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I was actually pretty impressed by Dwarf Fortress's use of the extended ASCII set (or whatever the technical name is). Most of the non-creature symbols were easy enough to guess based on appearances.

And for animals, it's mostly the first letter of the animal's name, colored like the animal, and upper- or lower-case based on the animal's size.

The stock character set is modified code page 437.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_page_437

Suppose so. Have you seen Caves of Qud? That's a good middle ground.

My first roguelike was Mission: Thunderbolt, on Mac Classic.

Even back in 1992 it was hugely easier to play than Dwarf Fortress is now. And, IMO, way more fun.