I think we learned an important lesson today.

[SchwaWarrior]

An altar of Jiyva on D3...

run away!

What!? O.o Dude, you're LUCKY! Jivya's an extremely hard deity to get a hold of because his altar is all the way at the bottom of one of the most dangerous dungeons in the game 99% of the time. You should have baited the Jellies away from it, snuck around (or used a Blink scroll to leap behind them) to Jivya's altar and worshipped him, which would have pacified the Jellies and made you safe. You'll be uber lucky if you EVER get another chance to do that again, 'cause that is RARE. v_v

Also let me point out that beginning the game with Jivya gives him TONS of time to kajigger your stats around and mutate you positively. Which is absurdly awesome.

[Grimm]

Jivya altars appear in Lair near the entrance to Slime a fair amount of the time. It's rare but not hen's teeth rare.

[SchwaWarrior]

Jivya altars appear in Lair near the entrance to Slime a fair amount of the time. It's rare but not hen's teeth rare.

I have yet to see this.

It would make my life SO much easier.

So much. ;_;

*huggles Jivya tight*

[TwilightPhoenix]

Unless you're a Felid, then you don't need all those item things everyone else worries so much about.

On the other hand, worshipping Jiyva means you never, ever need to worry about food again since you get fed for slimes munching stuff. Heck, someone with gourmand and slow metabolism 3 will be jealous of how long you spend at engorged.

[ilpalazzo]

When actually using a scroll of vulnerability do it BEFORE buffing yourself with haste, deflect missiles, ...

[Stormfox]

Likewise, if you drop most of your potions before going into an ice cave, pick them back up once you get back out...

Better yet, bring them in with you and leave them just inside. That way if you get the snot beaten out of you, get massively stat drained, horrible mutations, or what have you, those potions are within easy reach without having to abandon the cave.

I drop them outside because if I have to get out REALLY FAST, I don't want to waste time picking up my potions, or make the choice between my potions and jumping out the exit.

[thenewflesh]

You haven't played crawl until you get hellfired to death with the Orb on D:1 few squares away from the exit

[Blade]

"-" allows you to customize your character doll in tiles. ...maybe not entirely in the spirit of the thread, but it still made me ridiculously happy when I discovered it.

As for a proper lesson...just because you've taken down an Orcish Warlord in melee doesn't mean you can fight Gastronok with no worries.

[SchwaWarrior]

Jiyva is probably the worst god you can possibly take on D:3. Yes, worse than Xom. You're giving up a huge portion of your item drops when you worship Jiyva, so don't do it unless you're at the point where you don't need very many more items.

Why do you stand for everything that is the exact opposite of me ever since I registered here? I frequently go with Xom and am extremely comfortable/successful doing so.

[Eaki Godsbane]

Having an efreet pet(from the bottle) and exploring water-filled branches can be a big source of fun/annoyance... All the steam ensures that everyone won't be able to effectively aim with missiles or spells, forcing melee combat. Probably an advantage for plain fighters and zerkers.

[Night2o1]

1. Don't underestimate spiny frogs, even if you've killed a ton already.

2. Mara is ridiculously dangerous

[daggaz]

No matter how angry you are at the RNG, and no matter how tired you are of starting over so many times; You will start over. Resistance, she is futile.

[SchwaWarrior]

1. Don't underestimate spiny frogs, even if you've killed a ton already.

2. Mara is ridiculously dangerous

I HATE THOSE THINGS.

Spiny Frogs. I hate them. I thought Black Mambas were bad at first but really, not even close.

I had a bout against Mara once, and she was a riddle to take down, but even though she gave me a massive workout, I think the Spiny Frogs are harder than her. At least Mara doesn't beat you down in three seconds. It takes brains to beat her, but brains won't save you from the frogs. o_o

[Blade]

Dig and IOOD have incredible synergy.

[ElectricAlbatross]

I find spiny frogs (like many other things) to be basically trivialized by Ice Form.

[Blade]

I find spiny frogs (like many other things) to be basically trivialized by Ice Form.

I find spiny frogs (like many other things) to be basically trivialized by Sticky Flame.

[Eaki Godsbane]

Heh, I trivalize almost anything in the lair with blast wands... If I have enough charges that is.

[dassem]

Your hasted Angel can overtake your Orb of Destruction, which makes both the Angel and TSO very unhappy.

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

The most important thing to remember when fighting with an arquebus, is that firearms are no more than a complement to a primary blade.
The most important thing to remember when using a computer, is that computers are no more than a complement to your mind.

[Tiber]

Your clever ideas aren't as clever as you think they are.

Explanation: I had this idea that I was going to do tomb by abusing a combination of silence, ring of flames, and 4 efreets who would spam fireballs while immune to silence. When it worked, it absolutely trivialized mummies. The problem comes when you get several mummies casting all that nasty summoning and tormenting from out of range, and you have to run away. At least I live to fight again.

[Eaki Godsbane]

An Ettin is a specially nasty version of giant. In one turn, they can hit for damage reaching 100 points more or less... with their double Giant Spiked Clubs™. If you're especially lucky, those clubs could also be branded with nastiness... like speed.

Bastard mangled one of my overconfident KoBes.

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

Do not Alt-Shift when you have just read a scroll of acquirement. The game thinks you ask for food when you do this action.

[Eaki Godsbane]

I wonder what you'd get if you ask for food as a mummy. Anybody know?

[XuaXua]

I wonder what you'd get if you ask for food as a mummy. Anybody know?

Of all viable consumables, beef jerky, of course.

[Serne]

Mummies need a consumable... bandages. Poor buggers must lose alot of them.

[starless]

1. Don't underestimate spiny frogs, even if you've killed a ton already.

2. Mara is ridiculously dangerous

I HATE THOSE THINGS.

Spiny Frogs. I hate them. I thought Black Mambas were bad at first but really, not even close.

I had a bout against Mara once, and she was a riddle to take down, but even though she gave me a massive workout, I think the Spiny Frogs are harder than her. At least Mara doesn't beat you down in three seconds. It takes brains to beat her, but brains won't save you from the frogs. o_o

She is a he!

[TehDruid]

1. Don't underestimate spiny frogs, even if you've killed a ton already.

2. Mara is ridiculously dangerous

I HATE THOSE THINGS.

Spiny Frogs. I hate them. I thought Black Mambas were bad at first but really, not even close.

I had a bout against Mara once, and she was a riddle to take down, but even though she gave me a massive workout, I think the Spiny Frogs are harder than her. At least Mara doesn't beat you down in three seconds. It takes brains to beat her, but brains won't save you from the frogs. o_o

She is a he!

Aren't demons gender-less like angels?

[ilpalazzo]

probably not - there are succubus and incubus for example

...some demons do need the right tools for their trade I suppose (at least hardware-like)

[Eaki Godsbane]

I found out that Crawl wants my new character dead after meeting an Orc warrior at D2.

I retreated back one step after we see each other, then the crude Beoghite throws a spear and instantly kills my level 2 Vamp.

Nasty.

[Pteriforever]

--Don't rely on Summon Scorpions if you're on low HP or are in a closed area.

--Contrary to popular belief, Menkaure is a complete pushover.

[File200]

-A single bolt of frost (shot by a yaktaur captain) can deal 103 damage, even if you have 32 AC.

-This game hates you and everything you stand for.

[Serne]

- Any situation you find yourself in in-game is separated from a potential loldeath by no more than 30 seconds.

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

Sometimes you might want to sacrifice something in order to make your enemy do the same thing.
Use a scroll of silence if you cannot reach that orc priest hidden behind his allies.

[cerebovssquire]

Aren't demons gender-less like angels?

Well, Mara is explicitly described as the Lord of Illusions.
In other cases we also have female demons in Crawl like Ereshkegal. Antaeus is a male figure of mythology (well, you could argue that he is a C, not a &, but he is basically demonic now).

[Grimm]

If you're short of cure mut potions, here's a workaround: get ornate and legendary decks and scroll-ID them until you find a deck of wonders. Then draw from the decks, scroll-ID, and repeat, until you get the Helix. This card has a chance to remove bad mutations.

[TwilightPhoenix]

If you follow the good gods, have a lot of gold, and are desperate, you can swap to Zin for a bit.

[KoboldLord]

If you follow the good gods, have a lot of gold, and are desperate, you can swap to Zin for a bit.

Or permanently! Turns out Zin is strong in the endgame now. Multiple panic buttons, mutation immunity, conducts substantially milder than TSO's, and the quietest Hell experience you'll ever experience. She won't help you pump out the spike damage of TSO's angelspam to kill Pan and Hell Lords, but if you're planning to ninja the Runes Zin is probably better than TSO.

[XuaXua]

Always carry one source of restore abilities (potion or royal jelly).

[Blade]

That 6-headed hydra that you didn't quite manage to kill with an edged weapon? It's now an 11-headed hydra.

That 11-headed hydra that you didn't quite manage to kill with an edged weapon? It's now a 14-headed hydra.

That 14-headed hydra that you didn't quite manage to kill with an edged weapon? ...have fun dealing with your new friend the 18-headed hydra.

On a related note, disintegration can be resisted, and fleeing hydrae are really really fast in the Swamp.

[Pteriforever]

Humming Giggle At The Ghostie won't make the RNG any nicer.

[SchwaWarrior]

--Don't rely on Summon Scorpions if you're on low HP or are in a closed area.

--Contrary to popular belief, Menkaure is a complete pushover.

I take it you don't main a Conjurer? :-/ The few times I ever won against her required a Berserk Potion and a loooot of luck.

EDIT: And also Yiuf's Quarterstaff of Chaos, which I seem to always fare better with. O.o

[Grimm]

Giggle At The Ghostie

This is a gateway to insanity.

[Burningled]

--Don't rely on Summon Scorpions if you're on low HP or are in a closed area.

--Contrary to popular belief, Menkaure is a complete pushover.

I take it you don't main a Conjurer? :-/ The few times I ever won against her required a Berserk Potion and a loooot of luck.

EDIT: And also Yiuf's Quarterstaff of Chaos, which I seem to always fare better with. O.o

Menkaure is a mummy, making him rF-(--?) and undead. This makes him trivial to FE, Ne, Sk, or anybody with a wand of fire/flame.

Seriously, I've never needed more than 2 fireballs to kill him. (It is a he, btw.)

[Pteriforever]

Probably, if you're high enough level to encounter them, giant spores will deal a lot of damage but not enough to kill you in one. If one's flying towards you, don't bother summoning anything to protect yourself; seriously, you'd prefer the blast damage to being surrounded by confused war dogs.

[AtT]

Probably, if you're high enough level to encounter them, giant spores will deal a lot of damage but not enough to kill you in one. If one's flying towards you, don't bother summoning anything to protect yourself; seriously, you'd prefer the blast damage to being surrounded by confused war dogs.

You could throw something. Imps can't be confused so those would work better.

[Grimm]

Tossing a stone usually pops them.

[TwilightPhoenix]

All the more reasons to carry stones, and usually a sling with them too, until you're a bit tougher. They pop spores, they safely eliminate early jellies, and they can soften bigger threats. And that's without actually putting any XP into Slings.

[Pteriforever]

Thanks for the advice.