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[Grombardrim]

So, I'm pretty much new to Adventure Mode, and I wanted to make an Elf Markswoman (I know, I know, I blame one of DarkerDark's images for that!)...  Wat do?

[BlackFlyme]

If you are playing a ranged character, you will want some sort of backup weapon, in case you run out of ammo. Your ammo supply can be a bit tricky to manage, as without mods you will be reliant on looting castles and dead enemies when you run low, and carrying too much ammo can really slow you down. Having an area to treat as a personal base to store ammo you can't carry may be a good idea.

Sneaking will be important. But then again, it's almost always important. Though there is an odd bug where you will be unable to hit a prone enemy with a ranged attack if you are sneaking.

One annoying thing is that you cannot place shots, only fire them at the enemy. Where you hit will depend on luck, and sometimes you may end up peppering an enemy with countless arrows before getting a really damaging shot in.

As an elf, you will be at peace with wildlife. This means that most animals will not attack or run from you, and are considered friendly. This is a bit of annoying, as animals are where most of an adventurer's food comes from. You can't pick plants in adventure mode, unless you use DFHack's adv-fort plugin, so most food comes from butchering your kills. Since animals are friendly you will be constantly asked if you are certain that you want to attack an animal, as a sort of friendly-fire warning. Though you could just walk off with a bag of food from a village or something, and no-one will mind.

You won't start off with a waterskin. You will have to find something else to carry your drinks in. This is because elves do not use animal products, and leather is required to make a waterskin.

As a side note, elves cannot become necromancers, so don't bother putting any points into reading. Only mortal creatures can learn necromancy, and since elves live forever, they are unable to learn the secrets of life and death. Though they should be able to become vampires and werebeasts just fine.

That's about everything I can think of off of the top of my head.

[Grombardrim]

As a side note, elves cannot become necromancers, so don't bother putting any points into reading.

Oh.  In that case, I'll just re-roll my Human Death Cleric.  Morningstars are FUN, although I've been considering trying out a Lasher while the bug's still there.  Or maybe a 2H Swordsman...  Hmm.  So many choices!

[Tawa]

If you're new, the following setup works well:

Elves are fine, maybe even a little better for noobs because of SPEED BOOST.

When I'm trying to actually do something, like depopulate a nation or kill dragons, I go with this setup:

Demigod
Superior Strength, Agility, Toughness/Endurance

Crank down analytical, patience, linguistic, creativity, musicality to minimum

Above average Social, Willpower, whichever of toughness/endurance you didn't do superior

MAD SKILLZ

Go for weapon skill 'round Adept. You can train armor later, and a full set of it won't do you exceedingly well until you're around Legendary armor user and won't be encumbered at all.

Put novice into swimmer, novice into reader (UNLESS you're an elf) and adequate into observer. Very important for midnight ambushes camping trips.

Split dodger/shield user even-even with whatever's left. If it comes out uneven, funnel the spare points into Armor.

WEAPON CHOICES

Now. this is tricky.

If you like a balanced meal fight, use a sword. Lucky people get iron longswords, unlucky people get silver Zweihanders(2-handers)/short swords. Swordplay is also used for bows in melee.

If you want it to DIE NOW and HARD or reenact the Black Knight scene from Monty Python, use an axe. If you don't need a shield, get a greataxe asap.

I don't really use spears or pikes, but I guess they aren't that bad. Lots of NPCs use them, as do the desert-dwellers of instant death in my favorite novels.

WHIPS > EVERYTHING ELSE
Seriously, they cut through steel armor like butter. In life, they are supposed to cause pain; in Dwarf Fortress, they cave in your opponents' skulls quickly and efficiently. Be warned, though, that without companions and/or a clear shot at the head, you're Indiana Toast. _{Yes, I went there.} You can't de-limb people, see, without lucky cracks to the arm or leg.

STOP! HAMMER TIME!
Hammers kill people very, very fast. No, they don't return to you like Mjollnir, but they are more effective at breaking people's arms. Carrying a spare hammer could be a clever idea. Hammer skill is also used for crossbows in melee.

Bows and crossbows are functionally equivalent, except they use different kinds of ammo. Neither tends to be very accurate without insane training, but they are the weapon to use if you want it to die waaay over there.

Throwing, oddly enough, is a very good skill. You may want to consider it. You can easily kill anyone with anything, and a bag of berries in a farmer's house is deadly in your hands.

Maces are nice. Morningstars are very fun, indeed. Regular maces, however, are very much like plain old hammers, so they're, y'know, meh.

Have fun.

[Matoro]

If you don't need a shield, get a greataxe asap.

Wait, you actually need two hands for greataxe? I thought that adventure mode currently ignores things like that. At least I don't have any problem wielding two-handed sword with one hand. I haven't tested if multigrasp would make it more effective, though.

[Grombardrim]

Multigrasp in Adventure Mode is kinda like "Versatile" in D&D 4e: namely, you CAN use it one-handed if you're large enough, but it's FAR more effective when used two-handed.

Demigod Human Swordsmaster it is, then.  I wonder, are there any Adventure Mode mods out there?  A double-sword would be an interesting thing...

[Nidilap]

Small piece of advice; NEVER TRAVEL BEYOND YOUR INITIAL FEW TOWNS WITHOUT COMPANIONS!!!!!

Traveling the world is great, but if you don't have some backup, YOU WILL BE TORN ASUNDER BY THE NIGHT. So, those are my two cents.

P.S. Don't be a werebeast. They suck.

[Grombardrim]

Beyond the initial towns!?  I stayed IN a town and got mauled by a Bogeyman (slept in an open-air marketplace, got woken up in the middle of the night and punched through my -Iron Armor- hard enough to bruise my lung.  I promptly retired as a peasant, and have yet to reload to check if my lung's healed.

Edit: out of curiosity, how do armor pieces work?  I mean, what slots are there and what pieces of armor go in which slot?  (also, which armor piece is best for each slot: i.e. are High Boots better than Low Boots of the same material & quality?)

[Broken]

My favorite weapons are swords, simply because you can find them in candy form.

[coldmonkey]

Demigod
Superior Strength, Agility, Toughness/Endurance

Crank down analytical, patience, linguistic, creativity, musicality to minimum

Above average Social, Willpower, whichever of toughness/endurance you didn't do superior

Willpower is more important that Endurance and Toughness as it lets you ignore greater levels of pain, improves dodging about as much as Agility does, and also makes you last longer before Exhaustion lowers your efficiency (though probably less than Endurance does).

[Nidilap]

Also, if you don't mind slaughtering countless innocent peasants, get a Great thrower, wait till night, kill as many peasants as you can, and take their knives. Place one in each hand, and use the rest as throwing Knives. Essentially unlimited ammo, so long as you survive the battle and don't throw your knives down a cliff.

[Starweaver396]

out of curiosity, how do armor pieces work?  I mean, what slots are there and what pieces of armor go in which slot?  (also, which armor piece is best for each slot: i.e. are High Boots better than Low Boots of the same material & quality?)

Head, Torso, Legs, Hands, Feet. Shield.
Boots go to the feet slot, but High boots reach up to the knee. Using low boots will get your legs cut off.
Hands are for gauntlets. You might be able to fit gloves under them though. These do not cover the shoulders without modding.
Legs take greaves. I think leggings will interfere with them, but trousers will not.
Torso is...important. Needs Breastplate, mail shirt, and cloaks. Cloaks cover everything, so they can be very useful if you don't have anything else.
Head is for Helm. Cap is EVIL. Hoods can be worn over helms though. Veils too, if you can find them.

Don't what all is helpful...

[Tawa]

Demigod
Superior Strength, Agility, Toughness/Endurance

Crank down analytical, patience, linguistic, creativity, musicality to minimum

Above average Social, Willpower, whichever of toughness/endurance you didn't do superior

Willpower is more important that Endurance and Toughness as it lets you ignore greater levels of pain, improves dodging about as much as Agility does, and also makes you last longer before Exhaustion lowers your efficiency (though probably less than Endurance does).

That is why I raise both a little bit.

...Still, good point. Imma go test a new setup out.

EDIT:

You have a point. I just pulled out a morningstar-wielding death machine using high endurance/toughness and high willpower, and he was only killed by a cheap shot with a whip.

[Grombardrim]

So the new build is, what, Superior Strength, Agility, Willpower, and above Average Social, Toughness and Endurance?

[coldmonkey]

I personally see no point in having points in Social skills, since goblin ambushes scale according to group size and you'll be able to get plenty of companions anyway once your fame goes up.