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Yup.

65 (12.2%)

Not even close.

391 (73.4%)

Almost . . . but didn't

26 (4.9%)

Maybe managed halfway

51 (9.6%)

Total Members Voted: 530

[RoguelikeRazuka]

Hey how to have my pet attack monsters? It often lets them go even if they threaten my char.

[quinnr]

Hey how to have my pet attack monsters? It often lets them go even if they threaten my char.

If the pet has too low health and thinks the enemy is too strong for it, it won't attack. Pets gain health when they eat corpses.

[RoguelikeRazuka]

I returned in Nethack after a several hours' break. Before it I picked up a kitten in Sokoban (again) hoping to get it polymorphed into a hellhound for another time. I had not walked too far from the staircase to Sokoban (literally a few steps) when some f*cking giant spider poisoned my character, and the poison proved deadly. He died in an eye blink basically because of nothing! My god. That run was really promising... Dissecting all of my previous defeats, I think the reason of this one was the most unavoidable and ambiguous. I feel soo frustrated and angry! How do I even overcome this?

Also I noticed that my character typically dies
(1) on his way from Sokoban to the lower dungeon levels and
(2) on his way from Sokoban to the mines in order to get a pickaxe to break a rock which got stuck due to my blunder or some monster happening right behind it (the worst case is when that place is occupied by either my pet or a rockpiercer and I don't have ammo to kill it with).

[0x517A5D]

I returned in Nethack after a several hours' break. Before it I picked up a kitten in Sokoban again hoping to get it polymorphed into a hellhound for another time. I had not walked too far from Sokoban (literally several steps) when some f*cking giant spider poisoned my character and the poison proved deadly. He died in an eye blink basically because of nothing! That run was really promising... Dissecting all of my previous defeats, I think this one was the most unavoidable and ambiguous. I feel soo frustrated and angry, how do I overcome this?

Ah yes.  "The poison was deadly.  You die."

Get away from giant spiders.  IIRC they're fast, so you can't outrun them.  Kill them from a distance.  If they get next to you, use an escape magic.

Get the Poison Resistance intrinsic ASAP.  There are some nonpoisonous corpses that have a chance of granting PR.  Most poisonous corpses have a chance of giving PR.  Note that using a tinning (canning) kit on a poisonous corpse will result in a safe-to-eat tin can that has the same chance of granting PR.

There are also magic items that give the PR attribute.

And, most importantly, learn from the experience.  Giant spiders are nasty.  Treat them with care.

[quinnr]

I returned in Nethack after a several hours' break. Before it I picked up a kitten in Sokoban again hoping to get it polymorphed into a hellhound for another time. I had not walked too far from Sokoban (literally several steps) when some f*cking giant spider poisoned my character and the poison proved deadly. He died in an eye blink basically because of nothing! That run was really promising... Dissecting all of my previous defeats, I think this one was the most unavoidable and ambiguous. I feel soo frustrated and angry, how do I overcome this?

Also I noticed that my character typically dies
(1) on his way from Sokoban to the lower dungeon levels and
(2) on his way from Sokoban to the mines in order to get a pickaxe to break a rock which got stuck due to my blunder or some monster happening behind it.

I had one game where I died to an Uruk-hai's poison on the floor before Gehemnom. If you don't have poison resist, it'll happen when you fight things with poison every once in a while. Probably the best mitigating factors would be to a.) eat some unicorns. eat all the unicorns., b.) eat corpses that give poison resist. poisoned corpses that give poison resist won't instakill you, but they will reduce strength till you have a horn and c.) avoid those fights

[0x517A5D]

I had one game where I died to an Uruk-hai's poison on the floor before Gehemnom. If you don't have poison resist, it'll happen when you fight things with poison every once in a while. Probably the best mitigating factors would be to a.) eat some unicorns. eat all the unicorns., b.) eat corpses that give poison resist. poisoned corpses that give poison resist won't instakill you, but they will reduce strength till you have a horn and c.) avoid those fights

Note that killing certain unicorns is a Very Bad Idea™.  But that's another learning experience.

Incidentally, eating Medusa's corpse has a 100% chance of giving poison resistance.  It also instakills you by stoning and gives you the cannibalism intrinsic, so it is also a Very Bad Idea™.

[RoguelikeRazuka]

I'm also so sorry about my having to kill the pet by rolling down a boulder on it for its having got trapped in one of the holes behind the stone. Too sad I forgot it was the first Sokoban level so I assumed my Hachi would just land on the lower floor and I would come back for him after.

[quinnr]

I had one game where I died to an Uruk-hai's poison on the floor before Gehemnom. If you don't have poison resist, it'll happen when you fight things with poison every once in a while. Probably the best mitigating factors would be to a.) eat some unicorns. eat all the unicorns., b.) eat corpses that give poison resist. poisoned corpses that give poison resist won't instakill you, but they will reduce strength till you have a horn and c.) avoid those fights

Note that killing certain unicorns is a Very Bad Idea™.  But that's another learning experience.

Incidentally, eating Medusa's corpse has a 100% chance of giving poison resistance.  It also instakills you by stoning and gives you the cannibalism intrinsic, so it is also a Very Bad Idea™.

That's what dogs are for!

And the whole Medusa level is probably where I'm the most careful in the entire game. Like, not only have I died to Medusa too many times, but those eels have a nasty habit of destroying everything I hold dear and then drowning me shortly after.

[RoguelikeRazuka]

Hey what are the general tips on identifying scrolls via reading them? Once I killed my pet by landing a boulder on it (that was for a scroll of earth), and once a scroll destroyed my armour which put me in great danger.
And what about potions? One likely may prove a potion of levitation, hallucination, sickness etc.

[JoshuaFH]

IIRC it's much safer to test drink potions than it is for scrolls, though that's because most potions are relatively harmless, much easier to ID, and not nearly as valuable as scrolls in the long run. Just be sure to always do your testing in a very safe location, a locked room on a cleared floor with Elbereth (with a coin on them) symbols blocking the doorways, so even if you get incapacitated for a long period of time you won't fall victim to a randomly generated monster wandering in.

If anything, just ID smokey potions as soon as you can, as there's a very small chance of getting a genie out of one, in addition to the potion's usual effect.

IIRC it's possible to wish for scrolls you haven't ID'd yet, so keep that in mind. As is it being possible to have a *chance* of writing a scroll you haven't ID'd yet if you have a magic marker and high intelligence.

A great time to ID WANDS on the other hand, is when you're facing a strong monster you're not sure you can beat. Your odds of getting lucky are much better compared to the other two.

[kcwong]

Just make sure you test for BUC first.

Almost everything cursed are very bad for your health. The cursed items that can help you require knowledge on how to apply them.

[RoguelikeRazuka]

Hey could someone clarify what that was? I positively didn't expect those elf zombies would chase me to the upper floor and there they got me. That run did also bring suprisingly many leprechauns (like 5 on one level or so), I had to spend a few scores of turns trying to get my money back, and that nymph! I also picked up the helm of opposite alignment for my first time, and I guess it was a mistake not to wear it off immediately as the possibility to do so flared up. 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[0x517A5D]

Hey could someone clarify what that was? I positively didn't expect those elf zombies would chase me to the upper floor and there they got me.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

That room is 'Big Room'.  Quoting from the Nethack Wiki:

The Big Room is just that. A big room. It is filled with monsters and random items scattered throughout. Because of its size, it is easy for a player to inadvertently find himself surrounded by monsters; therefore, caution should be exercised, especially for weaker players.

For the other part of your question, some monsters, mainly the intelligent ones, will follow you up/down stairs.

[RoguelikeRazuka]

Hey. I trapped myself by two wrong movings. Is there anything I can cling to in hope to get out? As you see, I've got a wand of digging but it seems not working. I don't know whether it has any charges; I used it two times but nothing happened -- it proved impossible digging through those boulders, and I'm afraid my god shan't help me either. Please don't say it's over.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[JoshuaFH]

Hey. I got trapped by two wrong movings. Is there anything I can try to get out? As you see, I have a wand of digging but it seems not working (I don't know whether it has any charges either), I can't dig through those boulders and I'm afraid my god is unpleased. Don't say it's over.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

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