First time in adventure mode.
I search a kidnapped human in a dark pit, attack some goblin bowman, 5 minutes searching the controls because i can't stand up and move faster, I had lost grasp and stand when other bowman shoot 3 copper arrows that perfore my leather armor.
Sneaking and crawling out of the Dark pit, a little drowning in the river because only 1 leg work, and finally return to the human city. The door is closed so I pick the lock.
The Human Mummy told my that "0" isn't the symbol of Human city, is the symbol of Tomb; and proced to write this lesson in my skull with is bone carving knife.
I have been Stucked Down.
That was a solidly good tale. I tend to think of suffering a mummy's curse as a suitable later game event, as by then you can cut through the throng. It also adds some randomness at a time when the randomness has been mostly removed. Death by mummy is a worthy death. It's an explorer's death.//////////////////////////////////////
A few days after his encounter with
Lomifo and well northward into the heart of the Kingdom of Day, Bim once again reaches a latitude band with bayberry trees. I'd been planning to have Bim make a masterwork bayberry wood bow once he mastered archery, but back then he was traveling in an area that only had fruit trees.
Quality for item crafted is RNG determined, often irrespective of skill level due to buffs from well-met needs. In unmodded vanilla DF, there are only end stage products for crafting. Specific to this mod is that there are both end stage products and intermediate stage products. Narratively/simulation-wise it seems sensible that you'd gain skill for a product made at any stage. Here, bow making involves crafting a bow stave, 2 side nocks, and a bow string. These items are then assembled into the end stage product.
If you only want one instance of a crafted masterwork, there's a way to plan ahead. Bim only crafts after sleep and he's done this from the start of the run. This way he's under the status effect of
stunned, which debuffs all skills by 50%. I was prepared to have Bim spend the day sleeping 1 hour at a time while making bows, but he managed to make a masterwork bayberry wood bow in two attempts.
(click thumbnail to expand)
Luck of the draw.
At day's end, Bim arrives at a minotaur's labyrinth. While I don't want Bim filling a monster bucket list, minotaurs—given their dietary preference for sapients—are creatures that ought to be slain.
(click thumbnail to expand)
The vanilla DF minotaur is largely a level 6 monster, aside from its level 8 melee.
[NATURAL_SKILL:WRESTLING:6]
[NATURAL_SKILL:BITE:3]
[NATURAL_SKILL:GRASP_STRIKE:6]
[NATURAL_SKILL:STANCE_STRIKE:6]
[NATURAL_SKILL:MELEE_COMBAT:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:DODGING:6]
[NATURAL_SKILL:AXE:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:SWORD:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:DAGGER:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:PIKE:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:MACE:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:HAMMER:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:WHIP:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:SPEAR:8]
[NATURAL_SKILL:SITUATIONAL_AWARENESS:12]
Before descent, Bim eats his 4 units of food and sleeps 8 hours. Bim's on an eating/sleep cycle where he reaches a level of hunger that debuffs and becomes drowsy at/around sunset. When he awakens he leads an alligator into the depths hoping to feed the minotaur a last meal.
The minotaur is the first pain-feeling creature of significant size, and while there are many ways to slay a beast, Bim structures this around the goal of cumulative pain damage. This would be the least random of methods given his skill set and weapons.
Most solid starts are bottom upwards. Grounding is the first combat goal, not just to remove enemy charge attack, but because everyone wants the
double momentum versus a prone target. The foot is the smallest and thinnest lower body part, allowing a character to achieve the most penetration damage to fat, muscle and bone.
Cumulative pain is bottom upwards. Damage to spine or nerves will render everything below that point pain-free. Once nerves are damaged, move upwards: foot -> lower leg -> upper leg -> hand -> lower arm -> upper arm -> lower body -> upper body -> head, until the creature gives in to pain, bleeds out, etc.
In sacrifice to the RNG God, Bim starts with a bone fracturing javelin toss for good pain damage, then switches to a more generically named scimitar/shield.
(click thumbnail to expand)
After a grounding stab to the right foot (quick attack + SE dodge away)…
(click thumbnail to expand)
…the remainder of the fight (3 grabs/3 quick attacks) is Bim using a landed grab attack to negate minotaur dodge, and the following round, again stabbing the minotaur's right foot.
(click thumbnail to expand)
Due to grounding,
each quick attack stab has the same momentum as a standard attack.(click thumbnail to expand)
Sometimes the RNG God asks for damage volume over damage intensity. Here just targeting the same part until damage reaches a critical mass works out.