Beta .10 of Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup heralds the arrival of a most promising species, the Octopodes, which can wear as many as eight rings, answering the prayers of many a veteran Crawler. I jumped on this species and have played it exclusively ever since it became available.
Octopodes are a high-risk race, however, and I defy anyone to win with one. The slightest blow can kill or seriously wound the unarmored Octopodes. Keep in mind that even robes, cloaks, gloves and boots are forbidden to Octopodes. Any Octopode that ventures long without a shield is brave indeed, some would say foolhardy. I suspect they are still experimental in this Beta version. Their aptitude at Dodging should be increased from 0 to +2, if they are to survive the early levels.
My religious preference for Octopodes is Nemelex Xobeh, because Octopodes can sacrifice more items than any other race, since so much is forbidden them in terms of armor, and weapons are of less importance for these spellcasting savants.
However, Nemelex Xobeh deserves his nickname of the Trickster God. Beware of the Tomb, Torment, Poison and Damnation cards, all of which can end an Octopode's career. I had to quit the game after my high level Octopode drew a Tomb card, because I had no Teleport. Before I quit, I sacrificed magic items in the hopes of receiving another deck of cards from NX, preferably a Deck of Escape. He sent another deck, all right--a deck of destruction! Trickster, indeed. Decks of Summoning are not nearly as powerful in .10 as they were in .9, because it seems many of the summoned creatures are hostile. All decks are a mixed bag and one risks harmful mutations or the elimination of beneficial mutations by using any of them.
Also, NX is not guaranteed in the Ecumenical Temple. I encounter his altar only once every two games. It seems like every time I try an Octopode Artificer, NX altars are nowhere to be found, making the choice of Artificer less attractive.
At present, with flawless play, a veteran player should win with an Octopode one out of twenty games. Best to buy a family plot in the Crawl cemetery. I've abandoned Octopodes for the time being, returning to my old favorite, Spriggans, frail but fantastic stabbers.
Showing posts with label dungeon crawl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dungeon crawl. Show all posts
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
The Abyss, a Personal Candy Jar for Abyssal Knights
Lugonu, the Abyssal Knight's god, grants the power to enter and leave the Abyss with sufficient piety. The profession of Abyssal Knight therefore represents an interesting choice for Spriggans, because with their unsurpassed speed, they can acquire many treasures in the Abyss while outrunning most Abyssal baddies.
In the first pillage of the Abyss, a Spriggan may acquire a couple of scrolls or potions, or if he's lucky, jewelry, a wand, a weapon, or suitable armour. My best first pillage yet resulted in two rings, three scrolls, two potions and a slice of pizza--not a bad way to start the first level of the Dungeon. Races other than Spriggans will make acquisitions too, but their slow speed will hasten getting cornered by monsters and having to call upon Lugonu to leave the Abyss.
As a Spriggan grows in strength and abilities, these occasional forays into the Abyss will become more lucrative. If the player is cornered in the Dungeon, entering the Abyss allows a chance for rest and recovery in addition to the possibility of acquiring additional magical items that might allow the player to overcome his adversaries in the Dungeon.
In the first pillage of the Abyss, a Spriggan may acquire a couple of scrolls or potions, or if he's lucky, jewelry, a wand, a weapon, or suitable armour. My best first pillage yet resulted in two rings, three scrolls, two potions and a slice of pizza--not a bad way to start the first level of the Dungeon. Races other than Spriggans will make acquisitions too, but their slow speed will hasten getting cornered by monsters and having to call upon Lugonu to leave the Abyss.
As a Spriggan grows in strength and abilities, these occasional forays into the Abyss will become more lucrative. If the player is cornered in the Dungeon, entering the Abyss allows a chance for rest and recovery in addition to the possibility of acquiring additional magical items that might allow the player to overcome his adversaries in the Dungeon.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Mutations are Good for You
I've said it before, and I'll say it again--mutations are good for you. Go ahead and drink that potion of mutation without a second's hesitation. If it turns ill for you, then double down by drinking another one, followed by a third and a fourth. In my experience, bad mutations tend not to be so very bad (-10% MP for a warrior? Pschaw!) whereas good mutations tend to be very good indeed, as shown below:
I always seek the altar of Jiyva, the God of Acid, whocauses hallucinations has the power to cure bad mutations and grant beneficial mutations, which is highly desirable, as potions of cure mutation are scarce. But I haven't had much luck in locating an altar in the lower levels. Typically, my characters choose Okarawu instead, whose altars are easier to locate.
I always seek the altar of Jiyva, the God of Acid, who
Okarawu's Secret
Unlike the Troglodyte God, the wise Okarawu takes into consideration his worshippers' aptitudes, or so it would seem.
Press 'm' to access the Abilities Menu and then turn off the Throwing ability in order to minimize skill acquisition in that area, which will also minimize the chance that Okarawu will gift your character a trivial pack of darts or needles. Preferred are Okarawu's armour and melee weapons.
Employing this strategy created favorable auspices for the following gift, which can serve as a primary melee weapon even in the deepest level of Hell:
Press 'm' to access the Abilities Menu and then turn off the Throwing ability in order to minimize skill acquisition in that area, which will also minimize the chance that Okarawu will gift your character a trivial pack of darts or needles. Preferred are Okarawu's armour and melee weapons.
Employing this strategy created favorable auspices for the following gift, which can serve as a primary melee weapon even in the deepest level of Hell:
Friday, March 25, 2011
Dear Trog
Dear Trog, God of Frenzy,
If I have achieved level 14 in Maces & Flails, do you really think I want you to bestow a battleaxe? It's a bit late for me to be starting over with a new weapon type, don't you think? Please use a bit more care in selecting your gifts. I know you're opposed to magic and not considered very smart by the other gods, but still. You don't want the other gods to think you're retarded, either.
Worshipfully,
If I have achieved level 14 in Maces & Flails, do you really think I want you to bestow a battleaxe? It's a bit late for me to be starting over with a new weapon type, don't you think? Please use a bit more care in selecting your gifts. I know you're opposed to magic and not considered very smart by the other gods, but still. You don't want the other gods to think you're retarded, either.
Worshipfully,
Demonspawn Beserker
Friday, March 11, 2011
Victory in Zot Defense
My Naga Wizard worshiping Nemelex Xobeh finally won after a long game. By the twenty-fifth level, undead servants, spells, stabbing, traps and decks of cards provided so much power that victory was inevitable.
In Zot Defense, Necromancy provides a clear and overwhelming advantage. Because my Naga began as a Wizard, which grants the maximum number of magic points, I relied upon the Summon Imp spell, awaiting a shadow imp that would put corpses to work as zombies and skeletons. Undead servants are essential to guard the Orb. After acquiring a Book of Necromancy, I was able to do it myself. (I tried playing a Necromancer before, but had a difficult time in the beginning due to lack of magic points.)
Nemelex Xobeh is the god to play in Zot Defense. He is sated by sacrificing the unresurrectible corpses and items which litter ZD. Leaving magic weapons scattered around the dungeon is poor practice, because hostiles may pick them up and use them as fuel for reproduction (acids) or as weapons (intelligent monsters). His decks of cards are quite powerful to begin with and increase in power as one learns Evocations.
Nagas are by far the easiest race to play in ZD (though not Crawl) due to their immunity to poison, ability to see invisible, robustness and moderate aptitude for spellcasting. The ability to spit poison is useful in the beginning. Many of the traditional disadvantages of Naga are rendered moot in Zot Defense. For instance, their slow movement speed is no great problem, because there is nowhere to go in ZD and seldom any need to escape monsters. In Zot Defense, monsters are not bloody-minded--they seek to desecrate the Orb, not kill the player. The Naga's inability to wear most forms of armor is less of a problem for the same reason. Armor interferes with spellcasting, anyway.
In Zot Defense, Necromancy provides a clear and overwhelming advantage. Because my Naga began as a Wizard, which grants the maximum number of magic points, I relied upon the Summon Imp spell, awaiting a shadow imp that would put corpses to work as zombies and skeletons. Undead servants are essential to guard the Orb. After acquiring a Book of Necromancy, I was able to do it myself. (I tried playing a Necromancer before, but had a difficult time in the beginning due to lack of magic points.)
Nemelex Xobeh is the god to play in Zot Defense. He is sated by sacrificing the unresurrectible corpses and items which litter ZD. Leaving magic weapons scattered around the dungeon is poor practice, because hostiles may pick them up and use them as fuel for reproduction (acids) or as weapons (intelligent monsters). His decks of cards are quite powerful to begin with and increase in power as one learns Evocations.
Nagas are by far the easiest race to play in ZD (though not Crawl) due to their immunity to poison, ability to see invisible, robustness and moderate aptitude for spellcasting. The ability to spit poison is useful in the beginning. Many of the traditional disadvantages of Naga are rendered moot in Zot Defense. For instance, their slow movement speed is no great problem, because there is nowhere to go in ZD and seldom any need to escape monsters. In Zot Defense, monsters are not bloody-minded--they seek to desecrate the Orb, not kill the player. The Naga's inability to wear most forms of armor is less of a problem for the same reason. Armor interferes with spellcasting, anyway.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Dungeon Crawl Novelties
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup is a great game, even if it were frozen in time, but development continues. Dungeon Crawl of 2010 is not the Dungeon Crawl of 2011. A player who bores of it in one year can resume playing with the latest version and discover new and interesting features, courtesy of the gifted, generous and devious dev team.
Such was the case for me, when I discovered a brand new path in the beta version .8 of DCSS, Zot Defense. Instead of attempting to capture the Orb of Zot, the player already has it and must defend it against hordes of invadingreactionaries monsters, a scenario reminiscent of Bullfrog's Dungeon Keeper*. I have not won yet, but am working on it. Beware the blitz!
At this stage of development, ZD appears hostile to my favorite race, vegetarian Spriggans. Therefore, my favorite race/class/religion for ZD at this time is a Naga Wizard (the extra MP, I find, are really needed) worshiping Nemelex Xobeh, a divine vacuum useful for tidying up a dungeon littered with detritus. His cards come in handy as cost-free alternatives to spellcasting. I have experimented with Naga Necromancers worshiping Kikubaaqudgha with some success as well. Large abominations make decent, permanent Orb guardians, although powerful monsters can gobble them up like popcorn. Care must be taken that undead servants don't trigger traps. Another combo I've found to be very successful is Deep Dwarf Artificer worshiping Nemelex Xobeh. (In my opinion, NX is the best choice for ZD, for aesthetic reasons alone.)
ZD has reinvigorated my interest in the game. I've even wrapped my regen.bat around it, because I play nothing but ZD nowadays. Until I win, that is. Then I may investigate the new branches in Sprint. Version .8 has five branches!
Such was the case for me, when I discovered a brand new path in the beta version .8 of DCSS, Zot Defense. Instead of attempting to capture the Orb of Zot, the player already has it and must defend it against hordes of invading
At this stage of development, ZD appears hostile to my favorite race, vegetarian Spriggans. Therefore, my favorite race/class/religion for ZD at this time is a Naga Wizard (the extra MP, I find, are really needed) worshiping Nemelex Xobeh, a divine vacuum useful for tidying up a dungeon littered with detritus. His cards come in handy as cost-free alternatives to spellcasting. I have experimented with Naga Necromancers worshiping Kikubaaqudgha with some success as well. Large abominations make decent, permanent Orb guardians, although powerful monsters can gobble them up like popcorn. Care must be taken that undead servants don't trigger traps. Another combo I've found to be very successful is Deep Dwarf Artificer worshiping Nemelex Xobeh. (In my opinion, NX is the best choice for ZD, for aesthetic reasons alone.)
ZD has reinvigorated my interest in the game. I've even wrapped my regen.bat around it, because I play nothing but ZD nowadays. Until I win, that is. Then I may investigate the new branches in Sprint. Version .8 has five branches!
* Does anyone remember that fine game, beloved by critics, the third sequel of which was terminated by Electronic Arts? Dungeon Keeper 2 works with Windows 2000 and XP with some tinkering. It is a rewarding game for those willing to put up with several annoyance factors, such as copy protection and technical problems. A copy can be obtained for $5 or so via Ebay or Amazon, and upgrades and a copy protection removal program downloaded from various sites.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Kenku
In Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, I have seldom played a Kenku. I am unfamiliar with any stories concerning the Kenku race and have only encountered it in Dungeon Crawl, although I have a vague recollection of an obscure bird-race in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. (At one time, I knew by heart most of the monsters and their hit dice, armour class, and so on.) It was high time I gave one of the old birds a try.
Here is Burny the Fire Elementalist at my favorite location, the stairway leading to level eight of the Vaults, where he usually dies.
Upon reaching a certain level, the Kenku may take to the air--permanently, at no apparent cost in food. This means there is no danger posed by lava or water, no need to carry potions of levitation, and no need to memorize any flying spells. The downside is that the Kenku are a bit frail in terms of hit points, though more robust than Spriggans. I found that the Kenku's beak packed (pecked?) an impressive wallop during melee combat. It is advisable to practice Unarmed Combat until such time that a useful staff is found. I chose a staff of poison because it grants immunity to poison, poisons those struck by it, and the Kenku happen to be the most proficient race at Staves. Eventually, I seek a Staff of Air (resistance to electricity) or even better, a Staff of Conjurations or Fire (extra power when casting related spells).
My Kenku was handicapped by his failure to locate the Ecumenical Temple. He would have worshipped Sif Muna if he had found his altar. But a part of me wanted to see whether an atheist character could win the Orb. Also, if cast into the Abyss, my character could appeal to Logunu for a quick exit.
Here is Burny the Fire Elementalist at my favorite location, the stairway leading to level eight of the Vaults, where he usually dies.
Upon reaching a certain level, the Kenku may take to the air--permanently, at no apparent cost in food. This means there is no danger posed by lava or water, no need to carry potions of levitation, and no need to memorize any flying spells. The downside is that the Kenku are a bit frail in terms of hit points, though more robust than Spriggans. I found that the Kenku's beak packed (pecked?) an impressive wallop during melee combat. It is advisable to practice Unarmed Combat until such time that a useful staff is found. I chose a staff of poison because it grants immunity to poison, poisons those struck by it, and the Kenku happen to be the most proficient race at Staves. Eventually, I seek a Staff of Air (resistance to electricity) or even better, a Staff of Conjurations or Fire (extra power when casting related spells).
My Kenku was handicapped by his failure to locate the Ecumenical Temple. He would have worshipped Sif Muna if he had found his altar. But a part of me wanted to see whether an atheist character could win the Orb. Also, if cast into the Abyss, my character could appeal to Logunu for a quick exit.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Dungeon Crawl's Wiz Mode
In Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, Wiz Mode seems to satisfy all the cheating requirements of a player. I was anticipating the day when a Crawler would finally bring up the obvious question, why bother using a batch file such as regen.bat to cheat?
Wiz Mode is "Deluxe Cheating," while regen.bat is "Cheating Lite." Accessed at any time during the game by pressing the ampersand, Wiz Mode offers many temptations, such as increasing level, abilities, or hit points, transforming "Dungeons and Dragons" into "Dungeons and Rabbits." It even prevents death.
Here is Kuku the Kobold Summoner in Wiz Mode, about to be slain by a hobgoblin on level one. Wiz Mode gives him the option of dying or having all his hit points restored:
By responding "y", death is prevented. Kuku's hit points are fully restored, and he can continue fighting or attempt to flee. However, the difficult situation remains. The character could face the "Die?" question repeatedly, each time having to restore his hit points. To address this problem, Wiz Mode can grant additional powers to the character, allowing him to overcome his adversaries. He could even be transported to the Temple, a safe place to recuperate from wounds, or he could escape to a different level.
Wiz Mode does not permit the permanent storage of a save file. Crawl continues to delete saved files, whether in Wiz Mode or not. Once a character dies, that's that.
Regen.bat preserves save files from deletion. My favorite location in DCSS is the downstairs passage on level 7 of the Vaults leading to level 8, one of the most challenging and rewarding areas. By using regen.bat, it is possible to pillage level 8 many times with the same character.
The two methods of cheating, regen.bat and Wiz Mode, function in different ways and have different effects. They can be combined or used in isolation. For my part, regen.bat serves all of my needs. In other game systems, preserving a save file is not considered cheating at all, but is a standard feature supported within the game.
Wiz Mode is "Deluxe Cheating," while regen.bat is "Cheating Lite." Accessed at any time during the game by pressing the ampersand, Wiz Mode offers many temptations, such as increasing level, abilities, or hit points, transforming "Dungeons and Dragons" into "Dungeons and Rabbits." It even prevents death.
Here is Kuku the Kobold Summoner in Wiz Mode, about to be slain by a hobgoblin on level one. Wiz Mode gives him the option of dying or having all his hit points restored:
By responding "y", death is prevented. Kuku's hit points are fully restored, and he can continue fighting or attempt to flee. However, the difficult situation remains. The character could face the "Die?" question repeatedly, each time having to restore his hit points. To address this problem, Wiz Mode can grant additional powers to the character, allowing him to overcome his adversaries. He could even be transported to the Temple, a safe place to recuperate from wounds, or he could escape to a different level.
Wiz Mode does not permit the permanent storage of a save file. Crawl continues to delete saved files, whether in Wiz Mode or not. Once a character dies, that's that.
Regen.bat preserves save files from deletion. My favorite location in DCSS is the downstairs passage on level 7 of the Vaults leading to level 8, one of the most challenging and rewarding areas. By using regen.bat, it is possible to pillage level 8 many times with the same character.
The two methods of cheating, regen.bat and Wiz Mode, function in different ways and have different effects. They can be combined or used in isolation. For my part, regen.bat serves all of my needs. In other game systems, preserving a save file is not considered cheating at all, but is a standard feature supported within the game.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A Dungeon Crawl Abomination
In Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, there are many race/class combinations that should not be. The gods frown upon such abominations, which are grayed on the menu, not recommended. One abomination is a Spriggan Beserker, not deemed a viable class for Spriggans, and with cause, because highly intelligent spriggans are adept at magic. Magic is of great value--or is it? For a Spriggan to serve Trog, forswearing magic forever, is indeed an abomination--and quite an effective strategy, as it turns out.
Skryton began as a Spriggan Assassin, devoted all optional ability increases to Dexterity or Strength, and then chose Trog as his deity. Here are his stats at level 13:
Trog's munificence eventually bestowed the priceless elven quick blade, which is yet to be vorpalized but still extremely effective. Spriggans are the least hungriest of all races except Mummies and make fine Beserkers. But I would not begin as one, because Dexterity is everything for a Spriggan, and Assassin's curare needles are invaluable.
By forswearing spellcasting, all of the XP trickled down into the most vital skills for a Spriggan, Dodging, Stealth, and Stabbing, resulting in a high competence:
This successful experiment in concocting an abomination reinforces my opinion that Spriggans are an elite race, more powerful than any other.
Skryton began as a Spriggan Assassin, devoted all optional ability increases to Dexterity or Strength, and then chose Trog as his deity. Here are his stats at level 13:
Trog's munificence eventually bestowed the priceless elven quick blade, which is yet to be vorpalized but still extremely effective. Spriggans are the least hungriest of all races except Mummies and make fine Beserkers. But I would not begin as one, because Dexterity is everything for a Spriggan, and Assassin's curare needles are invaluable.
By forswearing spellcasting, all of the XP trickled down into the most vital skills for a Spriggan, Dodging, Stealth, and Stabbing, resulting in a high competence:
This successful experiment in concocting an abomination reinforces my opinion that Spriggans are an elite race, more powerful than any other.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Demonspawn Fighter
In Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, I have a new favorite race/class combination: Demonspawn Fighter. After the Ecumenical Temple is discovered, I choose Trog and become a Berserker. Why not begin as a Berserker in the first place? Fighters begin with valuable experience in Fighting, Armour, and Shields, which are difficult areas for Demonspawn to acquire experience. They come equipped with a regular shield and a decent suit of armour. In addition, the Fighter gets to choose his weapon, whereas the Berserker receives an Axe. I prefer my Demonspawn to train in Maces & Flails for the possibility that it might find a Demon Whip, for which it enjoys racial bonuses.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Dungeon Crawl Sprint
I scored my first victory in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup's -sprint module. I like sprint! My hat's off to the Stone Soup team. Wait a minute. I don't wear a hat! Well, you get the idea.*
Two flavors that blend well together are DCSS -sprint and regen.bat, my technique for avoiding sudden death. I have updated the batch to play sprint and execute faster.
A word of advice: beware of Lom Lobon. I was not able to beat him with my Deep Elf Ice Elementalist, but eluded death by luring him to another section of the dungeon. A Blink spell would have been helpful!
The Spriggan Artificer equipped with a wand of Enslavement has a fair chance for survival. However, once the wands run out of charges, all bets are off until a Wand Shop can be found. Stealth is very important in -sprint, and therefore Spriggans have excellent chances. A combo I like even better for -sprint is Spriggan Enchanter. If possible, stab Igyb. If this does not slay him outright, line up the first three monsters in a neat little row, drink the beserker potion, and dispatch them one after the other, in order of the danger they pose. It will then be possible to open the Spriggan's mind to Confuse and Enslave.
Two flavors that blend well together are DCSS -sprint and regen.bat, my technique for avoiding sudden death. I have updated the batch to play sprint and execute faster.
A word of advice: beware of Lom Lobon. I was not able to beat him with my Deep Elf Ice Elementalist, but eluded death by luring him to another section of the dungeon. A Blink spell would have been helpful!
The Spriggan Artificer equipped with a wand of Enslavement has a fair chance for survival. However, once the wands run out of charges, all bets are off until a Wand Shop can be found. Stealth is very important in -sprint, and therefore Spriggans have excellent chances. A combo I like even better for -sprint is Spriggan Enchanter. If possible, stab Igyb. If this does not slay him outright, line up the first three monsters in a neat little row, drink the beserker potion, and dispatch them one after the other, in order of the danger they pose. It will then be possible to open the Spriggan's mind to Confuse and Enslave.
[*] Actually, I used to wear a hat until I noticed a young waitress in a restaurant grinning at me. I was reminded of a Seinfeld episode where George Costanza wears a hat to conceal his baldness.
Friday, October 9, 2009
The High Elf Hunter
In Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, no race is better at the long sword or the bow than the High Elf. Therefore, the High Elf is well-advised to specialize in both of these weapons. Although the Centaur enjoys equal aptitude at Bows, the High Elf can benefit from racial aptitude when using an elf bow combined with elf ammunition. Therefore, a High Elf has the potential to inflict greater damage with the bow than any other race.
I chose to be a Hunter for the simple reason that I've never played one before. In fact, I seldom use missile weapons in any of my race/class combinations, preferring melee or magic. Yet missile weapons are scattered throughout the dungeon, and an entire class, the Hunter, is built around missiles. It was high time for me to see what all the fuss was about missile weapons.
Here is my character getting ready to plunder a Ziggurat, a most dangerous endeavor, because therein lurk named Demon Lords from Pandemonium and the other nether regions. Powerful demons that can summon minions are quite dangerous for a Hunter who lacks an amulet of warding or an Abjuration spell. The minions serve to block the range of the Hunter's bow. The hunter becomes encircled by these ever-multiplying minions. Meanwhile, from a safe distance, the summoner smites the hunter from afar even unto death. I died several times in this manner, until I resolved to avoid the Ziggurat. There isn't any point in plundering the Ziggurat, anyway, unless you need magic items. My character has quite enough magic items, as you can see:
Once he has gathered strength and obtained resistance to confusion and other elven magic, it is essential for any elven Hunter to plunder the Elven Halls in order to secure the very best elven armour, bow, and long sword. Most desirable of all for the elven Hunter is the elven longbow. As for swords, the elven scimitar is best for the High Elf, because it inflicts the most damage.
The elven longbow is no joke. It inflicts injuries equivalent to the scimitar, and often slays powerful monsters after just a few, or only one arrow. As long as hordes of summoned minions aren't approaching, a Hunter has an easy time picking off enemies from a distance, no matter how powerful they may be. When they get too close, one can always Blink away--or simply continue firing the bow.
Each time an arrow is fired, there is a chance it will be destroyed. Therefore, conserve elven ammunition for powerful monsters. With weaker monsters, fire your non-elven ammunition. Ideally, you should conserve enough elven arrows to see you through the Realm of Zot. Carrying all this luggage does severely limit the amount of other goodies one can carry, especially if you emphasize Dexterity over Strength. I was not sure just how many elven arrows I needed to last the game, so I tried to carry as much as possible. Elven arrows represent yet another reason to plunder the Elven Halls.
Although there may be better armours to be had, for an elf, elven chain mail is pretty darn good. The only armour I might consider substituting for it is gold dragon armour, but that is quite a heavy burden for an elven hunter that stockpiles elven arrows. There is nothing better for the High Elf hunter than elven arrows. I discard wands in favor of arrows, because the High Elf is much better at Bows than Evocations, and the elven longbow is more effective than most wands.
Gold dragon armour is better suited for exceptionally strong characters such as Minotaurs. Besides, in order to cast spells while heavily armoured, a character needs to acquire a very high Armour skill, and that's a tall order for a High Elf. I learned Armour to a certain level, but then switched to light elven chain, because I wanted to cast spells of Enchantment.
I probably erred in choosing a medium-sized shield, because it does inhibit the bow, but the shield in question proved irresistible. I'm a sucker for additional capabilities like Teleport and See Invisible. However, better might have been a heavily enchanted Elven buckler. Elves are not particularly gifted at Shields, but do better at Dodging.
I haven't reached the end of the game with this character yet. I may even delete it, because it has a huge weakness when it comes to Summoners, and the deeper levels are full of Summoners of various stripes. Bows just can't beat a Summoner, I'm afraid. A Hunter needs to have some kind of answer for the Summoner problem--an Amulet of Warding would be the simplest solution, although I'd miss my "Guejoh" with its +3 AC and +4 Dex.
I chose to be a Hunter for the simple reason that I've never played one before. In fact, I seldom use missile weapons in any of my race/class combinations, preferring melee or magic. Yet missile weapons are scattered throughout the dungeon, and an entire class, the Hunter, is built around missiles. It was high time for me to see what all the fuss was about missile weapons.
Here is my character getting ready to plunder a Ziggurat, a most dangerous endeavor, because therein lurk named Demon Lords from Pandemonium and the other nether regions. Powerful demons that can summon minions are quite dangerous for a Hunter who lacks an amulet of warding or an Abjuration spell. The minions serve to block the range of the Hunter's bow. The hunter becomes encircled by these ever-multiplying minions. Meanwhile, from a safe distance, the summoner smites the hunter from afar even unto death. I died several times in this manner, until I resolved to avoid the Ziggurat. There isn't any point in plundering the Ziggurat, anyway, unless you need magic items. My character has quite enough magic items, as you can see:
Once he has gathered strength and obtained resistance to confusion and other elven magic, it is essential for any elven Hunter to plunder the Elven Halls in order to secure the very best elven armour, bow, and long sword. Most desirable of all for the elven Hunter is the elven longbow. As for swords, the elven scimitar is best for the High Elf, because it inflicts the most damage.
The elven longbow is no joke. It inflicts injuries equivalent to the scimitar, and often slays powerful monsters after just a few, or only one arrow. As long as hordes of summoned minions aren't approaching, a Hunter has an easy time picking off enemies from a distance, no matter how powerful they may be. When they get too close, one can always Blink away--or simply continue firing the bow.
Each time an arrow is fired, there is a chance it will be destroyed. Therefore, conserve elven ammunition for powerful monsters. With weaker monsters, fire your non-elven ammunition. Ideally, you should conserve enough elven arrows to see you through the Realm of Zot. Carrying all this luggage does severely limit the amount of other goodies one can carry, especially if you emphasize Dexterity over Strength. I was not sure just how many elven arrows I needed to last the game, so I tried to carry as much as possible. Elven arrows represent yet another reason to plunder the Elven Halls.
Although there may be better armours to be had, for an elf, elven chain mail is pretty darn good. The only armour I might consider substituting for it is gold dragon armour, but that is quite a heavy burden for an elven hunter that stockpiles elven arrows. There is nothing better for the High Elf hunter than elven arrows. I discard wands in favor of arrows, because the High Elf is much better at Bows than Evocations, and the elven longbow is more effective than most wands.
Gold dragon armour is better suited for exceptionally strong characters such as Minotaurs. Besides, in order to cast spells while heavily armoured, a character needs to acquire a very high Armour skill, and that's a tall order for a High Elf. I learned Armour to a certain level, but then switched to light elven chain, because I wanted to cast spells of Enchantment.
I probably erred in choosing a medium-sized shield, because it does inhibit the bow, but the shield in question proved irresistible. I'm a sucker for additional capabilities like Teleport and See Invisible. However, better might have been a heavily enchanted Elven buckler. Elves are not particularly gifted at Shields, but do better at Dodging.
I haven't reached the end of the game with this character yet. I may even delete it, because it has a huge weakness when it comes to Summoners, and the deeper levels are full of Summoners of various stripes. Bows just can't beat a Summoner, I'm afraid. A Hunter needs to have some kind of answer for the Summoner problem--an Amulet of Warding would be the simplest solution, although I'd miss my "Guejoh" with its +3 AC and +4 Dex.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
My Spriggan Enchanter
My longtime fave, Beserkers, have a pretty easy life, all things considered, even though the latest Beta trims their power. I abandoned my last Demonspawn Beserker due to boredom.
For a change of pace, I adopted what seems like the opposite of a Beserker, a Spriggan Enchanter, one of the physically weakest races. There is much to love about Spriggans, although they are neither strong nor robust in hit points. Their inability to wear most forms of armour dissuades most players from even considering a feeble Spriggan.
Bear in mind, however, that no race is better at Dodging, which does compensate for lack of armour. Also, a Spriggan controls the terms of battle. If a battle is not going their way, Spriggans run away. They can outrun almost any monster in the game, including centaurs, and their competence in Translocations permits them to blink or teleport with comparative ease, once they have learned the required spells. Furthermore, a Spriggan grows so adept at stealth that he need not engage in prolonged melee with most monsters. With high competence in stealth and stabbing, a Spriggan can slay with just one swing of the sabre a Stone Giant. . .
or a Fire Giant. . .
or a Frost Giant. . .
Or a Golden Dragon. . .
or even, wonder of wonders, an Orb of Fire. . .
As you can see, Stabbing is nothing to sneeze at. The short sword may seem puny, but in the hands of an assassin, there is no better weapon. You might think that intelligent monsters are more resistant to surprise, but I even slew Boris the Archlich with a stab.
The Spriggan gets by on less food than other races, which means it can travel light, an important advantage for such a physically weak race. The ability to See Invisible means that unseen horrors are no longer a challenge, and the Elven Halls may be pillaged sooner.
Learn only those schools of magic that are easy for your chosen race. Avoid other schools in order to conserve XP. It makes little sense for a Spriggan to fool around with Conjurations, when it is far more competent in Enchantments. Better to let the XP trickle down into abilities such as Dodging, Stealth, and Stabbing. In fact, I recommend turning off training in Short Blades and Spellcasting and avoiding the use of missile weapons in order to master the critical assassin skills. No skills are more advantageous to the Spriggan than Dodging, Stealth and Stabbing.
My Spriggan learned just the following spells:
Note that I didn't attempt to get deep into elemental magic, conjurations or necromancy. That would be a waste, next to the potential of being a better Dodger.
And as for his thieving skills, he was quite the ninja. . .
Spriggans must conserve any vegetative food that they encounter, because they cannot eat meat. The biggest danger a young Spriggan faces is starvation. Your primary goal as a young Spriggan is to locate and plunder the Hive or find some other large supply of vegetative food. In fact, you must hurry about it, or you may die of hunger. Don't dally in the lower levels, but keep pressing on. Avoid activities such as spellcasting that cause hunger. Sometimes it is wise to leave regions of a level unexplored, in order to descend deeper into the dungeon in hopes of locating the all-important Hive--or a food shop.
Do not worship Feawn if you are a Spriggan. Her powers require vegetative food as a precursor. She is better suited for Mummies, who need never eat, or higher level characters that have already plundered the Hive. I renounced her early on, switching to Vehumet, who is more useful to a Spriggan spellcaster. Feawn held a grudge almost to the very end of the game, blasting my character with ice and ambushing my character with gangs of plants.
My Spriggan died several times, because I was accustomed to heavily armoured beserkers that can withstand massive damage in combat. With a Spriggan, if your hit points fall much below forty in the lower regions of the dungeon, then it is time to fly. A single well-aimed blow from a large monster can destroy a lightly armoured Spriggan. Dodging is never a sure thing and does not reduce damage, but only seeks to avoid it. A Spriggan must know when to run and when to be brave.
In the end, with moderate assistance from regen.bat, this Spriggan knew Victory. . .
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For a change of pace, I adopted what seems like the opposite of a Beserker, a Spriggan Enchanter, one of the physically weakest races. There is much to love about Spriggans, although they are neither strong nor robust in hit points. Their inability to wear most forms of armour dissuades most players from even considering a feeble Spriggan.
Bear in mind, however, that no race is better at Dodging, which does compensate for lack of armour. Also, a Spriggan controls the terms of battle. If a battle is not going their way, Spriggans run away. They can outrun almost any monster in the game, including centaurs, and their competence in Translocations permits them to blink or teleport with comparative ease, once they have learned the required spells. Furthermore, a Spriggan grows so adept at stealth that he need not engage in prolonged melee with most monsters. With high competence in stealth and stabbing, a Spriggan can slay with just one swing of the sabre a Stone Giant. . .
or a Fire Giant. . .
or a Frost Giant. . .
Or a Golden Dragon. . .
or even, wonder of wonders, an Orb of Fire. . .
As you can see, Stabbing is nothing to sneeze at. The short sword may seem puny, but in the hands of an assassin, there is no better weapon. You might think that intelligent monsters are more resistant to surprise, but I even slew Boris the Archlich with a stab.
The Spriggan gets by on less food than other races, which means it can travel light, an important advantage for such a physically weak race. The ability to See Invisible means that unseen horrors are no longer a challenge, and the Elven Halls may be pillaged sooner.
Learn only those schools of magic that are easy for your chosen race. Avoid other schools in order to conserve XP. It makes little sense for a Spriggan to fool around with Conjurations, when it is far more competent in Enchantments. Better to let the XP trickle down into abilities such as Dodging, Stealth, and Stabbing. In fact, I recommend turning off training in Short Blades and Spellcasting and avoiding the use of missile weapons in order to master the critical assassin skills. No skills are more advantageous to the Spriggan than Dodging, Stealth and Stabbing.
My Spriggan learned just the following spells:
Note that I didn't attempt to get deep into elemental magic, conjurations or necromancy. That would be a waste, next to the potential of being a better Dodger.
And as for his thieving skills, he was quite the ninja. . .
Spriggans must conserve any vegetative food that they encounter, because they cannot eat meat. The biggest danger a young Spriggan faces is starvation. Your primary goal as a young Spriggan is to locate and plunder the Hive or find some other large supply of vegetative food. In fact, you must hurry about it, or you may die of hunger. Don't dally in the lower levels, but keep pressing on. Avoid activities such as spellcasting that cause hunger. Sometimes it is wise to leave regions of a level unexplored, in order to descend deeper into the dungeon in hopes of locating the all-important Hive--or a food shop.
Do not worship Feawn if you are a Spriggan. Her powers require vegetative food as a precursor. She is better suited for Mummies, who need never eat, or higher level characters that have already plundered the Hive. I renounced her early on, switching to Vehumet, who is more useful to a Spriggan spellcaster. Feawn held a grudge almost to the very end of the game, blasting my character with ice and ambushing my character with gangs of plants.
My Spriggan died several times, because I was accustomed to heavily armoured beserkers that can withstand massive damage in combat. With a Spriggan, if your hit points fall much below forty in the lower regions of the dungeon, then it is time to fly. A single well-aimed blow from a large monster can destroy a lightly armoured Spriggan. Dodging is never a sure thing and does not reduce damage, but only seeks to avoid it. A Spriggan must know when to run and when to be brave.
In the end, with moderate assistance from regen.bat, this Spriggan knew Victory. . .
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Friday, August 14, 2009
An Overview of Dungeon Crawl Utilities
The utilities I have written for use with Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup are simple batch files, fully compatible with Windows XP at minimum.
The charm of a batch file is that the end user can easily understand all of the things that the batch file does. No compiler is required, which makes modification a simple matter (all you need is Notepad). The technological barrier for the end user is low. If you understand the basics of a command line interpreter such as MS-DOS--and many computer users do, especially if they are into crawling--then you can use and modify these utilities without too much difficulty.
A section of my desktop with shortcuts to the following three batch files.
install-new-crawl.bat - does all the work of clearing out the old version, unpacking a new version, installing it, and cleaning up all the junk afterward. The biggest drawback is that it requires WinRar in order to function. If you do not have WinRar installed, you could substitute an alternative program to unpack the Zip archive. This batch is designed to handle the zips found on the Beta (test) version site. I only use the Beta version, these days, because I like exploring new features as soon as they are developed. Note: I have added the capability of appending mods to the option files.
regen.bat - a method of preserving characters from dreaded sudden death. This is what I use to run Crawl.
Cleanslate.bat - eliminates saved games that are no longer interesting. Otherwise, such characters will persist on the welcome screen, especially if you are using regen.bat to backup your saved games. Be aware that this batch eliminates all saved games, even in the backup directories. It is essentially just three delete statements, not much more. The simplest of all my batch files.
(A reward for sharing up-to-date versions of these utilities is that I had a backup waiting for me in the cloud when my hard drive crashed last month.)
The charm of a batch file is that the end user can easily understand all of the things that the batch file does. No compiler is required, which makes modification a simple matter (all you need is Notepad). The technological barrier for the end user is low. If you understand the basics of a command line interpreter such as MS-DOS--and many computer users do, especially if they are into crawling--then you can use and modify these utilities without too much difficulty.
install-new-crawl.bat - does all the work of clearing out the old version, unpacking a new version, installing it, and cleaning up all the junk afterward. The biggest drawback is that it requires WinRar in order to function. If you do not have WinRar installed, you could substitute an alternative program to unpack the Zip archive. This batch is designed to handle the zips found on the Beta (test) version site. I only use the Beta version, these days, because I like exploring new features as soon as they are developed. Note: I have added the capability of appending mods to the option files.
regen.bat - a method of preserving characters from dreaded sudden death. This is what I use to run Crawl.
Cleanslate.bat - eliminates saved games that are no longer interesting. Otherwise, such characters will persist on the welcome screen, especially if you are using regen.bat to backup your saved games. Be aware that this batch eliminates all saved games, even in the backup directories. It is essentially just three delete statements, not much more. The simplest of all my batch files.
(A reward for sharing up-to-date versions of these utilities is that I had a backup waiting for me in the cloud when my hard drive crashed last month.)
Friday, July 31, 2009
Deep Dwarves Reconsidered
My first gander at deep dwarves in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup waxed skeptical, but I've changed my mind:
Warning--the following represents a spoiler. If you wish to learn about the new race, Deep Dwarves, on your own, then stop reading now.
Here's the bottom line. Deep Dwarves are good at axes, armour, dodging, and shields, and make fine Berserkers. Why do you want your Deep Dwarf to be a Berserker? Well, Trog can heal a Deep Dwarf, which is essential, as Deep Dwarves lack all natural capacity for healing. I relied upon Trog's Regeneration ability until the final levels, when I resorted to my wands of healing.
This is one of the few cases where I had little recourse to my cheating mechanism. There was no need to cheat after acquiring such a fantastic set of armour and other enchantments:
My Dwarf began with a dangerously low Intelligence (2), so I opted to wear a Ring of Sustain Abilities to prevent the Intelligence rating from dropping to zero, which is fatal. This ring allowed me to wear a powerful shield that deducts five points from Intelligence (if not wearing the ring). Later, I acquired a fantastic set of boots that increased Intelligence, although this wasn't of any use to a Berserker.
Because my style of play centers around melee, the crossbow proved superfluous. My dwarf obtained only level three in Crossbows. A Deep Dwarf need not master missile weapons. This is also true of other races, such as Demonspawn. Missile weapons apply in the main to Centaurs, Halfings and like creatures, but my Berserkers tend to prefer hiding behind walls and waiting for monsters to engage in close quarters, where a Berserker is deadly. Besides, in the case of Deep Dwarves, they excel at Evocations. Better to rely upon magical items and wands for ranged attack.
Even with only minimal resistance to Fire (+, not +++), this particular Deep Dwarf slew three Orbs of Fire in succession while they surrounded him. Grabbing the Orb of Zot was a cakewalk. I've never said that before. Take a look at the primary stats of this character just before his last move in the game:
What makes the Deep Dwarf race so special is that they are resistant to damage. I am not talking about armour aptitude. I am referring to a unique racial ability to instantly recover from small amounts of damage. If your armour class is high enough, then few monsters will be able to touch you in the end. The counterbalance to this is that Deep Dwarves cannot heal naturally.
If you can rely upon Trog for healing until you enter Zot, you are home free. Abstain from recharging your wand of healing until you descend into Zot. Bear in mind that Trog will abandon you in the end, because your need for healing will exceed his munificence. Also, avoid the Crypt, the Tomb, and the Hells, because Trog will abandon you in those regions. Trog only awards Piety for slaying the living, not the dead or demons. Therefore, you should avoid places where those foul creatures abound, if you want to conserve your wand of healing.
The ability of Deep Dwarves to recharge wands is fantastic and should not be underestimated. Most recharges should be reserved for your wand of healing and should only be used in the last few levels. This method of healing wounds proved invaluable in Zot, where I could recover all hit points within a few turns as opposed to resting and inviting new attacks from wandering monsters.
I appreciated the ability to Sense Surroundings. This permits a Deep Dwarf to discover every region of a map and is just as good as having a limitless supply of Scrolls of Mapping.
My verdict on Deep Dwarves as spellcasters is simple. No, and here's why: you burn a magic point each time you recharge a wand. A spellcaster would not exploit that ability very much, were he wise.
I am not familiar with the Goddess Evylion and cannot comment on the Healer class, as I've never played it, but I suspect Deep Dwarves were tailor-made for Evylion. She heals, from what I understand, which solves an essential problem for the Deep Dwarf, although Trog also supplies healing. I prefer Trog, but that's just me.
Another aspect I like about Deep Dwarves is that they can benefit from dwarven armament, as my character did, gaining racial bonuses for using them. A Deep Dwarf equipped with a vorpalized dwarven broad axe seems powerful indeed, even more powerful than Minotaurs I've known.
Compared to their kin, Mountain Dwarves, Deep Dwarves sacrifice aptitude for combat (armour, et cetera), but gain resistance to low levels of damage, the ability to Sense Surroundings, the ability to recharge wands, and at latter levels, resistance to negative energy (or at least my dwarf did). Also, they are superb at Evocations, which helps when using wands and other items. My suggestion is to abstain from missile weapons, rely upon Gods (Trog, Evylion, possibly others) for healing, and avoid spellcasting. Also, try using decks of cards to heal, because some decks have an Elixir card.
At this stage of development, I believe that Deep Dwarf Berserkers are more powerful than any other race/class combination.
Warning--the following represents a spoiler. If you wish to learn about the new race, Deep Dwarves, on your own, then stop reading now.
Here's the bottom line. Deep Dwarves are good at axes, armour, dodging, and shields, and make fine Berserkers. Why do you want your Deep Dwarf to be a Berserker? Well, Trog can heal a Deep Dwarf, which is essential, as Deep Dwarves lack all natural capacity for healing. I relied upon Trog's Regeneration ability until the final levels, when I resorted to my wands of healing.
This is one of the few cases where I had little recourse to my cheating mechanism. There was no need to cheat after acquiring such a fantastic set of armour and other enchantments:
My Dwarf began with a dangerously low Intelligence (2), so I opted to wear a Ring of Sustain Abilities to prevent the Intelligence rating from dropping to zero, which is fatal. This ring allowed me to wear a powerful shield that deducts five points from Intelligence (if not wearing the ring). Later, I acquired a fantastic set of boots that increased Intelligence, although this wasn't of any use to a Berserker.
Because my style of play centers around melee, the crossbow proved superfluous. My dwarf obtained only level three in Crossbows. A Deep Dwarf need not master missile weapons. This is also true of other races, such as Demonspawn. Missile weapons apply in the main to Centaurs, Halfings and like creatures, but my Berserkers tend to prefer hiding behind walls and waiting for monsters to engage in close quarters, where a Berserker is deadly. Besides, in the case of Deep Dwarves, they excel at Evocations. Better to rely upon magical items and wands for ranged attack.
Even with only minimal resistance to Fire (+, not +++), this particular Deep Dwarf slew three Orbs of Fire in succession while they surrounded him. Grabbing the Orb of Zot was a cakewalk. I've never said that before. Take a look at the primary stats of this character just before his last move in the game:
What makes the Deep Dwarf race so special is that they are resistant to damage. I am not talking about armour aptitude. I am referring to a unique racial ability to instantly recover from small amounts of damage. If your armour class is high enough, then few monsters will be able to touch you in the end. The counterbalance to this is that Deep Dwarves cannot heal naturally.
If you can rely upon Trog for healing until you enter Zot, you are home free. Abstain from recharging your wand of healing until you descend into Zot. Bear in mind that Trog will abandon you in the end, because your need for healing will exceed his munificence. Also, avoid the Crypt, the Tomb, and the Hells, because Trog will abandon you in those regions. Trog only awards Piety for slaying the living, not the dead or demons. Therefore, you should avoid places where those foul creatures abound, if you want to conserve your wand of healing.
The ability of Deep Dwarves to recharge wands is fantastic and should not be underestimated. Most recharges should be reserved for your wand of healing and should only be used in the last few levels. This method of healing wounds proved invaluable in Zot, where I could recover all hit points within a few turns as opposed to resting and inviting new attacks from wandering monsters.
I appreciated the ability to Sense Surroundings. This permits a Deep Dwarf to discover every region of a map and is just as good as having a limitless supply of Scrolls of Mapping.
My verdict on Deep Dwarves as spellcasters is simple. No, and here's why: you burn a magic point each time you recharge a wand. A spellcaster would not exploit that ability very much, were he wise.
I am not familiar with the Goddess Evylion and cannot comment on the Healer class, as I've never played it, but I suspect Deep Dwarves were tailor-made for Evylion. She heals, from what I understand, which solves an essential problem for the Deep Dwarf, although Trog also supplies healing. I prefer Trog, but that's just me.
Another aspect I like about Deep Dwarves is that they can benefit from dwarven armament, as my character did, gaining racial bonuses for using them. A Deep Dwarf equipped with a vorpalized dwarven broad axe seems powerful indeed, even more powerful than Minotaurs I've known.
Compared to their kin, Mountain Dwarves, Deep Dwarves sacrifice aptitude for combat (armour, et cetera), but gain resistance to low levels of damage, the ability to Sense Surroundings, the ability to recharge wands, and at latter levels, resistance to negative energy (or at least my dwarf did). Also, they are superb at Evocations, which helps when using wands and other items. My suggestion is to abstain from missile weapons, rely upon Gods (Trog, Evylion, possibly others) for healing, and avoid spellcasting. Also, try using decks of cards to heal, because some decks have an Elixir card.
At this stage of development, I believe that Deep Dwarf Berserkers are more powerful than any other race/class combination.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The Merfolk Transmuter
I've taken a detour from my usual route in Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup. Merfolk represent the race of choice if you wish to employ pole arms, and I do, because I want to find out just how effective they are.
I decided to become a Merfolk Transmuter, because Merfolk excel at transmutations, and there is a cheap, effective transmutation attack available, Evaporate, which causes a potion to explode into a cloud of harmful gas when thrown at monsters. This spell consumes little in the way of magical points and requires as fuel harmful potions, which can be manufactured from monster corpses.
In general, I opted to learn just a small number of low-level spells and rely upon a large and heavy pole arm in conjunction with a +5 javelin of returning as a missile weapon.
Since my character acquired a cloak of preservation, bestowing resistance to acid, and has acquired resistance to cold, I have decided to pillage the Slime Pits, which has a huge treasure hoarde on the final level.
For the time being, I can say the following--Minotaur Beserkers are still easier to play than Merfolk Transmuters, but the Merfolk has a huge edge in any aquatic environment. Indeed, the Swamp becomes the Merfolk's personal candy jar. I suspect that my Merfolk may require the protection of a shield rather than relying upon a two-handed weapon. With a beserker, things are easy. To kill a high-level monster, one need merely go beserk. With a transmuter, one had better have enough of the nastiest potions on hand to cast Evaporate; and against monsters that are immune to such toxins, all bets are off.
However, I see great potential in a higher-level transmuter that acquires the Alter Self spell, because mutations can be very beneficial. In addition, there is no reason why a Merfolk, which enjoys superior aptitude in Enchantments, cannot learn Beserk Rage to give it an awesome attack potential.
I decided to become a Merfolk Transmuter, because Merfolk excel at transmutations, and there is a cheap, effective transmutation attack available, Evaporate, which causes a potion to explode into a cloud of harmful gas when thrown at monsters. This spell consumes little in the way of magical points and requires as fuel harmful potions, which can be manufactured from monster corpses.
In general, I opted to learn just a small number of low-level spells and rely upon a large and heavy pole arm in conjunction with a +5 javelin of returning as a missile weapon.
Since my character acquired a cloak of preservation, bestowing resistance to acid, and has acquired resistance to cold, I have decided to pillage the Slime Pits, which has a huge treasure hoarde on the final level.
For the time being, I can say the following--Minotaur Beserkers are still easier to play than Merfolk Transmuters, but the Merfolk has a huge edge in any aquatic environment. Indeed, the Swamp becomes the Merfolk's personal candy jar. I suspect that my Merfolk may require the protection of a shield rather than relying upon a two-handed weapon. With a beserker, things are easy. To kill a high-level monster, one need merely go beserk. With a transmuter, one had better have enough of the nastiest potions on hand to cast Evaporate; and against monsters that are immune to such toxins, all bets are off.
However, I see great potential in a higher-level transmuter that acquires the Alter Self spell, because mutations can be very beneficial. In addition, there is no reason why a Merfolk, which enjoys superior aptitude in Enchantments, cannot learn Beserk Rage to give it an awesome attack potential.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Pole Arms have their Charms
I was reading along in the manual for Stone Soup Dungeon Crawl the other day, a pleasurable activity, when I encountered an inconvenient fact that contradicts one of my recommended strategies. I quote from Chapter 3, "Skills | Fighting":
This favors a policy of polearms or other species of high-damage weapon, which is contrary to what I imagined was the best class of weapon, short blades. Oops! My bad. You haven't been letting your minotaurs run about equipped with only a short sword, have you? If so, my belated apologies. I will refund all the money you paid for my advice. I mean it. Every last cent. Just submit your receipt, if you don't mind.
It does not follow that two-handed weapons are superior to one-handed weapons, because shields represent a potent defense and going without them is, shall we say, imprudent? At least for most races. One has to balance offense against defense. Nevertheless, now that I have learned something new about the game, I am tempted to play as a Minotaur that specializes in Pole Arms and Crossbows. Who needs shields, anyway? Hulkus the Minotaur scorns shields. All he needs is a trusty glaive.
My assumption that short blades were superior was based in part upon the preference of the ancient Roman infantryman for the short sword. It was considered the most effective weapon in close melee, at least by the Roman army, if not other ancient nations. This has do to with its effectiveness in stabbing and slashing in very close encounters, which is the preferred method by which the Romans dispatched their enemies. A longer blade suffers from reduced maneuverability. In combat, Romans relied upon their large shields. Behind the shields, the infantrymen could endure small missile assaults and enjoyed protection from the longer weapons of their foes. Upon achieving close quarters, the infantryman could whip out his fast short sword, enjoying an advantage at whatever form of attack that he chose.
Being good at a specific weapon improves the speed with which you can use it by about 10% every two skill levels. Although lighter weapons are easier to use initially, as they strike quickly and accurately, heavier weapons increase in damage potential very quickly as you improve your skill with them.
This favors a policy of polearms or other species of high-damage weapon, which is contrary to what I imagined was the best class of weapon, short blades. Oops! My bad. You haven't been letting your minotaurs run about equipped with only a short sword, have you? If so, my belated apologies. I will refund all the money you paid for my advice. I mean it. Every last cent. Just submit your receipt, if you don't mind.
It does not follow that two-handed weapons are superior to one-handed weapons, because shields represent a potent defense and going without them is, shall we say, imprudent? At least for most races. One has to balance offense against defense. Nevertheless, now that I have learned something new about the game, I am tempted to play as a Minotaur that specializes in Pole Arms and Crossbows. Who needs shields, anyway? Hulkus the Minotaur scorns shields. All he needs is a trusty glaive.
My assumption that short blades were superior was based in part upon the preference of the ancient Roman infantryman for the short sword. It was considered the most effective weapon in close melee, at least by the Roman army, if not other ancient nations. This has do to with its effectiveness in stabbing and slashing in very close encounters, which is the preferred method by which the Romans dispatched their enemies. A longer blade suffers from reduced maneuverability. In combat, Romans relied upon their large shields. Behind the shields, the infantrymen could endure small missile assaults and enjoyed protection from the longer weapons of their foes. Upon achieving close quarters, the infantryman could whip out his fast short sword, enjoying an advantage at whatever form of attack that he chose.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Demon Blade or Demon Whip?
In Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup, I've begun to prefer demonspawn to all other races because of their wonderful propensity for beneficial mutations.
There's another, hidden benefit to demonspawn, as well. Hell-forged weapons are among the best that can be found in the dungeon, and a demonspawn gains racial bonuses for using a demon blade, whip, or trident. The question arises--which is better? The demon blade, demon whip, or demon trident? This is no trivial matter, because a demonspawn must choose which weapon class to study. A demonspawn that has achieved level fifteen in long swords is loathe to switch to Maces & Flails just because he discovers a demon whip.
Demon whips are, however, the most common class of hell-forged weapon, and I suggest that all demonspawn specialize in Maces & Flails for this reason alone. Balrugs almost always wield demon whips, for one thing. The second most common infernal weapon is the demon trident, and rarest is the demon blade.
I give demon tridents short shrift, because they receive a slight penalty (three points?) for one-handed use, and I prefer to equip all my demonspawn with shields. I only considered the one-handed weapons. The question then becomes, which is better--demon blade or demon whip?
The demon whip is faster:
But the demon blade causes more damage:
If speed is represented by 150 for the demon blade, then the demon whip is 20/150 faster, or 2/15. Fifteen goes into one hundred 6.6 times. Multiply 6.6 by 2, and the speed difference equals 13.2% in favor of the whip.
If damage is represented by 13/13 for the demon blade, then the demon whip causes only 10/13 damage, or 3/13 less damage. Thirteen goes into one hundred about 7.7 times. Multiply 7.7 by 3, and the damage difference equals 23.1% in favor of the blade.
Although the demon blade causes more damage, it is slower, but whether 13.2% is a factor worthy of note depends upon what I term your weapon philosophy. In my opinion, speed wins the day. This could be proven one way or the other by writing a computer program to simulate successive attacks with each weapon, but that's a bit further than I am prepared to go at this time. Instead, I rely upon intuition formed by experience.
I haven't even brought up the fact that demon whips enjoy a one-point bonus in accuracy, whereas demon blades incur a one-point penalty. Also, demon whips are as light as a feather, an important point for players lugging tons of junk. Finally, demon whips are plentiful, whereas the other weapons are difficult to find. The choice is clear for a demonspawn. The corollary to this general rule is that a demonspawn thus equipped had better carry a knife for slaughtering monsters.
Speaking of beneficial mutations, take a look at my character's list:
The mutations in bold red are permanent and arise as a demonspawn advances in levels. The mutations in gray text resulted from my character quaffing potions of mutation. Of course, sometimes harmful mutations arose, but I drank a potion of cure mutation to cure those. In general, mutations are helpful in the extreme, and every character should attempt to mutate, especially if a potion of cure mutation is available in case of an experiment that backfires.
There's another, hidden benefit to demonspawn, as well. Hell-forged weapons are among the best that can be found in the dungeon, and a demonspawn gains racial bonuses for using a demon blade, whip, or trident. The question arises--which is better? The demon blade, demon whip, or demon trident? This is no trivial matter, because a demonspawn must choose which weapon class to study. A demonspawn that has achieved level fifteen in long swords is loathe to switch to Maces & Flails just because he discovers a demon whip.
Demon whips are, however, the most common class of hell-forged weapon, and I suggest that all demonspawn specialize in Maces & Flails for this reason alone. Balrugs almost always wield demon whips, for one thing. The second most common infernal weapon is the demon trident, and rarest is the demon blade.
I give demon tridents short shrift, because they receive a slight penalty (three points?) for one-handed use, and I prefer to equip all my demonspawn with shields. I only considered the one-handed weapons. The question then becomes, which is better--demon blade or demon whip?
The demon whip is faster:
But the demon blade causes more damage:
If speed is represented by 150 for the demon blade, then the demon whip is 20/150 faster, or 2/15. Fifteen goes into one hundred 6.6 times. Multiply 6.6 by 2, and the speed difference equals 13.2% in favor of the whip.
If damage is represented by 13/13 for the demon blade, then the demon whip causes only 10/13 damage, or 3/13 less damage. Thirteen goes into one hundred about 7.7 times. Multiply 7.7 by 3, and the damage difference equals 23.1% in favor of the blade.
Although the demon blade causes more damage, it is slower, but whether 13.2% is a factor worthy of note depends upon what I term your weapon philosophy. In my opinion, speed wins the day. This could be proven one way or the other by writing a computer program to simulate successive attacks with each weapon, but that's a bit further than I am prepared to go at this time. Instead, I rely upon intuition formed by experience.
I haven't even brought up the fact that demon whips enjoy a one-point bonus in accuracy, whereas demon blades incur a one-point penalty. Also, demon whips are as light as a feather, an important point for players lugging tons of junk. Finally, demon whips are plentiful, whereas the other weapons are difficult to find. The choice is clear for a demonspawn. The corollary to this general rule is that a demonspawn thus equipped had better carry a knife for slaughtering monsters.
Speaking of beneficial mutations, take a look at my character's list:
The mutations in bold red are permanent and arise as a demonspawn advances in levels. The mutations in gray text resulted from my character quaffing potions of mutation. Of course, sometimes harmful mutations arose, but I drank a potion of cure mutation to cure those. In general, mutations are helpful in the extreme, and every character should attempt to mutate, especially if a potion of cure mutation is available in case of an experiment that backfires.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Auto-Install for Dungeon Crawl
I like to live on the edge and play the latest and greatest and buggiest version of Dungeon Crawl, the beta, which can be obtained here. Updates happen as quickly as once a week. That represents a minor chore for the player. Not much, I know--just deleting the old files, unpacking the new, and moving those files into the right directory. In my opinion, if there's any time to be wasted, it should be wasted playing Dungeon Crawl. With that in mind, I took time out of my busy day to construct yet another handy-dandy batch file to fully automate the installation process. This utility installs Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup in less than five seconds and removes all temporary files as well as the Crawl archive itself.
Like all batch files found here, this one requires modification to reflect the proper pathnames on your PC. This batch file assumes that you are downloading the beta to a directory called "c:\pelf". If that isn't true, then correct the batch. It also assumes that your game is installed at \games\crawl, which seems logical. It does all the work - deleting the old game, installing the new one, and then cleaning up afterwards. A batch file should clean up after itself, by Cracky! So says Igor.
Requirements: WinRAR. I know, I know. Costs money. I tried using Unrar, the command line version of WinRAR, but it will not work with ZIP archives for some unknown reason. You could replace WinRAR with some kind of unzipping utility, but I am not familiar with ZIP utilities. You're on your own if you go that route.
This WORKS under Windows XP. If Microsoft suckered you into going with Vista, you're on your own. I believe a few minor mods to the pathnames would get this working with later versions of Windows. Why Microsoft wants to change pathnames all the time, I don't know, but there is little about Microsoft that can be understood without a spycam in their marketing department.
Like all batch files found here, this one requires modification to reflect the proper pathnames on your PC. This batch file assumes that you are downloading the beta to a directory called "c:\pelf". If that isn't true, then correct the batch. It also assumes that your game is installed at \games\crawl, which seems logical. It does all the work - deleting the old game, installing the new one, and then cleaning up afterwards. A batch file should clean up after itself, by Cracky! So says Igor.
Requirements: WinRAR. I know, I know. Costs money. I tried using Unrar, the command line version of WinRAR, but it will not work with ZIP archives for some unknown reason. You could replace WinRAR with some kind of unzipping utility, but I am not familiar with ZIP utilities. You're on your own if you go that route.
This WORKS under Windows XP. If Microsoft suckered you into going with Vista, you're on your own. I believe a few minor mods to the pathnames would get this working with later versions of Windows. Why Microsoft wants to change pathnames all the time, I don't know, but there is little about Microsoft that can be understood without a spycam in their marketing department.
Update 3/25/2010
I added a few lines to append my preferences to tiles_options.txt so that I don't have to keep modifying the file every time I install a new version of Crawl. The same technique could be used to make mods to any of the other settings. Just remember that >> signifies "append."
Update 5/26/2010
Designated variables for the directories. A few mods added as well.
Update 7/25/2010
There is now an Installation version available for download as well as the Windows Tiles version. This batch eliminates the need for the Installation version. It is faster than the Installer.
Update 6/04/2011
Updated to handle either the dev Tiles or stable Tiles. I still use this, because it is ten times faster and does not use Windows's complicated pathnames, but instead the simple pathname of c:\games\crawl, which my regen.bat uses by default.
Update 8/23/2012
Updated zip filename to work with .11.
Update 10/05/2012
Ditto.
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