-Crawl- My first trip to Abyss. Mutations.

[Guest]

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

Hi everyone!
My dwarven hunter walked rather well, having done down do D:22, he
wanted to sacrifice some weapons to Elyvion, so he tried wielding
inIDed dagger, and that was dagger of distortion. Cool is not it.

So, I was banished to Abyss. And what would I say of this place? It is
TERRIBLE. It is MUCH BEYOND anything I EVER expected from this place
(having read spoilers). I don't know if it should be so tough for level
15 characters, but that was terrible. I would barely sleep.

I survived. I did this in last moment - if I would not have found gate
in 10 turns I'd probably go to bone file. But I still unsire if my
survival worthed it:
==
Your digestive system is specialised to digest meat.
You are weak (Str -2).
You are dopey (Int -3).
You are clumsy (Dex -2).
You occasionally forget where you are.
Your body is slowly deteriorating.
You are frail (-10 percent hp).
==
I don't know what to do with all that.
I quaffed an !oCM as soon I've bought one, got off a lot of nothing
(lot of messages, no real change short of lowering carnivore mutation
by one).

So, please tell me about mutations. Everyone walks with few +AC
mutations and nothig else. Also people tend to say 'I have a potion of
mutation and potion of cure mutation' - how can I possibly positively
use !oM?

I'm really desperate for now. I'm heading into Snake Pit now. In hopes
to fing another !oCM. Any hints appreciated.

I shudder of any thought of going there again. How can one get to
Abyss? BTW, what creatures exactly could mutate me?

P.S. No, I did not have "oRM. I have only "oGourmand, which I like,
failed to find anything else.
P.P.S. In other news I have an axe:
==
k - the +6,+11 war axe of Stasis (weapon)

An axe intended for hand to hand combat.

Damage rating: 11
Accuracy rating: +0
Base attack delay: 160%

It protects you from cold.
It makes you angry.
==
I don't have "oRS either so I use only on emergency - it takes any
enemy really fast. Using another randart weapon as primary.

P.P.P.S. Have not found a single ?oAcquirement. Game is playing me.

 

[Guest]

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

>> P.P.S. I have not found labyrinth, but how hard will it be if i, say,
>> take 9 bread rations in playing my current character?
>
>
>*One* shall be enough!
>
>e.
>

First time I tried a labyrinth I tried wall following technique and
found it didn't seem to work. Used up quite a few rations that way.
Then I mapped it, which took a few more but still I only needed about
6.

Now I know what the maze always looks like (roughly) last time I went
in I didn't even use up 1 ration. Handy easy kill and sometimes useful
items. Netted a rod last time i did one!


Rich

 

[Guest]

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

Dafty wrote:
> >> P.P.S. I have not found labyrinth, but how hard will it be if i, say,
> >> take 9 bread rations in playing my current character?
> >
> >
> >*One* shall be enough!
> >
> >e.
> >
>
> First time I tried a labyrinth I tried wall following technique and
> found it didn't seem to work. Used up quite a few rations that way.
> Then I mapped it, which took a few more but still I only needed about
> 6.
>
> Now I know what the maze always looks like (roughly) last time I went
> in I didn't even use up 1 ration. Handy easy kill and sometimes useful
> items. Netted a rod last time i did one!
>
> Rich

I'm not consistent enough to use the wall-following technique, so I
tend to use the "bumble instinctively towards the center" technique,
aided whenever possible by the "cast Detect Items or Detect Creatures"
technique. I still get there plenty fast.

e.

 

[Guest]

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

The maze always looks roughly like this (you'll need proportional
font):

,------------------------------------------.
|-----------------------------------------,|
|---------------------------------------x ||
| ||
| ||
| M ||
|^ ||
|| ||
|| x--------------------------------------||
|`----------------------------------------'|
`------------------------------------------'

M marks the spot where the minator is and I've not drawn the inner
branches of the maze, but basically you spiral in towards the centre
and there bits where you have 2 options, one will be a dead end and the
other will take you onwards towards themiddle. x marks the kind of dead
ends you'll find and ^ is just showing the path from that outer spiral
onwards towards the middle.

Hope that helps!


Rich

 

[Guest]

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

"Dafty" <richard.clements@ntlworld.com> wrote in
news:1124379163.301609.300640@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com:

> This chap was struggling anyway. Decided to give Nemelex a try... Is
> there any point? Sacrificed about 3 levels worth of kit and never got
> beyond "Has noted your presence". Is it just best to forget about it
> until you find your first deck of cards?

Whenever your prayer runs out, pray again. Keep this up until you get a
portable altar. Nemmy hands one out at a very low piety level, but you may
have to prime him with a bit of kit at first, just to be sure. Generally, I
lug a level's worth of junk to the ET at a time, praying as often as
possible.

Once you've got the altar, it's hoover time. Sac absolutely everything
you're not going to use. Stray arrows, rocks, poison, bad scrolls, unused
weapons. Zap it all. And keep praying. The chance of getting something on
any particular prayer attempt is fairly small, but it costs nothing to try,
and you can try a lot of times.

 

[Guest]

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

> >>>I survived. I did this in last moment - if I would not have found gate
> >>>in 10 turns I'd probably go to bone file. But I still unsire if my
> >>>survival worthed it:
> >>[...horrible stuff...]
> >>>You occasionally forget where you are.
> >>[...horrible stuff...]
> >>The other stuff will just kill you, but if you're like me, that one will
> >>make you wish you were dead.
> > Well, I figured out I can live with that.
> > 10% hps don't really mean, stats regenerate at rate near to
> > degeneration, and forgetfulness (it should be "You feel clueless "
> > is barely noticeable at all.
> Most people don't seem to be bothered by it as I am. I like to have
> every level completely mapped out... and I especially hate it when
> interlevel travel gets interrupted because one spot in a tight corridor
> gets forgotten. Well, if it doesn't bother you, that's only positive.
It bothers me, but if I have no choice I prefer to just play as it goes



> [I: "why voluntarily mutate?"
> E: reasons why and horrible mutations story...]
> >>[...] ...ugh. (Amazingly, I survived it, but was then killed by
> >>the wrath of Trog after perma-flame-branding a katana -- it was one of
> >>my Deep Elf Berserker attempts.)
> > BTW, why is fire brand so respected? Why it is better than, say, frost
> > aura? What's so good in them at all? (/me still likes my that axe)
> On an edged weapon, it immediately solves the hydras problem. Also,
Hydras are tough because they are tough, but what problems killing
running out injured Hydra with a crossbow? (For hunter

> there are more frost-resistant monsters than fire-resistant ones. They
> both give extra damage beyond what can be gotten by maxing out the
> weapon's pluses. Extra damage is always nice.
I'm making another Halfling Paladin (on other machine) and took Frost
Aura, because it trains Ice that I would need for Oz's Armour if, and
when, I'll get that.

> > So food is not a problem, but problem is: Where should I go next?
> > I have cleared Lair (almost all), Snake Pit, dungeon down to D:22, Hive
> > and Orc Mines. Should I try lower level vaults? Swamps maybe? I know I
> > should not try Elven Halls
> Well, definitely finish the Lair. The main dungeon tends to be safer
> than it "should" be due to having lots of corridors (except when it
> doesn't), so it's worth a shot. The top of the Vaults tends to be OK
> unless you have serious Yaktaur troubles.
Oh, yaktaurs are weak!
I usually artillery duel with yaktaurs - I kill them with crossbow
losing something like 20% hps. Yaktaur captains (or that was warriors?
more red ones?) are little bit more troublesome, I have to engage them
in melee, they die quick.

I have problems with Dragons, Spiny Worms and Grey Snakes. Hydras also,
due to their massive attack. I have no problems with other monsters I
met.

> without a flaming axe or a mace/flail and a bit of maces/flails skill.
Oh, I've got mace/flail skill to 3 by clubbing monsters with crossbow
(sometimes I forget to press "'"

> Sounds like you already have poison resistance, so that part won't be a
> problem. The halls are actually fairly OK if you take care to leave the
> moment things get a little troublesome -- in the immortal (but
> paraphrased) words of Tina Hall, "when things get hairy in the Elven
> Halls, they get hairy really fast."
I have poison resistance, fire resistance from the ring I wear
sometimes and cold resistance from that angry axe, I have no other
sources of resistance besides that (I have that -3 armor somewhere, but
don't remember where exactly

> [E: BTW there's a demutating card... but a mutating one too]
> > Btw, what's difference between using cards with Nemelex and without
> > Nemelex? What powers does Nemelex give?
> AFAIK... he just gives cards. Feed him enough long enough and he gives
> you lots and lots and LOTS of cards. Cards can, among other benefits,
> give you (until 4.1.x becomes standard) PERMANENT gains to your stats,
> outside of any stat mutations you might get. LOTS of cards can give you
> LOTS of permanent stat gains. And stat *losses* from cards are
> temporary.
I see, so stat scumming in fact exists in crawl?

> > P.S. My character stopped pushing Invocations, it is on level 9. Should
> > I stop at that point or Invocations are the better the better and cost
> > their xp? Ely.
> Having the mid-level heal at near-perfect success is really valuable.
> Having the high-level heal over 50% success can save your life when
> nothing else can, especially if you plan to do any "advanced" areas.
> Definitely no harm in raising Invocations some more.
Hmm. I've never faced failings on mig-level heal. I even never thought
about that before you said.

I don't have high-level healing so that's not a question for now :-/

> > P.P.S. I have not found labyrinth, but how hard will it be if i, say,
> > take 9 bread rations in playing my current character?
> *One* shall be enough!
Also a ball of thread^W^W^Wpaper to draw map on?


P.S. How do Ugly Things really look like? )

 

[Guest]

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

Ilyak wrote:
>
> > [I: "why voluntarily mutate?"
> > E: reasons why and horrible mutations story...]
> > >>[...] ...ugh. (Amazingly, I survived it, but was then killed by
> > >>the wrath of Trog after perma-flame-branding a katana -- it was one of
> > >>my Deep Elf Berserker attempts.)
> > > BTW, why is fire brand so respected? Why it is better than, say, frost
> > > aura? What's so good in them at all? (/me still likes my that axe)
> > On an edged weapon, it immediately solves the hydras problem. Also,
> Hydras are tough because they are tough, but what problems killing
> running out injured Hydra with a crossbow? (For hunter

None... if you're good enough with your ranged weapon to avoid needing
to spend more than a round next to a hydra, maybe up to three depending
on your hitpoints, your armour, and your Armour.

> > there are more frost-resistant monsters than fire-resistant ones. They
> > both give extra damage beyond what can be gotten by maxing out the
> > weapon's pluses. Extra damage is always nice.
> I'm making another Halfling Paladin (on other machine) and took Frost
> Aura, because it trains Ice that I would need for Oz's Armour if, and
> when, I'll get that.

Ice is all right for a fighter-mage because when ice doesn't work, you
aren't left with no answers.

When it comes to betting on a spell, Oz's Armour is a pretty good bet,
BTW -- there are relatively many sources for it.

> > > So food is not a problem, but problem is: Where should I go next?
> > > I have cleared Lair (almost all), Snake Pit, dungeon down to D:22, Hive
> > > and Orc Mines. Should I try lower level vaults? Swamps maybe? I know I
> > > should not try Elven Halls
> > Well, definitely finish the Lair. The main dungeon tends to be safer
> > than it "should" be due to having lots of corridors (except when it
> > doesn't), so it's worth a shot. The top of the Vaults tends to be OK
> > unless you have serious Yaktaur troubles.
> Oh, yaktaurs are weak!

Depends on the phase of the game and the type of one's defense.

> I usually artillery duel with yaktaurs - I kill them with crossbow
> losing something like 20% hps. Yaktaur captains (or that was warriors?
> more red ones?) are little bit more troublesome, I have to engage them
> in melee, they die quick.
>
> I have problems with Dragons, Spiny Worms and Grey Snakes.

For an Evasion/Stealth character, dragons are about short-term
preparation. For an Armour character, they're about resistance and
long-term preparation (about scroll handling that assumes you WILL meet
a dragon).

Aren't spiny worms slow movers? If so, shouldn't be a problem for a
hunter.

> Hydras also, due to their massive attack. I have no problems with other
> monsters I met.

For Evasion/Stealth/Ranged/Weak Melee, they're about sighting without
being sighted, then setting up an encounter where you enter LOS at
maximum distance. For Armour/Ranged/Medium Melee... I really don't
know. But you just said they're not a problem, didn't you?

> > without a flaming axe or a mace/flail and a bit of maces/flails skill.
> Oh, I've got mace/flail skill to 3 by clubbing monsters with crossbow
> (sometimes I forget to press "'"

Whoever loves missile weapons and isn't perfectly attentive is
intimately familiar with this, I think.

> > Sounds like you already have poison resistance, so that part won't be a
> > problem. The halls are actually fairly OK if you take care to leave the
> > moment things get a little troublesome -- in the immortal (but
> > paraphrased) words of Tina Hall, "when things get hairy in the Elven
> > Halls, they get hairy really fast."
> I have poison resistance, fire resistance from the ring I wear
> sometimes and cold resistance from that angry axe, I have no other
> sources of resistance besides that (I have that -3 armor somewhere, but
> don't remember where exactly

You'll strongly want the fire and ice in the Halls. You'll also want to
either have conservation or to be carrying nothing worth conserving.
Either that, or a large hitpoint buffer.

With an armour-based character, other resistances are also nice, though
(evasion characters tend to just dodge lightning and draining; armour
characters don't have that luxury).

A single level of one more resistance -- especially fire and cold -- is
more important than two levels in anything.

> > [E: BTW there's a demutating card... but a mutating one too]
> > > Btw, what's difference between using cards with Nemelex and without
> > > Nemelex? What powers does Nemelex give?
> > AFAIK... he just gives cards. Feed him enough long enough and he gives
> > you lots and lots and LOTS of cards. Cards can, among other benefits,
> > give you (until 4.1.x becomes standard) PERMANENT gains to your stats,
> > outside of any stat mutations you might get. LOTS of cards can give you
> > LOTS of permanent stat gains. And stat *losses* from cards are
> > temporary.
> I see, so stat scumming in fact exists in crawl?

Yes, but only if you sign your name in the crawl://imastatscummer.scum
guestbook by playing a nemelexite. Compare this to, say, ADOM,
where anyone can decide to start using one or more out of a wide
palette of statscumming types at any point in the game.

> > > P.S. My character stopped pushing Invocations, it is on level 9. Should
> > > I stop at that point or Invocations are the better the better and cost
> > > their xp? Ely.
> > Having the mid-level heal at near-perfect success is really valuable.
> > Having the high-level heal over 50% success can save your life when
> > nothing else can, especially if you plan to do any "advanced" areas.
> > Definitely no harm in raising Invocations some more.
> Hmm. I've never faced failings on mig-level heal. I even never thought
> about that before you said.

Well, 9 is already pretty good.

> Also a ball of thread^W^W^Wpaper to draw map on?

Not really worth the trouble.

> P.S. How do Ugly Things really look like? )

Apparently in the mind of TileCrawl's artist, they look like Pop Tarts
(see e.g.
http://called2serve.com/missionary/care/packages/ME-POPT-001.html)
turned inside out and given appendages.

e.