CiP - KoAs of Trog

[midknight129]

Well, it's happening again. Got awesome start so I'm gonna end up dying to a hoard of rats or bats or some BS like that. Any advice on where to go from here?

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.11.0 (tiles) character file.

Midknight the Backstabber (Kobold Assassin)        Turns: 29283, Time: 01:58:51

HP  93/93 (94)   AC 13     Str 12      XL: 16   Next: 16%
MP  23/23        EV 35     Int 11      God: Trog [******]
Gold 936         SH 17     Dex 26      Spells:  0 memorised, 15 levels left

Res.Fire  : . . .   See Invis. : .   G - +4,+10 Spriggan's Knife {MR EV+4 Dex+4 Stl
Res.Cold  : . . .   Warding    : .   s - +1 leather armour of the Nine Curses {+Inv
Life Prot.: . . .   Conserve   : .   N - +0 buckler
Res.Poison: .       Res.Corr.  : .   R - +1 dwarf helmet
Res.Elec. : .       Clarity    : .   a - +2 elf cloak
Sust.Abil.: . .     Spirit.Shd : .   J - +0 pair of gloves "Owag Ahu" {Int+2 Stlth+
Res.Mut.  : .       Stasis     : .   w - +0 pair of orc boots
Res.Rott. : .       Ctrl.Telep.: .   L - amulet of faith
Saprovore : + + .   Levitation : .   (no ring)
                    Ctrl.Flight: .   n - +2 ring of protection

@: extremely resistant to hostile enchantments, incredibly stealthy
A: disease resistance, carnivore 3, fast metabolism 1, -10% mp, saprovore 2
a: Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Renounce Religion,
Evoke Invisibility


You are on level 8 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Trog.
Trog is exalted by your worship.
You are very full.

You have visited 3 branches of the dungeon, and seen 23 of its levels.
You have also visited: Bailey and Ice Cave.

You have collected 1377 gold pieces.
You have spent 491 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 b - a blowgun
 d - a +5,+0 anti-magic dagger (quivered) {god gift}
 v - a +4,+11 anti-magic quick blade {god gift}
 A - a +0,+5 dwarven anti-magic short sword {god gift}
 E - a glowing spear
 G - the +4,+10 Spriggan's Knife (weapon) {MR EV+4 Dex+4 Stlth++}
   (You found it on level 6 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your evasion (+4).
   It affects your dexterity (+4).
   It increases your resistance to enchantments.
   It makes you much more stealthy.
 V - a +3,+3 vampiric dagger {god gift}
Missiles
 e - 8 poisoned needles
 f - 7 curare-tipped needles
Armour
 a - a +2 elven cloak (worn)
 s - the +1 leather armour of the Nine Curses (worn) {+Inv MR}
   (You found it on level 14 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It increases your resistance to enchantments.
   It lets you turn invisible.
 w - a +0 pair of orcish boots (worn)
 J - the +0 pair of gloves "Owag Ahu" (worn) {Int+2 Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your intelligence (+2).
   It makes you more stealthy.
 N - a +0 buckler (worn)
 R - a +1 dwarven helmet (worn)
 T - a +1 leather armour of poison resistance
Magical devices
 r - a wand of slowing (7)
 t - a wand of magic darts {zapped: 5}
 x - a wand of hasting (5)
 B - a wand of polymorph other {zapped: 4}
 F - a wand of lightning (4)
 M - a curved glass wand
 O - a wand of teleportation {zapped: 1}
 X - a wand of flame {zapped: 3}
Comestibles
 g - 4 meat rations
Scrolls
 i - a scroll of holy word
 k - 2 scrolls of fog
 l - 4 scrolls of recharging
 o - 7 scrolls of teleportation
 q - a scroll of magic mapping
 y - 3 scrolls of fear
 D - 5 scrolls of remove curse
 I - 2 scrolls of unholy creation
 P - 5 scrolls of identify
 Y - a scroll labeled BEOLIN QOOP
Jewellery
 h - an uncursed ring of ice
 j - an uncursed ring of fire
 n - a +2 ring of protection (left hand)
 L - an amulet of faith (around neck)
Potions
 p - 2 potions of restore abilities
 u - 4 potions of heal wounds
 z - 3 potions of curing
 C - a potion of might
 H - a potion of invisibility
 K - a potion of agility
 S - a potion of levitation
 W - 2 green potions
 Z - a potion of speed
Books
 m - a metal-bound book   
   
   Trog disapproves of the use of such an item.
 Q - a leatherbound book   
   
   Trog disapproves of the use of such an item.
 U - a metal-bound book   
   
   Trog disapproves of the use of such an item.
Rods
 c - a +2 rod of destruction [lightning,fireball,iron] (14/14)
   (You acquired it on level 8 of the Lair of Beasts)


   Skills:
 + Level 10.1 Fighting
 + Level 16.6 Short Blades
 - Level 2.6 Throwing
 + Level 14.0 Dodging
 + Level 13.8 Stealth
 + Level 19.8 Stabbing
 * Level 6.0 Shields
 + Level 7.1 Evocations


You have 15 spell levels left.
You don't know any spells.

Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (14/27)            Temple (1/1) D:5             Orc (0/4) D:9
   Lair (8/8) D:13          Swamp (0/5) Lair:3       Spider (0/5) Lair:3
  Slime (0/6) Lair:8       Vaults (0/8) D:14       

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Fedhas
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Trog
Yredelemnul
Beogh

Shops:
D:4: *  D:8: ([*+  D:12: !

Annotations
D:7 exclusions: centaur and 4 wights
D:8 exclusion: 2 centaurs, Maurice
D:12 exclusion: electric eel


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You recuperate from illness quickly.
You are small and have problems with some larger weapons.
You are carnivorous and can eat meat at any time.
You can eat rotten meat.
You have a fast metabolism.
Your magical capacity is low (-10% MP).


Message History

This is a scroll of acquirement!
[a] Weapon [b] Armour        [c] Jewellery [d] Book [e] Staff
[f] Wand   [g] Miscellaneous [h] Food      [i] Gold [j] Ammunition
What kind of item would you like to acquire? (\ to view known items)
Something appears at your feet!
c - a thin jewelled rod
You feel magic returning to you.
You feel agile.
G - the +4,+10 Spriggan's Knife (weapon) {MR EV+4 Dex+4 Stlth++}
You feel clumsy.
c - a +2 rod of destruction [lightning,fireball,iron] (14/14) (in hand)
You feel agile.
G - the +4,+10 Spriggan's Knife (weapon) {MR EV+4 Dex+4 Stlth++}
You start resting.
Magic restored.
Char dumped to 'C:/Users/Senshion/AppData/Roaming/crawl/morgue/Midknight.txt'.
Save game and exit?
Welcome back, Midknight the Kobold Assassin.
Trog says: Kill them all!
Press ? for a list of commands and other information.

######
..#..#
.....########    ##
......##.#..### #f####
......###...#.##..P.f..P
........................##
...........###@#.#....#.f
......####..###.####.##.#
#.f.....###### ###.#.##.##
f#....##P#...####.#.#P...###
..................P........#
###....#.##......P.........##
.##..............P##........#
..#.#..#........##.........##
.##.###.#....##.###........#
###.#.....##.##.# ##.......f#


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  Maud (Lair:4)
  Gastronok (D:8)
  The ghost of Midknight the Brawler, a powerful TrCj of Vehumet (D:13)
  Fannar (D:10)
  Erica (D:11)
  Harold (D:13)
  Josephine (D:10)
  5 hydras
  5 death yaks (Lair:8)
  A centaur warrior (D:13)
  A catoblepas (Lair:8)
  7 hill giants
  2 ice devils (IceCv)
  4 ice statues (IceCv)
  Joseph (D:9)
  2 necromancers
  An oklob plant (Lair:6)
  2 griffons
  A cyclops (D:11)
  A trapdoor spider zombie (D:11)
  3 elephant slugs
  5 black mambas
  7 elephants
  A spiny worm zombie (D:13)
  10 spiny frogs
  A hill giant zombie (D:11)
  9 slime creatures
  3 trolls
  9 ugly things
  A queen bee (Lair:7)
  Sonja (D:13)
  6 komodo dragons
  A rock troll zombie (D:12)
  A polar bear (D:14)
  A two-headed ogre (D:13)
  5 blue devils (IceCv)
  19 blink frogs
  2 basilisks
  A red wasp simulacrum (D:14)
  A blink frog skeleton (D:14)
  6 sharks
  2 wraiths
  55 yaks
  A merfolk (D:7)
  Eustachio (D:9)
  6 vampire mosquitoes (D:13)
  2 wyverns
  Grum (D:8)
  7 hippogriffs
  4 hungry ghosts
  19 war dogs
  3 fire drakes
  A hill giant simulacrum (D:14)
  A steam dragon (D:9)
  A human zombie (D:6)
  A soldier ant (D:13)
  Edmund (D:4)
  5 necrophages (D:11)
  3 manticores (D:13)
  Menkaure (D:6)
  28 ice beasts
  8 orc warriors
  4 giant goldfish
  A rock worm zombie (D:11)
  6 ogres
  2 sky beasts
  4 phantoms
  A yak zombie (D:11)
  9 centaurs
  10 crocodiles
  3 boring beetles
  Duvessa (D:9)
  5 giant slugs
  A wolf (D:14)
  A warg (D:8)
  2 big kobolds (D:11)
  A two-headed ogre zombie (D:11)
  4 agate snails
  A manticore simulacrum (D:14)
  9 water moccasins
  12 giant frogs
  2 basilisk zombies
  A centaur skeleton (D:10)
  Blork the orc (D:7)
  2 soldier ant zombies
  A basilisk skeleton (D:14)
  3 wights (D:11)
  25 killer bees
  8 electric eels
  2 vampire bats (D:3)
  8 grizzly bear simulacra
  12 jellyfish
  A killer bee zombie (D:14)
  A big kobold zombie (D:10)
  3 quasits
  9 crimson imps
  2 goliath beetles
  A shadow (D:7)
  Dowan (D:9)
  A big kobold skeleton (D:10)
  A basilisk simulacrum (D:14)
  6 hounds
  9 orc priests
  20 big fish
  7 iguanas
  A hound skeleton (D:6)
  7 porcupines
  3 human simulacra (IceCv)
  6 orc wizards
  5 worker ants
  A worker ant zombie (D:11)
  13 sheep (Lair:8)
  4 hound simulacra (D:13)
  18 jellies
  A goliath beetle zombie (D:11)
  4 mummies
  4 gnolls (D:9)
  25 green rats
  A human (D:6)
  22 adders
  An adder zombie (D:10)
  6 giant centipedes
  An iguana zombie (D:10)
  A giant centipede zombie (D:11)
  2 giant mites
  An iguana skeleton (D:8)
  2 worms
  3 ufetubi (D:14)
  5 white imps (D:14)
  2 sheep simulacra (D:13)
  A bat skeleton (D:5)
  4 giant geckos
  An ooze (D:2)
  38 orcs
  11 goblins
  13 hobgoblins
  18 jackals
  3 ball pythons
  26 bats
  6 giant cockroaches
  6 giant newts
  2 giant spores
  A jackal skeleton (D:6)
  A jackal zombie (D:7)
  13 kobolds
  13 quokkas
  23 rats
  4 rat simulacra (D:13)
  3 ballistomycetes
  A bush (Lair:4)
  A butterfly (D:3)
  2 fungi
  4 plants
  2 toadstools (Lair:8)
824 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (collateral kills)
  A water moccasin (Lair:2)
  A crocodile (Lair:2)
  An agate snail (Lair:1)
  A bat (Lair:3)
4 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A yak (D:14)
  A war dog (D:8)
  A small abomination (Lair:3)
  A big fish (D:14)
  A hound (D:12)
  A giant gecko (D:5)
  A jackal (Lair:1)
  A goblin (D:2)
  A rat (Lair:1)
  4 fungi
  A plant (Lair:8)
  8 toadstools
22 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 850 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | Midknight, the Kobold Assassin, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 12/12 MP: 0/0
   536 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 16/16 MP: 1/1
  1301 | D:2      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 14/21 MP: 2/2
  2607 | D:3      | Found a snail-covered altar of Cheibriados.
  2615 | D:3      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 24/26 MP: 3/3
  2735 | D:3      | Found a bloodstained altar of Trog.
  2744 | D:3      | Became a worshipper of Trog the Wrathful
  2921 | D:3      | Reached skill level 5 in Short Blades
  2940 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 21/31 MP: 4/4
  3405 | D:4      | Reached skill level 6 in Short Blades
  3630 | D:4      | Found Skuczi's Assorted Antiques.
  3646 | D:4      | Bought a scroll labeled PRUARA TUEZ for 24 gold pieces
  3646 | D:4      | Bought a scroll labeled DIOHIF GEOMN for 24 gold pieces
  3646 | D:4      | Bought a scroll labeled JOAXEULOSCH for 24 gold pieces
  3646 | D:4      | Bought a gluggy white potion for 21 gold pieces
  3646 | D:4      | Bought an orcish robe for 12 gold pieces
  3646 | D:4      | Bought 3 scrolls labeled QURHOR MNOHEGUYG {tried on +0 elven leather armour} for 72 gold pieces
  3745 | D:4      | Found a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh.
  3802 | D:4      | Noticed an ogre
  3861 | D:4      | Killed an ogre
  3861 | D:4      | Reached skill level 7 in Short Blades
  3861 | D:4      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 34/36 MP: 5/5
  4161 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  4226 | D:5      | Noticed Edmund
  4239 | D:4      | Gained mutation: Your magical capacity is low (-10% MP). [Edmund/wand of polymorph other]
  4240 | D:4      | Killed Edmund
  4240 | D:4      | Reached skill level 8 in Short Blades
  4240 | D:4      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 30/40 MP: 5/5
  4322 | D:5      | Acquired Trog's first power
  4489 | D:5      | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
  4489 | D:5      | Reached skill level 9 in Short Blades
  4734 | D:5      | Noticed a sky beast
  4756 | D:5      | Killed a sky beast
  4756 | D:5      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 47/47 MP: 6/6
  4968 | D:5      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  5094 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  5588 | D:6      | Noticed Menkaure
  5602 | D:6      | Killed Menkaure
  5602 | D:6      | Reached skill level 10 in Short Blades
  6722 | D:6      | Reached skill level 11 in Short Blades
  6722 | D:6      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 49/52 MP: 7/7
  6726 | D:6      | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
  6910 | D:7      | Got a pair of slimy gloves
  6911 | D:7      | Identified the +0 pair of gloves "Owag Ahu" (You found it on level 7 of the Dungeon)
  6983 | D:7      | Noticed Blork the orc
  7002 | D:7      | Killed Blork the orc
  7002 | D:7      | Acquired Trog's second power
  7176 | D:7      | Reached skill level 5 in Stealth
  7662 | D:7      | Reached skill level 12 in Short Blades
  7919 | D:8      | Found Enuc's Book Emporium.
  7924 | D:8      | Found Ehonk's General Store.
  7933 | D:8      | Bought a scroll of immolation for 16 gold pieces
  8126 | D:8      | Found Oschak's Weapon Boutique.
  8218 | D:8      | Found Lutuos' Armour Emporium.
  8255 | D:8      | Bought a +1 leather armour of poison resistance for 162 gold pieces
  8304 | D:8      | Noticed Grum
  8313 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 58/58 MP: 8/8
  8323 | D:8      | Killed Grum
  8323 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Stabbing
  8391 | D:8      | Noticed Gastronok
  8437 | D:8      | Killed Gastronok
  8437 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
  8841 | D:8      | Noticed Maurice
  9051 | D:9      | Noticed Joseph
  9246 | D:9      | Found a flagged portal.
  9294 | Bailey   | Entered a bailey
  9319 | Bailey   | Noticed an orc knight
  9505 | D:9      | Reached XP level 11. HP: 59/63 MP: 9/9
  9533 | D:9      | Noticed Duvessa
  9533 | D:9      | Noticed Dowan
  9538 | D:9      | Killed Dowan
  9544 | D:9      | Killed Duvessa
  9577 | D:9      | Noticed Eustachio
  9626 | D:9      | Killed Joseph
  9682 | D:9      | Killed Eustachio
  9755 | D:9      | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
  9879 | D:9      | Acquired Trog's third power
  9929 | D:9      | Found a roughly hewn altar of Beogh.
  9938 | D:9      | Reached skill level 13 in Short Blades
 10037 | D:9      | Reached skill level 10 in Stabbing
 10190 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
 10448 | D:10     | Noticed Fannar
 10454 | D:10     | Killed Fannar
 10947 | D:10     | Noticed a hill giant
 10953 | D:10     | Killed a hill giant
 11034 | D:10     | Noticed Josephine
 11056 | D:10     | Killed Josephine
 11179 | D:10     | Received a gift from Trog
 11189 | D:10     | Reached skill level 10 in Stealth
 11344 | D:10     | Noticed a hill giant
 11353 | D:10     | Killed a hill giant
 11353 | D:10     | Reached XP level 12. HP: 69/69 MP: 9/9
 11403 | D:10     | Found a shattered altar of Ashenzari.
 11602 | D:11     | Noticed Erica
 11853 | D:11     | Reached skill level 14 in Short Blades
 12204 | D:11     | Received a gift from Trog
 12384 | D:11     | Killed Erica
 12861 | D:12     | Found Leomug's Distillery.
 12983 | D:12     | Bought a potion of strong poison for 26 gold pieces
 12983 | D:12     | Bought a potion of mutation for 39 gold pieces
 12983 | D:12     | Bought a potion of speed for 71 gold pieces
 13257 | D:12     | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
 14127 | D:13     | Noticed a six-headed hydra
 14130 | D:13     | Killed a six-headed hydra
 14130 | D:13     | Reached skill level 10 in Dodging
 14227 | D:13     | Reached XP level 13. HP: 75/75 MP: 10/10
 14389 | D:13     | Noticed Midknight's ghost (powerful TrCj)
 14556 | D:13     | Reached skill level 15 in Stabbing
 14570 | D:13     | Noticed Harold
 14596 | D:13     | Killed Harold
 14598 | D:13     | Received a gift from Trog
 14737 | D:13     | Paralysed by a potion of paralysis for 6 turns
 14767 | D:13     | Killed Midknight's ghost
 14998 | D:13     | Noticed a centaur warrior
 15022 | D:13     | Killed a centaur warrior
 15286 | D:13     | Noticed Sonja
 15468 | D:13     | Killed Sonja
 16191 | D:13     | Found a staircase to the Lair.
 16289 | D:13     | Reached skill level 15 in Short Blades
 16520 | D:14     | Entered Level 14 of the Dungeon
 16526 | D:14     | Noticed an ogre mage
 16652 | D:14     | Received a gift from Trog
 16652 | D:14     | Reached skill level 16 in Stabbing
 17058 | D:14     | Found a staircase to the Vaults.
 17066 | D:14     | Got a twisted leather armour
 17378 | D:14     | Identified the +1 leather armour of the Nine Curses (You found it on level 14 of the Dungeon)
 17617 | D:14     | Reached skill level 1 in Evocations
 17617 | D:14     | Reached XP level 14. HP: 82/82 MP: 9/13
 18032 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
 18100 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 17 in Stabbing
 18108 | Lair:1   | Received a gift from Trog
 18566 | Lair:1   | Found a frozen archway.
 18593 | IceCv    | Entered an ice cave
 19323 | IceCv    | Reached skill level 5 in Evocations
 20198 | IceCv    | Got a pitted shield
 20200 | IceCv    | Got an ancient lajatang
 20203 | IceCv    | Got a dazzling demon trident
 20367 | Lair:1   | Identified the +0 shield of Otemulog (You found it in an ice cave)
 20368 | Lair:1   | Identified the cursed -3,-3 demon trident of Watchfulness (You found it in an ice cave)
 20739 | Lair:2   | Identified the +1,+5 lajatang "Plyckethre" (You found it in an ice cave)
 21037 | Lair:2   | Got a polished broad axe
 21156 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 18 in Stabbing
 21156 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 1 in Shields
 21313 | Lair:2   | Received a gift from Trog
 21837 | Lair:3   | Found a staircase to the Swamp.
 22036 | Lair:3   | Found a hole to the Spider Nest.
 22577 | Lair:4   | Received a gift from Trog
 22600 | Lair:4   | Identified the +0,+1 broad axe of Evisceration (You found it on level 2 of the Lair of Beasts)
 22745 | Lair:4   | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
 23450 | Lair:4   | Noticed Maud
 23460 | Lair:4   | Killed Maud
 24134 | Lair:5   | Reached XP level 15. HP: 87/87 MP: 21/21
 24469 | Lair:5   | Received a gift from Trog
 25658 | Lair:6   | Received a gift from Trog
 25794 | Lair:6   | Found an iron altar of Okawaru.
 26464 | Lair:7   | Reached skill level 19 in Stabbing
 26634 | Lair:7   | Reached skill level 10 in Fighting
 26715 | Lair:7   | Reached skill level 5 in Shields
 27045 | Lair:7   | Received a gift from Trog
 27949 | Lair:8   | Entered Level 8 of the Lair of Beasts
 28178 | Lair:8   | Found a staircase to the Slime Pits.
 28452 | Lair:8   | Reached XP level 16. HP: 93/93 MP: 22/22
 28650 | Lair:8   | Gained mutation: You have a fast metabolism. [mutagenic glow]
 28852 | Lair:8   | Received a gift from Trog
 29191 | Lair:8   | Identified a scroll of acquirement
 29194 | Lair:8   | Identified a +2 rod of destruction [lightning,fireball,iron] (14/14) (You acquired it on level 8 of the Lair of Beasts)


[mikee]

I have a couple of suggestions for your character.

v - a +4,+11 anti-magic quick blade {god gift}

Why aren't you wielding this? It seems better in every way than all of your other weapons.

Also, what's going on with that skilling? You could actually turn off every skill except fighting and dodging and that would be an effective build *for the entire rest of the game*.

Oh, also also, if you were asking which branch you should go to, that would be orc.

[daggaz]

You dont need shortblades past 14 (sabres) ever, so turn it off.
That quickblade is insanely nice, the only time you should wield the knife (which I would keep handy) is when:
a)- You absolutely must be sneaky
b)- You absolutely must land a one-shot backstab (see a) as well)
c)- You are fighting a high level unique which can banish or more than one banishing monster and want the extra MR (you have trogs hand as well for this).
The quickblade will be even more sexy if you can stack some slaying bonuses on.

Normally at this point, I would be pushing to get some utility spells online, but you are Trog, so yeah.. Fighting, dodging are the priority as mentioned. You should get shields to seven real quick tho for min delay. Then just pump sneak and stab when you notice monsters waking up/surviving more than usual. Evocations is only useful as far as your items go, if you have xp to burn you can get it to 10 for IDing wand charges and thats usually enough for evoking an invis cloak or what have you.

Once you have a weapon or two you want to go endgame with, you can pump throwing up to 7 or more, and trog will start gifting you ammo. Keep a blowgun handy, and you can use the needles of paralysis/sleeping for assassinating demons with style. I like to have a longblade for a bit more damage output (demon blades etc), but nothing beats a quickblade with a lot of extra damage bonuses so you dont really need to go there.

[midknight129]

I haven't really needed the +11 quickblade yet because I'm cleaning house with my Sprig's Knife and invisibility. Basically, I travel with the Sprig's Knife in hand for the stealth boost, then if I can't stab and it's a particularly threatening enemy, I'll switch to the quickblade. I just haven't encountered a particularly threatening enemy yet. I haven't hit Orc yet but I'll probably switch to the quickblade there. I guess I'll round out my stabbing and stealth to 20 and 14 then turn them off but I focused Short Blades to 14 before turning it back to normal since I still wanted some damage increase. I'm mainly training Evo so I can more reliably activate my invisibility and have it last a tad longer so I'll probably take it to 10 anyway. A have an artifact shield (normal shield, not buckler) back in my stash. Is it worth it to focus up Shields so I can wear it effectively or should I just stick with the buckler?

But mainly, I'm just concerned because every time I start doing this well for myself, something trips me up. I've been simultaneously smitten by multiple Orc priests, I've walked around corners into 3+ deep-level Uniques, I've gone far longer than expected without finding a single source of poison resist only to run into something like Sonja or an Emperor Scorpion, etc. And then there are just the painful ones like just barely managing to overcome a tough fight only to get killed by a wandering bat. One time, I just flat out starved to death. I couldn't find any permafood for a long spell and no monsters were leaving eatable corpses. So I just foresee the gears of fate laughing at me, throwing me all these goodies, then I'll be confronted by something completely out of the ordinary. Like the time I encountered a Boring Beetle alongside a Centaur on D2 or D3 or something. It might have even been D1.

[Psieye]

I focused Short Blades to 14 before turning it back to normal since I still wanted some damage increase

Training Fighting (instead of excess Short Blades investment) would have been more profitable for that objective.

[daggaz]

A have an artifact shield (normal shield, not buckler) back in my stash. Is it worth it..

Nope, not as far as I understand things (but I could be wrong here). You are too small and if you were any bigger, you should dump the buckler for a 2hander.

[Psieye]

He's stabbing. The quickblade isn't relevant if everything dies in one hit. I'm assuming he immediately switches to the quickblade against anything awake.

[daggaz]

Yeah just saw that he was switching it out on tough opponents and pulled my comment-

[midknight129]

Yeah, Trog is just my Big Buddy Backup. If it doesn't die in a stab + 1 hit, I swap out for the quickblade. If it's really tough, Quickblade + Rage. If it's a thing of nightmares, BiA + Quickblade + Rage. So far, I haven't needed to switch to the Quickblade even once. On a side note, only a Dagger counts for "better stabbing" among short-blades, right? Quickblade gets no better stabbing bonus than a Shortsword or a Sabre?

[BlackSheep]

On a side note, only a Dagger counts for "better stabbing" among short-blades, right? Quickblade gets no better stabbing bonus than a Shortsword or a Sabre?

That's correct.

[mikee]

I feel like you have gotten a lot of general information from the wiki or something but have never observed this information being applied in game.

Like: yeah, a dagger gets more of a bonus to stabbing than a quick blade does. But like you already have a million points of stabbing - if you were to try stabbing with the qblade, everything would still die in one hit. And yeah, spriggan's knife DOES boost stealth - but the boost is almost nothing compared to your overall stealth. And training your weapon skill DOES increase your damage - but like, it's a short blade. If you were to max short blades with a sabre, you would be spending a load of xp to be doing roughly 1d11 instead of 1d7 damage; with a qblade, 1d8 instead of 1d5 - does that seem like a good tradeoff?

I mean, I thought you wanted advice. I gave you some good advice, and I'll give you some even better advice now: stop overthinking things and make a simple, good character you can win with.

[midknight129]

I feel like you have gotten a lot of general information from the wiki or something but have never observed this information being applied in game.

Like: yeah, a dagger gets more of a bonus to stabbing than a quick blade does. But like you already have a million points of stabbing - if you were to try stabbing with the qblade, everything would still die in one hit. And yeah, spriggan's knife DOES boost stealth - but the boost is almost nothing compared to your overall stealth. And training your weapon skill DOES increase your damage - but like, it's a short blade. If you were to max short blades with a sabre, you would be spending a load of xp to be doing roughly 1d11 instead of 1d7 damage; with a qblade, 1d8 instead of 1d5 - does that seem like a good tradeoff?

I mean, I thought you wanted advice. I gave you some good advice, and I'll give you some even better advice now: stop overthinking things and make a simple, good character you can win with.

Well, you did ask two questions. Why I wasn't wielding the quickblade and why I picked my skills that way. I was asking for advice and feedback, not decrees and mandates. You really need to learn to be a little more civil in your advising if you're going to be an official counselor. Lastly, what's overthinking to you may just be normal thinking to someone else. What's normal thinking to you may be overthinking to another person. Everyone arrives at their own level of thinking that works best for them. That wasn't something I was asking for advise on; I handle that aspect of my temperament well enough on my own.

[BlackSheep]

Nobody's decreeing or mandating. You asked for general advice to avoid dying, and you got some. This isn't our job; we do this for fun (and for free). I'm not sure what exactly ruffled mikee's feathers, but his advice was very basic: your best weapon is the +11 quickblade, you've overtrained many skills and should focus on exclusively on Dodging and Fighting for a long time, visit the the Orcish Mines next. Your reasoning is your own, but the advice he gave was quite sound.

[midknight129]

Nobody's decreeing or mandating. You asked for general advice to avoid dying, and you got some. This isn't our job; we do this for fun (and for free). I'm not sure what exactly ruffled mikee's feathers, but his advice was very basic: your best weapon is the +11 quickblade, you've overtrained many skills and should focus on exclusively on Dodging and Fighting for a long time, visit the the Orcish Mines next. Your reasoning is your own, but the advice he gave was quite sound.

I wasn't objecting to the advise. I was objecting to how, when I went to analyzing the advise for veracity, he came back with snide commentary that pretty much amounted to, "Take my advise without question and stop answering the questions I posed." You guys are listed as Councillors. That carries a certain definition. Just because it's an unpaid volunteer job doesn't make it any less a job. I'm a volunteer forum moderator elsewhere and I consider it very much a job. I do it for free and for fun, but I take it no less seriously than I'd take a paying job. I didn't want to just take the advise at face value without poking and prodding it a few times; kicking the tires if you will. He got explicitly upset at that response. If I were to buy a car, and the salesman got visibly upset when I did a routine inspection of the vehicle, I'd be rightly suspicious as to the integrity of both vehicle and salesman.

On an unrelated note, I finally had to resort to calling a few Brothers in Arms when dealing with the bottom of Orc. Cleared it out and am working on Vaults now. Still haven't found a source of SInv, though, and nearly died to an Unseen Horror.

[battaile]

Still haven't found a source of SInv, though, and nearly died to an Unseen Horror.

Use fog scrolls or fight them in water for ghetto 'see invis'. You may know this already but just in case.

[Abominae]

I don't know, I would say it would get extremely annoying to give good advice repeatedly only to have no one ever take it. You asked for advice; you received it. You then chose to dispute the advice and basically went on to say "Oh, well I'm just going to continue doing exactly what I want to do anyway."

[BlackSheep]

You guys are listed as Councillors. That carries a certain definition. Just because it's an unpaid volunteer job doesn't make it any less a job.

The title is more for alliterative purposes than a definition of our role here. You can moderate your forum however you want. We'll give advice on our forum however we want.

The reasoning behind standard advice like that which was provided to you has been posted repeatedly on this forum. If you want to understand the why and wherefore, I invite you to browse historical posts. We've talked about skill training, weapon selection and branch order on many, many occasions. I suppose we could search up old threads with good examples, but then, so could you.

[mikee]

If you reread my post, I think you may see that the tone was not snide or 'ruffled' (or at least that that is one way to read it).

However, if you would like it to become snide, just keep up this passive aggressive victim act. I am not your mommy and I do not care if you are a sensitive, beautiful snowflake.