Ever since poison vapours was added in, Venom mage are strong enough for most encounters. In practice, their gameplay experience is "Poison vapors,
run away, repeat".
The only problem is that their power drops severely at the point you meet rpois creatures in which case you must branch into other means of damage. Like a band of skeletal warriors in D11 or whatever. For instance I try to do Orc first instead of Lair because Lair seems to have lots of hard hitting rpois creatures. Sometimes, a phantom or white imp or whatever can be a huge danger , but just like your fire elementalist example, if they have it available, they too can train conjurations and air. Though just like your example, it is unlikely that they can do so at D:5 or whatever.
I agree to the suggestion that poison arrow should be made more available by replacing venom bolt in the book of power, if only because the the only mages that would want to use venom bolt already have it, and poison arrow is too damn rare.
____
So...after thinking a bit and remembering that I actually rarely play VM and the last time I played a VM was a VM Ogre of TSO (because experience all the new changes in 0.20 why not?), I decided to roll up a VM and kinda do a spellcasting version of O tab to D10 and generally play like I will try to kill everything reasonable.
- Code:
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.21.1 (tiles) character file.
X the Magician (Gnoll Venom Mage) Turns: 10507, Time: 00:35:52
Health: 74/74 AC: 8 Str: 11 XL: 10 Next: 74%
Magic: 21/21 EV: 17 Int: 24 God: Zin [****..]
Gold: 468 SH: 0 Dex: 16 Spells: 8/24 levels left
rFire . . . SeeInvis + y - +1 dagger (holy)
rCold . . . Gourm . (no shield)
rNeg . . . Faith . V - +2 robe of Egalitarianism {+Blink rElec Int+4}
rPois . Spirit . K - +1 helmet
rElec + Reflect . (no cloak)
rCorr + Harm . h - +1 pair of gloves
MR ..... (no boots)
Stlth ++++...... (no amulet)
HPRegen 0.22/turn s - ring of see invisible
MPRegen 0.17/turn N - ring of resist corrosion
@: studying Maces & Flails
A: distributed training, fangs 1, strong nose
a: Recite, Vitalisation, Imprison, Donate Gold, Renounce Religion, Evoke Blink
You are on level 9 of the Dungeon.
You worship Zin.
Zin is greatly pleased with you.
You are very hungry.
You have visited 2 branches of the dungeon, and seen 11 of its levels.
You have collected 519 gold pieces.
You have donated 51 gold pieces to Zin.
Inventory:
Hand Weapons
j - a +0 hand axe
t - a +4 short sword of venom
y - a +1 dagger of holy wrath (weapon)
D - a +0 blowgun
I - a +0 quarterstaff
L - a +0 spear
T - an uncursed shortbow
Missiles
g - 433 stones (quivered)
i - 5 javelins
k - 13 tomahawks
r - 146 arrows
u - 4 tomahawks of dispersal
x - 75 sling bullets
E - 37 poisoned needles
F - 59 bolts
Armour
a - a +0 robe
e - a +0 hat
h - a +1 pair of gloves (worn)
K - a +1 helmet (worn)
M - a +2 ring mail of poison resistance
V - the +2 robe of Egalitarianism (worn) {+Blink rElec Int+4}
(You found it on level 8 of the Dungeon)
It affects your intelligence (+4).
It insulates you from electricity.
It lets you blink.
Jewellery
s - a ring of see invisible (left hand)
N - a ring of resist corrosion (right hand)
Wands
o - a wand of flame (42)
J - a wand of digging (9)
Scrolls
d - a scroll labeled ADIULE NUPN
n - 7 scrolls of remove curse
q - 10 scrolls of teleportation
w - a scroll labeled ITSED HUNUEDE
O - 3 scrolls labeled BADAETIPIM
P - a scroll labeled SAOSTR QUXTOOST
Q - 2 scrolls of immolation
S - a scroll labeled HIXKARYUSO
U - a scroll of enchant armour
Potions
f - a potion of magic
l - a potion of heal wounds
m - 4 potions of lignification
p - 2 potions of mutation
v - 7 potions of curing
z - 3 bubbling yellow potions
A - 2 fuming silvery potions
B - a sapphire potion
C - a fuming yellow potion
G - a black potion
Books
b - a Young Poisoner's Handbook
Spells Type Level
a - Sting Conjuration/Poison 1
b - Poisonous Vapours Poison/Air 2
c - Mephitic Cloud Conjuration/Poison/Air 3
d - Olgreb's Toxic Radiance Poison 4
e - Venom Bolt Conjuration/Poison 5
H - a manual of Maces & Flails
R - a book of Cantrips
Spells Type Level
a - Confusing Touch Hexes 1
b - Animate Skeleton Necromancy 1
c - Summon Small Mammal Summoning 1
d - Apportation Translocation 1
Comestibles
c - 18 rations
Skills:
+ Level 5.4 Fighting
+ Level 5.4 Short Blades
+ Level 5.4 Long Blades
+ Level 5.4 Axes
+ Level 6.6 Maces & Flails
+ Level 5.4 Polearms
+ Level 5.4 Staves
+ Level 5.4 Slings
+ Level 5.4 Bows
+ Level 5.4 Crossbows
+ Level 5.4 Throwing
+ Level 5.4 Armour
+ Level 7.2 Dodging
+ Level 7.0 Stealth
+ Level 5.4 Shields
+ Level 5.4 Unarmed Combat
+ Level 7.5 Spellcasting
+ Level 5.0 Conjurations
+ Level 4.5 Hexes
+ Level 4.5 Charms
+ Level 4.5 Summonings
+ Level 4.5 Necromancy
+ Level 4.5 Translocations
+ Level 4.5 Transmutations
+ Level 4.5 Fire Magic
+ Level 4.5 Ice Magic
+ Level 4.5 Air Magic
+ Level 4.5 Earth Magic
+ Level 7.2 Poison Magic
+ Level 6.0 Invocations
+ Level 5.4 Evocations
You have 8 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:
Your Spells Type Power Failure Level Hunger
a - Sting Conj/Pois #### 1% 1 None
b - Poisonous Vapours Pois/Air #####. 1% 2 None
c - Mephitic Cloud Conj/Pois/Air #####... 1% 3 None
d - Olgreb's Toxic Radia Pois #####... 3% 4 ###....
e - Venom Bolt Conj/Pois #####..... 16% 5 #####..
f - Summon Small Mammal Summ #### 1% 1 None
Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations
Branches:
Dungeon (10/15) Temple (1/1) D:6
Lair: D:8-11 Orc: D:9-12
Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Dithmenos
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Gozag
Hepliaklqana
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Qazlal
Ru
Sif Muna
Trog
Uskayaw
Vehumet
Wu Jian
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One
Annotations:
D:8 exclusion: ice statue
Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations
Your experience applies equally to all skills.
You have very sharp teeth.
Your uncanny sense of smell can sniff out nearby items.
Message History
Confirm with . or Enter, or press ? or * to list all spells.
Okay, then.
Partly explored, can't reach some places.
Move the cursor to view the level map, or type ? for a list of commands.
Returning to the game...
There is an escape hatch in the ceiling here.
A mysterious force pulls you upwards. The hatch slams shut behind you.
You see here a quarterstaff.
You are feeling very hungry.
You can't go down here!
There is an escape hatch in the floor here.
You slide downwards. The hatch slams shut behind you.
Level annotation: exclusion: ice statue
There is a fountain of sparkling water here.
There is a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh here.
There is a fountain of sparkling water here.
You see here a quarterstaff.
There is a stone staircase leading down here.
You climb downwards.
There is a stone staircase leading up here.
.###.....# ##.##...###
.........######..##...#
.####....##......##.#.###
.###........####.##.#...###
...............<..........#
.##......##.####.##.#.#####
.#.....####..###.##...#####
...#[..# ##.....##.......#
..##)#.# ##..##...#.....#
..##.#)# #..............#
.###.#.# ##.###.####.....#
..##.#.####..###.#........#
#...........##.......#...##
..#.###)....##.......#...#
....# #..............#..@#
.#..###..............#...#
.#..##.....###..........##
###.##.....##........####
###.[................#
...)...........#####.#
.....##....########..###
....##..#### #.......#
>..........#####.......#
.......###.............#
##.#...# #######.......#
#....### #.......#
.....# #.......#
.....# #.......#
There are no monsters in sight!
Vanquished Creatures
2 two-headed ogres
A centaur zombie (D:10)
A troll (D:9)
A hippogriff (D:7)
Grum (D:9)
A hungry ghost (D:10)
Menkaure (D:7)
2 orc warriors
3 sky beasts
5 phantoms
A black bear (D:6)
3 necrophages
2 ogres (D:9)
2 wolves (D:9)
2 centaurs (D:10)
5 bullfrogs
2 big kobolds (D:10)
A water moccasin zombie (D:10)
2 scorpions
A howler monkey (D:8)
2 crimson imps
A bullfrog zombie (D:8)
A quasit (D:10)
2 hounds
A jelly (D:8)
An orc wizard (D:10)
A bullfrog skeleton (D:7)
2 orc priests
3 iron imps (D:8)
A centaur skeleton (D:7)
Jessica (D:3)
5 worker ants
An iguana (D:6)
Robin (D:4)
A worker ant zombie (D:5)
A howler monkey skeleton (D:8)
16 adders
A shadow imp (D:9)
A white imp (D:5)
An ooze (D:2)
An adder zombie (D:5)
An adder skeleton (D:8)
3 worms
3 dart slugs
A leopard gecko (D:4)
23 orcs
9 bats
5 giant cockroaches
9 hobgoblins
8 jackals
3 quokkas
A frilled lizard (D:1)
16 goblins
11 kobolds
2 leopard gecko skeletons
A quokka skeleton (D:4)
2 quokka zombies
7 rats
A plant (D:3)
190 creatures vanquished.
Notes
Turn | Place | Note
-------+----------+-------------------------------------------
0 | D:1 | X the Gnoll Venom Mage began the quest for the Orb.
0 | D:1 | Reached XP level 1. HP: 13/13 MP: 6/6
119 | D:1 | Reached XP level 2. HP: 19/19 MP: 3/7
188 | D:1 | Learned a level 2 spell: Poisonous Vapours
291 | D:1 | You fall through a shaft!
554 | D:1 | Reached XP level 3. HP: 25/25 MP: 3/9
559 | D:1 | Learned a level 3 spell: Mephitic Cloud
652 | D:1 | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
1125 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Invocations
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Fighting
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Short Blades
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Long Blades
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Axes
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Maces & Flails
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Polearms
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Staves
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Slings
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Bows
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Crossbows
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Throwing
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Armour
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Shields
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Unarmed Combat
1158 | D:2 | Reached skill level 1 in Evocations
1302 | D:2 | Reached XP level 4. HP: 24/32 MP: 7/11
1308 | D:2 | Learned a level 4 spell: Olgreb's Toxic Radiance
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Hexes
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Charms
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Summonings
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Necromancy
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Translocations
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Transmutations
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Fire Magic
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Ice Magic
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Air Magic
1737 | D:3 | Reached skill level 1 in Earth Magic
2030 | D:3 | Reached XP level 5. HP: 37/37 MP: 1/12
2308 | D:3 | Noticed Jessica
2316 | D:3 | Killed Jessica
2629 | D:3 | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
2961 | D:4 | Noticed Robin
2968 | D:4 | Killed Robin
3133 | D:4 | Found a shadowy altar of Dithmenos.
3253 | D:4 | Noticed a phantom
3740 | D:5 | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
4142 | D:5 | Reached XP level 6. HP: 35/44 MP: 13/13
4218 | D:5 | Learned a level 5 spell: Venom Bolt
4304 | D:4 | Killed a phantom
4304 | D:4 | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
4414 | D:5 | Noticed a sky beast
4434 | D:5 | Killed a sky beast
4540 | D:5 | Found an iron altar of Okawaru.
4545 | D:5 | Reached XP level 7. HP: 50/50 MP: 15/15
4655 | D:5 | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
4760 | D:5 | Found a glowing silver altar of Zin.
5099 | D:5 | Became a worshipper of Zin the Law-Giver
5099 | D:5 | Reached * piety under Zin
5263 | D:5 | Found an ornate altar of the Wu Jian Council.
5494 | D:6 | Reached skill level 5 in Stealth
5940 | D:6 | Reached ** piety under Zin
6015 | D:6 | Found a hazy altar of Hepliaklqana.
6083 | D:6 | Reached XP level 8. HP: 54/57 MP: 4/16
6241 | D:6 | Found a radiant altar of Vehumet.
6268 | D:6 | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
6277 | Temple | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
7022 | D:7 | Noticed a hippogriff
7035 | D:7 | Killed a hippogriff
7168 | D:7 | Noticed Menkaure
7172 | D:7 | Killed Menkaure
7621 | D:8 | Reached *** piety under Zin
7696 | D:8 | Noticed a two-headed ogre
7716 | D:8 | Killed a two-headed ogre
7716 | D:8 | Reached XP level 9. HP: 65/65 MP: 9/18
8088 | D:8 | Noticed an ice statue
8169 | D:8 | You fall through a shaft for 2 floors!
8169 | D:10 | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
8573 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Maces & Flails
8573 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Invocations
8762 | D:10 | Reached XP level 10. HP: 67/73 MP: 12/20
8917 | D:10 | Noticed a two-headed ogre
8937 | D:10 | Killed a two-headed ogre
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Short Blades
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Long Blades
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Axes
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Polearms
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Staves
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Slings
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Bows
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Crossbows
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Throwing
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Armour
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Shields
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Unarmed Combat
8937 | D:10 | Reached skill level 5 in Evocations
9328 | D:9 | Noticed Grum
9336 | D:9 | Killed Grum
9429 | D:9 | You fall through a shaft!
9635 | D:9 | Learned a level 1 spell: Summon Small Mammal
9663 | D:9 | Reached skill level 5 in Conjurations
9819 | D:9 | Found a sacrificial altar of Ru.
9830 | D:9 | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
10027 | D:8 | Reached **** piety under Zin
10081 | D:8 | Found a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh.
10304 | D:8 | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
10353 | D:8 | Got a colourful robe
10364 | D:8 | Identified the +2 robe of Egalitarianism {+Blink rElec Int+4} (You found it on level 8 of the Dungeon)
Skill XL: | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
---------------+-------------------------------+-----
Conjurations | 2 3 4 5 | 5.0
Spellcasting | 5 6 7 | 7.5
Invocations | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | 6.0
Fighting | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Short Blades | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Long Blades | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Axes | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Maces & Flails | 1 2 4 5 6 | 6.6
Polearms | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Staves | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Slings | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Bows | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Crossbows | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Throwing | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Armour | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Shields | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Unarmed Combat | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Evocations | 1 2 4 5 | 5.4
Hexes | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Charms | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Summonings | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Necromancy | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Translocations | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Transmutations | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Fire Magic | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Ice Magic | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Air Magic | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Earth Magic | 1 2 3 4 | 4.5
Dodging | 5 6 7 | 7.2
Stealth | 5 6 7 | 7.0
Poison Magic | 6 7 | 7.2
Action | 1- 3 | 4- 6 | 7- 9 | 10-12 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Hand axe | 2 | | | || 2
Short sword | 14 | 80 | 60 | 24 || 178
Bite | 1 | 18 | 36 | 16 || 71
Dagger | | 53 | 260 | 159 || 472
Punch | | 1 | 2 | 2 || 5
Throw: Stone | | 38 | 131 | 24 || 193
Cast: Sting | 15 | 5 | 2 | 7 || 29
Poisonous Vapours | 20 | 13 | 37 | 28 || 98
Olgreb's Toxic Ra | | 5 | 4 | 1 || 10
Mephitic Cloud | | 4 | 5 | 8 || 17
Invok: Recite | | | 3 | 2 || 5
Evoke: Wand | | | 5 | || 5
Use: Scroll | | 5 | 10 | || 15
Stab: Sleeping | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 || 14
Confused | | | 3 | 3 || 6
Eat: Chunk | 1 | 9 | 5 | 4 || 19
Ration | | 1 | 3 | || 4
Armor: Robe | 4 | 4 | | || 8
Ring mail | | 20 | 114 | 42 || 176
Dodge: Dodged | 21 | 51 | 177 | 93 || 342
So, I fell down a shaft 3 times, a white imp almost killed me and 30/189 creatures (ignore the plant) are poison immune. 36/189 if including rpois. 19% of creatures encountered are resist or immune to poison, far higher than that would be encountered for any other elemental type. Why do oozes even exist, other than to annoy VM anyways? Also I found a +1 holy wrath dagger to use on poison immune, but I think just using a quarterstaff of flail would have been better to be honest.I spent absolutely forever throwing rocks at phantoms because I am not smart enough to use better weapons. No way to find out without fsim. On the other hand, killing two headed ogres were easy. So in the early game there appears to be some truth to the claim that rpois appears to be fairly common and can be deadly. Probably not a fair race choice though, since gnolls in particular have an easy start and can use invocations and wands more reliably. As for late game, whether it is easy for them to adapt without going ASH is another matter.