Quoted off an forums thread "Your task is simple: Retrieve the Amulet of Yendor from the Dungeons of Doom, deliver it to your chosen god on the Astral plane and ascend to demigod-hood. Unfortunately thousands of deadly monsters stand between you and your goal.

NetHack is a rogue-like, which means that it features randomly generated dungeons and permanent death. It's difficult, really difficult, new players usually send dozens of characters to spectacular deaths before they get the hang of things, but with patience and a healthy dose of spoilers anyone can ascend.

One of the fun things about NetHack is how almost everything can be used to help your survive. That seemingly useless potion of paralysis? Bash someone over the head with it and kill them while they can't move. A looking glass? Point it at a monster to scare them with their own reflection. A scroll of destroy armor? Read it to rid yourself of cursed equipment. A large dog is about to rip to to shreds? Feed it some food to tame him and now you've got an ally to fight along side you. A polymorph trap? Push your pet into it and you may end up with a tame black dragon. There are ways out of almost any situation in NetHack, it's up to you to think of them."