Adom Strategy Guide (long)
Matt Chatterley
Ancient Domains Of Mystery
An Interactive Adventure In A Fantastic World
Copyright 1994-7 by Thomas Biskup.
All Rights Reserved All Over The World
The ADOM Strategy Guide
Compiled by Matt Chatterley (caff...@unreal.org)
Contributions from the participants of rec.games.roguelike.adom
Edition #7 Last revision: 21.6.97
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Welcome to the ADOM Strategy guide - a document written by players, for
players, designed to help you work out what you're doing wrong, what you
could do better, and things that might be fun or interesting to try. This
guide contains little spoilers information - it focuses on tactics and
approaches to situations rather than descriptions of items and perfect
solutions. It is strongly recommended that you read manual.doc through and
through before referring to this document, as it will refer to items
explained in detail there.
This guide is also available on the web at:
http://www.foxcomm.net/web2/malaux/asg/asg.html, and can be ftp'ed from
ftp://mpc.dyn.ml.org/pub/adom/adom-strategy.txt. Thanks to Michael Laux
for converting the guide to HTML, and providing webspace for it!
FYI, the current version of ADOM is 0.9.9 gamma 4, and it's available from
ftp://adom.dartmouth.edu/adom. I also try to carry the latest linux
versions on mpc.dyn.ml.org. Please note that mpc.dyn.ml.org is only
typically available during the UK daytime.
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*. Changes since past editions
1. Starting tips
2. Basic tips / tactics for each class
3. Food problems
4. Creative uses of traps
5. Magic tricks
6. Battle Stratagem
7. Dealing with Doors
8. The old switcheroonie
9. Beating breeders
10. Birthsigns
11. Necromantic woes
A. Glossary of terms and abreviations
B. Contributing to the ADOM Strategy Guide
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*. CHANGES SINCE PAST EDITIONS
Since edition #6 (24.5.97):
Necromantic woes (keeping slaves alive) section begun.
Since edition #5 (23.5.97):
The monk, elementalist and beastfighter sections have been edited.
Birthsigns section added.
Since edition #4 (18.5.97):
The merchant & farmer sections have been edited.
The Necromancer and Beastfighter sections have been rewritten.
The starting tips section has been rewritten to fit 0.9.9
A brief note that food is available in more places added.
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1. STARTING TIPS
Below lie a number of valuable tips for the start of your games, to help
you get a little bit further. None of these are considered 'spoilers', and
in cases where they might be, they have been made ambiguous.
Many people find it worthwhile to visit the outlaw village and use the
shop there to get an idea of some of the items that may lie ahead. This
tactic is not for the weak of heart or body, though, as it can be fraught
with danger.
From hereon in, you must choose your path quite carefully. Personally I
like to talk to either the Village elder, or the Druid, to get a main
quest, and to the Sheriff (all these three are in Terinyo). You will soon
learn the advantages of the respective quests, and their limitations.
I also advocate visiting the small dungeon to the NW of the village, until
you reach level 5 (after which, it gets kinda risky), before decending,
and continuing on until I can return to the wilderness safely. I usually
pop out at Level 4 to do the Sheriff's first quest, too. After this, I
return to tackle the quest I was assigned from the Druid or Elder, which
is usually much easier.
A section later on details food problems, since these can crop up for more
experienced players, not just beginners, and lots of people have different
approaches to them.
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2. BASIC TIPS / TACTICS FOR EACH CLASS
This section is made up of hints, tips, and overall strategies for getting
started when playing ADOM - where you should go first, what you should
make sure you do, and how to try and stay alive doing it.
Bear in mind the information in the manual on the classes at all times -
this information is from a players perspective, what to do and what not to
do. I've also included which races I particularly recommend for each
class, but ANY race in ANY class can be fun.
A) Fighter
Dwarves, Trolls, Humans, Orcs, the more physical races make the best
fighters. As a rule fighters get plenty of hit points (unless you're
playing one of the weaker races), and enough strength to get by with -
carrying a lot of items until you can check them out isn't a problem.
However, you won't have healing skill when you set out, and will probably
want to make sure to use First-aid after every fight, to help yourself
heal up before continuing (you can wait out injuries, but this uses a lot
of food without healing).
It's usually a good idea to work on your two-weapon skill, and when you
have a high to hit bonus with one weapon, switch to two (it's often a good
idea to use two weapons in the same class that in theory compliment each
other, a larger one and a smaller one, or two mid-sized weapons). Of
course, if you find a *good* shield, it may be more worth your while to
use that instead of a second weapon - but generally speaking a fighter's
advantage is in that he can do lots of damage hand-to-hand, and take a
fair bit back.
Getting yourself setup with a crossbow or other good missile weapon is
also what I would consider a priority, or at least grab something you can
throw - if you're injured and making a retreat, it's a valuable asset to
be able to attack as you run. On this subject, the combat <T>actics
setting seems to be important for fighters (although it can be valuable
for everyone). If you're fighting an opponent who does a LOT more damage
than you can handle for long.. up your tactic and try to kill it before it
kills you, or alternately lower it, if you still have a good chance of
hitting. Dropping to "coward" status when on low hitpoints can easily save
your life.
To go back to skills for a moment, Dodge and Athletics are good to
increase too - they give you bonuses to DV, and chances of stats
increasing with levels respectively. Take every possible chance to up your
DV/PV, <To>ughness and <St>rength. Also <De>xterity, but to a lesser
extent. Your race will obviously influence your skills - look at them
carefully before you start, and see what will benefit you most.
Armour, and the choices of armour you make are critical - the fighter
class is the walking tank, if you like. You can choose between better DV
and better PV as you wish, it depends if you'd rather be hit for less, or
just hit less and hit harder when you are. Avoid armours that penalise
your to hit or to damage figures too much, and avoid becoming burdened or
worse - this makes fighting harder from all angles.
So.. you need to balance weight of armour versus the protection it gives
you - if one pair of boots gives 1 more DV than another, but pushes you
upto burdened.. they probably do more harm than good, the same goes for
damaged armour, if it's weighing you down without offering much
protection, lose it.
B) Paladin
Most of what I said above for fighters still applies, with a few
differences - Paladins are lucky enough to start with healing skill, which
makes life a lot easier. Paladins also find it MUCH easier to learn spells
(I believe), should they find books, and scrolls are more useful. Think of
Paladins as the "holy knight" figure, and you can see that they are seen
more as a cleric / fighter cross-class, and have some of the benefits of
each.
C) Rangers
Rangers are another "cross-class", with many of the advantages of
fighters, and archers - they start with a missile weapon and minimal
proficiency in it's use. Remember to use the missile weapon you get, since
you won't be as sturdy as a vanilla fighter character. On the other hand,
rangers are also good using two weapons from the out - a bonus most
players will want to take full advantage of (You start out with two fairly
compatible weapons, but will no doubt want to tweak the combination
later). On the whole they fare well in combat, but you'll want to be very
careful not to get surrounded, and to at least wound enemies from afar if
at all possible.
D) Thieves
Smaller, nimbler races tend to make good thieves - a class that I prefer
to play as using tricks to avoid and win in combat, rather than a fighter
with a few nice bonuses. You'll have less hit points than a fighter -
usually by a fair margin, especially if you pick a smaller race, and will
be much weaker. Choices of armour, weapons and equipment are even more
important, as being burdened will worsen your combat situation - something
you really can't afford. Lighter armour with better DV / PV is most
desirable - sacrifice the extra couple of PV from chainmail, for leather
armour which doesn't penalize DV, for instance.
Thieves get skills pertaining to picking locks, finding and disarming
traps and so forth - exceptionally useful, and you should check all doors
at least a couple of times, since those traps can be deadly at lower
levels, and stealth skill can save your neck in some situations.
Smaller, lighter weapons such as daggers and short swords are good, even
when you manage to raise your strength a bit - but in any case you'll want
to try and stick to one weapon category to let the bonuses from training
offset strength penalties. It may be wise to put spare melee weapons
somewhere in the dungeon you can get to if need be, rather than carrying
them around with you, since they can really weigh you down.
Picking a light missile weapon, with easily available ammunition (rocks
are good for this infact, they're common, and it's not too bad to carry
plenty of them to get by with), is important - you'll want to at least
soften up tough opponents, during all stages of the game.
On the topic of shields, you'll probably be best off if you only use a
small shield - or a light one, to avoid encumbering yourself which may
negate a lot of the bonus. With the thief's traditional high dexterity,
you can probably happily move onto using two weapons fairly soon, should
you wish to do so.
E) Assassin
Assassin characters are quite similar to thieves, except without some of
the "thief" skills - disarming traps and so on, unless their race provides
it. The backstabbing skill which they do get gives them good first hits on
Neutral or unsuspecting victims, and they begin with a cache of poison
potions - dipping weapons in these at times of crisis can add that little
extra edge you need.
Often you begin lightly armoured like a thief, with two weapons - it may
be beneficial to remove one at first. Generally you have a cache of half a
dozen or so daggers lying around in your pack, and I find these are
suitable for using as missile weapons. Looking at the weapon skills for a
second, assassins seem to begin well skilled in the use of daggers -
double wielding them even right from the off may be fairly useful,
providing you don't wish to use a shield.
F) Wizard
Wizards are perhaps one of the most powerful classes - but this is
levelled out by their struggle during the early stages of the game. As a
wizard you will always have abysmal hitpoints - I advise you to get as
much armour as you can, and put up your PV rather than DV, so that when
you are hit, you aren't hit so hard. Even with a good DV, you will
occasionally get hit for more than you can safely handle. Using a one
handed weapon or perhaps even no weapon and TWO shields, helps to increase
both DV/PV, using a two-handed weapon such as a staff is probably a bad
move.
Wizards begin the game with a staff or dagger (it depends). In either case
I do advise as above, just getting a one handed weapon such as a dagger,
since they're nice and light. You also start off with a couple of rings,
some magical scrolls / potions and a spellbook or two. Learn the spells in
the little town (stop if they seem too powerful, they can do nasty
things), put on the rings and sort out your weapons.
I advise against trying the one level dungeon NW of the town, it's pretty
tough for a mage when as you come out the monsters can clout you pretty
hard.
Trying to raise your strength will be a constant struggle, but luckily you
should start with healing skill - this helps offset the low hitpoints a
little. When your level increases, put up healing and concentration, as
well as literacy (this allows you to regain HP / PP as fast as possible,
and learn new spells more easily).
If you're in a situation where you are almost out of PP and or the enemies
are getting close, switching to coward tactics can help you avoid some
hits, while you prepare to resume your onslaught with magic. You need to
really rely on your spells, until you can safely take on weak enemies
without it.
Two words of caution: Magic missile and Lightning bolt can bounce, be
careful where you cast 'em, you don't want to fry yourself.
G) Priest
Priests are one of the most powerful classes, perhaps I should say,
easiest to start with. Consider them a spellcasting strongarm class -
they're reasonable fighters and reasonable spellcasters, which can give
them an edge in many situations.
They begin the game lightly armed, with a suitable blunt weapon, variable
body armour and so forth, with one or more spellbooks and potions in their
backpacks, and generally a couple of scrolls as well.
The best thing to do is head straight to the little town, learn the spells
in the books (until the books vanish - that way they can't be destroyed as
you run around, nor do they weigh you down). A word of advice - if after a
few reads you haven't learnt any of the spell, or you get a wierd side
effect from trying to read it, stop! The book is too powerful you, and you
should wait for a while before trying to read it agian - improve on your
literacy and go up a level or two. Your concentration skill and Mana score
also reflect on how powerful a spell you can learn, I believe.
Priests also start with a high level in the immensely useful "Detect Item
Status" skill, which indicates the cursed/uncursed/blessed state of an
object - this can save you a lot of grief! Healing skill is also given to
Priests, giving them a further edge in combat - they heal up relatively
quickly.
If your priest character has low hitpoints, you'd be well advised to take
up the policy of using a missile weapon, even if you have offensive
spells, and saving your PP for healing spells (assuming you have them).
The sort of spells you begin with, and find along the way will very much
influence how you have to play.
H) Bard
Bards are one of my favourite classes, each game can be very different -
those skills which are not set by your race, are picked randomly, since
the Bard is viewed as a "Jack-of-all-trades" type character.
You'll start out lightly armed, and with a pet (I believe this changes
according to your race), which is your greatest asset, it pays well to
watch it's health, and cast curing spells / throw it curing potions should
it get badly hurt. Learning to use the pet effectively can greatly
increase your lifespan.
You should overall regard the Bard class as a poor fighter, with some
small aptitude for magic - you'll be able to successfully learn relatively
simple spells, and be able to fight weaker to medium difficulty (relative
to your level and equipment), opponents off. You'll need to combine both
elements, along with the special ability you get - pets, to defeat tougher
enemies.
Fairly light armour, and a combination of one large weapon, one smaller
weapon of a similar kind work best for me here, but this does depend on
your personal playing style - Bards certainly have fairly little trouble
double-wielding, but wearing a shield wouldn't do them any harm either.
I) Monk
Monks begin life scantily equipped, with the bare minimum they need to
survive, as befits their beliefs. No money, one iron ration, a staff, a
robe, some sandals and the usual torches etc. The staff is for use against
enemies you wouldn't want to touch, otherwise you should probably fight
barehanded - a monk's special strength.
The monk class recieves a good amount of hit points, and usually a
reasonable amount of PP, with a good DV to boot. They begin with good
first aid, and healing skills, are literate (unless your learning score is
too low), and also have food preservation - you will either want to go
find some money, and then return for food, or pump up food preservation,
to avoid starving.
It's definitely beneficial for a monk to remain lightly encumbered, and to
not carry anything that isn't required. I also advise avoiding armours
which give hit/damage penalties, or those which sacrifice DV for PV. It
should be noted that a Monk's attack, and DV improve with level.
In general as a monk, you will want to think out most of your encounters;
don't attack anything you don't have to, consider adjusting your (T)actics
to match the length/nastiness of the fight, and consider if you will be
best off using normal attacks, or your kick. Kicks are often substantially
better for the first couple of levels, and slightly better thereafter (but
harder to hit with). Just watch out, since kicking doesn't train your
unarmed combat skills.
Beastfighters may do more reliable and consistent damage than monks, but
with enough and experience, you will be able to walk through anything.
J) Healer
Healers actually have a couple of big advantages - they begin with high
healing skill, and have a stethoscope. Play around with this item, it can
do some interesting things. You'll start out in light 'armour' - clothes
usually, if not all the time, and with some healing potions which can
easily save your neck in tough situations.
Healers can do so-so damage with the weapon they begin with, and getting
more armour is usually a priority, depending on strength / carrying
capacity. The small village dungeon is a good place to start, since you
heal well and have the "emergency" healing measures, and can often pick up
good equipment there.
K) Weaponsmith
One significant advantage to be noted: Weapon smithing, amazingly enough.
Starting with the smithing (and associated) skills, if you manage to
accumulate the elements needed to make yourself a weapon, you can make
some pretty dashed nice ones. That said, read the above section on fighter
style classes, since the weaponsmith conforms muchly to those outfits.
L) Archer
The archer class is intended as your 'missile maniac' type fighter, poorer
in hand to hand, but potentially lethal at range. You want to pick your
weapon (stereotypically a bow), and try to stock up as much ammo as
possible for it, along with a backup (possibly rocks), just in case. Avoid
engaging in hand to hand where at all possible (since initially, and later
on, you'll tend to get trounced).
M) Merchant
At the start of the game, merchants begin with a selection of one type of
'goods' (they specialise in this), for instance a bunch of potions,
scrolls or rings. This gives a definite bonus, in that not only may you
get some good items to help you at the start, but you have a good number
of one type identified to begin with. Otherwise, the merchant class is
similar in my mind to a fighter/mage crossover, weaker than either
individual class, in it's specialist area.
Merchants lucky enough to specialise in potions will be given the
'Alchemy' skill to start with - a very useful bonus!
N) Farmer
Starting with the best supplies, and associated skills, Farmers are good
fighters, and general all rounders. They also begin with a stack of seeds,
and the necessary skills to use them. With a little clever thinking, a
farmer can reap a grand harvest.
O) Mindcrafter
Ooh! Mindcrafters get special mental powers (confusion, mindblast, and
such), as they go up levels. These powers are similar to spells, except
they have no limited number of usage, and have a big downside (the
undead). Mindcrafters are however NOT good spellcasters, despite
the skills for mindcraft and spellcasting being largely similar. In combat
they meet their downfall, make full use of your abilities when you can,
otherwise you won't live to regret it.
P) Barbarian
Powerful fighters, barbarians are denied the luxuries of reading and
writing, but are recompensated in that they are even more mighty than
standard fighters (primitive warriors, consider them).
Q) Druid
Masters of nature, it is said that no animal will harm a druid, druids are
also very competent spellcasters, even if their hand to hand skills are
poor.
R) Necromancer
Similar to the generic Wizard character, the Necromancers spells tend to
bias towards death, and the dead, including their special skill, the
raising of slain foes to serve them. This skill however, bears a grim
cost. It is advisable that a Necromancer be conservative with his use of
necromancy until he has become powerful enough that the gain is worth the
cost.
It may be best to play a necromancer as a straight wizard for a while,
until their skill is at a good level. Even then, a necromancer's ability
to use wizardly magic will come in handy. It is wise to strike a balance
between necromancy and traditional magic, since use of one will limit use
of the other.
S) Elementalist
Elementalists are akin to mages, save they gain spells with levels,
automatically, in addition to those from books (these spells are all of an
elemental nature).
In addition, each spell is renewed in your memory every level, partially
depending on how much you've used it. Don't be too afraid of running out
of a spell (but don't be reckless either!).
T) Beastfighter
This class is akin to the Monks, although less refined. They are typically
proficient with their bare hands, but do not suffer the same restrictions
that monks do. On the flip side, they do not gain all the same bonuses,
either. If you're having a hard time making a Monk work because of all the
restrictions, you may wish to try playing a beastfighter.
Note, however, that while beastfighters may be walking tanks capable of
consistently badly hurting almost everything, they do not have the
flexibility of the monk -- they cannot as effectively wield weapons, for
example. You will want to keep them practiced in at least one common
weapon in order to deal with monsters you won't want to touch.
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3. FOOD PROBLEMS
Initially, you may find that you cannot carry enough food from the village
shop into the village dungeon, to survive. In this case, and in general,
you need to consider alternate sources of food. Corpses from slain foes
are the most predominant, and many corpses have side-effects too, some
good, some bad. Discovering them is a trial-and-error process (although
some you can easily predict). Blessing those corpses with potentially good
effects before consuming them is also wise (since it avoids possible
negative effects, and makes good effects more likely, in general). Food is
also dropped when enemies are killed, and as a last ditch survival effort,
potions do provide some sustenance.
Of course, on longer journeys, the survival skill in very useful, and
being able to garden can help, if you have the right materials to hand.
Farmers particularly can do well here.
Magical means can also provide satiation, through scrolls of the same
name, or even the spell (an extremely useful one, if you get it).
Food preservation can be trained aside from levelling by carrying many
corpses with you at all times (this means you will use it more, and it
will train better, in theory), and it is, incase you didn't know, one of
the most useful survival skills.
To move back to rations, and the like, while the shop in the first village
is the only shop dedicated wholly to food that I have found (although
others like it may very occasionally show up in the dungeons), shops like
the Dwarven and Outlaw village ones also have food sometimes, although
usually at very inflated prices. There are also other shops (general
stores, if you like), in fixed and random places, which can have food
available at relatively reasonable prices.
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4. CREATIVE USES OF TRAPS
There are many types of traps lurking there to get you in ADOM, and you
will soon learn when it is prudent to search for them (before kicking or
forcing a door for instance). However, having found a trap, before you
hurry on and disarm it, consider it's other potentials:
A) Spear / Arrow traps
These traps hurl spears or arrows at you, depending what type they are.
While the former are not much use (spears are really too heavy for
projectile weapons, since carrying a good supply is cumbersome), unless
you have been using polearms as your primary weapon and need a backup or
three, the latter are immensely useful. If you trigger an arrow trap, most
of the arrows will not hit you, or hurt you if you have a half decent
PV/DV. Very few of them break either.. so trigger the trap a few hundred
times, and even the most ardent archer has a decent supply of arrows.
B) Teleport traps
There are two uses here, one riskier than the other. If something nasty is
chasing you, you can lure it over the trap to get rid of it *if* it
triggers the trap. A more certain route of escape is to trigger the trap
yourself, and make ready to fight it off next time around.
C) Acid traps
Obviously, you can lead monsters under these to get them hurt (this saved
many of my characters, more than once), but you can also try to destroy
cursed equipment which is vulnerable to acid (dump everything else, and
trigger the trap a bunch). Not a very safe way of doing so, but if all
else fails and you just have to try and get rid of that ring of doom..
D) Fireball traps
Dangerous puppies to use in anyway.. if you lure a monster onto one, be
careful not to get caught in the backlash, otherwise, you can use these to
destroy fire-vulnerable items. They are particularly useful in both
respects if you have good fire resistance or even fire immunity.
E) Stunning and/or blinding traps
A stunned or blind foe can't hit or defend as effectively as normal,
obviously. Lead enemies who are following you over traps like these to
make them more vulnerable (or to give you a small headstart to run away
with). Blinding traps also have a very useful application, if you find
yourself in a nasty situation with Gremlins. Remember the movie? Zap 'em!
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5. MAGIC TRICKS
Yes! Magic tricks. That is, tricks you can apply when dealing with magic,
not the Paul Daniels kind.
Lightning bolts, and Magic missiles will bounce off walls. You can use
this very much to your advantage (to get a double-hit on one or more
monsters), but must be very wary so as not to blow yourself away at the
same time. This also applies to thinks such as lightning breath from a
lightning lizard.. so be careful there too. Of course, in the case of
lightning, if you have some sort of resistance to the damage.. you can
wipe out enemies with multiple hits, without need to worry about nuking
yourself.
Darkness is an extremely powerful spell. Why? Because many things can't
see in the dark! If you cast darkness, it can provide excellent cover for
you to run away under, or should I say, to make a tactical withdrawal. If
you're carrying a lit torch, or wearing an amulet of light, this trick is
useless (obviously). The light spell also has a useful application (Like
blinding traps), if you need to get rid of gremlins in a hurry.
Also beware, since the range of your bolt spells seems to increase with
your level. You might unwarily nuke yourself to high heaven, if the range
goes up a little and you are not anticipating it.
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6. BATTLE STRATAGEM
There are many general strategies that can be applied during combat in
ADOM, to aid your chances of survival. Firstly, it's key to never get
surrounded (even if you can easily defeat your opponents, because you
should be able to kill them just as easily, with no risk of being hurt).
Backing into corridors, and confining your enemies in corridors allows you
to fight one of them at a time (and if you are a mage, you can use bolt
spells to good effect too). If you have a ranged weapon, standing back in
a corridor (where you can easily retreat to fight off attackers), and
firing into an open room can be a good way to weaken enemies (or even kill
them). If you suspect that a door you are about to open will collapse into
a vault, try to go around it (or open it without triggering the trap).
Failing that, make sure you have a way back (and out) when you open it.
Webs can be extremely useful in making your escape down a corridor
(providing you don't get caught in them), and letting Cave Fishers do some
of the work for you, can be very profitable indeed. Remember that fire
will easily cut through webs, if you need safe passage.
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7. DEALING WITH DOORS by Bruce Greenwood
ADOM is probably the nastiest roguelike game when it comes to door traps. Some
will drop huge piles of rock on your head, while others will obliterate you -
and half your equipment - in a huge ball of fire. For this reason, you should
always approach doors with caution.
First, the good news - you won't ever find unlocked doors with a trap, and it's
fairly unlikely (although possible) for a trapped door to be set off the first
time you try to open it. The bad news is that you can't tell if a door is
locked just by looking at it.
There are several ways of getting past a locked door, the most obvious being
to unlock it. There is one place you can always find keys, but you might find
the price a little too high to pay. There are also a couple of more "magical"
solutions to getting through a door.
If you can't unlock a door, then you have three choices - leave it locked,
hoping to find a key later on, tunnel around it using a pick or somesuch
instrument, or to kick it down.
If you DO decide to kick it down, keep in mind that only some of the traps can
be avoided by standing in a safe position, and that equipment you carry may be
in danger. Although a door may seem stubborn, it is always possible to kick one
down, given time.
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8. THE OLD SWITCHEROONIE by Dan Martin
For a general strategy comment I'd like to talk of the
": s" command. Which is the switch postion with monster command.
This command is in the manual, but I just saw it recently
and so I don't think everyone knows about it.
It does what it says, switches your postion with a monsters.
I don't think it works with hostile monsters tho (or I've
just never succeeded with one).
It can be used to get past that non-hostile bat in the hall
that blocks your way, but you can't kill because you're neutral.
You can use it to put pets between you and the enemy chasing you.
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9. BEATING BREEDERS
Many an adventurer has met his demise at the hands of one of the wicked,
fast-breeding creatures in the Drakalor Chain.
There are two kinds of monsters who will multiply, Breeders (monsters
which split, or multiply to give two monsters of the same kind) and
Summoners (who summon a group of other monsters to their aid. Sometimes
the same kind, sometimes different).
Tactics for killing the monsters themselves will vary, depending on the
sort of monster, but, tactics should vary slightly if you are dealing with
summoners or breeders. The first important thing to note is that each
breeder can potentially split into two at any time, whereas a summoner can
potentially summon a group (probably around half a dozen) other creatures
at any time. Blink dogs are particularly lethal summoners - typically the
creatures summoned are not summoners themselves, but blink dogs are, so if
you aren't careful, the amount of creatures you end up with can increase
almost exponentially.
Whatever you are faced with, as soon as you identify a replicating monster
of some kind, if only two or three are present, you should direct your
attack at them immediately. Keeping a missile weapon with a reasonable
range close to hand can save your neck - if you can take them out before
them multiply, it's over before it's begun.
If however, things start to get out of hand, the first thing you must do
is ensure you cannot be attacked from many sides at once. The second thing
to do, is try to limit their growth, close doors, or make them (wands of
door creation are absolute lifesavers if you get caught in the wilderness,
or somewhere with few doors to block breeders). If it's possible to escape
now, then do so, having contained them. If not, then begin hacking your
way through them - if you can kill one roughly every other round, you'll
be okay. Bolt spells are extremely useful if you manage to line them up.
Note that summoners do not summon as rapidly as breeders reproduce, and
you can kill them without much trouble (provided you are tough enough to
take out the monsters summoned), by backing into a safe area and hacking
away.
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10. BIRTHSIGNS
Do you puzzle over which class you should play for each birthsign you get?
There are many subtle advantages to each birthsign - some are good for
everyone, others benefit specific classes more. Detailed information on
Birthsigns is available in the adom manual.
A) Raven
While this is fairly generally good (speed & perception boost among other
things), it is especially beneficial to bards, since it has a positive
effect on the 'strength' of your companions. Bards of all classes rely
quite heavily on their companions (at least initially), and this is
obviously a gift from the gods!
B) Book
This is pretty much a spellcasters sign, but a pretty good allrounder. The
notable effects are that it is easier to learn spells (makes life easier
for everyone.. particularly borderline casters like clerics), and you gain
an extra skill advance each level, which is lovely for anyone.
C) Wand
The real magic-user's sign. Characters beginning (and being) neutral get
significant bonuses to magic (mana bonus, extra PP to start, and cheaper
spells). This sign is also reasonable for the 'good guys' since it bestows
lawful tendencies.
D) Unicorn
This (very generic) sign bestows a certain resistance to the effects of
chaos, and lawful tendencies upon those born under it, and is a great one
for lawful hack'n'slashers, like Paladins, but not a bad thing for anyone,
by any means.
E) Salamander
The elementalist's sign! Bonus mana, cheaper fire magic, and extra power
points mean that an elementalist born under the sign of the Salamander has
a big step up, since fire spells form a decent part of his repertoire
(burning hands, firebolt, fireball, etc).
F) Dragon
A sign for the ferocious warriors! Somewhat in keeping with the names of
martial arts films, this is also a very good one for monks. Despite a
willpower penalty, those born in the month of the dragon are stronger,
tougher, improve their combat abilities more easily, and have a huge extra
benefit from their use of 'T'actics (a boon for monks).
G) Sword
This is the sign for more controlled fighters, in some ways, bestowing the
same bonus to tactics as the Dragon, but a greater benefit to learning
melee weapons kills (as well as an initial learning boost).
H) Falcon
Excellent for rangers, and the like, since the children born in the month
of the Falcon show an extraordinary aptitude to the talents surrounding
survival in the wilderness.
I) Cup
Another good sign for magic user wannabes, since it bestows a great bonus
to learning spells, as well as an extra skill advance every other levels.
Those born in the cup also find it easier to gain levels. Good for clerics
(and similar), who can often learn magic but have some trouble. Also not
bad for mages themselves.
J) Candle
This sign is the real all-rounder, since it bestows two simple but
fantastic effects, it makes you heal faster, and it gives more favour with
the gods. Trollish characters can do especially well with a super-healing
rate, now!
K) Wolf
A sign for the wary, for the survivors. Wolf-children draw more nutrition
from their food, are more perceptive, and very strong of will. Beneficial
for almost all characters, especially those who find their carrying
capacities limited in some way.
L) Tree
The tree depicts extreme stubbornness, and those born in this month find
themselves more rigid as to their alignment, and stronger of will. Another
good all-round sign.
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11. NECROMANTIC WOES
ADOM's necromancer class is extremely interesting, and quite a challenge
to play, if you can get the hang of keeping your servants alive!
Initially, you get no choice in the sort of slave that will be created,
and your only control will be to ensure that the humanoid corpse you use
is from as powerful a monster as possible, and that you keep your mana up.
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A. GLOSSARY OF TERMS AND ABREVIATIONS
The following is a list of useful terms and abreviations that you may
encounter when reading documents like this, or discussing ADOM over the
newsgroup. All the terms here have occured in some way on
rec.games.roguelike.adom, or in an associated resource.
[Abreviation/acronym/term] - It's full name / a description of it.
ADOM - Ancient Domains Of Mystery
ASG - ADOM Strategy Guide, this document!
DoD - Dagger of Death
DSM - Dragon Scale Mail
LMB - The living mana battery corruption
MoDest - Mace of Destruction
MoDisr - Mace of Disruption
PH - The Poison Hands corruption
PoCC - Potion of Cure Corruption
PoE - Potion of Education
PoGA - Potion of Gain Attributes
RoF - Ring of Fire
RoFR - Ring of Fire Resistance
RoI - Ring of Ice
SoCR - Scroll of Chaos Resistance
SoS - Sword of Sharpness
WoW - Wand of Wonder
WMoPC - Writhing Mass of Primal Chaos
NB: Items such as SoCR may be written ?SoCR, depending on the individual
using the acronym, since ? is the game symbol for a scroll.
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B. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ADOM STRATEGY GUIDE
If you have something to add, please do one of two things:
1. Email caff...@unreal.org, with your contribution, clearly written and
ready for inclusion (I may rewrite it, to make it fit better into other
sections, if appropriate).
2. If you would like to see some intelligent discussion on your point,
post it to rec.games.roguelike.adom, and I will pick up the points raised
during the discussion, and credit those who made them.
Unless you request otherwise, I will list your name below, along with the
section you contributed to.
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C. LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Listed below are all those who have written sections that have been
included (or parts of sections). Thanks also go out in general to the
numerous rec.games.roguelike.adom readers without whom a large portion of
this would not have been possible.
Sections:
Bruce Greenwood <wala...@ozemail.com.au> Dealing with doors
Dan Martin <KMa...@coldsprings.reno.nv.us> The old switcheroonie
Michael Laux <mal...@foxcomm.net> Necromancers &
Beastfighters
William Tanksley <wtan...@mailhost2.csusm.edu> Mods to Beastfighter &
Elementalist &
Monk
Comments / Points / Other contributions:
Chris Ingersoll, Psyco Farm Boy, Whismerill, Michael Laux,
William Tanksley, Bridget Farace.
Special thanks to:
Thomas Biskup, for creating the most addictive game ever.
Michael Laux, for converting this guide to HTML and providing webspace for
it.