Chaos Knight?

[Sometimes]

I've been trying to get a chaos knight off the ground for a while now, and they're dying fast.
Xom keeps doing such straightforward harm- bad mutations, stat loss, hostile demons- that they're constantly burning resources to stay alive, and his whimsy's a death sentence in dangerous situations. I knew Xom was designed as a challenge god, but I wasn't expecting to be hobbled quite so badly.
I had notions of suffering regular inconveniences in exchange for great rewards. Can Chaos Knight actually be a valid choice (I do realise it's recommended to no-one!) that I just haven't got my head around, or is it really this cruel?
I've been trying heavy melee-focused races, mostly Minotaurs, in the hope that random stat loss and mutations are less likely to spoil my build. (And the extra HP may let me survive a little more craziness.)
And and all advice on or experience of worshipping Xom would be welcome.

[galehar]

Resting to regain HP tends to bore him. Try a Troll, the regeneration helps.

[Tiber]

I've been trying one, and having the same problems. The only things I can say is try and get blinking and teleport ID'd early, and rest in open areas near stairs. Oh, and eating poison chunks without rPois is a relatively safe and available way to entertain him in the early game.

[Kate]

I have never seen anyone actually use Xom in a way that makes him anything other than a large disadvantage.

http://crawl.develz.org/morgues/trunk/x ... 233938.txt

Xom gifts are pretty awesome.

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

I have never seen anyone actually use Xom in a way that makes him anything other than a large disadvantage.

http://crawl.develz.org/morgues/trunk/x ... 233938.txt

0_0
(imagine the face of a creature who is attacked by a rainbow-coloured Felid who is wearing glittering butterfly wings and shouting: "I AM A GIANT FLUFFY MARSHMALLOW, DO NOT EAT ME!", and you can get the idea of the strange emotion this user had after peeking at that log)

[Sometimes]

Xom gifts are pretty awesome.

If I'm following this- waiting indefinitely in safe spots for goodies, presumably stairscumming to avoid hostile summons? The Temple would avoid the OOD monsters from serious waiting, right?

I gave this a try with a Mummy- he died. Instantly, without warning. I was not aware Xom could do that. Some kind of holy fire that killed him in a single shot.

EDIT: AND AGAIN! Instadeath from a clear blue sky, this time a spray of metal shrapnel. "Killed by the severe capriciousness of Xom." XL 4, full health, playing normally. Yow. So it's not just hostile demons, pain, poison, teleports, stat loss- Xom can straight up murder you on a roll of the dice.

This seems...not good. I had assumed Xom would never directly kill me and that I'd always have a chance to do something about his misfortunes. It's not as entertaining if a sudden GAME OVER is always an option.

[Tiber]

Xom can directly kill you, but I believe only when bored or with wrath.

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

Or by accident. I guess being Xom's plaything is sharing the fate with that stickman from The Powder Toy. Being constantly showered by plasma, thunder, sparks and sometimes water. Boiled.

[pratamawirya]

Xom "gifting" demons is the most annoying thing

[Curio]

...and rest in open areas near stairs...

That's actually a bad idea when Xom summons a cohort of demons around you.

[Tiber]

...and rest in open areas near stairs...

That's actually a bad idea when Xom summons a cohort of demons around you.

That's exactly why I do it. If he summons them in a hallway, you're stuck right where you are. In the open, sometimes you'll be able to slip through. Then again, if you're in a hallway, it's easier to kill time for a teleport. I guess it depends how you prefer to deal with escaping.

[Curio]

...and rest in open areas near stairs...

That's actually a bad idea when Xom summons a cohort of demons around you.

That's exactly why I do it. If he summons them in a hallway, you're stuck right where you are. In the open, sometimes you'll be able to slip through. Then again, if you're in a hallway, it's easier to kill time for a teleport. I guess it depends how you prefer to deal with escaping.

I prefer dealing with escape while I got bashed by 2 demons and not 8. If i'm lucky they would be ufetubby-whatever-their-name. So I can kill it and try ro run away on foot (rarely). Most times it's teleport out and it really easier to survive 2 monsters while waiting it to kick in.

[Baldurino]

I haven't ascended a choas knight but I reached zot with one.

Here are some tips:

Start with a magic user that has blink or swiftness OR play a beefy fighter type. This is so you can get run away from demon summons without dying.

Don't wield weapon when resting or travelling long distance.

A build i've been working on: Ghoul CK.

Theory:
Xom gets bored when you rest? Ghouls eat instead of resting.

Xom dances your weapon? Ghouls don't need weapons.

Xom mutates you? Ghouls dont mutate.

The downside is that he can't benefit from good mutations and weapon gifts.