Advice needed for XL15 DECj (equipment, spells)

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Argh, just lost my entire post to a browser hickup. Let's see if I can remember the sentient points... *sigh*

Hello fellow crawlers!

This is my best spellcaster to date. No runes, but the only previous characters who made it remotely as deep (only one ever survived beyond XL 14) were Berserkers, so I haven't got a clue what I'm doing. This is the first time I got Orb of Destruction castable, in any case, and I love it!

I've cleared the Mines, haven't dared enter either Shoals or Spider Nest (neither of which I've ever visited, though I've got bad memories of the latter's portal vaults) and am currently exploring the Dungeon. D:14 surprised me with a vault containing some rakshasa and a storm dragon, so I fled back to D:13 and am now considering my options.

My main question concerns my equipment but I'd also appreciate advice on spells and anything else you'd like to mention.

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.12.1 (tiles) character file.

Dakka the Devastator (Deep Elf Conjurer)           Turns: 50473, Time: 04:14:20

HP  72/72        AC 10     Str  9      XL: 15   Next: 42%
MP  41/41        EV 13     Int 26      God: Vehumet [*****.]
Gold 2217        SH  0     Dex 15      Spells: 12 memorised,  8 levels left

Res.Fire  : + + +   See Invis. : .   a - quarterstaff "Fiobalia" {slay orc, rElec r
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   I - +0 robe {rC+ rF+}
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (no shield)
Res.Poison: +       Res.Corr.  : .   l - +1 wizard hat
Res.Elec. : +       Clarity    : +   s - +2 cloak {rPois}
Sust.Abil.: . .     Spirit.Shd : .   g - +2 pair of elf gauntlets
Res.Mut.  : .       Stasis     : .   V - +0 pair of boots
Res.Rott. : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   X - amulet of clarity
Saprovore : . . .   Flight     : .   j - +3 ring of strength
                                     x - ring of wizardry

@: extraordinarily resistant to hostile enchantments, fairly stealthy
A: no striking features
a: Renounce Religion


You are on level 13 of the Dungeon.
You worship Vehumet.
Vehumet is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 4 branches of the dungeon, and seen 26 of its levels.

You have collected 2601 gold pieces.
You have spent 404 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - the quarterstaff "Fiobalia" (weapon) {slay orc, rElec rF++ rC- MR, was cursed}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It is especially effective against all of orcish descent.
   
   It greatly protects you from fire.
   It makes you vulnerable to cold.
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
 c - an uncursed short sword of electrocution
 Y - a blowgun
Missiles
 B - 6 curare-tipped needles
Armour
 g - a +2 pair of elven gauntlets (worn)
 l - a +1 wizard hat (worn)
 s - a +2 cloak of poison resistance (worn)
 F - the +0 cloak "Zuxkud Otyo" {+Blink Acc+4}
   (You found it on level 6 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   
   It affects your accuracy (+4).
   It lets you blink.
 I - a +0 robe of resistance (worn)
 V - a +0 pair of boots (worn)
Magical devices
 o - a wand of digging {zapped: 4}
 r - a wand of heal wounds (3)
 t - a wand of fire {zapped: 2}
 y - a wand of hasting
 A - a wand of cold
 G - a wand of teleportation (1)
 H - a wand of lightning {zapped: 1}
 K - a wand of polymorph (5)
 L - a wand of hasting (1)
Comestibles
 p - an apricot
 z - an apple
 E - a meat ration
 Q - a bread ration
 R - a pear
Scrolls
 h - a scroll of fog
 v - 2 scrolls of fear
 C - a scroll of summoning
 D - a scroll of magic mapping
 P - a scroll of vorpalise weapon
 Z - 2 scrolls of teleportation
Jewellery
 e - an uncursed ring of protection from fire
 j - a +3 ring of strength (right hand)
 k - an uncursed amulet of resist mutation
 q - an uncursed ring of poison resistance
 u - an uncursed amulet of warding
 x - a ring of wizardry (left hand)
 X - an amulet of clarity (around neck)
Potions
 d - 3 potions of curing
 i - a potion of restore abilities
 m - a potion of speed
 n - a potion of heal wounds
 w - a potion of brilliance
 J - a potion of invisibility
 M - a potion of agility
 S - a potion of might
 U - a potion of magic
Magical staves
 b - an uncursed staff of channeling


   Skills:
 - Level 2,4 Dodging
 - Level 2,4 Stealth
 - Level 7,0 Traps
 + Level 20,2 Spellcasting
 * Level 22,7 Conjurations
 - Level 1,1 Hexes
 - Level 3,4 Charms
 - Level 6,5 Fire Magic
 - Level 3,0 Air Magic
 - Level 5,0 Evocations


You have 8 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Magic Dart            Conj           #####        0%          1    None
b - Force Lance           Conj           #######      0%          2    None
c - Iskenderun's Mystic   Conj           ########.    0%          4    None
d - Iskenderun's Battles  Conj/Chrm      ########.    1%          4    None
e - Fulminant Prism       Conj/Hex       #######..    1%          5    None
f - Freezing Cloud        Conj/Ice/Air   #######...   1%          6    ##.....
g - Flame Tongue          Conj/Fire      ######       0%          1    None
h - Conjure Flame         Conj/Fire      ########.    0%          3    None
i - Sticky Flame          Conj/Fire      ########.    1%          4    None
j - Venom Bolt            Conj/Pois      #######...   1%          5    None
k - Olgreb's Toxic Radia  Pois           #####....    2%          4    None
l - Orb of Destruction    Conj           ########..   1%          7    ####...


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (14/27)            Temple (1/1) D:4             Orc (4/4) D:11
    Elf (0/3) Orc:4          Lair (7/8) D:9          Shoals (0/5) Lair:3
 Spider (0/5) Lair:3        Slime (0/6) Lair:7     

Shops:
D:14: [  Orc:3: ?  Orc:4: (=[**

Annotations
D:14 exclusion: storm dragon
Lair:7 exclusion: 2 oklob plants

Vanquished Creatures
  Rupert (D:14)
  Agnes (D:14)
  An orc warlord (Orc:4)
  Gastronok (Orc:1)
  A stone giant (Orc:4)
  Azrael (D:14)
  The ghost of Cornelius the Markscentaur, a powerful CeHu of Okawaru (D:11)
  A hydra (Lair:3)
  A wolf spider zombie (D:12)
  3 death yaks
  3 orc high priests (Orc:4)
  Urug (D:12)
  2 centaur warriors
  6 orc knights
  3 unseen horrors
  8 hill giants
  5 orc sorcerers (Orc:4)
  The ghost of Deacon the Thaumaturge, an experienced DECj of Vehumet (D:8)
  A griffon (D:14)
  Maurice (Orc:1)
  4 cyclopes
  An elephant slug (Lair:3)
  4 spiny frogs
  3 black mambas
  15 elephants
  A queen ant (shapeshifter) (D:14)
  2 hill giant zombies
  14 ugly things
  Grinder (D:6)
  Sonja (D:13)
  7 komodo dragons
  5 trolls
  2 two-headed ogres
  26 blink frogs
  A basilisk (Lair:2)
  4 wyverns
  3 jumping spiders (Lair:3)
  Eustachio (Orc:2)
  3 fire elementals (D:14)
  8 hippogriffs
  A wraith (D:12)
  20 yaks
  ...
1164 creatures vanquished.

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | Dakka, the Deep Elf Conjurer, began the quest for the Orb.
   357 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Force Lance
  1994 | D:2      | Learned a level 4 spell: Iskenderun's Mystic Blast
  2991 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Vehumet
  3130 | D:4      | Learned a level 4 spell: Iskenderun's Battlesphere
  4273 | D:4      | Offered knowledge of Flame Tongue by Vehumet.
  4322 | D:4      | Learned a level 1 spell: Flame Tongue
  5969 | D:6      | Offered knowledge of Sandblast by Vehumet.
  7352 | D:6      | Learned a level 5 spell: Fulminant Prism
  7416 | D:6      | Offered knowledge of Stone Arrow by Vehumet.
  8207 | D:7      | Learned a level 4 spell: Airstrike
  8367 | D:7      | Offered knowledge of Conjure Flame by Vehumet.
  8372 | D:7      | Learned a level 3 spell: Conjure Flame
 10649 | D:8      | Offered knowledge of Venom Bolt by Vehumet.
 12113 | D:9      | Learned a level 5 spell: Venom Bolt
 13393 | D:7      | Identified the cursed quarterstaff "Fiobalia" {slay orc, rElec rF++ rC- MR} (You found it on level 7 of the Dungeon)
 13703 | D:10     | Offered knowledge of Sticky Flame by Vehumet.
 13804 | D:10     | HP: 1/50 [hill giant/giant spiked club (39)]
 14861 | D:11     | Learned a level 4 spell: Sticky Flame
 15605 | D:11     | HP: 2/50 [poisoned by a centaur]
 15659 | D:11     | HP: 2/50 [poisoned by a centaur]
 17425 | D:11     | Offered knowledge of Olgreb's Toxic Radiance by Vehumet.
 20217 | D:12     | Learned a level 4 spell: Olgreb's Toxic Radiance
 22243 | Lair:2   | Offered knowledge of Delayed Fireball by Vehumet.
 25033 | Orc:1    | Offered knowledge of Poisonous Cloud by Vehumet.
 28574 | Lair:3   | Identified the -2 buckler of Chaurghy {rF+} (You acquired it on level 3 of the Lair of Beasts)
 29400 | Lair:3   | Offered knowledge of Orb of Destruction by Vehumet.
 29451 | Lair:3   | Learned a level 7 spell: Orb of Destruction
 32684 | Lair:5   | Offered knowledge of Freezing Cloud by Vehumet.
 33663 | Lair:5   | Learned a level 6 spell: Freezing Cloud
 34678 | Lair:6   | Identified the cursed +0 cloak "Zuxkud Otyo" {+Blink Acc+4} (You found it on level 6 of the Lair of Beasts)
 40208 | Orc:3    | Bought a scroll of blinking for 82 gold pieces
 40556 | Orc:3    | Offered knowledge of Bolt of Fire by Vehumet.
 43762 | Orc:4    | Offered knowledge of Lehudib's Crystal Spear by Vehumet.
 43762 | Orc:4    | Offered knowledge of Fire Storm by Vehumet.
 43762 | Orc:4    | Offered knowledge of Chain Lightning by Vehumet.
 44235 | Orc:4    | Bought a wand of teleportation (1) for 195 gold pieces
 45198 | D:13     | Noticed Sonja
 45215 | D:13     | Killed Sonja
 46232 | D:13     | Noticed a centaur warrior
 46236 | D:13     | Killed a centaur warrior
 46735 | D:13     | Reached skill level 22 in Conjurations
 47799 | D:14     | Entered Level 14 of the Dungeon
 48641 | D:14     | Noticed Rupert
 48647 | D:14     | Killed Rupert
 49150 | D:14     | Noticed Agnes
 49713 | D:14     | Bought a +0 robe of resistance for 127 gold pieces
 49962 | D:14     | Killed Agnes
 50209 | D:14     | Noticed Azrael
 50241 | D:14     | Killed Azrael
 50371 | D:14     | Noticed a storm dragon


Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Short sword       |       |     4 |     8 |       |    23 ||    35
       Quarterstaff      |       |       |       |    60 |    44 ||   104
 Cast: Magic Dart        |    83 |   151 |   242 |   450 |   224 ||  1150
       Force Lance       |     1 |    33 |    50 |    51 |     9 ||   144
       Iskenderun's Myst |       |     9 |    89 |   388 |   657 ||  1143
       Flame Tongue      |       |       |     6 |     1 |       ||     7
       Conjure Flame     |       |       |       |    10 |     2 ||    12
       Sticky Flame      |       |       |       |    18 |       ||    18
       Iskenderun's Batt |       |       |       |    25 |     9 ||    34
       Olgreb's Toxic Ra |       |       |       |     2 |     3 ||     5
       Venom Bolt        |       |       |       |     1 |     1 ||     2
       Airstrike         |       |       |       |     1 |     1 ||     2
       Orb of Destructio |       |       |       |       |   139 ||   139
       Fulminant Prism   |       |       |       |       |     8 ||     8
       Freezing Cloud    |       |       |       |       |     2 ||     2
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |     1 |    10 |     8 ||    19
  Use: Scroll            |       |     8 |    10 |    21 |    13 ||    52
       Potion            |       |       |     5 |    12 |     5 ||    22


I've been pumping Spellcasting first to get the slots needed for the spells Vehumet kept offering me and now to reduce the hunger cost of OoD, which is causing me to dip into my permafood rather more often than I'm comfortable with. If I had a ring of sustenance, I'd be wearing that one. As it is, I'm wearing the ring of strength because it was the only useful ring I had on hand, so to say. I'm unencumbered if I take it off, though I tend to get burdened whenever I pick up two or three chunks.

I'm not sure why I still carry that short sword. Originally used it to bash plants blocking my way but recently I've used spells for that, too. I'll drop the vorpalise scroll, too. It's not like I'm going to need it anyway.

Also, I've never used the staff of channeling so far. From the formula given in the learndb, it sounds like resting is cheaper hunger-wise but maybe someone could shed some light on that?

I've trained Evoc to be able to use the +Blink on that other cloak (14% now, I believe) because at that time I hadn't found any ?blinking. Never used it, though. The quarterstaff is the only artefact weapon I've found so far, if you discount a long sword in an antique shop.

Here's an abridged list of things I could buy from the various shops:

  Code:

  a +2 robe of magic resistance (261 gold)
  an uncursed ring of life protection (280 gold)
  a +4 ring of intelligence (405 gold)
  the ring "Xuoxuoraga" {-Tele Acc+5 SInv} (403 gold)
    [ring of see invisible]
    It affects your accuracy (+5).
    It prevents most forms of teleportation.
  an uncursed ring of protection from magic (375 gold)
  the ring "Toeghiko" {+Inv rPois MR Str+1} (589 gold)
    [ring of strength]
    It affects your strength (+1).
    It protects you from poison.
    It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
    It lets you turn invisible.
  an uncursed ring of magical power (300 gold)
  the +3 crown of Dyrovepreva {Hunger rElec Int+2 SInv} (1846 gold)
    It affects your intelligence (+2).
    It insulates you from electricity.
    It enhances your eyesight.
    It speeds your metabolism.
  the +0 cloak of Starlight {rElec rC+ EV+4 Stlth--} (853 gold)
    It affects your evasion (+4).
    It protects you from cold.
    It insulates you from electricity.
    It makes you much less stealthy.
  a +3 leather armour of positive energy (853 gold)


I'm definitely going to buy a scroll each of recharging and enchant armour to burn on my robe of resistance (I think) and one of my high-tier wands, respectively - not sure which one, though.

As for my spells, I've finally reached the highest tier with Vehumet (first time ever, whoohoo!) and he's offered me the following three spells: Chain LIghtning (11% Fail), Lehudib's Crystal Spear (24%) and Firestorm (54%). Yikes! The hunger rates are bound to be worse.

I could destroy my starting spellbook to forget one of my first five spells but, as far as I see it, the only real candidate would be Force Lance, which has recently dropped in usefulness but would only free up 2 slots. However, there's also a scroll of amnesia on sale, which I could use to forget... uh, Venom Bolt maybe? Olgreb's? Freezing Cloud? And what should I learn instead?

Here's a list of the books I have at my disposal:

  Code:

  a book of Conjurations
  a book of Cantrips
  a book of the Dragon
  a book of the Earth
  the Almanac of Poisonous Enchantment
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    Sting                              Conjuration/Poison           1
    Confusing Touch                    Hexes                        1
    Poison Weapon                      Charms/Poison                3
    Enslavement                        Hexes                        4
    *Venom Bolt                        Conjuration/Poison           5
    Invisibility                       Hexes                        6
  a book of Control
  a book of Debilitation
  a book of Unlife
  a book of Transfigurations


Continuing down the Dungeon is probably my best option for now, though I'm not sure whether I should skirt the storm dragon or whether I can take it. Are rakshasa dangerous?

I'm rather proud of myself for remembering to use my consumables so far. Up to now, I've employed speed/hasting a couple of times, defeated a pack of centaurs and an unseen horror using scrolls of fog, used a wand of cold against Azrael and entourage and a wand of digging to get out of a dangerous mini vault, and burned my only scroll of blinking to get away from Agnes when I got into the red zone. (Changed my warning setting to 50%, and yes, it does make a difference!)

Any advice appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[cjo]

Hello fellow crawlers!

Hello!

Standard caveat about how I'm not an expert, etc etc... The first thing I notice is that you're L15 and haven't trained dodging and fighting. I would raise them both to 8, maybe more. Not sure if 8 is enough, but I would hate having none. Spellcasting can come up eventually, but with your big guns freezing cloud at ## and orb of destruction at ####, you should be fine for a while. (Also, don't feel bad about not having sustenance, as it wouldn't help with spell hunger.)

Also, I've never used the staff of channeling so far. From the formula given in the learndb, it sounds like resting is cheaper hunger-wise but maybe someone could shed some light on that?

The staff of channeling is not that good in .12. It's a hunger-intensive way to get back a little mana when you really need to. But between the turn it takes to wield it and the high failure rate, you're probably off using some other emergency measure if you get yourself in trouble. The wiki gives a table: http://crawl.chaosforge.org/Staff_of_channeling Late in the game you might train evocations high and use staff+crystal ball.

Here's an abridged list of things I could buy from the various shops:

  Code:

  the ring "Toeghiko" {+Inv rPois MR Str+1} (589 gold)
    [ring of strength]
    It affects your strength (+1).
    It protects you from poison.
    It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
    It lets you turn invisible.
  the +0 cloak of Starlight {rElec rC+ EV+4 Stlth--} (853 gold)
    It affects your evasion (+4).
    It protects you from cold.
    It insulates you from electricity.
    It makes you much less stealthy.
  a +3 leather armour of positive energy (853 gold)


I'm definitely going to buy a scroll each of recharging and enchant armour to burn on my robe of resistance (I think) and one of my high-tier wands, respectively - not sure which one, though.

I would ID the second haste wand, then pick whichever of haste or heal that you have less charges in. I'd be pretty tempted by the ring+cloak, but OTOH stealth is nice for a fragile deep elf, so maybe somebody else will say whether that's actually a good idea.

As for my spells, I've finally reached the highest tier with Vehumet (first time ever, whoohoo!) and he's offered me the following three spells: Chain LIghtning (11% Fail), Lehudib's Crystal Spear (24%) and Firestorm (54%). Yikes! The hunger rates are bound to be worse.

I could destroy my starting spellbook to forget one of my first five spells but, as far as I see it, the only real candidate would be Force Lance, which has recently dropped in usefulness but would only free up 2 slots. However, there's also a scroll of amnesia on sale, which I could use to forget... uh, Venom Bolt maybe? Olgreb's? Freezing Cloud? And what should I learn instead?

Vehumet's final offerings don't time out, so you don't need to rush. Bear in mind that you already have all the offense you need for a 3-rune game. My number 1 candidate to drop with the amnesia scroll would be Olgreb's toxic radiance. It starts out mediocre and gets worse. In general your spell list has a lot of redundant offense and not enough defense/utility. I'm not sure if it matters exactly which ones you drop, but when the opportunity arises, I would thin it out a little. I doubt you need all of force lance, mystic blast, sticky flame, and venom bolt along with freezing cloud. I wouldn't drop Freezing Cloud, though. It's an excellent spell against groups, and will be even better if you find swiftness/haste. Caveat: I'm not familiar with fulminant prism, so I don't know how well it serves as area spell. Freezing Cloud is pretty tough to beat, though.

So far you evidently didn't get haste, swiftness, or repel missiles, which is a shame. But from what you do have available, I would pick teleport control. Eventually you'll want flight. I would also be seriously tempted by animate dead+recall, but I'm biased because they're a couple of my favorites.

Those big spells Vehumet is offering will have high hunger for a long time. But you don't cast them constantly, just occasionally. I'm not familiar with chain lightning, so can't recommend a choice except to note that I would probably pick firestorm over crystal spear. OTOH, if you pick earth, you could learn stoneskin and get a nice AC boost as you raise your earth skill.

Good luck!

[tasonir]

cjo covered most of it, so I'll just throw in some random tips

1) I'd recharge heal wounds over haste - you can cast haste. Even if you don't have a book with it yet, you will soon. It's in multiple books and you'll almost always find it. Recharge heal wounds whenever it is at 2 charges or less, but if you might lose the scroll to fire, recharging at 3 is fine (just a small chance of wasting one charge, I wouldn't worry about it much)

2) end spells: Firestorm is much more versatile than crystal spear. Learn firestorm if at all possible; you'll then want to pick up an easy source of mana regen. crystal ball recommended, but the staff isn't super terrible. It may cost more food but the important part is getting mana back at speeds that help during combat, not out of combat. You really won't run out of food. Deep elves have so much int and are so great at spellcasting you can get even firestorm hungerless eventually.

3) the point about needing more defensive magic really can't be understated. blink, regen, repel missiles, haste, phase shift, etc etc. Abjuration's great utility. And he's also right that some dodging and fighting would go a long way.

[dirtywick]

Training dodging and fighting would be a good idea, then pick which spell you want and train the elemental school, it'll cost less XP to get it castable quickly. Going deeper in dungeon is going to start spawning yaktaurs and stone giants, and you're not going to last long with less than 100 HP and low EV and AC.

With OOD and rElec you should be able to take a storm dragon at range, as long as you're not fighting in a corridor. If I was you though I'd clear lair then the first two levels of elf, it's easy with DE MR and freezing cloud.