The Tavern

So after conutless of VPEn who didn't even manage to make it into lair I finally have one that I'm very afraid losing. Why you ask? Look for yourself:

Code:: Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.9.0 character file. Longinius the Imperceptible (Vampire Enchanter) Turns: 42717, Time: 05:58:45 HP 109/109 (124) AC 12 Str 10 XL: 17 Next: 8% MP 43/43 EV 33 Int 29 God: Makhleb [******] Gold 2402 SH 17 Dex 18 Spells: 9 memorised, 5 levels left Res.Fire : . . . See Invis. : + a - +4,+10 Spriggan's Knife {MR EV+4 Dex+4 Stl Res.Cold : + + + Warding : . . f - +1 robe Life Prot.: + + + Conserve : . v - +2 dwarf buckler Res.Acid. : . . . Res.Corr. : . D - +3 hat of Pondering {ponderous, MR Int+5 M Res.Poison: + Clarity : + x - +1 dwarf cloak {MR} Res.Elec. : . Spirit.Shd : . N - +2 pair of gloves {Str+3} Sust.Abil.: . . Stasis : . I - +0 pair of boots Res.Mut. : . Ctrl.Telep.: . r - amulet "Oxtodo" {Clar rC+ Int+2} Res.Rott. : + Levitation : . t - brass ring {tried} Saprovore : . . . Ctrl.Flight: . H - +6 ring of evasion @: non-regenerating, slow, extremely resistant to hostile enchantments, uncannily stealthy A: fangs 3, see invisible, unbreathing a: Bat Form, Bottle Blood, Minor Destruction, Lesser Servant of Makhleb, Major Destruction, Greater Servant of Makhleb, Renounce Religion }: 1/15 runes: serpentine You are in a treasure trove. You worship Makhleb. Makhleb is exalted by your worship. You are bloodless. You have visited 7 branches of the dungeon, and seen 40 of its levels. You have visited 1 Labyrinth. You have visited 4 portal chambers: ice cave, spiders nest, bailey, trove. You have collected 4667 gold pieces. You have spent 2285 gold pieces at shops. Inventory: Hand weapons a - the +4,+10 Spriggan's Knife (weapon) {MR EV+4 Dex+4 Stlth++} (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Orcish Mines) It affects your evasion (+4). It affects your dexterity (+4). It increases your resistance to enchantments. It makes you much more stealthy. This knife was made by Spriggans, or for Spriggans, or possibly from Spriggans. Anyway, it's in some way associated with those fey folk. b - a +2,+2 scimitar of flaming z - the Sceptre of Torment (You found it in a treasure trove) Armour f - a +1 robe (worn) v - a +2 dwarven buckler (worn) x - a +1 dwarven cloak of magic resistance (worn) D - the +3 hat of Pondering (worn) {ponderous, MR Int+5 MP+10} (You took it off Gastronok on level 12 of the Dungeon) It affects your intelligence (+5). It increases your resistance to enchantments. It affects your mana capacity (+10). The favorite hat of the slug wizard Gastronok, stained with reddish slime and enchanted to aid in his arcane pondering. It has been specially enchanted to protect against the effects of salt, though you probably don't care. I - a +0 pair of boots (worn) N - a +2 pair of gloves of strength (worn) Magical devices p - a wand of cold (6) G - a wand of fire (8) K - a wand of disintegration (6) T - a wand of digging (9) Scrolls c - 2 scrolls of fear e - 3 scrolls of blinking i - 8 scrolls of remove curse j - 3 scrolls of magic mapping q - 6 scrolls of teleportation y - 2 scrolls of detect curse J - 4 scrolls of recharging Jewellery k - an uncursed ring of protection from cold m - an uncursed amulet of warding n - an uncursed amulet of resist corrosion r - the amulet "Oxtodo" (around neck) {Clar rC+ Int+2} (You found it in a treasure trove) [amulet of clarity] It affects your intelligence (+2). It protects you from cold. s - a +3 ring of intelligence t - a brass ring (right hand) {tried} A - an uncursed ring of protection from fire B - an uncursed brass ring {tried} H - a +6 ring of evasion (left hand) O - an uncursed ring of protection from magic Potions d - 5 potions of cure mutation g - 3 potions of might h - 6 potions of healing l - 5 potions of heal wounds u - 3 potions of restore abilities w - 2 potions of resistance M - a potion of speed Q - 2 potions of agility Magical staves C - a staff of wizardry W - a staff of summoning Skills: + Level 11 Fighting - Level 10 Short Blades - Level 10 Long Blades + Level 13 Dodging + Level 21 Stealth - Level 11 Stabbing + Level 11 Shields - Level 1 Traps & Doors - Level 1 Unarmed Combat + Level 10 Spellcasting - Level 14 Hexes - Level 2 Summonings + Level 3 Necromancy - Level 1 Ice Magic + Level 7 Invocations - Level 1 Evocations You have 5 spell levels left. You know the following spells: Your Spells Type Power Success Level Hunger a - Vampiric Draining Necr #####..... Excellent 3 None b - Ensorcelled Hibernat Ice/Hex ####### Excellent 2 None c - Confuse Hex #######.. Excellent 3 None d - Dispel Undead Necr #####.... Very Good 4 None e - Invisibility Hex #######.. Excellent 6 Honeycomb f - Summon Butterflies Summ #####.... Excellent 1 None g - Call Canine Familiar Summ #####..... Great 3 None h - Control Undead Hex/Necr #######... Excellent 5 Choko i - Animate Dead Necr N/A Very Good 4 None Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations Branches: Dungeon (19/27) Temple (1/1) D:6 Orc (4/4) D:10 Elf (1/5) Orc:4 Lair (8/8) D:10 Shoals (0/5) Lair:6 Slime (0/6) Lair:7 Snake (5/5) Lair:4 Hive (2/2) D:12 Vault (0/8) D:19 Altars: Ashenzari Cheibriados Elyvilon Fedhas Kikubaaqudgha Makhleb Nemelex Xobeh Okawaru Sif Muna The Shining One Trog Vehumet Xom Yredelemnul Zin Beogh Shops: D:10: * D:11: ( Orc:3: ( Orc:4: ((+*? Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations You do not heal naturally. You can bottle blood from corpses. You have razor-sharp teeth. You have supernaturally acute eyesight. You do not need to breathe. Right-click to toggle between mutations and properties depending on your hunger status. Message History z - a jewelled golden mace d - 4 potions of cure mutation d - 5 potions of cure mutation B - a brass ring You see here 18 runed sling bullets. As you read the scroll of detect curse, it crumbles to dust. Your items softly glow as they are inspected for curses. You feel clumsy. A terribly searing pain shoots up your arm! z - the Sceptre of Torment (weapon) You remove your ring of protection from magic. t - a brass ring (right hand) {tried} Identify which item? (? for menu, Esc to quit) As you read the scroll of identify, it crumbles to dust. r - the amulet "Oxtodo" {Clar rC+ Int+2} You remove your amulet of warding. You feel clever. r - the amulet "Oxtodo" (around neck) {Clar rC+ Int+2} You feel agile. a - the +4,+10 Spriggan's Knife (weapon) {MR EV+4 Dex+4 Stlth++} ˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜.˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜....˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜...}....˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜.}.).n..˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜..}...(...˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜?....n@.(...˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜..[(.......˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜.)n.%)...˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜........˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜..[.˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜ ˜˜˜˜˜˜ There are no monsters in sight!

Yep, I have just found the sweet sceptre of torment on a treasure trove. The trove wanted dagger of chilly death, which was on a shop for ~1200 gp, but I've already found the best dagger I can have for an Enchanter so it was an easy choice and it paid damn well, considering I was planning to stay bloodless for the rest of the game. How can I use this to my best advantage?

I have never played an enchanter type before so I'm really clueless as to where to branch next. I know hexes will become quickly useless at deeper levels but what are my alternatives at magic? Necromancy? Isn't that also a bit useless in late game? Summoning? Isn't that a bit redundant wth Makhleb? Vampires are bad at conjurations so I guess ice storm/tornado etc. are also out of the picture. What else?

I also trained Long Blades a bit as you can see, in hopes of finding a good one, but so far I didn't found anything exceptional. Should I stay with that path or forget melee fighting as an alternative to stabbing?

edit: oops. Can someone carry this to the appropriate subforum :oops:

Well, the Spriggan's Knife isn't that great. In fact, I can think of numberous better weapons for an enchanter including certain quickblades, a normal vampiric dagger, weapons of pain, etc... so I'd stay on the look out.
Long Blades is a good alternative to stabbing. Certain uniques will sometimes spawn with good ones (Donald, Mara, Margery&her hell knights). Scimitars are surprisingly decent for early to midgame in my experience so you can snag one off Erica or Azrael - which you seem to have done. Use that till you find something better.he
Necromancy is very useful in the late game, but that's limited on an undead... the only high-level necromancy spells they can cast are Haunt and Death Channel. However, the use of Vampiric Draining (especially while bloodless! You're basically a weaker Deep Dwarf then!) and Dispel Undead should not be underestimated. Whenever you're not bloodless, Regeneration is one of the best charms of the game. Agony works against all giants and many types of dragons (not shadow dragons but that won't pose a threat for a bloodless Vampire. Fun fact: Shadow Dragons can be tormented!)
Tornado isn't actually a conjuration. That's a very heavy route though, so you would at least want other strong Air Spells, plus it isn't too powerful in 0.9.
ID that ring as soon as possible. It may be fire or cold, giving you a negative resistance, or a negative ring of slaying. Wear +3 INT till you can.
Hexes will become weaker but not useless. Some uniques (Wiglaf for instance) and other notable enemies, like draconian packs and many elves, do not have SInv. Plus, Invisibility trivialises Swamp and Shoals endings.
Otherwise, that ponderousness sucks. I guess you can Batform to safety if things get tough if you will be low on blood, but watch out for your burden! Nothing worse than being overloaded and actually unable to escape up stairs. It will meld these STR gloves too.
Stash these scrolls of recharging. And by that I mean drop them on the ground because noone will pick them up anyway.

Don't let the lack of conjurations aptitude fool you. Tornado doesn't even require it (it's Air alone!), and Ice Storm also takes Ice Magic (which Vampires can do). I would do that (after learning some ice or air blasty spells) rather than stick entirely with melee or stabbing. Bloodless Vampires are among the best casters in the game, due to their great resistances, stealth, and lack of hunger. Healing is a problem sometimes, but that's why you're worshiping Makhleb. As for Necromancy, keep training that until you have Dispel Undead at excellent, but you won't absolutely need more than that (since you already have Vampiric Draining, too).

cerebovssquire wrote:Well, the Spriggan's Knife isn't that great. In fact, I can think of numberous better weapons for an enchanter including certain quickblades, a normal vampiric dagger, weapons of pain, etc... so I'd stay on the look out.
Long Blades is a good alternative to stabbing. Certain uniques will sometimes spawn with good ones (Donald, Mara, Margery&her hell knights). Scimitars are surprisingly decent for early to midgame in my experience so you can snag one off Erica or Azrael - which you seem to have done. Use that till you find something better.he
Necromancy is very useful in the late game, but that's limited on an undead... the only high-level necromancy spells they can cast are Haunt and Death Channel. However, the use of Vampiric Draining (especially while bloodless! You're basically a weaker Deep Dwarf then!) and Dispel Undead should not be underestimated. Whenever you're not bloodless, Regeneration is one of the best charms of the game. Agony works against all giants and many types of dragons (not shadow dragons but that won't pose a threat for a bloodless Vampire. Fun fact: Shadow Dragons can be tormented!)
Tornado isn't actually a conjuration. That's a very heavy route though, so you would at least want other strong Air Spells, plus it isn't too powerful in 0.9.
ID that ring as soon as possible. It may be fire or cold, giving you a negative resistance, or a negative ring of slaying. Wear +3 INT till you can.
Hexes will become weaker but not useless. Some uniques (Wiglaf for instance) and other notable enemies, like draconian packs and many elves, do not have SInv. Plus, Invisibility trivialises Swamp and Shoals endings.
Otherwise, that ponderousness sucks. I guess you can Batform to safety if things get tough if you will be low on blood, but watch out for your burden! Nothing worse than being overloaded and actually unable to escape up stairs. It will meld these STR gloves too.
Stash these scrolls of recharging. And by that I mean drop them on the ground because noone will pick them up anyway.

Vampiric Draining and Dispel Undead is indeed very useful and I'm not thinking of forgetting them. I'm just thinking what would be useful high level Necro spell for a bloodless vampire and I can't find any(except haunt with combination of summoning maybe).
I found the ring on the trove and didn't have any ID scrolls. I was going to switch back to INT ring so no worries

As you have noticed I do not really have a good escape plan and that worries me. Currently my panic button is blink scrolls and Summon Greater Servants but that is not as reliable as I would like. I'm going to change Hat of Ponderousness as soon as I find a competing headgear but Int+5 is just too good to pass for now.

Happy Corner wrote:Don't let the lack of conjurations aptitude fool you. Tornado doesn't even require it (it's Air alone!), and Ice Storm also takes Ice Magic (which Vampires can do). I would do that (after learning some ice or air blasty spells) rather than stick entirely with melee or stabbing. Bloodless Vampires are among the best casters in the game, due to their great resistances, stealth, and lack of hunger. Healing is a problem sometimes, but that's why you're worshiping Makhleb. As for Necromancy, keep training that until you have Dispel Undead at excellent, but you won't absolutely need more than that (since you already have Vampiric Draining, too).

Well, I'm thinking Summoning or Enchantments would be an easier choice to branch into instead of Conjurations+Ice Magic. I'm certain that's feasible but I'm not sure I would have enough experience to pull that off to become useful.

Bat form is a decent escape plan for Vampires. It's Spriggan quick, and you get a big evasion boost. It would be a good idea to learn the actual Blink spell, too - have you not seen a book with it yet? Actually, Translocations wouldn't be the worst school for you to branch into, since it contains not only Blink, but a few other spells that help stabbers and blasters alike (Phase Shift comes to mind).

Definitely get some Charms, Haste, Swiftness, and Flight make the game easier by a ridiculous amount. Ice Storm isn't needed at all and will just eat up experience, especially if you are going for three runes... the long blades as a stabbing alternative, turning you into a charms/melee hybrid, sound not only sufficient but strong.
There's no need to cast high-level Necromancy spells, I agree on that. I think you should just turn the skill off at about 10-14 so you have decent spellpower on Vampiric Draining and Dispel Undead. At low power they don't do that much in lategame so I disagree with Happy Corner on turning them off immediately at Excellent - at that point you will often/sometimes (depending on Int/Spellcasting) need two casts to kill a wight, and you'll never take out an ancient lich with that before he sends you back to your grave.
Phase Shift (and fellow translocations, namely Control Teleport and Controlled Blink) is/are good ideas. You'll want about 14 Translocations which won't be a problem.

The Tavern

[CIP] Promising VpEn of Makhleb

[CIP] Promising VpEn of Makhleb

Re: [CIP] Promising VpEn of Makhleb

Re: [CIP] Promising VpEn of Makhleb

Re: [CIP] Promising VpEn of Makhleb

Re: [CIP] Promising VpEn of Makhleb

Re: [CIP] Promising VpEn of Makhleb