Vine Stalkers.


Although the central place for design discussion is ##crawl-dev on freenode, some may find it helpful to discuss requests and suggestions here first.

dck

Vestibule Violator

Posts: 1653

Joined: Tuesday, 30th July 2013, 11:29

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 19:57

Vine Stalkers.

Edit: Vine Stalkers are now in trunk!

Hi, there's a new species being tested on a s-z experimental branch (http://crawl.s-z.org/#play-dcss-vinestalker) and feedback on it would be much appreciated. Similarly, questions regarding VS can be taken care of here by sage (who did all the work and coded them) or me.
This is the mantis issue in case someone would want to compile them for local play.

Below is some detailed information about what VS are, followed by some harmless fluff for those interested in such things.

Apts:
  Code:
HP -3
MP 1
Exp 0
[Magical skills are all 0]
Invo 0
Evo 0
Stealth 3
Fighting -1
[Weapon skills are all -1]
UC 0
Armour -2
Dodging -2
Shields -1


Mutations and weirdness:
  Code:
You have extremely sharp teeth. (develops to rank 3 at XL 8)
Your bite disrupts and absorbs the magic of your enemies.*
Your natural rate of healing is unusually fast. (rank 2 at XL 6, rank 3 at XL 12)
When hurt, damage is shared between your health and your magic reserves.
You cannot gain HP from potions or wands.**
*This is a species only mutation that greatly enhances their bites.
**This means no HW potions or wands (or curing for HP purposes) but regen sources are fine, as is vampirism and divine healing.


Atributes:
  Code:
Str- 8
Int- 6
Dex- 7
sd/4


Fluff- Image
Character selection description:
  Code:
Frail symbionts, Vine Stalkers regenerate quickly but cannot regain HP from devices or potions. They are protected by their magical reserves, and pack a mean magic-disrupting bite that replenishes them.


Manual description:
  Code:
Limber in shape, Vine Stalkers are anthropomorphic masses of thick vines. They possess a once-humanoid core, parasitized moments before death by the magical vines.
Lacking any other discernible features, their faces are dominated by their disproportionate, vicious maw with which they disrupt and devour the magical energies of their foes.

Magic courses freely through their bodies, and they can not only share any damage taken with their magical reserves, but in fact physically regenerate at an alarming rate.
However these traits come at a price, the dual nature of their bodies makes them frail to the extreme and they cannot benefit from potions or wands to heal their wounds.

Living examples of adaptation, Vine Stalkers level up quickly and lend well to an all-out offensive style; trusting their stealth to choose their prey and then their regenerating capabilities to power through the wounds they may sustain in battle.
Many members of the species however, are seen wielding magic quite competently and then switching to a hybrid style when their reserves start to run low, thus replenishing their shroud of magic and their spells' fuel with each voracious bite.
Their great offensive capabilities and intrinsic regeneration lead some Vine Stalkers to eschew more traditional defenses such as armour and dodging, although this proves fatally unwise often times when their judgement of their prey fails and they bite more than they can possibly chew.
Last edited by dck on Sunday, 26th January 2014, 17:47, edited 3 times in total.

For this message the author dck has received thanks: 2
Marbit, WalkerBoh

Shoals Surfer

Posts: 252

Joined: Sunday, 19th May 2013, 21:30

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 20:07

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Trying a VS monk right now. Seems quite strong so far, despite no healing via potions. Regen3 is good.

Vaults Vanquisher

Posts: 446

Joined: Thursday, 16th June 2011, 22:57

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 20:38

Re: Vine Stalkers.

  Code:
MP 1

I started a DK and it only starts with 1MP (So not enough to animate remains at level 1), is this some kind of funkiness related to the hp/mp damage sharing?
kekekela is my in-game name

dck

Vestibule Violator

Posts: 1653

Joined: Tuesday, 30th July 2013, 11:29

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 20:59

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Hm. It must be.
HuDK and HuHe enter the dungeon with 2 MPs.

Tomb Titivator

Posts: 853

Joined: Thursday, 29th August 2013, 18:39

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 21:18

Re: Vine Stalkers.

  Code:
-        case WAND_HASTING:          // each 17.9%, group unknown each 26.3%
         case WAND_HEAL_WOUNDS:
+            if (you.mutation[MUT_NO_DEVICE_HEAL])
+                w = 0; break;
+        case WAND_HASTING:          // each 17.9%, group unknown each 26.3%
             w = 25; break;


Is this a bug? It looks like you don't assign w if you are not a vine stalker. Did you mean to put braces around the "w = 0; break;"? Sorry if this isn't the place for this, it just happened to catch my eye and its just subtle enough that I don't think it would be easily noticed.

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 3163

Joined: Friday, 6th January 2012, 18:45

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 21:33

Re: Vine Stalkers.

nm.
Last edited by BlackSheep on Monday, 30th December 2013, 21:53, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar

Wizlab Walloper

Posts: 222

Joined: Monday, 3rd June 2013, 23:40

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 21:38

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Well this looks fun.
User avatar

Tartarus Sorceror

Posts: 1891

Joined: Monday, 1st April 2013, 04:41

Location: Toronto, Canada

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 21:45

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Post copied wholesale from LogicNinja on SA

"Vine Stalker bug - wand of Heal Wounds is greyed out even when un-IDed."
take it easy

Tomb Titivator

Posts: 853

Joined: Thursday, 29th August 2013, 18:39

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 21:54

Re: Vine Stalkers.

BlackSheep wrote:Vine stalkers have no use for the wand, so the weight is set to zero. (The code checks for the mutation instead of species in case it becomes possible to get the mutation on other species later.) Braces are unnecessary between cases.

But what happens in the case when you aren't a vine stalker? I think he wants the "break;" to be part of the if statement.

EDIT: 2fast2furious

Shoals Surfer

Posts: 252

Joined: Sunday, 19th May 2013, 21:30

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 23:17

Re: Vine Stalkers.

johlstei wrote:
BlackSheep wrote:Vine stalkers have no use for the wand, so the weight is set to zero. (The code checks for the mutation instead of species in case it becomes possible to get the mutation on other species later.) Braces are unnecessary between cases.

But what happens in the case when you aren't a vine stalker? I think he wants the "break;" to be part of the if statement.

EDIT: 2fast2furious


What about healing summons?
User avatar

Spider Stomper

Posts: 186

Joined: Friday, 8th March 2013, 13:27

Post Monday, 30th December 2013, 23:21

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Mmmm I tried to use the patch and compile it locally bit git complains about trailing whitespace.
Any suggestions?

  Code:
Marbit@Computer:~/crawl/crawl_vine$ git apply vine_stalkers.patch
vine_stalkers.patch:46: trailing whitespace.
  a once-human torso, covered in rough bark which contains a slowly beating
vine_stalkers.patch:50: trailing whitespace.
  Its shape limber and its movements sudden, this is a hugely violent creature
vine_stalkers.patch:54: trailing whitespace.
  each containing a magically condensated blue crystal with which the stalker
vine_stalkers.patch:56: trailing whitespace.
 
vine_stalkers.patch:68: trailing whitespace.
 
error: patch failed: crawl-ref/docs/crawl_manual.reST:1833
error: crawl-ref/docs/crawl_manual.reST: patch does not apply
error: patch failed: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc:78
error: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc: patch does not apply
error: patch failed: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc:78
error: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc: patch does not apply
error: patch failed: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc:330
error: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc: patch does not apply
error: patch failed: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc:331
error: crawl-ref/source/ng-setup.cc: patch does not apply
error: patch failed: crawl-ref/docs/crawl_manual.reST:1788
error: crawl-ref/docs/crawl_manual.reST: patch does not apply
error: patch failed: crawl-ref/docs/crawl_manual.reST:1859
error: crawl-ref/docs/crawl_manual.reST: patch does not apply
error: crawl-ref/source/rltiles/player/base/vine_stalker_m.png: already exists in working directory

Zot Zealot

Posts: 1031

Joined: Friday, 26th April 2013, 19:52

Location: AZ, USA

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 00:43

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Some comments after a couple quick splats in early D:

1.
  Code:
 You hit the worm. You bite the worm. You drain its magic. You feel invigorated.

Shouldn't "drain its magic" only work on things that actually use magic? Or does the bite drain life force? If the latter, perhaps the wording should be changed. But that doesn't seem right, since it also works on things like necrophages. Or maybe we could get a little better explanation of how this is meant to work?

Haven't used axes yet, but does this also trigger on every cleave attack?

2. Slightly worried about the potential for encouraging tedious tactics due to fast regen, especially in early D. If you fight an ogre, for example, and it gets a good roll, you are encouraged to run around in circles for a while because you recover HP faster than it does. You could use this to tediously beat enemies you wouldn't otherwise be able to handle. I realize this could also be said for trolls and isn't an issue, but the difference is that troll's have high enough HP and such a ridiculous attack that on the levels you are most likely to use this tactic (pre-Lair), it is not often needed. Reminds me a bit of why I hate melee felids, you're encouraged to kite quite often.

3. Not being able to use healing sources is really, really interesting early on. It completely changes your tactics at low hp (like for instance, when that orc wizard rounds the corner on d3 and insta-halves your HP with a puff of flame). I also really love how this compliments the anti-magic UC attack, because against something like said orc wizard, it's actually somewhat viable to attack it and hope to render it spell-less, rather than run away and get sniped down. Usually these situations are where you quaff a couple curing or hw and beat it down or run away easily.

4. I love that fast regen trivializes getting lightly poisoned early on without needing to mash 5 for days. This is huge for me, major plus.

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 8786

Joined: Sunday, 5th May 2013, 08:25

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 00:52

Re: Vine Stalkers.

WalkerBoh wrote:Some comments after a couple quick splats in early D:

1.
  Code:
 You hit the worm. You bite the worm. You drain its magic. You feel invigorated.

Shouldn't "drain its magic" only work on things that actually use magic?
Most Trog characters still have MP.

Zot Zealot

Posts: 1031

Joined: Friday, 26th April 2013, 19:52

Location: AZ, USA

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 01:13

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Right, and they can use it for evocations, etc. It just seems pretty weird to me to drain a worm's 'magic', when there is nothing magical about a worm. It's a very minor quibble, to be fair.

Dungeon Master

Posts: 33

Joined: Tuesday, 28th June 2011, 08:38

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 01:36

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Marbit wrote:Mmmm I tried to use the patch and compile it locally bit git complains about trailing whitespace.
Any suggestions?


Sorry, I used checkwhite incorrectly. I put a patch with the white space fix up on Mantis, so that should work (hopefully). If it doesn't, maybe try 'git fetch origin' and 'git checkout vinestalker' ?

WalkerBoh wrote:Some comments after a couple quick splats in early D:

1.
  Code:
 You hit the worm. You bite the worm. You drain its magic. You feel invigorated.

Shouldn't "drain its magic" only work on things that actually use magic? Or does the bite drain life force? If the latter, perhaps the wording should be changed. But that doesn't seem right, since it also works on things like necrophages. Or maybe we could get a little better explanation of how this is meant to work?

Haven't used axes yet, but does this also trigger on every cleave attack?


I changed the message to "You drain its power" for nonspellcasters; thanks for that. Also, the bite attack should only occur whenever other aux attacks do. I think it only works on the primary target of a cleave attack, but I'm not positive.

Zot Zealot

Posts: 1031

Joined: Friday, 26th April 2013, 19:52

Location: AZ, USA

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 03:37

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Okay, played a speedrun VSGl^Ash that died on V:4 with 2 runes after 13290 turns. Have to say that VS are thoroughly enjoyable to play, and probably a little too strong. Overall this is a really sound species concept though. +1, would play again.

dck

Vestibule Violator

Posts: 1653

Joined: Tuesday, 30th July 2013, 11:29

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 04:08

Re: Vine Stalkers.

To quickly bring the thread up to speed, currently the +1 exp apt has been lowered to zero to make their effective hp be a bit lower, mostly in the early game (and making the bite increase in damage less sharply as well).
Also a couple of fixes and no more draining magic from death yaks (you drain their power instead); current manadrain seems a bit much, particularly early on. Further feedback is awaited on that (particularly regarding characters who use spells to kill things) with new XL curve but halving it on non-AM vulnerable enemies isn't out of the question.

@battaille: Turns out the 1 MP starting out happens because of their 0 invocations skill. There's already precedent of this happening with TeDK which is a recommended combo so it's probably not considered an issue.
User avatar

Wizlab Walloper

Posts: 222

Joined: Monday, 3rd June 2013, 23:40

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 05:35

Re: Vine Stalkers.

I was interested enough in the idea to start an online account and give it a try, and I have to say: Wow. Nice job, dck, if it was you that came up with the concept/coding. I haven't had as much fun with Crawl in a while, even if playing online<playing offline.

I'm sure this doesn't count for much, but as a Crawl player with years of experience, this gets the Azrael Seal of Approval. It might need a little more balancing (I'm not quite sure how the magic-draining bite will affect the endgame, when the majority of enemies use magic) but I'd really like to see this in the game.
:mrgreen:
User avatar

Dungeon Master

Posts: 162

Joined: Sunday, 29th May 2011, 10:18

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 06:27

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Sort of interesting, but horrendously imbalanced.
http://dobrazupa.org/morgue/bh/morgue-b ... 060714.txt

From around turn 21k onward, I was doing my best to splat.
User avatar

Spider Stomper

Posts: 186

Joined: Friday, 8th March 2013, 13:27

Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 16:03

Re: Vine Stalkers.

First impression:
So far Vs feel a bit strong. Then again take into acount that I have only played once with them, I havent got to a high level, I was very lucky with early good items. Also I have only used "vine-stalker-complete.patch".

From what I saw, having regeneration + less damage from the magic shield makes the characters exceptionally durable. I almost never needed to rest (except to let status go) and I had to think with more time when I wanted to run. Having monsters chase me for a few turns while I regenerated hp/sp was a viable but dull strategy.

Suggestions:
-Keep and stress the fast regeneration.
-Make the species slow to discourage victory dancing monsters.
-Reduce the sp points that they have to make magic shield + vine bite more relevant.

In general I have to say that I love the species. They are fun to play with and have an amazing flavour. It is a shame that we cannot see that flavour outside of the help section.
Please add monster versions of the vinestalker parasite, infested monsters. Vaults and monster dialogue could also help there.

Also the number of patches is growing fast (nice) but with so many patches it becomes hard to know which ones am I suppoused to apply. It would be nice to have an updated list in the intro post of which patches we shoud use/are up to date.

Anyway, thanks you for making this species! I hope it will make it into the stable version.

My character:
  Code:
 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 1.0 (tiles) character file.

Vinny the Martial Artist (Vine Stalker Monk)         Turns: 8459, Time: 00:55:04

HP  63/63        AC  8     Str 14      XL: 12   Next:  4%
MP  29/29        EV 20     Int 14      God: Vehumet [*****.]
Gold 695         SH  0     Dex 31      Spells:  4 memorised, 14 levels left

rFire  + . .     SeeInvis .       - Unarmed
rCold  x . .     Clarity  .     q - +3 leather armour of Surprise {Dex+5 Int+2 Dam+5}
rNeg   . . .     Conserve .     (no shield)
rPois  .         rCorr    .     s - +1 wizard hat
rElec  .         rRot     +     (no cloak)
SustAb . .       Spirit   +     (no gloves)
rMut   .         Warding  .     (no boots)
Saprov . . .     Stasis   .     u - amulet of faith
                                L - +6 ring of dexterity
                                t - ring of fire

@: quite resistant to hostile enchantments, very stealthy
A: claws 1, fangs 3, icy blue scales 1, regeneration 3, magic shield, antimagic
bite, no device heal
a: Renounce Religion


You are on level 2 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Vehumet.
Vehumet is extremely pleased with you.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 3 branches of the dungeon, and seen 14 of its levels.
You have also visited: Volcano.

You have collected 960 gold pieces.
You have spent 265 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 h - a demon whip of flaming
 O - an orcish whip of electrocution
Missiles
 D - 2 throwing nets (quivered)
Armour
 q - the +3 leather armour of Surprise (worn) {Dex+5 Int+2 Dam+5}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 8 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your intelligence (+2).
   It affects your dexterity (+5).
   It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+5).
 s - a +1 wizard hat (worn)
Magical devices
 m - a wand of flame {zapped: 1}
 p - a wand of confusion
 F - a wand of fire {zapped: 2}
 I - a wand of magic darts {zapped: 2}
 Z - a wand of fire
Comestibles
 b - 6 bread rations
 j - 4 pears
 n - an apple
 o - 4 sultanas
 w - a sausage
 x - a choko
 A - an apricot
 B - 6 meat rations
 H - a snozzcumber
 M - 2 strawberries
 R - a cheese
 W - a banana
Scrolls
 c - 7 scrolls of identify
 g - 4 scrolls of remove curse
 i - 3 scrolls of fear
 k - 2 scrolls of teleportation
 J - 3 scrolls of blinking
 K - a scroll of holy word
 P - a scroll of silence
 Q - 2 scrolls of fog
Jewellery
 e - a +2 ring of strength
 l - a +4 ring of evasion
 t - a ring of fire (left claw)
 u - an amulet of faith (around neck)
 y - a blackened pearl amulet
 L - a +6 ring of dexterity (right claw)
 N - an uncursed ring of flight
 T - an uncursed ring of sustain abilities
Potions
 a - a potion of magic
 d - 2 potions of berserk rage
 f - a potion of lignification
 r - 2 potions of curing
 v - a potion of might
 z - 2 potions of brilliance
 Y - a potion of speed
Books
 X - a book of Geomancy   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Sandblast                          Earth                        1
   Stoneskin                          Transmutation/Earth          2
   *Passwall                          Transmutation/Earth          3
   *Stone Arrow                       Conjuration/Earth            3
   Petrify                            Transmutation/Earth          4
   *Lee's Rapid Deconstruction        Earth                        5


   Skills:
 + Level 7.4 Fighting
 + Level 5.2 Armour
 + Level 7.0 Dodging
 - Level 7.0 Stealth
 + Level 9.3 Unarmed Combat
 + Level 7.6 Spellcasting
 - Level 4.1 Conjurations
 + Level 3.7 Earth Magic


You have 14 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Magic Dart            Conj           ###.         1%          1    None
b - Stone Arrow           Conj/Erth      ###...       2%          3    ##.....
c - Passwall              Trmt/Erth      ##........   21%         3    ##.....
d - Lee's Rapid Deconstr  Erth           ###.......   36%         5    #####..


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (11/16)            Temple (1/1) D:6             Orc (0/4) D:9
   Lair (2/8) D:8         

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Sif Muna
Trog
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
the Shining One
Lugonu

Shops:
D:5 /   D:6 ??*   D:8 [

Annotations:
D:9 Psyche


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You have razor-sharp teeth.
You regenerate.
When hurt, damage is shared between your health and your magic reserves.
Your bite disrupts and absorbs the magic of your enemies.
Potions and wands cannot restore your HP.
You have sharp fingernails.
You are partially covered in icy blue scales (AC +1).


Message History

P - a scroll of silence
K - a scroll of holy word
c - 7 scrolls of identify (gained 3)
g - 4 scrolls of remove curse (gained 3)
There is a collapsed entrance here.
Items here: %%%%%%%%
M - 2 strawberries
H - a snozzcumber
A - an apricot
x - a choko
w - a sausage
o - 4 sultanas
n - an apple
j - 4 pears
Okay, then.
Cast which spell? (? or * to list)
Okay, then.
Unknown command.
Char dumped to 'morgue/Viny.txt'.
Saving game... please wait.

###Pf#.##        #..#
###.....         #.##
........#  #######..#    ####
.......#   #f#.P...###   #.#.
.......#   #.........### ....
.......######.......##.###...
%(.....+..###......##.§.##...
.%.....P#..##..#####.≈≈≈.....
.%..........######..≈§≈≈≈....
.......####f ##.#.##§≈§≈§....
###P.+.#     #@?.####≈§§###..
  ##..##     ##.###.##≈###...
  #..##       ####.r#### ##..
###..##      ####..#.#   #.#.
#....j##    ##.....###   ##..
#......##   #.....##      ##.
..._....#  ##.#.#.###     ##.
.......##  #........#   ###..
.......#####.......##  ##.+..
..........##.......P####.....


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  Gastronok (D:8)
  Erica (Lair:2)
  A hill giant (D:11)
  2 trolls (D:11)
  A two-headed ogre (D:11)
  An ugly thing (D:11)
  A toenail golem (Volcano)
  A wyvern (D:10)
  A hungry ghost (D:10)
  Eustachio (D:6)
  A hippogriff (D:9)
  2 sharks (Lair:1)
  10 yaks
  A hill giant skeleton (D:11)
  2 vampire mosquitoes (D:10)
  Edmund (D:6)
  3 molten gargoyles (Volcano)
  3 orc warriors
  2 ice beasts
  A giant goldfish (Lair:1)
  3 sky beasts
  4 ogres
  A yellow wasp (D:9)
  3 porcupines
  A crocodile (Lair:1)
  Duvessa (D:6)
  3 centaurs
  2 gnoll sergeants
  Blork the orc (D:5)
  4 water moccasins
  7 giant frogs
  2 wyvern zombies
  An agate snail (Lair:1)
  2 manticore skeletons
  3 killer bees (D:9)
  Dowan (D:6)
  6 crimson imps
  A goliath beetle (D:9)
  2 jellies
  3 hounds
  A scorpion (D:7)
  A centaur skeleton (D:5)
  2 iguanas
  A giant frog skeleton (D:11)
  3 orc priests
  2 orc wizards
  7 worker ants
  6 sheep (Lair:2)
  A big kobold skeleton (D:11)
  Ijyb (D:2)
  An ogre skeleton (D:11)
  Terence (D:3)
  A mummy (D:11)
  9 gnolls
  7 adders
  A giant centipede (Lair:1)
  A giant mite (D:1)
  19 green rats
  10 worms
  A giant eyeball (D:5)
  7 giant geckos
  2 oozes
  23 orcs
  25 bats
  6 giant cockroaches
  12 goblins
  19 hobgoblins
  13 jackals
  7 quokkas
  A ball python (D:1)
  4 giant newts
  2 giant spores
  16 kobolds
  A kobold skeleton (D:7)
  An orc zombie (D:6)
  20 rats
  2 ballistomycetes (D:7)
  2 fungi (D:8)
327 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  2 fungi
2 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 329 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | Viny, the Vine Stalker Monk, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 12/12 MP: 1/1
     8 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 12/16 MP: 3/3
   582 | D:2      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 20/20 MP: 4/4
   617 | D:2      | Noticed Ijyb
   640 | D:2      | Killed Ijyb
   691 | D:2      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
   698 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 24/24 MP: 5/5
   842 | D:2      | Found an ancient bone altar of Kikubaaqudgha.
   842 | D:2      | Found a bloodstained altar of Trog.
  1294 | D:2      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 28/28 MP: 7/7
  1384 | D:2      | Reached skill level 1 in Spellcasting
  1799 | D:3      | Noticed Terence
  1823 | D:3      | Killed Terence
  2051 | D:3      | Reached skill level 5 in Unarmed Combat
  2349 | D:4      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 29/32 MP: 11/11
  2454 | D:4      | Got a distressingly furry scale mail
  2464 | D:4      | Identified the cursed +6 scale mail of the Doldrums {rC+ Dex+3} (You found it on level 4 of the Dungeon)
  2754 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  2755 | D:5      | Noticed Blork the orc
  2773 | D:5      | Killed Blork the orc
  2856 | D:5      | Found Zaneuraa's Magical Wand Shop.
  2870 | D:5      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 37/37 MP: 12/14
  3268 | D:5      | Noticed a sky beast
  3284 | D:5      | Killed a sky beast
  3284 | D:5      | Reached skill level 1 in Armour
  3353 | D:5      | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 3 turns
  3542 | D:6      | Found Afiabuak's Magic Scroll Boutique.
  3556 | D:6      | Found Itae's Magic Scroll Shop.
  3567 | D:6      | Bought a scroll of silence for 90 gold pieces
  3569 | D:6      | Noticed Eustachio
  3591 | D:6      | Killed Eustachio
  3591 | D:6      | Reached skill level 6 in Unarmed Combat
  3591 | D:6      | Gained mutation: You have razor-sharp teeth. [vine stalker growth]
  3591 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 40/42 MP: 19/19
  3638 | D:6      | Noticed Dowan
  3641 | D:6      | Noticed Duvessa
  3647 | D:6      | Killed Dowan
  3653 | D:6      | Killed Duvessa
  3709 | D:6      | Noticed Edmund
  3727 | D:6      | Killed Edmund
  3758 | D:6      | Found Klaahala's General Store.
  3858 | D:6      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  3864 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  3887 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Vehumet
  3887 | Temple   | Acquired Vehumet's first power
  3887 | Temple   | Offered knowledge of Magic Dart by Vehumet.
  3890 | Temple   | Learned a level 1 spell: Magic Dart
  4106 | D:7      | Offered knowledge of Sandblast by Vehumet.
  4242 | D:7      | Reached skill level 1 in Conjurations
  4337 | D:7      | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
  4337 | D:7      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 44/47 MP: 21/21
  4382 | D:7      | Found a glowing silver altar of Zin.
  4382 | D:7      | Found a glowing golden altar of the Shining One.
  4383 | D:7      | Found a white marble altar of Elyvilon.
  4440 | D:7      | Reached skill level 7 in Unarmed Combat
  4526 | D:7      | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
  4824 | D:8      | Offered knowledge of Throw Frost by Vehumet.
  4860 | D:8      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
  4872 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
  4899 | D:8      | Acquired Vehumet's second power
  4951 | D:8      | Found Khood's Antique Armour Shop.
  4986 | D:8      | Bought a crude leather armour for 175 gold pieces
  4987 | D:8      | Identified the +3 leather armour of Surprise {Dex+5 Int+2 Dam+5} (You bought it in a shop on level 8 of the Dungeon)
  5007 | D:8      | Noticed Gastronok
  5024 | D:8      | Killed Gastronok
  5024 | D:8      | Reached skill level 8 in Unarmed Combat
  5024 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 23/52 MP: 22/24
  5146 | D:8      | Offered knowledge of Inner Flame by Vehumet.
  5559 | D:9      | Acquired Vehumet's third power
  5649 | D:9      | Found a snail-covered altar of Cheibriados.
  5652 | D:9      | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
  5655 | D:9      | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
  5691 | D:9      | Learned a level 3 spell: Stone Arrow
  5694 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
  5714 | D:9      | Offered knowledge of Iskenderun's Battlesphere by Vehumet.
  6051 | D:9      | Paralysed by a yellow wasp for 2 turns
  6168 | D:9      | Noticed Psyche
  6178 | D:9      | Reached skill level 1 in Earth Magic
  6231 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
  6355 | D:10     | Reached skill level 5 in Stealth
  6518 | D:11     | Noticed a hill giant
  6704 | D:10     | Reached XP level 11. HP: 57/57 MP: 27/27
  6712 | D:10     | Gained mutation: You have supernaturally acute eyesight. [mutagenic meat]
  6713 | D:10     | Gained mutation: You are frail (-10% HP). [mutagenic meat]
  6714 | D:10     | Gained mutation: You occasionally shout uncontrollably. [mutagenic meat]
  6767 | D:10     | Lost mutation: You occasionally shout uncontrollably. [potion of cure mutation]
  6767 | D:10     | Lost mutation: You are frail (-10% HP). [potion of cure mutation]
  6767 | D:10     | Lost mutation: You have supernaturally acute eyesight. [potion of cure mutation]
  6812 | D:10     | Offered knowledge of Conjure Ball Lightning by Vehumet.
  6840 | D:11     | Gained mutation: You are partially covered in icy blue scales (AC +1). [potion of beneficial mutation]
  6841 | D:11     | Gained mutation: You have sharp fingernails. [potion of beneficial mutation]
  7087 | D:11     | Noticed a four-headed hydra
  7164 | D:11     | Noticed a hill giant
  7170 | D:11     | Killed a hill giant
  7400 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
  7438 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 9 in Unarmed Combat
  7499 | Lair:1   | Learned a level 3 spell: Passwall
  8000 | Lair:2   | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  8009 | Lair:2   | Noticed Erica
  8084 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 5 in Armour
  8103 | Lair:2   | Offered knowledge of Bolt of Draining by Vehumet.
  8244 | Lair:2   | Killed Erica
  8307 | Lair:2   | Found a dark tunnel.
  8326 | Volcano  | Entered a volcano
  8347 | Volcano  | Reached XP level 12. HP: 63/63 MP: 29/29
  8359 | Volcano  | Noticed a lindwurm
  8367 | Volcano  | Learned a level 5 spell: Lee's Rapid Deconstruction


Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Unarmed           |    65 |   241 |   297 |   366 ||   969
 Cast: Stone Arrow       |       |       |       |     2 ||     2
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |     1 |     4 ||     5
  Use: Scroll            |       |     3 |    13 |    11 ||    27
       Potion            |       |       |     4 |    13 ||    17
 Stab: Sleeping          |     4 |     5 |     1 |    12 ||    22
       Invisible         |       |       |       |    13 ||    13

Zot Zealot

Posts: 1031

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 18:52

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Having monsters chase me for a few turns while I regenerated hp/sp was a viable but dull strategy.

I think this is actually less of a problem than I thought it was initially. I did use the tactic, but not as much as I thought, mostly against ogres, hill giants, emperor scorpions in spider:5 and orc knights in Orc. It doesn't work on things with a ranged attack or that are faster than you, and the species has good enough defenses/attack that it's not like felid where you have to tediously kite mundane enemies all the time. Plus the regeneration is fast enough you don't need that many turns of running. And manavamp is good for replenishing spirit shield; I was able to manavamp my way through the vault guard pack on vaults:5.

dck

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 19:07

Re: Vine Stalkers.

That "walk away since you heal faster than dudes" is indeed a less fortunate part of regen, although as someone who uses tla very often it's viable the moment player regen gets the slightest boost.
That said regen is still going to be lowered to 2 until XL 8 next update, not to address the walking away issue but to actually make more mundane monsters in the early game outdamage your regen (to some extent anyway) while fighting.

Manavamp is also being halved in that patch, although from what I've been observing from a couple of runs with magical backgrounds the manavamp doesn't strike me as particularly broken and with it halved said backgrounds will have some trouble getting their mp back in the earlier parts of the game. More testing on this issue is probably the key to net us a satisfactory early game that doesn't render casters' bites useless as an option to regain MP but isn't silly strong either.
Perhaps it's a simple as making the drain formula cap at your XL, instead of being 1/2dDamage on non-AM vulnerable and 1dDamage on AM vulnerable. That said there are many approaches to this.

Tartarus Sorceror

Posts: 1888

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 19:23

Re: Vine Stalkers.

The general idea behind the species sounds interesting, I'll give it a try later when I get home from vacation. The name "Vine Stalker" seems weird, though it's hard for me to put my finger on why. "Stalking Vine"? "Dodder"?

Ziggurat Zagger

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 19:42

Re: Vine Stalkers.

nicolae wrote:The general idea behind the species sounds interesting, I'll give it a try later when I get home from vacation. The name "Vine Stalker" seems weird, though it's hard for me to put my finger on why. "Stalking Vine"? "Dodder"?


I think it doesn't clearly say whether it is stalking vines, stalking on vines or is actually a stalking vine. I don't really think that is important though, it becomes clear enough if you read the species description. Isn't Stalking Vine a little long?

Tartarus Sorceror

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 19:52

Re: Vine Stalkers.

cerebovssquire wrote:I think it doesn't clearly say whether it is stalking vines, stalking on vines or is actually a stalking vine. I don't really think that is important though, it becomes clear enough if you read the species description. Isn't Stalking Vine a little long?


Now that I think about it, ending a species name in a verb plus -er makes it sound like the name for a background rather than a species. Well, it isn't actually super important.
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Barkeep

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 20:00

Re: Vine Stalkers.

The name "Vine Stalker" is perfectly delicious flavour, like fresh bamboo shoots. But the thing I like best about this species is that it gives an excuse for putting humanoid monsters in Swamp, a la Fo in Spider.

dck

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 20:07

Re: Vine Stalkers.

(ideally monster VS wouldn't be placed unless they were actually good contributions to the game)

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duvessa, Sar

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Post Tuesday, 31st December 2013, 21:37

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Second bout of nerfs is in: Now you start at regen II and get III at xl8, and the manavamp formula is halved across the board. Now it is half of 1dDamageDone for non-spellcasters, and 1dDamageDone for spellcasters. Ideally manavamp will be somewhat less degenerate now, and regen II will make the early game a little harder.

If the manavamp bit went too far or regen II makes runrest take too long compared to III, please let me know.

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Crypt Cleanser

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Post Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 01:58

Re: Vine Stalkers.

I think they're still too easy, especially before the vaults. There's a very noticeable transition from tab-everything to get-oneshotted-by-everything.

I won a VSBe earlier today while playing poorly, and also just broke the hiscore for braverobin as a VSFi (score was 48950).
Dearest Steve
thanks for the gym equipment
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Dungeon Master

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Post Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 16:40

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Should vinestalkers be able to drain magic from plants and fungi?

Dungeon Master

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Post Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 18:48

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Brannock wrote:Should vinestalkers be able to drain magic from plants and fungi?


No. However, they might not be in your case; "You drain its power" is printed for all things, since that refers to the antimagic part of the bite. You're only replenished if you get "You feel (very) invigorated." Notably, plants and fungi shouldn't replenish you, as well as summons (which can still be phased by antimagic.)

On another note, I've written up another patch for vine stalkers: Nix manavamp for monsters without spells, and double manaregen at xl10. I'll hold off on having it committed for a few days though, both for more testing after new year's and in case we think of an alternative way to rebalance the bite.
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Dungeon Master

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Post Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 19:06

Re: Vine Stalkers.

^^^ I must have not been paying attention to whether or not I got invigorated from chomping - your explanation makes sense, thanks.

My first attempt at VS got two runes and died on Vaults: 5 from sloppy play. Could have easily cleared it out with stairdancing, but meh. After 3 straight hours of playing I got tired of it and should probably have just saved and resumed later.

Not being able to heal via items is a huge weakness for them later on (which I tried to mitigate via Yredelemnul for meatshields and Drain Life) but they're very good early game. I'm not really feeling the plant flavor from them all that clearly - the regeneration and melee lethality make them feel somewhat like trolls without terrible aptitudes.

Lair Larrikin

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Post Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 20:30

Re: Vine Stalkers.

What about the name Stalker Vine? Vine Stalker sounds like someone who stalks vines rather than a vine which stalks.

dck

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Post Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 21:55

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Some preliminary testing makes me think the regen 2 to 3 had the desired effect. You do in fact take damage from fights fast enough that regen doesn't win them alone early on.
I'm finding the new manavamp hugely underwhelming until damage starts ramping up around XL 9 and much less reliable as an option to recover mp (as a book background for whom it isn't just extra HP anyway), to the point I'm thinking if the no-vamp from non-AM vulnerable and MP regen went in it'd be a buff more than anything else.

I don't find the idea of granting them MP regen very good, however. With 1dDamage vamp if you want to recover MP you need to stay in melee and land a bite; this conflicts directly with the "walk away for a while" cheap part of regen and leads to interesting decisions during fights, doubly so since you can't use artificial healing. If MP regen is added then you have no reason not to walk away for a while and coincidentally have no incentive not to do so since all those monsters you can walk away from are the same ones that mostly cannot damage you from a distance.

Manavamp is controversial since it's effectively hp vamp for non-book backgrounds for the longest time and this has a detrimental effect in the early game which is when it really matters for those. What I would propose is returning manavamp to 1dDamage (for everything) and adding int as a factor to the bite damage formula, making it: mutlevel*2+ 2*XL/3 + (int/2 -5).
The bite's base damage would still be capped at 24 which is the current max damage it can get so that metagaming for int isn't an issue. (also max damage may be reduced based on more endgame data, current curve seems satisfactory though)

This weakens the bite of non-book backgrounds a bit in the early game, not because actual damage is that problematic (Te enter the dungeon with 9+6 from aux for example) but because with 1dDamage manavamp it replicates the behavior of regen 3 when it matters the most.
Anyway, the other important thing this aims to achieve is reinforcing the bite and manavamp of book backgrounds in the early game, as which I found the old 1dDamage was still a nudge too swingy and current halved one might as well not be there since you can't count on it and use it as a tool, making it not an option when compared to walking away until HP and MP are full.
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Wizlab Walloper

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Post Wednesday, 1st January 2014, 23:38

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Please put this in trunk, if you can. You can get it out to a wider audience and receive more feedback, and playing online sucks.

Ziggurat Zagger

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 05:17

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Azrael wrote:playing online sucks.
The vine stalker branch isn't a special secret thing that's exclusive to CSZO. You are free to play it locally if you want.

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Tartarus Sorceror

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 05:37

Re: Vine Stalkers.

I really dont know how to install patches though.
my posts are to be read in a mildly playful tone, with a deep, sexy voice.
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Dungeon Master

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 08:28

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Hirsch I wrote:I really dont know how to install patches though.


If you know how to build trunk from git, it's the same. Before you build, switch to the vinestalker branch with
  Code:
git checkout  vinestalker


If you know how to build crawl but not how to use our git repository, see docs/develop/git/quickstart.txt

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Tartarus Sorceror

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 08:52

Re: Vine Stalkers.

thanks a lot.
my posts are to be read in a mildly playful tone, with a deep, sexy voice.

Snake Sneak

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 16:29

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Adding a plant species seems to be an interesting and good idea, but it should have MH_PLANT holiness (now it has MH_NATURAL, like most species, and this conflicts with the description). This way being a plant would be an interesting defining characteristic of vine stalkers, not only a mostly cosmetic thing. This would give them the following properties shared by all plants:

  • sleep immunity: Sleep is a relatively rare effect, this would be a nice but not too powerful ability.
  • unbreathing: Also a nice but not too powerful ability, appears on 5 other playable species (the undead, gargoyles, gray draconians) and several polymorph forms.
  • torment immunity: This is a powerful consequence of being a plant. Maybe this should be special-cased away ("unlike most plants, they can feel pain"), but tree and fungus form are also immune to torment, so probably vine stalkers should be too, or at least this special-casing should be mentioned. (Undead players have torment immunity so it isn't impossible to balance.)
  • flaying immunity: Flayed ghosts can only affect MH_NATURAL targets.
  • fear immunity: Fear effects from monsters are rare and can only affect MH_NATURAL holiness players.
  • no berserk(?): monster::can_go_berserk() can return true only for MH_NATURAL monsters, but player::can_go_berserk() doesn't check holiness, so giving vine stalkers plant holiness doesn't disable their berserkering (but maybe it should).

In my opinion they should get everything on this list, including torment immunity, but maybe excluding no berserk. Torment immunity could be balanced by no berserk and miscellaneous nerfs such as lowered aptitudes (for example -2 Necro as they are plants and thus less connected to necromancy, this would differentiate them from the undead who have (relatively) good necromancy aptitudes, and/or -Tmut, -Poison, -Fire). Also note that tree/fungus form players of other species should also have MH_PLANT holiness (they already have some benefits of it like unbreathing) and maybe transformed vine stalkers should also have MH_NORMAL in forms like spider, dragon or pig (of course this means that a vine stalker in dragon form is vulnerable to torment, as it is no longer a plant.

As reanimating plants (as zombies/etc) seems to be strange, maybe they shouldn't be able to cast Regeneration (they have builtin regeneration anyway) and their Yredelemnul death message should be modified.

The following other monster-only properties are also granted by MH_PLANT holiness, these should be checked if vine stalker monsters are added:
  • Elyvilon pacification immunity
  • porkalator can't affect plant monsters as it converts natural monsters into hogs, holy/demonic monsters into holy/unholy swines, but it converts all players into hogs, so it affects vine stalkers
  • Alistair's intoxication affects only MH_NATURAL monsters (this is not checked on the player casting it)
  • immunity to SPWPN_CONFUSE (result of the Confusing Touch spell, possible effect of chaos brand)
  • in messages they are "damaged" instead of "wounded"

(Note: I collected these properties by searching the source code for "MH_PLANT", "holi"(ness) and similar things, I hope I didn't left out any notable effect.)

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dck

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 17:01

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Their description goes out of its way to claim they're a plant-humanoid symbiont to avoid having any reason to make them plant holiness as plant holiness adds a lot of things that are not by themlseves interesting, like plant immunities and no berserk as you mentioned yourself. Having flavor tweak the aptitudes is a bad idea too, I feel, as the aptitudes should be decided with the mindset of providing the best gameplay and in my experience flat spellcasting and weapon aptitudes do their best to achieve this.

While I understand where you're coming from and I do think a fully plant species could be made that is in fact interesting, just tacking plant holiness with all it implies on VS as they stand would merely make them worse than they currently are. I am not sure this theoretical plant species should be differentiated from others via aptitudes and plant holiness alone, though. When abused aptitudes go from their ideal purpose of altering the character's growth to accommodate to core mechanics of the species (while not arbitrarily limiting players' options) to just dictating a standard path and making anything that deviates from it suboptimal. Mf are a good example for this, I feel.

Snake Sneak

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 17:55

Re: Vine Stalkers.

The plant/humanoid symbiont claim is a good idea and a nice way to avoid the uninteresting effects of MH_PLANT. After reading the flavour text I thought that almost the whole body of the vine stalkers is a mass of vines (maybe they have some bones, dried flesh etc. in the center) and this part is only mentioned to make them humanoid-shaped -- maybe it could be made clearer that they use the metabolism and feel the pain of the humanoid body. But in this case the monster version should be also MH_NORMAL (they are MH_PLANT now; of course this isn't urgent if monster VS is never generated).

I agree that gameplay is almost always more important than flavor, I chose a Necromancy malus to differentiate them from the other torment-immune species. I personally dislike flat magical aptitudes (but don't think that they're neccessarily bad) as they aren't the best in any school (so if I want to play a given kind of magic-user I can usually find a better race). While Merfolk-style aptitudes are really forcing most Merfolks to do the same thing, not too extreme magical aptitude differences are interesting because each magical school is unique and if school X is somewhat better than Y for a certain playstyle, with flat aptitudes players will always try to choose X, but if the aptitude of a species is better for Y, it can make the playstyle more varied when some species prefer school Y. Weapon skills are more similar to each other, but with cleave, stabbing and reaching this partially applies there too.

Unrelated idea: perhaps they could get 0 Spellcasting apt (and maybe somewhat worse aptitudes for the individual schools). This would synergize with the spirit shield (they can get max mp more easily from spellcasting) and only Ogres share this good Spc / bad individual schools niche and 0 Spc, 0/-1 individual schools is different enough from +2 Spc, -3 individual schools.

dck

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Post Thursday, 2nd January 2014, 18:26

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Hm, they already have 0 Spc though, mostly to allow them (paired with 1 MP apt) to have a bigger pool earlier as a book-background and thus not having to use the bite to recharge MP immediately as things reach melee. Other magical apts were left at zero to allow easier branching into other things like defenses, melee and fighting the vine stalker should get to utilize the close combat mechanics it's built around without just putting itself freely in danger.
I haven't heard of any testers who played a VS that used spells to deal damage for the most part, but I've actually played a few now and while I'm not by no means expert in master blasters I think they offer quite good gameplay. Quite curious to see how they'll change with the int factor into the bite damage calculation, too.

Snake Sneak

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Post Saturday, 4th January 2014, 13:00

Re: Vine Stalkers.

I played several vine stalkers and think that they definitely should be added to trunk and then stable, as they have simple abilities interacting with each other in interesting ways, and IMO better than lava orcs and djinni.

I feel that they're a bit too powerful, and maybe reducing the level of the regeneration mutation by one would be good (manavamp, spirit shield and no potion/wand healing interact in interesting ways, while regeneration is simply powerful and not too interesting).

I add the log of my current VS character.

  Code:
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.14-a0-1728-gfab6df9 (console) character file.

Zavke the Spear-Bearer (VSAK)                      Turns: 37085, Time: 02:50:14

HP  91/91        AC 28     Str 20      XL: 17   Next: 34%
MP  41/42        EV  9     Int 16      God: Lugonu [******]
Gold 1140        SH 26     Dex 17      Spells:  1 memorised, 15 levels left

rFire  + . .     SeeInvis .     a - +3,+2 trident (pierce)
rCold  + . .     Clarity  +     F - +2 plate armour {rF+}
rNeg   . . .     Conserve .     O - +0 shield
rPois  .         rCorr    .     X - +0 dwarf helmet
rElec  +         rRot     +     p - +0 cloak of Starlight {rElec rC+ EV+4 Stlth-}
SustAb . .       Spirit   +     Q - +2 pair of orc gloves {Str+3}
rMut   .         Warding  .     q - +2 pair of elf boots
Gourm  +         Stasis   .     l - amulet of the gourmand
                                C - ring of flight
                                x - ring of magical power

@: burdened, slow, quite resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely unstealthy
A: fangs 3, agile 1, clarity, regeneration 3, magic shield, antimagic bite, no
device heal
a: Depart the Abyss, Bend Space, Banish, Corrupt, Enter the Abyss, Renounce
Religion, Evoke Flight


You are on level 1 of the Depths.
You worship Lugonu.
Lugonu is exalted by your worship.
You are encumbered.
You are full.

You have visited 5 branches of the dungeon, and seen 34 of its levels.
You have visited the Abyss 1 time.
You have also visited: Labyrinth and Bailey.

You have collected 3293 gold pieces.
You have spent 2153 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +3,+2 trident of piercing (weapon)
 S - the +6,+2 great mace "Ghiril" {crush, rElec MR++}
   (You found it on level 2 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   
   It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
   
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
Armour
 o - the +2 pair of gloves of the Pink Corner {MR++ Str-3 Dam+5 Stlth--}
   (You took it off Nikola on level 1 of the Depths)   
   
   It affects your strength (-3).
   It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+5).
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
   It makes you much less stealthy.
 p - the +0 cloak of Starlight (worn) {rElec rC+ EV+4 Stlth-}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Orcish Mines)   
   
   It affects your evasion (+4).
   It protects you from cold.
   It insulates you from electricity.
   It makes you much less stealthy.
 q - a +2 pair of elven boots (worn)
 t - a +2 orcish plate armour of cold resistance
 F - a +2 plate armour of fire resistance (worn)
 K - the +2 robe "Cleb" {+Fly rC+ Int+4}
   (You took it off a centaur on level 13 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your intelligence (+4).
   It protects you from cold.
   It lets you fly.
 O - a +0 shield (worn)
 Q - a +2 pair of orcish gloves of strength (worn)
 X - a +0 dwarven helmet (worn)
Magical devices
 e - a wand of teleportation {zapped: 3}
 n - a wand of draining {zapped: 4}
 r - a wand of enslavement (10)
 w - a wand of random effects {zapped: 5}
 A - a wand of lightning {zapped: 3}
 B - a wand of hasting (2)
 D - a wand of polymorph {zapped: 2}
 E - a wand of paralysis {zapped: 2}
 J - a wand of digging {zapped: 1}
 L - a worn iron wand {zapped: 3} {tried by monster}
 U - a wand of hasting {zapped: 3}
Comestibles
 c - 9 bread rations
 h - 29 strawberries
 k - 7 meat rations
 s - 3 rotting chunks of yaktaur flesh
 u - 12 grapes
 W - 2 apples
Scrolls
 d - a scroll of teleportation
 v - a scroll of recharging
 y - 11 scrolls of remove curse
 G - a scroll of blinking
 I - 2 scrolls of fog
 M - a scroll of fear
Jewellery
 f - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 g - a +4,+5 ring of slaying
 i - an uncursed ring of invisibility
 j - an uncursed ring of fire
 l - an amulet of the gourmand (around neck)
 m - an uncursed ring of protection from magic
 x - a ring of magical power (left hand)
 C - a ring of flight (right hand)
 N - an uncursed amulet of conservation
 P - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
 R - the amulet "Cazxasap" {Contam +Rage rF+ Dex+4}
   (You found it on level 1 of the Swamp)   
   
   [amulet of rage]
   It affects your dexterity (+4).
   It protects you from fire.
   It causes magical contamination when unequipped.
 Y - a ring of protection from magic
Potions
 b - 2 potions of agility
 z - 2 potions of berserk rage
 H - a potion of resistance
 T - 5 potions of curing
 V - a potion of might
 Z - a potion of speed


   Skills:
 * Level 11.2 Fighting
 - Level 14.9 Polearms
 * Level 14.0 Armour
 - Level 0.7 Dodging
 - Level 11.1 Shields
 + Level 12.2 Invocations


You have 15 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Apportation           Tloc           #.........   100%        1    ##.....


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (16/16)            Temple (0/1) D:4             Orc (4/4) D:9
    Elf (0/3) Orc:4          Lair (8/8) D:9           Swamp (5/5) Lair:6
 Spider (0/5) Lair:3        Slime (0/6) Lair:6       Vaults (0/5) D:15
 Depths (1/6) D:16       

Altars:
Cheibriados
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Sif Muna
Trog
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
the Shining One
Beogh
Jiyva

Shops:
D:5 (   Orc:3 [   Orc:4 =(*[

Portals:
Trove: D:10 (give +5,+4 demon blade)

Annotations:
Lair:4 exclusion: oklob plant


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You have razor-sharp teeth.
You regenerate.
When hurt, damage is shared between your health and your magic reserves.
Your bite disrupts and absorbs the magic of your enemies.
Potions and wands cannot restore your HP.
You are agile. (Dex +2)
You possess an exceptional clarity of mind.


Message History

a potion of heal wounds
U - an embroidered robe
You can't carry that many items.
Drop what? (_ for help) (? for menu, Esc to quit)
You drop an embroidered robe.
You are being weighed down by all of your possessions.
U - a wand of hasting {zapped: 3}
Drop what? (_ for help) (? for menu, Esc to quit)
Okay, then.
Saving game... please wait.
You are being weighed down by all of your possessions.
Welcome back, Zavke the Vine Stalker Abyssal Knight.
Lugonu says: Spread carnage and corruption!
Press ? for a list of commands and other information.
You are alive. You are burdened. Your movement speed is slow.
Your attack speed is quite fast.
You are quite resistant to hostile enchantments.
You feel extremely unstealthy.
Char dumped to 'morgue/Zavke.txt'.
Saving game... please wait.

      #################
#######...#.............
>..).))...).............
....###...#..............
...(# #...#............#
...(#######.....@......#
%.((.>..(.#............###
..).......#...............
..........#.......≈≈≈≈≈.≈≈
##..############..≈≈≈≈≈.≈
 #..#          #..≈≈≈≈≈.≈
 #..#          #..≈≈≈≈≈.≈
 #).#          #........
 #..###        #..≈≈≈≈.


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  Nikola (Depths:1)
  Donald (Swamp:4)
  A frost giant (Depths:1)
  Gastronok (Orc:3)
  An emperor scorpion (Depths:1)
  A stone giant (Depths:1)
  5 dire elephants (Lair:8)
  A minotaur (Lab)
  2 fire dragons (D:16)
  2 salamanders (Depths:1)
  6 vault guards
  Harold (Lair:2)
  An anaconda (Lair:8)
  16 hydras
  An ice dragon (D:16)
  An ogre mage (Depths:1)
  9 alligators
  2 very ugly things (Depths:1)
  2 orc high priests (Orc:4)
  6 centaur warriors
  An unseen horror (D:16)
  2 swamp dragons
  A golden dragon skeleton (Depths:1)
  A giant amoeba (Swamp:1)
  5 hill giants
  3 griffons
  A necromancer (Depths:1)
  A shadow dragon skeleton (Depths:1)
  A red wasp (Swamp:4)
  A stone giant skeleton (Depths:1)
  A cyclops (D:16)
  A fire giant skeleton (Depths:1)
  4 orc sorcerers
  A queen ant (Lair:6)
  15 elephants
  4 black mambas
  A deep elf summoner (Depths:1)
  2 yaktaurs (Depths:1)
  18 spiny frogs
  A feature mimic (D:10)
  An item mimic (Lair:6)
  3 trolls
  A wandering mushroom (D:16)
  An iron troll skeleton (Depths:1)
  7 komodo dragons
  5 giant leeches
  A queen bee (D:9)
  2 ravens
  A hydra skeleton (D:10)
  6 two-headed ogres
  22 blink frogs
  9 bog bodies
  46 slime creatures
  A grizzly bear (Lair:2)
  A basilisk (Lair:7)
  A vampire (D:16)
  5 water elementals
  A flying skull (Depths:1)
  41 yaks
  A deep elf mage (Orc:4)
  An ettin skeleton (Depths:1)
  A fire drake (Lair:8)
  An elephant slug (Lair:7)
  19 ugly things
  Eustachio (D:5)
  A shark (D:15)
  2 wyverns
  10 wolves
  3 steam dragons
  A merfolk (D:8)
  9 hippogriffs
  6 hungry ghosts
  A hill giant skeleton (D:16)
  2 necrophages
  5 soldier ants (Lair:6)
  30 vampire mosquitoes
  47 swamp worms
  A deep troll zombie (D:16)
  2 mottled dragons
  4 manticores
  5 porcupines
  5 ice beasts
  6 sky beasts
  A black bear (D:10)
  13 swamp drakes
  A naga (D:8)
  26 orc warriors
  3 yellow wasps
  7 crocodiles
  16 centaurs
  3 giant goldfish
  5 phantoms
  5 lava worms (Depths:1)
  17 ogres
  A warg (Orc:2)
  3 big kobolds
  Sigmund (D:3)
  4 giant slugs
  A giant slug zombie (D:16)
  2 gnoll sergeants (D:8)
  2 boring beetles
  25 giant frogs
  Blork the orc (D:4)
  A yaktaur zombie (D:16)
  6 agate snails
  An agate snail (shapeshifter) (D:14)
  A cyclops zombie (D:15)
  13 water moccasins
  18 insubstantial wisps
  A wyvern skeleton (D:11)
  37 killer bees
  An eye of draining (D:9)
  3 jellyfish (Swamp:3)
  2 vampire bats (D:5)
  A troll zombie (D:8)
  2 lava fish (Depths:1)
  A yak skeleton (D:12)
  2 hippogriff skeletons
  8 electric eels
  11 wights
  9 crimson imps
  2 goliath beetles
  6 lava snakes (Depths:1)
  4 big fish (Swamp:5)
  27 orc priests
  15 worker ants
  2 quasits
  A black bear zombie (D:9)
  4 hounds
  5 iguanas
  4 jellies
  4 scorpions
  37 orc wizards
  A shapeshifter simulacrum (D:15)
  20 sheep
  A mottled dragon zombie (D:15)
  Jessica (D:2)
  2 hound zombies
  A hound skeleton (D:10)
  15 gnolls
  25 adders
  34 green rats
  6 giant mites
  4 giant centipedes
  4 worms
  An inept feature mimic (D:5)
  An inept item mimic (D:10)
  An iguana skeleton (D:5)
  A giant eyeball (Depths:1)
  4 giant geckos
  2 oozes
  204 orcs
  6 bat skeletons
  3 bat zombies (D:5)
  6 giant cockroaches
  16 hobgoblins
  12 jackals
  20 kobolds
  4 training dummies (Orc:1)
  A ball python (D:3)
  20 bats
  8 giant newts
  A giant spore (D:15)
  21 goblins
  2 kobold skeletons
  11 quokkas
  34 rats
  7 ballistomycetes
  5 plants
1316 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  An orc warlord (Orc:4)
  An ettin (Depths:1)
  2 vault guards (D:15)
  A hydra (D:15)
  A thrashing horror (Bailey)
  An orc high priest (Orc:4)
  A large abomination (Bailey)
  2 unseen horrors
  8 orc knights
  A hill giant (D:11)
  A cyclops (D:11)
  An orc sorcerer (Orc:4)
  A troll (D:15)
  A raiju (Bailey)
  An ugly thing (Depths:1)
  A ynoxinul (Bailey)
  A small abomination (Bailey)
  7 orc warriors
  3 killer bees
  A jellyfish (Swamp:2)
  A goliath beetle (D:8)
  7 orc priests
  An ufetubus (Bailey)
  A giant eyeball (Depths:1)
  8 orcs (Bailey)
  2 giant spores
  A goblin (Orc:2)
  2 illusory rakshasas (Bailey)
  9 fungi
  5 plants
  4 starspawn tentacles (Bailey)
  27 starspawn tentacle segments (Bailey)
105 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 1421 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | Abyss:1  | Zavke, the Vine Stalker Abyssal Knight, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | Abyss:1  | Reached XP level 1. HP: 12/12 MP: 1/1
    35 | D:1      | Escaped the Abyss
   236 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 16/16 MP: 3/3
   273 | D:1      | Acquired Lugonu's second power
   537 | D:1      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 16/20 MP: 4/4
   881 | D:2      | Found a radiant altar of Vehumet.
   955 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 22/24 MP: 6/6
   959 | D:2      | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
   977 | D:2      | Acquired Lugonu's third power
  1226 | D:2      | Reached skill level 4 in Polearms
  1296 | D:2      | Noticed Jessica
  1301 | D:2      | Killed Jessica
  1425 | D:2      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 18/28 MP: 6/9
  1581 | D:3      | Noticed Sigmund
  2045 | D:3      | Killed Sigmund
  2102 | D:3      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 29/32 MP: 10/12
  2501 | D:4      | Found a snail-covered altar of Cheibriados.
  2568 | D:4      | Noticed Blork the orc
  2599 | D:4      | Killed Blork the orc
  2602 | D:4      | Found a deep blue altar of Sif Muna.
  2637 | D:4      | Reached skill level 5 in Invocations
  2827 | D:4      | Reached skill level 5 in Polearms
  2827 | D:4      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 34/36 MP: 15/15
  2875 | D:4      | Acquired Lugonu's fourth power
  3060 | D:4      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  3169 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  3284 | D:5      | Found an ancient bone altar of Kikubaaqudgha.
  3377 | D:5      | Found Litagori's Antique Weapon Shop.
  3482 | D:5      | Gained mutation: You have razor-sharp teeth. [vine stalker growth]
  3482 | D:5      | Gained mutation: You regenerate. [vine stalker growth]
  3482 | D:5      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 40/40 MP: 18/18
  3548 | D:5      | Noticed Eustachio
  3561 | D:5      | Killed Eustachio
  3561 | D:5      | Reached skill level 6 in Invocations
  3654 | D:5      | Reached skill level 5 in Armour
  3974 | D:5      | Acquired Lugonu's fifth power
  4154 | D:5      | Reached skill level 7 in Invocations
  4211 | D:5      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 27/44 MP: 21/21
  4406 | D:6      | Got an ichor-stained falchion
  4526 | D:6      | Got a pitted flail
  4575 | D:6      | Identified the cursed +3,+1 flail of the Shark {venom, SInv} (You found it on level 6 of the Dungeon)
  4874 | D:6      | Found a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh.
  5025 | D:7      | Found a glowing golden altar of the Shining One.
  5096 | D:7      | Found a flagged portal.
  5139 | Bailey   | Entered a bailey
  5241 | Bailey   | Reached skill level 8 in Invocations
  5375 | Bailey   | Noticed an orc knight
  5376 | Bailey   | Corrupted Bailey
  5376 | Bailey   | Noticed a raiju
  5376 | Bailey   | Noticed a large abomination
  5376 | Bailey   | Noticed a large abomination
  5376 | Bailey   | Noticed a bone dragon
  5377 | Bailey   | Noticed a rakshasa
  5378 | Bailey   | Noticed a tentacled starspawn
  5385 | Bailey   | Killed a raiju
  5387 | Bailey   | Killed an orc knight
  5387 | Bailey   | Killed a large abomination
  5388 | Bailey   | Noticed a thrashing horror
  5388 | Bailey   | Killed an orc knight
  5395 | Bailey   | Killed a thrashing horror
  5395 | Bailey   | Killed an orc knight
  5408 | Bailey   | Killed an orc knight
  5410 | Bailey   | Killed an orc knight
  6280 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 15/49 MP: 6/23
  6855 | D:8      | Found a bloodstained altar of Trog.
  6857 | D:8      | Found a deep blue altar of Sif Muna.
  6986 | D:8      | Reached skill level 9 in Invocations
  6992 | D:8      | Reached skill level 1 in Shields
  7607 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
  7637 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
  7800 | Orc:1    | Entered Level 1 of the Orcish Mines
  8369 | D:9      | Gained mutation: You are agile. (Dex +2) [potion of beneficial mutation]
  8374 | D:9      | Gained mutation: You possess an exceptional clarity of mind. [potion of beneficial mutation]
  8425 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
  8618 | Lair:1   | Reached XP level 11. HP: 35/52 MP: 22/26
  8817 | Lair:1   | Noticed a four-headed hydra
  8936 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
  9118 | D:10     | Found a portal to a secret trove of treasure.
 10261 | D:11     | Noticed a hill giant
 10262 | D:11     | Banished a hill giant
 10561 | D:12     | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
 10613 | D:12     | Reached skill level 5 in Shields
 11467 | D:13     | Reached skill level 10 in Polearms
 11501 | D:13     | Got a smoking robe
 11502 | D:13     | Identified the +2 robe "Cleb" {+Fly rC+ Int+4} (You took it off a centaur on level 13 of the Dungeon)
 11562 | D:13     | Reached XP level 12. HP: 40/56 MP: 22/27
 11723 | D:13     | Noticed a hill giant
 11740 | D:13     | Killed a hill giant
 11820 | D:13     | Noticed a centaur warrior
 11852 | D:13     | Killed a centaur warrior
 11891 | D:13     | Noticed a hill giant
 11914 | D:13     | Killed a hill giant
 11959 | D:13     | Noticed a centaur warrior
 11971 | D:13     | Killed a centaur warrior
 12038 | D:13     | Noticed a hill giant
 12052 | D:13     | Killed a hill giant
 12143 | D:13     | Noticed a centaur warrior
 12155 | D:13     | Killed a centaur warrior
 12640 | D:14     | Identified the +8,+6 falchion of Kismet {freeze, SInv} (You found it on level 6 of the Dungeon)
 12952 | D:14     | Reached skill level 11 in Polearms
 13067 | D:14     | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
 13119 | D:15     | Entered Level 15 of the Dungeon
 13137 | D:15     | Reached skill level 10 in Armour
 13158 | D:15     | Found an ancient bone altar of Kikubaaqudgha.
 13458 | D:15     | Reached XP level 13. HP: 60/60 MP: 28/28
 13887 | D:15     | Found a gate to the Vaults.
 13887 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13887 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13887 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13887 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13887 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13888 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13888 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13919 | D:15     | Killed a vault guard
 13928 | D:15     | Noticed a vault guard
 13933 | D:15     | Killed a vault guard
 13972 | D:15     | Killed a vault guard
 13989 | D:15     | Banished a vault guard
 14129 | D:14     | Killed a vault guard
 14223 | D:15     | Banished a vault guard
 14490 | D:15     | Killed a vault guard
 14490 | D:15     | Reached skill level 12 in Polearms
 14540 | D:15     | Killed a vault guard
 14583 | D:15     | Noticed an eight-headed hydra
 14584 | D:15     | Banished an eight-headed hydra
 14733 | D:16     | Entered Level 16 of the Dungeon
 15466 | D:16     | HP: 2/60 [ice dragon/blast of cold (33)]
 15866 | D:16     | Found a staircase to the Depths.
 16078 | D:11     | Reached XP level 14. HP: 65/65 MP: 29/29
 16227 | Orc:1    | Found a roughly hewn altar of Beogh.
 16269 | Orc:1    | Found an iron altar of Okawaru.
 17249 | Orc:2    | Found a roughly hewn altar of Beogh.
 17333 | Orc:3    | Noticed Gastronok
 17391 | Orc:3    | Killed Gastronok
 17391 | Orc:3    | Reached skill level 10 in Shields
 17849 | Orc:4    | Entered Level 4 of the Orcish Mines
 18076 | Orc:4    | Found a roughly hewn altar of Beogh.
 18103 | Orc:4    | Found a staircase to the Elven Halls.
 18577 | Orc:3    | Found Seuwkeread's Antique Armour Boutique.
 18895 | Orc:4    | Noticed an orc warlord
 18910 | Orc:4    | Banished an orc warlord
 19856 | Orc:4    | Paralysed by an orc sorcerer for 5 turns
 19944 | Orc:4    | Found Zyuxyonopt's Antique Armour Shoppe.
 19944 | Orc:4    | Found Soaw's Antique Weapon Shoppe.
 19945 | Orc:4    | Found Comut's General Store.
 19945 | Orc:4    | Found Straff's Jewellery Emporium.
 19972 | Orc:4    | Bought a crystal glaive for 357 gold pieces
 19973 | Orc:4    | Identified the cursed +1,+2 glaive "Muhag" {venom, Dex+1} (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Orcish Mines)
 19981 | Orc:4    | Bought the +0 cloak of Starlight {rElec rC+ EV+4 Stlth-} for 1796 gold pieces
 20166 | D:9      | Killed a four-headed hydra
 20166 | D:9      | Reached skill level 10 in Invocations
 21928 | Lair:1   | Learned a level 1 spell: Apportation
 22615 | Lair:2   | Noticed Harold
 22639 | Lair:2   | Killed Harold
 22639 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 13 in Polearms
 22832 | Lair:2   | Got a brightly glowing great mace
 22840 | Lair:2   | Identified the +6,+2 great mace "Ghiril" {crush, rElec MR++} (You found it on level 2 of the Lair of Beasts)
 23457 | Lair:3   | Found a hole to the Spider Nest.
 23839 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
 24111 | Lair:4   | Found a labyrinth entrance.
 24128 | Lab      | Entered a labyrinth
 24791 | Lair:4   | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
 25259 | Lair:4   | Got a twisted robe
 25261 | Lair:4   | Identified the +0 robe of Courage {+Rage +Inv rElec Str+3 Dex+1} (You found it on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts)
 26238 | Lair:5   | Reached XP level 15. HP: 69/72 MP: 30/30
 26669 | Lair:6   | Found a viscous altar of Jiyva.
 26670 | Lair:6   | Found a staircase to the Slime Pits.
 27113 | Lair:6   | Found a staircase to the Swamp.
 28712 | Lair:8   | Entered Level 8 of the Lair of Beasts
 30243 | Swamp:1  | Entered Level 1 of the Swamp
 30324 | Swamp:1  | Got a fine graven amulet
 30344 | Swamp:1  | Identified the amulet "Cazxasap" {Contam +Rage rF+ Dex+4} (You found it on level 1 of the Swamp)
 30446 | Swamp:1  | Reached skill level 14 in Polearms
 30636 | Swamp:1  | Reached XP level 16. HP: 74/81 MP: 31/31
 31326 | Swamp:2  | Identified a scroll of acquirement
 33305 | Swamp:4  | Noticed Donald
 33333 | Swamp:4  | Killed Donald
 33808 | Swamp:4  | Paralysed by a red wasp for 3 turns
 33923 | Swamp:5  | Entered Level 5 of the Swamp
 34020 | Swamp:5  | Reached skill level 10 in Fighting
 34239 | Swamp:5  | HP: 4/85 [poisoned by a swamp dragon (poison gas)]
 35382 | Depths:1 | Entered Level 1 of the Depths
 35496 | Depths:1 | Reached XP level 17. HP: 76/90 MP: 32/32
 35987 | Depths:1 | Noticed Nikola
 35987 | Depths:1 | Noticed Agnes
 35988 | Depths:1 | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 4 turns
 36670 | Depths:1 | Killed Nikola
 36773 | Depths:1 | Got a pair of shimmering gloves
 36775 | Depths:1 | Identified the +2 pair of gloves of the Pink Corner {MR++ Str-3 Dam+5 Stlth--} (You took it off Nikola on level 1 of the Depths)
 36834 | Depths:1 | Noticed Agnes
 36834 | Depths:1 | Agnes changed into Agnes the emperor scorpion
 36891 | Depths:1 | Killed Agnes the emperor scorpion


Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 | 16-18 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Spear             |   102 |    68 |       |       |       |       ||   170
       Trident           |       |    85 |   471 |  1394 |  2767 |  1262 ||  5979
       Flail             |       |       |     1 |    11 |       |       ||    12
 Cast: Apportation       |       |       |       |       |    10 |       ||    10
Invok: Bend Space        |       |       |     1 |     3 |    12 |       ||    16
       Banish            |       |       |     4 |     7 |    27 |     3 ||    41
       Corrupt           |       |       |     1 |       |       |       ||     1
 Abil: Evoke Teleportati |       |       |       |       |     2 |       ||     2
       Evoke Flight      |       |       |       |       |     1 |     6 ||     7
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |     9 |    17 |    13 |     9 ||    48
  Use: Scroll            |     2 |     5 |     9 |     9 |    17 |    11 ||    53
       Potion            |       |       |       |    15 |     8 |    14 ||    37
 Stab: Paralysed         |       |       |       |     2 |       |       ||     2
       Distracted        |       |       |       |       |     2 |       ||     2
       Fleeing           |       |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
       Sleeping          |       |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
       Confused          |       |       |       |       |       |     1 ||     1


Having good AC and SH allows this character to reduce incoming damage from most foes (including for example dire elephants and an anaconda at XL 15) to a level where it can be mostly countered by manavamp + regeneration. The only tough situations were fighting a fire and an ice dragon with rF++ but rC- (XL 13, D16), fighting multiple orc warriors with priests smiting in the background (XL14, Orc 4), standing continously in swamp dragon breath without rPois (XL16, Swamp5) and being paralysed for 4 turns (by a giant eyeball) with a hasted Agnes hitting me with an anti-magic lajatang and among others Nikola, a frost giant and an ettin nearby and after this teleporting into a group of giant skeletons (XL17, Depths 1).

dck

Vestibule Violator

Posts: 1653

Joined: Tuesday, 30th July 2013, 11:29

Post Sunday, 5th January 2014, 15:08

Re: Vine Stalkers.

New update in:
Regen starts at rank 1 and is delayed to XL 6 and XL 12.
Fighting aptitude is now -1.
Manavamp is now 1dDamage done again, but bite damage is now mutlevel*2 + 2XL/3 + (int/2 -6). This reduces a bit the biting damage of melee backgrounds straight out of the starting vault and increases it for book backgrounds, while the natural ramping up of damage makes it useful for everyone past the earliest part of the game.

Ziggurat Zagger

Posts: 8786

Joined: Sunday, 5th May 2013, 08:25

Post Sunday, 5th January 2014, 16:28

Re: Vine Stalkers.

nagdon wrote:porkalator can't affect plant monsters as it converts natural monsters into hogs, holy/demonic monsters into holy/unholy swines, but it converts all players into hogs
It doesn't turn undead players into hogs.

Snake Sneak

Posts: 107

Joined: Saturday, 25th February 2012, 10:49

Post Sunday, 5th January 2014, 19:27

Re: Vine Stalkers.

duvessa wrote:It doesn't turn undead players into hogs.
Correct, sorry for the mistake.

Dungeon Master

Posts: 33

Joined: Tuesday, 28th June 2011, 08:38

Post Friday, 10th January 2014, 15:24

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Update: Int's effect on vine stalker bite was removed, and manavamp keys off of mana/max_mana--You get more vamp the lower that is, and less the higher it is.

Temple Termagant

Posts: 12

Joined: Thursday, 16th January 2014, 17:47

Post Thursday, 16th January 2014, 17:50

Re: Vine Stalkers.

I've played a few games as a vine-stalker and the species is a fun addition to the game. I thought I'd throw out some thoughts on how to make it more obviously plant-like without significantly altering its power. a few plant-flavor suggestions -
(1) when taking a lot of damage, sometimes forms a plant nearby, like the jivya create-slime effect but less inherently beneficial.
(2)remove fur as a possible mutation (not sure if this is already the case)
(3)add mutation possibility: weapon grabbing tendrils like the jivya 'tendrils of slime' mutation but vine tendrils. This would be fairly powerful, but like octopode spike or similar, would only happen occasionally as a species-specific mutation.
(4) green blood would also be nice instead of red

dialectric
Last edited by dialectric on Monday, 27th January 2014, 13:21, edited 1 time in total.

dck

Vestibule Violator

Posts: 1653

Joined: Tuesday, 30th July 2013, 11:29

Post Sunday, 26th January 2014, 18:01

Re: Vine Stalkers.

Strange vine growths spotted all over trunk, unclear reports of wounded civilians with bite marks still haven't been addressed by authorities. More at 6.

For this message the author dck has received thanks: 4
and into, Bloax, Sar, WalkerBoh
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