Stood up and Befriended, the Nagas of Crawl (a lil NSFW)

Yeesh · Mar 4, 2011

Alright, that was the last Lech start. There's actually one surviving Lech waiting to meet his doom, but we can come back to him. I'm going to take a little break from straight up casters, and see what the world of not-straight-up-casters holds. Nobody said naga can't be crusaders too. Like the heartbroken parents of a child with a terminal illness, we let them do what they want because their lives are so tragically short.

Meet Hraak I. He thinks a naga crusader played by a sucky old man can descend to the bottom of the dungeon, grab the orb, and get out again alive. Sure you can, little buddy. Sure you can. He's using a mace because why not?

A little killing and some smacking gets Hraak I to level 2. Time to brand up that weapon.

Some more smacking and Hraak I reaches level 3. I choose Int.

Encountering Ijyb at half health = could be bad.

It can't get any closer than that, unless the devs implement decimal places in health. This character doesn't seem to be working out too well.

Level 4 rolls around. I have my doubts about Hraak I, but at least he can spit. Str increases.

Well, there's a friendly face! I don't see what options Hraak has here but to smack him and hope.

Or just to die. That's funny, right? A ghost and a unique right next to each other? Ha ha ha.

Eventually, Hraak I dies. Who fucking cares? Not me. Lech I's ghost was actually an underwhelming threat, since he kept casting poison clouds again and again confusing Jessica and wasting his turns. But that didn't stop Hraak I from sucking like a true champion of suck.

Code:

279 Hraak I the Cudgeler (level 4, 0/35 HPs)
             Began as a Naga Crusader on Mar 3, 2011.
             Slain by Lech I's ghost (5 damage)
             ... on Level 3 of the Dungeon.
             The game lasted 00:14:52 (2269 turns).

RIP, Hraak I. You fucking sucked hard.

Yeesh · Mar 4, 2011

Now Hraak II, he's a crusader who knows where it's axe. (get it?)

Hackity hack, Hraak II is level 2.

Hacking up kobolds is easy. We'll see how Hraak does when the stakes are higher. For level 3, I choose Int.

Again I'm surprised at how lousy these naga crusaders are in combat. If goblins and kobolds can last multiple rounds, anything serious will kill Hraak II dead. But we'll just have to cross our fingers, and enjoy his ascent to fourth level. Int increases.

Mere seconds later, the jig is up. Sigmund will now kill Hraak II.

So that's how the first round of combat went.

That's how the third one went. For the second round, Hraak II moved in so as not to get blasted again.

Good game. That was really fun.

Code:

153 Hraak II the Magician (level 4, -5/35 HPs)
             Began as a Naga Crusader on Mar 4, 2011.
             Killed from afar by Sigmund (8 damage)
             ... with a puff of flame
             
             ... on Level 2 of the Dungeon.
             The game lasted 00:13:10 (1937 turns).

Lesson learned: Don't play this game.

Yeesh · Mar 4, 2011

Hraak III is an arcane marksman. Naga aren't great at ranged attacks, but naga aren't great at anything else either. If I understand correctly, the difference between 0 aptitude and -1 is less than the difference between -1 and -2, and mo' less than that between -2 and -3. So 0 isn't so so far from -1 or +1. So why not be an archer? Who cares? We've got to get through 100 of these things.

Why the fuck did I pick the number 100? Ah well.

Hraak III begins his career by failing then succeeding to memorize corona.

Hraak III immediately runs into a rat party. Hmmmm.

More rats.

Hraak III reaches level 2. The rats keep coming.

Look an altar to Okawaru. Done and done.

What a lovely action shot. Hraak III has already killed more rats than a... something that kills rats. I choose Dex.

To make a long story short, fuck this bullshit. Hraak was nearly starving, and he wanted a fucking corpse, and monsters just kept coming one after the other. Wussy and pathetic though they were, they easily overwhelmed our stupid, stupid hero.

Code:

136 Hraak III the Shooter (level 3, -3/27 HPs)
             Began as a Naga Arcane Marksman on Mar 4, 2011.
             Was an Initiate of Okawaru.
             Slain by a hobgoblin (4 damage)
             ... on Level 2 of the Dungeon.
             The game lasted 00:10:24 (1115 turns).

Lesson learned: Fuck this bullshit.

Yeesh · Mar 4, 2011

Hraak IV gives archery another go. I forget his starting screenshot, but he looks like the above.

How to start worshipping Nemelex Xobeh in ~50 turns, by Hraak IV.

Level 2, here we are.

Spittle + kobold = level 3. I choose Dex.

Oh so THAT's why we don't worship this guy. Hostile spiny frog on D:1? Sweet. Hraak IV draws more cards but to no avail.

Hraak IV, you had guts. You were the kind of naga I want on my team.

Code:

95 Hraak IV the Magician (level 3, -6/27 HPs)
             Began as a Naga Arcane Marksman on Mar 4, 2011.
             Was an Initiate of Nemelex Xobeh.
             Mangled by a spiny frog (9 damage)
             ... summoned by the player character
             ... on Level 1 of the Dungeon.
             The game lasted 00:08:15 (754 turns).

Lesson learned: Don't do that. Also, fuck this.

7hm · Mar 4, 2011

(Don't give up.)

Go Ash for the god and focus on dodging.

Malakal · Mar 4, 2011

Why didnt you memorize BERSERK? Its the one spell that wins early game for all crusaders, the most basic tool for survival and killing all ghosts and uniques... Level 2 freezing brand and level 3 berserk ALWAYS.

Black Bart Charley · Mar 4, 2011

Because he really sucks.

Zomg · Mar 4, 2011

This thread is like watching an injured racehorse thrash and break its other legs

We all thought we'd have a good time at the track, we were laughing, then -- horror

the grim nature of reality shows through our constructs

Yeesh · Mar 5, 2011

Now one thing I've noticed is I'm not getting better. That's either because my suckage is so vast that it's eternal, like whichever ocean is known as the King of the Oceans, OR it could be because I'm playing around with a bunch of different backgrounds, forcing me to adopt differing approaches and keeping me from getting a good feel for blah blah blah. I bet it's both, actually, but whatever. The rest of the Hraak Cycle will deal solely with doomed axe crusaders (preferably of the same god, but so far no naga has lasted long enough for a god's powers to matter (except for that last guy who worshipped Nemelex; that decision turned out to be decisive indeed)).

Hraak V, today is the first day of the rest of your life. And based on our statistics, probably the last as well.

Spit, spit, spit. It's the only way to get to level 2.

Hacking at weak monsters for the first three levels is the part of the job I love. I choose Int.

Welcome to D2. Oh were you just leaving?

And that happens. I'm not sure what the trick is for not missing constantly, but Hraak V did not know it. The gnoll, however, had that one down pat.

Code:

110 Hraak V the Magician (level 3, -3/29 HPs)
             Began as a Naga Crusader on Mar 4, 2011.
             Slain by a gnoll
             ... wielding a +0,+0 whip
              (6 damage)
             ... on Level 1 of the Dungeon.
             The game lasted 00:05:18 (1065 turns).

Lessons learned: I really don't know what the fuck I was supposed to learn from that. I retreated to fight one on one, I used the breath, I used the brand, and one gnoll was still too much of an opponent for Hraak V. Verdict: Hraak V sucked.

Yeesh · Mar 5, 2011

Well I can tell you this: things are going to be different for Hraak VI.

Everything beats Hraak VI up. There's no way he can survive any real foe. But he reaches level 2 by chopping up a bat. Good for you, Hraak.

Hraak VI feels optimistic now that he's third level. I give him some more Dex in an effort to reduce whiffing.

Hi Terence. I'll bet you're no match for the raw melee power of Hraak VI.

Victory! (I actually drink a potion of healing here instead of just letting Hraak VI die to the next snake or goblin attack. See? I'm getting better all the time!)

Jesus, Hraak VI's third level of experience is certainly fraught with peril.

Despite two poison spit misses, Hraak VI barely triumphs over Ijyb due to the latter's not having any special gear at all, or even a weapon. A third level naga can beat a completely unarmed goblin at least 50% of the time. Enjoy your fourth level, Hraak, you'll be dead soon enough. Dex increases itself.

One chance, spittle. Don't miss.

Things go reasonably well, and ta da we're level 5...

...and then we're level 6. That seems a bit much for hawking a loogey and chopping down a tree, but then life hasn't been particularly fair to Hraak VI up to now, so let it go in his favor for a change. I mean he moves at 2 miles per hour, he's got a frigging snake tail for legs, and he can't kill jack shit, so who's REALLY exploiting whom? Anyway I choose Dex again.

Hraak VI discovers a Book of Frost, and now we're really cooking. Until we run into something undead that is, but whoever heard of undead creatures in a dungeon? They mostly keep to graveyards and haunted houses. Anyway his first cast of Throw Frost somehow gets him to level 7, which is to say that spore colony thing sure gave him a lot of XP.

I swear that I write these comments in real time without foreknowledge. Remember what I said about hoping we don't meet undead? I think for a moment and head for the stairs. Playing SMARTER, not HARDER. Apparently naga ghosts are as slow as naga, since he doesn't catch up. Sitting on the stairs so as to effect an escape once things go south, Hraak VI opens up with some runed darts. They turn out to be exploding darts, which is nice, and when the slow ass ghost makes it to melee range he's more than half dead. Or re-dead.

Anyway Hraak VI triumphs over the ghost of Hraak I, who now that I think of it was a pretty fucking big wuss, god rest his soul. Yay.

Nearly starving, a not uncommon condition for naga, Hraak VI stumbles upon an early altar of Vehumet. So far, fortune has favored Hraak VI this game. Should he trust this sign? Having found the Book of Frost, and with a hefty bit of XP in the pool, Hraak could get to conjurin'. Is there really any hope for a melee-oriented naga? Is there really any hope for any of us?

The wise man consults the Codex on weighty matters. Faith and Vehumet? Or caution and someone else?

Malakal · Mar 5, 2011

Memorize BERSERK. And do worship Vehumet, he is nice.

Malakal · Mar 5, 2011

Also train your enchantments with that exp and frost brand to reliably cast berserk.

Zomg · Mar 5, 2011

in 0.8 the brand spells are hexes, gotta use repel missiles for a charm instead.

Malakal · Mar 5, 2011

Zomg said:
in 0.8 the brand spells are hexes, gotta use repel missiles for a charm instead.

Why the FUCK would they make brand spells into hexes? They are NOT hexes (ie curses/debuffs) those are OBVIOUSLY enchantments since they ENCHANT weapons. Fucking retarded design decision.

Zomg · Mar 5, 2011

shrugoo, probably just too many charm spells

Vehumet won't help much for a long time, but he also doesn't want corpses unlike most of the faster startup gods.

7hm · Mar 5, 2011

Don't worship Veh, he won't provide you anything for a while (as Zomg said) and your stats are going to be more helpful to a hybrid than a caster (your int is too low right now for a naga to lean heavily on casting).

Do learn berserk. Then until you're through Lair you're a killing machine.

Yeesh · Mar 6, 2011

So to get through some naga while waiting for help with Hraak VI, I got the idea of doing 8 arcane marksmen in a row and just capturing screenshots of their deaths. 100 is a lot, and I'm getting really tired of these things.

So since I didn't do any sort of write up or record any sort of progress, and since I was planning on just having 8 quick deaths to add to my naga total, it isn't hard to guess what happened: the very first one I tried became my most successful naga so far.

Except now he's going to die. Long story short, he fought Erica, simultaneously with a pack of rats, and then before he was recovered 5 or 6 fucking elephants showed up. I realized how fucked Saigo was and tried to get him out, and it almost worked; you can see the story of a long retreat there in the screenshot.

Towards the end with more than 3/4 health remaining yet quite concerned, I decided to take advantage of Saigo's ring of tele control to read a scroll and get to the stairs. But I missed the stairs by one, and the next turn when I made it to the stairs, an elephant trampled me and pushed me off them so that he was was the one on the stairs. Fuck you, no seriously, fuck you. Whomever wrote that elephants are about as tough as yaks can go fuck themselves. So next I tried a last ditch attempt to circle around a mushroom, only to be pushed back again even farther from the stairs.

And of course I'm out of MP, or I wouldn't be having this problem. A little mephitic cloud would help me out. Do Brilliance potions give MP?

Code:

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.8.0-a0-5410-g0fecdd1 character file.

Saigo I the Archer (Naga Arcane Marksman)                                                                                                          Turns: 15552, Time: 04:49:53

HP  34/87        AC 12     Str 19      Exp: 12/24511 (2812), need: 10288
MP   2/22        EV 11     Int 21      God: Cheibriados [******]
Gold 969         SH  0     Dex 24      Spells:  5 memorised, 11 levels left

Res.Fire  : + . .   See Invis. : +   a - +4,+5 bow
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : .   d - +2 leather armour of Belatedness {MR, Slow
Life Prot.: + . .   Conserve   : +   (no shield)
Res.Acid. : . . .   Res.Corr.  : .   (no helmet)
Res.Poison: +       Clarity    : .   x - +1 cloak of Pondering {Slow}
Res.Elec. : .       Spirit.Shd : .   m - +2 pair of gloves from the Slugs {Dex+3, S
Sust.Abil.: + .     Stasis     : .   (no barding)
Res.Mut.  : .       Ctrl.Telep.: +   M - amulet of conservation
Res.Rott. : .       Levitation : .   n - ring of teleport control
Saprovore : . . .   Ctrl.Flight: .   t - ring of sustain abilities

@: very slightly glowing, very slow, very resistant to hostile enchantments, very stealthy
A: spit poison, see invisible, deformed body 1, poison resistance, slowness 2
a: Spit Poison, Make Ponderous, Bend Time, Slouch, Step From Time, Renounce Religion


You are on level 5 of the Lair of Beasts.
You worship Cheibriados.
Cheibriados is exalted by your worship.
You are near starving.

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

You have collected 919 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +4,+5 bow (weapon)
 s - an uncursed runed elven blowgun
 v - an uncursed glowing orcish war axe
 N - a +2,+0 sabre of venom
Missiles
 c - 5 +0 arrows (quivered)
 w - 10 +2 arrows
 A - 22 +1 arrows
 J - 30 stones
 K - 7 +0 arrows of flame
 L - 3 arrows of frost
 P - 6 curare-tipped needles
 Q - 31 +3 arrows
 T - 13 poisoned needles
Armour
 d - the +2 leather armour of Belatedness (worn) {MR, Slow}
   (You found it on level 2 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   It slows your movement.
 m - the +2 pair of gloves from the Slugs (worn) {Dex+3, Slow}
   (You found it on level 1 of the Dungeon)   
   It slows your movement.
 x - the +1 cloak of Pondering (worn) {Slow}
   (You found it on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   It slows your movement.
 W - a crude ring mail
Magical devices
 I - a wand of draining {zapped: 1}
 O - a wand of lightning {zapped: 1}
 U - a jewelled ivory wand
 Y - a copper wand {zapped: 1} {tried}
Comestibles
 f - 6 bread rations
 h - an apple
 p - 2 meat rations
 Z - a lychee
Scrolls
 b - a scroll labeled VEUWNO THOSA
 e - 3 scrolls of detect curse
 j - a scroll labeled XOABEI LUPTEI
 l - a scroll of teleportation
 r - a scroll of enchant weapon I
 y - 2 scrolls of blinking
 C - 5 scrolls of remove curse
 F - 5 scrolls of identify
 G - a scroll of enchant weapon II
 R - a scroll of enchant armour
 S - a scroll labeled MYGEHYUMUM {tried}
 X - a scroll labeled VAKHLIJIUFF
Jewellery
 n - a ring of teleport control (right hand)
 t - a ring of sustain abilities (left hand)
 E - an uncursed triangular brass amulet {tried}
 M - an amulet of conservation (around neck)
Potions
 g - 2 potions of restore abilities
 i - 10 potions of healing
 k - a metallic pink potion
 o - 2 glowing pink potions
 q - a pink potion
 u - 5 potions of brilliance
 D - 4 potions of heal wounds
 H - a silvery potion
Books
 V - a Young Poisoner's Handbook   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   Sting                              Conjuration/Poison           1
   Cure Poison                        Poison                       2
   *Poison Weapon                     Hexes/Poison                 3
   *Mephitic Cloud                    Conjuration/Poison/Air       3
   Venom Bolt                         Conjuration/Poison           5
   


 You have 2812 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 1 Fighting
 - Level 1 Short Blades
 - Level 1 Axes
 - Level 13 Bows
 + Level 2 Armour
 - Level 3 Dodging
 + Level 6 Stealth
 + Level 2 Traps & Doors
 + Level 5 Spellcasting
 + Level 4 Conjurations
 - Level 6 Hexes
 + Level 4 Ice Magic
 + Level 3 Air Magic
 - Level 4 Poison Magic
 + Level 4 Invocations
 + Level 1 Evocations


You have 11 spell levels left.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Success   Level  Hunger
a - Corona                Hex            #####...     Excellent   1    None
b - Freezing Aura         Ice/Hex        #####.....   Excellent   2    None
c - Poison Weapon         Pois/Hex       N/A          Great       3    Choko
d - Magic Dart            Conj           ####.        Excellent   1    None
e - Mephitic Cloud        Pois/Air/Conj  ####......   Very Good   3    Choko

Zomg · Mar 6, 2011

I am not a chei user but you have 6 star piety, does he not have some kind of escape invocation?

Edit - wait two scrolls of blink and a scroll of teleport, why would you die dog u fine

Yeesh · Mar 6, 2011

So the end of Hraak VI's life comes like this:

I wield the wrong sling when a phantom comes into view, and I get so fucking frustrated that I just shoot and shoot and shoot until Hraak VI dies. That was a bit anti-climactic, I know. I can't play this game when I'm in a bad mood. Not that I do much better when I'm in a good mood.

Code:

657 Hraak VI the Vandal (level 7, 0/56 HPs)
             Began as a Naga Crusader on Mar 4, 2011.
             Slain by a phantom (3 damage)
             ... on Level 4 of the Dungeon on Mar 5, 2011.
             The game lasted 00:29:37 (3519 turns).

Don't think I don't appreciate all the advice. One of these little guys is going to go all the way; maybe Saigo I if anyone can figure out how to get him out of his jam.

Yeesh · Mar 6, 2011

Zomg said:
I am not a chei user but you have 6 star piety, does he not have some kind of escape invocation?

Edit - wait two scrolls of blink and a scroll of teleport, why would you die dog u fine

Che has some tricks, but get a load of this shit:

Does any other god cost so fucking much? Being out of MP, I can't make use of any of it. Also just to bitch, you can see what a cinch it is to practice invocations with Che. Just spend food, piety and MP every single cast.

Everything moves at least twice as fast as I do, and all it takes is one attack from them to push me off the stairs. I guess I need to do some sort of double blink, but I don't know to where.

Zomg · Mar 6, 2011

I need to play a Chei game I am fuckin ignerant

I don't know whether it takes a slow movement character longer to go up stairs. If it doesn't then you can blink to max range, wait for the elephants to come to you then blink or teleport back to the up stairs and leave (or you can risk the down stairs, not recommended). If it takes you like 5 normal actions to go up stairs that is a problem, you would need to blink twice I think and then teleport back when all the elies reach you and then you would have no escapes left at all and that is rough shit with a naga.

7hm · Mar 6, 2011

it does take longer to move up stairs.

use the scroll of teleport and blink away the following turn. then teleport to stairs on the other side of the level. try and pick stairs that don't have anything beside them. like
xxx
x>x
xxx

You're using (probably) more resources than you need to doing it this way, but better safe than sorry.

Yeesh · Mar 6, 2011

It was a tricky thing, but Saigo I made it back up the stairs. He hadn't discovered any other up stairs, so the one crowded by the elephants was his only bet. One scroll of blink, one potion of Brilliance (which didn't provide MP, but did make sure that Mephitic Cloud fired off when it was needed), and one scroll of teleport got him back to safety. He moves so slowly that the plan wouldn't have worked without the spell, so it's lucky he had a couple of MP left. Even a slug can outrun him.

What will the future hold? Victory or Death?

(smart money is on death)

Yeesh · Mar 6, 2011

Now Saigo I is actually alive and pondering his next move, BUT that doesn't mean I'm going to sit on this awesome Saigos' death poem I wrote!

Saigo the First felt his snake-y heart burst,
when the elephants trampled him. Splat!

Saigo the Second saw the grim reaper beckon,
after a lone weak kobold knocked him flat.

Saigo the Third said a very dirty word,
when a gnoll smashed him for 17 points.

Saigo the Fourth should have headed north,
when an unarmed hobgoblin started busting his joints.

Saigo the Fifth had a great problem with,
a harsh three jelly gangrape situation.

Saigo the Sixth was certainly miffed,
when Ijyb zapped a wand of frost at his location.

Saigo the Seventh would not reach level eleventh,
since even single file gnolls proved too much.

And Saigo the Eighth had very little faith,
when Grinder kept casting Pain and such.

dextermorgan · Mar 7, 2011

Terrible rhyming, excellent LP! How many snakes are left to await their squishy death?

:thumbsup:

Stood up and Befriended, the Nagas of Crawl (a lil NSFW)

Magister

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