CiP: Minotaur Priest of Zin!

[BezerkerJerseyTinkerBell]

Hello everyone! Love DCSS, amazed that such a wonderful game is free! I stopped playing videogames four or five years ago until I found crawl! It's SUCH an awesome game, but ya'all already know that!

ANYWAY, this is probably the farthest I have ever gotten a character, and it was my first time trying a priest at all! I hope I have not f'd him up too bad! I told my manly minotaur to train in staves, and now I think he may end up tossing me across the floor - if he isn't killed by my advice first!

Wanted to know what you more experienced crawlies could tell me I'm doing wrong - I seem to be surviving solely based on high armor, HP and a few decent items (or maybe they suck, I don't know - I never got this far!).

Thanks in advance, really happy to finally join the tavern!

  Code:

Lord Protector the Protected (Minotaur Priest)      Turns: 9323, Time: 00:50:54

HP  55/77        AC 26     Str 23      XL: 9   Next: 96%
MP  11/11        EV  6     Int  9      God: Zin [****..]
Gold 32          SH  0     Dex 11      Spells:  0 memorised,  8 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .    a - +0,-1 quarterstaff
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : . .  K - +4 plate armour of Shadows and Fog {+Rage
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : +    (no shield)
Res.Acid. : . . .   Res.Corr.  : .    (helmet restricted)
Res.Poison: .       Clarity    : .    T - +0 cloak
Res.Elec. : .       Spirit.Shd : .    C - +1 pair of dwarf gauntlets
Sust.Abil.: . .     Stasis     : .    F - +2 pair of boots {Stlth+}
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .    L - amulet of conservation
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .    (no ring)
Saprovore : . . .   Ctrl.Flight: .    r - +4 ring of strength

@: slightly resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: retaliatory headbutt, horns 2
a: Recite, Vitalisation, Imprison, Renounce Religion, Evoke Berserk Rage


You are on level 9 of the Dungeon.
You worship Zin.
Zin is extremely pleased with you.
You are hungry.

You have visited 3 branches of the dungeon, and seen 12 of its levels.

You have collected 368 gold pieces.
You have donated 356 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +0,-1 quarterstaff (weapon)
 y - an uncursed runed elven long sword
Missiles
 f - 5 silver bolts (quivered)
 g - 27 poisoned needles
Armour
 l - a +2 chain mail
 C - a +1 pair of dwarven gauntlets (worn)
 E - a +1 orcish ring mail of poison resistance
 F - a +2 pair of boots of stealth (worn)
 G - an embroidered robe
 K - the +4 plate armour of Shadows and Fog (worn) {+Rage rC+}
   (You found it on level 5 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It protects you from cold.
   It lets you go berserk.
 M - an uncursed fire dragon armour
 T - a +0 cloak (worn)
Magical devices
 h - a wand of enslavement (6)
 j - a wand of fire {empty}
 m - a bone wand
Comestibles
 c - 5 bread rations
 n - 4 pears
 p - 7 meat rations
 H - 3 rotting chunks of hippogriff flesh
Scrolls
 d - a scroll of random uselessness
 i - a scroll labeled UNTUTSOWKI
 o - 3 scrolls of amnesia
 w - a scroll of fog
 x - a scroll labeled HITSUXI CESSICH
 z - a scroll labeled FISSOCK HOOFF
 D - 2 scrolls of remove curse
 I - 2 scrolls labeled NOTOVV CELOVYNN
 P - a scroll labeled VATZEM SAUNT
 W - a scroll of enchant armour
 X - 3 scrolls labeled JIMELL GETHRE
Jewellery
 r - a +4 ring of strength (left hand)
 L - an amulet of conservation (around neck)
Potions
 s - 4 potions of curing
 t - a potion of magic
 u - 2 potions of agility
 A - 2 potions of might
 B - 2 potions of brilliance
 J - a gluggy silvery potion
 N - 2 potions of heal wounds
 Q - 2 fuming silvery potions
 S - an inky potion
 U - a blue potion
 Z - 2 gluggy blue potions
Books
 Y - a book of Beasts   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Summon Butterflies                 Summoning                    1
   Sticks to Snakes                   Transmutation                2
   Call Canine Familiar               Summoning                    3
   Ice Form                           Ice/Transmutation            4
   Summon Ice Beast                   Ice/Summoning                4
   Summon Hydra                       Summoning                    7
Magical staves
 v - a staff of cold


   Skills:
 - Level 9.1 Fighting
 - Level 9.2 Staves
 * Level 11.0 Armour
 - Level 1.1 Dodging
 - Level 4.5 Invocations


You have 8 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (10/27)            Temple (1/1) D:7            Lair (1/8) D:9
   Orc: D:6-11     

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

Shops:
D:5: =

Annotations
D:8 !DANGEROUS BELOW!
D:10 exclusion: 2 statues


                    Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You reflexively headbutt those who attack you in melee.
You have a pair of horns on your head.


Message History

Things that are here:
a glowing morningstar; a robe
You can't carry that many items.
L - an amulet of conservation (around neck)
Read which item? (? for menu, Esc to quit)
Identify which item? (? for menu, Esc to quit)
As you read the scroll of identify, it crumbles to dust.
b - a wand of random effects (12)
Read which item? (? for menu, Esc to quit)
Identify which item? (? for menu, Esc to quit)
As you read the scroll of identify, it crumbles to dust.
h - a wand of enslavement (6)
You drop a wand of random effects (12).
You drop 3 scrolls of curse weapon.
You drop a potion of mutation.
You drop 3 potions of poison.
You drop a wand of polymorph other (8).
You drop a +3,+3 quarterstaff of chaos.
Drop what? (_ for help) (? for menu, Esc to quit)
Okay, then.

###......#....####
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...###.#...##.#
....##.#...##.#
....##.#...##.#
#....#.###.##.#
##...#.# #.##.#
.....#.###.##.##
...###.........#
...........^..#
.....##..@....#
.....##.#.)...#
.....##..).#..#
#######....#..#
      #>......#
     ##.###...# ##
######........#...
.......)).........
######........#...
     ##.####..####


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  A troll (D:6)
  A wyvern (D:10)
  A hippogriff (D:10)
  A merfolk (D:8)
  5 orc warriors
  3 ice beasts
  3 sky beasts
  A phantom (D:4)
  A centaur (D:8)
  5 ogres
  A gnoll sergeant (D:9)
  4 wights
  2 electric eels (D:7)
  2 crimson imps
  6 killer bees (D:8)
  3 big fish (D:8)
  2 goliath beetles (D:9)
  4 hounds
  Crazy Yiuf (D:6)
  A shadow (D:9)
  6 orc priests
  2 orc wizards
  A hound skeleton (D:9)
  A scorpion (D:6)
  3 worker ants
  A worker ant zombie (D:7)
  Ijyb (D:3)
  3 jellies
  An iguana zombie (D:10)
  6 adders
  3 gnolls (D:9)
  A giant centipede zombie (D:9)
  2 scorpion zombies
  A giant mite (D:10)
  2 worms
  A bat skeleton (D:4)
  A gnoll zombie (D:6)
  A giant gecko (D:3)
  An ooze (D:4)
  21 orcs
  2 ball pythons (D:5)
  16 bats
  20 goblins
  13 hobgoblins
  12 jackals
  6 quokkas
  A ball python skeleton (D:2)
  7 giant cockroaches
  5 giant newts
  A hobgoblin skeleton (D:6)
  17 kobolds
  An orc skeleton (D:8)
  17 rats
  2 fungi (D:6)
  2 toadstools
229 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  2 orcs (D:9)
  A kobold (D:8)
  An orc skeleton (D:7)
  A rat (D:3)
  26 toadstools
31 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 260 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | Lord Protector, the Minotaur Priest, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 17/17 MP: 2/2
   112 | D:1      | Found a snail-covered altar of Cheibriados.
   112 | D:1      | Found a radiant altar of Vehumet.
   318 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 24/24 MP: 3/3
   762 | D:1      | Acquired Zin's second power
   839 | D:1      | Reached skill level 5 in Staves
   844 | D:2      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 22/29 MP: 5/5
  1174 | D:2      | Found a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh.
  1290 | D:2      | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
  1698 | D:2      | You fall through a shaft!
  1743 | D:3      | Noticed Ijyb
  1769 | D:3      | Killed Ijyb
  1769 | D:3      | Reached skill level 6 in Staves
  1769 | D:3      | Reached skill level 1 in Armour
  1769 | D:3      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 37/37 MP: 6/6
  2183 | D:3      | Acquired Zin's third power
  2980 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  2996 | D:4      | Reached skill level 7 in Staves
  2996 | D:4      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 42/42 MP: 6/6
  3158 | D:4      | Reached skill level 8 in Staves
  3158 | D:4      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 49/49 MP: 8/8
  3511 | D:5      | Got a fine plate armour
  3543 | D:5      | Identified the +4 plate armour of Shadows and Fog (You found it on level 5 of the Dungeon)
  3761 | D:5      | Found Qasyum's Jewellery Emporium.
  3860 | D:6      | Noticed a troll
  3868 | D:6      | Killed a troll
  3868 | D:6      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 36/56 MP: 9/9
  3908 | D:6      | Reached skill level 5 in Armour
  4447 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 57/62 MP: 10/10
  4849 | D:6      | Noticed Crazy Yiuf
  4860 | D:6      | Killed Crazy Yiuf
  5409 | D:7      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  5465 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  5900 | D:7      | Reached skill level 9 in Armour
  6554 | D:8      | Found a glowing silver altar of Zin.
  6562 | D:8      | Donated 141 gold pieces to Zin
  6563 | D:8      | Donated 70 gold pieces to Zin
  6564 | D:8      | Donated 35 gold pieces to Zin
  6565 | D:8      | Donated 18 gold pieces to Zin
  6659 | D:8      | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
  6720 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
  6767 | D:8      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 61/72 MP: 11/11
  7378 | D:9      | HP: 2/75 [orc priest/divine providence (16)]
  7929 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
  7949 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
  8187 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
  8514 | D:8      | Donated 29 gold pieces to Zin
  8515 | D:8      | Donated 14 gold pieces to Zin
  8516 | D:8      | Donated 7 gold pieces to Zin
  8517 | D:8      | Donated 4 gold pieces to Zin
  8518 | D:8      | Donated 2 gold pieces to Zin
  8724 | D:10     | Was placed under penance by Zin
  8919 | D:10     | Reached skill level 10 in Armour
  9009 | D:9      | Was forgiven by Zin
  9080 | D:9      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 24/84 MP: 12/12
  9311 | D:9      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 55/77 MP: 11/11
  9312 | D:9      | Reached skill level 11 in Armour



EDIT: Wanted to add a few questions to kind of clear up what I (think) I need help with!

1. Is there any future in staves, or should I start training in something that cross-trains with staves?

2. Should I continue training armor? I really feel my high armor level is a HUGE reason my fiance (we will get married when he gets me a ring made out of the Orb of Zot! ) is still alive today!

3. What is your overall opinion of the way I've been training my skills? I've basically been switching between Staves, Armor, and Fighting while training virtually nothing else... should I get a level or two into Traps? Or anything else?

4. The staff of cold description says it will do extra cold damage if one has Ice and Evocations trained... does that mean it's just a basic staff for me, or will I get some bonus damage from it? It's basic stats are weaker than my current (freakin' STARTING) weapon, even with the degradation...

Any other advice, of course, is GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you all!

[dpeg]

I am not the best person to give tips but let me try.

Drop the plain chain mail, the robe and the book.
Don't donate money (at the altar) in small sums. Collect it, which is also good for your shopping needs, and donate in large sums (think 3000 gold).
Do you use Zin's abilities? I think they use Invocations.
Check if there's a better staff aroud (Ctrl-F staff). Don't use your main weapon against jellies. I don't know if the staff of cold better than your 0,-1 one,
Fire the bone wand at some rat or goblin.
There is no need to carry the scroll of enchant armour around. Drop it (if you're paranoid, in the Temple) and find it later with Ctrl-F.

[BezerkerJerseyTinkerBell]

I am not the best person to give tips but let me try.

Drop the plain chain mail, the robe and the book.
Don't donate money (at the altar) in small sums. Collect it, which is also good for your shopping needs, and donate in large sums (think 3000 gold).
Do you use Zin's abilities? I think they use Invocations.
Check if there's a better staff aroud (Ctrl-F staff). Don't use your main weapon against jellies. I don't know if the staff of cold better than your 0,-1 one,
Fire the bone wand at some rat or goblin.
There is no need to carry the scroll of enchant armour around. Drop it (if you're paranoid, in the Temple) and find it later with Ctrl-F.

Thank you for your response! I've been giving money in small sums - giving until it's all gone! LoL I never use Zin's abilities, though! I'm sure I will eventually. I tried the 'breath' ability once, the sermon-giving one (so-to-speak), and it didn't really seem to do anything... probably because of my invocations?

Good idea to drop useless stuff. I actually realized I should when I saw my character all laid out in text. Odd, the way a change in view can give a new perspective.

There is no better staff around, and the staff of cold only seems better if you have Evocations or Ice trained, which I do not and will not. :/

I don't want to fire the bone wand un-ID'd, because if it's polymorph other Zin will get maaad at me (I already did that once to her!).

Thanks again for the advice! Especially the Armour scroll idea - I bet that will save me a lot of pain! In fact, maybe I need a stash in general for some of this crrr-ap...

[dpeg]

LoL I never use Zin's abilities, though! I'm sure I will eventually. I tried the 'breath' ability once, the sermon-giving one (so-to-speak), and it didn't really seem to do anything... probably because of my invocations?

Zin only deals with sentient monsters. Try the sermon against a group of orcs or goblins, to see what it does. With Zin, you get an extremely strong final power (the Sanctuary), which is one of the best life-saving abilities in the game. You'll see the failure chance once you get it, and then you can train Invocation until it's reasonable to use.

There is no better staff around, and the staff of cold only seems better if you have Evocations or Ice trained, which I do not and will not. :/

Then drop the staff of cold.

I don't want to fire the bone wand un-ID'd, because if it's polymorph other Zin will get maaad at me (I already did that once to her!).

Yes, but that was another character. Gods won't get mad if you inadvertently misbehave. (This also goes for a wand of draining.) If you know what you're doing because the wand is identified, then you're considered responsible and get the blame. Otherwise, you get a scolding and that's it.

[BezerkerJerseyTinkerBell]

Okay, so I am updating 'cause I have gotten a LOT farther! In fact, this is the farthest I have ever gotten! It's not even close. I've now gotten down to the fourth or fifth floor of the Orc mines, have killed dragons, double headed ogres, hill giants, wraiths, etc, all with ease basically (although the lowest level of Orc I got to was quite scary and I had to retreat after killing a great deal of it's minions - I could probably finish it now pretty easily). I know I said it before, but this is my first ever Priest character! I may have made one before and used it for two turns, then went up the stairs and 'escaped' just to see what the character started like (or something like that).

Anyway... switched to Maces and Flails, got that up pretty quickly, found new armor that seemed better (14 defense, but 2 less penalty to EV, and Re instead of Rc... and some other difference I can't remember... I know the other armor was +rage...)

Killed a lot of stuff, got a lot of levels - and started using shields... All I know is I am having a lot of fun and don't want this to end! Which is why I am posting again... ran into Louise, I tried waiting turns to get her to come to me (I didn't want to awaken a bunch of enemies, rather go one-on-one!) and she Abyss'd me. : ( I'm running around, no idea what an exit even LOOKS like (blue circle portal?) The insane amount of enemies are bearing down on me and I feel screwed. Is it almost time to use Sanctuary? Should I put on my teleport ring and just let it send me flying all over the place?

Any help appreciated! This place is scary! @_@

[dpeg]

Post your dump, as before, please.

Abyss is scary -- are your Invocations good enough to use Imprison and Sanctuary safely?
For the portal, do you play console or tiles? You are looking for a portal, yes.
In general, don't fight, keep running. Use regeneration, if you have. Use consumables like speed, if needed. Now is not a time to be stingy.
Teleport early -- it takes longer for abyssical teleports to kick in.
On the upside: angels you encounter may turn friendly

[sanka]

Lajatangs are not bad weapons - you should look for them. They use the staves skill. The good side is that they only need 14 skill (which you want with them as soon as possible) to reach minimum delay, and this gives you a lot of xp which you should spend in dodge, armour, fighting, and invocations.

Do not use shields with quaterstaff or lajatang. They are double handed, this means your base damage is halved.

Alternatively you may switch to an other weapon class if you find some good item. maces and polarms are good.