Next competition is ready to download

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Hello All,

Competition 33 (A PosBand Lich) is ready to download from the web-site
in my signature line.

Just a small hint to get you started. Get a lantern ASAP as the Lich
has -1 light radius, which means torches have no effect. (I thought
this was a bug in Posband until I read the help file).

Regards

Tony
http://www.angband-comp.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

I thought I might try this comp - would be my first - but after
downloading the savefile, and placing it into the 'save' folder, it's not
being recognised as a valid savefile to open.

I'm running the OS X version (also just downloaded, opens fine), and I
imagine that this is a PC savefile; any advice, anyone?

Thanks - Ewan

avh@softalk.ws wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> Competition 33 (A PosBand Lich) is ready to download from the web-site
> in my signature line.
>
> Just a small hint to get you started. Get a lantern ASAP as the Lich
> has -1 light radius, which means torches have no effect. (I thought
> this was a bug in Posband until I read the help file).
>
> Regards
>
> Tony
> http://www.angband-comp.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
>

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

"Jason Mayer" <slamboy@hotmail.com> wrote in news:quixe.2851$cb6.442
@newssvr30.news.prodigy.com:

> Are there ever Vanilla, Zangband or Sangband competitions? If not, is
> PosBand an interesting variant/easy to pick up? I'd be more inclined to
> compete if I didn't have to learn a whole new game

There was just recently a Sangband comp, Ironman style.

Though part of the point of the comp I've assumed is to experience
new things.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

"Jason Mayer" <slamboy@hotmail.com> wrote in
newsnlxe.2533$Ox3.702@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com:

> Alright, I'm working on learning this new variant. One of the first
> things I learned is that you can turn off corpse generation, via the
> key sequence =,I,C. Now that I've done so, is there any reason to
> turn it back on (other than possibly when fighting uniques?) Liches
> can't possess things, correct?

You can turn off corpse generation? That's nice to know.

I found selling everything except the ring and food at the start
greatly increased my survival. The iron crown alone is worth enough
to buy a basic armor kit. The staff is never going to successfully
activate, and you can buy various useful items with that money.

Though my surviving character has already blown any competative turn
score, after trying a quest for 6 2-headed hydras at DL 4. Survived,
but burned an insane number of turns running around corridors regaining
mana to kill each one with magic missile. At least the quest reward
was a more feasible missile backup, a sling of accuracy. (Too bad the
Lich's strength penalty isn't exactly the greatest match for the
relative high weight of shots.)

And an "easy" quest for novice priests at DL1 is certainly not easy
for a Lich... That was a nightmare to survive. So far, early quest
attempts have been fairly negative for my Brinie. Quick diving has
been more useful for a turn concerned starting strategy. But I'm
certainly not going to be too concerned at this point, as I'll likely
be starting again any time anyway...

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Are quests broken? I got a quest for the first level... Kill 11 cave
lizards. I think I did, but I killed 1 of them by shooting a magic missile
down a hallway when I didn't have the lizard targetted, nor in sight. I'm
level 8 now and I haven't stepped off this level because I want to finish
the stupid quest. I've run through 3 flasks of oil and I'm almost out of
rations. If I leave the level will the quest reset? I guess it's within
the realm of possibilities that I don't have the whole dungeon explored, but
I doubt it. Highly.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Jason Mayer wrote:
> Are quests broken? I got a quest for the first level... Kill 11 cave
> lizards. I think I did, but I killed 1 of them by shooting a magic missile
> down a hallway when I didn't have the lizard targetted, nor in sight. I'm
> level 8 now and I haven't stepped off this level because I want to finish
> the stupid quest. I've run through 3 flasks of oil and I'm almost out of
> rations. If I leave the level will the quest reset? I guess it's within
> the realm of possibilities that I don't have the whole dungeon explored, but
> I doubt it. Highly.
>
>

If you leave the level, there is a percentage chance of automatic quest
failure. Assuming you don't get this, go right back to the dlvl and the
remaining quest monsters will be regenerated.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Is autoscum for good levels - cheating?

<avh@softalk.ws> wrote in message
news:1120161973.088539.311300@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Hello All,
>
> Competition 33 (A PosBand Lich) is ready to download from the web-site
> in my signature line.
>
> Just a small hint to get you started. Get a lantern ASAP as the Lich
> has -1 light radius, which means torches have no effect. (I thought
> this was a bug in Posband until I read the help file).
>
> Regards
>
> Tony
> http://www.angband-comp.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
>

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Billy Bissette wrote:
> Though my surviving character has already blown any competative turn
> score, after trying a quest for 6 2-headed hydras at DL 4. Survived,
> but burned an insane number of turns running around corridors regaining
> mana to kill each one with magic missile.

A competitive turn score might be quite high, I think.

> At least the quest reward
> was a more feasible missile backup, a sling of accuracy.

Grrr. I'm yet to get a non-cash quest reward.

> And an "easy" quest for novice priests at DL1 is certainly not easy
> for a Lich... That was a nightmare to survive.

Yeah, those guys are bad news. My best Brinie just celebrated becoming
a Master Lich by being killed by a priest. Back to the beginning.

Nick.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

"Nick" <nckmccnnll@yahoo.com.au> wrote in news:1120367646.629559.99830
@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
> Billy Bissette wrote:

>> At least the quest reward
>> was a more feasible missile backup, a sling of accuracy.
>
> Grrr. I'm yet to get a non-cash quest reward.

This Brinie has done three quests, and only the first was cash.
The most recent was soft leather armour of resist cold. Somewhat
redundant though after having found a trident of frost on the quest
level itself. But the +10 and eventual resale value aren't to be
complained about. (Just had to sell the sling to raise cash.
Realized I wasn't using it after getting more mana, and even a few
iron shots were unneeded weight. I'm sure my next dive will have
me wishing that I still had it.)

>> And an "easy" quest for novice priests at DL1 is certainly not easy
>> for a Lich... That was a nightmare to survive.
>
> Yeah, those guys are bad news. My best Brinie just celebrated
> becoming a Master Lich by being killed by a priest. Back to the
> beginning.

Haven't made it to Master Lich quite yet. Or a non-novice priest.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Polarhound <Polarhound@comcast.net> wrote in news:NNednVjago6dFFrfRVn-
iw@comcast.com:

> You are best off selling the ring if you need money. By the time your
> character has a high enough magic skill to activate it reliably, it is
> too weak to use all that often.

The +6 is nice on its own, and you can get good cash off the rest
of the equipment.

If Brinie indeed has a standard POSband Lich starter kit, it is a
weird kit to give someone. The crown is entirely worthless as armor,
but sells for enough cash to buy real armor. The staff is entirely
worthless as a starter weapon as you'll never successfully activate
it, but it sells for a large sum of money for a starting character.
The robe will quickly get replaced by real armor from selling the
other items. The Lich's light penalty makes the starting torches
pretty worthless, so you'll be buying a lantern as long as one is
available.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Billy Bissette wrote:

> Billy Bissette <baines@coastalnet.com> wrote in
> news:Xns9688193265B26whacholookinat@207.69.189.191:
>> "Nick" <nckmccnnll@yahoo.com.au> wrote in news:1120367646.629559.99830
>> @g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
>
>>> Yeah, those guys are bad news. My best Brinie just celebrated
>>> becoming a Master Lich by being killed by a priest. Back to the
>>> beginning.
>>
>> Haven't made it to Master Lich quite yet. Or a non-novice priest.
>
> Sigh, and maybe I won't with this Brinie. Just accidentally wielded
> Calris. Even chances for finding *Remove Curse* anytime soon are low,
> and weight and penalties combine to mean she can't hit anything anymore,
> but she can't rely on just mana and wands at this point. Guess I'll
> suicide and start over, as it has pretty much crippled her playability
> at this point, and killed any entertainment for the forseeable future
> in the process.
>
> And she had just also gotten the Phial a few steps from Calris.

Don't forget you might break the curse with regular scrolls of enchant
weapon.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

So I had Brinie down to 900', where I'm going to stay until I find some
source of FA. And I enter a room, and what is lying there but Raal's
Tome of Destruction!! At first I thought it was some cruel joke ala
Zangband but it was the real thing! What a waste of an incredible RNG
roll. I wish I could undo the Lich transformation and become a wizard
again.

So far I'm having fun with this character. I'm trying to play without
town scumming which is very unusual for me. Usually I'm macroing
R2500\n like a bastard for free action, ego armour, speed potions, and
stat gain as soon as I can afford it.

I'm level 23 now, and really looking forward to when I can retire the
magic missle spell. I can't argue with the damage/mana ratio now,
that's for sure. I bought a ring of int+3 at the black market, which
really helps. I also found a ring from a unique orc that gives +2
speed, resist fire, and sustain strength! Losing str from 9 is such a
major pain that this is very very useful.

These contests are a great idea! There's no way I would have tried a
Lich on my own, as another poster said. I had a lot of fun with the
last one too, getting the Assassin to dlevel 60, but I wasn't included
in the results for some reason.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

"William Parker" <will.p@sympatico.ca> wrote in
news:1120436514.751399.19020@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
> I'm level 23 now, and really looking forward to when I can retire the
> magic missle spell. I can't argue with the damage/mana ratio now,
> that's for sure.

Mapping "Ua" to "m" made casting it a lot more bearable. I've
considered turning "p" into a targetted magic missile as well.

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

In article <da3fbc$ugf$1@news.wss.yale.edu>,
Ewan McNay <Ewan.McNay@yale.edu> wrote:

> I thought I might try this comp - would be my first - but after
> downloading the savefile, and placing it into the 'save' folder, it's not
> being recognised as a valid savefile to open.
>
> I'm running the OS X version (also just downloaded, opens fine), and I
> imagine that this is a PC savefile; any advice, anyone?
>
> Thanks - Ewan

Try 'Importing' the save file, instead of loading it.
-Campbell

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

Excellent!

Thanks, Courtney. Much appreciated.

Courtney Campbell wrote:

> In article <da3fbc$ugf$1@news.wss.yale.edu>,
> Ewan McNay <Ewan.McNay@yale.edu> wrote:
>
>
>>I thought I might try this comp - would be my first - but after
>>downloading the savefile, and placing it into the 'save' folder, it's not
>>being recognised as a valid savefile to open.
>>
>>I'm running the OS X version (also just downloaded, opens fine), and I
>>imagine that this is a PC savefile; any advice, anyone?
>>
>>Thanks - Ewan
>
>
> Try 'Importing' the save file, instead of loading it.
> -Campbell

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

"Jason Mayer" <slamboy@hotmail.com> wrote in
news:3QIye.2661$vT3.989@newssvr30.news.prodigy.com:

> After cash for the first couple of quests, and a failure on the third
> (or maybe fourth) quest, I took a 'special quest' I went down and
> found the quest chest within 2 rooms of where I came in. I leveled
> twice, got 3 ego items and had to recall. Guess what my reward was!
> Thalkettoth! I have positive speed! Woo hoo!

Grr...

Every weapon I've gotten so far from a quest has been too heavy for
Brinie to properly wield. It would be nice if there was some sort of
check against stats to at least improve the odds of getting something
that was actually useable.

Or if you could ask for your reward to at least be weighted towards
some general loose class of item. It gets annoying when your rewards
turn out to be useless (other than their cash value) to either your
style of play or pre-stat gain stats. (Such as my non-bow/sling user
in another variant constantly getting shots, arrows, and bolts for
quest rewards. Which were promptly sold for cash.)

Archived from groups: rec.games.roguelike.angband (More info?)

On 2005-07-03, Billy Bissette wrote:
> Polarhound <Polarhound@comcast.net> wrote in news:NNednVjago6dFFrfRVn-
> iw@comcast.com:
>> You are best off selling the ring if you need money. By the time your
>> character has a high enough magic skill to activate it reliably, it is
>> too weak to use all that often.
>
> The +6 is nice on its own, and you can get good cash off the rest
> of the equipment.
>
> If Brinie indeed has a standard POSband Lich starter kit, it is a
> weird kit to give someone. The crown is entirely worthless as armor,
> but sells for enough cash to buy real armor. The staff is entirely
> worthless as a starter weapon as you'll never successfully activate
> it, but it sells for a large sum of money for a starting character.
> The robe will quickly get replaced by real armor from selling the
> other items.

Yeah, Lich starter kit is more "thematic" than actually useful.
Of course, you will need some real armor to survive, especially with a
weak character like a low-level Lich. But giving him this armor
would also look weird (as far as I understood, liches don't generally
wear hard leather armor, metal caps and hard leather boots). This is
exactly why you have this nice crown to sell .

> The Lich's light penalty makes the starting torches
> pretty worthless, so you'll be buying a lantern as long as one is
> available.

Rations and torches are currently hardcoded. Since many folks were
confused by torches, I will probably change this.

--
Alexander Ulyanov, maintainer of PosBand roguelike
E-mail: posband_AT_earthsea_DOT_org Web: http://posband.earthsea.org/
So this is how liberty dies. With cheering, and applause.
-- Senator Amidala, Star Wars Episode III