Stylish entrance - timing
David Damerell
Obviously you wish to minimise the chance that Rodney will turn up when
you are in the Sanctum and comedy will ensue. Since (according to
spoilers) Rodney is unlikely to kill the High Priest, you cannot simply
wait at the upstairs for him to bring the Amulet to you).
Once Rodney is dead (or you have somehow done the Invocation without
killing him) u.udg_cnt is the time until the next bad thing happens. It is
set in three places:
spell.c line 250 or so: when the invocation is done, it is set to the
minimum of 2d6 or the current non-zero value. Frankly this seems overly
fiddly, since setting it to 2d6 is hardly going to delay the next bad
event often or by very much!
allmain.c line 266: when it hits zero, a bad event happens and it is set
to 49+d200.
wizard.c line 546: whenever any Rodney is killed, no matter how many there
presently are, it is set to 49+d250.
What does this mean? When you've just done the invocation, a bad event is
imminent. Don't descend to the Sanctum, thus setting yourself up for
comedy; do a controlled teleport to the upstairs. Wait for the bad event.
If it was Rodney, you are ideally positioned to kill him; if not, you can
deal with any adverse consequences in a relatively safe environment.
You now have at least 50 turns, less any you used on dealing with the bad
event, before Rodney can possibly appear again. Now is the time to make
the entrance.
Bear in mind these are turns. If you are Fast or Very Fast, that 50-turn
window is around 66 or 83 moves. Plenty of time to knock off the High
Priest and leave.
--
David Damerell <dame...@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
Clown shoes. I hope that doesn't bother you.
Today is First Tuesday, August.
Tomorrow will be First Wednesday, August.
David Damerell
>What does this mean? When you've just done the invocation, a bad event is
>imminent. Don't descend to the Sanctum, thus setting yourself up for
>comedy; do a controlled teleport to the upstairs.
Simon Tatham observes that I've so internalised the up-and-down flick
before level teleporting that I forgot about it, if that makes sense.
Hence I think the options are either to flick first and soak the
1/something chance that you get a bad event on that very move (perhaps
this is why u.udg_cnt is set to the minimum of 2d6 and the existing
count?), remembering not to look around; or to teleport back to the
downstairs on the VS level after the bad event and then do the flick.
TJR
wrote:
> Quoting David Damerell <damer...@chiark.greenend.org.uk>:
>
> >What does this mean? When you've just done the invocation, a bad event is
> >imminent. Don't descend to the Sanctum, thus setting yourself up for
> >comedy; do a controlled teleport to the upstairs.
>
> Simon Tatham observes that I've so internalised the up-and-down flick
> before level teleporting that I forgot about it, if that makes sense.
>
> Hence I think the options are either to flick first and soak the
> 1/something chance that you get a bad event on that very move (perhaps
> this is why u.udg_cnt is set to the minimum of 2d6 and the existing
> count?), remembering not to look around; or to teleport back to the
> downstairs on the VS level after the bad event and then do the flick.
Good observation. However, does it really matter? The chance of a live
wizard is 1/6, and the other outcomes are near-harmless to a well-
prepared character.
If you really care about Rodney appearing, I suggest you level-drain
the chap to a point where he can't cast spells and will never score a
hit, and then leave him alive. Paralysis and free action make this
much easier. The result is, whenever he would have resurrected, this
harmless version is teleported to you instead. This should work until
you enter the Endgame, at which point harmless Rodney is deleted along
with the rest of the dungeon.
TJR
Sliming the Wizard would also work instead of level drain.
GaryOlson
But how would you slime the Wizard? Many pet slimes and conflict? Or
do you take the chance you can survive Rodney's onlsaught as a slime?
TJR
Paralyze, then slime personally. You would need to feed your pet slime
lots of wraith so it won't miss anymore.
David Damerell
>On Aug 24, 5:56=A0pm, David Damerell <damer...@chiark.greenend.org.uk>
>>Hence I think the options are either to flick first and soak the
>>1/something chance that you get a bad event on that very move (perhaps
>>this is why u.udg_cnt is set to the minimum of 2d6 and the existing
>>count?), remembering not to look around; or to teleport back to the
>>downstairs on the VS level after the bad event and then do the flick.
>Good observation. However, does it really matter? The chance of a live
>wizard is 1/6, and the other outcomes are near-harmless to a well-
>prepared character.
Well, I certainly wouldn't worry about the 1/something chance; I'll flick
up-and-down first, teleport to upstairs, wait out the 2d6 turns, and then
try the stylish entrance.
However, I do think it's worth trying to get the guaranteed bad event to
happen outside the Sanctum. Turns in the Sanctum are precious because they
make the difference between just nobbling the High Priest and having a
tedious scrum to fight through - if you aren't so well-prepared that
nothing can kill you, most of the outcomes are significantly less annoying
outside the Sanctum.
Of the actually harmful ones, you have:
Rodney - clearly less annoying outside the Sanctum than zooming off to
play the Amulet shuffle with the High Priest.
Summon nasties - certainly best faced on the upstairs of the VS level
where any summoning storm can be nipped in the bud by killing
teleport-awayers, rather than in the central area of the Sanctum.
Curse items - unlikely to be a serious issue, but I'd still rather clean
up the mess with nobody else around.
Aggravate monsters - if there's any delay in the Sanctum, I would like not
to have all the undead woken up, please. Since priests don't get aggravate
monster, I don't think it's certain that someone else will cast it anyway.
--
David Damerell <dame...@chiark.greenend.org.uk> Oil is for sissies
Today is Second Thursday, August.
Tomorrow will be Second Friday, August.
TJR
wrote:
> Today is Second Thursday, August.
> Tomorrow will be Second Friday, August.
In the 12-conduct testing context, I was planning to wait out 12 turns
on the upstairs of the Sanctum level. Hopefully, Rodney will get the
Amulet for me. I guess it is easier for a hungry purple worm to
swallow Rodney when he comes back than for a worm munching on a
renegade priests to kill the High Priest. I didn't do any testing yet.
Janis Papanagnou
>
> In the 12-conduct testing context, I was planning to wait out 12 turns
> on the upstairs of the Sanctum level. Hopefully, Rodney will get the
> Amulet for me.
He has never done that for me. Even double troubled the High Priest
will survive their attack. I've always slaughtered slowly my way
through the graveyard and the priests, only to arrive and see the
three still fight each other. I always had to kill all three of them
to get The Amulet.
> I guess it is easier for a hungry purple worm to
> swallow Rodney when he comes back than for a worm munching on a
> renegade priests to kill the High Priest. I didn't do any testing yet.
Other major demons do what you want, though. I think it was Yeenoghu
who has done that for me (and I've heard that Asmodeus would do that
as well).
Janis