YAAP + request for comments

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

I don't follow this group usually but would like ask if others feel
that certain types of monsters as pets make the game too easy (I think
you can guess one of them from my handle).

By way of background: I've played Nethack for a loooong time and have
ascended many times (without food, wishless, poly-less, atheist, etc on
different occasions) always as a Chaotic Human Wizard (Why? I'm too
lazy to learn how to play another charater). I'm somewhat impatient
and like to speed through the dungeon (my fastest ascension is around
9500 turns) and blow away everything in sight. In addition, beyond the
early game I typically forget about the pets because they just slow me
down.

I never thought I'd have the patience needed to do a pacifist ascension
but finally gave it a try and it turned out to be not that hard -- all
it took was ... a pet Archon! Now I'm thinking, if that's all it takes
to do a pacifist ascension, imagine how easy it would be when you are
not adhering to conducts! What do other people think?

 

[Guest]

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

Just a couple of comments...

How in Gehennom does one ascend without food? (much less as a spell
caster...)

and

I agree on the last paragraph, how many starts did it take before you
were able to obtain a pet Archon? ( I am assuming from a wish obtained
via magic lamp in Mine Town )

manchu

 

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

> I agree on the last paragraph, how many starts did it take before you
> were able to obtain a pet Archon? ( I am assuming from a wish obtained
> via magic lamp in Mine Town )

Yes, it was from a magic lamp. I've never tried having an Archon for a
pet before and now I think it's a no-brainer as a first wish. Or, if
you have a blessed scroll of taming or can cast charm monster, I'm
thinking that maybe one should wish for a cursed scroll of genocide and
tame a bunch of them (probably should engrave the E word before
bringing them in).

 

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

pet_Archon wrote:
> I've never tried having an Archon for a
> pet before and now I think it's a no-brainer as a first wish.

.. . . if you don't mind basically a 10% chance of avoidable instadeath,
which some people mind. If you wait until you've got a rubber chicken
in hand, maybe it makes more sense.

 

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

pet_Archon wrote:
> Yes, it was from a magic lamp. I've never tried having an Archon for a
> pet before and now I think it's a no-brainer as a first wish. Or, if
> you have a blessed scroll of taming or can cast charm monster, I'm
> thinking that maybe one should wish for a cursed scroll of genocide and
> tame a bunch of them (probably should engrave the E word before
> bringing them in).

Not only do A ignore the E word, you can't genocide or reverse-genocide
them. I made this mistake with ki-rin as a knight.

 

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

manchu wrote:
> How in Gehennom

;-)

> does one ascend without food?

Pray for food (unless you're going atheist, too - that makes it much
harder), don't do anything that consumes food unless necessary, quaff
from fountains, quaff fruit juice (and water?), put on a ring of slow
digestion ASAP, use an amulet of life saving to restore you, when you
die from lack of food etc.
Unless you're going atheist you most likely will only need the ring and
some prayers (horn of plenty to get juice and water is probably nice to
have, too)


> (much less as a spell caster...)

Wizards don't get hungry from spellcasting when they're INT is 18 or
better and they do have the chance to start with a ring of slow
digestion, so they're actually one of the easiest classes to go foodless
with if you just have enough luck with your starting stats and
equipment.


--
If geiger counter does not click,
the coffee, she is just not thick

 

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

In article <1124912943.716615.142330@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, pet_Archon
says...
> I'm
> thinking that maybe one should wish for a cursed scroll of genocide and
> tame a bunch of them (probably should engrave the E word before
> bringing them in).
>
>
IIRC Archons ignore Elbereth (as all Angelic types), and can resist taming.

One option could be to surround yourself with boulders (e.g. blessed scroll of
earth), read cursed ?oGeno, quaff booze, read ?oTaming, teleport out and apply
magic whistle.

 

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

manchu wrote:
> Just a couple of comments...
>
> How in Gehennom does one ascend without food? (much less as a spell
> caster...)

In addition to other ideas in this thread, polymorph + polycontrol.
Whenever you're fainting, polymorph into your own species ("You feel
like a new man!"), your hunger will be reset.

 

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

On 23 Aug 2005 21:13:09 -0700, "pet_Archon" <mj006@telus.net>
wrote:

>I don't follow this group usually but would like ask if others feel
>that certain types of monsters as pets make the game too easy (I think
>you can guess one of them from my handle).
>
>By way of background: I've played Nethack for a loooong time and have
>ascended many times (without food, wishless, poly-less, atheist, etc on
>different occasions) always as a Chaotic Human Wizard (Why? I'm too
>lazy to learn how to play another charater).

Tell me about it. Doing without the cloak of magic resistance,
force bolt, high Int, and all that starting equipment is just too
frustrating.

>I'm somewhat impatient
>and like to speed through the dungeon (my fastest ascension is around
>9500 turns) and blow away everything in sight. In addition, beyond the
>early game I typically forget about the pets because they just slow me
>down.
>
>I never thought I'd have the patience needed to do a pacifist ascension
>but finally gave it a try and it turned out to be not that hard -- all
>it took was ... a pet Archon! Now I'm thinking, if that's all it takes
>to do a pacifist ascension, imagine how easy it would be when you are
>not adhering to conducts! What do other people think?


As I've said here before, it's not having a full Ascension Kit
that matters, it's having an Ascension state of mind.

I suspect there are plenty of people who couldn't ascend with
two pet Archons in black dragon scale mail with amulets of
reflection and cloaks of magic resistance, and a magic whistle.
(I'm probably one of them. I don't have the pacifist state of
mind.)

Other people have found things that make the game much easier
to beat. One person said that finding Magicbane and engraving
Elbereth in one turn with it seemed to make them unbeatable. (Not
me, btw.) Someone else said the spell of charm monster made the
game almost too easy.

Watching early wizards on nao is painful. So many advantages
they pass up. Knowing I was worse doesn't console me any,
thanks. I've had wizards who got silver dragon scale mail early
and still died quickly.

No, as I think marvin shows, and your ascensions probably do
too, is that it's not what you've got, it's what you do with it.


--
All the best,

Jove