Maybe next version they'll do both : permanent great loss of skills and levels, as there's always ways to cripple/nerf the player more in Crawl.
Anyways, i had a great run with the Sprint map called " ||||||||||||||||||| " with a Berserker Gargoyle.
It's as if that sprint map (it's a very very long corridor with some doors and corners so you can sometime get your breath back
, so no real tactic but moving forward or backward) was actually made for such a character and happily i managed to get a win (major thanks to the vampiric artifact great mace i was using, it was a fantastic weapon as it deals great damage and so can heal back nicely).
There were several part of that map that were really hard, some monsters i only survived thanks to my inventory
In the end after fetching the orb, i noticed that behind it there was another door " door to Extended endgame " but considering the high difficulty i had to get there and survive, i decided to go with the regular win instead of risking my gargoyle neck there
It was extremely boring unfortunately to go back though, taking forever with this long, very long corridor, and those damned demons spawning around constantly (and with no way to move out of their way as it's a 1 tile corridor), good my character by that time was really powerfull and the Sprint gameplay increase the faith gain too because i had to use a lot of Trog hand , ran out of potions and so many high level demons and lords...
That's the only part of that sprint map that was not fun at all.
Dungeon Sprint DCSS version 0.13-a0-3153-g497d563 (tiles) character file.
15204133 Rog the Skullcrusher (level 22, 126/166 HPs)
Began as a Gargoyle Berserker on Sept 29, 2013.
Was the Champion of Trog.
Escaped with the Orb
... and 5 runes!
The game lasted 00:59:42 (10753 turns).
Rog the Skullcrusher (Gargoyle Berserker) Turns: 10753, Time: 00:59:42
HP 126/166 AC 48 Str 30 XL: 22 Next: 25%
MP 42/42 EV 17 Int 11 God: Trog [******]
Gold 1432 SH 0 Dex 10 Spells: 0 memorised, 24 levels left
Res.Fire : + + + See Invis. : . H - +6,+9 great mace of Subterfuge {vamp, +Fly
Res.Cold : + . . Warding : . c - +8 orc plate armour
Life Prot.: + . . Conserve : . (no shield)
Res.Poison: + Res.Corr. : . p - -5 helmet of Unambiguity {+Fly Str-3 Dex+3
Res.Elec. : + Clarity : . n - -1 cloak
Sust.Abil.: . . Spirit.Shd : . t - +0 pair of gloves "Byudghaug" {rC+ Dam+5}
Res.Mut. : + Prev.Telep.: + o - -1 pair of boots
Res.Rott. : + Flight : . R - amulet "Hyudogg" {rMut rF+ Int+2 Stlth-}
Saprovore : . . . G - ring of protection from fire
C - ring of fire
@: quite resistant to hostile enchantments, unstealthy
A: large and strong wings, fangs 1, talons 2, life protection 1, electricity
resistance, slow metabolism 1, unbreathing, petrification resistance, AC +16,
Dex -2
a: Fly, Burn Spellbooks, Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Renounce
Religion, Evoke Flight
}: 5/15 runes: decaying, serpentine, barnacled, silver, gossamer
You escaped.
You worshipped Trog.
Trog was exalted by your worship.
You were full.
You visited 1 branch
You collected 1934 gold pieces.
You spent 522 gold pieces at shops.
Inventory:
Hand weapons
a - a +0,+1 anti-magic morningstar
b - a +0,+0 anti-magic dire flail
m - a +4,+4 dire flail of protection
v - the +8,+11 great mace of the Big Bang {venom, +Fly, unknown}
(Trog gifted it to you in the Dungeon)
It poisons the flesh of those it strikes.
It lets you fly.
D - a +2,+1 dire flail of crushing
E - the +5,+2 great mace "Kotaamio" {venom, Int+3, unknown}
(Trog gifted it to you in the Dungeon)
It poisons the flesh of those it strikes.
It affects your intelligence (+3).
H - the +6,+9 great mace of Subterfuge (weapon) {vamp, +Fly rPois rC+ Str+3}
(You found it in the Dungeon)
It inflicts no extra harm, but heals its wielder somewhat when it strikes a
living foe.
It affects your strength (+3).
It protects you from cold.
It protects you from poison.
It lets you fly.
L - the +2,+5 great mace of Imbalance {crush, +Blink, unknown}
(Trog gifted it to you in the Dungeon)
It inflicts extra damage upon your enemies.
It lets you blink.
N - a +1,+4 dire flail of holy wrath
Armour
c - a +8 orcish plate armour (worn)
n - a -1 cloak (worn)
o - a -1 pair of boots (worn)
p - the -5 helmet of Unambiguity (worn) {+Fly Str-3 Dex+3}
(You bought it in a shop in the Dungeon)
It affects your strength (-3).
It affects your dexterity (+3).
It lets you fly.
t - the +0 pair of gloves "Byudghaug" (worn) {rC+ Dam+5}
(You bought it in a shop in the Dungeon)
It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+5).
It protects you from cold.
Magical devices
l - a wand of fire (1)
u - a wand of polymorph (16)
M - a wand of polymorph (0)
W - a wand of hasting (5)
Comestibles
z - a strawberry
A - 5 bread rations
B - 7 meat rations
Scrolls
k - a scroll of remove curse
w - a scroll of fog
Jewellery
f - a +4 ring of protection
h - a +3,+0 ring of slaying
q - a +2 ring of evasion
r - a +3 ring of intelligence
y - an uncursed ring of see invisible
C - a ring of fire (left hand)
F - an uncursed ring of fire
G - a ring of protection from fire (right hand)
K - the amulet "Pseoc" {Gourm Int+3 Dam+4}
(You found it in the Dungeon)
[amulet of the gourmand]
It affects your intelligence (+3).
It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+4).
R - the amulet "Hyudogg" (around neck) {rMut rF+ Int+2 Stlth-}
(You found it in the Dungeon)
[amulet of resist mutation]
It affects your intelligence (+2).
It protects you from fire.
It makes you much less stealthy.
S - the ring "Couxtix" {-Cast +Inv MR Dex+2}
(You found it in the Dungeon)
[ring of protection from magic]
It affects your dexterity (+2).
It lets you turn invisible.
It prevents spellcasting.
T - the ring of Ulej {rPois Acc+3 Dam+3}
(You found it in the Dungeon)
[ring of slaying]
It affects your accuracy (+3).
It affects your damage-dealing abilities (+3).
It protects you from poison.
U - the ring "Tuil" {rC+ Str+3 Int+4}
(You found it in the Dungeon)
[ring of protection from cold]
It affects your strength (+3).
It affects your intelligence (+4).
Potions
d - 4 potions of curing
e - a potion of invisibility
g - 2 potions of magic
j - a potion of agility
I - a potion of might
Orbs of Power
x - the Orb of Zot
Skills:
O Level 27 Fighting
O Level 27 Maces & Flails
O Level 27 Throwing
O Level 27 Armour
O Level 27 Dodging
O Level 27 Stealth
O Level 27 Unarmed Combat
- Level 1,8 Spellcasting
O Level 27 Evocations
You had 24 spell levels left.
You didn't know any spells.
Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations
Branches:
Dungeon (1/1)
Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Sif Muna
Trog
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
the Shining One
Shops:
D [+(!
Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations
You are resistant to torment.
You are immune to poison.
You can fly continuously.
Your stone body is very resilient (AC +16).
Your wings are large and strong.
You have very sharp teeth.
You have razor-sharp toenails.
You resist negative energy.
You are resistant to electric shocks.
You have a slow metabolism.
You can survive without breathing.
You are immune to petrification.
You are clumsy. (Dex -2)
Message History
You see here an orcish dagger.
An Ice Fiend comes into view.
There is an open door to the Dungeon here.
The Ice Fiend roars!
The Ice Fiend calls on the powers of darkness!
Your body is wracked with pain!
You hammer the Ice Fiend like a gong!!!
The Ice Fiend is heavily wounded.
You bludgeon the Ice Fiend!!
The Ice Fiend is severely wounded.
The Ice Fiend claws you but does no damage.
You bludgeon the Ice Fiend!!
The Ice Fiend is almost dead.
The Ice Fiend closely misses you.
The Ice Fiend claws you but does no damage.
You sock the Ice Fiend!
You kill the Ice Fiend!
Trog accepts your kill.
There is a staircase leading out of the dungeon here.
You have escaped!
My most difficult battle was in fact at roughly 2/3 of the map, when i ran into
Ereshkigal that teleported behind me while the other way of the corridor was blocked by a big bunch of demons and vault guards...
Her silencing was nearly the death of my character, only survived thanks to my stockpile of heal wound potions, and finally managed to put an end to this extremely hard to hit monster (can't believe how much "miss" i had on her ) with my last berserk potion (as due to silencing i couldn't go berserk by ability)