YASD - DEWz

[EatsDungeonBats]

Was feeling pretty good about my progress (14th level). I'm starting to get the hang of managing my skills, and I was being really cautious (obviously not cautious enough) and strategically retreating whenever things looked even a little tough.

Went down to the 18th level of the dungeon. Soon, encountered some slime creatures and a centaur warrior, and retreated back to the staircase which was too much in the open, so I went back up. Restored all MP and HP. Decided to try a different staircase. At the bottom of the stairs I immediately encountered a (probably the same) centaur warrior, Nikola, and a cyclops:

cyclops and Nikola come into view. The cyclops shouts!
The centaur warrior wields an uncursed bow. The centaur warrior shoots an arrow. The arrow hits you!
Nikola mumbles some strange words.
You hear a mighty clap of thunder! The lightning arc hits you! The lightning arc hits the cyclops.
The lightning arc hits you! The lightning arc hits Nikola.
The lightning arc hits you!
* * * LOW HITPOINT WARNING * * * The lightning arc hits Nikola. The lightning arc hits you!
* * * LOW HITPOINT WARNING * * *
The cyclops throws a large rock. The large rock hits you!
You die...

I had Repel Missile and even Deflect Missile (21% fail). I guess knowing that there was a centaur warrior somewhere below, I should have prepared by casting Deflect Missile before heading down, though even that may not have saved me from four hits from Nikola's lightening strike. I love Dungeon Crawl, but I get so frustrated by how unforgiving it can be.

[tedric]

Chain lightning isn't really a missile, I think neither RMsl or DMsl would have helped.

To see if there were other factors contributing to this death, I took the liberty of pulling your morgue:

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.13.1-27-ga479965 (webtiles) character file.

51826 EatsDungeonBats the Thaumaturge (level 14, -5/76 HPs)
             Began as a Deep Elf Wizard on Feb 19, 2014.
             Hit by a large rock thrown by a cyclops (17 damage)
             ... on Level 18 of the Dungeon on Feb 20, 2014.
             The game lasted 04:39:04 (36825 turns).

EatsDungeonBats the Thaumaturge (Deep Elf Wizard)  Turns: 36825, Time: 04:39:04

HP  -5/76        AC 16     Str 15      XL: 14   Next: 23%
MP  36/36        EV 12     Int 25      God:
Gold 355         SH  0     Dex 13      Spells: 10 memorised,  3 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   b - +3,+1 longbow
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   h - +4 ring mail
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (no shield)
Res.Poison: .       Res.Corr.  : .   M - +1 dwarf golden helmet
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   (no cloak)
Sust.Abil.: . .     Spirit.Shd : .   Q - +1 pair of dwarf gloves {Str+3}
Res.Mut.  : +       Stasis     : .   (no boots)
Res.Rott. : .       Flight     : .   y - amulet of resist mutation
Saprovore : . . .                    j - +4 ring of strength
                                     k - ring of regeneration

@: somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, quite stealthy
A: AC +2
a: no special abilities


You were on level 18 of the Dungeon.
You were not hungry.

You visited 2 branches of the dungeon, and saw 19 of its levels.

You collected 780 gold pieces.
You spent 445 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +1,+0 short sword of venom
 b - a +3,+1 longbow (weapon)
 d - a +4,+1 elven sabre of draining
 f - a +0,+1 dwarven short sword of freezing
 g - a +0 blowgun
 o - a +2,+2 bow of flame
Missiles
 u - 18 arrows of frost
 w - 69 poisoned needles
 N - 7 needles of confusion
 R - 76 arrows (quivered)
 T - 4 curare-tipped needles
Armour
 h - a +4 ring mail (worn)
 M - a +1 dwarven golden helmet (worn)
 Q - a +1 pair of dwarven gloves of strength (worn)
Magical devices
 c - a wand of teleportation (3)
 x - a wand of lightning (1)
 J - a wand of paralysis (7)
 O - a wand of frost (0)
 V - a wand of lightning (6)
Comestibles
 p - 4 meat rations
 B - a royal jelly
 L - 3 bread rations
Scrolls
 l - 2 scrolls of fear
 m - 2 scrolls of teleportation
 A - 3 scrolls of amnesia
 X - 2 scrolls of remove curse
Jewellery
 e - an uncursed ring of fire
 j - a +4 ring of strength (right hand)
 k - a ring of regeneration (left hand)
 s - a +2 ring of intelligence
 y - an amulet of resist mutation (around neck)
 z - an uncursed amulet of the gourmand
 I - an uncursed amulet of stasis
 P - an uncursed ring of magical power
 S - an uncursed ring of positive energy
 U - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 Z - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
Potions
 i - a potion of invisibility
 n - a potion of porridge
 q - 4 potions of restore abilities
 E - a potion of berserk rage
 G - 2 potions of curing
Books
 t - a book of Alchemy   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Lethal Infusion                    Charms/Necromancy            2
   Sublimation of Blood               Necromancy                   2
   Condensation Shield                Ice                          4
   Alistair's Intoxication            Transmutation/Poison         4
   Petrify                            Transmutation/Earth          4
   Ignite Poison                      Fire/Transmutation           5
 C - a book of Wizardry   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Summon Elemental                   Summoning                    4
   Agony                              Necromancy                   5
   Force Lance                        Conjuration                  5
   *Fireball                          Conjuration/Fire             5
   Haste                              Charms                       6
   Invisibility                       Hexes                        6
 D - a Grand Grimoire {highlevel}   
   This book is beyond your current level of understanding.
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Demonic Horde                      Summoning                    6
   Mass Abjuration                    Summoning                    6
   Haunt                              Necromancy/Summoning         7
   Summon Greater Demon               Summoning                    7
   Malign Gateway                     Summoning/Translocation      7
   Summon Horrible Things             Summoning                    8
 F - a book of Ice   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Freezing Aura                      Charms/Ice                   2
   Ensorcelled Hibernation            Hexes/Ice                    2
   Ozocubu's Refrigeration            Ice                          6
   Bolt of Cold                       Conjuration/Ice              6
   *Freezing Cloud                    Conjuration/Ice/Air          6
   Metabolic Englaciation             Hexes/Ice                    6
   Simulacrum                         Ice/Necromancy               6
 Y - a book of Enchantments   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   *Cause Fear                        Hexes                        4
   Silence                            Hexes/Air                    5
   Tukima's Dance                     Hexes                        5
   *Deflect Missiles                  Charms/Air                   6
   Haste                              Charms                       6
   Discord                            Hexes                        8
Miscellaneous
 H - a legendary deck of defence {drawn: 1}
Rods
 r - a +0 rod of demonology (14/14)
   (You found it on level 8 of the Dungeon)


   Skills:
 * Level 7.5 Fighting
 - Level 4.4 Short Blades
 * Level 7.0 Bows
 - Level 2.7 Throwing
 * Level 4.5 Armour
 - Level 7.5 Dodging
 - Level 8.4 Stealth
 * Level 12.1 Spellcasting
 * Level 8.7 Conjurations
 - Level 7.1 Hexes
 * Level 10.4 Charms
 - Level 1.1 Summonings
 - Level 2.9 Translocations
 * Level 5.1 Fire Magic
 * Level 6.0 Ice Magic
 * Level 7.6 Air Magic
 - Level 4.3 Poison Magic
 - Level 3.1 Evocations


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

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Magic Dart            Conj           ####         1%          1    None
b - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          2%          2    None
c - Call Imp              Summ           ###.......   4%          2    None
d - Mephitic Cloud        Conj/Pois/Air  #####...     1%          3    None
e - Conjure Flame         Conj/Fire      #####...     1%          3    None
f - Repel Missiles        Chrm/Air       ######....   1%          2    None
g - Cause Fear            Hex            ######....   2%          4    None
h - Deflect Missiles      Chrm/Air       ######....   17%         6    #####..
i - Freezing Cloud        Conj/Ice/Air   ######....   34%         6    #####..
j - Fireball              Conj/Fire      #####.....   10%         5    ##.....


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (18/27)            Temple (1/1) D:5             Orc (0/4) D:6 D:9
   Lair (0/8) D:13       
Vaults: D:15-20     

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

Shops:
D:4 ?   D:8 /%(?   D:10 [   D:13 *

Portals:
Trove: D:11 (give 2 potions of cure mutation)

Annotations:
D:3 EatsDungeonBats' ghost, average DEWz
D:8 Edmund
D:18 Nikola


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You are partially covered in slimy green scales (AC +2).


Message History

You continue eating.
You finish eating. That bread ration really hit the spot!
You climb downwards.
You hear coins being counted.
An interdimensional caravan has stopped on this level and set up a bazaar. Hurry and find its entrance before they move on!
You hear the stately tolling of a bell, a long way away.
A cyclops and Nikola come into view.
The cyclops shouts!
The centaur warrior wields an uncursed bow.
The centaur warrior shoots an arrow. The arrow hits you!
Nikola mumbles some strange words.
You hear a mighty clap of thunder!
The lightning arc hits you! The lightning arc hits the cyclops.
The lightning arc hits you! The lightning arc hits Nikola.
The lightning arc hits you!
* * * LOW HITPOINT WARNING * * *
The lightning arc hits Nikola. The lightning arc hits you!
* * * LOW HITPOINT WARNING * * *
The cyclops throws a large rock. The large rock hits you!
You die...

,,,,,,,,,,.....c.JJ§(<........,*,
,,,,,,,*,*,#.#.#.............(,**
,,,,,, ,,,...c...............,,,*
,,,,,,,,,,,..................,,**
,**, ,* ,,,*##...........#..#,**
,*,,,,,,,,** ##......#......,,**
,, ,*,,,,,*  #........#..#.,,,,**
,***** *,**  *#.#@.....#.#,,,,,,*
,*    ****   **#@.....#,,,*,**,**
,*          *#.........#,*******
,***       *#...C..##.##,***
,* **     *#.#..#..#,,, ,,,**
,  ,*     #.,...,...*,**,,,,*
,,,**     #*.##.*..##*****,**
,,,,**     ##*##*###     ***
,,,,,**
 *,,,,*


You could see Nikola, a slime creature, a centaur warrior and a cyclops.

Vanquished Creatures
  Harold (D:16)
  Josephine (D:13)
  A hydra (D:13)
  2 ogre magi
  5 centaur warriors
  Urug (D:12)
  The ghost of joew the Basher, an experienced DgWn (D:9)
  An unseen horror (D:13)
  An orc knight (D:17)
  10 hill giants
  A wolf spider (D:14)
  3 griffons
  5 cyclopes
  An item mimic (D:14)
  Psyche (D:13)
  An efreet (D:16)
  A komodo dragon (shapeshifter) (D:13)
  A queen bee (D:12)
  A human (D:6)
  8 trolls
  A catoblepas zombie (D:13)
  Prince Ribbit (D:6)
  6 two-headed ogres
  A dragon zombie (D:16)
  2 griffon zombies (D:15)
  13 slime creatures
  3 basilisks
  3 shadows
  22 ugly things
  An ettin skeleton (D:16)
  3 wyverns
  A water elemental (D:11)
  2 trapdoor spiders (D:11)
  An octopode (shapeshifter) (D:18)
  A tarantella (shapeshifter) (D:17)
  42 yaks
  2 hill giant zombies
  4 hungry ghosts
  A hill giant skeleton (D:14)
  A hippogriff (D:16)
  6 vampire mosquitoes
  2 mottled dragons
  Menkaure (D:6)
  A rock worm (D:16)
  4 manticores
  4 porcupines (D:13)
  12 orc warriors
  3 human skeletons (D:13)
  A giant goldfish (D:11)
  7 black bears
  2 ice beasts
  12 ogres
  6 phantoms
  22 centaurs
  4 sky beasts
  3 crocodiles
  Duvessa (D:8)
  3 big kobolds
  A brain worm (D:13)
  A hill giant simulacrum (D:13)
  2 giant slug zombies
  14 giant frogs
  2 giant slugs (D:13)
  Blork the orc (D:5)
  2 cyclops zombies (D:14)
  5 water moccasins
  A yaktaur skeleton (D:13)
  2 manticore zombies (D:13)
  A human (shapeshifter) (D:13)
  A cyclops skeleton (D:13)
  A boulder beetle zombie (D:16)
  An eye of draining (D:10)
  2 human zombies (D:13)
  A hippogriff zombie (D:13)
  3 jellies
  49 killer bees
  3 troll skeletons
  8 electric eels (D:11)
  15 wights
  A yak skeleton (D:13)
  Dowan (D:8)
  10 crimson imps
  A hippogriff skeleton (D:11)
  7 goliath beetles
  A giant frog zombie (D:6)
  9 hounds
  6 orc priests
  18 orc wizards
  A two-headed ogre zombie (D:15)
  2 big fish (D:11)
  2 quasits
  2 iguanas
  9 worker ants
  A basilisk skeleton (D:16)
  3 scorpions
  A shapeshifter simulacrum (D:13)
  2 sheep (D:11)
  2 elf zombies (D:13)
  2 mottled dragon zombies
  Ijyb (D:6)
  A crocodile skeleton (D:7)
  A killer bee zombie (D:9)
  A mottled dragon skeleton (D:11)
  2 brain worm zombies (D:13)
  A hound skeleton (D:11)
  A mummy (D:13)
  10 gnolls
  3 green rats (D:13)
  10 adders
  2 giant centipedes
  2 giant mites
  6 worms
  A goliath beetle zombie (D:12)
  An adder zombie (D:9)
  4 giant eyeballs
  4 giant geckos
  2 oozes
  73 orcs
  3 ball pythons
  10 bats
  A bat skeleton (D:6)
  3 giant cockroaches
  16 goblins
  16 hobgoblins
  19 jackals
  34 kobolds
  8 quokkas
  6 giant newts
  9 giant spores
  A goblin zombie (D:5)
  2 orc zombies
  15 rats
  12 ballistomycetes
730 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (collateral kills)
  2 killer bees
2 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A human (D:8)
  A killer bee (D:15)
  An orc (D:12)
  13 giant spores
  A ballistomycete (D:12)
  4 fungi (D:13)
  5 plants (D:13)
26 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 758 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | EatsDungeonBats, the Deep Elf Wizard, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 8/8 MP: 7/7
   434 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 13/13 MP: 7/10
   438 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Blink
   441 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Call Imp
   507 | D:1      | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
  1407 | D:2      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 17/17 MP: 11/14
  1636 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Mephitic Cloud
  1640 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Conjure Flame
  2139 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 22/22 MP: 2/17
  2145 | D:2      | Learned a level 2 spell: Repel Missiles
  2646 | D:2      | Reached skill level 6 in Spellcasting
  2646 | D:2      | Reached skill level 1 in Fire Magic
  2889 | D:3      | Reached skill level 1 in Poison Magic
  3129 | D:3      | Reached skill level 1 in Air Magic
  3304 | D:3      | Noticed EatsDungeonBats' ghost (average DEWz)
  3541 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 26/26 MP: 17/20
  4236 | D:4      | Reached skill level 1 in Charms
  4573 | D:4      | Found Koishrob's Magic Scroll Shop.
  4582 | D:4      | Bought a scroll of identify for 24 gold pieces
  4582 | D:4      | Bought a scroll of identify for 24 gold pieces
  4584 | D:4      | Gained mutation: You are partially covered in slimy green scales (AC +2). [potion of beneficial mutation]
  4846 | D:4      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 31/31 MP: 17/22
  4953 | D:4      | Reached skill level 1 in Fighting
  5458 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  6074 | D:5      | Noticed Blork the orc
  6253 | D:5      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 32/36 MP: 4/24
  6457 | D:5      | Killed Blork the orc
  6952 | D:5      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  6964 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  7199 | D:6      | Noticed Ijyb
  7241 | D:6      | Killed Ijyb
  7366 | D:6      | Noticed Menkaure
  7369 | D:6      | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 4 turns
  7376 | D:6      | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 3 turns
  7443 | D:6      | Killed Menkaure
  7443 | D:6      | Reached skill level 7 in Spellcasting
  7443 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 5/41 MP: 13/26
  7742 | D:6      | Noticed a human
  7758 | D:6      | Killed a human
  8129 | D:6      | Found an iron altar of Okawaru.
  8293 | D:6      | Noticed Prince Ribbit
  8303 | D:6      | Killed Prince Ribbit
  9179 | D:6      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 46/46 MP: 10/28
  9558 | D:6      | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
  9630 | D:6      | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
 10844 | D:7      | Reached skill level 1 in Short Blades
 10862 | D:7      | Reached skill level 1 in Bows
 10862 | D:7      | Reached skill level 5 in Stealth
 10929 | D:7      | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 4 turns
 11085 | D:7      | Reached skill level 8 in Spellcasting
 11152 | D:7      | Reached skill level 1 in Evocations
 11331 | D:7      | Found a deep blue altar of Sif Muna.
 11675 | D:7      | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
 11954 | D:8      | Reached skill level 1 in Armour
 12006 | D:8      | Found Alulak's Weapon Emporium.
 12474 | D:8      | Found Iroawoam's Magic Scroll Emporium.
 12520 | D:8      | Identified a +0 rod of demonology (14/14) (You found it on level 8 of the Dungeon)
 12543 | D:8      | Bought a scroll of identify for 30 gold pieces
 12543 | D:8      | Bought a scroll of identify for 30 gold pieces
 12620 | D:8      | Noticed Edmund
 12626 | D:8      | Noticed Dowan
 12629 | D:8      | Noticed Duvessa
 12797 | D:8      | Killed Duvessa
 12816 | D:8      | Killed Dowan
 13003 | D:8      | Found Ytiosete's Food Shop.
 13153 | D:8      | Got a warped trident
 13154 | D:8      | Identified the trident "Pendulum" {elec, rElec rF+} (You found it on level 8 of the Dungeon)
 13160 | D:8      | Found Gousean's Magical Wand Boutique.
 13169 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 52/52 MP: 19/29
 13241 | D:8      | Found an ancient bone altar of Kikubaaqudgha.
 13256 | D:8      | Noticed a human
 13258 | D:8      | Killed a human
 13360 | D:9      | Paralysed by you for 2 turns
 13591 | D:9      | Noticed joew's ghost (experienced DgWn)
 13656 | D:9      | Killed joew's ghost
 13656 | D:9      | Reached skill level 1 in Throwing
 14172 | D:9      | Found a bloodstained altar of Trog.
 14247 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
 14503 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
 14581 | D:10     | Found Guvuunom's Armour Boutique.
 14621 | D:10     | Bought a +1 pair of dwarven gloves of strength for 193 gold pieces
 14864 | D:10     | Noticed a hill giant
 14876 | D:10     | Killed a hill giant
 14876 | D:10     | Reached skill level 9 in Spellcasting
 15040 | D:10     | Noticed a hill giant
 15059 | D:10     | Killed a hill giant
 15761 | D:10     | Noticed a hill giant
 16046 | D:10     | Killed a hill giant
 16128 | D:11     | Reached XP level 11. HP: 54/57 MP: 28/31
 16252 | D:11     | Found a portal to a secret trove of treasure.
 16421 | D:11     | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
 16669 | D:11     | Noticed a hill giant
 16683 | D:11     | Killed a hill giant
 16972 | D:11     | Noticed a hill giant
 16977 | D:11     | Killed a hill giant
 16977 | D:11     | Reached skill level 5 in Bows
 17173 | D:11     | Learned a level 4 spell: Cause Fear
 17180 | D:11     | Learned a level 6 spell: Deflect Missiles
 17187 | D:11     | Learned a level 6 spell: Freezing Cloud
 17829 | D:11     | Reached skill level 5 in Conjurations
 18015 | D:11     | Noticed a cyclops
 18119 | D:11     | Killed a cyclops
 18119 | D:11     | Reached skill level 1 in Ice Magic
 18168 | D:11     | Reached skill level 1 in Hexes
 18827 | D:11     | Reached skill level 10 in Spellcasting
 18831 | D:11     | Reached skill level 5 in Air Magic
 19040 | D:11     | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
 20271 | D:12     | Reached skill level 5 in Charms
 21156 | D:11     | Noticed a stone giant
 21850 | D:12     | Reached XP level 12. HP: 64/64 MP: 24/33
 22298 | D:12     | Noticed Urug
 22346 | D:12     | Killed Urug
 22596 | D:12     | Noticed a hill giant
 22637 | D:12     | Killed a hill giant
 23761 | D:13     | Noticed Psyche
 23809 | D:13     | Noticed a seven-headed hydra
 23832 | D:13     | Reached skill level 5 in Hexes
 23836 | D:13     | Killed a seven-headed hydra
 23847 | D:13     | Killed Psyche
 24455 | D:13     | Noticed Josephine
 24593 | D:13     | Killed Josephine
 25072 | D:13     | Reached skill level 11 in Spellcasting
 25223 | D:13     | Found a staircase to the Lair.
 25230 | D:13     | Found Wotimiud's Assorted Antiques.
 25248 | D:13     | Bought a scroll of identify for 72 gold pieces
 25252 | D:13     | Bought a scroll of identify for 72 gold pieces
 26123 | D:13     | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
 26915 | D:14     | Entered Level 14 of the Dungeon
 27346 | D:14     | Reached XP level 13. HP: 69/69 MP: 17/34
 29249 | D:15     | Entered Level 15 of the Dungeon
 30727 | D:15     | Found a shattered altar of Ashenzari.
 31532 | D:15     | Reached skill level 5 in Ice Magic
 32799 | D:15     | Learned a level 5 spell: Fireball
 33036 | D:16     | Reached skill level 10 in Charms
 33502 | D:16     | Got a heavily runed chain mail
 33510 | D:16     | Noticed Harold
 33540 | D:16     | Identified the +10 chain mail "Pluadug" {+Inv} (You found it on level 16 of the Dungeon)
 33585 | D:16     | Killed Harold
 34224 | D:16     | Reached skill level 12 in Spellcasting
 34520 | D:16     | Reached XP level 14. HP: 76/76 MP: 15/36
 36111 | D:17     | Reached skill level 5 in Fire Magic
 36825 | D:18     | Noticed Nikola
 36825 | D:18     | Hit by a large rock thrown by a cyclops


Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Dagger            |     4 |       |       |       |       ||     4
       Short sword       |       |    13 |   147 |   348 |   166 ||   674
       Trident           |       |       |       |     4 |       ||     4
       Sabre             |       |       |       |    18 |    10 ||    28
 Fire: Blowgun           |       |       |   132 |    66 |    52 ||   250
       Bow               |       |       |    16 |   473 |    89 ||   578
       Longbow           |       |       |       |       |   554 ||   554
Throw: Dagger            |       |     4 |       |       |       ||     4
 Cast: Magic Dart        |   126 |   268 |   464 |   726 |   157 ||  1741
       Mephitic Cloud    |     2 |    14 |    49 |    80 |    95 ||   240
       Conjure Flame     |     1 |     3 |    28 |   156 |   117 ||   305
       Blink             |       |     3 |    10 |    21 |    18 ||    52
       Repel Missiles    |       |       |     1 |    13 |    17 ||    31
       Cause Fear        |       |       |       |     5 |       ||     5
       Freezing Cloud    |       |       |       |     1 |     2 ||     3
       Fireball          |       |       |       |       |     9 ||     9
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |     3 |    46 |    16 ||    65
       Rod               |       |       |     1 |       |       ||     1
       Deck              |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
  Use: Scroll            |     5 |    12 |     4 |    19 |    11 ||    51
       Potion            |       |     1 |       |    13 |     7 ||    21
 Stab: Confused          |       |       |     8 |    10 |     8 ||    26
       Paralysed         |       |       |       |     6 |     1 ||     7


You were, if you'll pardon the pun, out of your depth. Should have at least done Lair 1-7, then Orc 1-3, before even thinking about going as deep as D:18.

[Ajonos]

As far as I can tell, Repel/Deflect Missiles only expires occasionally after being shot at with a missile. I've gotten in the habit of casting it as part of resting up to full mp since I just won't need to worry about it until the next time it drops.

I'm not sure if that is a glitch or something since I can't find any info on why it behaves like that, but it certainly seems worth keeping up all the time.

[duvessa]

Chain lightning cannot be dodged or blocked, RMsl/DMsl has no effect on it.

[EatsDungeonBats]

Thank you.

Does anyone have any advice on how deep one should explore based on XL?

[tedric]

I don't think in terms of XL, I think in terms of what I'm prepared for. In almost every game, your best bet is to ignore Orc and go into Lair as soon as you find the entrance. rPois is helpful for Lair, but not required. Most enemies there are dumb animals, so hexes work well and you won't find many elemental attacks coming your way. Makes it the easiest place to grab early XP. If there's a unique or OOD baddie blocking you from proceeding in Lair, give the first one or two levels of Orc a shot. Magic Resistance, rF+ and rC+ are helpful in Orc because of orc wizards. Every branch gets harder with depth, but the lowest levels are always a bigger jump in difficulty. So I save L:8 and O:4 until I've cleared the rest of L:1-7 and O:1-3, and usually a couple more levels of D too. O:4's shops usually provide a boost to defense/offense, so now I consider which Lair branches I have available and what will be easiest for my character at that point....etc. through the endgame.

Taking a closer look at your morgue, I offer the following post-death analysis/advice for future games:

Your skills: you had a little bit of experience spread over a great many skills -- some even anti-training one another (i.e. fire/ice). I suspect you are auto-training; advise switching to manual, and only train one or two skills at a time -- whatever will help you most immediately. First priority is usually a reliable offense, meaning one spell that you can count on to kill most things for a while, and which you can cast with low failure chance. Second priority is defense, for a caster that's usually dodging. I know the Wz starting book is all over the place in terms of spell schools, but you don't have to train all of them. Conjurations will let you cast lots of great multi-school spells even if you don't train the others for a while. Bows were a waste of XP for you, use one with zero skill to save on MP maybe but otherwise it's doing a job you already have spells for -- killing things from afar. Similarly, you don't need any investment in throwing to get a lot of use out of the blowgun.

Also, equipment: Ditch the ring mail, you'd have been better off with a robe. It would have boosted your EV and lowered spell failure. The +4 strength ring was basically useless, and regeneration you don't need to wear all the time, swap to it when you need to rest up quickly out of combat. I'd have been wearing rings of magical power and rF+. Gourmand was the most useful of your amulets until much later, when rMut becomes important.

Of course, none of these things would have avoided your one-turn-many-hit-kill.

[tedric]

As far as I can tell, Repel/Deflect Missiles only expires occasionally after being shot at with a missile. I've gotten in the habit of casting it as part of resting up to full mp since I just won't need to worry about it until the next time it drops.

I'm not sure if that is a glitch or something since I can't find any info on why it behaves like that, but it certainly seems worth keeping up all the time.

You're playing trunk, where the RMsl/DMsl mechanic has been changed to what you describe (info on the Wiki, etc., is lagging behind). Now the effect is theoretically indefinite, with a chance to expire every time a missile comes your way. That chance goes down as spell power goes up, and spell power is recalculated for every check, so it doesn't matter how powerful it was when you cast it -- only how powerful it would be if you cast it this turn. The odds of failure for each missile are independent; I've had that spell stay active on a single cast for a ridiculously long time.

EatsDungeonBats, however, is playing 0.13, so the old mechanic is still in effect.

[and into]

Yeah if you had gone into Lair then Orc you'd be higher level (and probably higher fighting too), so your HP would be better. That's what actually killed you here. Your AC wasn't bad, all things considered, but going through Lair and Orc it probably would have been a bit higher too.

Your skills were spread a little thin, but that wasn't really decisive here, and tactics are more important anyway. It is fine to keep it on automatic setting, just turn skills off once your spells associated with that skill are at a low failure rate. Don't keep more than a few on. This way you don't have to obsess over your skill screen and focus on game play; just check your skill screen periodically (once a floor or something) to make sure nothing too funky is going on, and to turn off magic schools once your current spells associated with that school are reliable. Your overall skill training wasn't that bad though and, as I said before, it didn't kill you.

(In my opinion the only way to really screw yourself up skill-wise is by doing something silly like going manual and never training defense, which some people do. It is unlikely you will noticeably weaken yourself through automatic, provided that you check your skill screen occasionally and make sure nothing worthless for you is getting too much experience—it is fine if they accidentally get a little. A few levels in throwing by the time you are level 14 or whatever are not going to affect your character one way or the other.)

If you managed to get that far into dungeon with this dude you are doing well though. Sounds like you are picking up good tactics as you go; better luck next time!

[kartng]

I may be looney, but do I see that you weren't worshiping a God? If you aren't following either Sif Muna or Vehumet as a Deep Elf caster, you're doing yourself a huge disservice. You definitely want to get yourself signed onto one of these religions as soon as you find your preferred altar, and that should never be later than D9 (hopefully much sooner, in the Ecumenical Temple).

My personal take on DEWzs is that they are built to specialize in Fire Magic. Conjure Flame in the starting book is far more useful than it first seems - experiment with how it can be used to, for example, keep an Orc Warrior 2 tiles away in a corridor while you pour all your MP into Magic Darting him to death, or how powerful undeads can be coerced to walk right through a cloud placed on the shortest path between you and them, searing them nicely before they get anywhere near melee range.

That said, learn everything in your starting book except slow. It can help with escapes, but I've just never found it all that useful, and Hexes have always struck me as a waste of exp. Used effectively, these tools will consistently carry you through to the Lair.

As you descend into the Lair, however, things start to get tough. Here, you are counting on Vehumet or Sif Muna to provide you with more firepower, and they'll typically oblige. (When they don't, you are likely on your way to YASD without a lucky book find). You want to get a level 5 conjuration online as quickly as possible - go for whatever you get first, especially if you're with Sif, as you can just forget it later if need be. That spell should carry you through L1-L7 and O1-O3, at which point, if you've kept investing in fire magic, your god has likely hooked you up with Fireball and Bolt of Fire. Learn these as soon as you get them: these two spells, along with an additional, unresistable conjuration between Lvl 5 and Lvl 7 (Poison Arrow (lvl 6) is my favorite) will take you almost all the way through the game when paired up with a few decent buffs. Swiftness, flight, deflect and repel missiles are all useful, but remember that Haste is the best of the best when it comes to enhancer spells. If you go Sif, you will likely have access to at least a few of these, but for Vehumet, you have to rely on finding them (may want to put a scroll of acquirement or two into books).

You'll want to stick with the best robe you can find until you get access to the holy grail of armors for DEWzs - Mottled Dragon Armor. You need to make this yourself by butchering a mottled dragon corpse, picking up the hide, and enchanting it using a scroll of enchant armour. A fully enchanted Mottled Dragon armor should put you at around 20AC when you factor in a full set of miscellaneous peripheral armor, which combined with around 20EV (you're training Dodging, right?) will make you a bit more durable.

That said, you are still the squishiest race in Crawl, so you better have your panic buttons available at all times. Control Teleport, either via the spell or the ring, is critical. I lost one of my best DEWz's just after he got access to the best spell in the game because I tried to use a random teleport to get me out of a very bad situation in the Vaults, and got dumped into something even worse.

So you've cleared the Lair, the first four floors of its two main branches, the Orcish Mines, Elf 1+2, and down to about D18. Now what? If you're with Sif and lucky or with Vehumet, you likely have access to one of these crazy "Storm" spells. Still, they aren't really helping you much, what with their 100% fail rates. My friend, it is time to bring that rate down. Turn off every skill except Conjurations and Fire Magic, get yourself a ring of wizardry (the staff will do in a pinch), and if you're with Vehumet, bask in his stacking bonus to destructive spell success rate, and make friends with my best friend Fire Storm. Don't bother learning it until you hit ~30% success, but once you have that, learn it immediately.

Fire Storm's hunger cost is astronomical, so don't begin using it as your primary means of offense unless you have a staff of energy. A staff of energy + ring of wizardry combo is your best bet - if you have those, then by all means, start wreaking havoc immediately. You can be even more careless with Sif since she protects you from most miscasts, but you'll have a higher success rate sooner with Vehumet. Still, be careful - you don't want a fire miscast to end you when you're in a sticky situation, especially one that fireball or poison arrow could have gotten you out of just as well.

You want a stretch goal? If you're with Sif or you find a Necronomicon, you can learn Necromutation. The benefits of this spell are insane, especially pared with a source of mana channeling like Sif's first ability. You do NOT need this spell for a three rune win, but getting it castable is certainly possible within the framework of one.

So you've picked your way carefully through Vaults 1-4 and down through the lowest parts of the dungeon (Note: I play 0.13 - be careful wit the Depths if you're playing 0.14!), nursing Fire Storm up to healthy < 10% failure rate. Now it's time to get your three runes from the two Lair branches (5th floors) and Vaults 5 and enter Zot. There are three Very Bad enemies that you are guaranteed to run into in Zot: Ancient Liches, Ghost Moths, and Orbs of Fire.

Ghost Moths are really only dangerous in combination with one or more other enemies, but if you see an unexplained drop in your MP immediately secure a source of sInv and blow the thing away. The last thing you want is to be without the ability to use your spells to escape because one of these bugs drained all your mana. Ancient Liches are pretty simple: haste yourself and fire storm until it doesn't move any more. If he has friends, or if he summons up a nasty demon as soon as you get him in LOS, consider bailing and coming back, trying to lure him to a point where you can fight him one on one with the tactic described above. Ancient Liches have Conjurations that, with a really bad roll of the dice, can kill you with a single hit, meaning you don't want to roll those odds any more than absolutely necessary.

Orbs of fire...blah. Look them up on the wiki or let more experienced players tell you about them. They're just nasty - the only things that gave my recent necromutated fire storm caster trouble.

Did I just write a character guide? Anyway, hope some of this helps!

[and into]

I may be looney, but do I see that you weren't worshiping a God? If you aren't following either Sif Muna or Vehumet as a Deep Elf caster, you're doing yourself a huge disservice. You definitely want to get yourself signed onto one of these religions as soon as you find your preferred altar, and that should never be later than D9 (hopefully much sooner, in the Ecumenical Temple).

Wow I really missed the obvious there. Good catch kartng.


EatsDungeonBats:

If that wasn't some self-imposed challenge, you were weakening your character by not taking a god. If you were hoping to take Jiyva you should have entered Lair immediately—and I'm afraid that no matter what there isn't a non-risky way to worship Lugonu unless you start as Abyssal Knight or else get really lucky (corrupted temple). If you were going godless because you are tired of the "classic" choices for this background / species, namely Vehumet and Sif, there are a lot of other gods that are fun and strong. Ash, Kiku, Makhleb, Nemelex, Fedhas, and Dith (in trunk only, atm) are worth trying, for a start.


Unfortunately beyond what I quoted above, I disagree with kartng's post. Some of it is okay advice as far as one—rather self-limiting, IMO—way of playing a DEWz goes. Some of it I disagree with rather strongly, however.

The level 9 spells are fun, but shouldn't be a priority. The copious experience needed to get those spells usable (even with Wizardry and high intelligence and good stats) would be better put into other things; eventually it may make sense to get an appropriate one on an elemental-heavy character, but usually by that point you have won (or almost won) a 3 rune game.

Necromutation's cost vs. benefit in Pan, Hell, Tombs, and Ziggurats (all optional areas of the game, nota bene!) is a somewhat contentious topic, but without getting into that can of worms, it is very safe and non-controversial to say that anyone getting and using Necromutation outside of those optional areas is playing in a very silly manner. Which is entirely one's right and privilege, of course, but I feel obliged to inoculate you (and others) against poor advice.

If you are still relatively new to these types of characters, my general advice would be to

1.) Feel free to experiment with whatever spells are available, so long as they don't require you to put a bunch of experience in an entirely new direction before being useful; honestly, being able to experiment more readily than most species with new and different combinations of spells, rather than making the same cookie-cutter "blasters" with the same spell sets, is the only interesting thing that elves have going for them.

2.) Don't neglect your defenses! Except perhaps for felids or octopodes, no species is "squishy" unless they are being raised and (mis)trained to be squishy.

3.) Focus on learning tactics. What to run from, how to *tactically* retreat so as to fight on more favorable terms, how to non-tactically retreat (i.e., how to flee), how to use your consumables, how to manipulate LOS via positioning, etc.

4.) Just because you cast doesn't mean you cant fight; almost any book-starting character that hasn't trained to be at least decent in melee at some point between early Lair and beginning of Vaults (in 0.13, first lair branch in 0.14), is a character that has been made unnecessarily weaker—and less fun, frankly—than it needs to be. "Oh a swarm of green rats in late Lair!" compare "zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> 5, 5, 5" vs. "TAB.... 5."

5.) Try some non-elf wizard starts. Lots of great combos that start with a book are possible that aren't your standard "RPG archetype elven spell caster."

[kartng]

Disclaimer: EatsDungeonBats and anyone else looking for advice should probably listen to andinto's advice over mine. He's a much more seasoned player.

That said, a few questions/comments:

The copious experience needed to get those spells usable (even with Wizardry and high intelligence and good stats) would be better put into other things

I would assume you're talking about Dodging, Fighting, and maybe a weapon skill? I probably do handicap myself a little by not training more fighting on my DEs, but I have a strong aversion to pouring exp into a skill with a poor aptitude. I often feel that Crawl is just too hard no to tailor your playstyle to your species' strong points. Then again, it took me nearly a year of on-and-off playing (most of which was DEWzs with this play style) to get my first win, so you likely are right.

And as for the level 9 spells being unnecessary, I agree. But I also find them fun. Blowing through Zot with nary a care is enjoyable, especially after oh so many stupid deaths. It's certainly not a necessity in a 3-5 rune win, but it is both doable AND fun!

Point conceded on Necromutation - again, for me, it just made it more fun (no food clock + infinite MP w/Sif's channeling = Infinite Fire Storms = Glee). Sure, throwing that exp into fighting/dodging would probably have made me more durable, but all it takes is one poorly timed run in with an Ancient Lich to end even the best defensed DEs. I personally prefer to have the firepower to end those kinds of encouters as quickly as possible as early as possible.

Completely agree with the rest of your post. Thanks for offering a more nuanced and experience perspective

[Amnesiac]

^I used to think this way, too(and still like to focus on getting my strongest spells online), but then I realised, that with a few enhancers you will have all the spell power you want, while nothing will make you more durable in general, than training at least some dodging and fighting.

[mattington]

Regarding

"zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> zs<enter> 5, 5, 5" vs. "TAB.... 5."

,
Why not use a macro? Hitting "1,1,1... 5" seems the same as "TAB... 5"

But otherwise, yes. Getting a level 9 spell is long and hard I wouldn't recommend going for one unless you've played a game where you've gotten a level 7 spell before. Then you'll realize how hard it is. Getting a level 6 spell is pretty easy, and you can win with it.

Regarding

I have a strong aversion to pouring exp into a skill with a poor aptitude

,
This... is going to make this so much harder for you than it has to be. You _need_ defenses, or you'll spend a year and a half running DEWz until you get that lucky one that didn't die. Of course it's optimal to choose a race that has positive aptitudes in what you plan to train, but no race has perfect apts. Think of it this way: if you train something with +2, and something else with -2, that evens out to 0. Win some, loose some, but ignore skills with bad apts and you'll be really hurting your characters.

My 2 cents.

[wheals]

Disclaimer: EatsDungeonBats and anyone else looking for advice should probably listen to andinto's advice over mine. He's a much more seasoned player.

That said, a few questions/comments:

The copious experience needed to get those spells usable (even with Wizardry and high intelligence and good stats) would be better put into other things

I would assume you're talking about Dodging, Fighting, and maybe a weapon skill? I probably do handicap myself a little by not training more fighting on my DEs, but I have a strong aversion to pouring exp into a skill with a poor aptitude. I often feel that Crawl is just too hard no to tailor your playstyle to your species' strong points. Then again, it took me nearly a year of on-and-off playing (most of which was DEWzs with this play style) to get my first win, so you likely are right.

Seems like you've been spoiled by Deep Elves' spellcasting aptitude if you think +2 (or +0, for Staves), is a bad aptitude.

[duvessa]

Think of it this way: if you train something with +2, and something else with -2, that evens out to 0.

While refusing to train fighting on a deep elf (or, like, anything) is indeed bizarre, I have to point out that this isn't actually true. Suppose you have two skills at the exact same level, and would need 500 xp to increase one of them by one level at an aptitude of 0. I am going to ignore the effect of skill_cost_level, to keep things simple.
If you have an aptitude of 0 for both skills, it takes 500*2^(0/4)+500*2^(0/4) = 1000 experience to increase both by one level.
If you have an aptitude of 2 for one, and -2 for the other, it takes 500*2^(-2/4)+500*2^(2/4) = 1061 experience to increase both by one level.

[mattington]

Think of it this way: if you train something with +2, and something else with -2, that evens out to 0.

This isn't actually true.

Cheers! I appreciate when folks such as yourself and Sandman share the underlying crawl mechanics. Still not bad as a rule of thumb, within 1% anyway.

As I understand it, this is one of the primary reasons Mountain Dwarves were removed from the game; their aptitudes were so suited for certain styles of play that they were deemed unexciting. There's no such thing as a free lunch.