I just began this game. (It's more a PTW, actually).
Any advice ?
MiFi of Gozag would be my recommended starter. You could easily go with DsFi or GrFi too, they're both solid and relatively simple. Makhleb or Okawaru would be other good "I want to win" gods. Once you're more experienced, then Ru or Uskayaw are other solid gods.
General tips:
-Try not to move towards enemies on general principle. Walk away or wait instead. If they're sleeping, throw rocks[Or more damaging projectiles] to wake them up.
-Go into Lair as soon as you can. Its generally fairly simple, especially with rPois, although you may want to save the final level for later, since its a fair difficulty jump.
-Weapon choice doesn't really matter that much, but maces/flails are the best for raw damage and don't cut off hydra heads
-Don't bother with large shields and prioritize getting good resists on your shield.
-Generally go with the highest AC+EV armour you can wear, with some exceptions. You want MR the most and ideally at least one level in all other resistances besides rCorr.
-As far as skilling: Maces to 10, Fighting to 8, Maces to 16 and then just train Fighting, Dodging, Armour and Shields[Only train Shields until 15].
-This is a game where you don't NEED a ranged option per se, but they can still be quite helpful. Throwing and Evocations are the two big contenders: I prefer Evocations, but that's because I irrationally detest physical ranged combat. You'll probably still want 10-12 Evocations skill for ally evokers either way.
-If you don't recognize an enemy, examine it with x-v. Crawl is generally pretty good about telling you about enemy capabilities
-Particularly watch out for any enemy with the following spells: Confusion, Paralysis, Banishment, Blink Allies Close and Smiting. There are probably a few nasty spells that I'm forgetting, but all of the above spells can easily end your game. Lure said enemy around a corner so you can isolate them and deal with them. Or just run away and re-enter the level through a distant upstairs, especially if they have Banishment at a good success rate.
-Once you get to around 1/3 hp, escape with everything at your disposal. Most escapes have a bit of a delay and waiting until you're almost dead will get you all the way dead more often then not.
-Once you're done Lair, your branch order should look something like this: Dungeon>Orc>Non-Slime Lair Branches>Vaults 1-4>Depths>Elf>Vaults 5>Zot>Escape the dungeon. You might want to do Elf 1-2 before Depths if you still don't have an eveningstar or a demon whip, but the casters in there can be quite dangerous.
-In general, any weapon brand besides Protection, Venom and Pain is good, although a highly enchanted weapon of those types may still be worth using temporarily.
-Don't trust the wiki too much: Large sections are out of date and the guides are hit-or-miss. The Crawl bots, Bay12 and x-v should be more then enough to inform you.