Let's play ADOM

[Damned Registrations]

I picked this up again and remembered why the begining was such a pain in the ass for me. Outside of being a trollish/X or a whatever fighter/barb/paladin, every other character in the game is MASSIVELY screwed with their starting equips. I can't even injure half the enemies with going berzerker on them, which leads to death in about 4 turns from even a rat when you have no armor. I want to play a light melee class like assassin or bard or something, but they don't actually get to backstab anything without invis, they don't get healing and are generally chaotic forcing you to do the lawful quests to get healing or be screwed out of half the quests and rewards in the game by being chaotic. On top of all this, all the important areas in ADOM are persistant, so if you encounter say, a tension room blocking your path to the puppy, you're just fucked out of that quest completely.

Is the only way to get a successful character to play some newbie combo or fluke out in the luck dungeon and get insanely overpowered gear (With no means to identify it at that.)?

 

[Higher Game]

Scum the infinite dungeon for starting gear. Don't worry about cursed stuff *except* gauntlets, because you do not want to put on <shudder> gauntlets of peace. Besides that, prioritize getting a high PV. Blessed scrolls of uncursing will solve your curse problem eventually.

No combo is really for newbies, due to the game's difficulty, and most of the "bad" combos are actually very underrated, except people aren't patient enough to scum some gear and gain a few early levels. Farmers in particular aren't given nearly enough credit (merchants still suck though).

I recommend a ranger or a monk. They both get really awesome skill sets and good class abilities. Assassins aren't that great because they get neither healing nor herbalism, so you have to make a choice between the two. Thieves get really lame skills.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Are monks actually powerful enough to injure things like molochs late game?

Hmmm, I think I'll try out a ranger or beastfighter. I really like the movement ability of monks, but not being able to wear armor seems like too major a setback.

I guess it would help if I stated my long term goal for this: I don't really care about winning the game per se, but rather, I want to see how powerful a character I can make and descend as deeply into the ID as possible. This of course, rules out anything easily aged, or really incapable of dealing with any of the nastier endgame monsters. I can't imagine a magic user being very well off either, unless it's feasible to re memorize spells in the ID.

 

[Higher Game]

Are monks actually powerful enough to injure things like molochs late game?

At that point, you need slaying ammo or phase daggers. I think they're humanoid, so monks might have a decent chance with their class power if they have lots of strength scumming. I've never gotten that far with a monk before, though. I've only gotten really far with a wizard, mindcrafter (not Cleve), barbarian, priest, and ranger.

Hmmm, I think I'll try out a ranger or beastfighter. I really like the movement ability of monks, but not being able to wear armor seems like too major a setback.

Monks can't wear armor of a certain weight, I think over 60 stone (robe weight). The ancient mummy wrapping is acceptable. Beastfighters also have issues with doing enough damage, due to unarmed combat, but that's why you pick up every arrow you see and hope to get some slaying ammo. You have to use a bow to have a decent chance against the heavyweight baddies. Well, that, penetrating attacks, or barbarian smashing. :twisted:

I guess it would help if I stated my long term goal for this: I don't really care about winning the game per se, but rather, I want to see how powerful a character I can make and descend as deeply into the ID as possible. This of course, rules out anything easily aged, or really incapable of dealing with any of the nastier endgame monsters. I can't imagine a magic user being very well off either, unless it's feasible to re memorize spells in the ID.

Come on, the unique locations is what makes ADOM so much cooler than any other roguelike. The ID is a fun challenge, but isn't the highlight of the game.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Oh I intend to go through all of those too- I just want my character dump to finish with 'died on level XXX of the ID' instead of lived happily ever after. Besides, the ID _is_ a unique thing in a RL: others don't go on endlessly. ToME gets close with the nether realm, but theres still a limit.

 

[Zomg]

When you're just starting out there's a neat trick - if you strip off all your clothes (meaning anything that goes into a slot other than your hands, necklaces, bracers or rings) and go into Berserk tactics you get a "True Berserker" bonus of like +10 hit/+10 damage, which will usually allow you to 1-hit squash anything you'll meet in the first few levels short of Kranach, even with the crappiest starting weapon. For some obscure reason it doesn't work with monks or beastfighters, though. I usually start killing things with true berserking until I get a few rocks to throw. The proficiencies for missile weapons grow fast and give large bonuses.

I fire up ADOM every couple of months now and try to get a human thief to get a decent first kill, pop in the SMC, kill Kranach and rescue the puppy. It's a 20-minute condensed ADOM experience inevitably ending in failure.

 

[Higher Game]

My latest character just got intrinsic invisibility from an invisible stalker corpse. I'll post pictures if I manage to get farther than my earlier guy.

I was just now precrowned with the (appropriate) Crown of Leadership, so now I can see my formerly invisible body.

 

[Azrael the cat]

I seem to recall elementalists being the easiest class overall. You don't need to rely on finding books for spells (though from memory you can still use them), you get lots and lots of ray and area-effect spells for tackling mass monsters, and you can avoid the utter bane of melee characters i.e. the large numbers of late-game monsters that have massively corrupting melee attacks or similarly good reasons to avoid melee at all costs. Not to mention that there's a monster that curses you bigtime if you melee it (even if it goes hostile on you first) but can be killed without penalty through range or magic (and from memory has a good bonus if you eat its blessed corpse). Elementalists and wizards are the only classes that I've got to the end-game on (won the 'easy' good ending with one char, died fighting the chaos god trying for the 'hard' good ending on the other char).

 

[almondblight]

ADOM can be a bit annoying. I could care less about memorizing herb formations, and I don't like memorizing where to go and what to do in what order etc etc. Also, there seem to be a lot of cursed items, an abnormal amount (or maybe it's because I had a 10 year gap between playing this an Moira).

Anyway, it'd be cool if it was a normal 50 level dungeon sluggathon wiht the same mechanics. But I guess people like it because it's not.

 

[elander_]

The thief class would be a lot better with a sort of hide in shadows power. With a combination of high speed and this my thief would be very fun to play. The problem is i can't get his sneak skill to 100% before i get killed and get invisibility to use the backstabbing skill.

Anyway this game is awesome. I'm thinking of doing a 3D version of it with the new Blender game engine.

 

[Elwro]

Archers are pretty easy in the early parts of the game, if you play them carefully.

 

[Korgan]

Easy mode cheat:

Spoiler

set your system date to 2nd of July. This will give your new char Lucky and Fate Smiles.

 

[Higher Game]

Ok, no more stupid macros for me. I set it to spit too many times for starvation training and ended up killing my drakeling.

The thief class would be a lot better with a sort of hide in shadows power.

Thieves get alertness, and that's just about it. Their other skills either don't matter or are available from NPCs. It's easily the worst class.

 

[Higher Game]

ADOM can be a bit annoying. I could care less about memorizing herb formations, and I don't like memorizing where to go and what to do in what order etc etc. Also, there seem to be a lot of cursed items, an abnormal amount (or maybe it's because I had a 10 year gap between playing this an Moira).

Cursed items aren't really that bad, unless you're talking about potions and scrolls. Cursed equipment isn't a problem at all, except cursed weapons suck against undead and demons, or you find something better you want instead. Of course, you're unlikely to find anything early in the game as good as scale mail, so it's worth putting on even if you know it's cursed.

Herbs aren't tricky at all. Just make an R-pentomino and watch the fireworks. As for doing things in order, you only have to worry about crowning late if you're doing an ultra ending. Besides that, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Damned Registrations]

It seems like they get a lot of cool class abilities though, like the power to pickpocket rare things, and being invisible while near a wall, +20 speed is easily the best stat boost any class gets, stuns when they get criticals, auto search at level 6. They also start with appraisal, which is something I'd kill to have on most characters.

The problem is that, like most characters, they don't get healing or herbalism, and so are royally fucked early on. Doubly so since they get crappy starting equipment. Although it can't be any worse than bards: Not a single point of DV or PV in their gear, and on crappy ass longsword and dagger. They seem like they should be the most powerful in the long run, but start out as utter weaklings in every way.

 

[Elwro]

Healing is easy to get early on, though.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Unless you're chaotic. Which thieves are.

I have a character to the arena now. Not especially promising: A high elf bard that didn't start with anything of note other than athletics and alertness. Everything else was junk along the lines of mining, gardening, swimming, woodcraft... bleh. Hopefully he gets something nice at 25. Started with the candle birthsign, and 4 talents, so I have a pair of 7 league boots. Hence why he's still alive. Came close to starving, and his piety is all used up at the moment, with no altar in sight. Wearing cursed clothing with +1 dv. Total PV right now is 5, 3 of which comes from the boots. Scummed around the ID till level 7 but found nothing useful. Weapon is his starting longsword, with +1/+1 thanks to reading random scrolls. Has learned the light spell. Woo. Only thing keeping me alive at this point are those boots and the fact that ranged weapons are WAY more powerful than anything else at these skill levels. Will probably die trying to get to dwarftown when my arrows run out.

 

[caliban]

My promising Gnomish Elementalist just died a very stupid death: I found a pool in the puppy cave, got two stat boosts, Invisibility, Fate Smiles and a wish (!). I guess I should've walked away then, because trying my luck so many times was just asking for it, but greed got the best of me. I got poisoned and sickened, and without any access to Cure Poison or healing I could only watch my character wither away slowly.

Damn.

 

[Desmodus Rotundus]

Scum the infinite dungeon for starting gear. Don't worry about cursed stuff *except* gauntlets, because you do not want to put on <shudder> gauntlets of peace. Besides that, prioritize getting a high PV. Blessed scrolls of uncursing will solve your curse problem eventually.

Happened to me today, pretty new at this so didn't know about those gauntlets, but I managed to get rid of them- dipped into water, hoped for holy water but wasn't, well they rusted and a bit later when I walked into a trap that exploded they got destroyed

Playing human monk, currently at lvl 11, found mithral helm and elven chain on doggie dungeon, but the damn doggie got slaughtered before I got to him.

 

[Elwro]

Unless you're chaotic. Which thieves are.

Whoops :D Quite a noobish mistake for someone who finished the game twice :D Still, just find an altar and convert all you want. (Yeah, easier said...)

edit: if you really have to uncurse something and have no other means to do so, dip it in holy water.

 

[Chork]

Well, my paladin finally made it to D:50. Sadly, his victory would come at a cost.

But hell, first time I managed to win this damn game so I'm happy. :D

 

[Damned Registrations]

Dead now, one level below dwarftown. God was too pissy to bless water for me or even help me. Died to a ghul that was mysteriously FAR stronger than the other 5 that managed to paralyze me for dozens of turns while I healed up and they did no damage. All told, I'd found nothing of particular value during the entire game. Spellbooks were light, darkness, and slow monster. No equippable armor with a PV higher than 2. I found a mithril halberd just before I died, which was probably the most valuable thing on me aside from the boots I had to spend 3 talents to get. BLAH.

 

[Higher Game]

My promising Gnomish Elementalist just died a very stupid death: I found a pool in the puppy cave, got two stat boosts, Invisibility, Fate Smiles and a wish (!). I guess I should've walked away then, because trying my luck so many times was just asking for it, but greed got the best of me. I got poisoned and sickened, and without any access to Cure Poison or healing I could only watch my character wither away slowly.

Damn.

You could have prayed.

Happened to me today, pretty new at this so didn't know about those gauntlets, but I managed to get rid of them- dipped into water, hoped for holy water but wasn't, well they rusted and a bit later when I walked into a trap that exploded they got destroyed

Really, really buff trolls can actually fight even with those things on. :D

Whoops :D Quite a noobish mistake for someone who finished the game twice :D Still, just find an altar and convert all you want. (Yeah, easier said...)

I like to get level 10 and then kill Hotzenplotz for the amulet of order. That's how I get lawful early in the game before dwarftown.

But hell, first time I managed to win this damn game so I'm happy. :D

Congratulations. :D Next time finish the unicorn quest before leaving, so you leave the chain with no corruption.

 

[Chork]

Congratulations. :D Next time finish the unicorn quest before leaving, so you leave the chain with no corruption.

Unfortunately, I had to use it before then. Next time I'll try to be more speedy, the background corruption on D:45 and lower is just brutal.

 

[Damned Registrations]

Just had a fairly promising wizard get wiped out on his way through the UD. Walked into a room and was hit successively by 5 traps before I knew what happened.I had actually dodged the first 3, the 4th was corruption, and the last was simply a stone block insta kill.