Well, that run went poorly. I was playing a Transmuter, made it to the second floor and was level 3. Then I ran into Sigmund, Jessica and Terence at the same time.
I managed to take Jessica and Terence down, but Sigmund turned invisible and level drained me with a wand. I died shortly thereafter.
The random number gods are harsh.
The game I'm in now is going well though. I just made it to Level 8 of the Lair of Beasts. I've got a +5/+6 artifact mace with +5 AC, two rings that buff magic resistance (one is an artifact) which makes me "incredibly resistant to magic", and a ring of sustenance to make rations last longer. The tips and tricks I read on the wiki have really helped.
These being the most helpful tips so far:
Test scrolls, potions, and wands yourself. Save identify scrolls for equipment (jewelry and runed things). In the skills screen, disable any skills you don't want trained. Specialization is key.
Can someone tell me how to use items like crystal balls and decks of cards?
You can use items like decks and crystal balls by equipping them and hitting the (E)voke key.
I'd recommend trying on equipment. Weapons that give more than +/+ (such as flaming, draining, chopping etc) will be identified immediately upon equipping it, and armor will tell you its enchantment immediately upon equipping it. Most of the rings and amulets cannot be equip-IDed, though, and you'll need to use identify scrolls for those. I'd also recommend not trying scrolls and potions unless:
1) You have more than one of the item;
2) You need something out of it, such as healing or a remove curse scroll.
Well, this one's late, but I had work stress all week and then spent a good portion of the day yesterday in the throes of socialization. I'm all for ASCII, but sometimes we have to prioritize.
Chapter 8: A Furious Buzzing
The branches I had found so far, Lair and the Mines, had been found near the high ends of their ranges, and after clearing them out (mostly), I felt secure in venturing a bit further down.
To be honest, nothing was much of a challenge at this point. One of the oddities in this game is that it seemed the orcs became very common, and kept showing up in packs, as in the mines.
And of course playing on the server kept coming back to bite me. If you haven't gotten this far yourself yet, keep in mind that the ghosts get stronger as you get stronger. They are, after all, the ghosts of players, and reflect the strength and class of the character in question.
Yes, the game cheats for them. Get used to it. But given these facts, can you guys guess which player class might leave the most painful ghosts? I'll give the answer in the next chapter.
Being a simple dwarf, however, I just opened the ghost like a pillowcase a few times and killed it. Or, uh, whatever. I then proceeded to explore...
And joy of joys, I found the hive.
Some of you who are new to roguelikes and may be having real issues getting anywhere are probably starving to death on the second floor. It happens a lot until you get used to Crawl, which has one of the weirdest food games in roguelikes. The Hive, however, is where that food-game ends.
It's a tiny, satisfying victory buried within a festering sea of defeat.
Why's that? Because bees (as I noted in my last update) manufacture huge quantities of imperishable yummies. To wit: honeycombs and royal jellies. They're guarded by an incredibly annoying enemy, of course, but with a decent AC and poison resistance they die by the swarm. hurrr.
Of course, eating flesh whenever possible is still advisable, because even in the late-game some branches can be hell on your food stocks. Or Pandæmonium on your food stocks. As it were.
Notice the colorful and flamboyant flock of butterflies. Ain't they purdy? I read an unidentified scroll and got them. They were awesome, but useless.
It is a thing of beauty to be "overloaded" with food, though. I found out something fun, though: you can't go up stairs while overloaded. I wasn't going to carry all this food with me, of course, just stash it on the second level of the Hive... but I still had to carry it in multiple loads.
Try to contain your envy, low-level toilers. The next update will carry this character to his unfortunate and idiotic end.
So awesome. I wish more roguelikes were this accessible. Dwarf Fortress with these graphics would be sexy as hell.
Dwarf Fortress would need thousands of tiles. Creating a graphical version would be a huge undertaking. Notice, too, that I abandoned the tiles, even in Crawl. They just don't convey as much information at a glance as ASCII Does.
So awesome. I wish more roguelikes were this accessible. Dwarf Fortress with these graphics would be sexy as hell.
Dwarf Fortress would need thousands of tiles. Creating a graphical version would be a huge undertaking. Notice, too, that I abandoned the tiles, even in Crawl. They just don't convey as much information at a glance as ASCII Does.
I agree it's sort of like reading a book. A violent book that hates you. Yet you keep reading....
Syrion, I want to thank you for making this thread. I've seen so many of those "letter games" and assumed it would be awful, and now I'm playing this more than AoC (and everything else) because it's more fun even though I suck at it.
Now if only I could get my fifty bucks back for conan
They just don't convey as much information at a glance as ASCII Does.
you've said that a few times now, but what exactly do you mean. are you saying its just easier to pick out items/monsters in ascii than with the tiles?
i just came across a 5x5 room full of sweet looking items... with a guardian naga sitting in it. who proceeding to keep poisoning and teleporting me until i finally died. i almost had him too. those items (assuming they weren't dancing weapons or something evil) would've been just what my guy needed. i was doing well but hadn't come across any decent armor yet.
Syrion, I want to thank you for making this thread. I've seen so many of those "letter games" and assumed it would be awful, and now I'm playing this more than AoC (and everything else) because it's more fun even though I suck at it.
Now if only I could get my fifty bucks back for conan
It's a common mistake. People assume that graphics make a game good--or at least that a good game must have good graphics. I take issue with that attitude, and I'm glad to see that you've overcome your prejudice.
you've said that a few times now, but what exactly do you mean. are you saying its just easier to pick out items/monsters in ascii than with the tiles?
Yes. Sometimes you need to use 'x' to get a description of a monster, or to find out what equipment it's using, but most of the time the ASCII display gives you all the information you need. It's easy to remember which letter and color represents which monster--in Crawl, at least--and graphics only make it more difficult. How many tile-players, for example, recognize that a quokka is a rodent like a rat, therefore always safe to eat?
i just came across a 5x5 room full of sweet looking items... with a guardian naga sitting in it. who proceeding to keep poisoning and teleporting me until i finally died. i almost had him too. those items (assuming they weren't dancing weapons or something evil) would've been just what my guy needed. i was doing well but hadn't come across any decent armor yet.
That's a vault. (a vault, not the Vaults). They occur rarely in Crawl but are probably most familiar from Angband, which features one of my personal favorites, the [url="http://angband.oook.cz/screen-show.php?id=943]Great Checkerboard Vault[/url]. When I play Angband, I basically view these vaults as death sentences. They always seem to come too early and I can't resist going into them and trying to fight the monsters despite their strength.
(In Angband, a level is lost once you leave it--so if you see a vault, you have to clear it right then if you want it.)
Equip the cards and then use Shift+e to evoke from them. Then, stare drooling into the depths of the crystal ball as a passing rat nibbles your head off. :^:
This is a good point. Crystal balls, in particular, require a lot of Evocations skill to get the desired effect out of. It's safer to train Evocations using wands and rods.
My Dark Elf Fire Elementalist had no trouble getting down to Lair 10 (where there wasn't anything interesting). I'm not sure what to do now, though. I don't have any poison resistance, so I'm reluctant to try snakes. Will Lighting & Cold resists get me through Swamp? Should I backtrack and try to find the Orc Mines to get enough money to buy a poison-resistance ring (it did other things too-- looked handy) I saw in a Lair shop?
Definitely backtrack to buy the poison resist ring. You'll want poison resist for the Swamp and the Hive as well as the snakes.
That staff of air isn't a particularly useful weapon for you; you might want to find a nice long blade instead for until you get a better staff. You will eventually want a substantial amount of Earth Magic, and Air Magic built up early will only get in the way. (I don't remember whether staves of air retard earth magic the same way staves of fire retard ice magic.)
Some information about how spell enhancer staves act in melee combat:
It's not obvious, but enhancer staves, as weapons, are basically +0,-1 (+0,-2? I forget) quarterstaves of [something], the [something] depending on whether the kind of staff corresponds to a weapon brand or not. So a staff of fire acts in combat as a quarterstaff of flaming, a staff of earth as a quarterstaff of crushing, and so on. Staves of conjurations, enchantments, and so on don't have any special combat property. The staff of air is a still more special case: you fight with it using Unarmed Combat skill, rather than Staves skill. (Because it's a staff of air, not of wood, get it? I never have. :x) Unarmed Combat is really not a useful skill for you, so you may want to find a weapon that exercises something else based on that alone.
It would be awesome if there were a staff of translocations that acted as a quarterstaff of distortion, but I don't think there is.
This game is pretty awesome, but way more complex than the DS roguelikes I'm used to. I'm still trying to learn all the controls. I haven't made it past floor 5 yet.
Sigmund is an asshole. So is my ghost.
It's kind of funny to me that people talk about how hard Shiren is, or comment on the difficulty of optional roguelike dungeons in RPGs, and yet have never played their spiritual ancestors which, by and large, are much more difficult and complex (and fun). Even the Diablo games label the real roguelike mode "hardcore."
Which isn't to say Shiren is a bad game. On the contrary, it's the only commercial roguelike I actually like. It plays something like a stripped-down Nethack with pretty well-tuned core mechanics.
Syrion, I want to thank you for making this thread. I've seen so many of those "letter games" and assumed it would be awful, and now I'm playing this more than AoC (and everything else) because it's more fun even though I suck at it.
Now if only I could get my fifty bucks back for conan
It's a common mistake. People assume that graphics make a game good--or at least that a good game must have good graphics. I take issue with that attitude, and I'm glad to see that you've overcome your prejudice.
Eight years ago my wife (then girlfriend) used to point and laugh at me whenever she saw me "slaying ASCII characters again". Then she tried Crawl, and got immediately addicted. We used to get some really funny looks in restaurants when animatedly discussing our latest characters.
How many tile-players, for example, recognize that a quokka is a rodent like a rat, therefore always safe to eat?
Probably the Australian ones, at least
This may be common sense, but let me point out that I don't think green rats are safe to eat. Specifically, if I remember correctly, they're mutagenic.
Equip the cards and then use Shift+e to evoke from them. Then, stare drooling into the depths of the crystal ball as a passing rat nibbles your head off. :^:
This is a good point. Crystal balls, in particular, require a lot of Evocations skill to get the desired effect out of. It's safer to train Evocations using wands and rods.
What is the desired effect, by the way? Magic Mapping, Detect Thingies, that sort of thing?
Other stuff: Thanks. I have Air Magic up to 6 from casting Repel Missiles all the time, so I guess Earth Magic will get off to a rough start. I'll look for a yummy sword and save up for poison resistance. Orcs of the world, beware!
This is a good point. Crystal balls, in particular, require a lot of Evocations skill to get the desired effect out of. It's safer to train Evocations using wands and rods.
What is the desired effect, by the way? Magic Mapping, Detect Thingies, that sort of thing?
There's one with a magic mapping effect, one that recharges some MP, and one that only causes you to stare, fixated.
Syrion, I want to thank you for making this thread. I've seen so many of those "letter games" and assumed it would be awful, and now I'm playing this more than AoC (and everything else) because it's more fun even though I suck at it.
Now if only I could get my fifty bucks back for conan
It's a common mistake. People assume that graphics make a game good--or at least that a good game must have good graphics. I take issue with that attitude, and I'm glad to see that you've overcome your prejudice.
Eight years ago my wife (then girlfriend) used to point and laugh at me whenever she saw me "slaying ASCII characters again". Then she tried Crawl, and got immediately addicted. We used to get some really funny looks in restaurants when animatedly discussing our latest characters.
How many tile-players, for example, recognize that a quokka is a rodent like a rat, therefore always safe to eat?
Probably the Australian ones, at least
This may be common sense, but let me point out that I don't think green rats are safe to eat. Specifically, if I remember correctly, they're mutagenic.
Well, I mean the generic brown ones. You start messing with them crazy-colored 'uns, that's yer own lookout.
This is a good point. Crystal balls, in particular, require a lot of Evocations skill to get the desired effect out of. It's safer to train Evocations using wands and rods.
What is the desired effect, by the way? Magic Mapping, Detect Thingies, that sort of thing?
There's one with a magic mapping effect, one that recharges some MP, and one that only causes you to stare, fixated.
Someone mentioned throwing potions at enemies... how is that done? Can't find it in the documentation. I thought "t" might work, but potions don't appear as throwable items. Also, can one use scrolls on enemies? I ran across some scrolls of curse armor, but never got a chance to use them.
I just ran into the ghost of my summoner, who proceeded to summon a HUGE army of bats and rats and killed me
So far, my best characters have been ghoul fighters. Immunity to poison and the ability to eat rotting meat is quite nice.
Someone mentioned throwing potions at enemies... how is that done? Can't find it in the documentation. I thought "t" might work, but potions don't appear as throwable items. Also, can one use scrolls on enemies? I ran across some scrolls of curse armor, but never got a chance to use them.
I just ran into the ghost of my summoner, who proceeded to summon a HUGE army of bats and rats and killed me
So far, my best characters have been ghoul fighters. Immunity to poison and the ability to eat rotting meat is quite nice.
Transmuters can "throw" potions by using the evaporate spell.
I have a question. Recently on my orc priest, I decided it was a good idea to go ahead and read an unidentified scroll while I only had one orc ally. It was a scroll of explode-myself. So now I had to kill my orc and Beough wants "penance". How do I achieve that?
Aw dangit doesn't matter. I was in starving status, so I desperately went to the hive to try and find some food. I got swarmed with no way to cut myself out of the swarm in time. Oh well. TIME TO START AGAIN!
Someone mentioned throwing potions at enemies... how is that done? Can't find it in the documentation. I thought "t" might work, but potions don't appear as throwable items. Also, can one use scrolls on enemies? I ran across some scrolls of curse armor, but never got a chance to use them.
I just ran into the ghost of my summoner, who proceeded to summon a HUGE army of bats and rats and killed me
So far, my best characters have been ghoul fighters. Immunity to poison and the ability to eat rotting meat is quite nice.
Transmuters can "throw" potions by using the evaporate spell.
And it's an AOE attack! Which means that using it to throw a potion of confusion while standing right next to the monster has a good chance of making you confused also! Just as an orc appears! My poor, dead transmuter.
Also, can one use scrolls on enemies? I ran across some scrolls of curse armor, but never got a chance to use them.
No. There are a few scrolls that have effects useful against enemies, including immolation, fear, and
torment
, but scrolls of curse weapon and curse armour are wholly useless once identified. (At least they're not as nasty as the scrolls of Curse Weapon of some Angband variants, which not only render the item sticky-cursed, but blast it, removing any brand or other property it may have had and changing its bonuses to something like -15,-18.)
An uncursed quarterstaff of Fear
It inflicts no extra harm, but heals its wielder somewhat when it strikes a living foe.
It affects your intelligence (+1).
It protects you from poison.
It makes you much less stealthy.
Fun! I'll drop it once I can spare the resistance, since I find stealthy extremely useful, but the second and first stats are definitely on my list of Want. Does anyone know what's up with the Fear affix, though?
edit: Also, it appears to secretly cause hunger. And Staff of Air appears to secretly cause lightning resistance. I'm heading for the swamp wearing staff of air + ring of Moon (sustenance, res fire, res poison) and ring of uncertainty (evokes levitate & blink, provides protection from the effects of poison and venom, whatever that means), and carrying the Fear staff in case I want more poison resistance. I figure I definitely want lightning if I'm going to see more electric eels.
Does anyone know what's up with the Fear affix, though?
It's a random artifact, just like the ones that are named with unpronounceable clusters of consonants. All these objects are unique, impervious to damage (or enhancement, unfortunately), and may carry a number of abilities on a single item. They're generated randomly (which is how Trog and Okawaru can shower you with an unending stream of incomprehensible crap weapons). Very few artifacts in Crawl are the same from game to game, and most or all of them have obviously unique descriptions.
Damn, my best game just was ended by Boris. The fucker. 127,606 points.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.3.4 (crawl-ref) character file.
127606 Garthor the Shatterer (level 17, -53/143 HPs)
Began as a Hill Orc Priest on May 25, 2008.
Was a High Priest of Beogh.
Killed from afar by Boris (59 damage)
... with an iron bolt
... on Level 23 of the Dungeon.
The game lasted 04:59:49 (53381 turns).
Garthor the Shatterer (127606 points)
Race : Hill Orc Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : .
Class : Priest Res.Cold : + . . Warding : .
Worship : Beogh***** Life Prot.: . . . Conserve : .
Level : 17 Res.Poison: + Res.Corr. : .
Exp : 177548 Res.Elec. : . Gourmand : +
Next Level : 186500
Exp Needed : 8952 Sust.Abil.: . Rnd.Telep. : .
Spls.Left : 18 Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: .
Gold : 3323 Res.Slow : . Levitation : .
Clarity : . Ctrl.Flight: .
HP : -53/143
MP : 28 Weapon : +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness
Str : 26 Armour : +1 orcish plate mail
Int : 10 Shield : +0 large shield of Agoraphobia
Dex : 10 Helmet : +1 winged helmet
AC : 41 Cloak : +1 cloak
Evasion : 6 Gloves : +0 pair of gloves
Shield : 10 Boots : +0 pair of elven boots
Amulet : amulet of the gourmand
Play time : 05:00:08 Ring : +6 ring of protection
Turns : 53381 Ring :
You were on level 23 of the Dungeon.
You worshipped Beogh.
Beogh was extremely pleased with you.
You were overloaded with stuff.
You were full.
You visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and saw 45 of its levels.
Inventory:
Hand weapons
b - a +5,+6 orcish mace of draining
g - the +8,+8 bow of Krishna "Sharnga"
(You found it on level 9 of the Lair of Beasts)
A wonderful golden bow.
It allows its wielder to fire twice when they would otherwise have fired
only once.
It affects your dexterity (+3).
It enhances your eyesight.
It once belonged to a foreign god. It works best with special arrows which
are not generally available.
o - a +1,+3 orcish dagger of returning
w - a +1,+1 orcish hand axe
E - the +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness (weapon)
(You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts)
It affects your AC (+6).
It affects your strength (+3).
Armour
h - a +2 chain mail of fire resistance
i - a +0 mottled dragon armour
m - a +1 cloak (worn)
p - the +0 large shield of Agoraphobia (worn)
(You found it on level 16 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+1).
r - a +0 pair of elven boots (worn)
B - a +1 orcish plate mail (worn)
G - the +2 banded mail "Ghui"
(You found it on level 21 of the Dungeon)
It affects your intelligence (+2).
It partially protects you from negative energy.
It amplifies your intrinsic magic resistance.
It makes you much more stealthy.
I - the +2 ring mail of the Empire
(You found it on level 15 of the Dungeon)
It affects your accuracy (+3).
It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+2).
It greatly protects you from cold.
L - a +0 pair of gloves (worn)
O - the +6 leather armour "Poraidel"
(You found it on level 19 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+3).
S - a +1 winged helmet (worn)
Magical devices
k - a wand of flame (15)
t - a wand of disintegration (6)
u - a wand of cold (7)
x - a wand of enslavement (1)
D - a wand of draining (8)
K - a wand of paralysis (5)
Q - a wand of flame (10)
U - a wand of polymorph other (3)
X - a wand of confusion (15)
Y - a wand of polymorph other (10)
Comestibles
d - 11 meat rations
Scrolls
f - 2 scrolls of identify
l - a scroll of enchant weapon III
q - 2 scrolls of teleportation
z - 2 scrolls of enchant weapon II
A - a scroll of blinking
C - 2 scrolls of remove curse
F - a scroll of fear
H - a scroll of detect curse
W - a scroll of recharging
Jewellery
a - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection (right hand)
s - an uncursed ring of levitation
v - a +5 ring of strength
J - an uncursed ring of see invisible
M - an uncursed ring of poison resistance
P - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
R - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
T - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
V - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
Potions
c - a potion of healing
n - a potion of restore abilities
y - 2 potions of might
Z - 2 potions of levitation
Books
N - a book of Power
Magical staves
j - a rod of demonology (11/11)
(You found it on level 10 of the Dungeon)
You had 2 experience left.
Skills:
+ Level 14 Fighting
+ Level 1 Axes
+ Level 20 Maces & Flails
+ Level 10 Armour
+ Level 7 Dodging
+ Level 11 Shields
+ Level 2 Spellcasting
+ Level 1 Enchantments
+ Level 1 Air Magic
+ Level 11 Invocations
You had 18 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:
Your Spells Type Power Success Level
a - Repel Missiles Air/Ench #......... Useless 2
Overview of the Dungeon
Branches:
Temple: D:7 Orc : D:8 Elf : Orc:3 Lair : D:13
Slime : Lair:4 Snake : Lair:6 Hive : D:12 Vault : D:19
Altars:
Beogh: Orc:1
Kikubaaqudgha: Orc:4
Shops:
D:6: = D:7: ? D:13: = Orc:2: [ Lair:4: [( Lair:6: !!! Vault:3: (
Portals:
Hell: D:21
Pan: D:21
Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations
You can tolerate rotten meat.
You can walk on water.
Your mind is acute (Int +1).
You are surrounded by a mild repulsion field (ev + 1).
Your system is immune to poisons.
Your flesh is cold resistant.
You have a fast metabolism.
You are clumsy (Dex -1).
Message History
You're wearing two rings. Remove which one? (a/e/Esc)
a - a ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection
You remove your ring of protection from magic.
Boris casts a spell.
The iron bolt hits you!
You die...
#.####.
# #.##.....
..#.......
#.#.......
#######.#......
.....##.#....#####
.....##.#.........
.....##..........#
..z.L'[email protected]#
.....##..........#
.....##..........#
.................#
....####.........#
....# #.........
...? #........
.... #.......
.... ......
(absurdly long kill list removed)
Grand Total: 1561 creatures vanquished
Killed because I was carrying too much spare gear to escape up the stairs (though I probably would've gotten Iron Bolted on my way out, anyway). I had an ass-ton of Protection stuff, too: I had 41 AC when I died.
Damn, my best game just was ended by Boris. The fucker. 127,606 points.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.3.4 (crawl-ref) character file.
127606 Garthor the Shatterer (level 17, -53/143 HPs)
Began as a Hill Orc Priest on May 25, 2008.
Was a High Priest of Beogh.
Killed from afar by Boris (59 damage)
... with an iron bolt
... on Level 23 of the Dungeon.
The game lasted 04:59:49 (53381 turns).
Garthor the Shatterer (127606 points)
Race : Hill Orc Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : .
Class : Priest Res.Cold : + . . Warding : .
Worship : Beogh***** Life Prot.: . . . Conserve : .
Level : 17 Res.Poison: + Res.Corr. : .
Exp : 177548 Res.Elec. : . Gourmand : +
Next Level : 186500
Exp Needed : 8952 Sust.Abil.: . Rnd.Telep. : .
Spls.Left : 18 Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: .
Gold : 3323 Res.Slow : . Levitation : .
Clarity : . Ctrl.Flight: .
HP : -53/143
MP : 28 Weapon : +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness
Str : 26 Armour : +1 orcish plate mail
Int : 10 Shield : +0 large shield of Agoraphobia
Dex : 10 Helmet : +1 winged helmet
AC : 41 Cloak : +1 cloak
Evasion : 6 Gloves : +0 pair of gloves
Shield : 10 Boots : +0 pair of elven boots
Amulet : amulet of the gourmand
Play time : 05:00:08 Ring : +6 ring of protection
Turns : 53381 Ring :
You were on level 23 of the Dungeon.
You worshipped Beogh.
Beogh was extremely pleased with you.
You were overloaded with stuff.
You were full.
You visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and saw 45 of its levels.
Inventory:
Hand weapons
b - a +5,+6 orcish mace of draining
g - the +8,+8 bow of Krishna "Sharnga"
(You found it on level 9 of the Lair of Beasts)
A wonderful golden bow.
It allows its wielder to fire twice when they would otherwise have fired
only once.
It affects your dexterity (+3).
It enhances your eyesight.
It once belonged to a foreign god. It works best with special arrows which
are not generally available.
o - a +1,+3 orcish dagger of returning
w - a +1,+1 orcish hand axe
E - the +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness (weapon)
(You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts)
It affects your AC (+6).
It affects your strength (+3).
Armour
h - a +2 chain mail of fire resistance
i - a +0 mottled dragon armour
m - a +1 cloak (worn)
p - the +0 large shield of Agoraphobia (worn)
(You found it on level 16 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+1).
r - a +0 pair of elven boots (worn)
B - a +1 orcish plate mail (worn)
G - the +2 banded mail "Ghui"
(You found it on level 21 of the Dungeon)
It affects your intelligence (+2).
It partially protects you from negative energy.
It amplifies your intrinsic magic resistance.
It makes you much more stealthy.
I - the +2 ring mail of the Empire
(You found it on level 15 of the Dungeon)
It affects your accuracy (+3).
It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+2).
It greatly protects you from cold.
L - a +0 pair of gloves (worn)
O - the +6 leather armour "Poraidel"
(You found it on level 19 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+3).
S - a +1 winged helmet (worn)
Magical devices
k - a wand of flame (15)
t - a wand of disintegration (6)
u - a wand of cold (7)
x - a wand of enslavement (1)
D - a wand of draining (8)
K - a wand of paralysis (5)
Q - a wand of flame (10)
U - a wand of polymorph other (3)
X - a wand of confusion (15)
Y - a wand of polymorph other (10)
Comestibles
d - 11 meat rations
Scrolls
f - 2 scrolls of identify
l - a scroll of enchant weapon III
q - 2 scrolls of teleportation
z - 2 scrolls of enchant weapon II
A - a scroll of blinking
C - 2 scrolls of remove curse
F - a scroll of fear
H - a scroll of detect curse
W - a scroll of recharging
Jewellery
a - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection (right hand)
s - an uncursed ring of levitation
v - a +5 ring of strength
J - an uncursed ring of see invisible
M - an uncursed ring of poison resistance
P - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
R - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
T - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
V - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
Potions
c - a potion of healing
n - a potion of restore abilities
y - 2 potions of might
Z - 2 potions of levitation
Books
N - a book of Power
Magical staves
j - a rod of demonology (11/11)
(You found it on level 10 of the Dungeon)
You had 2 experience left.
Skills:
+ Level 14 Fighting
+ Level 1 Axes
+ Level 20 Maces & Flails
+ Level 10 Armour
+ Level 7 Dodging
+ Level 11 Shields
+ Level 2 Spellcasting
+ Level 1 Enchantments
+ Level 1 Air Magic
+ Level 11 Invocations
You had 18 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:
Your Spells Type Power Success Level
a - Repel Missiles Air/Ench #......... Useless 2
Overview of the Dungeon
Branches:
Temple: D:7 Orc : D:8 Elf : Orc:3 Lair : D:13
Slime : Lair:4 Snake : Lair:6 Hive : D:12 Vault : D:19
Altars:
Beogh: Orc:1
Kikubaaqudgha: Orc:4
Shops:
D:6: = D:7: ? D:13: = Orc:2: [ Lair:4: [( Lair:6: !!! Vault:3: (
Portals:
Hell: D:21
Pan: D:21
Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations
You can tolerate rotten meat.
You can walk on water.
Your mind is acute (Int +1).
You are surrounded by a mild repulsion field (ev + 1).
Your system is immune to poisons.
Your flesh is cold resistant.
You have a fast metabolism.
You are clumsy (Dex -1).
Message History
You're wearing two rings. Remove which one? (a/e/Esc)
a - a ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection
You remove your ring of protection from magic.
Boris casts a spell.
The iron bolt hits you!
You die...
#.####.
# #.##.....
..#.......
#.#.......
#######.#......
.....##.#....#####
.....##.#.........
.....##..........#
..z.L'[email protected]#
.....##..........#
.....##..........#
.................#
....####.........#
....# #.........
...? #........
.... #.......
.... ......
(absurdly long kill list removed)
Grand Total: 1561 creatures vanquished
Killed because I was carrying too much spare gear to escape up the stairs (though I probably would've gotten Iron Bolted on my way out, anyway). I had an ass-ton of Protection stuff, too: I had 41 AC when I died.
Wait why did you remove your magic protection ring before he cast a spell at you? Also, Dodging and Shields seems redundant doesn't it?
What do the numbers in parenthesis in the AC and Experience fields mean? Its kind of bugging me.
Damn, my best game just was ended by Boris. The fucker. 127,606 points.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.3.4 (crawl-ref) character file.
127606 Garthor the Shatterer (level 17, -53/143 HPs)
Began as a Hill Orc Priest on May 25, 2008.
Was a High Priest of Beogh.
Killed from afar by Boris (59 damage)
... with an iron bolt
... on Level 23 of the Dungeon.
The game lasted 04:59:49 (53381 turns).
Garthor the Shatterer (127606 points)
Race : Hill Orc Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : .
Class : Priest Res.Cold : + . . Warding : .
Worship : Beogh***** Life Prot.: . . . Conserve : .
Level : 17 Res.Poison: + Res.Corr. : .
Exp : 177548 Res.Elec. : . Gourmand : +
Next Level : 186500
Exp Needed : 8952 Sust.Abil.: . Rnd.Telep. : .
Spls.Left : 18 Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: .
Gold : 3323 Res.Slow : . Levitation : .
Clarity : . Ctrl.Flight: .
HP : -53/143
MP : 28 Weapon : +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness
Str : 26 Armour : +1 orcish plate mail
Int : 10 Shield : +0 large shield of Agoraphobia
Dex : 10 Helmet : +1 winged helmet
AC : 41 Cloak : +1 cloak
Evasion : 6 Gloves : +0 pair of gloves
Shield : 10 Boots : +0 pair of elven boots
Amulet : amulet of the gourmand
Play time : 05:00:08 Ring : +6 ring of protection
Turns : 53381 Ring :
You were on level 23 of the Dungeon.
You worshipped Beogh.
Beogh was extremely pleased with you.
You were overloaded with stuff.
You were full.
You visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and saw 45 of its levels.
Inventory:
Hand weapons
b - a +5,+6 orcish mace of draining
g - the +8,+8 bow of Krishna "Sharnga"
(You found it on level 9 of the Lair of Beasts)
A wonderful golden bow.
It allows its wielder to fire twice when they would otherwise have fired
only once.
It affects your dexterity (+3).
It enhances your eyesight.
It once belonged to a foreign god. It works best with special arrows which
are not generally available.
o - a +1,+3 orcish dagger of returning
w - a +1,+1 orcish hand axe
E - the +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness (weapon)
(You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts)
It affects your AC (+6).
It affects your strength (+3).
Armour
h - a +2 chain mail of fire resistance
i - a +0 mottled dragon armour
m - a +1 cloak (worn)
p - the +0 large shield of Agoraphobia (worn)
(You found it on level 16 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+1).
r - a +0 pair of elven boots (worn)
B - a +1 orcish plate mail (worn)
G - the +2 banded mail "Ghui"
(You found it on level 21 of the Dungeon)
It affects your intelligence (+2).
It partially protects you from negative energy.
It amplifies your intrinsic magic resistance.
It makes you much more stealthy.
I - the +2 ring mail of the Empire
(You found it on level 15 of the Dungeon)
It affects your accuracy (+3).
It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+2).
It greatly protects you from cold.
L - a +0 pair of gloves (worn)
O - the +6 leather armour "Poraidel"
(You found it on level 19 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+3).
S - a +1 winged helmet (worn)
Magical devices
k - a wand of flame (15)
t - a wand of disintegration (6)
u - a wand of cold (7)
x - a wand of enslavement (1)
D - a wand of draining (8)
K - a wand of paralysis (5)
Q - a wand of flame (10)
U - a wand of polymorph other (3)
X - a wand of confusion (15)
Y - a wand of polymorph other (10)
Comestibles
d - 11 meat rations
Scrolls
f - 2 scrolls of identify
l - a scroll of enchant weapon III
q - 2 scrolls of teleportation
z - 2 scrolls of enchant weapon II
A - a scroll of blinking
C - 2 scrolls of remove curse
F - a scroll of fear
H - a scroll of detect curse
W - a scroll of recharging
Jewellery
a - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection (right hand)
s - an uncursed ring of levitation
v - a +5 ring of strength
J - an uncursed ring of see invisible
M - an uncursed ring of poison resistance
P - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
R - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
T - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
V - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
Potions
c - a potion of healing
n - a potion of restore abilities
y - 2 potions of might
Z - 2 potions of levitation
Books
N - a book of Power
Magical staves
j - a rod of demonology (11/11)
(You found it on level 10 of the Dungeon)
You had 2 experience left.
Skills:
+ Level 14 Fighting
+ Level 1 Axes
+ Level 20 Maces & Flails
+ Level 10 Armour
+ Level 7 Dodging
+ Level 11 Shields
+ Level 2 Spellcasting
+ Level 1 Enchantments
+ Level 1 Air Magic
+ Level 11 Invocations
You had 18 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:
Your Spells Type Power Success Level
a - Repel Missiles Air/Ench #......... Useless 2
Overview of the Dungeon
Branches:
Temple: D:7 Orc : D:8 Elf : Orc:3 Lair : D:13
Slime : Lair:4 Snake : Lair:6 Hive : D:12 Vault : D:19
Altars:
Beogh: Orc:1
Kikubaaqudgha: Orc:4
Shops:
D:6: = D:7: ? D:13: = Orc:2: [ Lair:4: [( Lair:6: !!! Vault:3: (
Portals:
Hell: D:21
Pan: D:21
Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations
You can tolerate rotten meat.
You can walk on water.
Your mind is acute (Int +1).
You are surrounded by a mild repulsion field (ev + 1).
Your system is immune to poisons.
Your flesh is cold resistant.
You have a fast metabolism.
You are clumsy (Dex -1).
Message History
You're wearing two rings. Remove which one? (a/e/Esc)
a - a ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection
You remove your ring of protection from magic.
Boris casts a spell.
The iron bolt hits you!
You die...
#.####.
# #.##.....
..#.......
#.#.......
#######.#......
.....##.#....#####
.....##.#.........
.....##..........#
..z.L'[email protected]#
.....##..........#
.....##..........#
.................#
....####.........#
....# #.........
...? #........
.... #.......
.... ......
(absurdly long kill list removed)
Grand Total: 1561 creatures vanquished
Killed because I was carrying too much spare gear to escape up the stairs (though I probably would've gotten Iron Bolted on my way out, anyway). I had an ass-ton of Protection stuff, too: I had 41 AC when I died.
Wait why did you remove your magic protection ring before he cast a spell at you? Also, Dodging and Shields seems redundant doesn't it?
What do the numbers in parenthesis in the AC and Experience fields mean? Its kind of bugging me.
I was removing my Magic Protection ring to put on my strength ring so I could go up the stairs. Iron Bolt is unresistable anyway. I probably should've dropped one of my alternate sets of armor instead (was being dumb).
As for dodging + shields, I don't think they're redundant. I was training dodging because I had enough armor skill to offset the penalty and, thus, dodge in heavy armor. I don't think that applied once I upgraded to plate, though.
The parenthesis next to AC has to do with your shield, I believe, and the one next to exp is your exp to be spent. When you gain exp, it fills that pool, and when you use an ability, it drains from that pool to level it up.
Damn, my best game just was ended by Boris. The fucker. 127,606 points.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.3.4 (crawl-ref) character file.
127606 Garthor the Shatterer (level 17, -53/143 HPs)
Began as a Hill Orc Priest on May 25, 2008.
Was a High Priest of Beogh.
Killed from afar by Boris (59 damage)
... with an iron bolt
... on Level 23 of the Dungeon.
The game lasted 04:59:49 (53381 turns).
Garthor the Shatterer (127606 points)
Race : Hill Orc Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : .
Class : Priest Res.Cold : + . . Warding : .
Worship : Beogh***** Life Prot.: . . . Conserve : .
Level : 17 Res.Poison: + Res.Corr. : .
Exp : 177548 Res.Elec. : . Gourmand : +
Next Level : 186500
Exp Needed : 8952 Sust.Abil.: . Rnd.Telep. : .
Spls.Left : 18 Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: .
Gold : 3323 Res.Slow : . Levitation : .
Clarity : . Ctrl.Flight: .
HP : -53/143
MP : 28 Weapon : +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness
Str : 26 Armour : +1 orcish plate mail
Int : 10 Shield : +0 large shield of Agoraphobia
Dex : 10 Helmet : +1 winged helmet
AC : 41 Cloak : +1 cloak
Evasion : 6 Gloves : +0 pair of gloves
Shield : 10 Boots : +0 pair of elven boots
Amulet : amulet of the gourmand
Play time : 05:00:08 Ring : +6 ring of protection
Turns : 53381 Ring :
You were on level 23 of the Dungeon.
You worshipped Beogh.
Beogh was extremely pleased with you.
You were overloaded with stuff.
You were full.
You visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and saw 45 of its levels.
Inventory:
Hand weapons
b - a +5,+6 orcish mace of draining
g - the +8,+8 bow of Krishna "Sharnga"
(You found it on level 9 of the Lair of Beasts)
A wonderful golden bow.
It allows its wielder to fire twice when they would otherwise have fired
only once.
It affects your dexterity (+3).
It enhances your eyesight.
It once belonged to a foreign god. It works best with special arrows which
are not generally available.
o - a +1,+3 orcish dagger of returning
w - a +1,+1 orcish hand axe
E - the +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness (weapon)
(You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts)
It affects your AC (+6).
It affects your strength (+3).
Armour
h - a +2 chain mail of fire resistance
i - a +0 mottled dragon armour
m - a +1 cloak (worn)
p - the +0 large shield of Agoraphobia (worn)
(You found it on level 16 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+1).
r - a +0 pair of elven boots (worn)
B - a +1 orcish plate mail (worn)
G - the +2 banded mail "Ghui"
(You found it on level 21 of the Dungeon)
It affects your intelligence (+2).
It partially protects you from negative energy.
It amplifies your intrinsic magic resistance.
It makes you much more stealthy.
I - the +2 ring mail of the Empire
(You found it on level 15 of the Dungeon)
It affects your accuracy (+3).
It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+2).
It greatly protects you from cold.
L - a +0 pair of gloves (worn)
O - the +6 leather armour "Poraidel"
(You found it on level 19 of the Dungeon)
It affects your dexterity (+3).
S - a +1 winged helmet (worn)
Magical devices
k - a wand of flame (15)
t - a wand of disintegration (6)
u - a wand of cold (7)
x - a wand of enslavement (1)
D - a wand of draining (8)
K - a wand of paralysis (5)
Q - a wand of flame (10)
U - a wand of polymorph other (3)
X - a wand of confusion (15)
Y - a wand of polymorph other (10)
Comestibles
d - 11 meat rations
Scrolls
f - 2 scrolls of identify
l - a scroll of enchant weapon III
q - 2 scrolls of teleportation
z - 2 scrolls of enchant weapon II
A - a scroll of blinking
C - 2 scrolls of remove curse
F - a scroll of fear
H - a scroll of detect curse
W - a scroll of recharging
Jewellery
a - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection (right hand)
s - an uncursed ring of levitation
v - a +5 ring of strength
J - an uncursed ring of see invisible
M - an uncursed ring of poison resistance
P - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
R - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
T - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
V - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
Potions
c - a potion of healing
n - a potion of restore abilities
y - 2 potions of might
Z - 2 potions of levitation
Books
N - a book of Power
Magical staves
j - a rod of demonology (11/11)
(You found it on level 10 of the Dungeon)
You had 2 experience left.
Skills:
+ Level 14 Fighting
+ Level 1 Axes
+ Level 20 Maces & Flails
+ Level 10 Armour
+ Level 7 Dodging
+ Level 11 Shields
+ Level 2 Spellcasting
+ Level 1 Enchantments
+ Level 1 Air Magic
+ Level 11 Invocations
You had 18 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:
Your Spells Type Power Success Level
a - Repel Missiles Air/Ench #......... Useless 2
Overview of the Dungeon
Branches:
Temple: D:7 Orc : D:8 Elf : Orc:3 Lair : D:13
Slime : Lair:4 Snake : Lair:6 Hive : D:12 Vault : D:19
Altars:
Beogh: Orc:1
Kikubaaqudgha: Orc:4
Shops:
D:6: = D:7: ? D:13: = Orc:2: [ Lair:4: [( Lair:6: !!! Vault:3: (
Portals:
Hell: D:21
Pan: D:21
Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations
You can tolerate rotten meat.
You can walk on water.
Your mind is acute (Int +1).
You are surrounded by a mild repulsion field (ev + 1).
Your system is immune to poisons.
Your flesh is cold resistant.
You have a fast metabolism.
You are clumsy (Dex -1).
Message History
You're wearing two rings. Remove which one? (a/e/Esc)
a - a ring of protection from magic
e - a +6 ring of protection
You remove your ring of protection from magic.
Boris casts a spell.
The iron bolt hits you!
You die...
#.####.
# #.##.....
..#.......
#.#.......
#######.#......
.....##.#....#####
.....##.#.........
.....##..........#
..z.L'[email protected]#
.....##..........#
.....##..........#
.................#
....####.........#
....# #.........
...? #........
.... #.......
.... ......
(absurdly long kill list removed)
Grand Total: 1561 creatures vanquished
Killed because I was carrying too much spare gear to escape up the stairs (though I probably would've gotten Iron Bolted on my way out, anyway). I had an ass-ton of Protection stuff, too: I had 41 AC when I died.
Wait why did you remove your magic protection ring before he cast a spell at you? Also, Dodging and Shields seems redundant doesn't it?
What do the numbers in parenthesis in the AC and Experience fields mean? Its kind of bugging me.
I was removing my Magic Protection ring to put on my strength ring so I could go up the stairs. Iron Bolt is unresistable anyway. I probably should've dropped one of my alternate sets of armor instead (was being dumb).
As for dodging + shields, I don't think they're redundant. I was training dodging because I had enough armor skill to offset the penalty and, thus, dodge in heavy armor. I don't think that applied once I upgraded to plate, though.
The parenthesis next to AC has to do with your shield, I believe, and the one next to exp is your exp to be spent. When you gain exp, it fills that pool, and when you use an ability, it drains from that pool to level it up.
How much armor skill is required to offset the penalty? I'm assuming you're talking about the 'your armor gets in the way' message you get when swinging at a monster on occasion?
The Swamp is so irritating. All those little mist-clouds moving around looking like monsters and making me slow to recognize real monsters. Also, there isn't much in here that's fun to loot.
Bonus info: Staves of Air do in fact impair Earth Magic. You get a message that says, "You have a numb feeling," and your Bolt of Iron misses -- which is not to say that it's real accurate on its own, oh no. :P
Weird, I really haven't had a problem at all with the graphics not conveying enough information. I can hover my mouse over something and it shows what they're wielding without having to examine it.
Can't say I've ran into any problems at all with not knowing/understanding what something was.
Bonus info: Staves of Air do in fact impair Earth Magic. You get a message that says, "You have a numb feeling," and your Bolt of Iron misses -- which is not to say that it's real accurate on its own, oh no. :P
Earth magic misses a lot until you get your skill up. If you have a book with Stone Arrow in it, try practicing with that instead (also, it won't cost you anywhere near as much food). Stone Arrow pretty much sucks, but you can train with it, and it may miss less than Bolt of Iron.
so whats the strategy used for playing a summoner? i noticed a few of the high scores on the telnet server were with them. i've tried it a few times, but it seems tough to get going. is it one of those classes that just gets absurd at higher levels?
Posts
You can use items like decks and crystal balls by equipping them and hitting the (E)voke key.
1) You have more than one of the item;
2) You need something out of it, such as healing or a remove curse scroll.
Chapter 8: A Furious Buzzing
The branches I had found so far, Lair and the Mines, had been found near the high ends of their ranges, and after clearing them out (mostly), I felt secure in venturing a bit further down.
To be honest, nothing was much of a challenge at this point. One of the oddities in this game is that it seemed the orcs became very common, and kept showing up in packs, as in the mines.
And of course playing on the server kept coming back to bite me. If you haven't gotten this far yourself yet, keep in mind that the ghosts get stronger as you get stronger. They are, after all, the ghosts of players, and reflect the strength and class of the character in question.
There are basically two types: mêlée and magic. For mêlée, the best option is often to zap them with wands or your own magic. They're the easiest type of ghost to defeat. Magic ghosts, however, aren't necessarily limited to the spells that the players could cast... they're not limited by memorization or spell failure.
Yes, the game cheats for them. Get used to it. But given these facts, can you guys guess which player class might leave the most painful ghosts? I'll give the answer in the next chapter.
Being a simple dwarf, however, I just opened the ghost like a pillowcase a few times and killed it. Or, uh, whatever. I then proceeded to explore...
And joy of joys, I found the hive.
Some of you who are new to roguelikes and may be having real issues getting anywhere are probably starving to death on the second floor. It happens a lot until you get used to Crawl, which has one of the weirdest food games in roguelikes. The Hive, however, is where that food-game ends.
It's a tiny, satisfying victory buried within a festering sea of defeat.
Why's that? Because bees (as I noted in my last update) manufacture huge quantities of imperishable yummies. To wit: honeycombs and royal jellies. They're guarded by an incredibly annoying enemy, of course, but with a decent AC and poison resistance they die by the swarm. hurrr.
Of course, eating flesh whenever possible is still advisable, because even in the late-game some branches can be hell on your food stocks. Or Pandæmonium on your food stocks. As it were.
Notice the colorful and flamboyant flock of butterflies. Ain't they purdy? I read an unidentified scroll and got them. They were awesome, but useless.
It is a thing of beauty to be "overloaded" with food, though. I found out something fun, though: you can't go up stairs while overloaded. I wasn't going to carry all this food with me, of course, just stash it on the second level of the Hive... but I still had to carry it in multiple loads.
Try to contain your envy, low-level toilers. The next update will carry this character to his unfortunate and idiotic end.
Next Episode: Adventures in Probability
(and stupidity)
Speaking of butterflies, I encountered a hostile one in my latest game. I just bashed it with my mace and Trog was pleased.
Dwarf Fortress would need thousands of tiles. Creating a graphical version would be a huge undertaking. Notice, too, that I abandoned the tiles, even in Crawl. They just don't convey as much information at a glance as ASCII Does.
I agree it's sort of like reading a book. A violent book that hates you. Yet you keep reading....
Now if only I could get my fifty bucks back for conan
you've said that a few times now, but what exactly do you mean. are you saying its just easier to pick out items/monsters in ascii than with the tiles?
i just came across a 5x5 room full of sweet looking items... with a guardian naga sitting in it. who proceeding to keep poisoning and teleporting me until i finally died. i almost had him too. those items (assuming they weren't dancing weapons or something evil) would've been just what my guy needed. i was doing well but hadn't come across any decent armor yet.
It's a common mistake.
Sorry about Conan, though.
Yes. Sometimes you need to use 'x' to get a description of a monster, or to find out what equipment it's using, but most of the time the ASCII display gives you all the information you need. It's easy to remember which letter and color represents which monster--in Crawl, at least--and graphics only make it more difficult. How many tile-players, for example, recognize that a quokka is a rodent like a rat, therefore always safe to eat?
That's a vault. (a vault, not the Vaults). They occur rarely in Crawl but are probably most familiar from Angband, which features one of my personal favorites, the [url="http://angband.oook.cz/screen-show.php?id=943]Great Checkerboard Vault[/url]. When I play Angband, I basically view these vaults as death sentences. They always seem to come too early and I can't resist going into them and trying to fight the monsters despite their strength.
(In Angband, a level is lost once you leave it--so if you see a vault, you have to clear it right then if you want it.)
This is a good point. Crystal balls, in particular, require a lot of Evocations skill to get the desired effect out of. It's safer to train Evocations using wands and rods.
Definitely backtrack to buy the poison resist ring. You'll want poison resist for the Swamp and the Hive as well as the snakes.
That staff of air isn't a particularly useful weapon for you; you might want to find a nice long blade instead for until you get a better staff. You will eventually want a substantial amount of Earth Magic, and Air Magic built up early will only get in the way. (I don't remember whether staves of air retard earth magic the same way staves of fire retard ice magic.)
Some information about how spell enhancer staves act in melee combat:
It would be awesome if there were a staff of translocations that acted as a quarterstaff of distortion, but I don't think there is.
It's kind of funny to me that people talk about how hard Shiren is, or comment on the difficulty of optional roguelike dungeons in RPGs, and yet have never played their spiritual ancestors which, by and large, are much more difficult and complex (and fun). Even the Diablo games label the real roguelike mode "hardcore."
Which isn't to say Shiren is a bad game. On the contrary, it's the only commercial roguelike I actually like. It plays something like a stripped-down Nethack with pretty well-tuned core mechanics.
Eight years ago my wife (then girlfriend) used to point and laugh at me whenever she saw me "slaying ASCII characters again". Then she tried Crawl, and got immediately addicted. We used to get some really funny looks in restaurants when animatedly discussing our latest characters.
Probably the Australian ones, at least
This may be common sense, but let me point out that I don't think green rats are safe to eat. Specifically, if I remember correctly, they're mutagenic.
What is the desired effect, by the way? Magic Mapping, Detect Thingies, that sort of thing?
Other stuff: Thanks.
Well, I mean the generic brown ones. You start messing with them crazy-colored 'uns, that's yer own lookout.
Crawl.
I just ran into the ghost of my summoner, who proceeded to summon a HUGE army of bats and rats and killed me
So far, my best characters have been ghoul fighters. Immunity to poison and the ability to eat rotting meat is quite nice.
Transmuters can "throw" potions by using the evaporate spell.
Well now I know what my next character will be.
XBL |Steam | PSN | last.fm
Aw dangit doesn't matter. I was in starving status, so I desperately went to the hive to try and find some food. I got swarmed with no way to cut myself out of the swarm in time.
AKA [PA]Ilovepandas
And it's an AOE attack! Which means that using it to throw a potion of confusion while standing right next to the monster has a good chance of making you confused also! Just as an orc appears! My poor, dead transmuter.
Some day, I will get blade hands.
No. There are a few scrolls that have effects useful against enemies, including immolation, fear, and
It inflicts no extra harm, but heals its wielder somewhat when it strikes a living foe.
It affects your intelligence (+1).
It protects you from poison.
It makes you much less stealthy.
Fun! I'll drop it once I can spare the resistance, since I find stealthy extremely useful, but the second and first stats are definitely on my list of Want. Does anyone know what's up with the Fear affix, though?
edit: Also, it appears to secretly cause hunger. And Staff of Air appears to secretly cause lightning resistance. I'm heading for the swamp wearing staff of air + ring of Moon (sustenance, res fire, res poison) and ring of uncertainty (evokes levitate & blink, provides protection from the effects of poison and venom, whatever that means), and carrying the Fear staff in case I want more poison resistance. I figure I definitely want lightning if I'm going to see more electric eels.
It's a random artifact, just like the ones that are named with unpronounceable clusters of consonants. All these objects are unique, impervious to damage (or enhancement, unfortunately), and may carry a number of abilities on a single item. They're generated randomly (which is how Trog and Okawaru can shower you with an unending stream of incomprehensible crap weapons). Very few artifacts in Crawl are the same from game to game, and most or all of them have obviously unique descriptions.
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.3.4 (crawl-ref) character file. 127606 Garthor the Shatterer (level 17, -53/143 HPs) Began as a Hill Orc Priest on May 25, 2008. Was a High Priest of Beogh. Killed from afar by Boris (59 damage) ... with an iron bolt ... on Level 23 of the Dungeon. The game lasted 04:59:49 (53381 turns). Garthor the Shatterer (127606 points) Race : Hill Orc Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : . Class : Priest Res.Cold : + . . Warding : . Worship : Beogh***** Life Prot.: . . . Conserve : . Level : 17 Res.Poison: + Res.Corr. : . Exp : 177548 Res.Elec. : . Gourmand : + Next Level : 186500 Exp Needed : 8952 Sust.Abil.: . Rnd.Telep. : . Spls.Left : 18 Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: . Gold : 3323 Res.Slow : . Levitation : . Clarity : . Ctrl.Flight: . HP : -53/143 MP : 28 Weapon : +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness Str : 26 Armour : +1 orcish plate mail Int : 10 Shield : +0 large shield of Agoraphobia Dex : 10 Helmet : +1 winged helmet AC : 41 Cloak : +1 cloak Evasion : 6 Gloves : +0 pair of gloves Shield : 10 Boots : +0 pair of elven boots Amulet : amulet of the gourmand Play time : 05:00:08 Ring : +6 ring of protection Turns : 53381 Ring : You were on level 23 of the Dungeon. You worshipped Beogh. Beogh was extremely pleased with you. You were overloaded with stuff. You were full. You visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and saw 45 of its levels. Inventory: Hand weapons b - a +5,+6 orcish mace of draining g - the +8,+8 bow of Krishna "Sharnga" (You found it on level 9 of the Lair of Beasts) A wonderful golden bow. It allows its wielder to fire twice when they would otherwise have fired only once. It affects your dexterity (+3). It enhances your eyesight. It once belonged to a foreign god. It works best with special arrows which are not generally available. o - a +1,+3 orcish dagger of returning w - a +1,+1 orcish hand axe E - the +6,+2 mace of Unpleasantness (weapon) (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts) It affects your AC (+6). It affects your strength (+3). Armour h - a +2 chain mail of fire resistance i - a +0 mottled dragon armour m - a +1 cloak (worn) p - the +0 large shield of Agoraphobia (worn) (You found it on level 16 of the Dungeon) It affects your dexterity (+1). r - a +0 pair of elven boots (worn) B - a +1 orcish plate mail (worn) G - the +2 banded mail "Ghui" (You found it on level 21 of the Dungeon) It affects your intelligence (+2). It partially protects you from negative energy. It amplifies your intrinsic magic resistance. It makes you much more stealthy. I - the +2 ring mail of the Empire (You found it on level 15 of the Dungeon) It affects your accuracy (+3). It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+2). It greatly protects you from cold. L - a +0 pair of gloves (worn) O - the +6 leather armour "Poraidel" (You found it on level 19 of the Dungeon) It affects your dexterity (+3). S - a +1 winged helmet (worn) Magical devices k - a wand of flame (15) t - a wand of disintegration (6) u - a wand of cold (7) x - a wand of enslavement (1) D - a wand of draining (8) K - a wand of paralysis (5) Q - a wand of flame (10) U - a wand of polymorph other (3) X - a wand of confusion (15) Y - a wand of polymorph other (10) Comestibles d - 11 meat rations Scrolls f - 2 scrolls of identify l - a scroll of enchant weapon III q - 2 scrolls of teleportation z - 2 scrolls of enchant weapon II A - a scroll of blinking C - 2 scrolls of remove curse F - a scroll of fear H - a scroll of detect curse W - a scroll of recharging Jewellery a - an uncursed ring of protection from magic e - a +6 ring of protection (right hand) s - an uncursed ring of levitation v - a +5 ring of strength J - an uncursed ring of see invisible M - an uncursed ring of poison resistance P - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck) R - an uncursed ring of protection from fire T - an uncursed ring of protection from fire V - an uncursed ring of protection from cold Potions c - a potion of healing n - a potion of restore abilities y - 2 potions of might Z - 2 potions of levitation Books N - a book of Power Magical staves j - a rod of demonology (11/11) (You found it on level 10 of the Dungeon) You had 2 experience left. Skills: + Level 14 Fighting + Level 1 Axes + Level 20 Maces & Flails + Level 10 Armour + Level 7 Dodging + Level 11 Shields + Level 2 Spellcasting + Level 1 Enchantments + Level 1 Air Magic + Level 11 Invocations You had 18 spell levels left. You knew the following spells: Your Spells Type Power Success Level a - Repel Missiles Air/Ench #......... Useless 2 Overview of the Dungeon Branches: Temple: D:7 Orc : D:8 Elf : Orc:3 Lair : D:13 Slime : Lair:4 Snake : Lair:6 Hive : D:12 Vault : D:19 Altars: Beogh: Orc:1 Kikubaaqudgha: Orc:4 Shops: D:6: = D:7: ? D:13: = Orc:2: [ Lair:4: [( Lair:6: !!! Vault:3: ( Portals: Hell: D:21 Pan: D:21 Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations You can tolerate rotten meat. You can walk on water. Your mind is acute (Int +1). You are surrounded by a mild repulsion field (ev + 1). Your system is immune to poisons. Your flesh is cold resistant. You have a fast metabolism. You are clumsy (Dex -1). Message History You're wearing two rings. Remove which one? (a/e/Esc) a - a ring of protection from magic e - a +6 ring of protection You remove your ring of protection from magic. Boris casts a spell. The iron bolt hits you! You die... #.####. # #.##..... ..#....... #.#....... #######.#...... .....##.#....##### .....##.#......... .....##..........# ..z.L'[email protected]# .....##..........# .....##..........# .................# ....####.........# ....# #......... ...? #........ .... #....... .... ...... (absurdly long kill list removed) Grand Total: 1561 creatures vanquishedKilled because I was carrying too much spare gear to escape up the stairs (though I probably would've gotten Iron Bolted on my way out, anyway). I had an ass-ton of Protection stuff, too: I had 41 AC when I died.
Wait why did you remove your magic protection ring before he cast a spell at you? Also, Dodging and Shields seems redundant doesn't it?
What do the numbers in parenthesis in the AC and Experience fields mean? Its kind of bugging me.
Finally, a bit of a lolwut moment:
I was removing my Magic Protection ring to put on my strength ring so I could go up the stairs. Iron Bolt is unresistable anyway. I probably should've dropped one of my alternate sets of armor instead (was being dumb).
As for dodging + shields, I don't think they're redundant. I was training dodging because I had enough armor skill to offset the penalty and, thus, dodge in heavy armor. I don't think that applied once I upgraded to plate, though.
The parenthesis next to AC has to do with your shield, I believe, and the one next to exp is your exp to be spent. When you gain exp, it fills that pool, and when you use an ability, it drains from that pool to level it up.
How much armor skill is required to offset the penalty? I'm assuming you're talking about the 'your armor gets in the way' message you get when swinging at a monster on occasion?
Also, you can dodge in heavy armor?
Bonus info: Staves of Air do in fact impair Earth Magic. You get a message that says, "You have a numb feeling," and your Bolt of Iron misses -- which is not to say that it's real accurate on its own, oh no. :P
Can't say I've ran into any problems at all with not knowing/understanding what something was.
The ring of protection from magic wouldn't have helped; that effect only helps you resist enchantments, not damaging spells.
Earth magic misses a lot until you get your skill up. If you have a book with Stone Arrow in it, try practicing with that instead (also, it won't cost you anywhere near as much food). Stone Arrow pretty much sucks, but you can train with it, and it may miss less than Bolt of Iron.
3ds friend code: 2981-6032-4118
o_O
What are those runes for anyway?