The 'Questions too small to need their own thread' thread

[dolphin]

Having just finished clearing one for the first time, I can say that 250 is a conservative figure. I had to kill 281

Here was the mantis discussion. Mumra did some code-diving and found a vault where a castle moat could be filled either with "water" or with "draconians" (50/50), and Kilobyte surmised that the designer intended it to be water/lava (the character used for "lava" was close to the character for "draconian", apparently).

[mumra]

Having just finished clearing one for the first time, I can say that 250 is a conservative figure. I had to kill 281

Here was the mantis discussion. Mumra did some code-diving and found a vault where a castle moat could be filled either with "water" or with "draconians" (50/50), and Kilobyte surmised that the designer intended it to be water/lava (the character used for "lava" was close to the character for "draconian", apparently).

I just checked my morgue file, and there are 380 Draconians listed (although that's after clearing most of Zot as well).

The walls were completely red by the end of it

[jejorda2]

If i'm invisible, will it keep smiters from smiting me?

Orc High Priests see invisible, as do Daeva, Frances, Balrug, Deep Elf High Priests, Greater Mummies, Mummy Priests, Norris, and Mnoleg.

Orc Priests, Smoke Demons,Saint Roka, Deep Elf Priests and Draconian Zealots can not see invisible.

Sphinx sense invisible, but I don't *think* that lets them smite you.

[XuaXua]

Entered a level and encountered Duvessa.

Did not see Dowan.

Duvessa drank a potion of invisibility.

I killed Duvessa while she was invisible (three bolts of stone).

I did not hear the expected a cry of despair (from Dowan).

I have not yet searched the level for Dowan, but plan to do so momentarily.

Is this possibly a programmatic problem with invisibility?

Found him around the corner. He exhibited hidden reserves of power (as he does when Duvessa is dead). Took him down with 2 bolts of stone.

note: I probably just didn't hear him.

[DivineHammer]

How do timed portals work? Does the timer start when you enter the appropriate level (even for portals that aren't announced like labyrinth)? Or do they begin when you see the portal? Or do they start counting down from turn 1?

And does the clock keep ticking no matter what, or is it only when you're on the same level as the portal? (I would have assumed the first one, but I recall stepping into a level with a labyrinth announcement, leaving because the monsters on that level were too tough, returning many many turns later, and the labyrinth still being there).

[Numerology]

I tried checking the wiki but it doesn't give a conclusive answer.. for somebody trying for their first victory as a Transmuter, what god is probably the best choice?

[jejorda2]

There is a long timer that starts the first time you enter the level and a short timer that starts the first time you see the entrance to the portal. They keep counting no matter where you go.

I know some bazaars are not timed, perhaps some labyrinths aren't timed either? I think the short/long timer was added in 0.8, and older versions had only one timer.

[Timbermaw]

Book acquirement: do i need to be carrying all my books to not get a duplicate?

Also, can i acquire "randart" books? (i don't know if they exist anymore)

[galehar]

There is a long timer that starts the first time you enter the level and a short timer that starts the first time you see the entrance to the portal. They keep counting no matter where you go.

The short timer is only for unannounced portals, labs and bazaar don't have it.

Book acquirement: do i need to be carrying all my books to not get a duplicate?

No. It checks books seen.

Also, can i acquire "randart" books? (i don't know if they exist anymore)

Yes.

[joellercoaster]

I tried checking the wiki but it doesn't give a conclusive answer.. for somebody trying for their first victory as a Transmuter, what god is probably the best choice?

Minmay is surely correct, but Cheibriados is also a pretty awesome choice.

Ridiculously boosted STR&DEX + Blade Hands = hilarious monster woodchipper. Taking on Orbs of Fire in unarmed combat isn't quite so effective for most characters

[Stormfox]

For XuaXua: Last I looked (admittedly, a while ago, when I filed a report), Dowan/Duvessa have a decent number of outstanding bugs regarding detecting each other's deaths.

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

Cheibriados is actually one of the weakest gods for anything, worse than no god in most cases. This is not just my personal opinion, it is that of every expert player I have ever seen. You have a bunch of the best spells and items in the game cut off, and in return you get abilities that would barely compete with other gods' even without the massive handicaps attached.

Even with the ability to shock those who are too fast (Slouch)?

[joellercoaster]

Speaking of Yredelemnul: how high is it worth training Invocations?

[DivineHammer]

To my surprise, my Deep Dwarf EE has sprouted a pair of antennae on her head. According to the wiki, this is a demonspawn only mutation. I've also done a bit of searching of morgue files, and I can only find this mutation on demonspawn. Is this a bug? I picked it up from drinking a potion of mutation.

ETA: I'm playing 0.8

[KoboldLord]

To my surprise, my Deep Dwarf EE has sprouted a pair of antennae on her head. According to the wiki, this is a demonspawn only mutation. I've also done a bit of searching of morgue files, and I can only find this mutation on demonspawn. Is this a bug? I picked it up from drinking a potion of mutation.

ETA: I'm playing 0.8

The wiki mutation list is poorly organized, and also incomplete. Antennae are one of the possible body slot mutations for demonspawn, but they're also a normal mutation that anybody can pick up.

[joellercoaster]

OK, so it's not normally worth training Unarmed for off-hand attacks. But if my Demonspawn mutations have given me Hooves 3 and Horns 2 (also claws, annoyingly), does that change the game much? I seem to be dishing out a fair amount of punishment in kicks and headbutts...

[galehar]

OK, so it's not normally worth training Unarmed for off-hand attacks. But if my Demonspawn mutations have given me Hooves 3 and Horns 2 (also claws, annoyingly), does that change the game much? I seem to be dishing out a fair amount of punishment in kicks and headbutts...

I think it's worth training it at least a bit, the question is: "up to which level?". Also, if you have decent slaying this is gonna be even more fun.

[joellercoaster]

I have a +0, +7 ring of slaying I found on the floor, and another +3, +2 one waiting in a shop. UC is currently at 11 - it's definitely fun.

[dolphin]

I have seen a lot of +0,+7 rings of slaying recently. About half of the ones I've ran into myself or that I've heard about from others have +0,+7. Maybe the RNG is just messing with me.

[dmurray]

Assuming one has no hunger clock, is it possible to get all of the spell books from Sif that she can grant on a game? Or will it cap once all my magic skills are maxed?

[Jeremiah]

Is there any way to set up an option similar to "are you sure you want to attack while wielding the chunk of orc flesh," only for "are you sure you want to attack while wielding (that weapon you have no skill in?)"

I keep swapping to a staff of channeling then stupidly forgetting to swap back to my proper weapon and uselessly hitting things with the staff.

[galehar]

I keep swapping to a staff of channeling then stupidly forgetting to swap back to my proper weapon and uselessly hitting things with the staff.

Inscribe it with !a (?6 for inscription help)

[Stormfox]

Assuming one has no hunger clock, is it possible to get all of the spell books from Sif that she can grant on a game? Or will it cap once all my magic skills are maxed?

Possible spellbooks from Sif are infinite, as random books can be generated. So you will never get "all" of her books.

[slowcar]

given a lvl 19 high elf wizard with some melee:
+2 elf boots of running
+0 boots with dex+3, dam+3
?
i am leaning towards running, because being faster is being alive, but the +damage is tempting.

[Yet Another Stupid Noob]

given a lvl 19 high elf wizard with some melee:
+2 elf boots of running
+0 boots with dex+3, dam+3
?
i am leaning towards running, because being faster is being alive, but the +damage is tempting.

I would do the running unless I were using small blades, in which case I would probably still take the running, but I'd think about it more.

[KoboldLord]

Unless your character physically cannot wear them, or you worship Chei and are unwilling to abandon her, the answer is always to use running. Boots of running are possibly the single most valuable non-randart item in the game, and you'd need a randart good enough to provoke death threats from anybody who viewed your game if you wanted even a randart to compete.

[slowcar]

There's one other case where running isn't that good: you're already at the speed cap, presumably from having Swiftness+Flight on all the time. As a level 19 caster, that's pretty likely.

Not in the "Sif gives you crappy compendium of useless spells" world

I decided to go with running, of course, but kept the other boots as i am looking forward to finding swiftness (and a lot of other spells i'd like)

[Confidence Interval]

Demon blade "Leech" +13 +4 (runed demon blade)
demon_blade (vampiricism)
It affects your evasion (-1)
It affects your strength (-1)
It affects your intelligence (-1)
It affects your dexterity (-1)
It partially protects you from negative energy.
It has a curse placed upon it.
It may recurse itself. (one chance in 4)

I'm playing a Spriggan Venom Mage, currently XL7. Is using this a good idea or just a quick(er) way to YASD?

[jejorda2]

Demon blade "Leech" +13 +4 (runed demon blade)
demon_blade (vampiricism)
It affects your evasion (-1)
It affects your strength (-1)
It affects your intelligence (-1)
It affects your dexterity (-1)
It partially protects you from negative energy.
It has a curse placed upon it.
It may recurse itself. (one chance in 4)

I'm playing a Spriggan Venom Mage, currently XL7. Is using this a good idea or just a quick(er) way to YASD?

I don't think you'll find enough vegan food to make up for the extra hunger.

[Zicher]

Demon blade "Leech" +13 +4 (runed demon blade)
demon_blade (vampiricism)
It affects your evasion (-1)
It affects your strength (-1)
It affects your intelligence (-1)
It affects your dexterity (-1)
It partially protects you from negative energy.
It has a curse placed upon it.
It may recurse itself. (one chance in 4)

I'm playing a Spriggan Venom Mage, currently XL7. Is using this a good idea or just a quick(er) way to YASD?

If you're going to switch to a hybrid, then this may be not bad - just go for the Hive before any other branch. If you're willing to continue on the caster route (or even the Poison Arrow Gatling Gun route), then this is worthless.

[Confidence Interval]

I don't think you'll find enough vegan food to make up for the extra hunger.

I thought the hunger effect was changed so it's only on wielding, not all the time - ?

[Zzz]

I have a small question for here: Will you take more damage if you have negative armour class than if you had zero?

[galehar]

No.

[Hydralisk]

I have just found a Temple entrance in a small room which can only be entered from below. However, the only staircase on the level below got blocked by an iron grate. How can I remove this grate, or is finding a wand of digging the only option to get to the Temple? I have already checked for secret doors...

[MyOtheHedgeFox]

A wand of disintegration?

[Hydralisk]

Yes, disintegration or blink would have helped too (this char is already dead anyway), what I meant is: this is the first time I see access to a dungeon branch cut off in such a way, so maybe there's a way to lift the grate by stepping on something, for example... Looks like there isn't.

[KoboldLord]

I don't think cutting off an early branch was the intention of the grate trap. Have you filed a report on mantis, preferably with the game file?

[Kate]

Heh, personally I think that's a pretty awesome (if unfortunate) random combination of vaults. But yeah, I know the intention of the grate trap was to cut off an escape route, which only actually works if it happens to show up on the initial staircase that you use to enter a level.

[Hydralisk]

Unfortunately, no, I didn't even think it was report-worthy, since it obviously has an in-game solution (finding wand/spell or another altar).

[Keemossi]

What should I about jellies as a berserker? I can easily kill them, of course, but every jelly carries a risk of my equipment getting corroded. And in the game I'm playing at the moment, most floors seem to have jellies. The only options I can think of are: kill them with wands (eh..), skip floor, or throw stones at them till I just realize I could play a caster.

[KoboldLord]

If you've got a jelly that's isolated, throw a nice stack of stones until it dies. This can take a while, and you don't want interruptions from other monsters.

If you've got a handy wand of magic darts, flame, or frost, then just go ahead and fry it. These wands aren't any good past the very early game anyway, so once you get to the Lair or so you'll probably just trash them. Polymorph wands work fine too, and are not too terribly unsafe against these low-level jellies.

Finally, grab an extra weapon when you see one. That rubbish hand axe will get corroded into worthlessness, but you're only carrying it around for jellies anyway. Jellies aren't very durable, so you can probably kill it before it gets to try to hit back. Your bare hands work too, but you might need to go berserk and will take some damage.

Eventually you'll get a more permanent solution. An artifact weapon, a +5 weapon, a rod with damage spells, enough piety for Brothers in Arms.

[asdu]

I usually pick up a sling if I can find it specifically to deal with early jellies. While throwing stones does work, it can take ages compared to throwing stones with a sling.
The risk here is wielding a cursed sling, so the best option (but far from guaranteed) is finding a monster who's using one, and see if he unwields it when you move into melee range. Or, if you have a decent amount of scrolls by then, it's very likely you'll have either remove curse or one of the enchant weapon scrolls to get rid of the curse.