or opening the chest.
The Underworld is outside of time	Similar to the above except that time does not exist at all in the Underworld.
Death opened a door for me	Death in the Underworld can open a portal which allows the minion to return if he was destroyed.
A weapon forged of quickening?	The Lightning weapons causes bolts of lightning to be shot, similar to the lightning in a quickening.
Try making a healstone	Healstones can be created by casting a rune of heal onto a wall, and they will regenerate health when hit.
I like to know the name of things	A reference to the rune of identify, which lets you know the true name of the itmem it is cast upon.
Elbereth	The first time you read each of these messages, a red horror will be summoned for a random monster. Elbereth refers to the fact that in a few original Roguelikes, one could scrawl Elbereth, the name of an elven goddess, into the ground which would mean that monsters would not attack you.
I have a love-hate relationship with RNG	RNG can create miracles when prayed to that can be either beneficial or harmful.
He can invade your dreams	The Balrog can enter dreams, indicated by red text when sleeping, and a horror will spawn when you awake.
The drow never need spectacles	Drows are a type of creature who can see in the dark. By turning into a Drow, you will be able to see everything in your path.
How do those gnolls find more treasure than me?	The Gnoll's special ability allows you to find more treasure in chests and have a higher chance at tearing out hearts.
There's something funny about a chest I saw	Mimics have a head that looks like a chest. Sometimes, players can stumble across pseudo-chests that turn out to be mimics.
I'll blessed strike them into next week	A threat involving blessed strikes, or smites.
Gun plus sword - I like it	The Gunblade can shoot bullets, as well as deal melee damage.
Leeches can't take from blood wearers	There is an armor called Blood which defends perfectly against life-draining attacks.
Blood armour smells like leeches	This is a hint of how to create blood armor from leeches.
He's hiding, in Chaos	The Balrog hides in Chaos and flees when you near him.
Get Yendor, get it back	A restatement of your ultimate goal, to retrieve the Amulet of Yendor.
Yendor is in Chaos	The Amulet of Yendor can be found in Chaos.
I can live again, but it's complicated	A statement referring to how the minion can respawn from Underworld portals, but also how the Amulet of Yendor can be used to reincarnate him.
Don't give up on me	The minion encourages the player not to abandon him, but is also a hint about an alternate ending.
Death holds my flesh to ransom	A confusing clue about how the minion can be reincarnated.
Give me head until I'm dead	Gives clues as to the Balrog's latent attraction to Red, possibly providing motive for killing her husband.
The rakshasa here have lost themselves to chaos	The Rakshasa can cast Chaos spells.
Backstabbing's not cowardice, it's common sense	Attacking enemies from behind will cause twice the damage while in Rogue or Minion form.
Summon me? Well that's wives for you	In addition to being a joke, it also refers to Red's ability to summon the minion to her.
Please don't make me wear that Chaos Helm.	The Chaos Helm can give the wearer random effects, and the minion states that he does not want to risk them.
Trolls heal naturally, I hate them	Trolls regenerate health on their own, which can be annoying in ranged fights.
Blessed are the good leeches	A hint of an alternative way to get rid of leeches, through a Rune of Holy.
Hah, you can't curse me, I'm dead!	The minion and other undead are immune to curses.
He who comes, he's to be feared	Horrors can drain health and cannot be killed. The summoning of Horrors is announced by the message "He comes..."

Most of these messages and interpretations were taken from this spreadsheet. If you want to help expand this page, you can add more messages from the source code and rearrange them by the order they are mentioned in it.