GaFi of Cheibro Build Advice/Thoughts

[Alphaeus]

Soo, first off, new to the forums. Been playing this on and off for a while now (started back when v0.18 was the latest). My absolute best run was back on my old computer when I had it downloaded (Troll Warper of Qazlal, died in Pan). This, however, is my current best now that I've gotten back to the game after a long siesta. Version 0.20, ofc.

[spoiler=Gargoyle Fi of Cheibro]Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.20.1-1-g8b1a95d (webtiles) character file.

69502 Alphaeus the Basher (level 15, -8/92 HPs)
Began as a Gargoyle Fighter on Sept 15, 2017.
Was a High Priest of Cheibriados.
Mangled by a tyrant leech (15 damage)
... on level 1 of the Swamp on Sept 16, 2017.
The game lasted 02:36:03 (22372 turns).

Alphaeus the Basher (Gargoyle Fighter) Turns: 22372, Time: 02:36:04

Health: -8/92 AC: 29 Str: 42 XL: 15 Next: 30%
Magic: 20/26 EV: 25 Int: 22 God: Cheibriados [*****.]
Gold: 1398 SH: 17 Dex: 38 Spells: 21/29 levels left

rFire + . . SeeInvis . A - +4 morningstar (protect)
rCold + . . Gourm + c - +0 shield
rNeg + . . Faith . N - +0 steam dragon scales
rPois ∞ Spirit . a - +1 hat
rElec + Reflect . B - scarf {cloud immunity}
rCorr . Harm . b - +2 pair of gloves of the Okapi {+Inv rF+ Stlth+}
MR ++... (no boots)
Stlth ++++++.... m - amulet of the gourmand
Regen 0.3/turn G - ring "Fasog" {*Drain rElec MR+ Str+8 Dex+2}
MPRegen 0.2/turn Q - ring of protection from cold

@: agile, protection aura, flying, very slightly contaminated, very slow
A: big wings, thin skeletal structure 1, agile 2, dopey 1, negative energy
resistance 1, electricity resistance, unbreathing, petrification resistance, rot
immunity, AC +11
a: Stop Flying, Bend Time, Temporal Distortion, Slouch, Step From Time, Renounce
Religion, Evoke Invisibility


You were on level 1 of the Swamp.
You worshipped Cheibriados.
Cheibriados was extremely pleased with you.
You were not hungry.

You visited 3 branches of the dungeon, and saw 17 of its levels.
You also visited: Sewer and Ice Cave.

You collected 1398 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
A - a +4 morningstar of protection (weapon)
Armour
a - a +1 hat (worn)
b - the +2 pair of gloves of the Okapi (worn) {+Inv rF+ Stlth+}
(You found it in an ice cave)

It protects you from fire.
It lets you turn invisible.
It makes you more stealthy.
c - a +0 shield (worn)
B - a scarf of cloud immunity (worn)
E - a +0 scale mail of cold resistance
F - a +1 plate armour of magic resistance
M - +0 fire dragon scales
N - +0 steam dragon scales (worn)
Magical Staves
P - an uncursed staff of earth
Jewellery
h - an uncursed ring of resist corrosion
m - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
z - an uncursed ring of see invisible
G - the ring "Fasog" (left hand) {*Drain rElec MR+ Str+8 Dex+2}
(You found it on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts)

[ring of protection from magic]

It affects your strength (+8).
It affects your dexterity (+2).
It insulates you from electricity.
It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
It causes draining when unequipped.
Q - a ring of protection from cold (right hand)
T - a +3 ring of dexterity
Y - an uncursed ring of stealth
Wands
r - a wand of iceblast (11/15)
y - a wand of acid (5/15)
C - a wand of confusion (34/48)
D - a wand of paralysis (15/24)
J - a wand of digging (13/24)
Scrolls
i - 6 scrolls of remove curse
j - 2 scrolls of magic mapping
k - 2 scrolls of immolation
l - 2 scrolls of fear
n - 6 scrolls of amnesia
o - 3 scrolls of fog
p - 8 scrolls of identify
u - 8 scrolls of teleportation
v - a scroll of acquirement {unknown}
O - 2 scrolls of recharging
S - 3 scrolls of enchant armour
Potions
q - a potion of agility
t - a potion of cancellation
Books
d - a book of Minor Magic

Spells Type Level
a - Magic Dart Conjuration 1
b - Blink Translocation 2
c - Call Imp Summoning 2
d - Slow Hexes 2
e - Conjure Flame Conjuration/Fire 3
f - Mephitic Cloud Conjuration/Poison/Air 3
x - a book of Geomancy

Spells Type Level
a - Sandblast Earth 1
b - Passwall Transmutation/Earth 2
c - Stone Arrow Conjuration/Earth 3
d - Petrify Transmutation/Earth 4
e - Lee's Rapid Deconstruction Earth 5
I - a book of Callings

Spells Type Level
a - Summon Small Mammal Summoning 1
b - Call Imp Summoning 2
c - Call Canine Familiar Summoning 3
d - Summon Guardian Golem Hexes/Summoning 3
e - Summon Lightning Spire Summoning/Air 4
f - Summon Ice Beast Ice/Summoning 4
K - 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
L - a book of Battle

Spells Type Level
a - Infusion Charms 1
b - Shroud of Golubria Charms/Translocation 2
c - Song of Slaying Charms 2
d - Spectral Weapon Hexes/Charms 3
e - Regeneration Charms/Necromancy 3
Miscellaneous
e - a phial of floods
g - a lightning rod (4/4)
H - a fan of gales
Z - a lightning rod (4/4)
Comestibles
f - 13 bread rations
s - 19 fruits
w - 10 royal jellies
X - 10 meat rations


Skills:
* Level 9.8 Fighting
* Level 13.8 Maces & Flails
- Level 3.0 Throwing
* Level 9.3 Armour
* Level 7.0 Dodging
- Level 0.8 Stealth
* Level 12.1 Shields
* Level 7.5 Spellcasting
* Level 5.0 Conjurations
* Level 6.3 Summonings
* Level 5.6 Earth Magic
* Level 7.0 Invocations
+ Level 0.3 Evocations


You had 21 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:

Your Spells Type Power Failure Level Hunger
a - Summon Small Mammal Summ #### 1% 1 None
b - Call Imp Summ #####... 1% 2 None
c - Stone Arrow Conj/Erth ####.. 3% 3 None
d - Slow Hex #....... 17% 2 None

Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You are resistant to torment.
Your stone body is resilient. (AC +11)
You are immune to poison.
Your large and strong wings let you fly indefinitely.
You resist negative energy. (rN+)
You are resistant to electric shocks. (rElec)
You can survive without breathing.
You are immune to petrification.
You are immune to rotting.
You have a somewhat thin skeletal structure. (Dex +2, Stealth)
You are very agile. (Dex +4)
You are dopey. (Int -2)
[/spoiler]

It was a YASD moment, along with RNGesus bad roll bad timing. I already know I should have memorized more spells, and that I forgot Step from Time.

That said, improvements? Thoughts?

I'm consistently running Gargoyle of Cheibro builds right now, so input would be great.

[Shtopit]

Sorry for the very pedantic reply, but you probably want to change the title to GrFi instead of GaFi (the forum uses a standardized system of abbreviations). Also use [code] tags instead of spoiler tags for the morgue, it makes it easier to read.

Otherwise, I think that a Cheib character should go for heavier armour than the lightest. You gain +15 to str and int, so you can handle it.
In general, you are playing a character that cannot run away easily, so you need a backup if you run out of MP, which can easily happen thanks to a few specialized monsters. Evo is also very powerful and can help you a lot if you are out of MP. It also means being able to use invisibility in a quite reliable way, which is one of the strongest buffs, if used on firm land, out of a cloud, against enemies without see invisible (one example: leeches).
Leeches also are much stronger than you would expect, because they can regenerate very quickly during combat using their vampiric bite. So use your big guns against them, if you notice that you are losing or that the fact is too costly or long from a HP perspective.
A spell I find very effective is throw icicle. It's level 4 and short range, but it packs an impressive punch and is good against this kind of opponents that are more dangerous if they get close.
You could also reconsider weapon choice because of the slowness of Cheib characters. I think axes are more effective because, while maces are better one on one, you will often find yourself surrounded, and moving to a better position will be risky. However, long range weapons like bows also are pretty awesome, although you need a melee alternative when you will inevitably be at close quarters. (other people will give you better or clearer advice on this).
Learn blink, it's too good not to have.

[Hellmonk]

The big thing I notice about this dump is that your skilling is very bad. You are training 11 skills at once when you could be training the one (or like two or three if you prefer convenience to micromanagement) skill that helps you the most immediately. In particular I would say that you ended up wasting a lot of experience on magic skills that you didn't use effectively and overtraining shield skill, when you could have had more fighting/armor/dodging and your weapon at mindelay. It is hard to give general "build advice" for a GrFi of Chei because you will usually have a lot of options once you get past lair or so and the best strategy will depend on the resources you have available. The important thing is to evaluate those resources as you get them, come up with a plan, and go for one thing at a time. I would probably have worn plate armour, wielded a great mace (assuming one was available and no demon whip or eveningstar was), and gotten spectral weapon, but there are lots of other things you could have done instead.

If you are really intent on winning then I would also suggest not going Chei. Trog, Okawaru, Makhleb, or Gozag would make your character much better and they are all much easier to play imo. But if you enjoy Chei and are just playing for fun then there's nothing wrong with keeping at it.