Death yaks guarding lair entrance

[ereinion]

Trying out a DrFE, I came across a pack of death yaks on D:8, guarding what I assume is the lair entrance:

Deciding to see how much damage I might do to them, I tried luring the into a corridor which I filled with flame clouds, but as you can see it hardly bothers them at all. If they'd been brought a bit lower in health, I'd have considered maybe trying to block the exit for a turn or two, but as it is I am quite sure that is suicidal.

Is the best solution here just to try to run away, and avoid them for the rest of the level? Maybe to return to take them down after doing lair, if I can manage to lure them all away from the entrance, or are there any ways to kill them with a reasonably high chance of success?

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.20-a0-1024-ge4c44be (webtiles) character file.

ereinion the Thaumaturge (DrFE)                    Turns: 10717, Time: 01:10:03

Health: 60/62      AC: 10    Str: 10    XL:     9   Next: 69%
Magic:  5/22       EV: 12    Int: 18    God:    Vehumet [*.....]
Gold:   403        SH:  0    Dex: 13    Spells: 10/26 levels left

rFire    + + .     SeeInvis .   a - +4 quarterstaff (chaos)
rCold    x . .     Gourm    .   (shield currently unavailable)
rNeg     . . .     Faith    .   (armour unavailable)
rPois    .         Spirit   .   (helmet restricted)
rElec    .         Reflect  .   s - +1 cloak
rCorr    .         Harm     .   (no gloves)
MR       .....                  n - +0 pair of boots
Stlth    ++........             (no amulet)
Regen    0.2/turn               c - ring of wizardry
MPRegen  0.2/turn               k - ring of fire

@: no status effects
A: breathe fire, unfitting armour, fire resistance 1, cold-blooded, AC +7
a: Breathe Fire, Renounce Religion


You are on level 8 of the Dungeon.
You worship Vehumet.
Vehumet is aware of your devotion.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 2 branches of the dungeon, and seen 9 of its levels.
You have also visited: Ossuary.

You have collected 403 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 a - a +4 quarterstaff of chaos (weapon)
 b - a +1 hunting sling
Missiles
 t - 115 stones (quivered)
Armour
 n - a +0 pair of boots (worn)
 s - a +1 cloak (worn)
Jewellery
 c - a ring of wizardry (left hand)
 g - an uncursed ring of flight
 k - a ring of fire (right hand)
 A - an uncursed ring of protection from cold
Wands
 u - a wand of disintegration (?/24) {zapped: 5}
 v - a wand of disintegration (?/24)
 y - a wand of confusion (?/48)
Scrolls
 f - 5 scrolls of teleportation
 x - a scroll of remove curse
 C - a scroll of fog
 D - a scroll labeled XEOWEO AVAJI
Potions
 e - a potion of invisibility
 h - 3 potions of magic
 i - 6 glowing dark potions
 j - 4 potions of heal wounds
 p - a potion of agility
 q - 3 potions of lignification
 w - 3 potions of flight
 E - 2 inky potions
Books
 d - a book of Flames   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Flame Tongue                 Conjuration/Fire              1
    b - Throw Flame                  Conjuration/Fire              2
    c - Conjure Flame                Conjuration/Fire              3
    d - Inner Flame                  Hexes/Fire                    3
    e - Sticky Flame                 Conjuration/Fire              4
    f - Fireball                     Conjuration/Fire              5
 l - a book of Minor Magic   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Magic Dart                   Conjuration                   1
    b - Blink                        Translocation                 2
    c - Call Imp                     Summoning                     2
    d - Slow                         Hexes                         2
    e - Conjure Flame                Conjuration/Fire              3
    f - Mephitic Cloud               Conjuration/Poison/Air        3
 F - a book of Geomancy   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Sandblast                    Earth                         1
    b - Passwall                     Transmutation/Earth           2
    c - Stone Arrow                  Conjuration/Earth             3
    d - Petrify                      Transmutation/Earth           4
    e - Lee's Rapid Deconstruction   Earth                         5
Comestibles
 m - 3 meat rations
 o - 6 fruits
 r - 5 bread rations


   Skills:
 - Level 1.7 Dodging
 - Level 1.7 Stealth
 * Level 9.0 Spellcasting
 + Level 6.4 Conjurations
 + Level 9.0 Fire Magic
 - Level 3.0 Air Magic


You have 10 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Throw Flame           Conj/Fire      ######       1%          2    None
b - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          5%          2    None
c - Mephitic Cloud        Conj/Pois/Air  ###.....     2%          3    None
d - Fireball              Conj/Fire      ######....   4%          5    #####..
e - Conjure Flame         Conj/Fire      ######..     1%          3    None
f - Flame Tongue          Conj/Fire      #####        1%          1    None


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (8/15)             Temple (1/1) D:7            Lair (0/6) D:8

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Dithmenos
Elyvilon
Hepliaklqana
Kikubaaqudgha
Nemelex Xobeh
Qazlal
Ru
Sif Muna
Trog
Uskayaw
Vehumet
Wu Jian
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You can breathe blasts of fire.
Your fiery red scales are hard. (AC +7)
You cannot fit into any form of body armour.
Your flesh is heat resistant. (rF+)
You are cold-blooded and may be slowed by cold attacks.


Message History

Casting: Conjure Flame
Confirm with . or Enter, or press ? or * to list all spells.
Aiming: Conjure Flame
Press: ? - help, Dir - move target cursor
You feel a surge of power! The fire ignites!
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
Unknown command.
Casting: Conjure Flame
Confirm with . or Enter, or press ? or * to list all spells.
Aiming: Conjure Flame
Press: ? - help, Dir - move target cursor
You feel a surge of power! The fire ignites!
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
Casting: Conjure Flame
Confirm with . or Enter, or press ? or * to list all spells.
Aiming: Conjure Flame
Press: ? - help, Dir - move target cursor
You feel a surge of power! The fire ignites!
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.

#......).....#
##...#.).(...#
.............#
.#.###..)....#                 .
.#.###.......##               ..
.#.[.......)..##            #..Y
.#..########.(.##     ###  ...Y.
.#..#     #.)...#######5##......
....#######.....@§Y§§§§#.....#
............<....######.##..†.#
....########...#.#    ###  .[.Y.
...........##.##.#          ....
.#..###.##.##.##.#           .##
.#..# #.##.##.##.#            .#
.#..###.##.##.##.#             .
........##.##.##>#
......#.##.##.##.#


You can see a death yak and a quasit.

Vanquished Creatures
  A wraith (D:8)
  Sigmund (D:2)
  Duvessa (D:7)
  An ice beast (D:8)
  A sky beast (D:7)
  A necrophage (D:8)
  A phantom (D:4)
  4 ogres
  The ghost of Caerwyn the Chiller, an amateur DsIE (D:3)
  3 centaurs
  Blork the orc (D:6)
  3 bullfrogs
  Dowan (D:7)
  A scorpion (D:6)
  A troll zombie (D:8)
  3 killer bees (D:8)
  2 wights (D:8)
  3 howler monkeys
  An electric eel (D:6)
  A bullfrog zombie (D:6)
  A crimson imp (D:8)
  A centaur skeleton (D:5)
  4 human zombies (D:8)
  3 orc priests
  Crazy Yiuf (D:2)
  4 hounds
  A human skeleton (D:8)
  Ijyb (D:5)
  A hell rat (D:8)
  5 orc wizards
  2 worker ants
  4 big kobold zombies (Ossuary)
  An ogre skeleton (D:8)
  A hound skeleton (D:7)
  2 mummies
  A worker ant zombie (D:7)
  8 adders
  2 shadow imps
  A worm (D:4)
  8 dart slugs
  7 leopard geckos
  15 orcs
  3 spectral bats (Ossuary)
  3 ball pythons
  10 giant cockroaches
  6 gnoll zombies (Ossuary)
  12 goblins
  12 hobgoblins
  2 jackals (D:6)
  12 kobolds
  4 quokkas
  7 bats
  2 bat simulacra (Ossuary)
  10 frilled lizards
  3 goblin zombies (Ossuary)
  4 hobgoblin zombies (Ossuary)
  6 kobold simulacra (Ossuary)
  4 kobold zombies (Ossuary)
  A leopard gecko skeleton (D:8)
  5 orc zombies (Ossuary)
  A quokka skeleton (D:7)
  5 rats
  2 rat simulacra (Ossuary)
  2 spectral goblins (Ossuary)
  4 spectral kobolds (Ossuary)
  3 spectral rats (Ossuary)
229 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  2 gnoll zombies (Ossuary)
  A kobold zombie (Ossuary)
  An orc zombie (Ossuary)
4 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 233 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
-------+----------+-------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | ereinion the Draconian Fire Elementalist began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 14/14 MP: 3/3
   147 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 18/20 MP: 3/5
   151 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Throw Flame
   867 | D:1      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 26/26 MP: 1/6
  1220 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Mephitic Cloud
  1246 | D:2      | Noticed Sigmund
  1504 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 31/33 MP: 0/8
  1509 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Conjure Flame
  1951 | D:2      | Found a runed door.
  1955 | D:2      | Noticed Crazy Yiuf
  2027 | D:2      | Killed Crazy Yiuf
  2628 | D:2      | Killed Sigmund
  2628 | D:2      | Reached skill level 1 in Air Magic
  2628 | D:2      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 35/38 MP: 0/11
  2628 | D:2      | Reached XP level 6. HP: 42/45 MP: 0/12
  3202 | D:3      | Noticed Caerwyn's ghost (amateur DsIE)
  3645 | D:3      | Found a sacrificial altar of Ru.
  4656 | D:4      | Found an ornate altar of the Wu Jian Council.
  5488 | D:4      | Your scales start taking on a fiery red colour.
  5488 | D:4      | Reached skill level 5 in Fire Magic
  5488 | D:4      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 50/50 MP: 0/14
  5488 | D:4      | Gained mutation: Your flesh is heat resistant. (rF+) [Red Draconian growth]
  5681 | D:3      | Killed Caerwyn's ghost
  5681 | D:3      | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
  5927 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  6063 | D:5      | Learned a level 5 spell: Fireball
  6210 | D:5      | Found a deep blue altar of Sif Muna.
  6357 | D:5      | Noticed an angel
  6358 | D:5      | Found a glowing silver altar of Zin.
  6463 | D:5      | Noticed Ijyb
  6469 | D:5      | Killed Ijyb
  6972 | D:6      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6972 | D:6      | Noticed Blork the orc
  7228 | D:6      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 43/57 MP: 2/16
  7352 | D:6      | Found a sand-covered staircase.
  7358 | Ossuary  | Entered an ossuary
  7974 | Ossuary  | Learned a level 2 spell: Blink
  7990 | D:6      | Killed Blork the orc
  8149 | D:6      | Found a stormy altar of Qazlal.
  8283 | D:6      | Reached skill level 5 in Conjurations
  8560 | D:7      | Noticed Dowan
  8561 | D:7      | Noticed Duvessa
  8590 | D:7      | Killed Dowan
  8598 | D:7      | Killed Duvessa
  8940 | D:7      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 62/62 MP: 8/20
  9115 | D:7      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  9125 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  9316 | Temple   | Became a worshipper of Vehumet
  9554 | D:7      | Found a hide-covered altar of Uskayaw.
 10086 | D:8      | Reached * piety under Vehumet
 10086 | D:8      | Offered knowledge of Sting by Vehumet.
 10354 | D:8      | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
 10700 | D:8      | Found a staircase to the Lair.
 10701 | D:8      | Noticed a death yak
 10702 | D:8      | Noticed a death yak
 10703 | D:8      | Noticed a death yak

Skill      XL: |  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 |
---------------+----------------------------+-----
Conjurations   |     2     3        4  5  6 |  6.4
Spellcasting   |        3  4        5  7  9 |  9.0
Fire Magic     |           4     5  6  7  9 |  9.0
Air Magic      |           1     2  3       |  3.0
Dodging        |                            |  1.7
Stealth        |                            |  1.7

Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Club              |     8 |       |       ||     8
       Tailslap          |     1 |     2 |    13 ||    16
       Mace              |    23 |    10 |       ||    33
       Quarterstaff      |       |    16 |   148 ||   164
 Fire: Hunting sling     |       |    11 |   122 ||   133
Throw: Stone             |       |       |     1 ||     1
 Cast: Flame Tongue      |    11 |       |       ||    11
       Throw Flame       |    40 |    96 |   174 ||   310
       Conjure Flame     |       |     7 |    26 ||    33
       Mephitic Cloud    |       |     2 |     4 ||     6
       Fireball          |       |       |     7 ||     7
 Abil: Breathe Fire      |       |       |     4 ||     4
Evoke: Wand              |       |       |     2 ||     2
  Use: Scroll            |       |     9 |     7 ||    16
       Potion            |       |       |     2 ||     2
 Stab: Sleeping          |     1 |       |     2 ||     3
       Paralysed         |       |       |     3 ||     3
       Distracted        |       |       |     1 ||     1
  Eat: Chunk             |     5 |    16 |    17 ||    38
       Fruit             |       |       |     1 ||     1
       Bread ration      |       |       |     1 ||     1
Armor: Skin              |     9 |    21 |    66 ||    96
Dodge: Dodged            |    19 |    34 |   105 ||   158



[MainiacJoe]

I spectated Dynast take care of this one time. He used a scroll of immolation, and then a bolt wand to kill a regular yak in the pack. He even managed to stay out of the blast radii, though he said he was prepared to eat it if he had to. It was amazing.

[ZipZipskins]

You can always just come back later, or you can give them the runaround

[NhorianScum]

Pretty easy floor skip, D10-11 and some orc layouts (if you find Mr) before lair is pretty safe,

If you are into killing all the things sticky flame+walk backwards works well.

[Siegurt]

1 sticky flame plus about 4-6 rounds standing in a flame cloud and some solid staff whacking would probably take out a death yak, but you are correct that would probably kill you.

If you had trained some fighting and dodge instead of all that extra spellcasting you would probably be ok to pick off death yaks one at a time. As is, you should probably flee.

[edgefigaro]

Step 1: Learn Sticky Flame
Step 2: Cast Sticky Flame
Step 3: Walk Away until yak is no longer flamed.
Step 4: Cast Sticky Flame again.

Step B: if you need to reset, blink and staircase.

Sidebar: Sticky Flame is the spell you rush to. It is the spell that stabilizes FE. Conjure Flame shenanigans are important and effective, but they are also shenanigans. Sticky flame trivializes a huge chunk of D/Lair monsters into a catagory of "My character is simply more powerful than these monsters for affordable MP."

Fireball comes later and diversifies your kit and maintains relevance much further into the game, but it is not important to get fireball running quickly.

The fact that you have 10 spell slots, haven't learned sticky flame and have fireball at 4% is a challenge behavior.

[Siegurt]

Step 1: Learn Sticky Flame
Step 2: Cast Sticky Flame
Step 3: Walk Away until yak is no longer flamed.
Step 4: Cast Sticky Flame again.

Step B: if you need to reset, blink and staircase.

Sidebar: Sticky Flame is the spell you rush to. It is the spell that stabilizes FE. Conjure Flame shenanigans are important and effective, but they are also shenanigans. Sticky flame trivializes a huge chunk of D/Lair monsters into a catagory of "My character is simply more powerful than these monsters for affordable MP."

Fireball comes later and diversifies your kit and maintains relevance much further into the game, but it is not important to get fireball running quickly.

The fact that you have 10 spell slots, haven't learned sticky flame and have fireball at 4% is a challenge behavior.

I find for death yaks this is often not sufficent, as you run out of mp before you kill them, and they heal fast enough that you can't wait to regen enough MP to cast enough sticky flames. Maybe that would work though, also you would have to worry about running out of hps, as you are going to eat some hits here and there plus you will be hit (for a large chunk of your hps) probably once for each sticky flame.

I think you might run out of hp or mp more often than not, i guess if you reset enough times it will eventually work though, i would rather just walk away, personally.

[edgefigaro]

Step 1: Learn Sticky Flame
Step 2: Cast Sticky Flame
Step 3: Walk Away until yak is no longer flamed.
Step 4: Cast Sticky Flame again.

Step B: if you need to reset, blink and staircase.

Sidebar: Sticky Flame is the spell you rush to. It is the spell that stabilizes FE. Conjure Flame shenanigans are important and effective, but they are also shenanigans. Sticky flame trivializes a huge chunk of D/Lair monsters into a catagory of "My character is simply more powerful than these monsters for affordable MP."

Fireball comes later and diversifies your kit and maintains relevance much further into the game, but it is not important to get fireball running quickly.

The fact that you have 10 spell slots, haven't learned sticky flame and have fireball at 4% is a challenge behavior.

I find for death yaks this is often not sufficent, as you run out of mp before you kill them, and they heal fast enough that you can't wait to regen enough MP to cast enough sticky flames. Maybe that would work though, also you would have to worry about running out of hps, as you are going to eat some hits here and there plus you will be hit (for a large chunk of your hps) probably once for each sticky flame.

I think you might run out of hp or mp more often than not, i guess if you reset enough times it will eventually work though, i would rather just walk away, personally.

This is probably accurate. I stand by my sidebar, perhaps with an edit that says "Death Yaks don't fall into the catagory of creatures that sticky flame trivializes."

[Zhorgal]

My FoFi of Ru found a pack of 3 death yaks. He had bad armor (chain mail) and a passable weapon. He tried and it was obvious he was going to bite the bullet.

Thank you Ru, for apocalypse...

[stoneychips]

Early death yaks are serious business, so don't feel too bad about being challenged by them.

I would probably avoid them and try to pick up some strength at deeper levels and come back later. Actually, I usually try to do that before Lair anyway now (unless maybe I have some landed awesome anti-animal or anti-hydra weapons somehow). Lair is only (relatively!) easy if you go in overprepared.

I'm not sure, but if you have a strong Mephitic Cloud (oops I didn't check it closely), a confused yak is somewhat safer to fight than very-slowly-burning one. Inner Flame or Ignite Poison would make bigger persistent clouds, if you could get those.

Sticky Flame is nice if you have the oomph, but I also find it takes a whole lot of power to get going. Wouldn't trust it to take on more than 1 or 2 death yaks at a time too early. But I have this problem with the Fire school generally. Love to play it, hate starting out with it alone. I succeed more picking up fire after some other school (like Conjurations) or even starting as a Wanderer with a +2 weapon start/bet on some nice weapon drops later and then find spellbooks or take Vehumet. Building fire alone by Lair feels much more challenging to me. You have to dump so much into it to be consistently strong, and then you're lacking in basic defense or other options (for the resistant/immune) so often.

And I'm not sure I'd rely on a Staff of Chaos when fighting stuff like death yaks. One haste on them and life gets awful quickly.

[ereinion]

Yep, I don't hit anything but popcorn with the staff (or sling, for the most part). Anyway, I splatted the character above on D:10 or something, after getting barbed by a manticore, with a two-headed ogre blocking the stairs Tried teleporting out, but didn't get far enough away, and was out of !Blink.

Anyway, started up another offensive caster, just met some early-ish death yaks along with a cateblopas, and this time I was able to handle them! Sort of. Don't want to be ganged up on here either, but I managed to take out the catoblepas and one of the yaks at least! A bit wary about hitting big critters with my weapon this time around too, since 1.7 delay means they have the potential to get in two very painful hits. Felt reasonably sure it was going to die before it could kill me though



Fire clouds and sticky flame works wonders! A bit higher spell power doesn't hurt either

The biggest problem I've run into this run are annoying player ghosts, I have 2 on L:3 and L:4 which I can't take down at the moment, but I might spitekill them once I've finished the rest of the lair. One of them has freezing cloud though, which is decidedly uncool to run up against.

  Code:

 Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.20-a0-1035-gfcccd65 (webtiles) character file.

ereinion the Destroyer (Deep Elf Wizard)           Turns: 19317, Time: 02:33:47

Health: 36/68      AC: 11    Str:  4    XL:     13   Next: 7%
Magic:  11/30      EV: 18    Int: 29    God:    Sif Muna [*****.]
Gold:   991        SH:  0    Dex: 20    Spells: 10/34 levels left

rFire    . . .     SeeInvis +   a - +1 battleaxe (elec)
rCold    . . .     Gourm    .   (shield currently unavailable)
rNeg     . . .     Faith    .   c - +2 leather armour {rF+}
rPois    .         Spirit   .   y - +2 hat
rElec    .         Reflect  .   f - +1 cloak "Gokh" {rF- Dex+7 SInv Stlth+}
rCorr    +         Harm     .   i - +0 pair of gloves
MR       +....                  k - +0 pair of boots
Stlth    ++++......             l - amulet of magic regeneration
Regen    0.3/turn               x - ring of wizardry
MPRegen  0.4/turn               z - ring of resist corrosion

@: divine energy
A: no striking features
a: Stop Divine Energy, Channel Magic, Forget Spell, Renounce Religion


You are on level 4 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Sif Muna.
Sif Muna is extremely pleased with you.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 3 branches of the dungeon, and seen 16 of its levels.
You have also visited: Sewer.

You have collected 991 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 a - a +1 battleaxe of electrocution (weapon)
 b - a +0 hunting sling
Missiles
 G - 78 sling bullets
Armour
 c - a +2 leather armour of fire resistance (worn)
 f - the +1 cloak "Gokh" (worn) {rF- Dex+7 SInv Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 4 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your dexterity (+7).
   It makes you vulnerable to fire.
   It lets you see invisible.
   It makes you more stealthy.
 i - a +0 pair of gloves (worn)
 k - a +0 pair of boots (worn)
 y - a +2 hat (worn)
Jewellery
 g - the amulet of Vitality {Regen+ HP+15}
   (You found it on level 5 of the Dungeon)   
   
   [amulet of regeneration]
   
   It affects your health (+15).
   It increases your rate of regeneration.
 l - an amulet of magic regeneration (around neck)
 x - a ring of wizardry (left hand)
 z - a ring of resist corrosion (right hand)
 N - an uncursed ring of flight
 P - an uncursed ring of positive energy
Wands
 A - a wand of polymorph (18/24)
 F - a wand of paralysis (?/24)
 I - a wand of flame (?/48)
 K - a wand of flame (?/48) {zapped: 2}
Scrolls
 j - 2 scrolls of enchant weapon
 n - 3 scrolls of fear
 p - 3 scrolls of recharging
 s - 6 scrolls of remove curse
 v - 2 scrolls of magic mapping
 B - a scroll of blinking
 D - a scroll of identify
 M - 4 scrolls of teleportation
Potions
 e - a potion of might
 h - a potion of magic
 m - a potion of brilliance
 r - 5 potions of mutation
 w - 6 potions of flight
 C - 4 potions of heal wounds
 E - a potion of agility
 R - a potion of curing
Books
 u - a book of Transfigurations   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Irradiate                    Conjuration/Transmutation     5
    b - Statue Form                  Transmutation/Earth           6
    c - Hydra Form                   Transmutation                 6
    d - Dragon Form                  Transmutation                 7
 H - a book of Spatial Translocations   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Blink                        Translocation                 2
    b - Shroud of Golubria           Charms/Translocation          2
    c - Lesser Beckoning             Translocation                 3
    d - Gell's Gravitas              Translocation                 3
    e - Teleport Other               Translocation                 3
    f - Passage of Golubria          Translocation                 4
 J - Veepuluk's Volume of Flamy Talismans
   (Sif Muna gifted it to you on level 11 of the Dungeon)   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Inner Flame                  Hexes/Fire                    3
    b - Spectral Weapon              Hexes/Charms                  3
    c - Sticky Flame                 Conjuration/Fire              4
 L - a book of Air   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Shock                        Conjuration/Air               1
    b - Swiftness                    Charms/Air                    2
    c - Static Discharge             Conjuration/Air               3
    d - Airstrike                    Air                           4
    e - Lightning Bolt               Conjuration/Air               5
 O - a book of Geomancy   
   
    Spells                             Type                      Level
    a - Sandblast                    Earth                         1
    b - Passwall                     Transmutation/Earth           2
    c - Stone Arrow                  Conjuration/Earth             3
    d - Petrify                      Transmutation/Earth           4
    e - Lee's Rapid Deconstruction   Earth                         5
Comestibles
 d - 12 bread rations
 o - 8 fruits
 q - 18 royal jellies
 t - 8 meat rations


   Skills:
 + Level 2.9 Fighting
 - Level 10.3 Dodging
 - Level 5.0 Stealth
 - Level 11.0 Spellcasting
 * Level 13.8 Conjurations
 + Level 10.3 Summonings
 - Level 2.2 Translocations
 + Level 6.7 Fire Magic
 - Level 6.0 Air Magic
 + Level 3.4 Earth Magic


You have 10 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Magic Dart            Conj           ####         0%          1    None
b - Blink                 Tloc           N/A          1%          2    None
c - Mephitic Cloud        Conj/Pois/Air  ######..     1%          3    None
d - Call Imp              Summ           ######..     1%          2    None
e - Conjure Flame         Conj/Fire      ######..     1%          3    None
f - Sticky Flame          Conj/Fire      ######..     1%          4    None
g - Lee's Rapid Deconstr  Erth           #####.....   16%         5    ###....
h - Airstrike             Air            ######....   1%          4    None


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (11/15)            Temple (1/1) D:7            Lair (4/6) D:10
  Snake (0/4) Lair:4          Orc (0/2) D:10       
 Swamp: Lair:2-4    Shoals: Lair:2-4   

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:10 wearedevo's ghost, novice DsFi
Lair:2 Caerwyn's ghost, journeyman GnTm
Lair:3 alcopop's ghost, journeyman GnWz

Message History

Sif Muna accepts your kill.
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
The death yak gores you.
You hit the death yak but do no damage.
The death yak is heavily wounded.
You hit the plant but do no damage. The death yak burns!
The yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
The death yak closely misses you. The yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
You kill the yak!
Sif Muna accepts your kill.
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
The death yak misses you.
You hit the death yak but do no damage.
Lightning courses through the death yak!
The death yak is almost dead.
You hit the plant. The death yak burns! x2
The death yak is engulfed in blazing flames.
You kill the death yak!
Sif Muna accepts your kill.

....≈≈≈≈.....≈≈≈.....
....P.≈≈≈...≈≈≈...... ..
.).....≈≈≈≈≈≈≈...... ...
........≈≈≈≈≈....P###...?
.......##P...≈.....#....#
....P....................
....................#...
....P...................
...........♣♣♣..@..##
.....P.....♣ ♣PP§§..♣
.....P.....♣ ♣♣P§P♣♣♣
.....#.....P♣ ♣P§♣♣
............♣....%
  ................♣
   .##......P..P.P.
          .PP≈≈..P.P
          ..≈≈≈....P


There are no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  A hydra (Lair:4)
  6 two-headed ogres
  2 catoblepae
  A death yak (Lair:4)
  Urug (D:10)
  Pikel (D:5)
  A black mamba (Lair:1)
  The ghost of Senshi the Cutter, a novice HuFi of Okawaru (D:4)
  3 spiny frogs
  A rime drake (Lair:1)
  3 kobold demonologists (D:11)
  5 komodo dragons
  The ghost of Guenter the Skirmisher, a novice VSWn (D:5)
  2 trolls
  A polar bear (Lair:1)
  Prince Ribbit (D:6)
  12 blink frogs
  5 hippogriffs
  A wraith (D:11)
  3 wyverns
  22 yaks
  A vampire (D:9)
  A hungry ghost (D:7)
  Menkaure (D:5)
  3 vampire mosquitoes
  2 basilisks
  A warg (D:10)
  2 nagas (Lair:4)
  6 water moccasins
  2 porcupines (Lair:1)
  Purgy (Sewer)
  2 sky beasts
  An orc warrior (D:10)
  An ice beast (D:9)
  5 phantoms
  2 ogres
  A slave (D:5)
  A necrophage (D:5)
  4 crocodiles
  4 wolves (Lair:3)
  4 centaurs
  Blork the orc (D:5)
  3 big kobolds (D:11)
  10 bullfrogs
  A gnoll sergeant (D:9)
  2 scorpions
  36 killer bees
  4 howler monkeys
  2 crimson imps
  2 bullfrog zombies
  A quasit (D:5)
  7 orc priests
  5 hounds
  4 orc wizards
  2 centaur skeletons
  2 iguanas
  3 bullfrog skeletons
  11 worker ants
  2 worker ant zombies
  9 gnolls
  14 adders
  A howler monkey skeleton (D:4)
  2 shadow imps
  An ooze (D:2)
  7 adder skeletons
  4 worms
  7 dart slugs
  4 leopard geckos
  33 orcs
  A bat skeleton (D:2)
  8 giant cockroaches
  5 goblins
  8 hobgoblins
  9 jackals
  26 kobolds
  2 quokkas
  A ball python (D:2)
  A ball python skeleton (D:2)
  9 bats
  6 frilled lizards
  A giant cockroach zombie (D:5)
  A jackal zombie (D:5)
  A leopard gecko zombie (D:7)
  A quokka skeleton (D:2)
  9 rats
388 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (collateral kills)
  Maurice (D:9)
  A queen bee (D:9)
  A troll (D:9)
  A hungry ghost (D:7)
  A warg (D:9)
  2 killer bees (D:11)
  An orc priest (D:4)
  A hound (D:9)
  A worker ant (D:9)
  2 worms
  4 orcs
  A bat (D:2)
  A hobgoblin (D:2)
  2 jackals (D:2)
  A quokka (D:7)
21 creatures vanquished.

Vanquished Creatures (others)
  A hound (D:5)
  An adder (D:5)
  A leopard gecko zombie (D:5)
  2 fungi
  A plant (Lair:2)
6 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 415 creatures vanquished

Notes
Turn   | Place    | Note
-------+----------+-------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1      | ereinion the Deep Elf Wizard began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1      | Reached XP level 1. HP: 10/10 MP: 7/7
   261 | D:1      | Reached XP level 2. HP: 15/15 MP: 5/9
   265 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Blink
   268 | D:1      | Learned a level 2 spell: Call Imp
   732 | D:1      | Reached skill level 2 in Conjurations
  1086 | D:2      | Reached XP level 3. HP: 19/19 MP: 7/11
  1248 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Mephitic Cloud
  1299 | D:2      | Learned a level 3 spell: Conjure Flame
  1586 | D:2      | Reached skill level 5 in Spellcasting
  1649 | D:2      | Reached XP level 4. HP: 24/24 MP: 8/13
  1866 | D:2      | Reached skill level 3 in Conjurations
  1936 | D:2      | Found a burning altar of Makhleb.
  1939 | D:2      | Found a deep blue altar of Sif Muna.
  1943 | D:2      | Became a worshipper of Sif Muna the Loreminder
  1947 | D:2      | Found a hide-covered altar of Uskayaw.
  2363 | D:3      | Reached XP level 5. HP: 28/28 MP: 11/14
  3173 | D:4      | Got a transparent cloak
  3184 | D:4      | Identified the +1 cloak "Gokh" {rF- Dex+7 SInv Stlth+} (You found it on level 4 of the Dungeon)
  3207 | D:4      | Reached skill level 1 in Fire Magic
  3299 | D:4      | Found a glowing drain.
  3310 | Sewer    | Entered a sewer
  3320 | Sewer    | Noticed Purgy
  3331 | Sewer    | Killed Purgy
  3331 | Sewer    | Reached XP level 6. HP: 33/33 MP: 1/16
  3670 | D:4      | Reached skill level 4 in Conjurations
  3679 | D:4      | Reached skill level 1 in Fighting
  3769 | D:4      | Reached * piety under Sif Muna
  3777 | D:4      | Noticed Senshi's ghost (novice HuFi)
  3789 | D:4      | Killed Senshi's ghost
  3789 | D:4      | Reached skill level 1 in Air Magic
  3789 | D:4      | Reached XP level 7. HP: 29/38 MP: 0/18
  4087 | D:4      | Reached skill level 5 in Conjurations
  4526 | D:5      | Entered Level 5 of the Dungeon
  4603 | D:5      | Noticed Pikel
  4637 | D:5      | Killed Pikel
  4637 | D:5      | Reached ** piety under Sif Muna
  4637 | D:5      | Reached skill level 5 in Dodging
  4637 | D:5      | Reached skill level 6 in Conjurations
  4637 | D:5      | Reached XP level 8. HP: 43/43 MP: 14/20
  4714 | D:5      | Found a shadowy altar of Dithmenos.
  4903 | D:5      | Noticed Blork the orc
  4913 | D:5      | Killed Blork the orc
  4920 | D:5      | Noticed Menkaure
  5164 | D:5      | Noticed Guenter's ghost (novice VSWn)
  5180 | D:5      | Killed Guenter's ghost
  5180 | D:5      | Reached skill level 5 in Summonings
  5385 | D:5      | Killed Menkaure
  5385 | D:5      | Reached XP level 9. HP: 44/47 MP: 11/22
  5446 | D:5      | Reached *** piety under Sif Muna
  5446 | D:5      | Reached skill level 7 in Conjurations
  6845 | D:7      | Found a sparkling altar of Nemelex Xobeh.
  6846 | D:7      | Found a shimmering altar of Xom.
  6847 | D:7      | Found a basalt altar of Yredelemnul.
  6847 | D:7      | Found an ancient bone altar of Kikubaaqudgha.
  6848 | D:7      | Found a white marble altar of Elyvilon.
  6849 | D:7      | Found a blossoming altar of Fedhas.
  6850 | D:7      | Found an iron altar of Okawaru.
  7195 | D:7      | Found a staircase to the Ecumenical Temple.
  7214 | Temple   | Entered the Ecumenical Temple
  7534 | D:7      | Noticed Prince Ribbit
  7662 | D:6      | Killed Prince Ribbit
  7854 | D:7      | Reached skill level 8 in Conjurations
  7876 | D:7      | You fall through a shaft for 2 floors!
  7911 | D:9      | Noticed Maurice
  8124 | D:9      | Reached **** piety under Sif Muna
  8393 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Fire Magic
  8401 | D:8      | Noticed a two-headed ogre
  8564 | D:9      | Noticed a queen bee
  8567 | D:8      | Noticed a two-headed ogre
  8995 | D:7      | Reached XP level 10. HP: 52/52 MP: 13/24
  9330 | D:8      | Killed a two-headed ogre
  9397 | D:8      | Reached skill level 9 in Conjurations
  9694 | D:8      | Reached skill level 5 in Air Magic
  9860 | D:8      | Killed a two-headed ogre
  9860 | D:8      | Reached ***** piety under Sif Muna
 10054 | D:8      | Received a gift from Sif Muna
 10778 | D:9      | Noticed a two-headed ogre
 10804 | D:9      | Killed a two-headed ogre
 10804 | D:9      | Reached skill level 10 in Conjurations
 11141 | D:9      | Killed Maurice
 11141 | D:9      | Reached XP level 11. HP: 53/56 MP: 12/26
 11226 | D:9      | Reached skill level 10 in Spellcasting
 11652 | D:9      | Found an opulent altar of Gozag.
 11653 | D:9      | Found a glowing silver altar of Zin.
 11895 | D:10     | Entered Level 10 of the Dungeon
 12104 | D:10     | Noticed wearedevo's ghost (novice DsFi)
 12887 | D:10     | Reached skill level 11 in Conjurations
 13124 | D:10     | Noticed Urug
 13169 | D:10     | Found a staircase to the Lair.
 13204 | D:10     | Killed Urug
 13604 | D:10     | Found a staircase to the Orcish Mines.
 13841 | D:10     | Noticed a two-headed ogre
 13981 | D:10     | Noticed a two-headed ogre
 13983 | D:10     | Killed a two-headed ogre
 14168 | D:10     | Killed a two-headed ogre
 14697 | D:11     | Noticed a red ugly thing
 15240 | D:11     | Received a gift from Sif Muna
 15241 | D:11     | Identified Veepuluk's Volume of Flamy Talismans (Sif Muna gifted it to you on level 11 of the Dungeon)
 15253 | D:11     | Learned a level 4 spell: Sticky Flame
 15296 | D:11     | Reached skill level 12 in Conjurations
 15468 | D:11     | Noticed a two-headed ogre
 15499 | D:11     | Killed a two-headed ogre
 15580 | D:11     | Reached XP level 12. HP: 59/60 MP: 8/29
 15859 | Lair:1   | Entered Level 1 of the Lair of Beasts
 15928 | Lair:1   | Reached skill level 10 in Dodging
 16643 | Lair:1   | Learned a level 5 spell: Lee's Rapid Deconstruction
 16875 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 13 in Conjurations
 16934 | Lair:2   | Noticed Caerwyn's ghost (journeyman GnTm)
 17112 | Lair:2   | Reached skill level 1 in Earth Magic
 17575 | Lair:2   | Noticed a catoblepas
 17626 | Lair:2   | Killed a catoblepas
 17780 | Lair:3   | Received a gift from Sif Muna
 17787 | Lair:3   | Learned a level 4 spell: Airstrike
 18284 | Lair:3   | Noticed alcopop's ghost (journeyman GnWz)
 18315 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 10 in Summonings
 18601 | Lair:3   | Reached skill level 5 in Stealth
 19144 | Lair:4   | Noticed a five-headed hydra
 19172 | Lair:4   | Killed a five-headed hydra
 19204 | Lair:4   | Found a staircase to the Snake Pit.
 19298 | Lair:4   | Noticed a catoblepas
 19306 | Lair:4   | Noticed a death yak
 19309 | Lair:4   | Killed a catoblepas
 19309 | Lair:4   | Reached XP level 13. HP: 38/68 MP: 18/30

Skill      XL: |  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 |
---------------+-------------------------------------+-----
Conjurations   |     2     3     4  6     8 10 12 13 | 13.8
Dodging        |        3        4  5     6  8  9 10 | 10.3
Spellcasting   |        5        6  7     8  9 11    | 11.0
Summonings     |           2  3     4  5  6  7  9 10 | 10.3
Translocations |           2                         |  2.2
Fire Magic     |              1  2  3  4  5        6 |  6.7
Fighting       |                 1                 2 |  2.9
Air Magic      |                 1  2  3  4  5  6    |  6.0
Stealth        |                                   5 |  5.0
Earth Magic    |                                   3 |  3.4

Action                   |  1- 3 |  4- 6 |  7- 9 | 10-12 | 13-15 || total
-------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------++-------
Melee: Dagger            |     7 |       |       |       |       ||     7
       Short sword       |       |     5 |    22 |    15 |       ||    42
       Hunting sling     |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
       Battleaxe         |       |       |       |    46 |     2 ||    48
       Spear             |       |       |       |     7 |       ||     7
 Fire: Hunting sling     |     9 |    47 |    54 |   308 |       ||   418
 Cast: Magic Dart        |   107 |   166 |   282 |   537 |       ||  1092
       Call Imp          |     5 |     3 |    17 |    41 |       ||    66
       Mephitic Cloud    |       |     6 |    28 |    56 |       ||    90
       Conjure Flame     |       |    11 |    24 |    96 |     2 ||   133
       Blink             |       |     1 |     5 |    33 |       ||    39
       Sticky Flame      |       |       |       |    84 |     1 ||    85
       Airstrike         |       |       |       |     1 |       ||     1
Invok: Divine Energy     |       |     1 |       |       |       ||     1
  Use: Scroll            |       |     8 |    11 |    11 |       ||    30
       Potion            |       |       |     2 |     4 |       ||     6
 Stab: Sleeping          |       |     1 |       |     1 |       ||     2
       Confused          |       |       |     2 |       |       ||     2
  Eat: Chunk             |     2 |     7 |    14 |    28 |       ||    51
       Fruit             |       |       |     2 |     4 |       ||     6
Armor: Robe              |     4 |     7 |    23 |     1 |       ||    35
       Leather armour    |       |       |       |    64 |       ||    64
Dodge: Dodged            |    28 |    31 |   134 |   307 |     3 ||   503



[TonberryJam]

For the pack, Fireball would be ideal if your at the 7#-8# power range being able to cast it at least 6 times. Even then some access mana would be ideal b/c you can use sticky flame or conjure flame to clear the survivors.

In the first case you posted, staying in a corridor using conjure flame with sticky flame would be best. At any point you get hit hard once, you would flee while re-applying sticky flame if you had enough health or a yak is always adjacent.