YAVP: TrMo^Ru, 4 runes

[Insomniac]

Hey Tavern, just thought I'd introduce myself with a win from CAO. Here's the morgue file:

Spoiler: show

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.16.1-30-g34a7ffa (console) character file.

2138417 Insomniac the Wrestler (level 27, 276/276 HPs)
Began as a Troll Monk on June 7, 2015.
Was the Champion of Ru.
Escaped with the Orb
... and 4 runes on June 20, 2015!

The game lasted 1day 05:10:20 (84476 turns).

Insomniac the Wrestler (Troll Monk) Turns: 84476, Time: 1, 05:10:20

Health: 276/276 AC: 29 Str: 27 XL: 27
Magic: 36/36 EV: 16 Int: 16 God: Ru [******]
Gold: 4730 SH: 0 Dex: 21 Spells: 11 memorised, 11 levels left

rFire + + . SeeInvis . - Unarmed
rCold . . . Clarity . h - +8 fire dragon armour
rNeg . . . SustAb . (shield restricted)
rPois + Gourm + E - +2 hat {MR+}
rElec + Spirit . v - +2 cloak {rPois}
rCorr + Warding . (gloves unavailable)
rMut . Stasis . (boots unavailable)
MR +++.. b - amulet of resist corrosion
Stlth .......... S - ring "Psiuzat" {rElec Int+7 Dex+5, =R}
a - ring of protection from cold

@: repel missiles, extremely resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely
unstealthy
A: unfitting armour, claws 3, iridescent scales 1, deformed body, dopey 1, fast
metabolism 3, gourmand, regeneration 2, screaming 1, shaggy fur 1, spit poison
1, tough skin 2, wild magic 1, forlorn, inability to drink while threatened, no
stealth, hated by all, no poison magic, no summoning magic, no transmutations
magic, unskilled 1
a: Spit Poison, Draw Out Power, Power Leap, Apocalypse, Renounce Religion
0: Orb of Zot
}: 4/15 runes: barnacled, slimy, silver, gossamer


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

You visited 11 branches of the dungeon, and saw 62 of its levels.
You visited the Abyss 1 time.
You also visited: Ossuary and Volcano.

You collected 9829 gold pieces.
You spent 5071 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Missiles
l - 8 tomahawks of dispersal
p - 24 javelins of penetration
r - 71 large rocks (quivered)
W - 9 throwing nets
Armour
h - a +8 fire dragon armour (worn)
v - a +2 cloak of poison resistance (worn)
E - a +2 hat of magic resistance (worn)
Rods
i - a +6 iron rod (17/17)
(You bought it in a shop on level 3 of the Depths)
z - a +5 rod of destruction (12/12)
(You took it off a minotaur on level 4 of the Depths)
Jewellery
a - a ring of protection from cold (left claw)
b - an amulet of resist corrosion (around neck)
e - an uncursed ring of teleport control
F - the amulet "Ghyop" {+Rage Slay+3}
(You found it on level 6 of the Pits of Slime)

[amulet of rage]

It affects your accuracy and damage with ranged weapons and melee attacks
(+3).
It lets you go berserk.
S - the ring "Psiuzat" (right claw) {rElec Int+7 Dex+5, =R}
(You found it on level 1 of the Depths)

[ring of dexterity]

It affects your intelligence (+7).
It affects your dexterity (+5).
It insulates you from electricity.
Y - an uncursed amulet of resist mutation
Magical devices
c - a wand of lightning (2)
f - a wand of cold (8)
j - a wand of confusion (19)
n - a wand of digging (1)
u - a wand of paralysis (12)
w - a wand of polymorph (20)
y - a wand of cold (5)
A - a wand of draining (4)
D - a wand of teleportation (6)
I - a wand of heal wounds (3)
N - a wand of disintegration (9)
Q - a wand of digging (7)
T - a wand of confusion (4)
Scrolls
k - 18 scrolls of teleportation
q - 2 scrolls of immolation
B - 10 scrolls of fear
H - 5 scrolls of identify
O - 26 scrolls of remove curse
P - 4 scrolls of fog
V - 11 scrolls of blinking
Potions
o - 12 potions of heal wounds
t - 6 potions of restore abilities
G - 3 potions of resistance
J - 5 potions of agility
K - 4 potions of haste
M - 4 potions of cancellation
R - 5 potions of mutation
U - 22 potions of curing
X - 2 potions of might
Miscellaneous
C - an ornate deck of defence {the Cloud}
Comestibles
d - 34 meat rations
m - 33 bread rations
s - 46 fruits


Skills:
+ Level 16.7 Fighting
+ Level 15.1 Throwing
+ Level 14.1 Armour
+ Level 10.3 Dodging
* Level 25.3 Unarmed Combat
- Level 4.0 Spellcasting
+ Level 6.5 Hexes
+ Level 9.2 Charms
+ Level 3.0 Necromancy
+ Level 9.2 Translocations
+ Level 5.4 Air Magic
+ Level 13.8 Evocations


You had 11 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:

Your Spells Type Power Failure Level Hunger
a - Apportation Tloc #####..... 3% 1 None
b - Blink Tloc N/A 4% 2 ##.....
c - Corona Hex #####.. 5% 1 None
e - Swiftness Chrm/Air #####... 7% 2 ##.....
f - Flight Chrm/Air #####..... 13% 3 ###....
g - Shroud of Golubria Chrm/Tloc #####..... 4% 2 ##.....
h - Regeneration Chrm/Necr ####...... 19% 3 ###....
p - Portal Projectile Tloc #####. 7% 3 ###....
r - Repel Missiles Chrm/Air #####. 7% 2 ##.....
s - Song of Slaying Chrm #####... 4% 2 ##.....
t - Confusing Touch Hex #####. 9% 2 ##.....


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (15/15) Temple (1/1) D:5 Lair (8/8) D:11
Shoals (5/5) Lair:6 Spider (5/5) Lair:4 Slime (6/6) Lair:7
Orc (4/4) D:10 Elf (3/3) Orc:3 Vaults (5/5) D:14
Crypt (0/3) Vaults:3 Depths (5/5) D:15 Zot (5/5) Depths:5

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Dithmenos
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Gozag
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Qazlal
Ru
Sif Muna
Trog
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One
Jiyva

Shops:
D:4 * D:9 ( Orc:1 ? Orc:4 (*?? Elf:1 [ Elf:2 * Shoals:5 : Vaults:1 % Vaults:4 [
Depths:1 [ Depths:3 *?} Depths:4 =

Portals:
Hell: Depths:1 Depths:2 Depths:3 Depths:4 Depths:5
Abyss: Depths:4
Pandemonium: Depths:3 Depths:5
Ziggurat: Depths:2

Annotations:
D:8 4 runed doors, exclusion: 4 doors
D:11 exclusion: 2 statues
D:13 exclusion: obsidian statue
Lair:6 exclusion: orange crystal statue
Lair:8 exclusion: oklob plant
Elf:2 2 runed doors, exclusion: 2 doors
Depths:1 1 runed door


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You are too large for most types of armour.
You have claws for hands.
You are dopey. (Int -2)
Your metabolism is lightning-fast.
You like to eat raw meat.
You heal very quickly.
You occasionally shout uncontrollably at your foes.
You are covered in fur (AC +1).
You have very tough skin (AC +2).
You cannot drink potions while threatened.
You cannot be stealthy.
You are hated by all.
You cannot study or cast Poison magic.
You cannot study or cast Summoning magic.
You cannot study or cast Transmutations magic.
You are somewhat unskilled (-1 Apt).
You are partially covered in iridescent scales (AC +4).
Armour fits poorly on your strangely shaped body.
You can spit poison.
Your spells are a little harder to cast, but a little more powerful.
You have difficulty communicating with the divine.


Message History

You mangle the rust devil!!
You kill the rust devil!
A goblin comes into view.
The goblin shouts!
You eviscerate the goblin!!!
You kill the goblin!
(D) Dungeon (T) Temple (L) Lair (A) Shoals
(N) Spider Nest (M) Slime Pits (O) Orcish Mines (E) Elven Halls
(V) Vaults (C) Crypt (U) Depths (H) Hell
(Z) Zot
Where to? (Enter - D:1 @ (x,y), ? - help)
Your shroud begins to fray at the edges.
There is an open door here.
There is an open door here.
Your shroud unravels.
There is an open door here.
There is an open door here.
There is an open door here.
There is a staircase leading out of the dungeon here.
You have escaped!

#### ####
##..##########..##
#....'......#....#
#....#......'...@#
##..##########..##♣♣
##'#.......8####..♣♣
#..#.P.P....#..#...♣♣♣
#..#..P...P.#..#.....♣♣
#..#.P.P.P.8#..#......♣♣
#..#..P.P...#..#.......♣
#..#.P.P.P..#..#.......♣# #
#..#..P.P...............# #
#'##...8...............##### #
##..#######.................# #


There were no monsters in sight!

Ru is freaking awesome for Troll Monks, if you haven't tried this combo yet. I would almost say it's better than rolling with Trog. The passive misdirections and debuffs proc enough to give you a noticeable edge in most fights, Apocalypse is an amazing nuke that can get you clear of situations that Brothers in Arms can't handle, and being able to learn and cast magic during the late game helped a lot. Confusing Touch and Portal Projectile are the best Troll spells ever!

The only reason I didn't go for fifteen runes was that I got greedy with my last TrMo of Jiyva and splatted on Tomb:3. So I figured that I would go back to doing 3-runers until I get a win with every species. Then I'll try the extended game again with my favorites. I picked up the slimy rune on this run only because I decided to raid the Slime Pits for a much-needed amulet of rMut after my first encounter with an orb of fire on Zot:2, in which I picked up four bad mutations.

Other insights gleaned from this run:

• Shields are for wimps. Learn Shroud and RMsl at your earliest convenience instead. Keeping that off-hand claw attack open really speeds up kills.
• Song of Slaying is soooooo good for mowing down packs if you're not going to rely on stealth. And what self-respecting Troll does?
• Don't be afraid to train multiple side-skills even if your aptitudes suck. Better to have level 25 UC and a broad toolbox than 27 UC and little else.
• Blind tabbing will get you killed. Just because your melee brute has a low INT doesn't mean that you are obligated to play like Leeroy Jenkins.

[Zwobot]

Congrats and welcome~!

Blind tabbing will get you killed. Just because your melee brute has a low INT doesn't mean that you are obligated to play like Leeroy Jenkins.

Goddamnit, that killed so many Trolls. On the other hand with Ru at least you can at least go. "Would everyone on screen please, die? Thank you!"

You cannot study or cast Transmutations magic.

Welp. No statue form, ever.

[Blobbo]

raid the Slime Pits for a much-needed amulet of rMut

Wait, what? Isn't this a bit like running to the shop in the rain to buy an umbrella?

[WingedEspeon]

raid the Slime Pits for a much-needed amulet of rMut

Wait, what? Isn't this a bit like running to the shop in the rain to buy an umbrella?

I've done slime without rMut and without getting any mutations, but I was playing a HEGl with singularity online...

Congradulations!

My personal favourite god for TrMo is Oka, because heroism gives such a large boost to UC. You can put UC to 22 and then have heroism give you the last 5, most EXP intensive levels. I still need to try Ru, but I just have a really hard time making sacrifices.

[Insomniac]

raid the Slime Pits for a much-needed amulet of rMut

Wait, what? Isn't this a bit like running to the shop in the rain to buy an umbrella?

Well, yes. But I already seen what an OoF could do to my rMut-less character during an extended slugfest and wanted no further part of it. I had to go somewhere else while grinding XP and hunting for that resistance. Yes, shining eyes can also Malmutate, but at least those die to smite-targeted large rocks pretty quickly. Although now that I think on it, doing Crypt with only rN++ may have been less risky than raiding the Pits without rMut, but I was leery of the undead branches after losing an earlier TrMo to torment. That probably tilted my risk/reward assessments more than it should have. But hey! it all worked out in the end.

Congrats and welcome~!

You cannot study or cast Transmutations magic.

Welp. No statue form, ever.

Yeah, that was an early sacrifice, and it was the least bad of the options available at that time. It was either that, or reject them all, and I wanted to get Ru's powers online ASAP. As much as I would love to rip and tear through the extended game with Statue Form, I figured I really didn't need it for a 3-rune ascension. My skill-training regimen was spreading my XP pretty thin anyway, so Sacrificing Arcana made sense, if only as a way to keep my natural inclination to train ALL the skills in check. And giving up Summoning after Sacrificing Love was an easy sell for me.

I still need to try Ru, but I just have a really hard time making sacrifices.

Trolls are arguably one of the better species for following Ru for just that reason. Their aptitudes are already so crappy that I was only too happy to write off whatever skills were not immediately useful for ripping and tearing. And with the overall great attribute scores that Trolls enjoy, an early -2 to Str/Dex/Int will barely register by the time you hit XL 27.

Thanks for the input, everybody!