YAVP FeCr

[Schwam]

... and there was much rejoicing.

My first win - it's a nice feeling to think I'll be about to think about something else.

Best advice I had :
- the walkthrough on the Wiki, particularly the point about not - not! - attempting the last floors of Swamp, Elven etc at first.
- eith on the chat. S/He explained me that I was overdoing the "leave Spellcasting on". I then tried to make go with slots for my buffs + blink/apportation/silence, and dump more in Ench. Worked much better.

Lessons learned :
- Trouble with Berserk is food and slow. As a FeCr you can mitigate these problems - Carnivore and Haste. I think I tended in this game to Berserk then Haste-escape if needed, rather than attack with Haste on.
- Generally it was a scratch oriented Crusader - stats went to mostly to Dex.
- Makhleb seem to me quite newbie friendly. I used only Minor Destruction (kill runners) and Lesser Servants (the first Hydras).
- Mutations are fun. Risky, but fun... But risky.
- the anti missiles spells are very, very important. It will sound obvious to the more experienced players, but beginners like me tend to spend lots of time on lower levels - where it is not that evident. Then come the centaurs, casters, whatever, and whack. Generally, at the end I felt naked without a mix of Deflect/Regen/Haste/Ozo etc on.


Still wondering :
- the exact mechanics of extension / glow.
- the many life of the cat : the fact I won means it is overpowered.
- maybe I overdid it in dodge. Feels nice, though.
- I usually left Stealth on. I _think_ it was a good idea.

Have fun, people.

  Code:

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.8.0-a0-4390-gc2f102f character file.

798628 Doble Kek the Intangible (level 27, 146/146 HPs)
             Began as a Felid Crusader on Feb 20, 2011.
             Was the Champion of Makhleb.
             Escaped with the Orb!
             The game lasted 12:25:16 (152059 turns).

Doble Kek the Intangible (Felid Crusader)                         Turns: 152059, Time: 12:25:16

HP 146/146       AC  7     Str 10      Exp: 27/1305736 (3)
MP  39/42        EV 42     Int 15 (16) God: Makhleb [******]
Gold 7304        SH  0     Dex 25 (26) Spells: 13 memorised,  3 levels left
                                       Lives: 0, deaths: 8

Res.Fire  : + + .   See Invis. : +     - Unarmed
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : .   (armour unavailable)
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (shield unavailable)
Res.Acid. : . . .   Res.Corr.  : .   (helmet unavailable)
Res.Poison: .       Clarity    : .   (cloak unavailable)
Res.Elec. : .       Spirit.Shd : .   (gloves unavailable)
Sust.Abil.: . .     Stasis     : .   (boots unavailable)
Res.Mut.  : +       Ctrl.Telep.: .   i - amulet of resist mutation
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .   g - ring "Veyfugilo" {+Inv rF++ AC+1 Str+2}
Saprovore : . . .   Ctrl.Flight: .   w - ring "Donun" {MR Int+3 Dam+3}

@: slightly glowing, hasted, very quick, incredibly resistant to hostile enchantments,
extraordinarily stealthy
A: paw claws, no armour, no advanced items, fangs 3, see invisible, berserk 1, carnivore 3,
deformed body 2, deterioration 3, speed 2, sense surroundings 1, slow metabolism 2, AC +6, EV
-1, Str -2, Int -1
a: Minor Destruction, Lesser Servant of Makhleb, Major Destruction, Greater Servant of Makhleb,
Renounce Religion, Evoke Invisibility


You escaped.
You worshipped Makhleb.
Makhleb was exalted by your worship.
You were not hungry.

You visited 11 branches of the dungeon, and saw 77 of its levels.
You visited 1 Labyrinth.
You visited 1 portal chamber: wizlab.

You collected 10076 gold pieces.
You spent 2792 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Comestibles
 B - 3 meat rations
 H - 3 royal jellies
 I - 10 honeycombs
Scrolls
 b - a scroll of detect curse
 d - a scroll of holy word
 f - 2 scrolls of remove curse
 m - a scroll of teleportation
 E - 3 scrolls of identify
Jewellery
 a - a +6 ring of protection
 g - the ring "Veyfugilo" (right paw) {+Inv rF++ AC+1 Str+2}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 2 of the Orcish Mines)   
   [ring of protection]
   It affects your AC (+1).
   It affects your strength (+2).
   It greatly protects you from fire.
   It lets you turn invisible.
 i - an amulet of resist mutation (around neck)
 k - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
 l - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 r - an uncursed amulet of resist corrosion
 w - the ring "Donun" (left paw) {MR Int+3 Dam+3}
   (You found it on level 20 of the Dungeon)   
   [ring of protection from magic]
   It affects your intelligence (+3).
   It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+3).
 x - an uncursed ring of teleport control
 y - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
 z - an uncursed amulet of warding
 G - a +0,+6 ring of slaying
Potions
 c - a potion of might
 e - 2 potions of restore abilities
 h - a potion of invisibility
 j - a potion of magic
 n - a potion of healing
 p - a potion of agility
 v - 2 potions of speed
Orbs of Power
 o - the Orb of Zot


 You had 3 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 20 Fighting
 - Level 1 Bows
 * Level 27 Dodging
 + Level 15 Stealth
 - Level 6 Stabbing
 - Level 1 Shields
 + Level 9 Traps & Doors
 + Level 17 Unarmed Combat
 + Level 12 Spellcasting
 + Level 20 Enchantments
 - Level 7 Necromancy
 - Level 2 Transmutations
 + Level 9 Ice Magic
 - Level 5 Air Magic
 + Level 12 Invocations


You had 3 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Success   Level  Hunger
a - Berserker Rage        Ench           N/A          Perfect     3    None
b - Regeneration          Ench/Necr      ######....   Excellent   3    None
c - Deflect Missiles      Air/Ench       ######....   Great       6    Honeycomb
d - Haste                 Ench           #######..    Excellent   6    Honeycomb
e - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          Very Good   2    None
f - Extension             Ench           #######...   Excellent   5    Honeycomb
g - Confuse               Ench           #######..    Perfect     3    None
h - Silence               Air/Ench       ######....   Excellent   5    Honeycomb
i - Ozocubu's Armour      Ice/Ench       #######...   Excellent   3    None
j - Condensation Shield   Ice/Trmt       #####.....   Great       4    Choko
k - Control Teleport      Ench/Tloc      ######....   Excellent   4    Choko
l - Repel Missiles        Air/Ench       ######....   Excellent   2    None
m - Apportation           Tloc           ##........   Great       1    None


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (27/27)            Temple (1/1) D:4             Orc (4/4) D:7
    Elf (7/7) Orc:3          Lair (8/8) D:12          Swamp (5/5) Lair:2
  Slime (0/6) Lair:7        Snake (5/5) Lair:4         Hive (2/2) D:15
  Vault (8/8) D:14          Blade (0/1) Vault:5       Crypt (5/5) Vault:2
   Tomb (0/3) Crypt:2         Zot (5/5) D:27       

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Sif Muna
The Shining One
Trog
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
Beogh

Shops:
D:11: %  D:16: !  D:18: ?/  D:20: ?//?  Orc:2: =  Elf:1: =  Elf:3: %[*?  Elf:6: %/++
Snake:5: [  Vault:2: (?[*  Vault:6: [  Vault:7: +

Portals:
Hell: D:21 D:22 D:23 D:24 D:25 D:26 D:27
Abyss: D:25
Pan: D:22 D:23 D:24
Ziggurat: D:25 (11320 gp)

Annotations
D:15 exclusion: orange crystal statue
Vault:6 exclusion: Boris
Crypt:3 exclusion: curse skull
Zot:4 exclusion: 75 steam clouds


                    Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You cannot wear armour.
You are incapable of any advanced item manipulation.
Your paws have sharp claws.
You have razor-sharp teeth.
You have supernaturally acute eyesight.
You are carnivorous and can eat meat at any time.
You cover ground very quickly.
Your thick and shaggy fur keeps you warm (AC +3, rC+).
You have a slow metabolism.
You are mostly covered in icy blue scales (AC +2, EV -1).
You are partially covered in colourless scales (AC +1).
You tend to lose your temper in combat.
You are clumsy (Dex -1).
Armour fits poorly on your deformed body.
Your body is rapidly deteriorating.
You are dopey (Int -1).
Your muscles are flexible, but weak (Str -1, Dex +1).
You passively map a small area around you.
You are weak (Str -1).


Message History

You are contaminated with residual magics.
There is an escape hatch in the ceiling here.
Welcome back, Doble Kek the Felid Crusader.
Blood and souls for Makhleb!
Press ? for a list of commands and other information.
Are you sure you want to leave the Dungeon?
You have escaped!

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#    #.................
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######..........#######
#    #..........#
#    #.....@....#
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....###################
....#
#####
 
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.......................
#######################


There were no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures

Grand Total: 4309 creatures vanquished

Notes

152059 | D:$     | Escaped with the Orb!


[TwilightPhoenix]

Congrats on your first win. Winning Crawl for the first time is a pretty awesome feeling. Only thing is, you forgot to carry out the runes and artifacts you found. They would have boosted your score.

I don't think the extra lives are overpowered. They're great for non-uber players as it lets them make mistakes, learn straight away what they did wrong, and go back to try it again the right way without having to start all the way over. Plus, it's kind of balanced in the fact you only get three equipment slots out of nine (two rings, amulet, gloves, boots, hat, armor, weapon, and shield) and you can't use other helpful things such as wands. So, you're likely to get into a situation that costs you one of your lives that someone with full gear and wand access could have handled/escaped without issue. Plus, you needed every last one of them you had to win, so I'd say that it's probably working right.

And although I'm far from being an expert, I don't think you overdid Dodging at all.

[Jenx]

You can never have enough evasion. Ever! Also, seeing this and the FeBe thread, it makes me wonder - the two characters can more or less do the same thing - berserk, regenerate and summon powerful allies. But i've been wondering - which one would people recommend? Trog's brothers in arms or Makhleb's Greater Servants? From my experience with these two both have been very very powerful, although I guess with the Greater Servants it might be easier to do stuff like swamp or Snake since they can not be poisoned.

[Schwam]

I tried both : on one hand, BiA, on the other, Blink, Silence, and various buffs. I think it's a matter of taste. But for a beginner, I feel the second gives more panic buttons.

In both cases, trouble often happen during the slow after Berserk. In the Cr version, you can Haste and still be a pretty fast cat, or blink or call Servants. As a Be, you call servants, regen, and go whack them. So I think the second version requires more prudence/planning/consumables/luck, etc.

[lucy_ferre]

You can never have enough evasion. Ever! Also, seeing this and the FeBe thread, it makes me wonder - the two characters can more or less do the same thing - berserk, regenerate and summon powerful allies. But i've been wondering - which one would people recommend? Trog's brothers in arms or Makhleb's Greater Servants? From my experience with these two both have been very very powerful, although I guess with the Greater Servants it might be easier to do stuff like swamp or Snake since they can not be poisoned.

FeCr of Makhleb is better than FeBe, because you can cast spells. Spells allow you to get more resistances and other nice things. Greater demons are better than Trog's berserkers.

[TwilightPhoenix]

I'd second (or third or whatever) going a Crusader Felid. I did a Berserker for the hilarious mental images that would ensue playing it, such as a pissed off kitty chasing down a dragon that's fleeing in sheer terror from seeing it's brothers torn apart by said housecat. But, on Vault 8 I maxed Unarmed Combat and not much later Dodging maxed too. After that, it was hard to spend down XP since everything else I could train I couldn't do so reliably, quickly, or both and I had exhausted my useful manuals (did have one of bows and one of throwing laying around somewhere though) and I was starting to feel pretty restricted in abilities and reliant on consumables and swapping to evocable jewels to escape bad situations.

Although, berserked Iron Trolls never went out of style.

[Lantier]

Congrats, Schwam!

Re Extension. I followed this guide http://crawl.chaosforge.org/index.php?title=Extension It seemed to be about right.

My basic rule of thumb was: don't extend Haste unless you're about to die.

[Schwam]

Thanks you all.

From Lantiers link : "Should you find yourself glowing as a result of accidentally extending Haste, make certain to not extend it again."

Had I read it, I don't know if I'd have paid attention : Doble Kek, the Fluorescent Felid, zooming silently through the lowest levels of the dungeon, rotting away at -20% life and mp was fun as is.

At one point I had the Blink mutation : I could control-Blink around with Silence on. Casters, catnip. Good times.