DSVM seeking advice

[chrysalis]

Hey guys heres my character dump:

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.7.1-1-g7ce9b19 character file.

Chrysalis the Nimble (Demonspawn Venom Mage)                                           Turns: 57360, Time: 04:45:45

HP 118/118       AC 16     Str 17      Exp: 16/183644 (2271), need: 45155
MP  31/31        EV 23     Int 23 (24) God: Kikubaaqudgha [******]
Gold 2697        SH  0     Dex 17      Spells:  9 memorised,  4 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   P - +7,+6 demon whip (pain)
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : .   G - +2 robe
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   (no shield)
Res.Poison: +       Res.Corr.  : .   J - +1 wizard hat
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   b - +2 cloak {rPois}
Spirit.Shd: .       Stasis     : .   f - +2 pair of Fencer's gloves {EV+3 Dex+3 Acc
Sust.Abil.: . .     Rnd.Telep. : .   h - -2 pair of boots of Henotheism {EV-3 Str+4
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   r - amulet of the gourmand
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .   y - +4 ring of protection
Gourmand  : +       Ctrl.Flight: .   t - ring of the Mage {Wiz MR Int+3}

@: very resistant to hostile enchantments, stealthy
A: horns 3, breathe flames 1, cold resistance 1, conserve potions, demonic guardian 2, AC +2
a: Receive Corpses, Renounce Religion, Breathe Fire


You are on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Kikubaaqudgha.
Kikubaaqudgha is exalted by your worship.
You are full.

You have visited 8 branches of the dungeon, and seen 43 of its levels.

You have collected 3369 gold pieces.
You have spent 692 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 H - a +3 blowgun
 M - an uncursed runed orcish dagger (quivered)
 P - a +7,+6 demon whip of pain (weapon)
Missiles
 z - 3 curare-tipped elven needles
 D - 4 curare-tipped +0 needles
Armour
 b - a +2 cloak of poison resistance (worn)
 f - the +2 pair of Fencer's gloves (worn) {EV+3 Dex+3 Acc+5}
   (You found it on level 15 of the Dungeon)   
   It affects your evasion (+3).
   It affects your dexterity (+3).
   It affects your accuracy (+5).
 h - the -2 pair of boots of Henotheism (worn) {EV-3 Str+4 Int+2}
   (You found it on level 2 of the Snake Pit)   
   It affects your evasion (-3).
   It affects your strength (+4).
   It affects your intelligence (+2).
 G - a +2 robe (worn)
 J - a +1 wizard hat (worn)
Magical devices
 a - a wand of disintegration
 c - a wand of digging
 d - a wand of lightning
 k - a wand of draining {zapped: 7}
 l - a wand of paralysis
 w - a wand of hasting (7)
 A - a wand of draining {zapped: 3}
 B - a wand of fire {zapped: 4}
 C - a wand of fireball {zapped: 4}
 N - a wand of slowing
 O - a wand of teleportation {zapped: 1}
 R - a wand of digging (3)
 T - a wand of disintegration {zapped: 2}
 W - a wand of paralysis
 Y - a wand of lightning {zapped: 5}
Comestibles
 g - a pear
 j - 13 bread rations
Scrolls
 i - 3 scrolls of teleportation
 m - 5 scrolls of fear
 n - 2 scrolls of identify
 s - 3 scrolls of detect curse
 I - 2 scrolls of blinking
 S - a scroll of magic mapping
 U - a scroll of fog
 X - 3 scrolls of remove curse
Jewellery
 r - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
 t - the ring of the Mage (left hand) {Wiz MR Int+3}
   (You found it on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   [ring of wizardry]
   It affects your intelligence (+3).
   It increases your resistance to enchantments.
 y - a +4 ring of protection (right hand)
Potions
 e - 3 potions of levitation
 p - 4 potions of heal wounds
 q - 3 potions of invisibility
 v - 3 potions of resistance
 x - 4 potions of healing
 Z - 2 potions of might
Miscellaneous
 V - a bone lantern


 You have 2271 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 10 Fighting
 - Level 2 Short Blades
 - Level 8 Maces & Flails
 - Level 4 Throwing
 + Level 14 Dodging
 - Level 4 Stealth
 + Level 7 Stabbing
 + Level 2 Traps & Doors
 + Level 8 Unarmed Combat
 + Level 9 Spellcasting
 + Level 12 Conjurations
 + Level 13 Necromancy
 + Level 4 Air Magic
 - Level 7 Poison Magic
 + Level 6 Evocations


You have 4 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power          Success   Level
a - Sting                 Pois/Conj      #####          Excellent   1
b - Cure Poison           Pois           ######....     Excellent   2
c - Mephitic Cloud        Pois/Air/Conj  ######....     Excellent   3
d - Bolt of Draining      Conj/Necr      #######...     Excellent   6
e - Selective Amnesia     Ench           N/A            Fair        4
f - Dispel Undead         Necr           #######..      Excellent   4
g - Vampiric Draining     Necr           #######...     Excellent   3
h - Summon Butterflies    Summ           ####......     Excellent   1
i - Borgnjor's Revivific  Necr           #######...     Excellent   5


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (16/27)            Temple (1/1) D:6             Orc (4/4) D:11
    Elf (2/7) Orc:3          Lair (8/8) D:9           Swamp (5/5) Lair:4
  Slime (0/6) Lair:8        Snake (5/5) Lair:3         Hive (2/2) D:14
 Vault: D:14-19     

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

Shops:
D:12: (  Orc:3: !*/=*  Snake:2: %


                    Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You have a pair of large horns on your head.
You are mostly covered in yellow scales (AC +2).
You can breathe flames.
Your flesh is cold resistant.
You are very good at protecting items from cold.
A demonic guardian rushes to your aid.


I haven't used this type of character before so feel free to give my any general advice or point out any weirdness in my character. Also I have some specific questions:

1. I already used Kiku's gift to pain enchant my demon whip. Should I ditch him(her?) for another god?
2. Not sure what spells I should be trying to get. Bolt of draining is my bread and butter now but I feel like its gonna be underpowered soon.
3. Shield or no shield? I haven't found a good one yet but should I start training it?
4. Mara is on the last floor of the swamp. He has a deliciously glowy demonwhip. At what point should I try to "procure" it from him?

Thanks guys!

[MrMisterMonkey]

1) You can if you want another god, but Kiku is nice, and an easy golden (Tomb) rune (death curse protection, torment resistance, invocation for corpses for chunks for sublimation of blood for mp).
2) To start, I'd get Haste, Regeneration, and Agony.
3) I'd get a buckler and train Shields to 5 (at which penalties for bucklers vanish for human-sized races)
4) Don't bother with that demon whip; a demon whip of pain is an enviably delicious endgame weapon with good necromancy skill (1d(necromancy) extra ac-ignoring damage every hit, and demon whips reach their minimum delay of 5 at 12 skill), as long as you don't plan on doing extended (pandemonium, hells, etc.).

[danr]

I just put your chardump in code tags to make it easier to read.

[RangerC]

You've been playing a reaver style so far; while this will work (finding Poison Arrow would be nice if you continue), a crusader style is easier for Demonspawn and takes better advantage of your demon whip of pain (plus you have an ice facet, so you might get passive freeze, which is great for melee and worthless otherwise). Train Enchantments until you get haste, and then wipe out all the living branches. You have Revivification for any tight spots.

I would also dump these boots:
the -2 pair of boots of Henotheism (worn) {EV-3 Str+4 Int+2}

Your build doesn't need strength and you have enough spell power/success to lose the two points of Int. Overall, you have some great gear and DS mutations so this guy should be a winner.

[chrysalis]

Update, I ascended.

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.7.1-1-g7ce9b19 character file.

1487837 Chrysalis the Thanatomancer (level 27, 271/271 HPs)
             Began as a Demonspawn Venom Mage on Dec 21, 2010.
             Was a High Priest of Kikubaaqudgha.
             Escaped with the Orb
             ... and 4 runes (of 4 types) on Dec 26, 2010!
             
             The game lasted 10:35:08 (177290 turns).

Chrysalis the Thanatomancer (Demonspawn Venom Mage)                                   Turns: 177290, Time: 10:35:08

HP 271/271       AC 32     Str 23      Exp: 27/1479346 (106)
MP  42/42        EV  4     Int 28      God: Kikubaaqudgha [*****.]
Gold 6754        SH 20     Dex 15      Spells: 14 memorised,  8 levels left

Res.Fire  : + . .   See Invis. : .   P - +9,+7 demon whip (pain)
Res.Cold  : + + .   Warding    : .   I - +5 gold dragon armour
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   E - +3 elf buckler {AC+3}
Res.Poison: +       Res.Corr.  : +   Q - +2 elf wizard hat
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   p - +2 cloak {MR}
Spirit.Shd: .       Stasis     : .   f - +2 pair of Fencer's gloves {EV+3 Dex+3 Acc
Sust.Abil.: . .     Rnd.Telep. : .   h - -2 pair of boots of Henotheism {EV-3 Str+4
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: +   b - amulet of the gourmand
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .   K - cursed +6 ring of strength
Gourmand  : +       Ctrl.Flight: .   G - ring of teleport control

@: very resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: horns 3, blurry vision 1, breathe flames 3, cold resistance 1, conserve potions, deformed body 1, demonic
guardian 3, fast metabolism 1, passive freeze, +30% hp, AC +3, Int +1, Dex -2
a: Receive Corpses, Renounce Religion, Breathe Fire


You escaped.
You worshipped Kikubaaqudgha.
Kikubaaqudgha was exalted by your worship.
You were not hungry.

You visited 12 branches of the dungeon, and saw 80 of its levels.
You visited the Abyss 1 time.
You visited 1 bazaar.
You visited 1 portal chamber: wizlab.

You collected 11335 gold pieces.
You spent 4601 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 i - a +0,+0 elven dagger (quivered)
 P - a +9,+7 demon whip of pain (weapon)
Armour
 f - the +2 pair of Fencer's gloves (worn) {EV+3 Dex+3 Acc+5}
   (You found it on level 15 of the Dungeon)   
   It affects your evasion (+3).
   It affects your dexterity (+3).
   It affects your accuracy (+5).
 h - the cursed -2 pair of boots of Henotheism (worn) {EV-3 Str+4 Int+2}
   (You found it on level 2 of the Snake Pit)   
   It affects your evasion (-3).
   It affects your strength (+4).
   It affects your intelligence (+2).
   It has a curse placed upon it.
 p - a +2 cloak of magic resistance (worn)
 x - a +0 robe
 E - a +3 elven buckler of protection (worn)
 I - a +5 gold dragon armour (worn)
 Q - a +2 elven wizard hat (worn)
Magical devices
 a - a wand of disintegration (2)
 d - a wand of digging (7)
 e - a wand of invisibility (2)
 g - a wand of healing (0)
 l - a wand of digging (9)
 w - a wand of hasting (4)
 A - a wand of cold (2)
 B - a wand of digging (1)
 M - a wand of frost (20)
 O - a wand of teleportation (8)
Comestibles
 s - 2 bread rations
 D - a choko
 N - 12 honeycombs
 V - 17 royal jellies
Scrolls
 n - a scroll of remove curse
Jewellery
 b - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
 o - an uncursed amulet of conservation
 t - the cursed ring of the Mage {Wiz MR Int+3}
   (You found it on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   [ring of wizardry]
   It affects your intelligence (+3).
   It increases your resistance to enchantments.
   It has a curse placed upon it.
 u - the ring of Shadows {+Inv rN+ EV+4 Acc-3 SInv Stlth++}
   (You found it on level 3 of the Tomb of the Ancients)   
   [ring of invisibility]
   It affects your evasion (+4).
   It affects your accuracy (-3).
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It enhances your eyesight.
   It makes you much more stealthy.
 z - a cursed ring of life protection
 G - a ring of teleport control (left hand)
 K - a cursed +6 ring of strength (right hand)
 R - a cursed ring of protection from fire
 S - an uncursed ring of teleportation
Potions
 j - a potion of might
 r - 2 potions of magic
 L - a potion of healing
Books
 m - a book of the Sky   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Summon Elemental                   Summoning                    4
   Insulation                         Enchantment/Air              4
   Airstrike                          Air                          4
   Flight                             Enchantment/Air              4
   Silence                            Enchantment/Air              5
   Lightning Bolt                     Conjuration/Air              5
   Deflect Missiles                   Enchantment/Air              6
   Conjure Ball Lightning             Conjuration/Air              7
   
 T - the Reference Book on Weightlessness
   (You found it on level 5 of the Realm of Zot)   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Levitation                         Enchantment/Air              2
   Lightning Bolt                     Conjuration/Air              5
   Freezing Cloud                     Conjuration/Ice/Air          6
   
Orbs of Power
 c - the Orb of Zot
Miscellaneous
 q - a serpentine rune of Zot
 y - a silver rune of Zot
 C - a decaying rune of Zot
 J - a golden rune of Zot


 You had 106 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 18 Fighting
 - Level 2 Short Blades
 + Level 16 Maces & Flails
 - Level 4 Throwing
 + Level 14 Armour
 + Level 17 Dodging
 + Level 5 Stealth
 + Level 10 Stabbing
 + Level 8 Shields
 + Level 9 Traps & Doors
 + Level 11 Unarmed Combat
 + Level 14 Spellcasting
 + Level 14 Conjurations
 + Level 9 Enchantments
 + Level 2 Summonings
 + Level 23 Necromancy
 + Level 3 Translocations
 - Level 5 Air Magic
 - Level 7 Poison Magic
 + Level 8 Evocations


You had 8 spell levels left.
You knew the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power          Success   Level
a - Sting                 Pois/Conj      #####          Fair        1
b - Blink                 Tloc           N/A            Useless     2
c - Mephitic Cloud        Pois/Air/Conj  #######...     Useless     3
d - Bolt of Draining      Conj/Necr      ########..     Terrible    6
e - Selective Amnesia     Ench           N/A            Useless     4
f - Dispel Undead         Necr           ########.      Excellent   4
g - Vampiric Draining     Necr           ########..     Excellent   3
h - Summon Butterflies    Summ           #####.....     Useless     1
i - Borgnjor's Revivific  Necr           ########..     Great       5
j - Apportation           Tloc           ######....     Useless     1
k - Projected Noise       Ench           N/A            Cruddy      2
l - Haste                 Ench           #######..      Useless     6
m - Orb of Destruction    Conj           #######...     Useless     7
n - Summon Small Mammals  Summ           #####          Useless     1


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (27/27)            Temple (1/1) D:6             Orc (4/4) D:11
    Elf (7/7) Orc:3          Lair (8/8) D:9           Swamp (5/5) Lair:4
  Slime (0/6) Lair:8        Snake (5/5) Lair:3         Hive (2/2) D:14
  Vault (8/8) D:19          Blade (0/1) Vault:4       Crypt (5/5) Vault:2
   Tomb (3/3) Crypt:3         Zot (5/5) D:27       

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

Shops:
D:12: (  D:16: !=**  D:22: %[[!+  D:26: [  D:27: !(+  Orc:3: !*/=*  Elf:4: /(  Elf:5: =  Snake:2: %  Vault:4: %
Vault:6: ([(*(  Vault:7: (

Portals:
Hell: D:21 D:22 D:23 D:24 D:25 D:26 D:27
Abyss: D:23 D:25
Pan: D:22 D:24 D:25 D:26

Annotations
D:16 exclusion: 6 flame clouds
Vault:4 exclusion: 36 flame clouds


                    Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You have a pair of large horns on your head.
You are completely covered in yellow scales (AC +3, rCorr).
You can breathe blasts of fire.
Your flesh is cold resistant.
You are very good at protecting items from cold.
A powerful demonic guardian rushes to your aid.
A frigid envelope surrounds you and freezes all who hurt you.
You are extremely robust (+30% HP).
Your vision is a little blurry.
Your mind is acute (Int +1).
You are clumsy (Dex -2).
Armour fits poorly on your unusually shaped body.
You have a fast metabolism.


Message History

You whack the rotting devil!
The rotting devil is moderately wounded.
You whack the rotting devil! You headbutt the rotting devil.
You kill the rotting devil!
Kikubaaqudgha accepts your kill.
Are you sure you want to leave the Dungeon?
You have escaped!

#.#   #.#   #...............
#.#   #.#   #.##.#####.#####
..#   #.#   #.##.#   #.#
..#####.#####.##.#####.#####
............................
..#####.#####.##.#####.#####
..#   #.#   #.##.#   #.#
..#   #.#   #.##.#####.#
..#####)#####.##.......#####
............................
#%#####.###.#@##.......#####
......#.# #.#.##............
#.....#.# #.#.##............
#.....#.# #.#.##............
#.....#.# #.#.##..........).
........###.#.########......
............................
....#######.#.##############
....#######.#.#     #.....#
..............#     #.....#


There were no monsters in sight!


Learned quite a bit.
Demonspawn have ridiculously awesome mutations (if you can survive long enough to get them).
Pain brand + high necromancy skill + fast weapon = easy mode vs non-immunes.
Revivification is too good. At first I was worried about loss of max hp, but once I got over that it was godly.
Armor still viable. Granted I did have a +6 str ring lying around to help ease the penalties.

One thing I must ask is how does everyone cope with the maxing of the exp pool at higher levels? Other than practicing spells there seems to be no way to use all of the exp quickly enough. Should I have got close to max exp pool, then sat around in a safe room to train armour?