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

[Yeesh]

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

Hey there are no words in English that rhyme with sixth and only one that rhymes with seventh: eleventh.

There's around 70 naga to go; I'm going to get an accounting going once I finish off Saigo I and the forgotten Lech VII and the rest of the Hraaks.

 

[Yeesh]

Well I'd might as well introduce Saigo I. He's stayed alive so far by keeping out of the spotlight, but now let's expose him to the sun and watch him wither. Saigo I is a very angry naga who can't even find a fucking hat. Not getting a naga barding was expected, but being unable to even get Cheibriados's bonus for 4 slots because there hasn't been a single piece of headgear the whole game? Bunch of bullshit right there.

Here he discovers his first Orc Warlord. Pretty much all Saigo I has going for him (other than a big heart) is Mephitic Cloud and a bow of velocity, but he also recently memorized Confusion which should provide some help against poison immunes AND provide some long distance disabling. Let's see how that pans out now.

Wow, one hit. Saigo is glad that wasn't him.

So this area ends up being some sort of fancypants temple to Beogh, with a high priest and a couple of orc sorcerers in addition to 1200 other orcs. Eventually Saigo I prevails, but he's getting tight on arrows. And that was just level 3.

Oh dear. How annoying that this encounter would provide a centaur with his coveted barding, while Saigo I will get nothing. But of course, first Nessos will have to be killed. Fighting a centaur out in the open is no fun for a slow, mostly unarmored snake monster. Saigo has discovered some spellbooks, but nothing containing any missile defense. Hmmm. Oh right, Slouch. Sadly that spell doesn't work on creatures who haven't noticed you yet. So we'll get his attention.

I decide to play smart by looking up the damage Slouch does before starting the combat, but then I get distracted and forget (so many windows), firing a poison dart at Nessos (no effect) to wake him up and only then recalling that I don't actually know if Slouch will do much. Luckily, when I sheepishly do my research, the formula tells me little since I don't know my speed: ([speed difference]*4d3 /2 damage). Still, the enemy goes much faster than I do, and that can't be bad. My guess is two shots.

Saigo I gets a little scared when the first Slouch seems to hit for less than hoped, but Nessos bites it on the second cast. Good thing, since that is an expensive ability. And look, arrows! Now a longbow of flaming is less exciting, because it seems to me that when a monster resists flame or frost, he goes completely unharmed despite being hit by an arrow. That never happens with a regular arrow or a poison arrow. Maybe I'm just misinterpretting the message. We'll worry about it all later.

A priest rounding a dangerous corner pays the price, and Saigo I (aka Saigo the Hatless) reaches level 14. This is truly an unprecedented achievement for a naga guided by Yeesh. Kudos to you, Saigo! I'll kill you yet. Also note that there are some big stone thingies down here on Orc 4. Back in version .7, this place wasn't nearly so interesting. It seems to just goes on and on now.

Saigo I spends an interminable amount of time in the mines, gathering up weapons and fighting respawns. The flaming longbow underperforms, which bears out my earlies conjecture but fucking sucks because a longbow would be a nice step up for Saigo. The rock things turn out to be another temple to Beogh, this time with some shops. Three of them suck. An antique armor shop sells no less than 5 randarts, which of course it does since Cheibrigados worshippers don't use them. But it does sell a solitary +1 helm, which gets Saigo to 4 ponderous items.

The mines are very large, and very tiring. Saigo runs very, very low on ammo. There was a weapon shop, but it sold neither bows nor arrows. There was a food shop, but fuck you who wants a food shop? A spriggan I guess.

Saigo has enough money to buy the 5 randarts and wonders if he should. What if one of them rules?

 

[Zomg]

I think you are correct about branded bow shots of cold/fire being fully resistable. With melee weapons the elemental brands are always in addition to normal unresistable damage, I don't know why they use a different rule for ammo. However the brand on the ammo always takes precedence, so if you shoot a poison arrow from a flaming bow it will be poison not flame.

 

[Yeesh]

I think you are correct about branded bow shots of cold/fire being fully resistable. With melee weapons the elemental brands are always in addition to normal unresistable damage, I don't know why they use a different rule for ammo. However the brand on the ammo always takes precedence, so if you shoot a poison arrow from a flaming bow it will be poison not flame.

Well that's something, but sadly the poison arrows I found were +0 and few of them survived the mines. I don't expect to be seeing another longbow until the Vaults (and by then Saigo I had better have found Repel Missiles or something, or it's going to be a real short trip).

So I got a little too focused on the game and forgot to take screenshots, then again nothing exciting happened. Here's a hive layout I haven't seen before. Being low on arrows, and bees being wusses, Siago I cleared it by melee and spell; unfortunately he doesn't have much of a spell selection and is a bigger wuss than the bees. The whole thing was a pretty huge pain in the ass, but you know me; I don't like to complain. Had to kill some Oklob Plants here to get to a little treasure, which would have been far too costly an endeavor if Saigo weren't decked out in Che's ultra crappy artefacts.

The trip did yield the starting necro spellbook. I wonder... Vampiric Draining would make Saigo I a lot less fun to stand next to. And Dispel Undead would be welcome too. Bootstrapping necro from nothing would be a little annoying, but then what isn't? Also present was a book of some fire spells, but having a little ice magic, Saigo I learns fire at -4 aptitude. Is Sticky Flame worth it?

45 honeycombs and not much else the richer, Saigo I is through with the Hive and the Mines. His descent into the depths of the Lair was stopped after he found an 8-headed hydra on level 6, but perhaps now he's ready to face the beast. Or perhaps not. We'll see soon enough. Or maybe Saigo should return to the Snake Pits from whence he came. Surely a warm welcome awaits.

 

[Malakal]

You made a HUGE mistake with Nessos. Risked without a reason, should have just cast mephitic cloud and laugh at his confused and poisoned ass.

But good job with living so far!

 

[Black Bart Charley]

Yeah, I am genuinely surprised. Especially with the orc warlord and the sorcerers.

My current best orc knight (i hope i get warlords too), Grog, with epic equip could probably take my lvl15 hill orc messiah of beouh 1on1. And if he had help from a sorcerer... Those dudes spam tier2 demons and dont afraid of anything, dont hunger either.

The Warband "WAAAAAAAAARGH" of Farg the Messiah of Beogh has 18k xp and Farg has to outrun his comrades to level his axes skill. You know shit is fucking awesome if orc uniques start to join the cause!

 

[Yeesh]

You made a HUGE mistake with Nessos. Risked without a reason, should have just cast mephitic cloud and laugh at his confused and poisoned ass.

But good job with living so far!

Well, making mistakes is one of the hallmarks of my play style (along with cursing and occasionally hitting the wrong key). However a risk had to be taken in this case. Note that Nessos was discovered at absolute max range, a full 8 squares away from Saigo I. Mephitic Cloud goes 5 squares max, with the AOE making its effective range 6. Even if Saigo could ever-so-slowly sneak those two spaces, who knows what extra monsters could have been revealed behind Nessos by such movement?

But I'll get Saigo I killed soon enough. It's sad, really. He has lacks good offensive power and defensive power and escape abilities. Killing each confused Orc Knight took one thousand shots. How much further can a naga archer go?

 

[Black Bart Charley]

Grog is dead... And another sorcerer is dead...
Fucking bolts of penetration, I could not shield them!

But I love u Olfrun!

 

[Malakal]

The problem with orc priests is: your followers WILL die and you wont be able to survive alone at some point. Priests suffer for the same reasons summoners do - summons/followers take up 50% exp.

 

[Black Bart Charley]

They seem to respawn though, cant you herd them to acceptable levels if you are lucky?
I had already multiply knights die on me.
Very fun to play after all the solo runs (killing ghosts is a joy ) and the game even names them, how cute

 

[Malakal]

Yea, you can herd them but then comes a, for example, enemy summoner and summons few tier 1 demons who proceed to massacre your orcs... AOE spells are also extremely deadly.

 

[GarfunkeL]

This reminds me of my TFTD-LP. Very fun to read Yeesh. Don't give up!

 

[Yeesh]

Let me type this out to emphasize it:

"The eight-headed hydra roars! You hear a bellow! You hear a bellow! You hear a bellow! You hear a bellow! (that was 4 bellows) You hear a croak." Yes, I can predict that this is going to go smoothly. (The abomination came from IDing a scroll of summoning.)

Oh, a death yak. Presumably that means there are two full packs to deal with. Thank goodness the stairs are right next to one another. Also, Slouch (hydra was getting away with 7 heads intact) pretty much killed my pet abomination. That doesn't make sense to me. The next turn or two will determine whether Saigo I fights or flees.

Ah, sweet. Well, we're not here to see 100 naga live forever, now are we?

This is getting ridiculous. With the stairs being the way they are, I don't see how Saigo I can ever come back down if he leaves. He'd be mobbed by monsters that can attack him 3 times each as he arrives. Note that my Mephitic Cloud shot is blocked every fucking turn. GET OUT OF THE WAY!

4x Slouch later. I keep forgetting about that ability. I'd say it was worth it here and then some. Thanks, Cheibriados!

Oh for the love of christ. Saigo has got to get some abilities other than Mephitic Cloud and Slouch. The latter actually would be all he needs, if it weren't for that pesky piety requirement. But to use it here would be wasteful.

A clusterfuck is memorialized as a couple of animals die to point the way to Saigo I's fifteenth level. God this character is so fucked. I choose Dex, for no reason other than follow-through.

Look, the down stairs are all together too. Clustering is the level's theme.

Jesus, guys. Saigo I just wants to eat his fresh moccasin meat, which tastes just like chicken by the way. Can you give him a fucking second? And not EVERY hydra has to be an 8-header, you know.

Well this doesn't look very good. Fucking three giant amoebae did this to Saigo I while he kept the komodo dragon dancing around confused. But now the dragon doesn't seem to want to stay confused and would rather just finish Saigo I off. Might as well, he's a pretty useless character. No offense, no defense. (But the little fucker survives to prolong our suffering.)

Leaving the final level of the Lair alone for now, Saigo I decides to try the Swamp on for size. Inherently poison resistant, he's none the less vulnerable to any uniques casting confuse, which might just drown him dead. Naga don't swim, and from what I can tell they do suffer a movement penalty, though not a combat penalty from shallow water. But what is life without risk? Also, the Snake Pit is going to be a rough time for Saigo I, relying so much on poison as he does. I'm scrambling to power up some of his other abilities but it's slow going. Let's kill him off before things get hard for him.

Hey it looks different. Hi drake! I love your cakes.

Zot traps in the Swamp? I believe that's new too. Really adds to the experience. Really, really does. How do you people win this fucking ridiculous game?

Gather 'round, fuckers. Let me show you how my god feels about fast moving creatures.

Soon thereafter, Saigo I finds some elven boots. The Swamp is taunting him.

At the very start of the next level, Saigo I proves he willing to waste piety to kill slime creatures. He really hates those little fuckers, and shooting arrows in the Swamp would be a great way to run out.

Portal Mimic, aka GoFuckYourSelf. God, getting to a fucking bazaar was going to be nice. So far this game, have encountered 0 gateways or archways of any sort, excepting one treasure trove which requires 5 speed potions. I'd be happy to give them if I could find them. Have been very light on potions this game, other than the weaker healing potions.

Every time he sees a spellbook, Saigo I gets his hopes up. Sucker. (This turns out to be a book of Enchantments, including the Deflect Missiles spell which is far, far beyond Saigo I's ability. Why, you ask? Because they split Charms and Hexes, and our hero has only had Hexes to practice. That will change as he immediately memorizes the always useful (especially in the Swamp) Levitation, though missile protection will remain a whispy dream for a long time (unless death comes before a long time). All in all, not a bad find.)

(But don't ya be expectin Saigo I to be casting no bloodclot Haste spell now.)

Again, even laughably minor poison-immune creatures are a menace to Saigo I.

Damnit I should have Slouched earlier, but I've already dropped so much piety. And now things are looking grim. Slime creatures. That's how fucking pathetic this character is. God fucking damn it.

How do I not die without wasting a blink on fucking slime creatures? What would the Codex do?

Saigo I the Archer (Naga Arcane Marksman)                                                                                                          Turns: 32862, Time: 14:29:35

HP  41/111 (112) AC 16     Str 23      Exp: 15/117598 (0), need: 9001
MP  16/38        EV 17     Int 25      God: Cheibriados [*****.]
Gold 2889        SH  0     Dex 29      Spells:  9 memorised, 12 levels left

Res.Fire  : + . .   See Invis. : +   a - +4,+5 bow (velocity)
Res.Cold  : + . .   Warding    : .   d - +2 leather armour of Belatedness {MR, Slow
Life Prot.: + . .   Conserve   : +   (no shield)
Res.Acid. : . . .   Res.Corr.  : .   J - +1 helmet of Cheibriados {Slow}
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: .   j - ring of magical power

@: levitating (expires), very slow, very resistant to hostile enchantments, extremely 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 3 of the Swamp.
You worship Cheibriados.
Cheibriados is exalted by your worship.
You are hungry.

You have visited 6 branches of the dungeon, and seen 30 of its levels.

You have collected 2907 gold pieces.
You have spent 68 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand weapons
 a - a +4,+5 bow of velocity (weapon)
 f - a +2,+2 scimitar of flaming
 s - a +2 elven blowgun
 w - a -1,+2 orcish spear of reaching
 L - a +2,+3 longbow of flame
 N - the bardiche "Schith" {elec, rF+ Stlth++}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   Occasionally, upon striking a foe, it will discharge some electrical energy 
   and cause terrible harm.
   It protects you from fire.
   It makes you much more stealthy.
Missiles
 c - 55 +0 arrows
 k - 6 curare-tipped needles
 r - 15 runed arrows
 A - 30 +3 darts
 G - 30 runed arrows
 K - 3 +0 javelins of returning
 P - 19 darts
 Q - 23 +3 arrows (quivered)
 T - 18 poisoned +0 needles
Armour
 b - the +3 robe of the End {rElec}
   (You found it on level 7 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   It insulates you from electricity.
 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.
 E - a glowing robe
 J - the +1 helmet of Cheibriados (worn) {Slow}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 4 of the Orcish Mines)   
   It slows your movement.
Magical devices
 l - a wand of cold {zapped: 4}
 v - a wand of polymorph other {zapped: 1}
 O - a wand of lightning {zapped: 3}
 W - a wand of enslavement {zapped: 2}
 Y - a wand of healing {zapped: 4}
Comestibles
 g - 9 honeycombs
 p - a choko
 B - a rotting chunk of rat flesh
 H - a beef jerky
Scrolls
 e - a scroll of detect curse
 h - a scroll of summoning
 y - 2 scrolls of blinking
 C - 6 scrolls of remove curse
 F - 6 scrolls of identify
 I - a scroll of enchant weapon III
 R - a scroll of enchant armour
 Z - a scroll of teleportation
Jewellery
 j - a ring of magical power (left hand)
 n - a ring of teleport control (right hand)
 q - an uncursed ring of regeneration
 t - an uncursed ring of sustain abilities
 z - an uncursed ring of teleportation
 M - an amulet of conservation (around neck)
 U - a glowing steel ring
Potions
 i - 9 potions of healing
 o - a silvery potion
 u - 2 oily purple potions
 D - 2 potions of heal wounds
 V - 2 potions of restore abilities
Books
 S - a book of Enchantments   
   Spells                             Type                      Level
   *Levitation                        Charms/Air                   2
   Tukima's Dance                     Hexes                        3
   See Invisible                      Charms                       4
   Cause Fear                         Hexes                        5
   Extension                          Charms                       5
   Deflect Missiles                   Charms/Air                   6
   Haste                              Charms                       6
   Tukima's Ball                      Hexes                        9
   
Magical staves
 X - a staff of wizardry


 You have 0 experience left.

   Skills:
 + Level 4 Fighting
 - Level 1 Short Blades
 - Level 5 Long Blades
 - Level 2 Axes
 - Level 1 Maces & Flails
 - Level 14 Bows
 - Level 2 Crossbows
 - Level 5 Throwing
 - Level 4 Armour
 + Level 8 Dodging
 + Level 10 Stealth
 - Level 2 Stabbing
 + Level 3 Traps & Doors
 + Level 8 Spellcasting
 + Level 9 Conjurations
 + Level 7 Hexes
 + Level 6 Necromancy
 + Level 4 Ice Magic
 + Level 5 Air Magic
 - Level 7 Poison Magic
 - Level 10 Invocations
 + Level 3 Evocations


You have 12 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 - Confuse               Hex            ######...    Excellent   3    None
d - Magic Dart            Conj           #####        Excellent   1    None
e - Mephitic Cloud        Pois/Air/Conj  ######....   Excellent   3    None
f - Throw Frost           Ice/Conj       ######.      Excellent   2    None
g - Pain                  Necr           #####        Excellent   1    None
h - Vampiric Draining     Necr           ######....   Excellent   3    None
i - Levitation            Air/Chrm       ####......   Excellent   2    None

(You'll keep in mind, of course, that an enemy moving at normal speed can act two or three times for every step Saigo I takes. Thus retreating or repositioning by foot (ha ha, he doesn't have feet) is quite out of the question.)

(This might be the moment to unleash Cheibriados's most expensive ability: Step from Time. Saigo can cast that at Very Good, which is still a little risky. But if the alternative is a triple-sized slime creature...)

 

[Malakal]

I hate slime creatures, they are tough, fast, regen quickly and can stack into greater slime creatures.

Better step out of time, with 41 hp you may be dead n a turn.

Also IF you survive do identify all your potions with scrolls. Scrolls unused are wasted (and often burned).

 

[golgepapaz]

I concur that the nagas suck, doomed to toil in obscurity
and if that slime creatures is composed of three or more creatures it can one shot you, be afraid ,be very afraid...

is teleport instant for you? oh you are not wearing the ring. In that case blink and cheibrados ability or blink and go the lower level..., I 'd pick lower level myself...

 

[Yeesh]

Well I'm stepping out for a bit, but I'd might as well see what happens to Saigo I first. Activate the Step from Time!

Well... that's a LITTLE better, but the situation is still shit and now Saigo is critically short on MP. I wonder what he should do next; run for the stairs? Lay down and die because he sucks?

 

[Yeesh]

is teleport instant for you? oh you are not wearing the ring. In that case blink and cheibrados ability or blink and go the lower level..., I 'd pick lower level myself...

No, even with the ring on it takes a few turns to kick in, just like a scroll. And worse, Saigo I hasn't had a chance to train evocations, so it's not going to activate with any reliability. So many skills to train...

 

[7hm]

Yeesh, don't be afraid to burn blink and teleport scrolls.

The dungeon has lots of them. You'll find more if you survive.

I'd say from reading these LPs that your biggest issue is your failure to burn consumables appropriately.

Edit: I just noticed you have a ring of teleport control. YOU HAVE A RING OF TELEPORT CONTROL. YOU SHOULD NOT DIE!!!!!!

Read a scroll of teleport. Drink a healing potion (you have 9... 9!!!!!). Maybe drink 2. Wait the teleport out and then teleport to the up stairs and gtfo.

Leave the swamp and go back to clearing the dungeon, where corridors will prevent you from getting ganked as you build up strength.

 

[Yeesh]

(excellent advice that I'm a fool not to take)

Sadly, none of the up staircases are anywhere nearby. Saigo I is sooooo slow that I'm not sure how he could make it.

But really it boils down to something a little more fundamental. I know this seems idiotic, but the fact of the matter is:

THESE COLORS DON'T RUN!!!!!

Saigo I decides that enough is enough. He removes his ring of magic power and replaces it with the teleportitis ring. He draws back his bowstring and mutters to no one, "It's time to take out the trash..."

And he mows the three slime creatures down. As the arrows fly, a little voice tells him, "Saigo! This is suicide! This is madness!" And in response Saigo I yells at the top of his lungs, "Madness...? THIS IS NAGA!!!"

(No but seriously he's going to die if he runs into anything tough.)

Saigo I moves to finish his circuit of Swamp 3 before retreating back to the dungeon per 7hm's wise council. Saigo burns some ID scrolls on potions to honor a promise he made to Malakal. But damnit, he can't bring himself to ID anything when he's carrying 2 or fewer unID'd items... because he's not going to waste the rare triple ID!

Having discovered a potion of Speed, Saigo learns that he has two more waiting back in the stash. Once he's acquired 5, he can enter that treasure trove. My, but wouldn't a potion store be handy? Or a treasure vault or a portal or fucking ANYTHING? But you know Saigo I, he can't complain.

Soon thereafter, Saigo I finds and dispatches (with a mixture of glee and shame) the final of the troublesome slimes. Let us never speak of this chapter again.

Once back in the Lair, Saigo I takes a second to decide which loot to haul back to the main stash and which to leave on the floor. Too much crap, and not enough carry space. And nothing really useful. Saigo's found a Staff of Fire, but that's one of the few schools he doesn't use. How about a cloak or hat better than +1 of nothing? That would be nice.

Aha! The sought after triple ID happens, and Saigo discovers both a potion of Gain Str and a potion of Gain Dex. Not too shabby. Now if only he could find a naga barding, he'd be looking at some truly sick stats. Not that they'd make much of a difference.

Saigo I decides to learn Tukima's Dance, since that will go well with this randart bardiche he's carrying around. He also learns Dispel Undead. Neither is really what he needs, but despite having found his share of spell books Saigo doesn't have so many options. He slithers back into the dungeon.

Now that he can levitate, Saigo I decides to investigate this whatever-it-is.

Oh dear. The presence of that orc lead me to believe this would be much, much less of a challenge. But now that I think about it, I did see some hell hounds here before. So could be Margery, or maybe this is some special hell-style vault. Saigo I probably should have left it alone. He's no match for a trio of Hell Knights.

Saigo I survives, albeit barely. He was very fortunate to only need to retreat 3 spaces. We'll have to come back to that one later. The Hell Knights might not have been so dangerous for Saigo I to fight single file with 2/3 rF, but at this point he's wielding a weapon he's at skill 1 with, so discretion was the better part of valor.

Bees for no reason. Ok. The bardiche makes Saigo I "extraordinarily stealthy", which sounds nice. It also chops up monsters pretty good, but despite Saigo I's hacking everything in sight, the +/+ level remains a mystery. Probably -2,-8.

(Strangely, none of the bees leaves a corpse. Poor, hungry Saigo.)

A centaur shows up. Archery? You know who you fuckin' with, bitch?

A great orb of eyes. No sneaking up on him. Ugh, I found a ring of MR, but I didn't want to carry every single fucking piece of jewelry with me. Let's see. We'll step back around the corner. And that had better be a LONE slime creature (not likely).

That did not work. (Eventually the orb is killed, and the slime does turn out to be alone.)

Ice dragon, eh? This must be the reason I've been lugging this stupid fire bow around. Let's see how this plays out. I'll add that Saigo I wears an amulet of conservation because he hasn't found anything else worth wearing. So the potions should be ok.

OK, read that right there. What the fuck? I'm using a longbow of flame with +3 arrows against a creature who's susceptible, and I have a bows skill of 14. AND HE STILL SHRUGS OFF THE HIT COMPLETELY. Cool.

(Being stubborn, I follow through with the bow, and the dragon does succumb without too much trouble.)

Look it's Harold. An easy mark with no special equipment evident. Saigo I has encountered an unusually low number of uniques. But then it doesn't take much to kill a naga, so thank friggin goodness.

Harold's unenchanted war axe proves no match for the mighty bardiche of Saigo I, and the latter reaches 16th level. Dex increases, which I regret because now I see I should have been raising Int all along. Oh well. It'll even out when Saigo I finds that naga barding.

Oo oo oo! Randart ring! C'mon, baby...

The best of times and the worst of times. (Still haven't fully ID'd the ring, but it causes teleportitis at least, so that's something.)

Oh, THAT'S the downside of using a huge, slow weapon. And of being an idiot. (The old wand of Healing saves Saigo's bacon. That and the fact that slime creatures aren't even dangerous. This guy is just so fucked.)

Scroll shop has 4 or 5 useful scrolls, antique weapon shop has 2 randarts and no longbows or arrows. Saigo I could buy both randart weapons, but should he? Should he? He demurs.

Now THERE'S someone you don't want to fight without rElec. Saigo backs away painfully slowly but stealthily.

3 centaurs and a centaur warrior guard the entrance to the Vaults, but their archery is inferior to Saigo's own. And look, that randart ring turned out to be teleportitis + cold vulnerability. Fuck you, Crawl. Seriously. Fuck you you goddamned piece of shit.

Wait, that's not the entrance to the Vaults...

Damn it's good to be stealthy.

Woe. Hello piety! (15 honeycombs, no royal jelly.)

Not too sure what's going on here. Saigo I gets ready to leave. (Why, it's a kobold demonologist. Saigo is unfortunately on the other side of a cloud of demons when this discovery is made. Diving down to next level.)

Came back up, killed the kobold and a bunch of other stuff. Took a chance on a randart weapon and it turned out to suck, but it does give rElec. Does this mean Saigo I should go after Nikola?

 

[Malakal]

LoL, no, dont go after Nicola. Get a good weapon with good skill in it and a good spell and relec and THEN kill him.

 

[7hm]

Don't burn skill points on crappy weapons. It's tough to do, but stick to one weapon grouping regardless of how good the randarts you find are.

And leave Nikola alone. He'll destroy you.

 

[Malakal]

Don't burn skill points on crappy weapons. It's tough to do, but stick to one weapon grouping regardless of how good the randarts you find are.

And leave Nikola alone. He'll destroy you.

Early skill levels cost peanuts in xp so having at least level 6 in all weapons is very much viable. In case of some insane artifacts mainly.

 

[Zomg]

What is that vault with the hell knights, I've never seen it? I assume there is some nice loot there too, and you have rF++ and can shoot them over some lava also, between their weapons (which you can tukima's if nothing else) and the loot that is what I would focus on. Tukima'd weapons are elec immune too if you want to summon up 2-3 and then wield your axe and send them after nikola.

 

[Yeesh]

LoL, no, dont go after Nicola. Get a good weapon with good skill in it and a good spell and relec and THEN kill him.

And leave Nikola alone. He'll destroy you.

Midgame Sigmund! If you don't have rElec, go away. If you do have rElec, go away.

FINE, we'll leave Niokla to his slumber for now (and "for now" means forever when you're a snake monster who's going to be dead soon).

Wow, that's quite an ogre cluster. Not very alarming though.

SLURPING NOISE MAKES ME RAGE
Where is the little fucker? Where are you you fucking shit head? FUCKING LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT FUCKWAD DICKSUCKING COCKFACED SHITHEAD ASSHOLE

Look it's the entrance to Hell (assuming it's not another mimic). BUT WHO CARES? WHERE'S THAT GODDAMNED FUCKING JELLY!?!?!?

He keeps doing it. I actually am insane with rage. It's just not right, the jellies. It's really just not right. This game is hard enough without actually destroying the few items that might be of use to a character wearing pure shit.

See? Here's a fight I'd like to have, but I can't. All I can do is run as fast as I can (which is very, very slow) to try and find the jelly. They really make the game worse for me, tangibly, crappily worse. They drive me insane. They're my least favorite monster. Why are they in this game? Just to rachet up the randomness factor even more?

At this point I've heard no fewer than 10 slurping noises, and I'm a ball of rage. It's so incredibly aggravating. You know, it's like the game generates this dungeon, and it's random, but at least it's mine. The items are all here for me. I may lose some consumables to humanoids using them, or to attacks that shatter or burn them, but all that is at least under my control. But this little fucker. Did he eat the only naga barding in the game? What was I supposed to do to prevent that? Did he swallow the only amulet of clarity? Or even a plain old magic Long Bow? Or magic arrows? A Cloak or Helm of ANYTHING? Because Saigo's wearing shit. And this fucker eats it all and it's not my fucking fault.

There's a tuly titanic spore colony on this level. Remember that 3x as much happens every time Saigo I moves relative to a normal speed character. Shit happens thrice as much. Saigo I has dispatched three jellies so far, perhaps there's a shrine to Slimey somewhere. And more jellies.

But then in an event that certainly wasn't heavily foreshadowed, Saigo I dies to slimes. Assists go to an empty wand of healing, and even more to Yeesh's very, very high level of frustration. Certainly a stupid death in every way, as Saigo I was sitting on two blink scrolls, he could have Stepped from Time again, and anyway he shouldn't have engaged slimes without being somewhere where an Eye of Devastaion wouldn't pop in from around a corner.

What a tremendous waste of time. What a truly tremendous waste of time.

107397 Saigo I the Archer (level 16, -44/120 (121) HPs)
             Began as a Naga Arcane Marksman on Mar 5, 2011.
             Was the Champion of Cheibriados.
             Annihilated by a very large slime creature (49 damage)
             ... on Level 16 of the Dungeon on Mar 10, 2011.
             The game lasted 17:28:23 (37097 turns).

Oh, 49 damage. I guess I can't really blame the empty healing wand. I suppose slime creatures need to be taken very, very seriously. You'd think I'd have learned that already. Obviously I'm an idiot, at least when it comes to Crawl.

 

[Malakal]

I just lost another naga wizard (what can I say, you inspired me) to my ghost character who dealt over 46 dmg in one hit. 46! Fuck this shit what could I do I had like 60 hp.