Wow thanks for the links guys! I so badly want to make a roguelike - just got to get some free time first. fyi r0j0hound made an amazing capx based on Zelda here: http://www.scirra.com/forum/how-do-i-can-make-a-rpg-game-like-zelda_topic58974.html
This is on my todo list to play with <img src="smileys/smiley4.gif" border="0" align="middle">