Game #64

28     Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 2, 0/23 HPs)
       Succumbed to poison on Level 1 of the Dungeon.

Stupid, annoying game.

A kobold with a short sword of venom on level 1. Screw you Crawl. That is almost unwinnable by any character or any tactics.

Game #63

3865   Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 9, -4/78 HPs)
       Slain by an unseen horror on Level 9 of the Dungeon.

Everything was going perfect in this game, until I arrived on Level 8 of the Dungeon. One of the down staircases brought me next to a room with an altar to Beough and a staircase down to the Orcish Mines. Of course, that room was filled with orcs. It was a tough battle, especially when the orc priests arrived, but I managed to survive.

Later on in the level, there was a room where the middle half was full of water, with treasure on the far side and a single water statue (or ice statue) in the middle of the water. Like a moth to a flame, I felt compelled to see what was on the other side of the room, so I walked up to the edge of the water. The stupid statue waited until that point to do anything, but once I got to the water, it let loose with a vengeance. Freezing blasts, frozen vapours and ice beasts surrounded me. I quickly read a scroll of teleportation, but figured I was dead. I escaped with 3 hitpoints and the realization that statues simply should not be f@#$ed with.

The next level saw my death, as an unseen horror arrived. I tried to play smart and trap it in a hallway, since I did not have anyway to see invisible. Unfortunately, it was getting 4 to 10 hits in to every one hit I was, and that quickly took down all my hitpoints. From now on, I think I will avoid unseen horrors, if they are unseen.

Lessons Learned
1. Do not go anywhere near statues without a wand of disintegration.
2. Do not fight unseen horrors without the ability to see invisible.

Game #62

132    Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 4, -5/36 HPs)
       Slain by a gnoll on Level 1 of the Dungeon.

Stupid game. There were at least 5 gnolls, if not more, on the first level of the dungeon, as I only managed to explore 2/3rds of the level before dying. I first encountered three gnolls early on. I backed into a hallway, went berserk and dealt with them. A little while later, I encountered a hobgoblin with a club that was really hurting me, so I went berserk again in order to defeat him. After that came my second encounter with gnolls, and my third time berserking on the first level of the dungeon. This meant I was hungry and had already exhausted my starting food source, as well as a number of questionable corpses. So, when I had my third encounter with a gnoll, I had no choice but to fight him normally, as I could not go berserk. Of course, he had a runed halberd and quickly took me down below half hitpoints. I had a couple of potions, so I drank one and prayed for the best. Unfortunately, it was a potion of confusion, which gave the gnoll an easy target.

Stupid game. I really had no choice but to berserk in the three situations I did, as if I had not, I would have died. However, that left me hungry and without food and still facing dangerous situations, with absolutely no way to escape. The early game in Crawl really needs to be tweaked, so that early dangerous battles do not leave you with no options for later battles.

Game #61

868    Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 7, -4/82 HPs)
       Killed from afar by Blork the orc on Level 5 of the Dungeon.

This game was yet another entry in the "berserking doesn't help while fighting multiple enemies" category. I was in one of those levels that has very large open hallways, when I encountered a scorpion, an imp and Blork. Blork had a wand of ice, which he used immediately upon seeing me. I went berserk and quickly dealt with the scorpion and the imp. While I was doing that, Blork continued to blast me, and the noise attracted two Ogres. I should have tried to escape at that point, but instead continued to fight. Both Ogres went down quickly, but I was running low on hitpoints and a final blast from Blork killed me before I could get close to him.

Game #60

169    Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 3, -4/31 HPs)
       Splashed by acid on Level 2 of the Dungeon.

I truly wish that so much of the early game did not rely on damn luck. Early in the second level, I encountered a snake, which meant I got poisoned. I had a single unidentified potion, which was not a potion of healing, so my entire game hinged on whether or not the poison would run out before it killed me. There was nothing I could do from a gameplay perspective other than rest and hope for the best. I hate that, because playing the random number generator is not a game. Crawl really needs to do something so that the user can actually think and play themselves out of early poison situations. Maybe having poisonous snakes so early is a bad idea, because they cannot be outrun. Perhaps the first poisonous creature that is encountered should be slower, so that escaping to a different level is an option.

After resting, I died at my next encounter, with the another of the dangerous early creatures, a jelly. Things should have been OK, as I had enough of the level mapped that I could pillar dance, plus I had a sling and a bunch of stones. Unfortunately, I was also wearing a large shield, which would slow down my firing and cause me to take damage from the jelly, even when firing from a square away. I decided to remove the shield, not realizing that it would take so long that the jelly would get three or four hits in. I died before the shield was removed. I think that it would be nice if you could find out how many turns an action is going to take. Perhaps Crawl also needs a confirmation if you start a multiple turn action when near an enemy.

Lessons Learned
1. Do not remove armour when close to an enemy.

Game #59

152824 Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 17, 0/146 HPs)
       Slain by a stone giant simulcram on Level 19 of the Dungeon.

Ouch! Who knew that a monster could do 46 hitpoints of damage in one attack, even though my armour class was in the 30s?

Except for the end part where I died, this game went very well. Went down to the Lair and cleared it out and obtained no less than 5 options for poison resistance. I ran into difficulties in the last level of the Swamp and almost died. I got surrounded by swamp dragons, hydras and frogs and it was only a lucky teleport that got me out. Regardless, I was able to obtain the rune from the Swamp. I then cleared the Snake Pit, and for some reason the final level was quite easy this time. I ran into a Greater Naga early on in the last level, and it teleported me into the room with the rune. I thought I was in big trouble, but I was able to summon a couple of helpers and then retreat to a spot where only one enemy could attack me. That made it quite easy to clear out that room and get a second rune.

With two runes, my next goal was to clear the dungeon down to level 20, but I ended up dying on level 19. I kept encountering and dealing with enemies, but I wasn't watching my hitpoints close enough, since I foolishly assumed that unless I was in the 30 range that everything would be OK. *sigh*

Lessons Learned
1. Keep your hitpoints up, even as you get more and more hitpoints.

Game #58

43     Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 2, -1/22 HPs)
       Slain by a hobgoblin on Level 1 of the Dungeon.

Stupid game. There is no way that I should have died to a hobgoblin. When you get in trouble on level 1, you are really in trouble as you never have any escape options. Either you haven't found any potions and scrolls, or you haven't identified any of them.

Stupid f@#!ing game.

Game #57

274    Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 5, 0/46 HPs)
       Slain by an orc on Level 4 of the Dungeon.

I just played stupidly. While exploring level 3, I took a down staircase and arrived in a room with Sigmund. I was strong enough that I wasn't too worried about fighting him, so I moved over to him and berserked. I quickly dispatched him and then another monster appeared. I probably should have retreated, but I pressed the attack in order to keep my berserk up. That monster quickly fell, but my movements brought me into sight of two orcs. As I moved towards them, my berserk wore off.

At that point, I was quite far away from the staircase and slow. I should have enacted an escape plan instead of just walking back towards the staircase, which allowed the orcs to get in four attacks every time I made a move. They quickly took me out.

Game #56

385    Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 5, -7/45 HPs)
       Mangled by a scorpion on Level 4 of the Dungeon.

Not a very good game. I got poisoned, but did not have any potions available. I may have lasted longer, as I made a mistake and ended up fighting the scorpion and a kobold at the same time, but who knows. Being poisoned without any way to get rid of it is a quick way to die.

Stupid game.

Game #55

2955   Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 9, -4/114 HPs)
       Slain by Erolcha on Level 9 of the Dungeon.

Wow, can Erolcha ever do a lot of damage quickly. I discovered her alone in a room and her first move was to turn invisible. She hit me a couple of times, so I berserked to try and take her down fast. Unfortunately, that did not work and she easily dispatched me, even with my extra hitpoints.

I suppose I should have tried to escape once I realized my hitpoints were dropping fast, but even that would have been difficult to do, given that I was facing an invisible spellcaster. I did not really learn anything this came that I did not already know.

Game #54

104220 Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 16, -7/146 HPs)
       Killed from afar by a smoke demon in The Abyss.

Another awesome character lost to the stupid Abyss. I tried to do things in a specific pattern this game, as I am determined to get all the way through the game, and the best way to do that is to always play the same way, so that anything I learn from dying can easily be applied to the next game. So, I cleared the main dungeon all the way down until level 15. I then returned to the Lair and cleared it completely. By that point, I had found a number of possible poison resistance options, so I picked one and quickly dove down to the fifth level of the Swamp and obtained the rune. My next step was to clear the Hive, which I may or may not do again. I have only cleared it a couple of times, so I wanted to make certain that I knew how it looked and how it should be played. I then started going through the Snake Pits to get the rune there. I easily made it through the first few levels, until I encountered Louise. She cast a few spells at me, I hurt her a little bit and then she cast me into the Abyss.

Thus ended another promising character. I wandered around the Abyss, attracted a number of demons and managed to get killed while attempting to teleport and reset the level.

Stupid game.

Lessons Learned
1. Teleport before you get down to half hitpoints in The Abyss.

Game #53

78     Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 2, 0/22 HPs)
       Slain by a kobold on Level 1 of the Dungeon.

Sorry for the lack of games recently. The cold I currently have has been extremely viscious and that has really cut into my ability to play Crawl.

I could not buy any luck this game. I had to berserk an early goblin, as he reduced me to 3 hitpoints. Then, upon arriving at level 2, a goblin and a snake arrived beside me. I had already been poisoned on level 1 and identified a potion of healing and I still had one in my pack. After defeating the goblin, I was left at 5 hitpoints, with a snake beside me. I made the tough decision to quaff my potion of healing, so that I would have enough hitpoints to defeat the snake, even though I risked dying to poison.

I was able to scare the snake away, but he did poison me. I popped up to level 1 and rested. Luckily for me, the poison went away when I was at 1 hitpoint. I rested up and went back down to level 2. Sure enough, the snake was right beside me, and the exact same thing happened. I scared him away, got poisoned and then went up to level 1, where the poison wore off at 1 hitpoint. I then rested. When I had 8 hitpoints, a kobold arrived, and quickly killed me.

Stupid game.

Notes
Turn   | Place   | Note
--------------------------------------------------------------
     0 | D:1     | Bill, the Mountain Dwarf Berserker, began the quest for the Orb.
     0 | D:1     | Reached XP level 1. HP: 16/16 MP: 0/0
   286 | D:1     | Reached XP level 2. HP: 19/22 MP: 1/1
   700 | D:2     | Acquired Trog's second power
   755 | D:2     | HP: 1/22 [snake (2)]
   770 | D:1     | HP: 1/22 [poison]
  1016 | D:1     | HP: 1/22 [poison]
  1123 | D:1     | Slain by a kobold

Game #52

242    Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 4, 0/36 HPs)
       Slain by an orc on Level 4 of the Dungeon.

I've been hit hard with a cold the past few days, so it has been difficult to find time to play Crawl, as well as to find time to play it well. However, I will only put half the blame on myself, as the orc in question hit me three times and took me from full hitpoints to death. I should have done something more intelligent than attacking after the second hit occurred.

I know better than to play that way.

Game #51

22     Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 1, -1/24 HPs)
       Slain by a kobold on Level 1 of the Dungeon.

From a great game, with a rune, to a game where I only fought three monsters. The kobold threw a bunch of darts at me and then quickly reduced me to one hitpoint. I pillar danced for a bit, until I had 3 hitpoints and then I went berserk. Unfortunately, the kobold hit me before my extra hitpoints arrived.

Stupid game.

Game #50

96388  Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 15, -4/130 HPs)
       Killed from afar by a smoke demon on Level 7 of the Elven Halls

Another game where I did quite well. I made it to the Lair and cleared all 10 levels of it. I had not found any poison resistance, so I did not attempt the Swamp or the Snake Pits. After the Lair, I decided to go to the Orcish Mines, as every once in awhile, you find some armour of poison resistance among the orcs. I quickly found the entrance to the Elven Halls and decided to check it out, since I need to learn what you may find in each of the branches, as that controls whether or not you bother to visit the branch.

The first couple of levels of the Halls were not difficult, but each successive level was a bit harder. I stopped on level 5, as I had to flee from a couple of situations where I was massively outmatched. I bought a number of cool items from shops in the Halls before leaving.

I ended up making a number of purchases, though I haven't obtained poison resistance yet, as I don't have enough money to purchase the artifact scimitar that provides poison resistance.. So, I took the time to dig my way around and clear out the entire Orcish Mines, before heading deeper into the dungeon. Dungeon level 15 was interesting, as there was a room surrounded by crystal walls full of wierd monsters (including a statue) and all the access routes were protected by teleportion traps (and other traps, including the first trap of Zot I have ever encountered that took away four points of my intelligence). I figured out how to get past the traps, by using a wand of digging to create a path around them, and even managed to kill everything in the room, but there was no interesting treasure inside.

Dungeon level 17 was insane. It was a large area of alternating walls and open spaces, arranged so that you could only walk diagonally. Inside the diagonal spaces were a number of shadow dragons whose breath attack reduces your level. I spent a bunch of time switching between levels 13, 14 and 15 and barely surviving, even with the summoned help from Trog. Behind all of this were some treasure rooms. The first was protected by a spear trap, but the second was protected by a Zot trap, which threw me into the Abyss. ARGH!!! That is the second time in three games I have ended up in the Abyss. This time I actually got lucky, and after my second teleport, due to being surrounded by demons, I found a gate out.

There was a lot of treasure on 17, so I took the time to identify some of it and found a bunch of poison resistance, so I went through the Swamp in an attempt to get the rune at the bottom of it, as well as to gain back some of the favour I lost using my summoned helpers in the Abyss. I obtained the rune from the Swamp and then went back to the dungeon and cleared it all the way down to level 20.

I then went through the shops and bought a few things to make my character tougher, which took me back to the Elven Halls. As I was there, I figured I would explore all the levels, just to see what they were like. I easily defeated all the elves, with the exception of the few guarding something special on the last level. There was one that summoned a bunch of demons, including a type 1 demon, and they quickly defeated me.

Lessons Learned
1. How not to fight on the last level of the Elven Halls.

Game #49

340    Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 4, -1/51 HPs)
       Slain by an orc wizard on Level 4 of the Dungeon.

I'm going to chalk this death up to a complete and utter lack of randomly generated items. I cleared the first three levels of the dungeon, and the only armour I found was some cursed -2 splint mail, which I wore, since it was better than the animal skin that you start with. I had three unidentified potions, but a whole bunch of scrolls.

Upon arriving at level 4, I encountered two orcs, an orc wizard and a scorpion. It took me so long to kill the scorpion, even while berserked, that I was poisoned multiple times, which drained my hitpoints so fast that I was dead before I could kill the orc wizard, have my berserking end and then hopefully get lucky with one of my potions. I guess this was a bad time to go berserk.

Stupid game.

Game #48 Finished

136767 Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 17, 0/152 (153) HPs)
       Slain by a death drake zombie in The Abyss

I really, truly despise The Abyss. I was moving deeper into the dungeon, successfully clearing each level, when I stepped on a Zot trap that threw me into The Abyss. My character was not a wimp and actually survived for quite some time, but eventually the sheer number of foes overwhelmed me. The Abyss is stupid, because it is completely random. You wander around and hope that you find an exit before you die.

Stupid game.

Game #48 Continued

This game continues to go well. My foray into the Snake Pit ended well, though I have to say, I'm not certain how a character on their own defeats all the nagas surrounding the rune. As it was, I had to waste most of my piety with Trog summoning creatures to fight on my behalf, while I kept bouncing upstairs to heal. So, this character now has two runes, which is very cool.

Given that things are going so well, I figured I may as well try and get deeper into the dungeon, so that is what I spent the rest of my playing time doing. I managed to make it all the way to level 18, though clearing level 18 was an adventure. The first staircase I went down dropped me in a circle of 17 humans plus a couple of uniques. I quickly ran back upstairs and tried a different staircase. Unfortunately, the second staircase led to the same location. Luckily, the third staircase led to a different part of the level, and I was able to split up all of my opponents and defeat them. My biggest struggle occurred when I encountered one of the uniques in addition to a deep elf summoner, who quickly filled the room with 3s and 5s. Luckily he blinked right beside me at one point, so I was able to kill him, while my summoned rock troll took care of his summoned demons.

Reading those last couple of sentences remind me why I actually like this game.