Is it possible I'm levelling too fast?

[Validus]

Well, after playing over 30 characters and having the highest one get to xp level 11 before being killed (mostly because 70% of them were wizards. I have a thing for wizards, heh) I finally had a character where from the very beginning everything worked out in his favor. He started the game with a spellbook of healing which helped immensely in the first 10 xp levels or so, and he'd found a spellbook of identify and a ring of slow digestion by xp level 4, so unlike all my previous wizards I could identify and use magical items and spellbooks immediately, and the slow digestion meant I could lock myself in a room and wait the obscene number of turns required to regenerate all my mana/power.

Right after Sokoban, I found 3 different succubus's and 4 wraiths, all of which left corpses, so by the time I'd reached dungeon level 11, I was level 22.

Now I'm on dungeon level 17 and still xp level 22, and I'm on a level with 3 more wraiths, and it's not a graveyard level.

What I'm afraid of, though, is that since I know the monsters are spawned based on the dungeon level and your xp level, that if I level up much more I'm going to generate monsters I can't handle. However, now that I have the quest Amulet, I'm honestly not sure what I couldn't take.


Here's what I have (the important stuff anyway)
xp level 22 wizard
hp: 151/151
power: 310/310
AC:-5
Race: Gnome
Attributes: everything is at max except charisma, which is 9.

Intrinsics:
Cold Resistance
Shock Resistance
Poison Resistance
Sleep Resistance
Telepathy
Teleportitis
Teleport Control
Warning
Teleport at Will

Jewelry:
Eye of Aethiopica
Amulet of Magical Breathing
Ring of Slow digestion (currently not wearing as I haven't had much need since I got the eye)
Ring of Protection +1
Ring of Free Action

Weapon
+2 Magicbane, expert


armor (this is really the only thing I'm lacking right now, as far as I can tell, but I don't know how big a deal it is. I've had no problems whatsoever so far, nothing lives long enough to get close to me anymore, but my total armor class, even with church protection, is only -5 and I see most people saying you should aim for -20 to -40)

+4 Cloak of Magic resistance
+3 Cornuthaum
+0 elven boots
+0 studded leather armor
+0 leather gloves

wands
4xwand of digging (hording them, I like the idea of possibly being able to sip down 28 levels, haha)
wand of cancellation


Scrolls/potions
4 scrolls of genocide: 2 blessed, one uncursed, one cursed. So far have only used one (for a total of 5 scrolls so far)
a couple dozen other useful general scrolls (identify, teleport, remove curse, earth, taming, create monster, etc)
2 potions of gain level (saving these to escape no teleport levels if need be, one is already cursed, going to have the other cursed)
6 holy waters
2 potions of full healing
3 potions of extra healing

tools:
blindfold
unicorn horn
blessed bag of holding
blessed luckstone


Spellbooks: (these I'll list off, if for no other reason to give an idea how many extra spellbooks I have that I could blank if I ever find a magic marker)

Forceboltx2
Healing
Identify
Haste Self
Sleep
Cause Fear
Knock
Wizard Lock
Light
Detect Food
Magic Missile
Fire
Cone of Cold

I'm a little worried about my haste and identify spellbooks, as I've read that spellbooks can only be read so many times before being used up, but that's never happened before so I don't know how many times it takes, and I've read both books three times, and I have no magic marker.



I felt the need to list the inventory because, even if normally the low hp and low -5 AC would mean I should stop levelling up, between my teleport, my wands of digging, my multiple scrolls of genocide and potions of healing and my high damage spells, I might be able to take it.

From experience, what would some of you suggest? Last week I was starting to think it'd take me months or years to ascend a character but I have a very good feeling about this guy and I don't want to lose it on a stupid mistake like levelling too fast.

Or is it almost always wise to just level as quickly as the game allows you too?

 

[Eemeli]

It should work, as long as you're not too careless.

I have never really played wizard myself, but I'll still try to give some advice.

The HP ain't that bad considering your class (you'll get it up if you drink all the extra potions of healing instead of leaving them in the dungeon, though), but the AC seems to be. Studded leather armor? How about a dwarvish mithril armor? Or a dragon scale mail? They're really easy to make. Kill a dragon (silver for reflection), take its scales, wear them and enchant armor. The best you can get. Wishing for one ain't waste either.

The other armor ain't too great either. I'd wish for some if I had a chance. Well, you're not too far from the Castle and its guaranteed wand of wishing. And there is some armory in the back too (I've always seen a pair of speed boots there). Though I wouldn't enter the castle without reflection, you might find a shield of reflection from Medusa's lair, inside the statue of Perseus. Just keep your eyes closed. Oh and carrying your Eye of Aethiopica provides magic resistance, so your cloak of magic resistance is not the best one.

I've read a spellbook dull only once with my barbarian, and it took like 4 times.

 

[Validus]

Well, the reasonI hadn't had dragon scale mail was because I'd only encountered two dragons up to that point, neither of which had dropped scales, and I've still never gotten a wish yet.

And is dwarvish mithril armor better than elven? because wearing elven mithril armor gave me huge spellcasting penalties that just didn't seem worth it to me.

I finally broke down and used my cursed scroll of genocide to make 4 silver dragons, luckily, 3 of them dropped scales so I do now have a blessed +1 silver dragon scale mail, bringing my AC to -12. I also quaffed a few blessed potions of extra healing and gained 15 max hp and I've since gotten fire resistance. I knew I"d gain more hp if I drank them, but I didn't want to get rid of healing potions just incase I needed them. But I figure I still have two potions of full healing, and between teleport, digging, and my cursed potions of gain level I can escape any situation.

The only intrinsics left for me to get that will actually be even somewhat useful are perma-invisibility and disintigration resistance.

I still really need a wand or spellbook of polymorph though so I can start polypiling tools. I'm really understocked in the magical tools department. I really need another magic marker or two.

 

[Validus]

Ok, at this point I feel I am invincible, haha, which means surely I will die a stupid, pointless death sometime soon. I was doing really well as it was but as soon as I got that wand of wishing in the castle, I got everything I needed to just be obscene. (for the record, I wished for 3 blessed scrolls of charging, a magic marker, a blessed spellbook of polymorph for unlimited polypiling, and a blessed rustproof+2 helm of brilliance)

Here's how I'm doing right now

I'm on DL 29, second level of gehennom

XP level: 30 wizard (another succubus and 3 potions of gain level)
Hp: 265/265
Power: 379/379
Turn: 57,062

Stats: Everything is maxed except charisma, which is 8. I also have an extra +4 wisdom and intelligence because of my helmet.


Weapon: +3 magicbane
Armor:
+4 Silver Dragon Scalemail
+4 boots of jumping
+5 cloak of protection
+2 leather gloves (don't feel like wasting more scrolls on it until I get the glovesI know I"m gonna stick with)
+4 hawain shirt
+4 helm of brilliance

total AC: -29

After that, I just have insane stuff. I have 4 fully charged wands of death, a wand of wishing with 2 wishes left on it, tons of wands of fire and lightning for elbereth, a ton of scrolls of genocide, remove curse, tame monster, other utility spells, etc. Potions of extra and full healing, as well as a cursed potion of gain level for escape on no teleport levels

I have every intrinsic in the game (that I'm aware of) except for disintigration resistance.

I of course wear the wizard quest artifact for an ammy, and a ring of free action and then either a ring of slow digestion or ring of levitation as needed. i also have a blessed ring of conflict if I need it.

I also have 28 spells known, every one of which has been read within the last 5,000 turns so they're all good for a while. I have just about every useful spell there is except for Finger of Death, Drain Life, Protection, Dig and Cure Sickness.

It's funny, but before this guy, the highest I'd gotten a character to was xp level 11, but this is *almost* boring. The only thing that keeps me attentive is the fear of doing something *stupid* like picking up a cockatrice without gloves or something.


By the way, how much do gems raise your score at the end of the game? Because I've taken to zapping boulders with force bolt and then casting polymorph ona long row of stone piles. It takes a ton of mana and turns, but I tend to end up with 6-12 valuable gems for every boulder I find, and I already have over a hundred named gems. If I keep this up, am I going to have some ridiculous crazy high score?

 

[Eemeli]

Heh, it seems you're playing a game with several possible ways to die: genociding yourself after creating tons of scrolls and getting bored of humans, eating the corpse of Death in the End Game, using a finger of death at yourself while not having magic resistance...

Anyway nice to see you're doing damn well, hopefully you will not be facing YASD.

The valuable games give you some score, here's a screenshot of my ascension: