CiP: Ghoul Earth Elementalist of Cheibriados(updated)

[Tiktacy]

This is the first ghoul I have ever played and so far it is going pretty ok I think. I went with chei mostly because my games tend to be a lot easier with him, but I plan on switching to vehumet later on. My goal is to ascend with 15 runes, but if things go sour, ill probably ascend with 3 or 4.

Should I go for shatter or go for fire storm? Should I work more on defenses? If so, what form of defense? Any advice you could give would be fantastic, thank you.

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.14-a0-2023-g53e1015 (webtiles) character file.

Tiktacy the Geomancer (Ghoul Earth Elementalist)   Turns: 37089, Time: 04:11:00

HP 120/120 (122) AC 13     Str 29      XL: 16   Next:  0%
MP  32/38        EV 22     Int 34      God: Cheibriados [******]
Gold 1093        SH 28     Dex 29      Spells:  7 memorised,  6 levels left

rFire  + + +     SeeInvis .     g - staff of fire
rCold  + . .     Clarity  .     L - +3 salamander hide armour {+Rage rF++}
rNeg   + + +     Conserve .     U - +0 orc shield
rPois  +         rCorr    .     I - +0 hat
rElec  .         rRot     +     F - +0 cloak
SustAb . .       Spirit   .     B - +2 pair of fencer's gloves {EV+3 Dex+3 Acc+8}
rMut   .         Warding  .     A - +2 pair of boots {Stlth+}
Saprov + + +     Stasis   .     (no amulet)
MR     +....                    t - ring of magical power
                                y - +6 ring of intelligence

@: rotting, very slow, somewhat resistant to hostile enchantments, quite
stealthy
A: rotting body, claws 1, carnivore 3, cold resistance 1, life protection 3,
poison resistance, saprovore 3, slow healing 1, torment resistance, unbreathing
a: Bend Time, Temporal Distortion, Slouch, Step From Time, Renounce Religion


You are on level 2 of the Snake Pit.
You worship Cheibriados.
Cheibriados is exalted by your worship.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 5 branches of the dungeon, and seen 25 of its levels.
You have also visited: Bailey.

You have collected 1729 gold pieces.
You have spent 636 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 z - a +0 blowgun
Missiles
 D - 7 curare-tipped needles
Armour
 A - a +2 pair of boots of stealth (worn)
 B - the +2 pair of fencer's gloves (worn) {EV+3 Dex+3 Acc+8}
   (You acquired it on level 3 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   
   It affects your evasion (+3).
   It affects your dexterity (+3).
   It affects your accuracy (+8).
 F - a +0 cloak (worn)
 I - a +0 hat (worn)
 L - the +3 salamander hide armour (worn) {+Rage rF++}
   (You found it on level 5 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   
   It greatly protects you from fire.
   It lets you go berserk.
   
   Cheibriados disapproves of the use of such an item.
 U - a +0 orcish shield (worn)
Magical devices
 k - a wand of fireball (5)
 r - a wand of digging (12)
 x - a wand of disintegration {zapped: 1}
 K - a wand of slowing
 M - a wand of teleportation {empty}
 O - a wand of enslavement {zapped: 1}
Comestibles
 f - a slice of pizza
 u - 8 meat rations
 S - 2 beef jerkies
 T - 9 cheeses
Scrolls
 i - 4 scrolls of enchant weapon II
 m - 13 scrolls of remove curse
 p - 8 scrolls of teleportation
 s - 2 scrolls of amnesia
 G - 2 scrolls of blinking
 H - a scroll of recharging
 N - a scroll of enchant armour
 V - 4 scrolls of identify
 Z - a scroll labeled CREEDD ZUTOM
Jewellery
 h - an uncursed ring of invisibility
 o - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
 t - a ring of magical power (right hand)
 y - a +6 ring of intelligence (left hand)
 J - an uncursed ring of see invisible
 X - a square pearl amulet
Potions
 a - 12 potions of curing
 b - 4 potions of heal wounds
 e - 2 potions of restore abilities
 l - a potion of agility
 n - 2 potions of might
 q - a potion of confusion
 C - a slimy green potion
 E - 4 potions of flight
Books
 d - a book of Fire   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Fire Brand                         Charms/Fire                  2
   Ignite Poison                      Fire/Transmutation           5
   *Fireball                          Conjuration/Fire             5
   Bolt of Fire                       Conjuration/Fire             6
   Delayed Fireball                   Conjuration/Fire             7
   Ring of Flames                     Charms/Fire                  7
 v - a book of Power   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Iskenderun's Mystic Blast          Conjuration                  4
   Venom Bolt                         Conjuration/Poison           5
   *Bolt of Magma                     Conjuration/Fire/Earth       5
   Fulminant Prism                    Conjuration/Hexes            5
   *Iron Shot                         Conjuration/Earth            6
   Orb of Destruction                 Conjuration                  7
 Y - a book of Wizardry   
   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Summon Elemental                   Summoning                    4
   Agony                              Necromancy                   5
   Force Lance                        Conjuration                  5
   *Fireball                          Conjuration/Fire             5
   Haste                              Charms                       6
   Invisibility                       Hexes                        6
Magical staves
 g - an uncursed staff of fire (weapon)
 j - an uncursed staff of energy
Miscellaneous
 c - a box of beasts


   Skills:
 - Level 5.6 Fighting
 - Level 3.0 Staves
   Level 2.7 Slings
 - Level 7.3 Dodging
 - Level 2.1 Stealth
 - Level 8.2 Shields
 - Level 0.4 Unarmed Combat
 - Level 7.8 Spellcasting
 - Level 10.6 Conjurations
   Level 0.8 Transmutations
 - Level 7.7 Fire Magic
 * Level 13.1 Earth Magic
 - Level 8.9 Invocations
 * Level 9.9 Evocations


You have 6 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Sandblast             Erth           ######       1%          1    None
b - Shroud of Golubria    Chrm/Tloc      ##........   12%         2    None
c - Fireball              Conj/Fire      #######...   4%          5    ###....
d - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          12%         2    None
v - Iron Shot             Conj/Erth      #######...   10%         6    #####..
x - Bolt of Magma         Conj/Fire/Erth #######...   2%          5    ###....
z - Stone Arrow           Conj/Erth      ######       1%          3    None


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (10/16)            Temple (1/1) D:4             Orc (4/4) D:10
   Lair (8/8) D:8          Shoals (0/5) Lair:5        Snake (2/5) Lair:3
  Slime (0/6) Lair:7     
   Elf: Orc:3-4     

Altars:
Cheibriados
Fedhas
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Okawaru
Vehumet

Shops:
D:4 ?   D:6 /   D:8 %   Orc:4 (*%=   Snake:1 %

Portals:
Hell: Lair:8

Annotations:
Lair:1 exclusion: oklob plant


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

Your body is rotting away.
You have sharp fingernails.
You are carnivorous and can eat meat at any time.
Your flesh is cold resistant.
You are immune to negative energy.
Your system is resistant to poisons.
You thrive on rotten meat.
You heal slowly when monsters are visible.
You are immune to unholy pain and torment.
You can survive without breathing.


Message History

You completely miss the adder. You block the adder's attack.
You hit the adder.
You kill the adder!
Cheibriados thoroughly appreciates the change of pace.
You see here an adder corpse.
Found a bread ration.
A naga comes into view. It is wielding a mace.
The naga shouts!
The naga spits poison at you.
The splash of poison misses you.
Casting: Iron Shot
Confirm with . or Enter, or press ? or * to list all spells.
Aiming: Iron Shot
Press: ? - help, Shift-Dir - straight line, f - naga
Aim: a naga, wielding a mace
The iron shot hits the naga.
You kill the naga!
Cheibriados appreciates the change of pace.
You have reached level 16!
Char dumped successfully.

 #..........#..
 ##........## .
  #.......##
###%......#
#........##
###.....###   .
  ##......##...
   #............
   #.##@....)...
  %..####.......
 ####.    .....
     .     ....
     .      ...
     %.      .
     .


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  A fire giant (D:10)
  A dire elephant (Lair:8)
  Fannar (Orc:3)
  Harold (Snake:1)
  6 hydras
  The ghost of G4llowsC4l1br4tor the Martial Artist, a powerful DsMo of Dithmengos (Lair:2)
  4 ogre magi (Orc:4)
  An anaconda (Snake:1)
  8 death yaks
  A naga warrior (Snake:1)
  Urug (Orc:4)
  An orc high priest (Orc:4)
  Nergalle (Lair:4)
  An iron troll (Orc:4)
  A wizard (Lair:8)
  2 sea snakes
  Erolcha (Orc:2)
  An orc knight (Orc:2)
  A hill giant (D:10)
  2 griffons
  17 black mambas
  An orc sorcerer (Orc:4)
  A guardian serpent (shapeshifter) (D:10)
  Maurice (D:9)
  A sixfirhy (Lair:8)
  5 orange demons (Lair:8)
  Psyche (D:8)
  A smoke demon (Lair:8)
  23 elephants
  A hellwing (Lair:8)
  A feature mimic (Lair:8)
  14 spiny frogs
  4 komodo dragons
  5 red devils (Lair:8)
  A polar bear (Lair:7)
  8 fire drakes
  4 trolls
  A naga mage (Snake:1)
  Sonja (D:10)
  13 two-headed ogres (Orc:4)
  17 blink frogs
  A boulder beetle (Lair:8)
  2 basilisks
  A grizzly bear (Lair:4)
  7 sharks (Lair:6)
  64 yaks
  3 wyverns
  Eustachio (D:9)
  2 elephant slugs
  Grum (Orc:1)
  A hog (D:7)
  11 wolves
  10 hippogriffs
  A merfolk (Lair:5)
  A hungry ghost (D:7)
  7 vampire mosquitoes (Lair:3)
  2 swamp drakes (Lair:3)
  11 porcupines
  3 black bears
  An ice beast (D:8)
  11 nagas
  2 sky beasts
  4 giant goldfish
  A human (D:7)
  22 orc warriors
  29 ogres
  5 centaurs
  10 boring beetles
  2 phantoms
  24 water moccasins
  6 wargs
  13 crocodiles
  15 giant slugs
  10 agate snails
  A gnoll sergeant (D:8)
  18 giant frogs
  A manticore skeleton (D:7)
  9 jellyfish
  10 electric eels
  An eye of draining (D:7)
  A quasit (D:8)
  A troll skeleton (D:9)
  5 crimson imps
  2 jellies (D:8)
  A centaur zombie (D:10)
  5 goliath beetles
  A gnoll shaman (Orc:4)
  7 hounds
  A centaur skeleton (D:4)
  17 orc priests
  16 orc wizards
  A scorpion (D:6)
  11 iguanas
  5 big fish
  A killer bee zombie (D:5)
  14 worker ants
  24 sheep
  A hound zombie (D:5)
  An ogre skeleton (D:8)
  A hound skeleton (D:5)
  20 adders
  10 giant centipedes
  15 gnolls
  24 green rats
  2 giant mites
  8 worms
  An adder skeleton (D:5)
  2 iguana skeletons
  3 giant eyeballs
  12 giant geckos
  An ooze (D:1)
  96 orcs
  2 ball pythons (D:2)
  17 bats
  2 bat skeletons
  22 goblins
  17 hobgoblins
  20 jackals
  26 kobolds
  14 quokkas
  7 giant cockroaches
  6 giant newts
  A giant spore (D:10)
  A goblin skeleton (D:4)
  A hobgoblin skeleton (D:4)
  2 hobgoblin zombies (D:7)
  An orc skeleton (D:5)
  25 rats
  4 fungi
  A plant (Lair:8)
961 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  An orc (Orc:1)
  22 fungi
  9 plants
32 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 993 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | Tiktacy, the Ghoul Earth Elementalist, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 14/14 MP: 2/2
   313 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 10/19 MP: 0/4
   921 | D:2      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 26/26 MP: 6/6
   952 | D:2      | Reached skill level 1 in Slings
  1327 | D:2      | Reached skill level 4 in Earth Magic
  1381 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 32/32 MP: 7/7
  1433 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Stone Arrow
  1809 | D:3      | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
  2038 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 37/37 MP: 10/10
  2392 | D:3      | Reached skill level 1 in Conjurations
  2672 | D:4      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 38/43 MP: 12/12
  2786 | D:4      | Learned a level 5 spell: Lee's Rapid Deconstruction
  2922 | D:4      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  2927 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  2942 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Cheibriados the Contemplative
  2960 | D:4      | Found Genaurom's Magic Scroll Shoppe.
  2970 | D:4      | Bought a scroll of blinking for 66 gold pieces
  2970 | D:4      | Bought a scroll of identify for 24 gold pieces
  2970 | D:4      | Bought a scroll of recharging for 66 gold pieces
  2989 | D:4      | Got a shimmering ring mail
  2990 | D:4      | Identified the +1 ring mail of Temperance {Str+2 Acc+5 Stlth++} (You found it on level 4 of the Dungeon)
  3458 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  3491 | D:5      | Reached skill level 5 in Earth Magic
  3676 | D:5      | Got a pitted flail
  3678 | D:5      | Identified the +7,+7 flail "Tuufefe" {crush, rPois rC- rN+} (You found it on level 5 of the Dungeon)
  3684 | D:5      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 45/49 MP: 7/13
  4203 | D:5      | Found a radiant altar of Vehumet.
  4327 | D:5      | Reached skill level 6 in Earth Magic
  4960 | D:6      | Found Wamiem's Magical Wand Shop.
  5034 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 52/57 MP: 17/17
  5305 | D:7      | Reached skill level 7 in Earth Magic
  5648 | D:7      | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
  5713 | D:7      | Found a flagged portal.
  5720 | Bailey   | Entered a bailey
  5771 | Bailey   | Acquired Cheibriados' first power
  5943 | Bailey   | Reached skill level 1 in Invocations
  5991 | Bailey   | Reached XP level 9. HP: 53/55 MP: 12/19
  6115 | Bailey   | Reached skill level 8 in Earth Magic
  6214 | Bailey   | Learned a level 4 spell: Petrify
  6261 | D:7      | Acquired Cheibriados' second power
  7934 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Invocations
  8236 | D:8      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
  8337 | D:8      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 66/66 MP: 2/20
  8471 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
  8555 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 1 in Fighting
  8715 | Lair:1   | Noticed an oklob plant
  8853 | Lair:1   | Acquired Cheibriados' third power
  9004 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
  9256 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 5 in Conjurations
  9483 | Lair:1   | Learned a level 6 spell: Iron Shot
  9516 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 5 in Fighting
  9988 | Lair:2   | Reached XP level 11. HP: 87/87 MP: 22/23
 10056 | Lair:2   | Noticed G4llowsC4l1br4tor's ghost (powerful DsMo)
 10645 | Lair:2   | Learned a level 2 spell: Blink
 10648 | Lair:2   | Learned a level 2 spell: Shroud of Golubria
 10698 | Lair:2   | Killed G4llowsC4l1br4tor's ghost
 10814 | Lair:2   | Noticed an eight-headed hydra
 10820 | Lair:2   | Killed an eight-headed hydra
 11298 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 1 in Evocations
 11629 | Lair:3   | Noticed a four-headed hydra
 11640 | Lair:3   | Killed a four-headed hydra
 12275 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 5 in Evocations
 12587 | Lair:3   | Identified a scroll of acquirement
 12775 | Lair:3   | Reached XP level 12. HP: 69/95 MP: 5/25
 12902 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 9 in Earth Magic
 13480 | Lair:3   | Found a staircase to the Snake Pit.
 14027 | Lair:4   | Reached skill level 10 in Earth Magic
 14927 | Lair:4   | Noticed Nergalle
 15003 | Lair:4   | Killed Nergalle
 15951 | Lair:4   | Noticed a six-headed hydra
 15956 | Lair:4   | Killed a six-headed hydra
 15956 | Lair:4   | Reached skill level 11 in Earth Magic
 16355 | Lair:5   | Found a staircase to the Shoals.
 16967 | Lair:6   | Reached skill level 1 in Shields
 17405 | Lair:6   | Reached XP level 13. HP: 91/102 MP: 13/27
 17798 | Lair:5   | Reached skill level 5 in Shields
 18267 | Lair:5   | Paralysed by a potion of paralysis for 6 turns
 20351 | Lair:7   | Learned a level 5 spell: Bolt of Magma
 21112 | Lair:5   | Learned a level 5 spell: Fireball
 21319 | Lair:8   | Entered Level 8 of the Lair of Beasts
 21478 | Lair:8   | Reached skill level 1 in Fire Magic
 23211 | Lair:8   | Reached XP level 14. HP: 108/108 MP: 16/28
 23586 | Lair:7   | Reached skill level 5 in Fire Magic
 23824 | Lair:7   | Found a staircase to the Slime Pits.
 25443 | Lair:8   | Noticed a dire elephant
 25483 | Lair:8   | HP: 5/108 [dire elephant (2)]
 25922 | Lair:8   | Killed a dire elephant
 27360 | Lair:8   | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
 27796 | Lair:8   | Reached skill level 10 in Conjurations
 28347 | Lair:8   | Reached XP level 15. HP: 111/111 MP: 1/29
 29180 | Lair:8   | Found a gateway to Hell.
 29730 | D:8      | Found Ycuwkagomp's Food Shoppe.
 29923 | D:8      | Noticed Psyche
 29927 | D:8      | Killed Psyche
 30813 | D:9      | Noticed Eustachio
 30817 | D:9      | Killed Eustachio
 30969 | D:9      | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 2 turns
 31150 | D:9      | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
 31233 | D:9      | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 2 turns
 31250 | D:9      | Noticed Maurice
 31253 | D:9      | Killed Maurice
 31404 | D:9      | Reached skill level 1 in Staves
 31504 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
 31771 | D:10     | Noticed a fire giant
 31772 | D:10     | Noticed Sonja
 31773 | D:10     | Killed Sonja
 31775 | D:10     | Killed a fire giant
 32014 | D:10     | Paralysed by a giant eyeball for 4 turns
 32207 | D:10     | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
 32354 | Orc:1    | Entered Level 1 of the Orcish Mines
 32949 | Orc:1    | Noticed Grum
 32961 | Orc:1    | Killed Grum
 33094 | Orc:2    | Noticed Erolcha
 33098 | Orc:2    | Killed Erolcha
 33627 | Orc:3    | Noticed Fannar
 33631 | Orc:3    | Killed Fannar
 33765 | Orc:4    | Entered Level 4 of the Orcish Mines
 34409 | Orc:4    | Reached skill level 12 in Earth Magic
 34594 | Orc:4    | Noticed Urug
 34600 | Orc:4    | Killed Urug
 34825 | Orc:4    | Found Mauproma's Jewellery Shoppe.
 34825 | Orc:4    | Found Psuistrasm's Assorted Antiques.
 34825 | Orc:4    | Found Woecohu's Food Shop.
 34826 | Orc:4    | Found Ocae's Weapon Emporium.
 34991 | Orc:4    | Bought a metal-bound book for 480 gold pieces
 35489 | Snake:1  | Entered Level 1 of the Snake Pit
 35887 | Snake:1  | Noticed Harold
 35891 | Snake:1  | Killed Harold
 36376 | Snake:1  | Reached skill level 13 in Earth Magic
 36546 | Snake:1  | Found Rubop's Food Boutique.
 37088 | Snake:2  | Reached XP level 16. HP: 120/120 MP: 29/29


Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 | 16-18 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Unarmed           |    24 |       |       |       |       |       ||    24
       Sling             |       |       |     1 |       |       |       ||     1
       Staff             |       |       |       |    20 |   421 |       ||   441
 Fire: Sling             |    76 |   199 |   290 |    90 |       |       ||   655
 Cast: Sandblast         |    25 |       |       |     2 |       |       ||    27
       Stone Arrow       |       |    14 |   140 |   381 |   269 |       ||   804
       Lee's Rapid Decon |       |       |     3 |     6 |       |       ||     9
       Petrify           |       |       |       |     4 |       |       ||     4
       Blink             |       |       |       |     2 |     8 |       ||    10
       Iron Shot         |       |       |       |    23 |    65 |     1 ||    89
       Bolt of Magma     |       |       |       |       |   293 |       ||   293
       Fireball          |       |       |       |       |    77 |       ||    77
Invok: Bend Time         |       |       |     1 |     1 |       |       ||     2
       Temporal Distorti |       |       |     1 |       |       |       ||     1
       Slouch            |       |       |       |     5 |    17 |       ||    22
Evoke: Wand              |       |     3 |     5 |    10 |    15 |       ||    33
       staff of energy   |       |       |       |    70 |   174 |       ||   244
  Use: Scroll            |       |     5 |     4 |    15 |     8 |       ||    32
       Potion            |       |       |     2 |     5 |     8 |       ||    15
 Stab: Sleeping          |       |       |       |       |    15 |       ||    15
       Distracted        |       |       |       |       |     3 |       ||     3


[RBrandon]

Seems like Vehument would have been good for you already since you are mostly conjurating things to death! Since you are with Chei though I would probably try to ply his advantages (high stats) before thinking about converting. Get some more levels in dodging and fighting and probably find some heavier armour and some armour skill too. (Though staying with light with dodging isn't too bad either) If you find repel missiles that would be a useful defense to have too.

Getting some melee online would be nice too, unarmed is particularly attractive for Gh and works against everything. I assume you are training evo for your fire staff? I feel Unarmed would be a better skill investment for melee at this point, though evo tends to be useful when you find good evokables.

Firestorm and shatter are great and all but that amount of experience would be better invested elsewhere at this point. You have great spells as it is and skills you train now are more important for increasing your Iron shot/Magma bolt/Fireball spell power than for hoping for a future lvl9 spell. If you do happen to come across +Annihilations (or Earth) at some point though, Shatter is probably easier to train for, being single schooled and considering Gh apts. Don't go Vehumet only to get one of those spells anyway.

Overall you seem to be doing quite well for this point in the game though! I would get some good melee and defenses first and then keep training your spell schools. Further along it will probably make sense to get some translocations (cBlink or even Control Telelport and normal Blink) to give you some escapes cheaper than Step.

[Tiktacy]

Seems like Vehument would have been good for you already since you are mostly conjurating things to death! Since you are with Chei though I would probably try to ply his advantages (high stats) before thinking about converting. Get some more levels in dodging and fighting and probably find some heavier armour and some armour skill too. (Though staying with light with dodging isn't too bad either) If you find repel missiles that would be a useful defense to have too.

Getting some melee online would be nice too, unarmed is particularly attractive for Gh and works against everything. I assume you are training evo for your fire staff? I feel Unarmed would be a better skill investment for melee at this point, though evo tends to be useful when you find good evokables.

Firestorm and shatter are great and all but that amount of experience would be better invested elsewhere at this point. You have great spells as it is and skills you train now are more important for increasing your Iron shot/Magma bolt/Fireball spell power than for hoping for a future lvl9 spell. If you do happen to come across +Annihilations (or Earth) at some point though, Shatter is probably easier to train for, being single schooled and considering Gh apts. Don't go Vehumet only to get one of those spells anyway.

Overall you seem to be doing quite well for this point in the game though! I would get some good melee and defenses first and then keep training your spell schools. Further along it will probably make sense to get some translocations (cBlink or even Control Telelport and normal Blink) to give you some escapes cheaper than Step.

I'm training evocations for staff of energy and crystal ball.

I always stick with Chei until vaults, he is particularly useful their considering his skill set, but I am for sure switching too vehumet since I can't seem to find a book of the warp anywhere, which is absolutely REQUIRED to do extended with Chei. I could search elven halls, but this character is NOT built to handle E:3, it would basically be suicide.

You are right about increasing spell power though, bolt of magma can potentially deal more damage than iron shot against non-fire resistant enemies(and I also have iron shot just in case). And I am building up fire and earth magic anyway so I might as well. My current issue is deciding to go with firestorm or shatter, since I am going to need to decide to either be a shatter ninja or a BOOM Mage. I was thinking I would go shatter ninja because of aptitudes, without Chei, my int is going to drop significantly(curse ghouls terrible aptitudes!) so firestorm will be a bitch to get online.

For now, training my offensive magic and bringing up spell power is probably my number one goal, like you said. I will go with pure dodging for defense, since I'm not staying with Chei and the armor I have now is bloody fantastic for this character.

[Tiktacy]

Soooo, I just found a +7 randart lajatang of pain with rF and rC. New plan.

Rather than go for a shatter ninja extended character, I'm just going to stop training everything except staffs(which I already had a 5 in) until I hit min delay then do necromancy for the entire rest of the game and switch to ashenzari after doing the vault entrance(drain all piety for slouch to clear the level). After that, I'm going to go do the forest until I find the tomb, do the tomb, then get the two easy lair runes, then ascend my ass with three or four runes under my belt(depends on whether or not I finish vaults). My default armor will have rF+++ and rC++ as well as innate poison immunity(and hopefully I'll find some resist elec for a ring slot which I will have two spots open for).

From what I have heard, pain with necromancy is crazy good, and on a lajatang no less. Also, people tell me ashenzari protects from mummy death curses, correct? Or maybe that was Kiku, but either way, torment doesn't exist for me, and I am reasonably skilled in magic so iron shot should take care of most everything for me.

Thoughts? This is pretty much all theoretical, so feel free to say "no tiktacy, that is a terrible idea" and give me an explain action why.

(I'll give a dump later today, sorry I don't have access ATM)

[nago]

Ash protects from base mummy curse item - which is annoying but almost never a danger - while kiku protects from all mummies' curses - which are much more dangerous (albeit as ghoul the only things you should worry are slow and reaper summoning).
A +7 lajatang of pain is an excellent endgame weapon - but don't overtrain necromancy - 12ish a sufficient value for most of the game, because it's also important to raise fighting, dodging, translocation (as you are with chei, otherwise I'd say charms) if you actually want to properly fight. Later you can train to an higher value.

Personally, I don't see any reason you have to do Tomb or switch Gods - unless you really want to see how it is. In that case a ghoul is probably one of the best race to explore it - but if you want to leave Chei (keep in mind that your spellrate and spellpower will be much worse with 15 less int) I'd suggest Kiku, especially because Tomb has no food and you probably suffer a lot of rot without a steady food source (note that I've never cleared tomb with a gh, it's just a supposition). In that case, remember Kiku doesn't give piety for undead kill, so you'll have to switch Gods before, to get it from other branches.

[Tiktacy]

Ash protects from base mummy curse item - which is annoying but almost never a danger - while kiku protects from all mummies' curses - which are much more dangerous (albeit as ghoul the only things you should worry are slow and reaper summoning).
A +7 lajatang of pain is an excellent endgame weapon - but don't overtrain necromancy - 12ish a sufficient value for most of the game, because it's also important to raise fighting, dodging, translocation (as you are with chei, otherwise I'd say charms) if you actually want to properly fight. Later you can train to an higher value.

Personally, I don't see any reason you have to do Tomb or switch Gods - unless you really want to see how it is. In that case a ghoul is probably one of the best race to explore it - but if you want to leave Chei (keep in mind that your spellrate and spellpower will be much worse with 15 less int) I'd suggest Kiku, especially because Tomb has no food and you probably suffer a lot of rot without a steady food source (note that I've never cleared tomb with a gh, it's just a supposition). In that case, remember Kiku doesn't give piety for undead kill, so you'll have to switch Gods before, to get it from other branches.

I already beat the game with Chei as a 3 rune and as a 15 rune. I just went with him because I wanted an easy first win for online(this was also my very first ghoul).

I have already beaten tomb, and it was the most unforgiving experience I've ever undertaken. It was filled with fear and anxiety. But vaults is also incredibly dangerous, especially for this character(only the entrance will be a no brainer). I think I'll switch to ash after vaults entrance though, then explore the depths fully bound then go get the vaults rune(and dip the moment I find it). I'll probably keep on faith since I never really have an issue with consumable destruction, at least until I finish transferring skills and get ash piety going and I'll have clarity by default.

I have plenty of spell slots(20 something I think). What other kinds of utility spells should I get? Phase shift? Controlled blink? Or will those be too difficult to cast with my low int(15 without my ring and Chei bonuses)? Deflect missile? Control teleport? Haste?

[nago]

Common knowledge: chei != easy and it's the only god I agree that switching to Ash (or any other god) is a decent choice in a 3 runes game.
I doubt vaults:5 will be worse than many situation you can face in depths, even for this character - at least as long as you don't stairdance (I don't think it's a good idea with chei's slowness) and you don't rush against strong enemies.
I'd suggest to learn c-blink if you planned to stay with chei - but considered you have intention to go Ash I'd just learn control teleport and phase shift for now, and then rush to haste after you've ditched chei. Don't get me wrong, c-blink is a life-saver spell, but also a spell you virtually shouldn't ever use if you play correctly the game - you can eventually train translocation for it after you have very good value in fighting/dodging/charms/other useful skill.
About other spells: obviously all the good necromancy spell (regen, agony, animate dead,...); furthermore, I'd swap bolt of magma with bolt of fire, and learn repel missile (it's good enough, going for deflect is a waste of exp). If you have stoneskin and dig they're always useful; also passwall is a good escape spell for a chei follower.

Finally, why are you talking about tranfering skills? To me, yours look fine - I'd just train more fighting and dodging than evoc at this point.

[Tiktacy]

Common knowledge: chei != easy and it's the only god I agree that switching to Ash (or any other god) is a decent choice in a 3 runes game.
I doubt vaults:5 will be worse than many situation you can face in depths, even for this character - at least as long as you don't stairdance (I don't think it's a good idea with chei's slowness) and you don't rush against strong enemies.
I'd suggest to learn c-blink if you planned to stay with chei - but considered you have intention to go Ash I'd just learn control teleport and phase shift for now, and then rush to haste after you've ditched chei. Don't get me wrong, c-blink is a life-saver spell, but also a spell you virtually shouldn't ever use if you play correctly the game - you can eventually train translocation for it after you have very good value in fighting/dodging/charms/other useful skill.
About other spells: obviously all the good necromancy spell (regen, agony, animate dead,...); furthermore, I'd swap bolt of magma with bolt of fire, and learn repel missile (it's good enough, going for deflect is a waste of exp). If you have stoneskin and dig they're always useful; also passwall is a good escape spell for a chei follower.

Finally, why are you talking about tranfering skills? To me, yours look fine - I'd just train more fighting and dodging than evoc at this point.

Most of this was sort of my train of thought as well, repel missiles isn't currently available, neither in book of the warp, so haste is the only thing I can go for. I've only found 7-8 books and all of them have been conjurations magic and transmutation magic.

I've never done the depths before, but from what Ive seen, it's really bad.

Thanks for the advice, I haven't played for a long time and I still trying to get back into the rhythm of things.

Edit: Any advice on handling depths? Things to expect? Things to watch out for? What do you think about forest?

[Magipi]

Do the tomb first, then get the two easy lair runes?
Went with Chei because you wanted an easy win?

I am flabbergasted.

[Tiktacy]

Do the tomb first, then get the two easy lair runes?
Went with Chei because you wanted an easy win?

I am flabbergasted.

The tomb part was all theoretical and based on rumors and things I've heard.

As for Chei, say what you will, he works really well for me. In hindsight, ashenzari would have been a better choice to begin with, but I went with Chei because he was available and I sort of forgot about ash.

I guess my thought process was "my int is really low and I want to be a shatter ninja, but that's going to be hard with these stats. Also I can escape using pass wall" but the dungeon didn't like that idea very much. Also, I decided I actually wanted to win, not do something silly like become a shatter ninja the end game.

[Tiktacy]

Currently I'm in the same place as before, and I was wondering what you guys think about doing slime? I mean, I could ascend once I have three runes(vaults, shoals, snake) but I was wondering if you guys think I could use the extra exp to get some of my important skills online? I've only done zot:5 a hand full of times, and it is pretty taxing for most characters.

The main reason I being this up is because I am unsure as to whether vaults is going to give me what I need or not. I'll be omni-resistant and have plenty of damage output from my lajatang, but do you guys think that's enough? Does slime pits give enough exp to be worth it? Those mutation eye things won't really affect me at all, and I can use amulet of stasis while still having clarity because of ash. On paper, it sounds like a good deal to me, but I'm not sure if iron shot is enough to kill TRJ before he builds up too much of an army. Do you think I should tack slime before I switch to ash so I can drain piety against the uber jelly?

In my mind, it sounds like a relatively low risk/gain ratio if I do it right, but I haven't done slime in forever and any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. I would also like to hear some opinions on forest and elf, if that's not too much to ask.

I guess I'm just trying to explore all my options, I've taken this game very slowly and examined it more than any other character, ascending a ghoul on my first try would be a great accomplishment for me and im determined to do it.

[Nordon]

Perhaps, if you REALLY wanted to. Post a char dump? What's your AC/EV?

[and into]

If you even mention having an amulet of stasis, please tell me you have rCorr, right? ... Right?

Also azure jellies are right bastards, people sometimes forget about them. You have rC+ innately, but an additional ring of protection from cold to swap in rC++ isn't a bad precaution (at least I think that makes more sense than bringing stasis, but I guess bring both JIC if you feel safer).

[Tiktacy]

If you even mention having an amulet of stasis, please tell me you have rCorr, right? ... Right?

Also azure jellies are right bastards, people sometimes forget about them. You have rC+ innately, but an additional ring of protection from cold to swap in rC++ isn't a bad precaution (at least I think that makes more sense than bringing stasis, but I guess bring both JIC if you feel safer).

Well, I have an unidentified amulet that is either rCorr or conservation, and maybe it's just clustering illusion, but I'm pretty sure conservation is more rare. The lajatang has rC+ on it! and I just found probably one of the best rings I've ever seen. I'll post a dump in just a little bit.

[njvack]

Tomb has no food

You can eat the sphinxes.

Not much food, though

[duvessa]

dont forget the trapdoor spiders