Seeking advice: ToMo^Oka

[Zhorgal]

This Troll was extremely lucky with a ?acquirement. I am currently seeking advice on what to train.

I have been choosing Dex on level up. Should I have chosen int instead?
Should I learn some spells? My failure rate is 100% on everything. Is it worth investing in spellcasting and some spell schools?

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.20-a0-1050-g57248f3 (webtiles) character file.

zhorgal the Grappler (Troll Monk)                  Turns: 10390, Time: 01:12:18

Health: 115/115    AC: 28    Str: 22    XL:     12   Next: 20%
Magic:  16/16      EV:  4    Int: 11    God:    Okawaru [*****.]
Gold:   719        SH:  0    Dex: 16    Spells: 11/11 levels left

rFire    + . .     SeeInvis .     - Unarmed
rCold    + + +     Gourm    +   (no shield)
rNeg     . . .     Faith    .   K - +8 gold dragon scales "Ywao" {rPois rF+ rC+ Int+5}
rPois    +         Spirit   .   (helmet restricted)
rElec    .         Reflect  .   Y - +0 cloak
rCorr    .         Harm     .   (gloves unavailable)
MR       .....                  (boots unavailable)
Stlth    ..........             v - amulet of regeneration
Regen    1.1/turn               k - ring of protection from cold
MPRegen  0.2/turn               Q - ring of protection from cold

@: no status effects
A: unfitting armour, claws 3, talons 1, fast metabolism 3, gourmand, mutation
resistance 1, regeneration 1, shaggy fur 1, tough skin 2, MP-powered wands
a: Heroism, Finesse, Renounce Religion


You are on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Okawaru.
Okawaru is extremely pleased with you.
You are completely stuffed.

You have visited 3 branches of the dungeon, and seen 12 of its levels.
You have also visited: Sewer and Ice Cave.

You have collected 719 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Missiles
 d - 505 stones (quivered)
 i - 9 tomahawks
 y - 5 large rocks
Armour
 K - the +8 gold dragon scales "Ywao" (worn) {rPois rF+ rC+ Int+5}
   (You acquired it on level 9 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your intelligence (+5).
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from cold.
   It protects you from poison.
 Y - a +0 cloak (worn)
Jewellery
 k - a ring of protection from cold (left claw)
 v - an amulet of regeneration (around neck)
 Q - a ring of protection from cold (right claw)
 V - the amulet of Cagrety {RegenMP rN+ Int-3 Stlth+}
   (You found it in an ice cave)   
   
   [amulet of magic regeneration]
   
   It increases your magic regeneration.
   It affects your intelligence (-3).
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It makes you more stealthy.
Wands
 u - a wand of polymorph (13/24)
 E - a wand of scattershot (4/9)
 F - a wand of paralysis (14/24)
 H - a wand of enslavement (11/24)
 R - a wand of lightning (9/15)
Scrolls
 j - a scroll of blinking
 o - 2 scrolls of teleportation
 t - 3 scrolls of fear
 T - a scroll of summoning
 W - a scroll of magic mapping
Potions
 m - a potion of resistance
 p - 4 potions of curing
 q - 8 potions of heal wounds
 w - a potion of might
 A - 3 potions of haste
 M - 2 potions of berserk rage
Books
 c - a book of Air   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Shock                        Conjuration/Air               1
    b - Swiftness                    Charms/Air                    2
    c - Static Discharge             Conjuration/Air               3
    d - Airstrike                    Air                           4
    e - Lightning Bolt               Conjuration/Air               5
 e - a book of Frost   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Freeze                       Ice                           1
    b - Throw Frost                  Conjuration/Ice               2
    c - Ozocubu's Armour             Charms/Ice                    3
    d - Throw Icicle                 Conjuration/Ice               4
    e - Summon Ice Beast             Ice/Summoning                 4
 C - a book of Maledictions   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Corona                       Hexes                         1
    b - Ensorcelled Hibernation      Hexes/Ice                     2
    c - Confuse                      Hexes                         3
    d - Tukima's Dance               Hexes                         3
    e - Dazzling Spray               Conjuration/Hexes             3
 L - a book of Misfortune   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Confusing Touch              Hexes                         1
    b - Confuse                      Hexes                         3
    c - Gell's Gravitas              Translocation                 3
    d - Petrify                      Transmutation/Earth           4
    e - Metabolic Englaciation       Hexes/Ice                     5
    f - Yara's Violent Unravelling   Hexes/Transmutation           5
 X - a book of Changes   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Beastly Appendage            Transmutation                 1
    b - Sticks to Snakes             Transmutation                 2
    c - Spider Form                  Transmutation/Poison          3
    d - Ice Form                     Ice/Transmutation             4
    e - Blade Hands                  Transmutation                 5
Comestibles
 I - 5 fruits


   Skills:
 + Level 6.6 Fighting
 + Level 7.7 Armour
 + Level 6.5 Dodging
 - Level 1.0 Stealth
 * Level 12.8 Unarmed Combat
 + Level 6.8 Invocations
 + Level 0.0 Evocations


You have 11 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (9/15)             Temple (1/1) D:6            Lair (2/6) D:9
 Swamp: Lair:2-4    Shoals: Lair:2-4     Snake: Lair:2-4    Spider: Lair:2-4
   Orc: D:9-12     

Altars:
Ashenzari
Elyvilon
Kikubaaqudgha
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Ru
Vehumet
Wu Jian
Zin

Shops:
D:5 **!   D:7 !


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You are too large for most types of armour.
You have claws for hands.
Your metabolism is lightning-fast.
You like to eat raw meat.
Your natural rate of healing is unusually fast.
You are covered in fur. (AC +1)
You have very tough skin. (AC +2)
You have sharp toenails.
You are somewhat resistant to further mutation.
You expend magic power (3 MP) to strengthen your wands.


Message History

There is a stone staircase leading up here.
You climb upwards.
There is a stone staircase leading down here.
Eating a chunk of flesh. You eat the chunk of flesh.
This raw flesh tastes great.
There is a stone staircase leading down here.
Items here: ! "" %%% ( ))))))) // :::: ==== ????? [ |
Drop what? 29/52 slots (_ for help) (? for menu, Esc to quit)
You drop a scroll of remove curse.
You drop a book of Air.
You drop a wand of lightning (?/15).
You drop a royal jelly.
Okay, then.
Char dumped successfully.
Search for what [Enter for "."]? shield
Drop what? 25/52 slots (_ for help) (? for menu, Esc to quit)
Okay, then.
V - the amulet of Cagrety {RegenMP rN+ Int-3 Stlth+}
c - a book of Air; X - a book of Changes; e - a book of Frost
C - a book of Maledictions; L - a book of Misfortune

#...##...##.#######........##..##
#...##...###......#..............
#....##..........................
....###.........>..#......#......
.................................
....###..###.....................
#..####..#................#......
#..###.....#...#.................
...##.......#...@.##.#...........
....................##...........
..........##....8.....#...#......
.........##...###.....###........
.##.....#....##...##....#.#......
.P#.....#....##.#####......#.....
.##.#.###....##....##...###....##
.##..............................
.##.#.#8.....8..>..8.....8#......


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  Fannar (Lair:2)
  A hydra (Lair:2)
  2 two-headed ogres
  A queen ant (Lair:2)
  2 ugly things (IceCv)
  A black mamba (Lair:1)
  The ghost of Paps the Cudgeler, a novice DsFi (D:5)
  A spiny frog (Lair:1)
  3 ice statues (IceCv)
  A komodo dragon (Lair:2)
  2 hippogriffs (D:8)
  16 yaks
  A spriggan (D:8)
  A basilisk (Lair:1)
  A steam dragon (D:8)
  Menkaure (D:6)
  18 soldier ants
  2 porcupines (Lair:1)
  5 water moccasins
  A black bear (D:8)
  5 orc warriors
  4 sky beasts
  2 phantoms (D:9)
  7 ice beasts
  A necrophage (D:8)
  7 ogres
  A crocodile (Lair:1)
  2 centaurs (D:6)
  Blork the orc (D:6)
  3 bullfrogs
  A water moccasin skeleton (D:8)
  2 scorpions
  17 killer bees
  A crimson imp (D:9)
  A bullfrog zombie (D:7)
  4 jellies
  A quasit (D:7)
  2 centaur skeletons
  7 orc priests
  2 hounds
  6 orc wizards
  3 iguanas
  26 worker ants
  A hound skeleton (D:5)
  5 gnolls
  4 river rats (D:5)
  10 adders
  A shadow imp (D:7)
  8 oozes (Sewer)
  An adder zombie (D:5)
  10 worms
  3 dart slugs
  15 leopard geckos
  37 orcs
  15 giant cockroaches
  9 goblins
  6 hobgoblins
  2 jackals (D:1)
  3 quokkas
  13 ball pythons
  6 bats
  16 frilled lizards
  A jackal skeleton (D:7)
  7 kobolds
  A quokka zombie (D:7)
  16 rats
358 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A goblin (D:1)
  A fungus (Lair:2)
2 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 360 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
-------+----------+-------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | zhorgal the Troll Monk began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 22/22 MP: 0/0
   233 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 29/29 MP: 1/1
   446 | D:1      | Reached skill level 4 in Unarmed Combat
   740 | D:1      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 31/36 MP: 2/2
   807 | D:1      | Found a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh.
  1246 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 28/44 MP: 3/3
  1333 | D:2      | Reached skill level 5 in Unarmed Combat
  1941 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 50/50 MP: 4/4
  2046 | D:3      | Reached skill level 6 in Unarmed Combat
  2878 | D:4      | Noticed an ogre
  2883 | D:4      | Killed an ogre
  2883 | D:4      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 37/59 MP: 5/5
  3144 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  3153 | D:5      | Found a sacrificial altar of Ru.
  3178 | D:5      | Found Datwaph's Distillery.
  3187 | D:5      | Noticed Paps's ghost (novice DsFi)
  3240 | D:5      | Killed Paps's ghost
  3240 | D:5      | Reached skill level 7 in Unarmed Combat
  3240 | D:5      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 44/67 MP: 6/6
  3474 | D:5      | Reached skill level 8 in Unarmed Combat
  3490 | D:5      | Found Wolidown's General Store.
  3564 | D:5      | Found Qoutex's Assorted Antiques.
  3669 | D:5      | Found a glowing drain.
  3677 | Sewer    | Entered a sewer
  4046 | Sewer    | Reached XP level 8. HP: 72/78 MP: 7/7
  4348 | D:6      | Noticed Menkaure
  4354 | D:6      | Killed Menkaure
  4357 | D:6      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  4366 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  4376 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Warmaster Okawaru
  4376 | Temple   | Reached * piety under Okawaru
  4376 | Temple   | Reached ** piety under Okawaru
  4543 | D:6      | Reached skill level 9 in Unarmed Combat
  4667 | D:6      | Reached skill level 1 in Invocations
  4964 | D:6      | Noticed Blork the orc
  4975 | D:6      | Killed Blork the orc
  4977 | D:6      | Found an ornate altar of the Wu Jian Council.
  5269 | D:7      | Found a radiant altar of Vehumet.
  5334 | D:7      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 68/85 MP: 10/10
  5385 | D:7      | Found Elasepsofu's Distillery.
  5740 | D:7      | Reached skill level 10 in Unarmed Combat
  5993 | D:8      | Reached *** piety under Okawaru
  6275 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
  6275 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
  6481 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Invocations
  6564 | D:8      | Noticed a two-headed ogre
  6571 | D:8      | Killed a two-headed ogre
  6571 | D:8      | Reached **** piety under Okawaru
  6571 | D:8      | Reached skill level 11 in Unarmed Combat
  6571 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 94/94 MP: 9/12
  7180 | D:9      | Reached ***** piety under Okawaru
  7220 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
  7316 | D:9      | Found a shattered altar of Ashenzari.
  7318 | D:9      | Found a white marble altar of Elyvilon.
  7852 | D:9      | Identified a scroll of acquirement
  7853 | D:9      | Got polished gold dragon scales
  7864 | D:9      | Identified the +8 gold dragon scales "Ywao" {rPois rF+ rC+ Int+5} (You acquired it on level 9 of the Dungeon)
  7868 | D:9      | Gained mutation: You have sharp toenails. [potion of mutation]
  7868 | D:9      | Gained mutation: You expend magic power (3 MP) to strengthen your wands. [potion of mutation]
  7868 | D:9      | Gained mutation: You are somewhat resistant to further mutation. [potion of mutation]
  7871 | D:9      | Noticed a two-headed ogre
  7881 | D:9      | Killed a two-headed ogre
  7881 | D:9      | Received a gift from Okawaru
  7985 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
  7985 | Lair:1   | Noticed a spiny frog
  7997 | Lair:1   | Killed a spiny frog
  8049 | Lair:1   | Reached XP level 11. HP: 93/103 MP: 14/14
  8288 | Lair:1   | Found a frozen archway.
  8297 | IceCv    | Entered an ice cave
  8303 | IceCv    | Reached skill level 5 in Armour
  8342 | IceCv    | Noticed a white ugly thing
  8357 | IceCv    | Killed a white ugly thing
  8377 | IceCv    | Noticed a white ugly thing
  8414 | IceCv    | Killed a white ugly thing
  8455 | IceCv    | Got a faintly glowing bone amulet
  8461 | IceCv    | Identified the amulet of Cagrety {RegenMP rN+ Int-3 Stlth+} (You found it in an ice cave)
  9272 | Lair:2   | Received a gift from Okawaru
  9272 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 12 in Unarmed Combat
  9370 | Lair:2   | Noticed a five-headed hydra
  9374 | Lair:2   | Killed a five-headed hydra
  9383 | Lair:2   | Reached ****** piety under Okawaru
  9601 | Lair:2   | Noticed Fannar
  9617 | Lair:2   | Killed Fannar
  9617 | Lair:2   | Reached XP level 12. HP: 113/113 MP: 8/15
  9680 | Lair:2   | Noticed a queen ant
  9712 | Lair:2   | Killed a queen ant
  9829 | Lair:2   | Received a gift from Okawaru

Skill      XL: |  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 |
---------------+----------------------------------+-----
Unarmed Combat |     4     5  6  7  8  9 11    12 | 12.8
Fighting       |                 3     4  5     6 |  6.6
Dodging        |                 3     4  5     6 |  6.5
Invocations    |                       3  5  6    |  6.8
Armour         |                             3  7 |  7.7
Stealth        |                                  |  1.0

Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Unarmed           |   100 |   146 |   363 |   542 ||  1151
       Punch             |     2 |     6 |    16 |    17 ||    41
       Kick              |       |       |       |   156 ||   156
Throw: Stone             |     2 |    27 |    93 |   100 ||   222
Invok: Heroism           |       |       |     1 |     5 ||     6
       Finesse           |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |       |     2 ||     2
  Use: Potion            |       |     6 |     1 |     4 ||    11
       Scroll            |       |       |    11 |     8 ||    19
 Stab: Sleeping          |     4 |     2 |     8 |       ||    14
       Invisible         |       |       |       |     2 ||     2
       Distracted        |       |       |       |     1 ||     1
  Eat: Chunk             |    17 |    18 |    32 |    35 ||   102
Armor: Robe              |    50 |    38 |    69 |    15 ||   172
       Gold dragon scale |       |       |       |   269 ||   269
Dodge: Dodged            |    61 |    62 |   145 |   114 ||   382


[Sprucery]

Chooce Str, forget about spellcasting. Later you can get a couple of Dex points more I guess.

[Magipi]

Chooce Str, forget about spellcasting. Later you can get a couple of Dex points more I guess.

This troll already has 22 Str, and will get 5 more automatically. Definitely should always choose Dex.

[Nebukadnezar]

Check your log.
You should get "your GDA prevents you from hitting..." from times to times.
Turn dodging off. It'll take some armour skill/str to get the most out of that exc. early GDA.
Evo up to... 5 ?
You still want a shield and throwing later, so that's a lot of skilling already to do given your heavy armour.

Forget about spells.
Int 11 is fine if you want to cast (low-lvl) spells later. (if you want to keep that +5 int GDA)
These will most likely be:
1. lesser beckoning.
2. Blink
3. Portal Projectile
which are all in Tloc, don't need much investment in magic school but even for spells you want your armour skill to be much better.

[Zhorgal]

Check your log.
You should get "your GDA prevents you from hitting..." from times to times.
Turn dodging off. It'll take some armour skill/str to get the most out of that exc. early GDA.
Evo up to... 5 ?
You still want a shield and throwing later, so that's a lot of skilling already to do given your heavy armour.

Forget about spells.
Int 11 is fine if you want to cast (low-lvl) spells later. (if you want to keep that +5 int GDA)
These will most likely be:
1. lesser beckoning.
2. Blink
3. Portal Projectile
which are all in Tloc, don't need much investment in magic school but even for spells you want your armour skill to be much better.

So I should:

• Turn off dodging
• Train more fighting, unarmed (focused?), armour
• Later train shields when I find one
• Should I start training throwing right now or later?

[bel]

I would start training Throwing now, or soon. Okawaru will give you lots of large rocks.

[Nebukadnezar]

The first few levels are cheap so you won't miss the xp from the first...5 ? lvls.
Add Heroism + 5 and you get somewhere.
Just don't expect to always get good results from throwing. At 26 skill for mindelay (?) large rocks are slow. Monster might get >1 action when you throw them.
A 10 skill (5+5) tomahawks+javelins will be very good, too.

With that (heavy) armour I would most likely focus armour.
Fighting, UC, throwing, invo, evo on.
Evo+throwing get turned off at 5
invo at 8-9
When I get the feeling that I can use the armour reliably I would defocus it.
Shield: turn everything off when you get one and train shields only.

I think that you're in a very good shape.
GDA+regen+Heroism (spam it) ?
MR can kill you.
Expect to get some battles where you don't hit anything for several swings in a row. If that happens: retreat for a 1 vs 1.
Don't throw large rocks against hydras or blink frogs from a short distance.
It can work.
It might not and getting hit by many attacks (>1 action before you can act again) might leave you with less hp than expected.
So I think the skilling itself is not that important.
When you die it will most likely be to tactic/threat assessment.
Improve that.
Don't feel invincible just because you got exc. equipment

EDIT:
You're in GDA.
You won't see many monster sleeping.
Against sleeping monster rocks are awesome even at 0 skill.
Most trolls don't have a dragon armour when they enter lair but they have stealth *.

[tasonir]

A lot has already been said, but the biggest general guidelines that will have most impact:

1) Assuming you want to do 3 runes you don't need magic, so always picking dex is best. Int/casting can be viable for trolls in 15 rune games but it's questionable in a 3 rune game. Since you seem to be somewhat new, I recommend doing a 3 rune win first.

2) Only train one or two skills at a time. Turn off skills you don't need more of for now. This includes turning off dodging for now - you can train some of it later, but right now you should focus on your three core skills: Unarmed, armor, fighting. You probably don't need any more invocations or evocations, although if you wanted to train some evocations depending on what you find, that's also good.

3) Get a shield and use it when you have one - train shields to 9 for a regular shield or 15 for a large shield.

Generally speaking you just claw everything to death, use your god abilities when you need some extra power, and be sure to run away from large packs. Your biggest threats will be spellcasters or things with powerful ranged attacks, so understanding good melee positioning/tactics is important. Good luck!