YAAP - Igor-Nec-Dro-Mal-Cha (Poly-Form-Art)
ATonin
first SLASH'EM ascension- a knight- and ended it musing that I might
try again with an Undead Slayer. Well, I suppose I decided to do the
complete opposite of that. I picked Drow for my Necromancer to help it
get through the perilous early game- and after many encounters with
death in the early game on his predecessors (Woodland Elf with a Wand
of Death busted a promising game on the Oracle level- not quite the
proverbial Gnome, but close enough), I learned some valuable lessons.
On this ascension I dumped my Ghoul pet as soon as I started- I find
they are far too slow to really help you. The game didn't start as
particularly promising- I started with fairly poor stats (a meagre 15
intelligence for a Drow spellcaster!). My starting spellbook was
Knock, and I believe my rings were Protection from Shapeshifters and
See Invisible- certainly rings which have value, but not exceptionally
so. Barehanded combat saw me through the early levels, although it's
always nerve-wrackingly perilous with 10 AC, and there were plenty of
close calls. The first floor had an altar though, which I figured was
going to be my salvation. I did get a few breaks in the form of a
jumping boots in a shop, and a blessed invisibility potion lying
around. In tandem these two items gave me what I've found a weak
starting role needs so desperately- means of escape. In time I
sacrificed and received my Serpent's Tongue, but with very little
armour and plenty of poison resistant enemies out there, my problems
weren't over. I found the Houchou in a bones pile, which is certainly
nice to have as a last-ditch option, but didn't give me an alternate
weapon for poison and sleep resistant foes.
I caught a big break with a magical lamp being found a few levels
under the Oracle, which I converted into GDSM. Sokoban held the amulet
of reflection, so with both of those in tow I felt far more secure.
Things progressed steadily; a 2nd altar was found on Level 10 which
became my home base stash for the rest of the game. I found both
Grayswandir and Disrupter in a shop a few levels below the Quest- of
course, the RNG would generate Grayswandir on the rare occasion I play
a chaotic. I experimented with using it a little, but the blast damage
in SLASH'EM is much larger, and without any skill, disincentivized it,
and I ended up tucking it away in my stash with a shrug.
The quest was nice and uneventful- Maugneshaagar, like many other
dangerous foes, just can't do much against the fists of a Drow.
Glaurgnaa didn't make much of a weapon, but at least it was a nice
source of extra power.
I ended up taking on Vecna a little sooner than I meant to- I went
into the Chaotic Quest and took two steps accidentally before
realizing what had happened. As I was surrounded by Vecna and an
assortment of L and V, I teleported (It took me a short ways away into
a corridoor just off the main room, actually a perfect spot). I then
took a blessed genocide scroll out of my pack and extinguished L, then
burned Elbereth and hacked/cast away at Vecna and the assorted trash
until it was clear.
I had 21 genocides overall in this ascension- L, ;, and a number of
assorted spellcasters. I hate self-perpetuating nasties cycles that
become monstrous quagmires, so Vampire Mage, Ghoul Mage, Ghoul Queen,
and Gnoll Shaman all went- along with Giant Shoggoth just for some
peace of mind. My god granted me Fire Brand, which I would use against
poison-resistant, fire-weak baddies like Migos or Undead. Many hours
of incremental trips up and down staircases later, I was ready to take
on the Wizard and make my run at Ascension.
I've ascended 3 times in Nethack (2 knights, 1 Valkyrie) and once in
SLASH'EM (a knight), but somehow I only discovered now that a wand of
death is sufficient to take out the Wizard- I guess I just doubted it
could really be that easy? Because of my ignorance in that regard, the
Wizard gave me some trouble in his tower- he duplicated himself a
couple of times, and generally was a pain. I had to use a full healing
and a lot of power to take him out. The Sanctum was smooth until I got
to the temple and realized I had forgotten to bring a secret door
detection wand. Luckily I found it without much searching. I went
inside, smiled at the high priest and zapped a Wand of Death... only
to find him still standing, unharmed.
Dang.
The fight against the High Priest was tough, as Moloch would get angry
and send lightning to blind me every time I took a hostile action
against the High Priest, who was resisting magic, as well as Serpent's
Tongue. The return to the top floor was quite smooth, with the Wizard
returning a couple of times- I made my incidental discovery that a
Wand of Death will shred him, which made things much easier than
ascensions past. Nothing eventful happened on the Planes-
Necromancer's prerogative to fight Pestillence first lead to the
Neutral altar, 2nd with Death was Chaotic.
I do feel a decent amount of accomplishment for ascending one of the
harder roles in SLASH'EM. I don't know where I'll go from here, maybe
Archaeologist, but I think I'll have to take a break for now. Anyway,
I've rambled on long enough. Until the next time!