Jeremiah wrote:snow wrote: A potion of might or healing makes a centaur pretty trivial
That hasn't been my experience - my last death I used 3 potions of healing, and in each case, the centaur did more damage to me than the potion healed. And that was in melee. Maybe Heal Wounds would have done the trick.
Potions of
healing aren't actually good for healing HP (unless you're so fragile that the 8-10 HP they give IS most of your HP). They're more like "potions of cure bad status conditions". So yes, potions of
heal wounds would be much better.
Back on topic, I rarely have much trouble with centaurs, despite playing berserkers so often. This thread has some good advice as to why not. It especially bears reminding that centaurs have crappy magic resistance and can be satisfyingly fucked up by almost any wand. You don't even need fire/cold/lightning/draining, as even the "lower" wands like flame/frost can hurt them good. They're also quite vulnerable to confuse, enslave, polymorph other, paralyze, and other such wands.
Playing the position game has also been mentioned. Hiding around corners works well, I also like to use other monsters for shelter. If you're already engaged with two or three mobs, centaurs will happy trot around them to close with you in melee. (And remember you can maneuver so that the mobs are between you and the centaur!) I know saying this won't win me any friends, but the AI could actually use a centaur's speed and range advantages more effectively!
The main thing, though, is just to
keep track of what you have, identify it as soon as you can, and use it effectively when you face challenges (like centaurs in the early game). The average character picks up all kinds of junk on the Dungeon floor, and it's easy to completely forget about that wand or speed potion or blink scroll or some other item that might save your life.