Teach me the way of trunk DDNe

[PerverseSuffering]

I heard it was an easy combo, but in reality, not so shiny. Any advice/tactics?

[XuaXua]

There is a guide on the game wiki.

[PerverseSuffering]

There is a guide on the game wiki.

>game wiki
That's a good one.
Also, swapping Dispel Undead for Control Undead in the starting book confuses me.

[tormodpwns]

Also, swapping Dispel Undead for Control Undead in the starting book confuses me.

Dispel Undead was killing the balance.

On an unrelated note, how useful is high-powered Control Undead in the Tomb?

[Jeremiah]

Anyone else read the thread title as "Teach me the way of drunk DDNe?"

[PerverseSuffering]

Anyone else read the thread title as "Teach me the way of drunk DDNe?"

It was an implied pun. Drunk DDNe would be awesome, though, swaying to and fro, assembling abominations from corpses and hangover-induced vomit, etc.

[Stormfox]

Drunk DDNe would be awesome, though, swaying to and fro, assembling abominations from corpses and hangover-induced vomit, etc.

And this is different from Dwarf Fortress...how? ;)

[absolutego]

no need to entomb a dwarf to build a single floodgate or something.

[XuaXua]

There is a guide on the game wiki.

>game wiki
That's a good one.

With all the unwarranted flack the game wiki has been receiving lately, I'm not sure if that's sarcasm.

[orshelack]

The DDNe guide on the wiki happens to be slightly less terrible than the other guides because the first bit was written by casmith789, a genuinely competent player, but it doesn't take long to degenerate into utter nonsense that happens to be outdated nonsense as well. If you do read it you should stop completely at "Some expanded notes."

Well it's gone now, sorry to plague you with terrible writing.

[XuaXua]

Was it that bad? *goes to check file history*

edit

I'm back. Here's what was deleted and what should have been done instead. Note, I haven't visited the Necromancer page.

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==Some expanded notes on Deep Dwarf Necromancer==
   
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''If you don't recognize a monster, look it up!'''
   
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Seriously, nothing sucks more (besides dying) than running up to a monster while already low on health, quickly casting [[Vampiric Draining]], only to find out the monster is a demon or undead. This does some nasty damage to YOU, not sure if it can kill you, but it can definitely make things worse. Use the wiki or Henzell's LearnDB to find out what something is, or as an alternative try casting [[Pain]] or [[Agony]] on the target first. Chances are, if one of those doesn't have an effect on a target, they probably aren't safe to drain. Note that this does apply to monsters resisting the spell, just ones that are unaffected. Also be careful when you actually cast Vamp Drain, as you do not get any confirmation after hitting a direction if something is in range.
   


This teaches to use Pain or Agony on an unknown monster to test for vulnerabilities before wasting Vampiric Draining. It is helpful information (if cleaned up) for generic Necromancer strategy.

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'''Beware of & prepare for demons!'''
   
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As stated above, [[Dispel Undead]] can make the game much easier, not only handling lowbie undead early on, but even taking on powerful player ghosts & ancient liches in the endgame! Since only the undead & demons are immune to your necromantic skills, this just leaves the demons as a problem. [[Abjuration]] is very useful against summoner-type demons (it hits everything in line of sight), but you will need something else to deal with the inevitable ones that come at you. An early [[Holy Wrath]] branded weapon or [[Silver]] ammunition can be a real help if a demon won't leave you alone. Don't be afraid to run away & drop them on another floor till later either.
   


Again, more helpful info, this time on how to strategy against Demons, and useful for all characters, but specific to all Necromancers. Cleanup and move to a Necromancer strategy guide.

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'''Focus skills early, spread out later'''
   
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This is more of a general tip for most players, but you should probably turn off most of your skills early in the game so the others will build faster. Dodging, Fighting, [[Spellcasting]] & [[Necromancy]] are good ones to keep on in the start. Try to stick to axes & slings or crossbows if you can, although don't be afraid to take up long blades or maces & flails if you find a good randart early on like I did. In the end I was lucky to find a couple good xbows, and used them heavily in the endgame, putting all my enchant weapon scrolls into [[steel]] and [[silver]] bolts, until I found out about bolts of [[penetration]].

To that end, [[shield]] and [[stealth]] skills can pay off quite well later on as well. Being able to wake only a couple monsters in a pack or avoid them totally, and being able to deflect damage, can both save your life several times over.
   


Could be useful in the strategy section of the skills area. The training tips could be consolidated, ordered, cleaned up and moved back to the current version of the DDNe guide, which is now lacking skill strategy.

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Your fifth spell (after Pain, Agony, Vamp drain & dispel undead) should probably be Animate Dead, unless you've found another low-level summoning spell. [[Kiku]] can help with corpses, although be aware that the branch you are on will dictate what types of corpses you get. Try not to over-use it early, as building your [[piety]] to full so you can get a pain brand or Necronomicon can be useful.  Note that Kiku's abilities use (and train) [[Necromancy]] rather than [[Invocations]]; this is great because you want high Necromancy anyway for your spells, but if you decide to switch to another god you'll have to train Invocations from scratch.
   


Nice strategy for using Kiku with Necromancers, but nothing with Deep Dwarves. Again, clean and move to a Necromancer Strategy section and link to that guide from here.

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If you continue in this vein, go for [[Twisted Resurrection]] fairly soon after animate dead. Large abominations can be created with 2 or more corpses on a single square, although it seems to take about 3 humanoid-sized corpses to ensure a large, but stacking more corpses makes them more powerful. Early on they are nice because they follow you up & down stairs, helping to protect you from ambushes. Later on they tend to be meatshields that aren't worth assembling vs just animating a dozen zombies, but they can definitely  hold their own for quite a while if you stack corpses together. Small aboms are weaker but seem to be quicker, although I had a couple larges that kept up with me as well.
   


TR has been completely revised, but with cleanup and updating, could be helpful in a Kiku/Necromancer strategy section, or specific spell page.

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You'll also need some skill in [[Summoning]] if you want to cast [[Haunt]] reliably without any enhancers. [[Recall]] can be a great way to build that up as well as being useful throughout the game.

I'm sure after reading this someone will prove me wrong & win a game with no spellcasting skill except necromancy and minimal fighting skills, but I don't think it would be easy. You may have started as a necromancer, but that doesn't mean you have to stick to that specific skill set!


Should be moved to the skill section; possibly fully moved to a Necromancer strategy section.

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In the end the short guide is a great starting place, it's what got me started on what ended up being my first win! Hopefully it will inspire others to try this combo, and maybe my advice will even be helpful to someone... Hey, a guy can dream!

100% fluff that was good to cut.

[Rapigel]

On an unrelated note, how useful is high-powered Control Undead in the Tomb?

Last time I was there I didn't have much luck with the high-end mummies with 20 Spellcasting and 23 Necro. Still, it was great fun on the entry of the last level of Tomb, when my wall of Guardian Mummies tried and failed to take down the Mummy Priests and Greater Mummies. So much message spam per turn...