Boris

[Famov]

So I'm a level 17 Hill Orc Priest, at the bottom of the swamp (my first attempt at getting a rune) with three knights, two high priests, one sorcerer, two warriors, and Urug, who is still alive somehow. After losing two of my knights already to two uniques on this floor (including one to Mennas, whoever that jerk is), and I've run into Boris. I've only been playing this game for a little while, but as I understand it he's bad news.

My question is, what's the best way to deal with this guy. I've seen him once before on another character and I ran away. But I really want to get this rune, so I feel like I gotta kill him.

Any pointers, or should I really just leave and come back later?

[Happy Corner]

Boris IS bad news, but if you took Mennas, you can handle him. He's much squishier, so beating him to death can work if you don't have Dispel Undead handy. All his worst attacks are ranged single-target spells, so hide behind your orcs and smite him if you feel threatened. This is also a good time for your holy word or silence scrolls, if you've found any.

[Famov]

Thanks for the advice. Since I lacked the scrolls that were mentioned, I took the run away option, at least long enough to put on my magic resist gear. Hopefully when I see him again he'll be close enough to melee to death.

[jejorda2]

I took the run away option, at least long enough to put on my magic resist gear.

Magic Resistance lowers the chance that hexes like confuse and paralyze will work on you. Magic Resistance doesn't lower the damage you take from magical attacks.

According the the bots, Boris's spells are iron shot (3d37), bolt of cold (3d32), invisibility, animate dead, and orb of destruction (8d17).

Most of these are direct damage spells, and none of them are affected by magic resistance. So you want high armour class, shield factor, and/or evasion to beat iron shot, bolt of cold, and OOD. Cold resistance doesn't hurt. See invisible can help, and don't leave powerful corpses around without butchering them or you'll have to fight things like hydra zombies.

If you kill Boris here, he can show up again in nearly any level you enter. If you escape and leave him alive, he'll stay in the bottom of the swamp.

[tormodpwns]

So I'm a level 17 Hill Orc Priest, at the bottom of the swamp (my first attempt at getting a rune) with three knights, two high priests, one sorcerer, two warriors, and Urug, who is still alive somehow.

Hmm. Speaking from experience, you really have a very strange army composition. Out of two HOPr games that reached Zot, I only had one spellcaster ever reach Zot (that was a sorcerer). I did, however, have far more melee orcs than you did, and they were definitely all knights (maybe a couple warlords) by the time I reached level 17. You mentioned losing two to Mennas; if you find that one of your orcs is at low health, you can "save" him by swapping places with him to move him away from the enemy, or simply use Recall to rearrange the positions of your minions. That being said, good job managing to keep Urug alive, although he's utterly useless.

[Famov]

I ran into him a second time near the vault and couldn't resist the urge to murder him. Hopefully I wont see him again at an inopportune time. I really didn't know he could reappear.

Also saw Xtahua. Apparently Swamp 5 wants to be a who's who of scary uniques. Thanks to my wand of cold though he wasn't an issue. Now all I need to do is get the rune...

EDIT: Totally got it. My first rune and all it took from me was three months and hundreds of horrible an avoidable character deaths on my part. Now it's time to show some Merfolk who's boss.

[rebthor]

Shoals:5 is harder than swamp:5. Save it until later.