Fun Vaults

[Blade]

So...vaults. Often some of the best parts of any level; sometimes huge, sometimes tiny; sometimes easy, often remarkably difficult.

What are some you've found that you've really enjoyed?

I've had quite a few awesome ones with my current character, starting on D:3 (by far the earliest I've found a cool vault). There was a large fortress full of twenty-plus gnolls; it felt like a miniature bailey and was great fun to lure small packs out and stairdance them. It also provided a hefty amount of XP and piety for my young character.

The entrance to the Orcish Mines had no enemies; instead it was a long hallway packed full of traps with varying levels of danger. It was awesome and frustrating.

Later, in Elf:5, I found a guardian serpent guarding a room full of expensive-looking mimics, along with a few decent items. It made me laugh.

The flat-out best vault I found, though, was one on D:27. It seemed like a magical prison or something: powerful casters from Deep Elf Summoners to Kobold Demonologists to Orc Sorcerers and more, with an Ancient Lich at the very end; all trapped behind iron bars with Soul Eaters patrolling the hallways and Zot Traps, Blade Traps, and others in front of the only entrance. In the very center was a Silent Spectre.

Thanks to everyone who designs these fun vaults.

[XuaXua]

I'm doing a haunted forest Crypt:5 for the first time after doing that island in the middle of the water one with all the secret areas OVER and OVER and OVER again.

[Blade]

I'm doing a haunted forest Crypt:5 for the first time after doing that island in the middle of the water one with all the secret areas OVER and OVER and OVER again.

I'm the opposite. In the four times I've reached Crypt:5 (I know, not many), I've gotten the haunted forest three times and the island once.

How many Crypt endings are there, anyway?

[Pteriforever]

I like those rectangular rooms that are full of kobolds/orcs/bees from wall to wall.

[Tiber]

I saw the haunted forest one for the first time just recently myself. At least Mara spawned somewhere I don't have to go through a bunch of times.

One I had recently was a 3x3 set of rooms connected by twisty hallways filled with shallow water, then deep water, then lava, then flames, then freezing clouds. Each room had a caster and increasingly difficult golems. I had some close calls because I left my items behind so I could travel through said clouds, not to mention Boris was in one of the rooms (it looked like he was set to appear there and wasn't just randomly placed). The ever increasing difficulty aspect was definitely fun though.

[evilmike]

How many Crypt endings are there, anyway?

Five. There's the cryptofortress (the water one), quadcrypt (the iron golem one), the church of pain, the liches behind glass, and the haunted forest.

[AtT]

I got one on D20 or so that was a little moat protecting double door that contained several rooms (devided by corridors) full of ogres, ogre mages, hill giants, cyclopses, and other large humanoids. There were just SO MANY huge things in there to die to poison cloud. On one of the sides there was a room that contained piles of phat loot for nearly every weapon slot, including the Staff of Wucad Mu and another artifact whip. Probably the most fun I've ever had in a vault. Props to whoever designed it.

Also on maybe V3 I got a vault that had 2 statue warriors hidden behind some stone in a path that once you walked into LOS they could both hit you at the same time. After the pair there was a space and then another. Then after that a side path twisted around with some more well placed statues of varying types. At the end was some loot and a crystal ball or something. Very fun and I'm glad I did it on an EE.

(All of these happened in the same game) on V4ish I found a room (made of unbreakable material) with some loot at the end that was full of rotating mutagenic clouds. Because I had no rMut but had rPois i had to take up spots when they went unfilled with poison cloud and keep spamming it. Then when I finally got a clear shot to the poison cloud covered loot I blinked in, took it, and teled out without gaining a mutation. I really enjoyed the vault.

[joellercoaster]

So many, and they keep coming. I salute the current crop of vault makers, the quality and amusement value gets higher all the time.

In the main dungeon, I love the vault of the Ancient Champions (seen it a few times), and recently came across Jory's tower for the first time and really liked that. I always like the little dragon caves, and the gnoll camp (not the castle so much), and the goblin village.

Oooh and the lava world mega-vault, that was pretty awesome.

[Gilihad]

I don't remember exactly, but once around D:12 or so I passed a vault with clear walls that I marked to come back to later with control teleport. When I came back, I had acquired some form of see invisible, and I found that it was packed with unseen horrors. It made me laugh (I then used freezing cloud to net some decent exp). I can just imagine someone breaking open the vault...

[Jabberwocky]

I've seen the entrance to the mines that was a whole bunch of traps all in a line. My all time favorite vault was a Trog alter vault in which there were a whole bunch of rats and encased in crystal a moth of wrath enraging them. Wonderful experience for my HoPr.

[Eaki Godsbane]

Got a Draconian fort with my KoBe at D-27...

There were packs of Draconians breathing rainbow blasts at me followed by several death drakes and a couple of shadow dragons. Needless to say; the experience was quite brutal and I nearly bought the farm twice. Once after a couple of turns going up against a group with a Draconian annihilator, and the other time after miasma/level drain breath spam ravaged my poor Kobold.

Still, it was quite a satisfying feeling after I managed to slaughter all those dragons.

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

Now I know why I like all these Let's-Plays, indie games and non-trendy CMS'es like Textpattern.
When people describe their experience with such things, they use vivid, emotional language (like that "bought the farm" idiom).
And since they are not that popular, such style is the most frequently seen on dedicated forums.

[o_O]

I like the Spriggan forest level, the spriggan bakers, the "sigmunds in training", the halflings about to being eaten one and the corrupted temple, in addition to all other vaults. The WHOLE ROOM OF KOBOLDS is fun too, although it feels a little like free exp.

[Moose]

Jesus, just a couple nights ago, I went through a portal and ended up in a vault that seemed empty.

It was a big open area with some stone columns. After auto-exploring it, I headed for the exit ... then, to quote the Miltonian angel: all hell broke loose...

Some lua trigger caused all the stone columns to crumble and Vault-8 style monsters were all over me . In the next 50 moves, I summoned about 8 greater demons, while constantly chugging potions and blinking all over surviving by the skin of my teeth.

It was a harrowing experience, but somehow I made it out alive, and all the loot was complete shit and I burned a ton of precious resources ... Alors ... c'est la vie, non? The fun was worth it!

[XuaXua]

Jesus, just a couple nights ago, I went through a portal and ended up in a vault that seemed empty.

It was a big open area with some stone columns. After auto-exploring it, I headed for the exit ... then, to quote the Miltonian angel: all hell broke loose...

Some lua trigger caused all the stone columns to crumble and Vault-8 style monsters were all over me . In the next 50 moves, I summoned about 8 greater demons, while constantly chugging potions and blinking all over surviving by the skin of my teeth.

It was a harrowing experience, but somehow I made it out alive, and all the loot was complete shit and I burned a ton of precious resources ... Alors ... c'est la vie, non? The fun was worth it!

Crystal golems and stuff? That's a great magic user's vault.

[joellercoaster]

Very cute:

An altar to Ashenzari, a cursed trident with an ego of some kind, and a book (Ashenzari's Tome of Culinary Necromancy) containing only Animate Skeleton.

[Serne]

Ran into a nice full level vault on D20. Lava EVERYWHERE, with a building in the right center of the map surrounded by lava that had Iron Golems, Hell Knights, Giants, Dragons, and Xtahua. It was yummy yummy delicious XP, if a little hard on the MP.

[Stormfox]

Very cute:

An altar to Ashenzari, a cursed trident with an ego of some kind, and a book (Ashenzari's Tome of Culinary Necromancy) containing only Animate Skeleton.

This vault is an excellent way to start your Necromancy study going, and you won't shed tears over destroying that book to forget the spell later.

[Jabberwocky]

Very cute:

An altar to Ashenzari, a cursed trident with an ego of some kind, and a book (Ashenzari's Tome of Culinary Necromancy) containing only Animate Skeleton.

Yes I like those vaults. The books title is typically for me "Ashenzari's Tome of Skeletal Cooking".

[SchwaWarrior]

Very cute:

An altar to Ashenzari, a cursed trident with an ego of some kind, and a book (Ashenzari's Tome of Culinary Necromancy) containing only Animate Skeleton.

This one is also my favorite. Because I worship Ashenzari exclusively when I play my main race/background, High Elf Conjurer.

Other favorites?

The mega-armada of Orcs camped outside the Mines around an Altar of Beogh, and the waterside Goblin/Gnoll/Orc Fortress (not a Bailey, it's actually part of the dungeon), are fantasic, because I get to go to town with Mephitic Cloud and then melee them in the absolute pandemonium. The encampments of Gnolls along with Shamen and Generals are pretty cool too, for the same reasons although to a lesser extent.

Also gotta love those rectangle shaped rooms FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH KOBOLDS OR ORCS (or sometimes Killer BEEEES), not just for the Mephitic Cloud chaos, but mostly for the COMPLETE AND UTTER HORROR I get when I open that inconspicuous door and BAM SUDDENLY KOBOLDS THOUSANDS OF THEM O.O XD;;

I adore the Ossuary if I happen to find it before Ashenzari's Altar. I get to curse every item for free (no need to use up precious scrolls) and get max Piety Income right off the bat when I finally find Ashenzari's Altar. My favorite Ossuary setup is the one with the Bog Mummies, it's interesting, and ironically it's forgiving for me playing a Conjurer, who can spam Magic Dart enough times to kill the slow undead who have to crawl through shallow water to reach me.

Xom's Funhouse of Traps is epic. It just is. 8D

Occasionally I find gigantic parts of the dungeon floor filled with Crystal walls in a checkerboard pattern. Those are pretty fun. Usually happens early-on though. Also provides cover against pursuing Orc Priests, which is always very very appreciated. :3

Any time Crazy Yiuf's little tree-covered hideaway spawns, I praise the heavens, and opt to play with Staves the entire game instead of Short or Long Blades. Yiuf's Staff of Chaos is the greatest thing to ever happen, and my preferred weapon of choice, not only because of its lethal and unpredictable potency, but because it makes a statement about me as a player, which I feel is important. ^_^

The Hill Giant Fortress later on in the dungeon. Totally badass. I feel like some sort of rockstar as I lay siege to something so harrowing, barely escaping brutality one turn after the next. The stash of super-weapons and MASSIVE Gold afterward is always positively awe-inspiring, even if none of the weapons end up being useful for me, it's still just incredible to look at it and go "Maaan, these all are MINE..." :D :D

I can't think of any others I love, but I'm sure I missed some. :) I love the Abyss's layout even though I hate being sent there, though that doesn't count as a vault I guess...

[Blade]

I've experienced the fire-and-ice demons vault before (two mostly-completed circles next to each other, one with lava in the center and fire demons, the other with water in the center and ice), around D:23 or so. Just barely, though, I saw a similar vault on D:5, with a single imp on one side and a lone white imp on the other. Made me laugh.

[joellercoaster]

I saw a similar vault on D:5, with a single imp on one side and a lone white imp on the other. Made me laugh.

I liked that one too. Vault in-jokes FTW!

[Galefury]

My most awesome vault experience was getting shafted into the river Lethe full level vault. It's a big river with a few hell hounds and the upstairs (and two of the downstairs) on one side and simulacra and other undead on the other. Also a set of downstairs, guarded by a lich in my case. And two orange crystal statues. If you descend normally it's all pretty clear: you're next to a river, with most of the level on the other side, you can bypass that other part of the level if you want or go in from below, and you immediately know you are in a vault. But I had never seen that vault before and got shafted past the river. Of course I started looking for upstairs, not finding any because all of them were on the other side. There were undead everywhere, and great fun was had.

I also really liked the recently added Kiku temple vault. And the elementalist vault someone mentioned previously, with the various elemental clouds and terrain and monsters. Lemuel's castle is great too of course. It can have gnolls, orcs, elves or draconians depending on depth. There is also a pretty awesome recently added Fedhas vault that starts growing oklobs when you get close, producing one of those "oh shit I have to get out of here" moments.

[joellercoaster]

In that case, I am more pleased by it.

[TehDruid]

I hereby request a vault sporting some kind of bubbling cauldron tile. What's Stone Soup without it???

[evilmike]

I hereby request a vault sporting some kind of bubbling cauldron tile. What's Stone Soup without it???

This is doable. We will need a tile first, though.

edit: oops, hit thanks button by accident

[Serne]

Someone make that tile, NAO!

I have no ability to make one for it otherwise I would.

[Zelkelion]

I'm a Necromancer right now, and I learned Ignite Poison then pushed it all the way from Poor to Very Good for the singular purpose of Killer Bee vaults. Also the Hive. And Hydrae. And Naga. And Spiders.

I actually just cleared Spiderland. It was sort of not worth it. Ignite Poison was difficult to get on more than two or three targets, since they were fast and deadly. I had to draw them out bit by bit... but if not for that spell I would have died since Necromancy just doesn't hold up against demonic crawlers.

[AtT]

I'm a Necromancer right now, and I learned Ignite Poison then pushed it all the way from Poor to Very Good for the singular purpose of Killer Bee vaults. Also the Hive. And Hydrae. And Naga. And Spiders.

I actually just cleared Spiderland. It was sort of not worth it. Ignite Poison was difficult to get on more than two or three targets, since they were fast and deadly. I had to draw them out bit by bit... but if not for that spell I would have died since Necromancy just doesn't hold up against demonic crawlers.

You really shouldn't push too hard outside of your niche just for ignite poison. It has great synergy with poison cloud though or perhaps a blowgun and some poison needles.

[cerebovssquire]

Today, in late D, I came across a vault that was a fortress brimming with hell knights, demons, demonologists, fountains of blood, red floors, and all that demonic stuff, and a Balrug bossfight. It was really fun, especially because the stuff was harder than the normal spawns, and because it was filled with loot. What took the cake was a group of about 5 "sacrificial humans" behind an iron grate. After killing all the demons, I disintegrated it and entered.
These humans must have been like "oh hey, we're being freed". Little did they know that next second, this sludge elf would sprout blades out of his arms, decapitate the lot of them and SACRIFICE THEM TO MAKHLEB.

[nicolae]

Today, in late D, I came across a vault that was a fortress brimming with hell knights, demons, demonologists, fountains of blood, red floors, and all that demonic stuff, and a Balrug bossfight. It was really fun, especially because the stuff was harder than the normal spawns, and because it was filled with loot. What took the cake was a group of about 5 "sacrificial humans" behind an iron grate. After killing all the demons, I disintegrated it and entered.
These humans must have been like "oh hey, we're being freed". Little did they know that next second, this sludge elf would sprout blades out of his arms, decapitate the lot of them and SACRIFICE THEM TO MAKHLEB.

This reminds me, there's a great early vault where there's a foresty area behind an iron grate, where some kobolds are cooking halflings over a fire.

[Jabberwocky]

Today, in late D, I came across a vault that was a fortress brimming with hell knights, demons, demonologists, fountains of blood, red floors, and all that demonic stuff, and a Balrug bossfight. It was really fun, especially because the stuff was harder than the normal spawns, and because it was filled with loot. What took the cake was a group of about 5 "sacrificial humans" behind an iron grate. After killing all the demons, I disintegrated it and entered.
These humans must have been like "oh hey, we're being freed". Little did they know that next second, this sludge elf would sprout blades out of his arms, decapitate the lot of them and SACRIFICE THEM TO MAKHLEB.

This reminds me, there's a great early vault where there's a foresty area behind an iron grate, where some kobolds are cooking halflings over a fire.

I love that vault, I found it this morning as a TrMo. I killed the kobolds, destroyed the plant to get at the halflings, and ate them. This raw flesh tastes great!

[defen]

2x3 room with three different bears and potions of porridge. Whoever made that one, nicely done =)

[ximxim]

4x4 room surrounded by 3 rows of secret doors, filled to the brim with vault:8-style monsters. Big props to whoever made that one.

[pratamawirya]

4x4 room surrounded by 3 rows of secret doors, filled to the brim with vault:8-style monsters. Big props to whoever made that one.

The Door Hell. It can have different monster sets. I've seen one in Hells with a bunch of high-tier demons.

[Jabberwocky]

I really, really hate the Mahkleb altar vaults where it looks like the altar and the demonic crawler or such are surrounded by lava, but it has a gap or two where they can get through. D:3 demonic crawlers aren't fun.

[Stormfox]

Just seen in trunk, a Chei altar with three agate snails encased in glass walls surrounding it.

A snail-covered altar of Chei, indeed!

[evilmike]

I really, really hate the Mahkleb altar vaults where it looks like the altar and the demonic crawler or such are surrounded by lava, but it has a gap or two where they can get through. D:3 demonic crawlers aren't fun.

I never liked this one much, but note that it always places a slow monster. You're fine as long as you aren't a naga. It's just a nuisance, not a real threat (unless you decide to fight).

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

I really, really hate the Mahkleb altar vaults where it looks like the altar and the demonic crawler or such are surrounded by lava, but it has a gap or two where they can get through. D:3 demonic crawlers aren't fun.

I never liked this one much, but note that it always places a slow monster. You're fine as long as you aren't a naga. It's just a nuisance, not a real threat (unless you decide to fight).

When it appears close to the Molten Gargoyle Residence...

[PerverseSuffering]

Oh, Makhleb altars. I've had one just now. Had wands of enslavement AND confusion. First my freshly enlisted hell beast killed'em all, then it drowned it lava.

Speaking of vaults, I've found a funny one, the fire cave or something. That one, y'know, when every once in a while the whole level is engulfed in flames. Playing trunk, so I'm not sure if it's in stable, but it was good fun, hiding in the loot rooms when it smells sulphury.

[jejorda2]

I came across a room today on D1 filled with beef jerkies, dwarven hand axes, and chunks of minotaur flesh.

[nicolae]

I came across a room today on D1 filled with beef jerkies, dwarven hand axes, and chunks of minotaur flesh.

I love that one.

[Pteriforever]

I really like the mini-temple with about 5 altars and a ton of megabats.

[Grimm]

I came across a room today on D1 filled with beef jerkies, dwarven hand axes, and chunks of minotaur flesh.

viewtopic.php?t=304&p=40923#p40923

[Blade]

My favorite ossuary is the tomb2-like one where, when you enter, you immediately find yourself surrounded by about 12 dangerous zombies. If you decide to be a brave soul and stay, you find several mummies guarding the edges. Both times I've gotten it have involved long, drawn-out, tense warfare against the shambling undead.

[Galefury]

I had a most wonderful encounter with Lom Lobon yesterday. The vault with lots of green crystal walls is a paradise for earth elementalists. LRD becomes crystal storm.

[Blade]

I recently came down the stairs into an empty four-by-four room. After searching a bit, doors started popping up everywhere. I paused in confusion, because it was clearly a vault of doors, except...not. There were no monsters in sight. I opened the doors, came out on the other side, and ... monsters! Dangerous monsters everywhere!

It was a reverse vault of doors. All the monsters were on the other side, trapped in a larger square. It made me laugh.

[XuaXua]

Let me tell you, having spent a lot of time in The Abyss lately vs. Pan:

The Abyss is a bit more interesting now, and with the way things work, you just aim for the big black spots for new things to discover, but it needs more vaults.

Historically I found the electric-guarded rune, but also found a huge red wasp vault (the honeycombs were the hints).

Pan is really boring.

In Pan, there are very few vaults other than the main ones and without additional demonic runes, it's just kind of dullsville till you make it to the four big guys.

I guess I'd suggest putting a special unique rune on Hellion Island if nothing else than to give it meaning because they aren't guarding anything special anymore.

[Kate]

Hellion island does have a guaranteed demonic rune (you just might have already found one elsewhere). An actual unique rune wouldn't really be appropriate for it.