So I got bored last night...

[Warhammer]

... and fired up NetHack. Needless to say, I have been completely consumed by the game, but cannot advance past level 8. Does anyone have any helpful hints on classes, weapons, etc.?

[thesloppy]

I haven't played NetHack in years, but I am a roguelike addict, mainly sticking to lots of T.o.M.E. (which I highly recommednd) and a little ADOM....as such, I'm not sure how much advice will carry over from game to game. With that said, the key to pretty much all roguelikes is plain ol' perseverence. Plain old warrior classes are usually best to start with, as they don't require much strategy. Experiment with races and just go with the one that gives you the most hitpoints and most damage to start out with. Likewise swords and daggers are generally the best starting weapons....some roguelikes will increase the number of attacks based on the weight of the weapon, so a dagger can do more damage/turn than the biggest two-handed sword, but I'm not sure if nethack uses such a system.

Sorry I couldn't be of much help, a google search for nethack spoilers might get you some needed advice, but don't spoil too much of the fun of discovery.