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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    Mewtarthio's Avatar

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    Default Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    As I've been looking more into the rougelike genre, I've become aware of this concept of "spoilers." From what I can tell, you're not really supposed to go out of your way to figure out how to play the game before you start playing it, instead working things out as you go along. As Dwarf Fortress would put it: Losing is fun!

    I think it's time I took that philosophy to heart. Class, meet ADOM.

    ADOM stands for Ancient Domains of Mystery, which according to the manual is something of a misnomer as said Domains are really quite new (hence the Mystery). ADOM's creator believes so strongly in the concept of spoiler aversion that he's declined to release the source code so as to preserve the air of mystery. I'll bring you up to speed with a quick summary of the manual:

    Spoiler
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    Basically, the setting (Ancardia) was a traditional Idyllic Pre-Crisis Fantasy Kingdom before the forces of Chaos came along and turned it into an RPG setting, complete with randomly generated dungeons and spawning monsters. A mighty sage figures out that the source of the Chaos is in the Drakalor chain, then he goes off to close it and is never seen again. You figure you've got a much better shot at it then him, so you take up your meager starting equipment and march your first-level butt on over to the source of all evil in search of any particularly nasty-looking dungeons.

    You've got a lot of customizability when designing your PC, which is a shame since these fools will probably be dead within the week. The various factors are as follows (though, bear in mind, as I have not cheated and spoiled myself, I won't be able to give any details on the strategies involved in making the choices):

    You've got your usual races:
    Spoiler
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    Humans are exactly what humans always are: totally average. I've never understood this trope. My own experimentation shows that real world humans should at least get a low aptitude for spellcasting...

    Trolls are big, strong, and very hungry. They also regenerate quickly.

    High Elves are smarter, prettier, and just plain better than you, and they know it. Amusingly, the manual states that everyone else hates the elves for being so arrogant.

    Gray Elves are even elfier than high elves. While high elves are xenophobic, gray elves are completely isolationist. While high elves look down on other sapient races, gray elves don't even think other races qualify as sapient. I dare say these guys zip past "Tolkienesque" and land squarely in the "Pratchettian" category.

    Dark Elves are xenophobes who consider other races to be chattel and practice their own disturbing alien customs. So, basically, high elves who hate sunlight.

    Dwarves are smiths and miners.

    Gnomes are dwarves who live in hills instead of mountains.

    Hurthlings are hobbits.

    Orcs are raiders who hate sunlight and apparently are related to trolls. Also, they get nifty glow-in-the-dark eyes.

    Drakelings are cold-blooded lizard people. They spit acid, and it looks like the entire race just came out of a centuries-long hibernation.


    You've got your usual classes:
    Spoiler
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    Archers rely on ranged combat. Their ranged combat skills are twice as effective, plus they get all sorts of nifty bonuses to ensure that the bad guys die before they close to melee.

    Assassins sneak around and murder people. They get the power to turn any potion into a deadly poison.

    Barbarians run around smashing things. They get the ability to trade off attack speed for damage, as well as bonuses when fighting half-naked in a frothing rage.

    Bards can apparently brainwash animals with their singing. They also get a bunch of completely random skills, as well as powers that don't fall into any apparent niche but are generically useful.

    Beastfighters fight like beasts: In the wilderness, with no weapons, and just a thick hide between your vitals and the other guy's sword. Their powers focus on speed and resilience.

    Druids are priests that can't afford a proper church. They get a bunch of utility powers related to wilderness survival.

    Elementalists use magic to make people explode. They get a variety of element-themed powers, like fire resistance and water breathing.

    Farmers are--Wait, farmers? Really? That's actually an option?
    ...According to the manual, their main advantage is that they "often have very little to lose compared to the amount of fame they might be able to win." Huh.

    Fighters hit people repeatedly. Their powers pertain to hitting people with style, as well as a dash of heavy armor bonuses for flavor.

    Healers heal... themselves, apparently. Their powers are mostly resilience bonuses. They also eventually get free access to healing-themed spells.

    Merchants might seem like an odd class to include at first glance. However, bear in mind that merchants are people who, of their own volition, set up shop in dangerous areas, then stand between heavily-armed career killers and enormous piles of loot so they can demand exorbitant sums of money. And they get that money.

    Mindcrafters have psychic powers. Instead of spellcasting, they get access to a predetermined set of psionic abilities that gets stronger as they gain levels. From what I can tell, they're useless against artificial beings (however common those happen to be), and making contact with the minds of undead actually hurts them.

    Monks transcribe holy texts, practice their calligraphy in seclusion from society, and then rip out your entrails with their awesome ninja skills. Their class powers include a variety of kicks and instant-death attacks.

    Necromancers are practical folk who hate to see a good body go to waste. For some reason, most people object to the idea of their deceased loved ones being gruesomely twisted into grotesque mockeries of life, so necromancers tend to be unpopular.

    Paladins are hybrid warriors/divine spellcasters. In this setting, they aren't necessarily paragons of virtue: They are empowered by god, yes, but nobody specifies which one.

    Priests cast spells from their gods. They get a whole bunch of discounts to spellcasting.

    Rangers are the physical combat version of druids. They have a mixture of wilderness survival techniques, abilities to mitigate the penalties of two-weapon fighting, and archery bonuses. Also, they are total spoilsports who seriously can't see how awesome that bonfire was.

    Thieves sneak around stealing things and fighting dirty. There's not much else to say about them, really.

    Weaponsmiths really should think about settling down, opening a business, and making unwholesomely large amounts of money from all the adventurers throwing themselves into these dungeons. Ah, well. At least they can keep themselves supplied.

    Wizards are a frail, bookish sort who, if you shove them, will fall to the ground and cry for a good fifteen minutes, and then transmute your blood into napalm.


    You've also got birthsigns (which I won't get into since they can't be controlled), skills (mostly self-explanatory, except obscure ones like Ventriloquism), alignment (along the Law-Chaos axis... though, as a point of note, alignment is actually affected by your in-game actions, unlike in Nethack), and eight attributes (Strength, Learning, Willpower, Dexterity, Toughness, Charisma, Appearance, Mana, and Perception).


    Well, that's that. Now, armed only with the above information, some basic knowledge about the conventions of rougelikes, and the advice of fellow GitPers, I set off in search of high adventure, or at least a series of reasonably amusing failures!

    Ladies, and gentlemen...

    Let's Play ADOM!

    -----------------------------



    Our first character, folks! And isn't his story inspirational?

    Incidentally, this guy turns out to have 4 Charisma, so either he's lying about his adventures in cities abroad or "made many friends" means "spontaneously burst into tears on the shoulders of many random strangers."



    Case in point.

    By the way, that "Exp: 1/0"? That means we're at level 1, having earned 0 total experience points. Let's try to remedy that, shall we?



    ...Well, I can certainly tell that we're in for a fun ride!
    Last edited by Mewtarthio; 2010-02-19 at 10:15 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Winterwind View Post
    Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Deth Muncher's Avatar

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    I feel the need to point out that Adom is Hebrew for Earth. Just so's y'know. :P Not that it has much relevance, but it's interesting trivia.
    Mega-tar by AlterForm. Power Up!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Xyk View Post
    I've always considered breakfast to be evil. Looking at me with it's bacon-smile, and it's sunny-side-up eyes. I know it's plotting something.
    Quote Originally Posted by tyckspoon View Post
    ..thank you, Deth Muncher. My life is richer for being aware of this. And weirder. ("You destroyed my friends! I will have my vengeance! Face the fury of my pelvic thrusts!" "Oh yeah? LAZOR!")
    Quote Originally Posted by golentan View Post
    You all are a terrible species. I'm going back to my fortress of misanthropy now.

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    I fully support this Idea. Does ADOM have a tile version? It's such a pain trying to tell everyone what the symbols mean.

    Will you have voting? If you do, I vote for Drakeling druid. Now if only we can get a victim volunteer to play Angband.....

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    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by Raroy View Post
    I fully support this Idea. Does ADOM have a tile version? It's such a pain trying to tell everyone what the symbols mean.
    Sadly, ADOM does not support tiles. The creator is a very conservative roguelike designer.

    Will you have voting? If you do, I vote for Drakeling druid.
    I figure I'll just do whatever seems reasonable. Given my knowledge of the game, that covers any suggestions short of Troll Wizards. I don't anticipate a large backlog, given how quickly I'll be burning through these guys.
    Quote Originally Posted by Winterwind View Post
    Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

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    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Fresh meat! I approve of this. Especially the no spoilers decision is ballsy. I look forward to the many many many deaths that'll happen here, which will certainly be amusing.

    Small tip: Start with either beefier combos like dwarf barbarians or orc paladins, or easier like hobbit archer or elf wizard. Troll healer is exceedingly hard to kill, but you're likely to starve as a new troll. Avoid monk, beastfighter, necromancer and merchant. Those are very newbie unfriendly. As is the norm everywhere, wizard is the most powerful class, followed by priest.

    Medium tip: Never bother with character creation questions. Even if you spoil yourself silly and know what every question and answer does, it's still not worth it.

    Big tip: Where you see the phrase "Time is working against you!", you better believe it. But its exact meaning is a spoiler best left unspoilt at this point.

    Xlarge tip: The game hates you. Never forget that.

    In other news, even though I'm spoilt rotten myself, I still fail at or before the midgame. ADOM is a cruel mistress. Elven archer is the only combo I can consistently make progress with. However there is the possibility that I suck.

    If I were to have a vote, I'd say gray elf archer or dwarf barbarian. Much as watching you struggle as a dark elf marchant or orc mindcrafter would be amusing, we wouldn't want you to get discouraged to the point of stopping.
    ...
    Given my knowledge of the game, that covers any suggestions short of Troll Wizards.
    Troll wizard is among the best combos actually. But you should wait a bit before trying wizards.
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  6. - Top - End - #6
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Played a bit. My Druid was killed quite easily but I got a Drow Deep Elf assassin to level six before getting mobbed by barbarians. Should of stayed in that cave longer.

    The game actually seemed really easy before getting killed. I fought my way through a large room of rats no problem. Sounds like lies that are trying to pull me deeper into this game so I can feel real pain.

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    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by cnsvnc View Post
    Medium tip: Never bother with character creation questions. Even if you spoil yourself silly and know what every question and answer does, it's still not worth it.
    Ah, thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot: You can "choose" your eight attributes in two ways: Either through random generation, or by roleplaying a number of major events in your character's life. When you suggest a character, please specify if you want me to do the questions; otherwise, I'll default to what the only guy who seems to know what he's talking about says.

    Except for Raroy's Drakeling Druid. I think I should at least show what the questions look like.

    If I were to have a vote, I'd say gray elf archer or dwarf barbarian. Much as watching you struggle as a dark elf marchant or orc mindcrafter would be amusing, we wouldn't want you to get discouraged to the point of stopping.
    Okay, so the queue right now is Drakeling Druid, then Dwarf Barbarian (I just did a Gray Elf, though you couldn't tell from how fast he died; plus I generally find melee easier in rougelikes).

    Troll wizard is among the best combos actually. But you should wait a bit before trying wizards.
    ...Is that a joke?
    Quote Originally Posted by Winterwind View Post
    Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Troll wizards are good because they can melee during the low levels(where most non-troll wizards tend to be extremely squishy and PP-dependant(PP is adoms Mana), and later, they are good because they are wizards(and get all the awesome spells).


    For newbies, I *really* recommend either trollish healers(Use your two-handed club and kill things, while regenerating *rapidly*) or drakeling healers(slightly less powerful in melee, but has a powerful acid spit, excellent regeneration(slightly worse than trolls at HP, but way better at PP) and is more likely to learn spells).

    Anyway...

    For the purpose of this LP, my vote goes to:
    *Drakeling Mindcrafter(my favorite combination).

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    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    I vote Dwarf Priest.

    Priest was the easiest class for me to get passed the early levels with. Being able to heal yourself and see if items or cursed or blessed is a.... blessing.
    Last edited by Myatar_Panwar; 2010-02-20 at 02:48 AM.
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    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mewtarthio View Post
    ...Is that a joke?
    Nope. Any wizard is made of win once you get the hang of ADOM generally and wizardry specifically, and troll fixes a lot of weakling wizard woes. But you need lots of food for all trolls, and ways of getting that isn't apparent.

    Also: Ninjas!

    I just did a Gray Elf, though you couldn't tell from how fast he died
    That outlaw leader 2shotted you I think. That's what you get when you melee stuff other than rats, kobolds and such at lv1 with anything less than melee monsters (troll/dwarf+barb/paladin). Incidentally, those classes are good to learn the ropes as long as it's not of a frail race.

    EDITING IN: Troll healer is extreme. Those born in Candle are extreme. Troll healers born in Candle don't get killed. They either starve, or something funnier happens.
    ...
    Also I expect at least one poor sap meeting his timely end per your post. It's not like they take a lot of time. And there's so many ways to die.

    Remember to post the achievements text or at least the cause of death. You'll surely start getting better stuff than "killed by X" in no time.
    Last edited by Pronounceable; 2010-02-20 at 03:12 AM.
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  11. - Top - End - #11
    Firbolg in the Playground
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    I'd prefer if you use bigger screenshot instead of thumbnails though. clicking through them to see the images in another tab is annoying.
    You got Magic Mech in My Police Procedural!
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    Titan in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Not going to really comment now, since we're adhearing to NO SPOILERS, but I do want to give this thread the Double Thumbs Up Seal of Approval!

    I love love love ADOM.

    ...

    Expect many excruciating deaths.


    EDIT::::

    Quote Originally Posted by Myatar_Panwar View Post
    I vote Dwarf Priest.

    Priest was the easiest class for me to get passed the early levels with. Being able to heal yourself and see if items or cursed or blessed is a.... blessing.
    I vote for a healer as well, for the same reasons. Knowing if something is cursed or not can be the difference between life and death.

    ...

    Or worse.
    Last edited by Porthos; 2010-02-20 at 03:30 AM.
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    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Halfling Farmer.

    You have "very little to lose compared to the amount of fame you might be able to win."

    Win-Win Except for your life, but who wants that.
    Wait, what signature?

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    DruidGuy

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    I'll agree with Fri, use bigger screenshots. I'll be following this closely.

    Also: Drakeling Mindcrafter sounds awesome


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    Plus, with the UMD check, I could just threaten to blow the world up using stonehendge.
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    From what you described, you were dying.


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    Troll in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Larger screenshots, please. Also, I seem to have started a whole bunch of Roguelike LPs.

    Anyway, excellent idea, but I'm beginning to wonder if you hate yourself. I spoiled myself silly and eventually beat ADOM (Drakeling Beastfighter, of all things), but honestly, it wasn't worth it. This game is all kinds of nightmarish and horrible. So, er... good luck.

    My vote, for the record, goes to an Elementalist. Race of your choice. Honestly, though, go with whatever you like. This is pretty funny/high quality so far.
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    Homebrew:
    The Sandman



    Avatar by Meirnon.

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    The only character I ever got anywhere with was a gnome elementalist. On the early levels, I could blast everything that got in my way and level before I ran out of spells, later I actually grabbed a weapon and killed most stuff in melee. Though not even with spoilering did I get anywhere near the end.
    Resident Vancian Apologist

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Okay, by popular demand, I'll be posting these images as proper screenshots instead of thumbnails. Now, meet our next contender: Viserion, Drakeling Druid!



    That's actually a halfway decent backstory. I decided to go through the questions this time, just to show what it looks like:



    Rule number 1 of rougelikes: Never try on unidentified jewelry. Ever.

    By the way, I know the response here has some sort of effect on your attributes later, but there's no real way to tell what it is. Also, there are a lot of these questions. Like I said before: If you insist on making me go through them all, I'll do it, but otherwise I'm just going with the random distribution.



    Then again, maybe questions aren't so bad. Superhuman toughness, ridiculous intelligence, and strong magical powers in exchange for being slightly homely and introverted? I'll take that!

    Now then, the first thing I did was stop by the side of the road and peruse my starting spellbook until I learned how to shoot lightning at people, so this looks like a good place to discuss ADOM's magic system.

    You can learn magic by studying spellbooks. Each spell you learn is like its own miniature weapons skill, in that you become more effective with that spell the more you cast it. However, you can only cast a given spell a certain number of times before you warp the magical energies or somesuch (basically, you have to learn it again). You can get around this second restriction by casting directly from the book, but this has a whole other set of disadvantages associated with it.

    Also, your Power determines how much magic you are safely able to channel in a short amount of time. If you exhaust your PP, you can cast out of health instead, which is generally a bad idea.



    That green '@' I've underlined is a friendly NPC. The '@' means he's a human. All those little 't's are townspeople, who are for the most part unimportant.



    Our first quest! How exciting!



    The Sheriff is a 't' who is actually important, rather than just window dressing. Unfortunately, he wants me to kill outlaws for him. Since that worked so well for Marcus, I'm just going to ignore his request for now.

    Anyway, we might as well stock up while we're here. The town has a convenient food shop, so we can easily--



    Uh, okay, I think I'm not hungry anymore. That's kind of messed up. I'd report this blatant health code violation, but the Sheriff just keeps insisting I go hunt outlaws.

    I didn't end up buying anything, by the way. The actual non-diseased food cost all the gold I had minus one, and I figured that my druid's Survival skill could help him if he got hungry.

    South of the town, I find a cave, and my first dungeon!



    It's prepared a warm, furry welcome for me, as you can see. All those little 'r's are rats of varying sizes. That white 'r' in the center? That's a wererat, who's busy summoning even more rats. That '>' below me is a staircase down to safety. Guess what I did next?

    Actually, when I went down, a couple of rats followed me. I dispatched them easily, but figured I could squeeze a bit more experience out of this if I did the time-honored rougelike trick of repeatedly ascending and descending staircases to break the horde into smaller chunks. I know it's unrealistic, but a realistic game would let me just use the stairs as a chokepoint, wouldn't it?

    (Oh, and in case your wondering why I'm Hungry: It turns out that simply having the Survival skill doesn't mean you'll succeed when using it).

    However, when I went back up the stairs, a horrible suprise greeted me:



    The entire layout of the level has changed since I've been gone! At least, that's what I hope happened, and that I didn't somehow teleport somewhere else altogether. Boy, when the manual said these dungeons were built by pure Chaos, it wasn't kidding.

    Long story short, I poked around a bit, killed some weak monsters (and reached experience level 2), then got nervous and fled to the up stairs (which, thankfully, really did lead out of the dungeon). These levels that don't stay the same are just plain unnerving. I'm certain I'll be much safer in the wilderness, no?



    The game has random encounters. Apparently having randomly generated dungeons that randomly re-generate themselves wasn't random enough. Now, as a druid, I'd eventually get the power to bypass random encounters, but that's not until level 6, so I had to fight this one out. I managed to take down a couple of raiders with well-aimed lightning bolts and get to level 3, but then the big boss showed up:



    How ironic. Killed by the very vagabonds I refused to help the Sheriff deal with.

    Wait, actually, I refused to help the Sheriff because I knew the vagabonds would kill me before they even knew I was there. That's actually not ironic at all.

    Code:
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                                           ..TT...
                                         .TT....T.T.
                                        .......TTT...
                                       ..T.T.T.T...TT.
                                       .T..TT...T....T
                                      [email protected].
                                      .....T@g.}@@TTT..
                                      T.......TTTTT..TT
                                       ..T.T..TT...T..
                                       .TTT....T..T.TT
                                        ..T.T..T.T...
                                         T...TT.TT.T
                                           ..T.TTT
    
    
    
    Viserion      St:12  Le:18  Wi:11  Dx: 9  To:21  Ch: 8  Ap: 9  Ma:15  Pe:10 N+
    DV/PV: 17/2    H: -2(44)      P: 7(30)       Exp: 3/573         WE    Sp: 100
    
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Background Information
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Name: Viserion            Race: male Drakeling      Class: Druid
    Eye color: amber          Hair color: bald          Complexion: light blue
    Height: 5'9"              Weight: 163 pounds
    Age: 25 (grown-up)
    Star sign: Book           Birthday: 26/Book (day 56 of the year)
    
    YOUR HISTORY:
            Your mother is a mighty enchantress. She is unmarried. Your father
     is living in the vicinity of your mother's tower. He is a humble shepherd.
            As a child you had to survive pretty harsh times since your parents
     seemed to have run out of luck. Their wealth was ever-declining and times
     were very hard.
            In your youth you worked a lot to become rich and famous later.
     Consequently you rarely had enough time to play with other kids of your
     age.
            As a young adult you had to work a lot to finance your
     apprenticeship. You were often tired and exhausted but all this was
     forgotten, when you finally achieved your goal.
            You decided to become a Druid.
    
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                      Inventory
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total weight: 387 stones                Carrying capacity: 1200 stones
    
    Head          : -
    Neck          : -
    Body          : uncursed robe [+0, +1]                                [60s]
    Girdle        : uncursed leather girdle [+0, +0]                       [5s]
    Cloak         : uncursed hooded cloak [+1, +0]                        [40s]
    Right Hand    : uncursed quarterstaff (+0, 1d10)                      [40s]
    Left Hand     : -
    Right Ring    : -
    Left Ring     : -
    Bracers       : blessed bracers of defense [+3, +0]                   [10s]
    Gauntlets     : -
    Boots         : -
    Missile weapon: -
    Missiles      : -
    Tool          : -
    
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Stuff
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Total weight: 232 stones   Carrying capacity: 1200 stones
    
    Shields ('[')
       uncursed wooden shield [+3, +1]                                    [80s]
    Cloaks ('[')
       uncursed hooded cloak [+1, +0]                                     [40s]
    Potions ('!')
       uncursed potion of potential dexterity                              [4s]
       uncursed potion of raw mana                                         [2s]
       uncursed potion of beauty                                           [4s]
    Scrolls ('?')
       uncursed scroll of identify                                         [2s]
    Books ('"')
       uncursed spellbook of Divine Wrath                                [100s]
    Valuables ('$')
       70 gold pieces                                                      [0s]
    
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Weapon Skills
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Melee weapon           Lvl   Hit   Dam   DV   Level          Required marks
    ---------------------  ---   ---   ---   --   -------------  --------------
    Unarmed fighting         0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Daggers & knives         0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Clubs & hammers          0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Maces & flails           0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Swords                   0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Axes                     0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Whips                    0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Pole arms                0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Twohanded weapons        0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            22
    Staves                   2    +2    +0   +2   basic                46
    
    Missile weapon         Lvl   Hit   Dam   Ra   Level          Required marks
    ---------------------  ---   ---   ---   --   -------------  --------------
    Slings                   0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    Bows                     0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    Crossbows                0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    Thrown axes & hammers    0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    Thrown daggers           0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    Thrown rocks & clubs     0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    Thrown spears            0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    Boomerangs & scurgari    0    +0    +0   +0   unskilled            10
    
    Shields                Lvl   DV               Level          Required marks
    ---------------------  ---   ---              -------------  --------------
    Shields                  0    +0              unskilled            22
    
    
    Damage caused with your melee weapons:
    --------------------------------------
    ÆRight hand: Î+5Æ bonus to hit, Î1d10+0Æ damage
    
    
    Damage caused with your missile weapons:
    ----------------------------------------
    No missile weapons available.
    
    
    
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Skills
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
      Alertness ................ 47    (fair)         [+3d3]
      Climbing ................. 43    (fair)         [+3d5]
      Concentration ............ 39    (fair)         [+3d4]
      First aid ................ 59    (good)         [+2d4]
      Food preservation ........ 48    (fair)         [+3d4]
      Gardening ................  7    (poor)         [+4d5]
      Haggling ................. 27    (mediocre)     [+2d4]
      Healing .................. 68    (good)         [+3d3]
      Herbalism ................ 69    (good)         [+3d5]
      Listening ................ 37    (fair)         [+3d5]
      Literacy ................. 64    (good)         [+2d4]
      Music ....................  6    (poor)         [+4d5]
      Survival ................. 58    (good)         [+3d5]
      Swimming ................. 46    (fair)         [+3d4]
      Woodcraft ................  5    (poor)         [+4d5]
    
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Spells
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
       Divine Wrath:   225,  12pp     (Effectivity: +2)
    
    
    
    
    
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  His achievements during his adventures:
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Viserion, the drakish druid, was killed by a raider.
    He scored 1557 points and advanced to level 3.
    He survived for 0 years, 8 days, 0 hours, 42 minutes and 21 seconds (666
    turns).
    Viserion visited 3 places.
    He ended his adventuring life somewhere in the forest.
    8 monsters perished under his attacks.
    He had the following talents: Careful, Good Learner.
    He had a final speed score of 100 (final base speed: 100).
    He was not particularly religious.
    He did not ask for divine help.
    He was neutrally aligned.
    
    The following monsters were vanquished:
          2 giant rats
          1 goblin
          2 kobolds
          2 raiders
          1 skeleton
    Rest in peace, buddy.

    Up next:

    Dwarf Barbarian
    Drakeling Mindcrafter
    Dwarf Priest
    XXX Healer
    Hurthling Farmer
    Gnome Elementalist
    Quote Originally Posted by Winterwind View Post
    Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Titan in the Playground
     
    NinjaGuy

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Hooray, you found the ID!

    Don't know if you consider any comments (even minor) about dungeons spoilerish or not, so SPOILERIZING, just in case (but it really is minor).

    Spoiler
    Show
    The ID stands for "Infinte Dungeon". It's.... Well, it's a bit of a callback to the earliest rougelikes out there in that each level is randomly generated, and that it is truly infinite.

    And I DO mean infinite.


    However at the risk of posting strategy tips I will say that the ID is NOT the starting dungeon you should be working on. Sure it can help for a few levels to gain some quick XP. But it's not a place you want to hang around for a long time.

    Strategy Suggestion, also posted under SPOILERS. But I strongly suggest you read it, if only because it will help out the early game tremendously.

    Spoiler
    Show
    There are a couple of "starting dungeons" in the nearby area. One straightforward. The other.... less so (too spoily to say more)

    Without going to deep into questions, did you happen to run into a sad little girl that first village? Perhaps you could help her out.
    Last edited by Porthos; 2010-02-20 at 02:50 PM.
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  19. - Top - End - #19
    Colossus in the Playground
     
    Eldan's Avatar

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Actually, you went into the wrong dungeon for the druid. I think I can say that much.
    Resident Vancian Apologist

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Titan in the Playground
     
    NinjaGuy

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by Eldan View Post
    I think I can say that much.
    This is a fairly good point, and I thought I would address it to Mewtarthio.

    Just how strict on NO SPOILERS are we being here? Can we give suggestions on where to start out? Or what to look out for? Even if they're resticted to minor itsy bitsy hints?

    Or is it going to be full, head on, absolutely no comments (no matter how minor) from anyone who knows is about to hit the fan?

    Coz if it's the latter, I can delete my prior post if you wish. And refrain from making future comments along those lines as well.
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  21. - Top - End - #21
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    Pronounceable's Avatar

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    I for Infinity! Welcome to the Infinite Dungeon. The main reason I turned away from other two of Big 3 is because many of their levels are random like that.

    Also, that was the wrong cave.

    This game is all kinds of nightmarishawesome and horriblehorrible.
    Fixed.

    I'd say we keep outright spoily stuff in spoilers so Mewt would know not to read them. Zero comments would make a boring thread. Small tips should be fine.

    Slighly spoilery speculation:
    Spoiler
    Show
    Tiny girl's quest is among the hardest quests in early game. Quest spoiler:
    Spoiler
    Show
    An anthill, possibility of a river, a cavernous level and finally a greater vault is a whole lot of challenge for a newbie. Bigger spoiler:
    Spoiler
    Show
    The exact nature of secret time limit of actual puppy rescuability will probably evade a nonspoiled ADOMer for a very long time.
    It would generate much pain, so I'd approve of that.


    Also also, have you discovered the joys of tactics yet?
    Last edited by Pronounceable; 2010-02-20 at 03:31 PM.
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    CATNIP FOR THE CAT GOD! MILK FOR THE MILK BOWL!
    Shameless shill:

  22. - Top - End - #22
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    NinjaGuy

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by cnsvnc View Post
    I'd say we keep outright spoily stuff in spoilers so Mewt would know not to read them. Zero comments would make a boring thread. Small tips should be fine.

    Slighly spoilery speculation:
    Spoiler
    Show
    It would generate much pain, so I'd approve of that.
    More a wry observation (born from bitter experience) than anything, but what the hey...
    Spoiler
    Show
    There's even more pain if someone decides to wait and do other things before deciding to enter the other "early" dungeon.


    EDIT:::

    Quote Originally Posted by Mewtarthio View Post
    Up next:

    Dwarf Barbarian
    Drakeling Mindcrafter
    Dwarf Priest
    XXX Healer
    Hurthling Farmer
    Gnome Elementalist
    Just so you know, I meant to type in Priest, not Healer when I was giving a suggestion. It was late late late at night when I posted and my brainzs was a little fuzzy.
    Last edited by Porthos; 2010-02-20 at 04:06 PM.
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  23. - Top - End - #23
    Orc in the Playground
     
    Devil

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by Deth Muncher View Post
    I feel the need to point out that Adom is Hebrew for Earth. Just so's y'know. :P Not that it has much relevance, but it's interesting trivia.
    OT: actually, adom is read. Adama is Earth.

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by Porthos View Post
    Just how strict on NO SPOILERS are we being here? Can we give suggestions on where to start out? Or what to look out for? Even if they're resticted to minor itsy bitsy hints?
    Minor hints are okay. A quick explanation of why I died, for instance. Spoiler comments about stuff I haven't seen yet, though.
    Quote Originally Posted by Winterwind View Post
    Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Raroy's Avatar

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Altars are dangerous.
    Spoiler
    Show

    I was sacrificed alive by an orc when I steeped on an altar. That, that was interesting.

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    In case anyone's curious about the creation answers, the stat adjustments each answer gives are

  27. - Top - End - #27
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Okay, third time's the charm, no? Say hello to Keghir, Dwarven Barbarian.



    I don't blame Keghir. I'd probably leave those jerks, too. Just, y'know, not to throw myself into the maw of Chaos, where countless others have died before.



    Today's hero looks to be big, strong, and fairly unintelligent. Boy, I hope that 4 Mana doesn't come back to haunt me later on.



    It seems I missed a few things in my last visit to this town. They've got their own, incredibly depressing dragon. Seriously, that's just pitiful. You get your hands on a freaking dragon and all it does is sit around and cry all day. It's a wonder the Sheriff needs to commission random travelers to hunt down bandits: You'd think the brigands would feel compelled to donate stuff to the farmers after seeing their pathetic dragon.



    Also, they have a village elder. What do you say, folks, shall we sit down and listen to the product of years of respected experience?



    ...Okay. I'm certain he's just got an accent that makes him sound like a mildly concussed caveman. Anyway, I think this is one quest I'm willing to go on. I mean, if a carpenter was confident in his chances of success, the greatest barbarian of my oddly cliquish tribe is bound to succeed.



    Also, the village has a fool. He's either saying something extremely profound that means a lot to people who know the game well, or just spouting nonsense. Either way, it means the same thing to me.



    Oh, come on. This place is right along the road into the reigon. You'd think they'd be used to ugly, heavily-armed strangers running everywhere.



    This particular girl gets a description all to herself, making her unique, even if she happens to lack a name.



    Let's see here.... Rescue the carpenter, a human being with a family and friends whose skills are almost certainly invaluable to this tiny community... or rescue an adorable, sad-eyed puppy? This game's not afraid to confront you with the tough moral choices. Bioware, eat your heart out.

    Also, it appears that the elder really did have an accent. Or maybe 't' is really the symbol for "mildly concussed caveman."



    This is the cave where the carpenter was last seen. Sorry, kid, but "dark hole on da pass" isn't a very precise destination.

    That 'd' there stands for "dog." In this case, the dog is rabid.



    Here's another canine: The jackal. Thanks for that uplifting assessment of my adventuring skills, game.

    Incidentally, I'm tearing through these monsters. Dwarf barbarians are quite strong, it seems. Strong enough, even, to kick down this locked door, I susp--




    ...ow. Thanks, game. Thanks a lot.

    I'd like to post screenshots of the ensuing epic battle, but all I did was step back into a chokepoint and chop all the monsters apart ('B' bats and 'k' kobolds).



    There is a wide variety of odd monsters in this dungeon. Skeletons, kobolds, these ratlings, even constructs. You'd think a dwarf with an axe would fit in just fine, but no...



    Also, goblins. Don't be fooled by the description: They really are quite hostile. A number of them hold the "Slavemaster" title, but unfortunately none of them had any chained-up carpenters behind them.



    Now, at this point, I'm really deep in the dungeon. I'm starting wonder if I've actually got the right place. I could believe that maybe a carpenter would get as far as the goblins before either dying or resting, but we're starting to get into some pretty exotic monsters here.



    Case in point. DV 38 is utterly ridiculous. I'm kicking myself over not including the screenshot of our fight, which consisted of me repeatedly missing the beast and it repeatedly failing to do much damage to me.



    Ah, finally! Come on, Yrrigs, let's get back to...
    Oh, he's insane now? Oh, thank whatever god I'm supposed be worshiping! I was worried I'd have an escort mission on my hands!

    The ensuing battle was a simple duel, and so not visually very interesting. Yrrigs has a ton of hit points, but his damage output is far too low to make him a threat to Keghir. I just hacked away until he stopped moving, pretty much.

    So, the quest is done. Now, back to the village to claim my reward!



    ...That's it? That's seriously it? Listen, Rynt, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I didn't exactly waltz on over to the cave, poke my head in, and just say, "Hi there! I'm Keghir the Barbarian! Anyone need a mercy killing?" I had to fight a displacer beast, for, uh, *checks* Morodwyn's sake! Do you have any idea how annoying those things are to fight? Also, I lost my boots when a door exploded on me, so you could at least compensate me for that! No? Really, all I get is "Thanks a bunch! Now go save the world"?



    Hm... No, better not. No doubt I'll be seeing my god in person soon enough, and I'd hate to have this old guy on my conscience. Plus, you can never trust harmless old men to really be harmless. They're quite annoying that way.

    Well, I guess this is the end of that quest, which makes a good stopping point for...
    Hey, I just managed to reach the end of the update with my character still intact! Awesome! Potions of booze all around!

    Next update:
    More Keghir the Barbarian!
    Last edited by Mewtarthio; 2010-02-20 at 07:11 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Winterwind View Post
    Mewtarthio, you have scared my brain into hiding, a trembling, broken shadow of a thing, cowering somewhere in the soothing darkness and singing nursery rhymes in the hope of obscuring the Lovecraftian facts you so boldly brought into daylight.

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Titan in the Playground
     
    NinjaGuy

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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Quote Originally Posted by Mewtarthio View Post
    ...That's it? That's seriously it? Listen, Rynt, I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I didn't exactly waltz on over to the cave, poke my head in, and just say, "Hi there! I'm Keghir the Barbarian! Anyone need a mercy killing?"
    An actual real honest to goodness spoiler this time:

    Spoiler
    Show
    There was another way to deal with this situation. One that might have been more to your liking.

    Perhaps with your next character (presuming you don't win with this one ) you can try to figure out an alternative strategy.


    Also, are you fully exploring each dungeon level before going down to the next level? Might be worth your time to do so.
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  29. - Top - End - #29
    Barbarian in the Playground
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Looks like you are getting the hang of ADOM. :)


    Actually, no, you will almost certainly die horribly many more times before your character lives long enough to get corruption problems, but it is a good start.

    My suggestion for your next character once your current dies: dark elf paladin. This is a fun combination should you survive the first few levels.

    Drakeling Bard is another classic.

    Oh, and a spoiler after your most recent adventure:
    Spoiler
    Show

    While murdering the insane may be your instinctive reaction, you could have handled the quest in a more humane manner.

    There are many quests in ADOM that have multiple solutions, which you will only find out by trying (or reading spoilers); In general, the easier and less mind-boggling a solution is, the less reward for completing the quest.


    EDIT: And for the love of all that is holy, don't choose Elementalist or Mindcrafter before you have got a really good feel for the game. They are very fun classes but should carry a warning label. Not as punishing on the new player as the Necromancer, Merchant or Monk (or Beastfighter, though Beastfighter isn't as rough in the early levels), but a cut above the regular classes.
    Last edited by Deliverance; 2010-02-20 at 08:28 PM.

  30. - Top - End - #30
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Let's stumble blindly through ADOM!

    Well, this thread has inspired me to resume ADOM.

    I'm on my second dungeon and have found five altars. Two of them co-aligned. Something is wrong here.

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