O Vanitas! O Mores! (Yes, it's YAVP) (And extremely LONG)
Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
I've
mentioned in a previous post, I'll semisavescum to try out something I'm
pretty
sure is dumb, because I don't have the time to start whole new
characters just
for that. If you think that's a cheat, go read some other post, I won't
waste
your time.
Some
of
this
might
be
spoily,
if
you're
new
to
this
here
game.
Scalpels
cut
and
butter's
oily,
I'm
not
rich
and
that's
a
shame.
I started this character shortly after downloading G12 and nursed her,
oh so
carefully, until she Did It All, or as much as she could. Closed the
portal, got
both tridents, made Blup happy. I think I played fairly well, but I'll
say up
front that there was a LOT of luck involved.
# Vanitas St:72 Le:30 Wi:15 Dx:36 To:37 Ch: 1 Ap: 1 Ma:43
Pe:28 N-
# DV/PV: 45/101 H: 830(830) P: 461(461) Exp: 50/90323463 DrCh
Sp: 161
# Blessed Burdened
These stats may seem a bit surprising -- they are even surprising to
me. I
hadn't realized the "social" stats had got so low.) You see, I was
willing to
sacrifice a great deal to pump up the combat stats (ST, DX, TO, and to a
lesser
extent LE.) To that intent I hoarded water and blessed it at every
opportunity,
and did likewise with potions and corpses that might improve these
stats.
"Hast ye ever eaten a doppleganger king?" Try it. There's a great recipe
that
begins "first, kill your doppleganger king..."
But please, remember to bless it first. The taste reminds me of, well, a
PoGA.
Yep -- everything went up. Blessed titans are mighty fine fare, too,
especially
the greater sort, but don't neglect the mere giants. Even ST was over
40 some
kinds of giant (kings and jarls and the like), blessed, would push ST up
another
point. Not ogre emperors, though.
# Name: Vanitas Race: female Troll Class: Assassin
A great combination that I probably won't use again in G12. Troll
assassins get
massive damage with thrown daggers.
Basic strategy: Head straight for SMC. Get the blanket. Dive to the HMV.
Changed
to sword as soon as I had one, because every TA that I ever got crowned
before
received Seersucker or whatever the Stormbringer clone is called.
Drink from every pool until it disappears -- I got three wishes in the
course of
the game this way, used 'em for daggers of returning (got 4 - yahoo!),
Detect
Item Status, and Concentration.
If you clear all the UC levels, you'll get 500 kills, or near enough, so
you can
go talk to the Barbarian when you come out the unused tunnel.
Unfortunately, 40
of mine were Goblin Rockthrowers (my first kill) so I had to kill 20
more.
There was an N altar on VD2. By the time I sac'd up to extremely
pleased, I was
N= and didn't want to mess around (I was up to 8 days already), so I
just let
Ne'Ftrr crown me -- with the Cloak of Oman, as it turned out, but I was
already
at 6 with Swords, so I kept 'em. And I got (YES!) immunity to fire.
Saved Yrrigs, got the healing ability. I was level 10, so I chatted with
the
sherriff then went and wiped out most of the thieves' village -- but I
stopped to
chat with the master thief. For the rest of the game I occasionally
tried picking
pockets, and got moderately good at it but never got anything especially
valuable.
Headed for CoC. Dove to dwarf territory, did the quests. Down through
the trees
and back up through the halls. Somewhere in there I'd picked up the
teleport
intrinsic, but it took me a loooong time to get a blinky to leave me a
corpse, so
I was boinging around levels more than I like.
When the elder sent me to become arena champ, I asked about the gate,
figuring on
killing as many above-ground quests as possible at once -- I wanted to
close the
portal before day 90 when the corruption level starts to soar. I'd
picked up a
ring of ice somewhere and a wand of cold from the dwarven shopkeeper, so
I followed this fairly carefully orchestrated series of movements:
1. Head out of CoC.
2. Go to the graveyard. Clear it. I was lucky enough to get to the grave
before I
had to kill the "special" zombie, -- I don't know if there's any
extra points
for that, but it's fun. Got the sword and the gloves.
3. Head for the ID to kill the last few goblin rockthrowers and make the
barbarian happy. Also I finally got that blink dog corpse.
4. Also made L13 in the graveyard (which I'd expected), and headed for
the
Pyramid, mostly to collect the guaranteed climbing set. By now, with
ST up in
the low 40s, 100+ hit points, and good armor, Rehetep and his cronies
were a
challenge but not a terribly serious threat.
5. Back to the grove, drop off a bunch of spare stuff, bless the RoI and
don it.
Carry two wands of digging and one of teleportation, some food, a few
select
potions, and blankets. Go chat with Mister Barbarian and get the
Courage
skill.
6. Head for the ToEF. Climb as rapidly as possible. The Temple isn't too
bad if
you're prepared. I dug into one of the side chambers, stayed in my
tunnel and
let the fire elementals come to me -- applied first aid every time
they gave
me a spare second. Then I used the wand o'teleportation to move to
the
entrance of that chamber and, again, let the little beggars come to
me. When
the guardian comes up, down a couple of boost speed potions (never
mind the
beating of your heart) and kill it FAST, move onto the corpse pile
first
opportunity, grab the Orb and anything else you want, and teleport
the hell
OUT of there. Burn up the wand to get out of the Tower as fast as
possible.
7. Back to the grove. Drop off the orb, pick up some useful stuff like
the
climbing kit. Head northwest.
8. Dive into the cave over the hills, get the RotHK. I don't generally
hold with
the "make the game harder" crew -- I have a small problem with it as
it is. I
seriously doubt that anyone would ever solve it without the support
of the
newsgroup, and as Thomas keeps adding twists, that'll just get more
and more
so. But I make one exception of the water grue guarding the RotHK:
this may
not be one of the game's most powerful artifacts, but it's the one
that, in
story terms, ought to have one of the most powerful guardians --
though,
perhaps, one might not need to fight it if one has the favor of the
departed
kings. (Something Rehetep has? The SI?)
9. Back out, back to the grove, get my stuff (but leave some things --
like the
climbing kit -- that I won't need for a while and that might be
damaged). Dive
back into CoC, get the gladius.
This was about as time-efficient as I could make it, and had me
completely done
with the dwarven elder by day 40 or so.
What more to tell? The dive was pretty much by the books, except that I
found a
sword of sharpness on the Casino level, and could afford it due to a
couple of
vaults and pits I'd cleaned out. (Controlled teleport is your friend...)
By the way, why do those damn royal guardians stand there and do nothing
unless
you talk to them?) Oh, and I'd found a AoLS in some monster's leavings
so I saved
Khelevaster. He was appropriately grateful.
By the time I got to the mana temple level, my Detect Traps was at 100
and my PE and DE were both pretty decent, so I took ... my ... time and
found every bloody
single one of the traps before I walked on 'em. Meant I got there with
no PP, but
what the hell, I was an assassin, not a mage. The spells I'd picked up
(mostly
from potions of wonder, a couple from books) were conveniences, thanks
to that
Concentration skill -- NOT a basic part of my strategy.
The mana temple, no matter how well equipped you are, is a pain. I was
double-
wielding swords of sharpness and Nonnak, and wearing a ring of mental
stability,
and I *still* spent more than a third of my time walking into walls --
thank God
I hadn't actually gone into the damn temple or I'd have been toast.
Spent an
eternity (about three game days) killing critters and summoned critters
and
FINALLY the damn chaos mage came and confronted me. Whack, whack, he's
dead and
RUN LIKE HELL.
Finally to the elemental level. Had all the orbs, used 'em, healed
myself, read a
blessed SoRC, and dove.
Daggers of returning are GREAT on the frictionless level -- but I lost
one when I
forgot to throw something else to go around a corner. It smashed on the
wall.
Ever read a blessed scroll of familiar summoning on CoC 50? I tried it.
Let me
tell you something, a pet balor is NOT something to sneeze at. Baleful,
the Balor
killed most of the lesser things while I took care of his species-mates;
then I
threw the switches and headed for the stairs. Alas! Baleful deserted me
and "you
feel that a creature has returned to its basic nature," or something
like that.
It felt terrible to kill my ex-pet, but when your dog gets rabies you
have to
kill it and all that. Bye-bye, Baleful! Threw the switches again and
departed.
Then I went back to the surface, did the unicorn quest, got rid of all
those
unnecessary body parts...and said, "Hey, this is a pretty darn powerful
character. Let's see what else we can do."
The assassin's lair is pretty difficult to find if you don't have a
scroll of
magic mapping. I dug around at random and finally found the stairs...
>, , , >, , ,>, , ,>
...eventually I got down and chatted with the Prince.
D'oh! I'd forgotten to kill Barney. Okay, back down... No problems with
corruption, at least... Kill the sucker...Get Sting and assorted
treasure...
Hey, cool, an "ordinary ring"...ID... Yep, it's a
Back
to the dusty dungeon... Hey? Why are all these assassins attacking me? I
have no
idea, but they did, even the Prince (though he told me about Filk even
as he was
wailing on me). So I had to kill him. Had to, you see. And he left me a
lovely
dagger.
Needle and Sting are an awesome combo. I had daggers at 5, swords at
14...and I *STILL* did more damage with the terrible twins than with
double-wielded SoS.
Whoo!
Dive for Filk. H'mmm. I'm picking up corruptions again here. This is
not good...
Filk and a certain ChAoS kNiGhT turned out to be on the SAME DAMN LEVEL.
Fortunately they didn't double-team me or I'd have been slit up a treat.
Filk by
himself may be one of the toughest critters in the game, particularly
since he
seems to have the karmic critter defense down pat. *PLUS* he seems to
"shrug off"
just about everything a wand can send at him.
Oy!
So I had to slaughter him using only thrown daggers, which took a while
what with
him regenerating almost as fast as I could hurt him. But I finally got
him
(though it took me well below 100 HP).
A moloch on the way back up gave me his skin and my 50th level.
Something else on
the way back up dropped the Amulet of Free Action I'd been wanting, so I
went and
gave Blup a bunch of carrot juice and then went and found his mommy. No
big
problem. At this point I went back to the thieves' village, chatted up
the old
fart, found he had nothing to offer me, so I made myself the head of the
guild.
Say, something's wrong here... I'm still picking up corruptions. I
suspect it may
have something to do with this scepter what I picked up in the ID, so I
went back
to the VD and sacced it and some other stuff. I didn't pick up any more
except
on the EM level, so I guess that must have been it -- just carrying the
damn thing corrupts you.
The mad minstrel sent me after a "fun" challenge. (He has an interesting
idea of
fun.) As I descended the Scintillating Cave a friendly water elemental
chucked a
nice trident at me (which is HARDLY a basis for a system of governance,
but what
the hell...) You know, the Emperor moloch isn't as bad as all that -- at
least
not when your speed is close to 150 and you can Slow Monster him. I
limited
myself to the use of the runed trident just to make it a little more
fair... but
actually it wasn't much more fair, was it? (Sigh.) "He's no fun, he fell
right
over." (Ten points.)
Back to Terinyo. Khelevaster did some mumbo jumbo and I had an even
cooler
trident. But what to do with it? First I went and played tag with the
gremlins. Tried to do the Rift, but -- despite being L50 with Climbing
100,
Courage 100, and a blessed climbing set, it wouldn't let me -- "You do
not feel
headstrong enough." Does anyone know why?
So, inspired by the recent exploits of Mr Kearns, I headed back to the
SC and dug
up a $#!Tload of emeralds, sapphires, and rubies. And, having done that,
called
it a game and escaped the Range.
This is what I was wearing at the end:
# He: uncursed adamantium cap [+0, +5]
[36s]
Best headgear I ever found -- the Crown of Science just isn't worth it.
# Ne: blessed amulet of balance
[3s]
Yep, the one from corwining. I made it a point to keep it on at all
times
-- otherwise, I suspect I would have fallen when I backstabbed a few
neutral
parties...
# Bo: uncursed moloch armor (+0, -8) [-20, +50] {Dx+0}
[5000s]
I'm still not sure this is worth the burden.
# Gi: uncursed adamantium girdle [+0, +5]
[18s]
# Cl: blessed cloak of Oman (+2, +0) [+4, +4] {Dx+8}
[20s]
It ain't souldrinker, but it ain't peanuts.
# RH: uncursed Trident of the Red Rooster (+36, 6d12+18) [+12, +12]
{Ma+24}
Fun.
# LH: -
# RR: uncursed ring of the master cat [+0, +5] {Dx+16} (+16 spd)
[1s]
Gotta be one of the best things in the game. That 16 spd ROCKS.
# LR: uncursed ring of slaying (+7 melee damage, +6 missile damage)
[1s]
# Br: uncursed bracers of defense [+5, +0]
[10s]
# Ga: uncursed rusty gauntlets of strength (-1, +0) [-1, +1] {St+3}
[40s]
How'd that happen? -- mustabeen a rust monster I didn't even notice as I
windshielded by it...
# Bo: uncursed eternium boots [+0, +5]
[55s]
# MW: -
# Mi: bundle of 3 blessed daggers of returning (+2, 1d4)
[30s]
# Tl: blessed pick axe (+0, 1d6)
[75s]
Much of the stuff list deleted...
# uncursed cloak of invisibility (-1, +0) [+1, +0]
[30s]
# uncursed cloak of protection [+0, +3]
[20s]
I really don't know why I was still carrying this around. I kept the CoI
in case
I wanted to sneak somewhere, but I never used it.
# uncursed bracers of speed [+0, +0] (+4 spd)
[10s]
# uncursed bracers of speed [+1, +0] (+4 spd)
[10s]
# uncursed bracers of regeneration [+0, +0]
[18s]
...decisions, decisions... The regeneration pair were pretty much
useless by now,
of course...
# uncursed everburning torch (+1, 2d4+2) [+1, +0]
[10s]
Are these new in G12? This is the only one I've ever seen.
# blessed black rune-covered dagger "Needle" (+8, 3d4) [+4, +1]
[10s]
# blessed black rune-covered dagger "Sting" (+8, 3d4) [+4, +1]
[10s]
Damn, but these puppies are fun...
# blessed rune-covered trident (+6, 3d12+6) [+4, +4] {Dx+12}
[80s]
You know, I'd think someone strong enough could double-wield tridents...
# heap of 5 uncursed hexagonal keys
[5s]
# heap of 5 uncursed triangular keys
[5s]
# blessed round key
[1s]
# heap of 3 uncursed round keys
[3s]
# blessed hexagonal key
[1s]
# blessed small key
[1s]
# heap of 2 blessed tiny keys
[2s]
# heap of 3 uncursed square keys
[3s]
# blessed square key
[1s]
# heap of 4 uncursed small keys
[4s]
# blessed triangular key
[1s]
Always, ALWAYS pick up keys. They weigh nothing and they're much better
than the
pick locks skill.
# heap of 14 potions of holy water
[56s]
Hoard these. They are your very bestest friend in the whole Drakalor
range.
# blessed blank scroll
[2s]
Does anyone know what to DO with these things?
# 583641 gold pieces
[5836s]
I had set myself a subgoal of ending up with half a million. Guess I
made it 8*)
# heap of 27 uncursed emeralds
[27s]
# heap of 19 uncursed sapphires
[19s]
# heap of 37 uncursed rubies
[37s]
# heap of 2 blessed emeralds
[2s]
# heap of 4 blessed sapphires
[4s]
# blessed ruby
[1s]
Vanitas, being vain, likes these pretties. Pity they didn't help her
charisma
or appearance none...
# Melee weapon Lvl Hit Dam DV Level Required
marks
# --------------------- --- --- --- -- -------------
--------------
# Daggers & knives 10 +10 +6 +3 excellent
1258
# Swords 14 +16 +11 +5 Mastery
11662
# Pole arms 11 +12 +7 +14 Mastery
1868
# Twohanded weapons 3 +3 +3 +1 basic 65
# Thrown daggers 11 +22 +16 +3 Mastery 629
# Shields 10 +20 excellent
1746
Plus a bunch of things at 1 from Bart.
# Damage caused with your melee weapons:
# --------------------------------------
# Right hand: +195 bonus to hit, 6d12+89 damage
(This was the TotRR. Truth to tell, I did a lot more with Needle &
Sting, but I
felt kind of morally obligated to weild the Trident.)
# Damage caused with your missile weapons:
# ----------------------------------------
# Ammunition: 3, base range: 6, +123 bonus to hit, 1d4+46 damage
Well, okay, it's not artifact level, but they keep on going and going...
#
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Skills
#
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Alchemy ................... 61 (good) [+1d3]
I've never used this skill in any game. Any suggestions for when it
might
actually be useful...?
# Alertness .................100 (superb) [+1d5]
# Archery ................... 87 (great) [+1d3]
# Athletics .................100 (superb) [+1d5]
# Backstabbing ..............100 (superb) [+3d3]
# Bridge building ........... 11 (mediocre) [+4d4] (mr)
# Climbing ..................100 (superb) [+2d4]
# Concentration .............100 (superb) [+3d5]
# Courage ...................100 (superb) [+1]
# Detect item status ........100 (superb) [+2d4]
The sine qua non for me; my first wish ALWAYS goes for this.
# Detect traps ..............100 (superb) [+2d4]
# Disarm traps ..............100 (superb) [+1d5]
From a Potion of Education...which made it unnecessary to ask the
thieves'
guildmaster for it...
# Dodge .....................100 (superb) [+1d5]
# Find weakness .............100 (superb) [+2d4]
# First aid .................100 (superb) [+1d3]
# Food preservation .........100 (superb) [+3d3]
# Gemology ..................100 (superb) [+1d3]
# Haggling .................. 50 (fair) [+3d3]
# Healing ...................100 (superb) [+1d3]
# Law ....................... 34 (fair) [+2d4]
Another thing from a PoE. Weird, just what a N- assassin needs...and
towards
the end, it was sometimes the only thing the game would let me add skill
points
to.
# Listening .................100 (superb) [+2d4]
# Literacy ..................100 (superb) [+1d3]
# Mining ....................100 (superb) [+1d3]
When I started digging around on ScC 8 it was in the 60s. It went up
pretty fast
when I used it a lot.
# Pick locks ................100 (superb) [+2d4]
Only because I had to put points somewhere. It beat putting them into
Law.
# Pick pockets .............. 85 (great) [+1d5]
# Stealth ...................100 (superb) [+3d4]
# Swimming .................. 32 (fair) [+3d3]
# Tactics ...................100 (superb) [+1]
# Two weapon combat .........100 (superb) [+1d5]
# Calm Monster : 10, 12pp (Effectivity: +0)
# Cure Light Wounds: 259, 4pp (Effectivity: +0)
# Darkness : 12, 6pp (Effectivity: +0)
# Light : 3, 4pp (Effectivity: +1)
# Magic Lock : 265, 7pp (Effectivity: +0)
# Magic Missile : 297, 7pp (Effectivity: +3)
# Neutralize Poison: 44, 12pp (Effectivity: +0)
# Slow Monster : 240, 6pp (Effectivity: +2)
# Teleportation : 205, 18pp (Effectivity: +3)
Pretty easy to tell which came from books and which came from PoW/WoW,
eh?
#v You have become very light (1/10 weight, St: -6, Dx: +4, To: -6, Ap:
-6, +20
speed).
# You exhale sulphur (Ch: -4).
# You have grown thorns (3d3 melee damage, Dx: -2, Ap: -3).
# You have grown a total of 12 eyes (Ap: -6, Pe: +6).
# Your antennae explore the details of your environment (Ap: -4).
# Your corrupted tissue seems to heal much faster.
# Your feet have been transformed into hooves (+8 kicking damage, Dx:
-6).
# You rage (DV: -9, +6 melee damage)!
# You are a living mana battery.
# You are surrounded by an unholy aura (Ch: -10, DV: +6).
# Your skin is covered by tough scales (PV: +8, Dx: -6, Ap: -4).
# You have grown a bulging cranium (Le: +6, Wi: +4, Ap: -6, PV: -4, To:
-3).
Yow! TWELVE corruptions, all gained after closing the portal (and after
using up
the Unicorn's beneficence, more's the pity...) This really screwed up my
final
story...
# After she leaves the Drakalor Chain she is welcomed by her people with
great
# honors. They acknowledge her noble deeds, her valor, her cunning and
her
# great skills that helped to prevent the complete destruction of the
world
# she knows. Her severe taint by the forces of Chaos prevents her from
ever
# leading a normal life. She always remembers the glorious deeds that
took her
# life away. Her sacrifice is remembered in the stories of her people,
but not
# in their hearts. She ends her life in loneliness and isolation.
Waaaaaaaah!
# Vanitas, the trollish assassin, saved the world with her brave efforts
while
# saving herself 91 times.
As I've said before, I can't play for very long at a time, plus scumming
to try
fun things out.
# She scored 42896296 points and advanced to level 50.
Nearly 43 million. Not too damn shabby -- must be all the money and
jools.
# She survived for 0 years, 141 days, 16 hours, 17 minutes and 26
seconds (160046
# turns).
# Vanitas visited 125 places.
# Her strength score was modified by +45 during her career.
# Her learning score was modified by +14 during her career.
# Her willpower score was modified by +3 during her career.
# Her dexterity score was modified by +7 during her career.
# Her toughness score was modified by +22 during her career.
# Her charisma score was modified by +5 during her career.
# Her appearance score was modified by +4 during her career.
This is kinda strange... Apparently it doesn't take the corruptions into
account.
I didn't start with negative numbers, honest!
# Her mana score was modified by +9 during her career.
# Her perception score was modified by +11 during her career.
# She was unnaturally aged by 15 years.
Duh! And I had a PoY sitting there.
# She was the champion of the arena.
# She was the head of the thieves guild.
# She made a little water dragon very happy.
# She defeated the arch enemy of a mighty karmic wyrm.
# She adhered to the principles of the Cat Lord and thus rose to great
fame.
# She saved Khelavaster from certain death.
# She left the Drakalor Chain after completing her quest and became a
famous
# heroine.
# 9871 monsters perished before her.
# The following 27 artifacts were generated during her adventure:
# the si
# the scythe of corruption "Moon Sickle"
Sacced both, though I kept some sis around for a while (used them on
CoC49 until
I had the brainstorm about the returning daggers).
# the ring of the master cat
Damn, that's good!
# the golden gladius "Death's Sting"
Donated to Bart
# the Chaos Orb of Elemental Water
# the Chaos Orb of Elemental Air
# the Chaos Orb of Elemental Fire
# the Chaos Orb of Elemental Earth
# the obsidian quarrel "Thunderstroke"
Never saw it.
# the lead-filled mace "Big Punch"
Sacced.
# the cloak of Oman
# the rune-covered trident
# the sword of Nonnak
# the elemental gauntlets
Kept these two around for times of need, i.e., when I wanted to be
wearing/wielding things that wouldn't fall prey to rust or lightning.
# the ring of the High Kings
Eventually sacced.
# the phial of Caladriel
Oh, yeah. Got that too while I was playing with the TotRR. Then sacced
it.
# the crown of science
# the ancient mummy wrapping
# the ankh
# the Sceptre of Chaos
All sacced.
# the glaive "Long Sting"
Never saw it.
# the Chaos Orb of Elemental Mana
# the black rune-covered dagger "Needle"
# the black rune-covered dagger "Sting"
# the dwarven pick axe "Hammerhead"
Wish I'd seen that one -- an unbreakable pickaxe would
have been nice when I was mining.
# the emerald dagger
Sacced.
# the Trident of the Red Rooster
# She possessed the following intrinsics:
# She was fire resistant.
# She was poison resistant.
# She was cold resistant.
# She was acid resistant.
# Fate smiled upon her (gained through an item).
Lost "lucky" somewhere to Filk, I think.
# She was sleep resistant.
# She was petrification resistant.
# She was able to teleport (enhanced through an item).
# She was able to control teleportation.
# She was resistant to death rays (enhanced through an item).
# She was shock resistant.
# She was able to see invisible things (enhanced through items).
# She was immune to shock attacks (gained through an item).
# She was immune to fire attacks (enhanced through items).
# She was immune to acidic attacks (gained through an item).
# She was immune to ice attacks (gained through an item).
# She was able to breathe water (gained through an item).
# She was a messiah of Ne'Ftrr.
# She asked for 2 divine interventions.
One VERY early on, one on CoC 50 when I THOUGHT I was out of balors and
then
managed to get surrounded by three balors and some muties...
# She was a holy champion of Balance.
# She was severely tainted by Chaos.
# 3 animated armors
Weird. In earlier gammas (8, 9, & 10), I used to see these guys all over
the
place in the deep levels.
# 1 assassin prince
Any idea why he turned on me?
# 15 balors
The last five were NOT in CoC 50 -- one of 'em was in the ID while I was
looking
for Filk, the others were all in the ScC.
# 38 battle bunnies
I take it scrolls of vermin control are useless here? I just had to tp
to the
stairs and fastkill what followed me down/up.
# 1 bunny master
He, on the other hand, is a stone wimp.
# 2 chaos warlords
They're tougher than I expected.
# 14 dark elven princesses
!!!! I've never seen more than one in a game before. But then, I've
never won
fairly before either.
# 1 doppleganger king
Yummy! He left his body to science. I mean, Vanitas.
# 4 emperor lichs
Yes, Virginia, my strength was actually higher at one point... These
guys are
not my favorite playmates.
# 7 ghost kings
If you can hit them from afar, they can be dealt with. If not -- well, I
just
made sure that didn't happen. The one time one showed up in a wall near
me I
went, and dallied not upon the order of my going. Zapped a tp wand to
reappear
down the corridor; the GK, as I'd hoped, stepped into the corridor where
I could
proceed to nuke him from a distance.
# 60 ghost lords
Only a problem in CoC 50 where they mob you; otherwise two good swords
and nice
speed will take them out very fast. I guess one of 'em must have gotten
me once,
given the 15 years.
# 1 giant boar
No skull (though I have no idea what I'd have done with one, being N).
# 1 greater balor
Swords of sharpness + speed = dead Fisty. He never touched me, though
some of his
lesser brethren did.
# 7 greater molochs
There has to be something to do to make them less susceptible to
whack-step. As
it is, anyone likely to encounter one is more than prepared to kill it
without
getting hurt.
# 6 greater titans
I found myself looking forward to "#THUMB#"; they're so *tasty*
(actually, I only
got to eat two of the six).
# 397 gremlins
There were more, but I got tired of them.
# 1 ki-rin
I thought these were supposed to be good guys, but he attacked without
warning...
# 2 living trees
Both from windshield style keyboarding; I was trying to get through
without
provoking anyone.
# 1 mad doctor
He hit me first. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
# 50 master assassins
Mostly in the assassin HQ.
# 4 quickling kings
# 3 quickling lords
# 9 quickling queens
Of these, only five left corpses, but they were real nice.
# 1 royal guardian
I made the mistake of "C"hatting with him. "I'll tell you, but I'll have
to kill
you afterwards."
# 694 water snakes
This may be some kind of record...It happens when you keep drinking out
of
pools...
# 8 werewolf lords
Not as tough as they're cracked up to be.
All in all, fun. Think I'll try a high-elven healer for a total change
of pace...
Lacosta
<ddan...@us.oracle.com> wrote:
>My very first G12 victory and my first in any gamma without scumming.
<snip most of the post, left some answers to the questions>
>8. Dive into the cave over the hills, get the RotHK. I don't generally
>hold with the "make the game harder" crew -- I have a small problem with it as
>it is. I seriously doubt that anyone would ever solve it without the support
>of the newsgroup, and as Thomas keeps adding twists, that'll just get more
>and more so. But I make one exception of the water grue guarding the RotHK:
>this may not be one of the game's most powerful artifacts, but it's the one
>that, in story terms, ought to have one of the most powerful guardians --
>though, perhaps, one might not need to fight it if one has the favor of the
>departed kings. (Something Rehetep has? The SI?)
Well, a friend of mine reached CoC50 without help from any
source...thought it did take him a long time to figure out things like
the ice level, etc...
As for the grue, I agree...something more interesting should be in
order...named <greated undead...possibly ghost lord>, anyone?
>Back to Terinyo. Khelevaster did some mumbo jumbo and I had an even
>cooler trident. But what to do with it? First I went and played tag with the
>gremlins. Tried to do the Rift, but -- despite being L50 with Climbing
>100, Courage 100, and a blessed climbing set, it wouldn't let me -- "You do
>not feel headstrong enough." Does anyone know why?
You need a willpower of at least 20, or a perception of 5 or less...
># Bo: uncursed moloch armor (+0, -8) [-20, +50] {Dx+0}
>[5000s]
>I'm still not sure this is worth the burden.
Are you kidding? Yours didn't even have the Dex penalty, thanks to a
convenient bug.
># Cl: blessed cloak of Oman (+2, +0) [+4, +4] {Dx+8}
>[20s]
>It ain't souldrinker, but it ain't peanuts.
I don't believe there is an artifact called souldrinker in Adom, or
anything remotely resembling a Stormbringer clone....
>
># uncursed everburning torch (+1, 2d4+2) [+1, +0]
>[10s]
>Are these new in G12? This is the only one I've ever seen.
Orcish Paladins start with them, since at least G8...
># blessed rune-covered trident (+6, 3d12+6) [+4, +4] {Dx+12}
>[80s]
>You know, I'd think someone strong enough could double-wield tridents...
But it would be far too inconvenient to try to get any force behind
the strike...I mean, sure you could wield them, but using 'em
onehanded ain't really a good way to go about things :P
>#
># Alchemy ................... 61 (good) [+1d3]
>I've never used this skill in any game. Any suggestions for when it
>might actually be useful...?
Recipe #10 = PoGA....and occasionally you need a potion of youth,
extra healing, or something similar...
>Yow! TWELVE corruptions, all gained after closing the portal (and after
>using up
>the Unicorn's beneficence, more's the pity...) This really screwed up my
>final
>story...
You had no extra SoCR? Ouch :P
># 1 assassin prince
>Any idea why he turned on me?
Unholy aura?
># 38 battle bunnies
>I take it scrolls of vermin control are useless here? I just had to tp
>to the
>stairs and fastkill what followed me down/up.
Yup, useless, of course :)
># 1 ki-rin
>I thought these were supposed to be good guys, but he attacked without
>warning...
You weren't good...you were neutral
Lac
Barry Kearns
<ddan...@us.oracle.com> wrote:
spoily space....
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>By the time I got to the mana temple level, my Detect Traps was at 100
>and my PE and DE were both pretty decent, so I took ... my ... time and
>found every bloody single one of the traps before I walked on 'em.
I typically have a wand of detect traps by then... bless it and shoot
in a straight line... lights up all of the traps to the limit of your
visible range (so use a necklace of the eye, plus a light source).
With a good sight range, I can usually get them all in just six
shots... so typically no more than two potions of booze required.
>Meant I got there with no PP, but
>what the hell, I was an assassin, not a mage.
If you're interested in having at least *some* PP, you can always
retreat back out after detecting/disarming the traps (don't trigger
the final secret door yet), wait for the points to rebuild, and then
charge back in at full speed.
>and I *still* spent more than a third of my time walking into walls --
>thank God I hadn't actually gone into the damn temple or I'd have been
>toast.
There's no need to stagger around when confused. Apply a skill that
consumes some time, and you'll stay in place. I tend to use
"Listening" for this purpose.
>The assassin's lair is pretty difficult to find if you don't have a
>scroll of magic mapping. I dug around at random and finally found the
>stairs...
You can actually apply a bit of science to this... if any of the
walls that immediately border the stair area are destroyed, you'll be
able to find it... since the internal area is 1x2 squares, then the
bordering area is 3x4 squares. So then it's a question of digging so
that a 3x4 tile can't fit into the remaining area. With a bit of
planning, it's typically not too many zaps of a blessed wand of
digging in order to find it.
Diagonal shots are most effective in constraining where it might be.
You can take a diagonal shot, and then move over six squares and take
another, and be guaranteed that the stairway isn't between them.
>Filk and a certain ChAoS kNiGhT turned out to be on the SAME DAMN LEVEL.
This can typically be avoided, since the Sceptre is on a fixed level,
and you can (to a certain extent) dictate which level Filk will be
on... if it looks like it's going to be close, I might recommend
making a specific effort to make sure that Filk will be *below* that
level.
>(Sigh.) "He's no fun, he fell right over." (Ten points.)
Firesign Theatre. I'm a big fan. Got to see them on their 25th
anniversary reunion tour when they swung through here...
>Tried to do the Rift, but -- despite being L50 with Climbing 100,
>Courage 100, and a blessed climbing set, it wouldn't let me -- "You do
>not feel headstrong enough." Does anyone know why?
It's your Willpower. That's a pretty scary thing you're
contemplating. It takes at least a Willpower of 20, IIRC.
Congratulations on the win.
Barry Kearns
bke...@den.wantweb.net
Andrew Vance
> On Tue, 02 Feb 1999 13:13:19 -0800, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
> <ddan...@us.oracle.com> wrote:
>
> >My very first G12 victory and my first in any gamma without scumming.
>
> <snip most of the post, left some answers to the questions>
..
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>
>
> >8. Dive into the cave over the hills, get the RotHK. I don't
> generally
> >hold with the "make the game harder" crew -- I have a small problem
> with it as
> >it is. I seriously doubt that anyone would ever solve it without the
> support
> >of the newsgroup, and as Thomas keeps adding twists, that'll just get
> more
> >and more so. But I make one exception of the water grue guarding the
> RotHK:
> >this may not be one of the game's most powerful artifacts, but it's
> the one
> >that, in story terms, ought to have one of the most powerful
> guardians --
> >though, perhaps, one might not need to fight it if one has the favor
> of the
> >departed kings. (Something Rehetep has? The SI?)
>
> Well, a friend of mine reached CoC50 without help from any
> source...thought it did take him a long time to figure out things like
>
> the ice level, etc...
>
> As for the grue, I agree...something more interesting should be in
> order...named <greated undead...possibly ghost lord>, anyone?
>
Well, it seems that the most appropriate thing would be a ghost king -
think of where you are.
Andrew Vance
> On Tue, 02 Feb 1999 13:13:19 -0800, Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
> <ddan...@us.oracle.com> wrote:
>
> spoily space....
> .
> .
> .
> .
>
> >By the time I got to the mana temple level, my Detect Traps was at
> 100
> >and my PE and DE were both pretty decent, so I took ... my ... time
> and
> >found every bloody single one of the traps before I walked on 'em.
>
> I typically have a wand of detect traps by then... bless it and shoot
>
> in a straight line... lights up all of the traps to the limit of your
>
> visible range (so use a necklace of the eye, plus a light source).
>
> With a good sight range, I can usually get them all in just six
> shots... so typically no more than two potions of booze required.
>
> >Meant I got there with no PP, but
> >what the hell, I was an assassin, not a mage.
>
> If you're interested in having at least *some* PP, you can always
> retreat back out after detecting/disarming the traps (don't trigger
> the final secret door yet), wait for the points to rebuild, and then
> charge back in at full speed.
>
> >and I *still* spent more than a third of my time walking into walls
> --
> >thank God I hadn't actually gone into the damn temple or I'd have
> been
> >toast.
>
> There's no need to stagger around when confused. Apply a skill that
> consumes some time, and you'll stay in place. I tend to use
> "Listening" for this purpose.
>
> >The assassin's lair is pretty difficult to find if you don't have a
> >scroll of magic mapping. I dug around at random and finally found the
>
> >stairs...
>
> You can actually apply a bit of science to this... if any of the
> walls that immediately border the stair area are destroyed, you'll be
> able to find it... since the internal area is 1x2 squares, then the
> bordering area is 3x4 squares. So then it's a question of digging so
> that a 3x4 tile can't fit into the remaining area. With a bit of
> planning, it's typically not too many zaps of a blessed wand of
> digging in order to find it.
>
> Diagonal shots are most effective in constraining where it might be.
> You can take a diagonal shot, and then move over six squares and take
> another, and be guaranteed that the stairway isn't between them.
>
I'd never thought of it like this - but you can still do it very very
easily, with a wand of detect items. There is ALWAYS a wand of teleport
next to the stairs, and rarely any other wands on the level - so zap and
put your finger were the wand shows up.
clueles...@my-dejanews.com
> I typically have a wand of detect traps by then... bless it and shoot
> in a straight line... lights up all of the traps to the limit of your
> visible range (so use a necklace of the eye, plus a light source).
>
> With a good sight range, I can usually get them all in just six
> shots... so typically no more than two potions of booze required.
? What's the booze for?
The Clueless Newbie
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
David Gibbs
Try dipping a wand into it.
-David
--
David Gibbs
dag...@qnx.com
Bergholt
<snipping all the post except for a small monster discussion>
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>># 1 ki-rin
>>I thought these were supposed to be good guys, but he attacked without
>>warning...
>
>You weren't good...you were neutral
Does it actually make _any_ difference? The number of times my
champion of Balance has been attacked by grey slayers are too numerous
to count. And yesterday I tried playing a chaotic, and he got wiped
out by a black slayer (poisoned for 11 HP a turn!). These were both
without unholy aura. I mean, are these guys just stupid or something?
Later,
Bergholt.
'May you live in interesting times.'
- ancient Chinese curse
mr characature
Bergholt wrote:
> Lacosta wrote:
>
> <snipping all the post except for a small monster discussion>
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> .
> >># 1 ki-rin
> >>I thought these were supposed to be good guys, but he attacked without
> >>warning...
> >
> >You weren't good...you were neutral
>
> Does it actually make _any_ difference? The number of times my
> champion of Balance has been attacked by grey slayers are too numerous
> to count. And yesterday I tried playing a chaotic, and he got wiped
> out by a black slayer (poisoned for 11 HP a turn!). These were both
> without unholy aura. I mean, are these guys just stupid or something?
>
slayers seem to be rather inconsistent with the scheme - i do not believe
that i have yet seen a peaceful slayer - but blink dogs are usually peaceful
towards lawfuls and unicorns certainly work, at higher levels they just
cover the wilderness asking to be your companion (only with lawfuls? i do
not recall any black unicorns wanting to join up... maybe i am delirious).
while on unicorns, i asked this question before and got no response and i
believe that someone else asked it as well... is this because no one knows?
anyway, as a chaotic i would like to talk to the greater black unicorn and
get his quest but the greater white unicorn is hostile and will not make the
twisted grove appear. help? advice?
MWoody
> that i have yet seen a peaceful slayer - but blink dogs are usually peaceful
> towards lawfuls and unicorns certainly work, at higher levels they just
> cover the wilderness asking to be your companion (only with lawfuls? i do
> not recall any black unicorns wanting to join up... maybe i am delirious).
I wouldn't expect chaotic creatures to try to join up, as they don't tend to
work together. For example, chaotic gods accept chaotic creatures as
sacrifices.
- /\/\ \/\/
Mandor
Angels was sent with a message for Lord of Chaos. His name was mr
characature. These are His words :
>>
>> <snipping all the post except for a small monster discussion>
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> .
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>> .
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>> .
>that i have yet seen a peaceful slayer - but blink dogs are usually peaceful
>towards lawfuls and unicorns certainly work, at higher levels they just
>cover the wilderness asking to be your companion (only with lawfuls? i do
>not recall any black unicorns wanting to join up... maybe i am delirious).
>
Once I played champion of Order and I was killed by white unicorn. It
attacked me without any reason.
---Lord Mandor of Chaos
---Lord of the House of Sawall