I love roguelikes. I grew up playing Nethack, Angband, and ADOM. Later, I discovered Crawl. Lately my most-played roguelike has been DoomRL. It is very Crawl-like in its design, having an emphasis on tactical decisions. You can't even backtrack, so unlike in Crawl, you can't maintain a stash on e.g. Lair 1 or Hive 1. Once you make a decision to leave an item behind when you go downstairs, it's gone. Also like Crawl, the game is winnable without spoilers.
There are a ton of other great-looking roguelikes that I've been meaning to try, but haven't gotten around to yet: CastlevaniaRL, Frozen Depths, GearHead 1/2, LambdaRogue, Legerdemain, MageGuild, SewerJacks, and the real-time quasi-roguelikes Transcendence and Triangle Wizard. RogueBasin is a great resource for discovering more roguelikes in development.
Don't fuckin' tell me I have a problem with shopkeepers.
(Not shown are the dozens of deaths to spikes, bottomless pits, explosions from UFOs, and one death to that sliding spike block on the 4th area. I made it there once and was promptly killed by a fucking rollerskating spike block.)
I got the Kapala early on, got all the way up to 16 health. Also got a lot of bombs, and used those and only those to take out shopkeepers. Jetpack, too.
Good thing I had 16 health, too. Because I fucked up once and jumped onto a spike block in area 4. Went down to 2 health. Holy shit.
Had the Ankh, too. Which is good, because I died once in the final battle. I was about to rage so hard because I forgot I had it. Got hit by a spider in my own surprise.
Sometimes the RNG just delivers you a gift. I just started my 11002349th Kobold Assassin in Crawl and one tile away from my starting point is troll leather armor.
I'm sure there's six ogre casters around the corner, but for now I got me some smooth duds!
OK, how the hell do you beat the Ogres that appear on level 4 in Stone Soup?
I've played, I don't know... 10-20 games now, human fighter, using ranged weapons as much as I can, but Ogres always one or two hit kill me.
Last game, went amazing, with me finding a large shield and enchanting a nice chain mail up to +4, slaying four named mobs and becoming level 6 even! Highest ever for me! Upon entering level four however, ogre comes up, two hit kill.
AAAAAAAARGH!
I hope I'm missing something obvious here, because I can make it down to level four easily (exploring all previous levels 100%) but then it's just impossible. The ramp up in difficult is truly silly.
eobet on
Heard the proposition that RIAA and MPAA should join forces and form "Music And Film Industry Association"?
OK, how the hell do you beat the Ogres that appear on level 4 in Stone Soup?
I've played, I don't know... 10-20 games now, human fighter, using ranged weapons as much as I can, but Ogres always one or two hit kill me.
Last game, went amazing, with me finding a large shield and enchanting a nice chain mail up to +4, slaying four named mobs and becoming level 6 even! Highest ever for me! Upon entering level four however, ogre comes up, two hit kill.
AAAAAAAARGH!
I hope I'm missing something obvious here, because I can make it down to level four easily (exploring all previous levels 100%) but then it's just impossible. The ramp up in difficult is truly silly.
Quaffing a potion of speed or might then just going melee should do the trick. Wands are good too as is poison. Running away is also a good option if you don't have the means to take one down.
Only a few times have I had potions of speed, and without them, they're just as fast as me. Teleporting away is another way, but that's just a temporary solution.
PS. I also loathe poisonous creatures.
eobet on
Heard the proposition that RIAA and MPAA should join forces and form "Music And Film Industry Association"?
Wow wow, I am having the most amazing game. I almost don't want to talk about it like a pitcher throwign a no-hitter.
But I must.
I just cleared a random CASTLE of gnolls on Dungeon 5. It literally had a moat and all, even a room with a pet kobold in a transparent cage. I went across the drawbridge and tons just poured out. I slowly picked them off and began using spears exclusively to take them out. I'm a centaur Paladin so I can easily outrun many things like this.
On the next floor I dropped two ogres with my powerful throwing abilities and found direclty behind them, some +3 Dwarven Chain Mail and uh, what is it, OH, a unique called the Broad Axe of the Nexus.
It gives me Rage on attack, +3 AC, and adds fire, poison, cold and negative resistances. First unique I've ever seen and it is quite a piece of equipment.
I just cleared a Kobold lair (first one I've seen) on the next floor down.
I'm literally so far ahead my second best game, I barely know what to do. Should I try to find a dungeon branch and peak in? Also I have no idea how to properly use the rage effect on this axe, it seems to make me awesome for a little while but adds some weakness afterwards. If I can't outrun people I am in big trouble. Should I start looking for a dungeon branch? In between what floors?
Edit: I'm Level 9 by the way, I've also started a semi-stash in the Gnoll's old castle. But descending further is scary because I've never even touched these types of enemies before. Anything I should look out for?
Well, it means you're just starting to learn. One of the major tricks is to remember that its a game more concerned with tools and tricks than it is with straight up fighting, unless you're a race designed for fighting. Humans are the generalists, and, due to the nature of Crawl, not the ideal for anything.
A few things to keep in mind.
One, hoover up the darts, or whatever ranged weapon of choice you have.
Two, keep yourself in corridors when fighting more than one opponent. One at a time!
Three, conserve resources as much as humanly possible. Rest to heal, eat chunks, escape after killing half a group, whatever it may be. Dont try and keep yourself full, just not hungry.
A possible tactic with ogres is stacking up avoidance, since, frankly, very little is going to be able to just eat a few of their swings. If they keep one/two shotting you.. Yeah.
By that stage you should have at least one or two special tricks. Berserking, a spell or two, poison, a fear scroll for halfway through the fight, wands to zap before melee, slowing anything, paralysis, SOMETHING, yeah?
@RedRaptor : I know I'll get screamed at for this, but hell, back up your save if its really freaking you out. I recomend the Lair, its pretty easy... Provided you're well equipped to deal with Hydras. NEVER get into Melee with them is the general idea, and keep lots of fire on hand.
Hrm. I suddenly have 4000 gold after a portal of axe wielders. Since there was only a single line of land and deep water on both sides, Mephitic Cloud drowned all the Orc Warriors for some easy easy experience.
Venom mages are pretty fun.
If RedRaptor wants to try the Lair, should watch out for Spiny Frogs and Death Yaks as well. The frogs are fast, hit pretty hard and can poison you. The yaks are just generally tough with no particular weakness and come in numbers. Komodo Dragons are also something to note since their bite can cause sickness.
You know what, I just hate Nethack, Im over here in the Dungeon of Gommorrah or what ever, and I'm litterally getting swarmed by everything. Its like l4d except 2D.
Zombies, Soldiers, Ghosts, Lichs, Vampires, Vampire lords, wraiths, gnomes, dwarves, animals, golems, Im sure there are quantum scientists down here somewhere...
But good god it seems like the moment I step down into this dungeon Its an immediate loss. Even if I cheat I still lose, I could give myself 100,000 hitpoints, 100,000 MP, as many scrolls of GENOCIDE as I can get, and genocide everything, and something asinine will kill me.
"Congratulations you genocided every living creature in the game( and some forms of undead)"
"You fell through a hole and stumble"
"A potion falls out of your pack and explodes"
"You died"
Also I have no idea how to properly use the rage effect on this axe, it seems to make me awesome for a little while but adds some weakness afterwards.
Berserking will make you slow after it runs out, and sometimes it can make you pass out completely. So that's more of an emergency weapon unless you get an amulet of resist slowing, or an item that blocks the berserk effect, but then you just have an axe with nice resists.
Also I have no idea how to properly use the rage effect on this axe, it seems to make me awesome for a little while but adds some weakness afterwards.
Berserking will make you slow after it runs out, and sometimes it can make you pass out completely. So that's more of an emergency weapon unless you get an amulet of resist slowing, or an item that blocks the berserk effect, but then you just have an axe with nice resists.
Alright, I'll try the lair. Where about should I find the entrance?
I don't have any fire, so I'm assuming my normal spear tossing routine will work. Is there anything I should be doing with skill training or the like at this point?
My problem with not using the rage axe is that my back-up weapon is literally a +1 sword, best thing I've found. So I'll be sure to use it sparingly but I'm not sure if I can take any upper level monsters in melee without it.
My best run before this was Level 7 Centaur Paladin, so its not like I have to worry about ghosts.
This is literally the first time I've saved a game to get a break. It's crazy, I feel like I'm stuck in crawl mode. I've got continual cold sweats. I won't back it up, it just seems wrong, but jees this is going to hurt when I finally go down.
EDIT: Okay, now I'm getting spooked.
I booted up the game again to try and pick up a decent weapon at the shop I passed a few levels ago. I walk up and in stock they have a bunch of magic items and a plain old crystal trident. I'm scared of getting cursed since I have nothing for that so I opt for the crystal trident, never had one and figured it must at least hit harder than my +1 sword.
Buy it, put it on. "The Trident of Wuiquth", +9 +4 piercing with electric resistance. The game is setting me up, is there a RNG deity in the Ecumenical Temple?
Is alright to keep my stash where it is? (Random dungeon level.)
Well, forget that then. Erolcha blasted me going up a staircase. Apparently looks like an ogre, moves like an ogre, SHOOTS FIRE LIKE A MAGE. I had a good chunk of life too, and plenty of ways I could have avoided that, but I was right on the staircase with over 1/3 of my life. Just caught me by suprise, really need to curb my stinginess in game.
Report in the spoilers. Any notes appreciated.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.6.0 character file.
4851 Poz the Thrower (level 10, -5/79 HPs)
Began as a Centaur Paladin on Apr 28, 2010.
Was an Initiate of The Shining One (penitent).
Killed from afar by Erolcha (38 damage)
... with a crystal spear
... on Level 10 of the Dungeon on Apr 29, 2010.
The game lasted 02:20:35 (18422 turns).
Poz the Thrower (Centaur Paladin) Turns: 18422, Time: 02:20:35
HP -5/79 AC 16 Str 21 Exp: 10/6849 (2), need: 4014
MP 9/9 EV 4 Int 9 God: *The Shining One
Gold 57 SH 18 Dex 8 Spells: 0 memorised, 11 levels left
Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : . E - +9,+4 trident of Wuiquth {pierce, rElec}
Res.Cold : . . . Warding : . v - +3 dwarf chain mail
Life Prot.: . . . Conserve : . c - +0 shield
Res.Poison: . Res.Corr. : . C - +2 helmet
Res.Elec. : + Clarity : . O - +0 dwarf cloak
Spirit.Shd: . K - +1 pair of gauntlets
Sust.Abil.: . Rnd.Telep. : . (no barding)
Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: . o - amulet of controlled flight
Res.Rott. : . Levitation : . h - ring of sustenance
Saprovore : . . . Ctrl.Flight: + j - ring of wizardry
@: very quick, somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: fast metabolism 2, speed 2, deformed body 1, hooves, AC +3
a: Renounce Religion
You were on level 10 of the Dungeon.
You worshipped The Shining One.
The Shining One was demanding penance.
You were hungry.
You visited 1 branch of the dungeon, and saw 10 of its levels.
You collected 368 gold pieces.
You spent 311 gold pieces at shops.
Inventory:
Hand weapons
a - a +0,+1 falchion
E - the +9,+4 trident of Wuiquth (weapon) {pierce, rElec}
(You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Dungeon)
It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
It insulates you from electricity.
H - the +6,+5 broad axe of the Nexus {chop, *Rage rPois rF+ rC+ rN+ AC+3}
(You found it on level 6 of the Dungeon)
It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
It affects your AC (+3).
It protects you from fire.
It protects you from cold.
It protects you from poison.
It protects you from negative energy.
It makes you angry.
Q - a -1,+2 orcish hand axe of flaming (quivered)
T - a +0,+0 spear
U - a +0,+0 spear
X - a +1,+1 orcish spear
Y - a +2,+1 spear
Missiles
S - a +0 dart of reaping
Z - 15 steel +0 dwarven darts
Armour
c - a +0 shield (worn)
q - a +1 orcish banded mail
v - a +3 dwarven chain mail (worn)
C - a +2 helmet (worn)
K - a +1 pair of gauntlets (worn)
O - a +0 dwarven cloak (worn)
Magical devices
m - a wand of frost (7)
n - a wand of frost (3)
J - a wand of draining (8)
W - a wand of lightning (4)
Comestibles
b - a royal jelly
d - 3 meat rations
f - 3 bread rations
k - 2 chokos
l - a snozzcumber
r - an apricot
s - a sausage
z - a pear
M - a beef jerky
Scrolls
g - a scroll of fog
p - a scroll of noise
x - a scroll of teleportation
Jewellery
h - a ring of sustenance (right hand)
j - a ring of wizardry (left hand)
o - an amulet of controlled flight (around neck)
w - a cursed ring of teleportation
V - a +2 ring of intelligence
Potions
e - 3 potions of heal wounds
i - a potion of speed
t - a potion of brilliance
u - a potion of resistance
I - 2 potions of restore abilities
Books
L - a book of Wizardry
Spells Type Level
Selective Amnesia Enchantment 4
Summon Elemental Summoning 4
Teleport Self Translocation 5
Fireball Conjuration/Fire 6
Haste Enchantment 6
You have extremely tough skin (AC +3).
You have a very fast metabolism.
You cover ground very quickly.
Armour fits poorly on your equine body.
You have hooves in place of feet.
Message History
Erolcha is moderately wounded.
Erolcha points at you and mumbles some strange words.
The bolt of fire hits you!
There is a stone staircase leading up here.
Erolcha gestures at you while chanting.
The crystal spear hits you!
You die...
I even had the ring of sustenance to battle the Centaur's excessive need for food.
Man Crawl reminds me of those nature shows that show a bug just skidding along on a placid lake, when some big fish just scarfs you down out of nowhere.
Videogames are so attuned to showing you incoming danger with big creepy set pieces, and having all these effects foreshadow it, but Crawl just lulls you into sleep and stomps you when you think you are rolling. Its a real lesson in hubris.
I had fun though, think I'll need to try a new class to get over it.
Normally you'd want to keep your stash on a level that doesn't spawn humanoids, so the temple, lair, or hive. Otherwise an orc could come grab your stuff and you wouldn't want that.
I'm gathering that theres three "tiers" of mobs the game throws at you. Random things you just plow through. Rats, orcs, gnolls, scorpions, imps, electric eels. Sure, there gets to be something notable about each, but individually or even in stream, they're not dangerous.
Then you've got things like death yaks, blink frogs, ogres, orc warriors...
And then things you better damned well be paying attention for. Named mobs, hydras, so on.
Point 1) It's brilliant
Point 2) It's bummed me out as I was fairly far in to planning a game that was so close to Desktop Dungeon that it really isn't worth doing now because DD pretty much nails all the tricky things I was having problems with, keeping the monsters static is so clever it hurts from a game design point of view.
Damnit. I got Abyssed as a Hill Orc Priest and died. Level 16.
Hill Orc Priests are fun for the massive army (especially if you have High Priests which then proceed to summon more thingies for you to kill). The main issue is sitting on eleven fucking thousand experience and not being able to use it fast enough. Did you know that your exp turns yellow after 10,000?
Also had some awesome mutations from eating ugly things... see invisible and clarity intrinsics are nice, though "armor fits poorly" is not. They stopped really affecting me after a while, though, and I'm wondering if effects canceling each other out still count towards your "too many damn mutations" limit.
That Nexus axe is pretty fucking godlike. Two high enchants, vorpal, all those resists and causes berzerk? That's usually the sort of thing I'll find on a deep elf venomancer.
So, Trog, just why did you decide to gift your dwarven berserker with a bow? I mean, its got prismatic fire shooting out of it and all, thats nice I admit, but still....
"BECAUSE YOU ARE IN THE LAIR BEFORE PACKING ANY OTHER FIRE GEAR, YA GIT".
I keep playing Kobold Assassins because the most amazingly fun thing in the world is sneaking up on an 8-headed hydra and stabbing it to death in one shot. Who needs a flaming dagger? I mean, I had one, but I didn't really need it
Still not really sure which god is the best, though. Okawaru gives me some decent weapons and Might/Haste for swarms of badguys, Makhleb gives me ranged power, Yredrelemenul gives me allies. I've done decently well with each of them but cannot pick a favorite.
OK, how the hell do you beat the Ogres that appear on level 4 in Stone Soup?
I've played, I don't know... 10-20 games now, human fighter, using ranged weapons as much as I can, but Ogres always one or two hit kill me.
Last game, went amazing, with me finding a large shield and enchanting a nice chain mail up to +4, slaying four named mobs and becoming level 6 even! Highest ever for me! Upon entering level four however, ogre comes up, two hit kill.
AAAAAAAARGH!
I hope I'm missing something obvious here, because I can make it down to level four easily (exploring all previous levels 100%) but then it's just impossible. The ramp up in difficult is truly silly.
You will rarely if ever be able to melee Ogres when you first encounter them. Powerful ranged attacks might work if you can kill them before they reach you. Poison or sticky flame is better, because you can hit them once and then run while they continue to take damage. As a last resort, run for now and return later when you're better equipped. Each level in Crawl has at least 3 stairs up & down for a reason.
If you have an Ogre right next to you and you need to get some distance so you can descend stairs without being followed, exploit the speed penalty on their giant clubs. Let the Ogre take a swing at you, and then step away. They will almost always still be recovering from their swing and be unable to move. If you don't have the HP to take a hit, run laps until your HP regenerates enough.
What gods do you think are good for a Mummy char, in general? The slime god seems interesting, but, "gifts mutations" would go very poorly on a mummy.
I typically play Venom Mages, so Sif Muna is my typical "eh, whatever" god of choice. Although Mummies get a stupid necromancy bonus, so maybe the other 2 "necro" gods are worth going for?
What gods do you think are good for a Mummy char, in general? The slime god seems interesting, but, "gifts mutations" would go very poorly on a mummy.
I typically play Venom Mages, so Sif Muna is my typical "eh, whatever" god of choice. Although Mummies get a stupid necromancy bonus, so maybe the other 2 "necro" gods are worth going for?
Me? I'm not up to date on the latest gods; I've taken a long enough break from Crawl that I'm not familiar with the latest changes. As far as the "classic" gods go, I would agree that the necro gods would synergize well.
OK, how the hell do you beat the Ogres that appear on level 4 in Stone Soup?
I've played, I don't know... 10-20 games now, human fighter, using ranged weapons as much as I can, but Ogres always one or two hit kill me.
Last game, went amazing, with me finding a large shield and enchanting a nice chain mail up to +4, slaying four named mobs and becoming level 6 even! Highest ever for me! Upon entering level four however, ogre comes up, two hit kill.
AAAAAAAARGH!
I hope I'm missing something obvious here, because I can make it down to level four easily (exploring all previous levels 100%) but then it's just impossible. The ramp up in difficult is truly silly.
You will rarely if ever be able to melee Ogres when you first encounter them. Powerful ranged attacks might work if you can kill them before they reach you. Poison or sticky flame is better, because you can hit them once and then run while they continue to take damage. As a last resort, run for now and return later when you're better equipped. Each level in Crawl has at least 3 stairs up & down for a reason.
If you have an Ogre right next to you and you need to get some distance so you can descend stairs without being followed, exploit the speed penalty on their giant clubs. Let the Ogre take a swing at you, and then step away. They will almost always still be recovering from their swing and be unable to move. If you don't have the HP to take a hit, run laps until your HP regenerates enough.
Thanks for the tip! But are you saying that monsters will follow you up stairs, but not down?
EDIT: How can I choose what to put in the quiver? That's about the only thing that this UI fails at, otherwise it's optimized to a truly super streamlined state!
eobet on
Heard the proposition that RIAA and MPAA should join forces and form "Music And Film Industry Association"?
No, they'll follow you both ways. Theres a few ways you can use this.
One, you can escape if the monster is not in hand to hand contact with you. So with monsters that swing slow, the ogre really being the most obvious one, you can just take/dodge a hit, and step off.
Another tactic to keep in mind, ESPECIALLY in swarm-heavy regions (I'm looking at you, Orc Mines!) is that you can pop down, see that theres like, fifty bajillion guys around. Walk back up, carrying only the eight/whatever around you, take care of them, eat, pray, heal, whatever, and do it again.
And then you get strong enoguh you can just plow through swarms of them, but hey. (Always get the RED ones first! They're hellmouths!)
To quiver something, hit "Q"; caps is important there. It'll bring up a list of obvious quiverables, but won't bring up needles if you don't have a blowgun equipped, etc.
No, they'll follow you up or down, the trick is just to have the one space gap between you and them. If they aren't adjacent to you, they won't follow you up/down, and ghosts will --unless it's changed-- always be bound to whatever level you find them on.
A few general tips:
If you collect a fair number of scrolls and potions before starting to identify them, you'll notice a general trend: you usually find more potions of healing and more scrolls of teleportation than anything else, quantity wise. Identify and heal wounds are also fairly common.
Saving up a fair number of potions before starting to drink-to-identify them is usually wise: if you find poison, you'll probably also find a heal or heal wounds to keep you alive.
Things that can make you go berserk can save you.
Things that teleport you (or teleport monsters) can save you.
Things that speed you up or slow monsters down can save you.
Things that confuse monsters can save you (so things like mephitic cloud are immensely valuable to casters.)
Poison is extremely good in the early game. If you find a ranged way to poison things (most commonly poisoned darts in early-game) use it sparingly.
Summons are hugely beneficial for any number of dangerous or irritating monsters.
Resist poison means you can eat poisoned meat for sustenance (same rules about only eating when hungry apply.)
Test wands by shooting at a monster that has a wall behind it at a mild angle (if you shoot straight at a monster with a wall behind it, you risk being fried by lightning. By having a wall behind the monster, you'll be sure to catch wands of disintegration and digging.)
Fight in corridors. Find see invisible. If you don't have see invisible, make even more certain you fight in corridors at Dungeon Level 10 or lower (when you'll run into unseen horrors, which move like bats but fight like giant invisible assholes.)
And don't be afraid to back off. A big part of crawl is realizing that discretion is the better part of valour.
I keep playing Kobold Assassins because the most amazingly fun thing in the world is sneaking up on an 8-headed hydra and stabbing it to death in one shot. Who needs a flaming dagger? I mean, I had one, but I didn't really need it
Still not really sure which god is the best, though. Okawaru gives me some decent weapons and Might/Haste for swarms of badguys, Makhleb gives me ranged power, Yredrelemenul gives me allies. I've done decently well with each of them but cannot pick a favorite.
Unless the last update changed it, daggers won't cut off hydra heads anyway.
Posts
There are a ton of other great-looking roguelikes that I've been meaning to try, but haven't gotten around to yet: CastlevaniaRL, Frozen Depths, GearHead 1/2, LambdaRogue, Legerdemain, MageGuild, SewerJacks, and the real-time quasi-roguelikes Transcendence and Triangle Wizard. RogueBasin is a great resource for discovering more roguelikes in development.
Don't fuckin' tell me I have a problem with shopkeepers.
(Not shown are the dozens of deaths to spikes, bottomless pits, explosions from UFOs, and one death to that sliding spike block on the 4th area. I made it there once and was promptly killed by a fucking rollerskating spike block.)
edit:
Oh wait, here they are.
See those 2 deaths to rocks?
Yeah. I throw rocks at walls and they come back and kill me.
I got the Kapala early on, got all the way up to 16 health. Also got a lot of bombs, and used those and only those to take out shopkeepers. Jetpack, too.
Good thing I had 16 health, too. Because I fucked up once and jumped onto a spike block in area 4. Went down to 2 health. Holy shit.
Had the Ankh, too. Which is good, because I died once in the final battle. I was about to rage so hard because I forgot I had it. Got hit by a spider in my own surprise.
I just... I'm so happy right now.
I'm sure there's six ogre casters around the corner, but for now I got me some smooth duds!
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
I've played, I don't know... 10-20 games now, human fighter, using ranged weapons as much as I can, but Ogres always one or two hit kill me.
Last game, went amazing, with me finding a large shield and enchanting a nice chain mail up to +4, slaying four named mobs and becoming level 6 even! Highest ever for me! Upon entering level four however, ogre comes up, two hit kill.
AAAAAAAARGH!
I hope I'm missing something obvious here, because I can make it down to level four easily (exploring all previous levels 100%) but then it's just impossible. The ramp up in difficult is truly silly.
Quaffing a potion of speed or might then just going melee should do the trick. Wands are good too as is poison. Running away is also a good option if you don't have the means to take one down.
PS. I also loathe poisonous creatures.
But I must.
I just cleared a random CASTLE of gnolls on Dungeon 5. It literally had a moat and all, even a room with a pet kobold in a transparent cage. I went across the drawbridge and tons just poured out. I slowly picked them off and began using spears exclusively to take them out. I'm a centaur Paladin so I can easily outrun many things like this.
On the next floor I dropped two ogres with my powerful throwing abilities and found direclty behind them, some +3 Dwarven Chain Mail and uh, what is it, OH, a unique called the Broad Axe of the Nexus.
It gives me Rage on attack, +3 AC, and adds fire, poison, cold and negative resistances. First unique I've ever seen and it is quite a piece of equipment.
I just cleared a Kobold lair (first one I've seen) on the next floor down.
I'm literally so far ahead my second best game, I barely know what to do. Should I try to find a dungeon branch and peak in? Also I have no idea how to properly use the rage effect on this axe, it seems to make me awesome for a little while but adds some weakness afterwards. If I can't outrun people I am in big trouble. Should I start looking for a dungeon branch? In between what floors?
Edit: I'm Level 9 by the way, I've also started a semi-stash in the Gnoll's old castle. But descending further is scary because I've never even touched these types of enemies before. Anything I should look out for?
A few things to keep in mind.
One, hoover up the darts, or whatever ranged weapon of choice you have.
Two, keep yourself in corridors when fighting more than one opponent. One at a time!
Three, conserve resources as much as humanly possible. Rest to heal, eat chunks, escape after killing half a group, whatever it may be. Dont try and keep yourself full, just not hungry.
A possible tactic with ogres is stacking up avoidance, since, frankly, very little is going to be able to just eat a few of their swings. If they keep one/two shotting you.. Yeah.
By that stage you should have at least one or two special tricks. Berserking, a spell or two, poison, a fear scroll for halfway through the fight, wands to zap before melee, slowing anything, paralysis, SOMETHING, yeah?
@RedRaptor : I know I'll get screamed at for this, but hell, back up your save if its really freaking you out. I recomend the Lair, its pretty easy... Provided you're well equipped to deal with Hydras. NEVER get into Melee with them is the general idea, and keep lots of fire on hand.
Venom mages are pretty fun.
If RedRaptor wants to try the Lair, should watch out for Spiny Frogs and Death Yaks as well. The frogs are fast, hit pretty hard and can poison you. The yaks are just generally tough with no particular weakness and come in numbers. Komodo Dragons are also something to note since their bite can cause sickness.
Zombies, Soldiers, Ghosts, Lichs, Vampires, Vampire lords, wraiths, gnomes, dwarves, animals, golems, Im sure there are quantum scientists down here somewhere...
But good god it seems like the moment I step down into this dungeon Its an immediate loss. Even if I cheat I still lose, I could give myself 100,000 hitpoints, 100,000 MP, as many scrolls of GENOCIDE as I can get, and genocide everything, and something asinine will kill me.
"Congratulations you genocided every living creature in the game( and some forms of undead)"
"You fell through a hole and stumble"
"A potion falls out of your pack and explodes"
"You died"
Or something stupid like that! ASD!!!!!
Berserking will make you slow after it runs out, and sometimes it can make you pass out completely. So that's more of an emergency weapon unless you get an amulet of resist slowing, or an item that blocks the berserk effect, but then you just have an axe with nice resists.
Alright, I'll try the lair. Where about should I find the entrance?
I don't have any fire, so I'm assuming my normal spear tossing routine will work. Is there anything I should be doing with skill training or the like at this point?
My problem with not using the rage axe is that my back-up weapon is literally a +1 sword, best thing I've found. So I'll be sure to use it sparingly but I'm not sure if I can take any upper level monsters in melee without it.
My best run before this was Level 7 Centaur Paladin, so its not like I have to worry about ghosts.
This is literally the first time I've saved a game to get a break. It's crazy, I feel like I'm stuck in crawl mode. I've got continual cold sweats. I won't back it up, it just seems wrong, but jees this is going to hurt when I finally go down.
EDIT: Okay, now I'm getting spooked.
I booted up the game again to try and pick up a decent weapon at the shop I passed a few levels ago. I walk up and in stock they have a bunch of magic items and a plain old crystal trident. I'm scared of getting cursed since I have nothing for that so I opt for the crystal trident, never had one and figured it must at least hit harder than my +1 sword.
Buy it, put it on. "The Trident of Wuiquth", +9 +4 piercing with electric resistance. The game is setting me up, is there a RNG deity in the Ecumenical Temple?
Is alright to keep my stash where it is? (Random dungeon level.)
Report in the spoilers. Any notes appreciated.
4851 Poz the Thrower (level 10, -5/79 HPs)
Began as a Centaur Paladin on Apr 28, 2010.
Was an Initiate of The Shining One (penitent).
Killed from afar by Erolcha (38 damage)
... with a crystal spear
... on Level 10 of the Dungeon on Apr 29, 2010.
The game lasted 02:20:35 (18422 turns).
Poz the Thrower (Centaur Paladin) Turns: 18422, Time: 02:20:35
HP -5/79 AC 16 Str 21 Exp: 10/6849 (2), need: 4014
MP 9/9 EV 4 Int 9 God: *The Shining One
Gold 57 SH 18 Dex 8 Spells: 0 memorised, 11 levels left
Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : . E - +9,+4 trident of Wuiquth {pierce, rElec}
Res.Cold : . . . Warding : . v - +3 dwarf chain mail
Life Prot.: . . . Conserve : . c - +0 shield
Res.Poison: . Res.Corr. : . C - +2 helmet
Res.Elec. : + Clarity : . O - +0 dwarf cloak
Spirit.Shd: . K - +1 pair of gauntlets
Sust.Abil.: . Rnd.Telep. : . (no barding)
Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: . o - amulet of controlled flight
Res.Rott. : . Levitation : . h - ring of sustenance
Saprovore : . . . Ctrl.Flight: + j - ring of wizardry
@: very quick, somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: fast metabolism 2, speed 2, deformed body 1, hooves, AC +3
a: Renounce Religion
You were on level 10 of the Dungeon.
You worshipped The Shining One.
The Shining One was demanding penance.
You were hungry.
You visited 1 branch of the dungeon, and saw 10 of its levels.
You collected 368 gold pieces.
You spent 311 gold pieces at shops.
Inventory:
Hand weapons
a - a +0,+1 falchion
E - the +9,+4 trident of Wuiquth (weapon) {pierce, rElec}
(You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Dungeon)
It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
It insulates you from electricity.
H - the +6,+5 broad axe of the Nexus {chop, *Rage rPois rF+ rC+ rN+ AC+3}
(You found it on level 6 of the Dungeon)
It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
It affects your AC (+3).
It protects you from fire.
It protects you from cold.
It protects you from poison.
It protects you from negative energy.
It makes you angry.
Q - a -1,+2 orcish hand axe of flaming (quivered)
T - a +0,+0 spear
U - a +0,+0 spear
X - a +1,+1 orcish spear
Y - a +2,+1 spear
Missiles
S - a +0 dart of reaping
Z - 15 steel +0 dwarven darts
Armour
c - a +0 shield (worn)
q - a +1 orcish banded mail
v - a +3 dwarven chain mail (worn)
C - a +2 helmet (worn)
K - a +1 pair of gauntlets (worn)
O - a +0 dwarven cloak (worn)
Magical devices
m - a wand of frost (7)
n - a wand of frost (3)
J - a wand of draining (8)
W - a wand of lightning (4)
Comestibles
b - a royal jelly
d - 3 meat rations
f - 3 bread rations
k - 2 chokos
l - a snozzcumber
r - an apricot
s - a sausage
z - a pear
M - a beef jerky
Scrolls
g - a scroll of fog
p - a scroll of noise
x - a scroll of teleportation
Jewellery
h - a ring of sustenance (right hand)
j - a ring of wizardry (left hand)
o - an amulet of controlled flight (around neck)
w - a cursed ring of teleportation
V - a +2 ring of intelligence
Potions
e - 3 potions of heal wounds
i - a potion of speed
t - a potion of brilliance
u - a potion of resistance
I - 2 potions of restore abilities
Books
L - a book of Wizardry
Spells Type Level
Selective Amnesia Enchantment 4
Summon Elemental Summoning 4
Teleport Self Translocation 5
Fireball Conjuration/Fire 6
Haste Enchantment 6
You had 2 experience left.
Skills:
+ Level 4 Fighting
- Level 6 Long Blades
+ Level 2 Axes
+ Level 3 Polearms
+ Level 11 Throwing
+ Level 3 Armour
+ Level 3 Dodging
+ Level 1 Stealth
+ Level 4 Shields
- Level 2 Unarmed Combat
+ Level 1 Spellcasting
- Level 2 Invocations
You had 11 spell levels left.
You didn't know any spells.
Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations
Branches:
Dungeon (10/27) Temple (0/1) D:7 Orc (0/4) D:7
Lair: D:8-13
Altars:
Elyvilon
Sif Muna
Xom
Yredelemnul
Shops:
D:4: ( D:8: * D:9: (
Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations
You have extremely tough skin (AC +3).
You have a very fast metabolism.
You cover ground very quickly.
Armour fits poorly on your equine body.
You have hooves in place of feet.
Message History
Erolcha is moderately wounded.
Erolcha points at you and mumbles some strange words.
The bolt of fire hits you!
There is a stone staircase leading up here.
Erolcha gestures at you while chanting.
The crystal spear hits you!
You die...
................
.....(..........
................
......(.........
.......(((.(....
..........(....>
................
................
....@.........{{
....%..........{
....O..........{
...)............
...(............
...).......{{...
..).........{{..
..........{{{{..
.......<....{..
You could see Erolcha.
Vanquished Creatures
A hippogriff (D:9)
2 hungry ghosts
7 orc warriors
A phantom (D:8)
A yellow wasp (D:6)
8 ogres
Menkaure (D:7)
2 centaurs
6 big kobolds (D:6)
The ghost of Parq the Caller, an average KeSu (D:3)
2 giant frogs
Blork the orc (D:9)
3 killer bees (D:9)
A wight (D:9)
2 hound zombies (D:6)
6 imps
3 hounds
6 orc priests
6 orc wizards
3 scorpions
7 giant ants
5 iguanas
Jessica (D:2)
A jelly (D:4)
47 gnolls (D:5)
9 snakes
A giant mite (D:5)
A worm (D:6)
Terence (D:3)
A giant bat zombie (D:7)
7 giant geckos
4 oozes
15 giant bats
5 giant cockroaches
18 goblins
15 hobgoblins
24 jackals
28 kobolds
66 orcs
A small snake (D:1)
6 giant newts
2 orc zombies
3 quokkas
9 rats
A rat skeleton (D:3)
10 toadstools
351 creatures vanquished.
Vanquished Creatures (others)
2 orcs (D:9)
A rat (D:4)
33 toadstools
36 creatures vanquished.
Grand Total: 387 creatures vanquished
Notes
Turn | Place | Note
0 | D:1 | Poz, the Centaur Paladin, began the quest for the Orb.
0 | D:1 | Reached XP level 1. HP: 17/17 MP: 0/0
183 | D:1 | Gained mutation: Your magical capacity is low (-10% MP).
183 | D:1 | Gained mutation: You have a pair of small horns on your head.
192 | D:1 | Reached skill 3 in Long Blades
363 | D:1 | Acquired The Shining One's first power
567 | D:1 | Reached XP level 2. HP: 13/23 MP: 0/0
678 | D:1 | Reached skill 1 in Armour
1304 | D:2 | Reached XP level 3. HP: 24/30 MP: 1/1
1346 | D:2 | Reached skill 1 in Shields
1374 | D:2 | Noticed Jessica
1400 | D:2 | Defeated Jessica
1725 | D:3 | Noticed Terence
1729 | D:3 | Reached skill 1 in Throwing
1818 | D:3 | Noticed Parq's ghost
1939 | D:3 | Reached XP level 4. HP: 24/36 MP: 2/2
2360 | D:3 | Was placed under penance by The Shining One
2370 | D:3 | Was forgiven by The Shining One
2389 | D:3 | Gained mutation: Your muscles are strong (Str +1).
2538 | D:3 | Defeated Terence
2649 | D:3 | Noticed a rat skeleton
2668 | D:3 | Defeated a rat skeleton
2675 | D:3 | Defeated Parq's ghost
2675 | D:3 | Reached XP level 5. HP: 40/43 MP: 3/3
2853 | D:2 | Reached skill 4 in Throwing
3058 | D:2 | Reached XP level 6. HP: 49/49 MP: 4/4
4347 | D:3 | Lost mutation: Your magical capacity is low (-10% MP).
4347 | D:3 | Lost mutation: You have a pair of small horns on your head.
4347 | D:3 | Lost mutation: Your muscles are strong (Str +1).
4634 | D:3 | Reached skill 5 in Throwing
4717 | D:3 | HP: 2/49 [poison]
5145 | D:4 | Reached skill 6 in Throwing
5217 | D:4 | Found Grur's Antique Weapon Boutique.
5542 | D:5 | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
5579 | D:4 | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
6165 | D:5 | Found a white marble altar of Elyvilon.
6287 | D:5 | Reached XP level 7. HP: 46/55 MP: 6/6
6400 | D:5 | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
6682 | D:5 | Reached skill 7 in Throwing
6731 | D:5 | Reached skill 5 in Long Blades
7038 | D:5 | Was placed under penance by The Shining One
7250 | D:5 | Reached skill 1 in Dodging
7605 | D:5 | Reached XP level 8. HP: 27/63 MP: 7/7
7884 | D:5 | Reached skill 1 in Unarmed Combat
10012 | D:5 | Reached skill 8 in Throwing
11284 | D:6 | Got a polished broad axe
11678 | D:6 | Noticed a big kobold
11705 | D:6 | Defeated a big kobold
11728 | D:6 | Noticed a big kobold
11728 | D:6 | Noticed a big kobold
11762 | D:6 | Defeated a big kobold
11763 | D:6 | Reached skill 9 in Throwing
11798 | D:6 | Defeated a big kobold
11798 | D:6 | Reached XP level 9. HP: 44/70 MP: 8/8
11893 | D:6 | Noticed a big kobold
11908 | D:6 | Defeated a big kobold
11938 | D:6 | Noticed a big kobold
11955 | D:6 | Defeated a big kobold
11964 | D:6 | Noticed a big kobold
11988 | D:6 | Defeated a big kobold
12030 | D:6 | Identified the broad axe of the Nexus {chop, *Rage rPois rF+ rC+ rN+ AC+3} (You found it on level 6 of the Dungeon)
13359 | D:7 | Reached skill 1 in Axes
13521 | D:7 | Noticed Menkaure
13523 | D:7 | Defeated Menkaure
13524 | D:7 | Noticed Joseph
13920 | D:4 | Bought a crystal trident for 220 gold pieces
13926 | D:4 | Identified the trident of Wuiquth {pierce, rElec} (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Dungeon)
14329 | D:7 | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
14345 | D:7 | Reached skill 1 in Polearms
14869 | D:8 | Found Frethrym's General Store.
14991 | D:7 | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
15235 | D:8 | Reached skill 10 in Throwing
15847 | D:9 | Found a deep blue altar of Sif Muna.
16427 | D:9 | Reached XP level 10. HP: 70/79 MP: 9/9
16473 | D:9 | Reached XP level 9. HP: 74/74 MP: 8/8
16475 | D:9 | Reached XP level 10. HP: 73/79 MP: 9/9
17005 | D:8 | Bought a scroll of remove curse for 39 gold pieces
17005 | D:8 | Bought a scroll of identify for 26 gold pieces
17005 | D:8 | Bought a scroll of identify for 26 gold pieces
17015 | D:8 | Reached skill 1 in Spellcasting
17116 | D:8 | Reached skill 1 in Stealth
17269 | D:9 | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
17616 | D:9 | Noticed Blork the orc
17625 | D:9 | Defeated Blork the orc
17926 | D:9 | Found Shesm's Weapon Shop.
18273 | D:9 | Reached skill 11 in Throwing
18338 | D:10 | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
18407 | D:10 | Noticed Erolcha
18422 | D:10 | Killed from afar by Erolcha
Beat my next highest score by a factor of six.
Edit: Ha, forgot to turn off the smileys, but they seem so apt.
Man Crawl reminds me of those nature shows that show a bug just skidding along on a placid lake, when some big fish just scarfs you down out of nowhere.
Videogames are so attuned to showing you incoming danger with big creepy set pieces, and having all these effects foreshadow it, but Crawl just lulls you into sleep and stomps you when you think you are rolling. Its a real lesson in hubris.
I had fun though, think I'll need to try a new class to get over it.
The lack of these is sort of the point, I get, but still.
Does Okawaru give you barding if you are a centaur or naga? That might work.
Now my body should be right by the stairs just grab it and carry it up to the altar of ressurection on floor seven.
Oh wait...
Then you've got things like death yaks, blink frogs, ogres, orc warriors...
And then things you better damned well be paying attention for. Named mobs, hydras, so on.
Point 1) It's brilliant
Point 2) It's bummed me out as I was fairly far in to planning a game that was so close to Desktop Dungeon that it really isn't worth doing now because DD pretty much nails all the tricky things I was having problems with, keeping the monsters static is so clever it hurts from a game design point of view.
I made a game, it has penguins in it. It's pay what you like on Gumroad.
Currently Ebaying Nothing at all but I might do in the future.
Hill Orc Priests are fun for the massive army (especially if you have High Priests which then proceed to summon more thingies for you to kill). The main issue is sitting on eleven fucking thousand experience and not being able to use it fast enough. Did you know that your exp turns yellow after 10,000?
Also had some awesome mutations from eating ugly things... see invisible and clarity intrinsics are nice, though "armor fits poorly" is not. They stopped really affecting me after a while, though, and I'm wondering if effects canceling each other out still count towards your "too many damn mutations" limit.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
"BECAUSE YOU ARE IN THE LAIR BEFORE PACKING ANY OTHER FIRE GEAR, YA GIT".
... Thank you Trog.
Still not really sure which god is the best, though. Okawaru gives me some decent weapons and Might/Haste for swarms of badguys, Makhleb gives me ranged power, Yredrelemenul gives me allies. I've done decently well with each of them but cannot pick a favorite.
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
You will rarely if ever be able to melee Ogres when you first encounter them. Powerful ranged attacks might work if you can kill them before they reach you. Poison or sticky flame is better, because you can hit them once and then run while they continue to take damage. As a last resort, run for now and return later when you're better equipped. Each level in Crawl has at least 3 stairs up & down for a reason.
If you have an Ogre right next to you and you need to get some distance so you can descend stairs without being followed, exploit the speed penalty on their giant clubs. Let the Ogre take a swing at you, and then step away. They will almost always still be recovering from their swing and be unable to move. If you don't have the HP to take a hit, run laps until your HP regenerates enough.
I typically play Venom Mages, so Sif Muna is my typical "eh, whatever" god of choice. Although Mummies get a stupid necromancy bonus, so maybe the other 2 "necro" gods are worth going for?
Me? I'm not up to date on the latest gods; I've taken a long enough break from Crawl that I'm not familiar with the latest changes. As far as the "classic" gods go, I would agree that the necro gods would synergize well.
Thanks for the tip! But are you saying that monsters will follow you up stairs, but not down?
EDIT: How can I choose what to put in the quiver? That's about the only thing that this UI fails at, otherwise it's optimized to a truly super streamlined state!
One, you can escape if the monster is not in hand to hand contact with you. So with monsters that swing slow, the ogre really being the most obvious one, you can just take/dodge a hit, and step off.
Another tactic to keep in mind, ESPECIALLY in swarm-heavy regions (I'm looking at you, Orc Mines!) is that you can pop down, see that theres like, fifty bajillion guys around. Walk back up, carrying only the eight/whatever around you, take care of them, eat, pray, heal, whatever, and do it again.
And then you get strong enoguh you can just plow through swarms of them, but hey. (Always get the RED ones first! They're hellmouths!)
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
A few general tips:
If you collect a fair number of scrolls and potions before starting to identify them, you'll notice a general trend: you usually find more potions of healing and more scrolls of teleportation than anything else, quantity wise. Identify and heal wounds are also fairly common.
Saving up a fair number of potions before starting to drink-to-identify them is usually wise: if you find poison, you'll probably also find a heal or heal wounds to keep you alive.
Things that can make you go berserk can save you.
Things that teleport you (or teleport monsters) can save you.
Things that speed you up or slow monsters down can save you.
Things that confuse monsters can save you (so things like mephitic cloud are immensely valuable to casters.)
Poison is extremely good in the early game. If you find a ranged way to poison things (most commonly poisoned darts in early-game) use it sparingly.
Summons are hugely beneficial for any number of dangerous or irritating monsters.
Resist poison means you can eat poisoned meat for sustenance (same rules about only eating when hungry apply.)
Test wands by shooting at a monster that has a wall behind it at a mild angle (if you shoot straight at a monster with a wall behind it, you risk being fried by lightning. By having a wall behind the monster, you'll be sure to catch wands of disintegration and digging.)
Fight in corridors. Find see invisible. If you don't have see invisible, make even more certain you fight in corridors at Dungeon Level 10 or lower (when you'll run into unseen horrors, which move like bats but fight like giant invisible assholes.)
And don't be afraid to back off. A big part of crawl is realizing that discretion is the better part of valour.
Unless the last update changed it, daggers won't cut off hydra heads anyway.