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[Ozarck]

My visit to the Shoals is going splendidly:

Code: [Select]

You climb downwards. Welcome to the Shoals!
This branch is very noisy, and so sound travels much less far.
This branch contains the barnacled rune of Zot.
Marking area around Roxanne as unsafe for travelling.
A snapping turtle, a merfolk siren and Roxanne come into view.
The merfolk siren shouts! The snapping turtle hisses angrily.
Found two stone staircases leading down.
There is a staircase back to the Lair here.
Save game and return to main menu?
Okay, then.
Char dumped to 'C:/Users/Nicholas/AppData/Roaming/crawl/morgue/058.txt'.
Save game and return to main menu?

......˜˜˜˜˜˜˜˜.
......˜˜˜˜˜˜˜..
.......˜˜˜˜˜˜..
........8..˜...
....>.?.....?..
...............
............˜..
.......@....˜˜˜
?...........˜˜˜
............˜˜.
....m......˜t˜.
#####.....˜P˜˜˜
    .....˜˜˜...
   ......###..˜
  >...˜P.#  ..˜


You can see Roxanne, a snapping turtle and a merfolk siren.
Maybe I'll go visit the elves for a little while. Check out the vaults a bit. See the sights. Check out the depths and look for an entrance to Abyss.

Code: [Select]

058 the Tortoise (Minotaur Berserker)              Turns: 46580, Time: 04:13:45

Health: 172/172    AC: 27    Str: 23 (24) XL:     18   Next: 15%
Magic:  17/17      EV: 16    Int:  9 (11) God:    Trog [*****.]
Gold:   1933       SH: 12    Dex: 15      Spells: 17/17 levels left

rFire    . . .     SeeInvis .   g - +9 hand crossbow {flame, Int+3}
rCold    + + .     Gourm    .   y - +0 shield {reflect}
rNeg     . . .     Faith    .   i - +2 plate armour {rC+}
rPois    +         Spirit   .   z - +2 hat {Int+3}
rElec    .         Reflect  +   k - +0 cloak {rPois}
rCorr    +         Harm     .   O - +0 pair of gloves
MR       +....                  n - +0 pair of boots
Stlth    ..........             (no amulet)
Regen    0.4/turn               v - ring of resist corrosion
MPRegen  0.2/turn               M - ring of protection from cold

@: no status effects
A: retaliatory headbutt, horns 2
}: 1/15 runes: gossamer
a: Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Burn Spellbooks, Renounce Religion


You are on level 1 of the Shoals.
You worship Trog.
Trog is extremely pleased with you.
You are hungry.

You have visited 5 branches of the dungeon, and seen 28 of its levels.
You have also visited: Sewer and Ice Cave.

You have collected 3269 gold pieces.
You have spent 1336 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 a - a +4 scimitar of flaming
 g - the +9 hand crossbow of Xan Sorenk (weapon) {flame, Int+3}
   (You found it on level 1 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   
   It causes projectiles fired from it to burn those they strike, causing extra
   injury to most foes and up to half again as much damage against particularly
   susceptible opponents.
   
   It affects your intelligence (+3).
 j - a +5 glaive of chopping
 m - a +5 arbalest of flaming
 Q - a +1 antimagic spear
Missiles
 b - 305 bolts (quivered)
Armour
 i - a +2 plate armour of cold resistance (worn)
 k - a +0 cloak of poison resistance (worn)
 n - a +0 pair of boots (worn)
 u - the +0 buckler of Hangman {rF++}
   (You found it on level 3 of the Lair of Beasts)   
   
   It greatly protects you from fire.
 y - a +0 shield of reflection (worn)
 z - a +2 hat of intelligence (worn)
 N - the +0 shield "Dulaez" {+Blink rN+}
   (You acquired it on level 4 of the Spider Nest)   
   
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It lets you blink.
 O - a +0 pair of gloves (worn)
Jewellery
 t - an uncursed ring of see invisible
 v - a ring of resist corrosion (left hand)
 M - a ring of protection from cold (right hand)
Wands
 o - a wand of lightning (?/15)
 s - a wand of disintegration (?/24) {zapped: 2}
 B - a wand of iceblast (?/15) {zapped: 8}
 L - a wand of digging (?/24)
 P - a wand of confusion (?/48) {zapped: 10}
 V - a wand of acid (?/15) {zapped: 2}
Scrolls
 d - 9 scrolls of remove curse
 e - 4 scrolls of blinking
 h - 2 scrolls of summoning
 w - 3 scrolls of magic mapping
 x - 6 scrolls of fog
 G - 3 scrolls of fear
 I - 9 scrolls of teleportation
Potions
 f - 3 potions of might
 l - 4 potions of resistance
 q - 11 potions of curing
 r - 14 potions of heal wounds
 A - 6 potions of agility
 C - 3 potions of cancellation
Comestibles
 D - 17 fruits
 S - a meat ration


   Skills:
 + Level 18.1 Fighting
 + Level 15.5 Polearms
 + Level 12.6 Crossbows
 + Level 18.3 Armour
 + Level 16.8 Dodging
 + Level 10.5 Shields

[TheDarkStar]

I always delay Shoals until after Vaults:1-4. I used to do Shoals earlier but I would die about half the time and I got really tired of it.

[Ozarck]

Lost that one to banishment to the abyss, level 2. Banished opn sight, mind you. Instantly. Three wretched stars, more than one apocalypse crab, and a balrug did me in. MiBe lvl 21.

nerfing rMut, and banishing beyond level 1 put banishment beyond the difficulty curve. Add to that, it seems that finding resistances (and decent randart armour at all) seems more limited.
I was so malmuted, within turns of being cast in. I had only seen one or two characters that badly malmuted before.

So, seems to me so far, that the devs answer to people complaining about the start of the game being most challenging is to up the rng death quotient for later on. Well, that and, you know, spawning flocks of mobs between you and the stairs up that you just passed, or spawning herds of mobs up the stairs.

Well, that was my highest run so far on v 0.20 anyway. I was begining to think I had a slim chance. But I really had a fat chance.

[heydude6]

Wretched stars don't permanently malmutate you. It's only temporary. Unfortunately, while it used to be that those mutations went away after a certain amount of time, now it's XP based meaning you have to kill a few monsters to get rid of the mutations.

Where were you when you first got banished if I could ask?

[Ozarck]

Vaults 4. I know it's not permanent, but they malmutate about once every four turns. I had probably twelve lines of mutation, and some of those were doubles. I also didn't know about the xp requirement for unmutating, but it was almost a moot issue, as I was being attacked by things that would kill me pretty much the whole time. I teleported a couple times. Perhaps I should have been much more generous with my scrolls of teleport, but with the new "make every consumable count" mentality, it's hard to do.

It was a decent run, but again, I feel like I had a lot fewer options in terms of usable items than I would normally at this level in version 0.17. There's just so many little changes since then, and so far, all of them except scarves seem to be (from my perspective having played about sixty games in this version so far) to remove advantages or to increase disadvantages. I think someone said it in this thread a while ago: the changes have been aimed primarily at a core set of gamers, which means the elite, which means it's even less noob friendly.

And I think we all know where i fall on the elite-noob spectrum.

Kinda off topic, but you know what would make me pretty happy? If they removed bats. Yeah, bats. I hate those little f*@#ers. Buuuuut, since they are the progenitors of crimson imps, phantoms, jumping spiders, Sonja, and Nessos, it probably doesn't make much design sense to do so.

[Ozarck]

My current MiBe has two artifact rings and a pair of boots that raise his int 21 points between them.

as for the other stats, one of those rings raises his strength by 3 points, and he's found an artifact amulet of faith that could raise his dex by 6.
My last MiBe (the one in the posts above) had similar stat raising items.

Well, at least my one GrEE had 11 points of int on his rings, so that was good.

Update: Just found an artifact ring that gives +6 dex, -3 int which has MR+, the same as one of the rings i just mentioned. So that's good.

Edit 2: I do have some +0 gloves of Dex (+2), also. I've had these since dungeon 7 (in Elf 3 right now.)
FINALEDIT:
a win!

Code: [Select]

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.20.0 (tiles) character file.

1680986 066 the Slayer (level 27, 264/270 HPs)
             Began as a Minotaur Berserker on July 16, 2017.
             Was a High Priest of Trog.
             Escaped with the Orb
             ... and 3 runes on July 21, 2017!
             
             The game lasted 07:32:58 (78321 turns).

066 the Slayer (Minotaur Berserker)                Turns: 78321, Time: 07:32:58

Health: 264/270    AC: 44    Str: 29    XL:     27
Magic:  9/9        EV: 27    Int: 11    God:    Trog [*****.]
Gold:   6075       SH: 22    Dex: 28    Spells: 26/26 levels left

rFire    + + .     SeeInvis +   d - +9 broad axe (antimagic)
rCold    + + .     Gourm    +   X - +3 shield {reflect}
rNeg     + . .     Faith    .   J - +2 gold dragon scales
rPois    +         Spirit   .   G - +2 hat
rElec    +         Reflect  +   r - +2 cloak
rCorr    .         Harm     .   y - +2 pair of gloves {Dex+3}
MR       +++..                  Q - +2 pair of boots {run}
Stlth    ..........             x - amulet "Wiut" {Gourm rF+ rC+}
Regen    0.6/turn               C - ring "Hasipif" {rN+ Str+3 Int+6 SInv}
MPRegen  0.2/turn               W - ring of Culom {MR+ Int-3 Dex+6}

@: quick
A: retaliatory headbutt, horns 2, slimy green scales 1, thin skeletal structure
1, clever 1, deterioration 1, sense surroundings 1, screaming 1, electricity
resistance
0: Orb of Zot
}: 3/15 runes: decaying, silver, gossamer
a: Berserk, Trog's Hand, Brothers in Arms, Burn Spellbooks, Renounce Religion


You escaped.
You worshipped Trog.
Trog was extremely pleased with you.
You were very full.

You visited 9 branches of the dungeon, and saw 49 of its levels.
You also visited: Ossuary, Ice Cave and Volcano.

You collected 9066 gold pieces.
You spent 2991 gold pieces at shops.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 d - a +9 antimagic broad axe (weapon)
 E - a +9 broad axe of freezing
 O - the +8 glaive of the Guard {elec, +Rage AC+5 SInv}
   (You took it off a yaktaur on level 2 of the Depths)   
   
   Occasionally, upon striking a foe, it will discharge some electrical energy
   and cause terrible harm.
   
   It affects your AC (+5).
   It lets you see invisible.
   It lets you go berserk.
 Y - a +9 war axe of flaming
Missiles
 k - 7 throwing nets (quivered)
Armour
 r - a +2 cloak (worn)
 y - a +2 pair of gloves of dexterity (worn)
 G - a +2 hat (worn)
 J - +2 gold dragon scales (worn)
 Q - a +2 pair of boots of running (worn)
 X - a +3 shield of reflection (worn)
Jewellery
 f - the ring "Cuoqain" {MR+ MP+9 Int+5}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 3 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   [ring of magical power]
   
   It affects your intelligence (+5).
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
   It affects your magic capacity (+9).
 x - the amulet "Wiut" (around neck) {Gourm rF+ rC+}
   (You found it on level 3 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   [amulet of the gourmand]
   
   It allows you to eat raw meat even when not hungry.
   It protects you from fire.
   It protects you from cold.
 C - the ring "Hasipif" (left hand) {rN+ Str+3 Int+6 SInv}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 3 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   [ring of strength]
   
   It affects your strength (+3).
   It affects your intelligence (+6).
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It lets you see invisible.
 P - the ring of Zoorevet {rCorr +Inv rN+}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 3 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   [ring of resist corrosion]
   
   It protects you from negative energy.
   It lets you turn invisible.
 W - the ring of Culom (right hand) {MR+ Int-3 Dex+6}
   (You bought it in a shop on level 3 of the Elven Halls)   
   
   [ring of intelligence]
   
   It affects your intelligence (-3).
   It affects your dexterity (+6).
   It affects your resistance to hostile enchantments.
Wands
 c - a wand of acid (8/15)
 e - a wand of lightning (3/15)
 o - a wand of iceblast (0/15)
 I - a wand of disintegration (10/24)
 L - a wand of digging (6/24)
 N - a wand of scattershot (6/9)
 R - a wand of lightning (11/15)
 T - a wand of lightning (11/15)
Scrolls
 a - 13 scrolls of identify
 b - 6 scrolls of magic mapping
 g - 22 scrolls of remove curse
 i - 2 scrolls of holy word
 l - 4 scrolls of fog
 n - 10 scrolls of recharging
 z - 18 scrolls of teleportation
 D - 3 scrolls of silence
 M - a scroll of immolation
 U - a scroll of brand weapon
 Z - 2 scrolls of blinking
Potions
 m - 2 potions of cancellation
 p - 8 potions of curing
 t - 3 potions of mutation
 F - 9 potions of agility
 H - a potion of heal wounds
 V - 2 potions of haste
Miscellaneous
 h - a phial of floods
 s - a lightning rod (3/4)
 v - a lamp of fire
 w - 2 sacks of spiders
 A - 2 phantom mirrors
 B - a fan of gales
Comestibles
 j - 31 fruits
 u - 3 royal jellies
 K - 4 bread rations


   Skills:
 + Level 26.4 Fighting
 + Level 25.4(26.6) Axes
 - Level 16.2(22.4) Polearms
   Level 10.0 Crossbows
 + Level 26.3 Armour
 + Level 24.6 Dodging
 + Level 22.5 Shields
 - Level 8.5 Evocations


You had 26 spell levels left.
You didn't know any spells.


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You reflexively headbutt those who attack you in melee.
You have a pair of horns on your head.
You are partially covered in slimy green scales. (AC +2)
You have a somewhat thin skeletal structure. (Dex +2, Stealth)
Your mind is acute. (Int +2)
Your body sometimes deteriorates upon taking damage.
You passively map a small area around you.
You occasionally shout uncontrollably at your foes.
You are resistant to electric shocks. (rElec)

You have escaped!
There were no monsters in sight!

Vanquished Creatures
  3 ancient liches
  10 orbs of fire
  A juggernaut (Depths:2)
  Sojobo (Vaults:3)
  Boris (Vaults:4)
  Bai Suzhen (Elf:3)
  Saint Roka (Depths:1)
  2 curse toes
  the Lernaean hydra (Swamp:4)
  Xtahua (Depths:4)
  6 Killer Klowns
  2 pandemonium lords
  15 golden dragons
  2 electric golems (Zot:5)
  Jory (Depths:5)
  Arachne (Spider:2)
  A Hell Sentinel (D:8)
  Asterion (Spider:3)
  4 liches
  27 Orb Guardians
  A deep elf master archer (Elf:3)
  2 titans
  Gastronok (Lair:2)
  Kirke (Spider:1)
  Azrael (Spider:1)
  Josephine (Lair:6)
  Terence (D:2)
  Agnes (Spider:4)

  2 bushes (Lair:6)
  49 fungi
  50 plants
130 creatures vanquished.

Grand Total: 2951 creatures vanquished


Notes: I meleed the Lernaean Hydra because I didn't see it sneak up on me in teh smoke while I was fighting other things. It died surprisingly quickly.
I almost died at least twice: Elf 3 and Vault 5, naturally.
In Elf 3 I was at the final vault and attempted to teleport before I got in too much trouble - it put me deeper into the vault. I teleported again - to within sight of my last teleport! Third time was a charm and got me out of trouble.
In V: 5, i was getting hammered unexpectedly (I had already cleared middle) and teleported with something like 13 HP to spare. I think I had to do this one more time in depths, but Zot was straightforward.

[Repulsion]

The biggest hit to evocables in 0.19 was decks becoming invocation-based and only used by Nemelex, and Pakellas being removed. As well, rods were pretty much phased out but I'm not sure when this happened. While these are undoubtedly nerfs, I think the reason for the Pakellas removal was the design philosophy of not wanting 'no-brainer' decisions. That is, if you wanted to seriously use evocations, you'd go Pakellas, and his abilities basically removed any thought from the process of using wands, since you could effectively endlessly charge them up and so any decisions about how to use charges and what wands to recharge became irrelevant. As far as the decks go, I think they just wanted Nemelex to have a more unique identity and for cards to be solely his thing, to make him more attractive as a god choice.

All this being said, I think evocations is very strong in 0.20 depending on the character. Sure, a MiBe or MiFi may care less about them b/c it's likely they can just tab through any challenges, but for a vulnerable stabber/mage a wand of acid or wand of iceblast in the early dungeon can change the game. Wands also scale better with evocations in 0.20, and certain wands are very strong. In particular, wand of clouds and scattershot wands are disgusting, and finding either or early encourages training some evocations, because they scale so well and can trivialize dangerous encounters if used well. At high evocations, and once a character stacks up multiple items, evocations is great. Fighters without access to magic can turn encounters around with misc. evocables like lamp of fire, lightning rod, and phial of floods. Boxes of beasts can be very strong as well.

[wobbly]

Started playing this recently, fun. Ogre Assassin seems to be a surprisingly good combination. That blowgun is on the throwing skills so led straight into rock throwing. Boulder assassination time now. Going to try turning it into some sort of mage when a spellbook turns up.

[wobbly]

Started getting a little further but still struggling to work out what skills are worthwhile. So the toon in question is a gargoyle monk of Ashenzari:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup version 0.20.1 (tiles) character file.

Zytl the Fighter (Gargoyle Monk)                   Turns: 21029, Time: 05:28:58

Health: 94/94      AC: 22    Str: 15    XL:     14   Next: 81%
Magic:  26/26      EV: 17    Int: 18    God:    Ashenzari [****..]
Gold:   1641       SH:  5    Dex: 15    Spells: 0/29 levels left

rFire    + . .     SeeInvis +   r - +0 long sword {protect, rF+ Int+2 Stlth+} (curse)
rCold    + . .     Gourm    .   B - +0 buckler (curse)
rNeg     + . .     Faith    .   c - +3 steam dragon scales
rPois    8         Spirit   .   X - +2 helmet
rElec    +         Reflect  .   H - +0 cloak {rF+}
rCorr    .         Harm     .   C - -4 pair of gloves of Lesser Demons {Regen+ Int+3} (curse)
MR       +....     Clarity  +   (no boots)
Stlth    +++++.....             s - amulet of rage (curse)
Regen    0.7/turn               d - +4 ring of slaying
MPRegen  0.2/turn               K - ring of ice

@: flying
A: big wings, negative energy resistance 1, electricity resistance, unbreathing,
petrification resistance, rot immunity, AC +9
a: Stop Flying, End Transfer Knowledge, Curse Item, Scrying, Renounce Religion,
Evoke Berserk Rage


You are on level 11 of the Dungeon.
You worship Ashenzari.
Ashenzari is greatly pleased with you.
You are not hungry.

You have visited 5 branches of the dungeon, and seen 21 of its levels.
You have also visited: Bailey and Volcano.

You have collected 1641 gold pieces.

Inventory:

Hand Weapons
 r - the cursed +0 long sword of Duwkulev (weapon) {protect, rF+ Int+2 Stlth+}
   (You found it on level 12 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It protects the one who uses it against injury (+AC on strike).
   
   It affects your intelligence (+2).
   It protects you from fire.
   It makes you more stealthy.
   It has a curse placed upon it.
Missiles
 n - 2 javelins
 D - 6 tomahawks
 W - 521 stones (quivered)
Armour
 c - +3 steam dragon scales (worn)
 B - a cursed +0 buckler (worn)
 C - the cursed -4 pair of gloves of Lesser Demons (worn) {Regen+ Int+3}
   (You acquired it on level 12 of the Dungeon)   
   
   It affects your intelligence (+3).
   It increases your rate of regeneration.
   It has a curse placed upon it.
 H - a +0 cloak of fire resistance (worn)
 X - a +2 helmet (worn)
Jewellery
 d - a +4 ring of slaying (left hand)
 s - a cursed amulet of rage (around neck)
 K - a ring of ice (right hand)
Wands
 a - a wand of flame (?/48)
 b - a wand of lightning (?/15)
 e - a wand of lightning (3/15)
 g - a wand of random effects (25/48)
 v - a wand of lightning (?/15)
 y - a wand of iceblast (?/15)
 A - a wand of iceblast (9/15)
 L - a wand of polymorph (?/24)
 P - a wand of enslavement (?/24)
 T - a wand of flame (23/48)
 U - a wand of acid (10/15)
Scrolls
 m - 2 scrolls of blinking
 p - 9 scrolls of teleportation
 z - 5 scrolls of identify
 M - 2 scrolls of fear
Potions
 i - a potion of haste
 k - a potion of invisibility
 o - a potion of cancellation
 u - 3 potions of curing
 I - 2 potions of brilliance
 N - a potion of might
Comestibles
 O - 23 chunks of flesh
 V - 37 fruits


   Skills:
 + Level 13.0 Fighting
   Level 1.0(5.7) Short Blades
 + Level 9.1(12.4) Long Blades
   Level 2.7(3.7) Axes
   Level 4.2(4.7) Maces & Flails
 - Level 3.0 Throwing
 - Level 10.1 Armour
 - Level 8.0 Dodging
 - Level 7.0 Stealth
 * Level 2.3(4.1) Shields
 - Level 8.2 Spellcasting
 - Level 4.0 Conjurations
 - Level 2.1 Hexes
 - Level 1.1 Summonings
 - Level 1.0 Necromancy
 - Level 1.0 Translocations
 - Level 2.0 Fire Magic
 - Level 3.0 Ice Magic
 - Level 2.1 Air Magic
 - Level 4.0 Earth Magic
 - Level 3.1 Poison Magic
 - Level 5.1 Evocations


You cannot memorise any spells.
You know the following spells:

 Your Spells              Type           Power        Failure   Level  Hunger
a - Poisonous Vapours     Pois/Air       ###...       4%          2    None
b - Mephitic Cloud        Conj/Pois/Air  ###.....     9%          3    #......
c - Conjure Flame         Conj/Fire      ###.....     9%          3    #......
d - Corona                Hex            ###....      4%          1    None
e - Slow                  Hex            ###.....     6%          2    None
f - Freeze                Ice            ####         2%          1    None
g - Summon Butterflies    Summ           ##......     6%          1    None
h - Apportation           Tloc           ##....       6%          1    None
i - Leda's Liquefaction   Hex/Erth       ###.......   26%         4    ###....
j - Cause Fear            Hex            ###.......   36%         4    ###....
k - Freezing Cloud        Conj/Ice/Air   ####......   99%         6    ######.
l - Animate Skeleton      Necr           N/A          6%          1    None


Dungeon Overview and Level Annotations

Branches:
Dungeon (13/15)            Temple (1/1) D:4            Lair (5/6) D:11
 Shoals (1/4) Lair:4       Spider (1/4) Lair:3        Slime (0/5) Lair:5
    Orc (0/2) D:12       
Vaults: D:13-14     

Altars:
Ashenzari
Cheibriados
Dithmenos
Elyvilon
Fedhas
Gozag
Hepliaklqana
Kikubaaqudgha
Makhleb
Nemelex Xobeh
Okawaru
Qazlal
Ru
Sif Muna
Trog
Uskayaw
Vehumet
Xom
Yredelemnul
Zin
The Shining One
Beogh

Shops:
D:6 %

Annotations:
Spider:1 Donald


Innate Abilities, Weirdness & Mutations

You are resistant to torment.
Your stone body is resilient. (AC +9)
You are immune to poison.
Your large and strong wings let you fly indefinitely.
You resist negative energy. (rN+)
You are resistant to electric shocks. (rElec)
You can survive without breathing.
You are immune to petrification.
You are immune to rotting.

I'm trying to switch it over to a more mage-like build but I don't have any decent spells yet, so mostly it's just dropping that poison/confusion cloud around me & hitting things & animating their skeletons. Using fear or butterflys as an escape or zapping things with the wands if they are too hard to melee.

How much melee is generally afforable/desirable for mages? I like the hps(particularly as gargoyle) & as I mentioned I'll still be pretty dependant on actually hitting things for a while. I guess I can go excess, & respec. later?

[Not good with names]

Since you're already working on shields, you really only want to get your weapon down to mid delay, so for long blades that's 14 for just about everything you can equip with a shield.  The bigger question is Fighting, which gives extra HP, which I usually take up to 20 or so in any given game that gets to the end. 

At this point though, I'd say your best bet is to just turn on Conj/ice/air until you can get Freezing cloud castable, as that will be your bread and butter later down the line.  If you can find Confuse (the not cloud version), then I'd add that and train up some more hexes too, as that will make shoals a breeze (everything that resists confuse you can meph cloud, besides water elementals, which are easy 1v1).  Confuse is also really useful in spider.  I'm thinking because you have Cause Fear you might have the book for Confuse too.

[Ozarck]

anyone got a link to a list of monster versions of the player races and their typical hunting grounds? It would be nice to see a full chart or something.

example:

Kobolds: D:1 and up
xxxGnolls (too bad, I wanted to play this race, at least once.)
Orcs: D2 and up
Mummy: Ossuary
troll: mid dungeon (~d:
...
merfolk: shoals
...
draconian: zot

special vaults only/not in game:
demigod, vinestalker, formicid, barachi, halfling

[Arcvasti]

xxxGnolls (too bad, I wanted to play this race, at least once.)

They're still in trunk, at least according to the changes.txt. Don't know if they'll make it to a stable release or if they'll end up going the way of the lava orcs and djinni.

[Aoi]

So after skipping .19, I started giving .20 a try...

First scroll of acquirement, on my TrBr of Trog, I opt for armor because getting armor as a troll is usually pretty rough.

Well, I end up with an artifact scarf! That's interesting, and I don't have a good cloak yet, so lets give it a shot...

scarf of Insatiable Hunger {MR++ Int+4 Slay-6}

What. Why. 

[Ozarck]

Found the Desolation of Salt in Elf:2 today. Having never seen it before, I weighed my options, and then resigned myself to losing my TrMo of Oka to the unknown.

Turns out, it was a reasonably balanced minibranch. Perhaps a tad underpowered, for the taste of teh devs, since i survived with fairly little trouble, though I did have to use heroism several times, and finesse at least twice.

the rewards - several artifact rings and some other stuff - were quite nice. I got some of the best rings I've seen yet in 0.20.

technically, i haven't survived the branch just yet, as i haven't exited, but I anticipate no trouble on the short journey back to the portal.

On another note: I have been graphing my 0.20 runs based on level of character at death, separated by race. is anyone interested in that information? I have about 115 runs so far, spread among nine races.

[TheDarkStar]

Sure, I'd be interested to see that.

Honestly, it would be interesting to see info like that for everyone/everyone on the online servers.