YAVP: HaAs^Oka, the blowgun build with 15 runes

[CanOfWorms]

I decided to do the ultimate Hell lord killer build, aka get 22 Throwing, go with Oka and use blowguns to paralyze all the lords for a free stab. It's so disgustingly good that I forgot to use Heroism/Finesse to help. I killed all the lords + the Serpent of Hell this way. Of course Oka did give me some fantastic loot to help along the way. Unfortunately, the build has a key weakness: Tomb. I ended up preparing for it by getting Dispel Undead and Control Undead (which I didn't realize how useful it would be until I remember the summoners can cast Haunt...)

The reason I'm posting this though is because of the unusual situation I'm in; I ran out of curing/heal wounds and haven't been able to acquire a heal wound wand yet (only got hasting/tele so far), so after I finished Tomb I ended up with over 40 HP of rot. Thankfully there were 2 potions of curing and a potion of heal wounds in the Tomb loot.

The second unusual thing is that the game gifted me not 1, not 2, but 3(!!!) manuals of Shields, 2 of them were actually from the Tomb loot vaults. Would you also believe I didn't find the Regen spell until I finished Tomb?! (By the way, I have Death's Door memorized because I found a Necronomicon in a Zig but didn't have room to bring it out. I'm not planning on actually getting it online!)

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.16.1 (tiles) character file.

haas the Hoplite (Halfling Assassin)              Turns: 137522, Time: 08:58:25

HP:   169/169 (205) AC: 57    Str: 29      XL:     27
MP:   50/50         EV: 29    Int: 16 (21) God:    Okawaru [******]
Gold: 10616         SH: 23    Dex: 17 (21) Spells: 15 memorised, 0 levels left

rFire  + . .     SeeInvis +     F - +5 scimitar (holy)
rCold  + + .     Clarity  .     D - +13 crystal plate armour "Lyriynt" {rPois} (curse)
rNeg   + + +     SustAb   .     j - +4 shield "Uloac" {Contam rC+ Regen+ MP+9 SInv}
rPois  +         Gourm    .     w - +2 helmet {Int+3}
rElec  +         Spirit   .     V - +3 cloak of Flash {+Fly EV+4}
rCorr  +         Warding  +     v - +1 pair of gloves of Least Resistance {Str+6 Stlth+}
rMut   .         NoTele   +     S - +2 pair of boots of the Unseen Realm {rF+ rC+ rCorr}
MR     +++..                    y - amulet of Cekugob {Ward -Tele rElec rPois rN++ AC+1 EV+1}
Stlth  ++........               M - ring "Plom" {rElec rN+ Int+2 Dex+2 SInv}
                                J - ring "Khahiat" {rPois MR+ EV+2 Str+7 Int+4 Dex-3}

@: studying Shields, repel missiles, extremely resistant to hostile
enchantments, unstealthy
A: mutation resistance 1
a: Heroism, Finesse, Renounce Religion, Evoke Flight
}: 10/15 runes: decaying, slimy, silver, golden, iron, obsidian, icy, bone,
abyssal, gossamer


You are on level 3 of the Tomb of the Ancients.
You worship Okawaru.
Okawaru is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 18 branches of the dungeon, and seen 97 of its levels.
You have visited the Abyss 2 times.
You have visited 1 ziggurat, and seen 10 of its levels.
You have also visited: Sewer and Ice Cave.

You have collected 15822 gold pieces.
You have spent 5206 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - the +8 autumn katana {slice, Clar}
   (You found it on level 3 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
   
   It protects you against confusion.
 b - a cursed +8 antimagic demon blade
 F - a +5 scimitar of holy wrath (weapon)
Missiles
 i - 7 tomahawks of dispersal
 I - 26 steel tomahawks (quivered)
 Y - 2 throwing nets
Armour
 j - the +4 shield "Uloac" (worn) {Contam rC+ Regen+ MP+9 SInv}
   (You took it off Donald on level 2 of the Spider Nest)   
   
   It protects you from cold.
   It affects your magic capacity (+9).
   It enhances your eyesight.
   It causes magical contamination when unequipped.
   It increases your rate of regeneration.
 v - the +1 pair of gloves of Least Resistance (worn) {Str+6 Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 6 of the Pits of Slime)   
   
   It affects your strength (+6).
   It makes you more stealthy.
 w - a +2 helmet of intelligence (worn)
 D - the cursed +13 crystal plate armour "Lyriynt" (worn) {rPois}
   (Okawaru gifted it to you on level 4 of the Depths)   
   
   It protects you from poison.
   It has a curse placed upon it.
 S - the +2 pair of boots of the Unseen Realm (worn) {rF+ rC+ rCorr}
   (You acquired it on level 14 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from cold.
   It protects you from acid and corrosion.
 V - the +3 cloak of Flash (worn) {+Fly EV+4}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 1 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   It affects your evasion (+4).
   It lets you fly.
Rods
 k - a cursed +7 rod of clouds (17/17)
   (You took it off a deep elf demonologist on level 3 of the Elven Halls)
 H - a +7 rod of shadows (14/14)
   (You found it on level 6 of the Pits of Slime)
Jewellery
 c - a cursed amulet of guardian spirit
 f - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 p - the ring of Kikubaaqudgha's Wrath {rN+ MP+9}
   (You found it on level 7 of Gehenna)   
   
   [ring of magical power]
   
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It affects your magic capacity (+9).
 y - the amulet of Cekugob (around neck) {Ward -Tele rElec rPois rN++ AC+1 EV+1}
   (You found it on level 4 of a ziggurat)   
   
   [amulet of warding]
   
   It may prevent the melee attacks of summoned creatures.
   It affects your AC (+1).
   It affects your evasion (+1).
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It protects you from poison.
   It greatly protects you from negative energy.
   It prevents most forms of teleportation.
 J - the ring "Khahiat" (left hand) {rPois MR+ EV+2 Str+7 Int+4 Dex-3}
   (You found it on level 4 of the Depths)   
   
   [ring of evasion]
   
   It affects your evasion (+2).
   It affects your strength (+7).
   It affects your intelligence (+4).
   It affects your dexterity (-3).
   It protects you from poison.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
 L - the amulet of the Four Winds {Clar rN+ MR+++}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Iron City of Dis)   
   
   [amulet of clarity]
   
   It provides mental clarity.
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
 M - the ring "Plom" (right hand) {rElec rN+ Int+2 Dex+2 SInv}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Iron City of Dis)   
   
   [ring of see invisible]
   
   It affects your intelligence (+2).
   It affects your dexterity (+2).
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It enhances your eyesight.
 O - an uncursed amulet of regeneration
Magical devices
 r - a wand of hasting (5)
 P - a wand of disintegration (17)
Scrolls
 e - 5 scrolls of fog
 l - 9 scrolls of teleportation
 t - 4 scrolls of blinking
 A - 8 scrolls of magic mapping
 E - 9 scrolls of remove curse
 N - 2 scrolls of summoning
 Z - 6 scrolls of fear
Potions
 o - 3 potions of haste
 q - a potion of curing
 s - 5 potions of resistance
 u - 5 potions of invisibility
 z - 10 potions of agility
 G - 4 potions of restore abilities
 R - 3 potions of cancellation
 U - 10 potions of might
Books
 m - a manual of Shields
 B - a book of Necromancy   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Pain                         Necromancy                    1
    b - Animate Skeleton             Necromancy                    1
    c - Vampiric Draining            Necromancy                    3
    d - Regeneration                 Charms/Necromancy             3
    e - Animate Dead                 Necromancy                    4
    f - Control Undead               Necromancy                    4
 T - a manual of Shields
Miscellaneous
 d - a legendary deck of defence {the Blade}
 g - a phial of floods
 h - a legendary deck of summoning {the Rangers}
 n - a sack of spiders
 x - 3 phantom mirrors
 C - a disc of storms
 K - a fan of gales
Comestibles
 Q - 14 meat rations
 W - 4 fruits
 X - 3 bread rations


   Skills:
 - Level 21.2 Fighting
   Level 10.5(18.9) Short Blades
 - Level 19.6(20.1) Long Blades
 * Level 22.8 Throwing
 - Level 21.0 Armour
 - Level 21.2 Dodging
 - Level 20.0 Stealth
 + Level 24.3 Shields
 + Level 12.4 Spellcasting
 - Level 12.4 Charms
 - Level 15.1 Necromancy
 - Level 17.0 Translocations
 - Level 9.5 Air Magic
 - Level 10.6 Invocations
 - Level 21.4 Evocations

You cannot memorise any spells.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Apportation           Tloc           ######....   1%          1    None
b - Shroud of Golubria    Chrm/Tloc      ######....   1%          2    None
c - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          1%          2    None
d - Portal Projectile     Tloc           ######       1%          3    None
e - Passage of Golubria   Tloc           N/A          1%          4    ##.....
f - Animate Skeleton      Necr           N/A          1%          1    None
g - Phase Shift           Tloc           ######....   1%          5    #####..
h - Repel Missiles        Chrm/Air       #####.       1%          2    None
i - Control Teleport      Chrm/Tloc      ######....   1%          4    ##.....
j - Dispel Undead         Necr           ######..     4%          5    #####..
k - Control Undead        Necr           ######....   1%          4    ##.....
l - Flight                Chrm/Air       #####.....   1%          3    None
m - Death's Door          Chrm/Necr      ######....   100%        8    #######
n - Regeneration          Chrm/Necr      ######....   1%          3    None
o - Spectral Weapon       Hex/Chrm       ####....     17%         3    None

Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 | 16-18 | 19-21 | 22-24 | 25-27 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
 Fire: Blowgun           |    11 |    30 |   251 |   159 |    17 |    32 |    62 |     8 |    83 ||   653
 Stab: Paralysed         |       |       |       |       |     9 |       |     2 |       |    30 ||    41

[dynast]

What can i say about rot other than 0.16 sucks. Also, is Autumn Katana one handed for halflings? If it is, its way better than your scimitar, even if its holy.

[WingedEspeon]

You can deal with mummies with portal projectile+tomahawks.

[CanOfWorms]

Yeah, I used that and then dispel undead when they got in range.

What can i say about rot other than 0.16 sucks. Also, is Autumn Katana one handed for halflings? If it is, its way better than your scimitar, even if its holy.

I actually went to pick it up after searching for some hw/curing potions in zigs, it was hard to tell which one was more effective against mummies. Now that Pan is left though it doesn't really matter since blowguns reign supreme once again!!!

Edit: Finally got wand of heal wounds from an acquirement, cured most of my rot and got all the pan runes! So many Pan Lord stabs... Final morgue here!

[hannobal]

Now that's a whole lot of AC+EV+SH combined.

[Indianageoff]

That looks like a fun run.

Can you give a quick outline of your progression. When you used what weapons. When you changed your tactics. etc. When you went from sneaky, light Armour to heavy tank.

My Assassins splat in lair (or before) typically. I know I am doing something wrong.

[byrel]

Assassins are best played as ordinary melee character that happen to start with one of the best items in the game (curare) and one of the best items in the early game (poison needles).

If you're having trouble, run a HOAs. Train up an axe. Use curare on all early vulnerable uniques. Use poison on all luck-based monsters (adders, ogres, gnoll packs, etc.) Use your axe on popcorn. Don't train throwing till you have a stack of javelins, good defenses and mindelay on your axe.

[CanOfWorms]

Yeah, my start is basically a gladiator with blowguns. My main strategy until Lair is to keep the blowgun wielded in case anything dangerous pops up, otherwise use melee. Adders, ogres, packs, orc warriors/priests/wizards should all get needled from range. Resistant enemies like phantoms/ice beasts/water moccasins are ignored if possible. The plan by the time I reach lair is to have my main weapon at min delay, about 8 stealth if I'm playing a stealthy species and some defenses trained. Sometimes I have tomahawks from orcs so I plan for 10 throwing to get decent damage out of them. In Lair I play super conservatively. Avoid any fights with spiny frogs, blink frogs, black mambas, death yak packs, dangerous uniques like Rupert.

I picked Halfling for this build specifically because they have good apts for everything involved; 3 Short Blades/Throwing (although I think it's 1 in trunk now?), 2 stealth and 1 Fighting/Armour/Dodging. For armour I usually just use what the best piece of armour I find is, usually the best enchanted armour I find is a leather/ring/scale mail which I stick with for a while and doesn't give too much stealth penalty. I don't think I switch to heavier stuff until after Lair where I've gotten a few points of armour skill.

[Indianageoff]

So early on you do rely on stealth and stabbing?

[tasonir]

So early on you do rely on stealth and stabbing?

Assassins are best played as ordinary melee character... run a HOAs. Train up an axe

Assassins don't rely on stabbing early on. You may be able to later on go into stabbing (I have a skald run right now which went into stabbing, but didn't start that way). Stabbing isn't about your stealth skill - it's about having some way to disable the monster first. Usually for enchanters that's ensorcelled hibernation or confuse. Stealth alone won't keep most monsters sleeping long enough for you to stab them. Some, but not most. Once you have a way to disable monsters reliably, then you train some stealth skill so your stabs will actually deal damage.

[CanOfWorms]

So early on you do rely on stealth and stabbing?

Just stealth. Having enemies not wake up or follow up after you spot them is good. With blowguns and Oka there's a decent chance of getting needles of confuse, sleep or paralyze which can let you stab, but that's independent of stealth (I was stabbing Hell/Pan lords while wearing CPA.)

[Indianageoff]

What should my skill goals be?

[archaeo]

For what it's worth, looking up winning games in streaks on this page is a good way to see how players skill certain species/backgrounds when they're especially focused on winning.

[CanOfWorms]

Did another HaAs run with the same strat for the tournament, and a thing I noticed: Due to how cross-training works (you get 40% of the XP transferred, I believe), you don't need to train Short Blades/Slings very high before switching to Long Blades/Throwing since SB/Slings are +3 compared to LB/Throwing respectively so the transferred XP is increased.