Game #91

34011  Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 13, -3/199 HPs)
       Slain by a death yak on Level 9 of the Lair of Beasts.

Apparently I did not learn from my lessons last game. Around level 7 or 8 of the Lair, I started encountering a lot of hydras, but I only had an axe as a weapon. I decided to use a mace of protection to train up my maces skill in order to fight the hydras. The problem with training a new weapon is that you do not do anywhere near the same damage as you do with your old, especially when your old weapon is branded and your new one is not.

I encountered three or four death yaks on the ninth level of the Lair. I berserked and successfully defeated all but one, who was fleeing when my berserk wore off. Unfortunately, the room was small and he quickly turned around and came back to attack me. As I knew he was close to death, I kept swinging until it was too late. My final action was to belatedly drink a potion of speed, but while I did that, the death yak got two hits in and finished me off.

Lessons Learned
1. When training a new weapon skill, be very cautious and watch your hitpoints.
2. Even if an enemy is almost defeated, treat it as dangerous as you would one with full hitpoints.