Shopkeepers sell and buy items to and from the player. They will drop their inventories on death, but cast extremely powerful magic in self-defense. Their names are funny references most of the time, such as "Error". They can only be found in Shops.
Shopkeepers are extremely hard to kill, being only one step above the Minotaur and one step below Baron Herx, they can actually kill the minotaur for you if it attacks them. Shopkeepers will continuously attack a player after being hit. the traders guild are a tight bunch, hit one shopkeeper, and every shopkeeper from there on will attack you on sight! After returning to Hamlet (floor 25) shopkeepers will start using the Drain Soul or Bloodletting spells rather than Magic Missle, making the shopkeepers stronger.