YAVP: 15-rune (Tomb 5th) MDAs of Ihp'ix


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Slime Squisher

Posts: 419

Joined: Monday, 12th September 2016, 16:25

Post Friday, 17th February 2023, 14:03

YAVP: 15-rune (Tomb 5th) MDAs of Ihp'ix

http://crawl.montres.org.uk/morgue/dame ... 234640.txt

Hello, Sprucery.

This is my 4th 15-runer, my second Mountain Dwarf win, and my 2nd win with Stoat Soup's new god (details below), so I'm pretty pleased with this one, especially since it was the rare character who finds the OCPA and can sensibly cast spells in it.

Taking Ihp'ix in the Temple with just a +0 hunting sling and a modest collection of stones was a bit of a gamble (and I shed a tear as my remaining curare darts became forbidden), but I got to * piety soon and requested a hand crossbow.

Count your bolts before doing that, me! I now had a hand crossbow and five bolts. Back to the hunting sling.

I nearly got collected on D:7 by Joseph, an orc warrior, a bullfrog, an orc priest, and killer bees; but at the end of it all I'd polished off Joseph, got some sling bullets, and Ihp'ix had granted use of a +2 hunting sling. Better.

Lair gave me a +4 chain mail with {rPois Int+3} which I'd wear for ages before gold dragon scales turned up in Depths; it was a pretty solid choice.

Mountain Dwarf is surprisingly good at magic (+2 Fire and Earth) given it's terrible at magic (low base Int, -4 Spellcasting, negative apts at every other school), so I learned Conjure Flame and gradually got it online - it's obviously very useful in the Lair.

I got nearly collected (again) in a Labyrinth by the minotaur - I got a +8 plate armour with {+Blink rElec rF+ Int-5} which I was tempted by, but I like spells so I stuck with the chain - and then nearly collected (three!) by a horde of death yaks.

Lair done; bought a scroll of acquirement on D:11, getting a scarf with {rC+ rF+, rN+ Str+3} and a free ID on the scroll I was carrying around, which I got a manual of Fighting with. Around here I was kind of dithering between using a longbow and using a fusti and kite shield; I'd train a fair amount of Shields and stick to that through the S branches, but Ihp'ix would settle the issue on V:1.

Orc was pretty easy; by now I had full piety and could use Piercing Fire fairly liberally to pick off orc high priests, sorcerors, and other nuisances. The shops were terrible, but such is life.

The S branches weren't too dramatic other than Nikola turning up in Spider and immediately blowing my doors off (but I had resistance to quaff) and getting banished on sight by a wizard in Swamp (but I got out pretty quickly).

In Vaults, however, Ihp'ix solved the shield question by offering me a +8 triple crossbow of velocity. With Invo somewhere between 10 and 15, this was a stroke of luck, and I'd use it all game. Occasionally I carried a longbow for chaff, but it became increasingly clear the bolt supply was sufficient, and later I had the Sword of Cerebov for melee range.

In Vaults I found a ring with {Wiz rN+ Str+6} then learned Ignition and Statue Form (why learn two high-level spells that would need endless training? Stupid of me) and then one of my fellow Stoat Soupies said look, why learn one high-level spell that will need endless training? You'll be in gold dragon scales or a CPA soon, train Evo. I took her advice at the time, but in the long run that ring was amazingly useful and I'd be able to cast all kinds of spells in heavy armour.

Depths was pretty hairy; I very nearly splatted to a storm dragon on U:4 (I'd learn Insulation later, which simplified matters) but also got gold dragon scales, which I'd gradually enchant up to +12. I found some of my lower-level spells were still castable in it thanks to that excellent ring, so in extended would continue to learn and train spells up to around level 5 then finally max out Fire Magic for Ignition.

Depths was clearly _too_ hairy so I went off to Elf (with an ice cave on the way); the E:3 loot wasn't amazing but there were some randart boots and gloves that were useful for a while before gloves of strength and boots of running turned up. Finished Depths, cleared V:5 (pretty undramatic) acquiring gloves of strength.

I was starting to feel tempted by hubris so worked through Crypt (Bai Suzhen and Jory) and stuck my nose into Tomb. After clearing Tomb:1 I cleared the Vestibule of Hell just to get a little XP somewhere easier, fought the Tomb:2 ambush for a bit then teleported away, cleared the first half of Tomb:2, and worked along the corridor of greater mummies on Tomb:1. This was manageable except that piety was dropping; I was well into ***** because I wanted Piercing Fire for basically every greater mummy and piety gain with a divine weapon is reduced.

I backed out and went to Slime. TRJ gave me trouble - it managed to spew out a million jellies behind me and back up around a corner - but not fatally, and the loot included boots of running. Piety was back up so it was off to the Tomb again.

Tomb:3 was pretty unpleasant (when is it not?) but I was able to get to the stairs on my first few trips, make enough noise that teleporting away then landed me somewhere relatively clear, and finish the job. Killed Khufu, mastered Armour, but the loot was pretty disappointing for Tomb. I'd burned through my entire supply of holy words, but fortunately didn't really want them later.

Nothing here had been heart-in-mouth enough for me to think, well, I'd got my extended rune, time to cash the win; so I went to Pandemonium. Cerebov was first (mastered Fighting, learned Blink and Irradiate), Lom Lobon more troublesome but I had very high Evo so popped out a couple of box beasts which turned the fight in my favour, the demonic rune turned up in some random panlord's home, mastered Evocations, Gloorx Vloq's curse skulls more of a problem than Gloorx Vloq, learned Regeneration, and Mnoleg also went down easily. Out via the Abyss, scooping up the Abyssal rune.

Up until this point I'd carried a broadsword and trained a little Long Blades because I'd been berserked by a moth of wrath and knew it might happen again, but with the Sword of Cerebov and the gobs of XP coming my way, I trained Long Blades up to mindelay the sword and used it in melee, conserving bolts. I peaked at about 1500 bolts but used up about 100 in each Hell and in Zot, so this may not have been necessary, but it was effective enough and I didn't regret doing it.

I'd finally scraped together enough enchant weapons to cash a trove, getting randarts I didn't want but consumables I did. To Hell.

Dis was first, learning Yara's, killing the Serpent of Hell. I'd haste for Dispater and every other hell lord, which worked nicely but meant I had one potion of haste for Zot. I'd also phantom mirror some of the hell lords, but the results weren't amazing. I got petrified at some point in hell with monsters in view, but popped out a box beast which killed them for me.

Gehenna and Cocytus were not too bad. Tartarus was worse (bloody doom hounds), but hell effect Contam gave me deterioration so I mutrouletted it out getting rPois and rC+ - this was actually a huge stroke of luck since those two resistances were just what I wanted later. Tar:7 gave me the OCPA and an ring with {Fire rElec rN+++ MR+ Int+4}; these were excellent finds. I'd been wearing a plain ring of magic resistance - with these two and the mutated resistances I could swap from gold dragon scales to the OCPA without creating an rC or rPois hole, cover my rElec hole without casting Insulation, and go from having good spell success but bad spellpower to having good spell success and power.

Zot, then, wasn't too bad. Mastered Fire Magic and then Dodging. A few big draconian packs got blown up with Ignition, especially if they had moths of wrath at the back. OOFs went down to the crossbow and Evo-27 box beasts, which rinse OOFs (and almost everything else). Two panlords on the orb run, but evaded them both.


Of course the question this kind of win leaves the god designer wondering is... is the god too strong?

I think not (of course, I'm kind of biased that way). The triple crossbow was obviously very good, but Oka or Trog or the floorgod could easily give you just as good a weapon without the reduction in piety for kills with it. Piercing Fire is a solid ability, but I couldn't use it every time I wanted to (so the piety reduction has some actual effect), there are other ways to make penetrating attacks, and it's hardly the strongest of god powers. I'd have had an easier time in extended if I'd been with TSO or Zin, say.


Ihp'ix is the god of archers and, after months of debate and prayer at the Trifold Laitian Council a millenium ago, those who wield slings. When an arrow hits the bullseye or a hundred longbows spread death on a battlefield, when a shepherd defends a flock from wolves or when an assassin's bolt slays, Ihp'ix is there.


As worshippers of Ihp'ix gain skill with a bow, crossbow, or sling, they gain skill with the other weapons at an increased rate. Worshippers need never carry ammunition; Ihp'ix gathers it up into a vast divine armoury, then places it in worshippers' hands as it is needed. Especially devout worshippers will find Ihp'ix will even gather up shots their foes are about to fire and suppress their foes' magical defences.

Worshippers may infuse their shots with magical energy, temporarily make use of weapons from the divine armoury, and call upon Ihp'ix to have their shots pierce their opponents and spare their allies.

Ihp'ix likes it when you kill living beings, you destroy the undead, you kill demons, you kill holy beings and you destroy nonliving beings. Ihp'ix is better pleased when you strike down your enemies with ranged weapons.

Ihp'ix's powers are improved by the Invocations skill and piety.


Naturally, the use of ammunition and weapons from the divine armoury is reserved for those who have not strayed.
Ascension reports with too many words since 2016.
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Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 4478

Joined: Wednesday, 23rd October 2013, 07:56

Post Monday, 20th February 2023, 12:51

Re: YAVP: 15-rune (Tomb 5th) MDAs of Ihp'ix

damerell wrote:Hello, Sprucery.
Hello.

it was the rare character who finds the OCPA and can sensibly cast spells in it.
I've recently found the OCPA early in two games. Both times I couldn't resist just wearing it and trying to live with no EV or castable spells for a long time. Neither one survived. But I just can't resist fixed-arts like that.

(I'd learn Insulation later, which simplified matters)
Insulation was removed from Crawl a long time ago. How do you justify having it in Stoat?
DCSS: 97:...MfCj}SpNeBaEEGrFE{HaAKTrCK}DsFESpHu{FoArNaBe}
FeEE{HOIEMiAE}GrGlHuWrGnWrNaAKBaFi{MiDeMfDe}{DrAKTrAMGhEnGnWz}
{PaBeDjFi}OgAKPaCAGnCjOgCKMfAEAtCKSpCjDEEE{HOSu
Bloat: 17: RaRoPrPh{GuStGnCa}{ArEtZoNb}KiPaAnDrBXDBQOApDaMeAGBiOCNKAsFnFlUs{RoBoNeWi

Slime Squisher

Posts: 419

Joined: Monday, 12th September 2016, 16:25

Post Monday, 20th February 2023, 12:58

Re: YAVP: 15-rune (Tomb 5th) MDAs of Ihp'ix

Sprucery wrote:
damerell wrote:(I'd learn Insulation later, which simplified matters)
Insulation was removed from Crawl a long time ago. How do you justify having it in Stoat?


Felt like it and neither of the other two objected. Same goes for See Invisible. rElec's a relatively hard resistance to find, not a lot of potions drop, and monsters that do electricity damage are often sheer murder if you lack the resistance; giving spellcasters another option helps to make spells attractive over straight up heavy armour monster-whacking.

A lot of our recent changes have been restoring stuff that seems basically harmless to have in the game, like ravens and fireflies.

The odd thing about the OCPA is I think I'm far more likely to wear it on a character with little interest in spells, where it's just superb - a +8 CPA with clarity.
Ascension reports with too many words since 2016.

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