I didn't know any programming when I started with Python. But I found it easy to get into, and so far it's been able to do what I want, so I haven't regretted my choice. The official documentation is clear and thorough, and there are tools available for many specialized tasks, often in the form of modules. For example pygame, libtcodpy or ncurses can provide you with a framework for quickly getting an @ moving on screen. I don't know how the documentation on libtcodpy is, but there's at least
one tutorial that's supposed to be good.
In the context of (underground) Roguelike development, Python is adequate for many kind of projects. It can be quick'n'dirty enough that you can cough up a prototype for an idea in a day or two. But it can also be used for much larger projects. On computers, Python is quite portable, and it's easy to make binaries for at least the three major OSes. However, Python is not the thing if you want to develop for Android or iOS.
One objective weakness of the language is in terms of pure computational speed, but that probably won't matter much for many Roguelikes. But bottlenecks might come instead with stuff like AI if you have a lot of actors walking around and observing each other.
To mention it, Python is the closest thing to a "real" programming language I know at all. And while I don't know if Python encourages sloppy programming, I know I "get along" with my own, so you may have to take my advice with a grain of salt

I've thought about trying a game engine, but maybe for a different kind of project than my current clunky masterpiece. I imagine you get some more freedom with Python. Of course, you get even more if you drop down to deeper-level languages like C/C++. It would depend on your needs, tastes and way of thinking what fits best. I do sometimes feel the urge to learn at least a bit of C, if only to get a clearer grasp of the fundamentals. But I also wouldn't mind the possibility of merging C code with the Python scripts to speed up calculations here and there (those AI bottlenecks).
As always,
Minotauros