falk@sun.uucp (Ed Falk) (03/18/86)
Here are the results of the opinion poll I posted last month:
WARNING!! Beaucoup spoilers. Parental guidance suggested. Children
below the age of level 15 should not watch
(unless of course you've been at level 15 for a long
time and are sick of it).
Well, the results were pretty much as I expected. Cockatrices first,
xans second. Slightly surprisingly, Nymphs came in third.
The total results were:
1) cockatrices - 14 votes
2) xans - 17 votes
3) Nymphs - 8 votes
4) killer bees - 5 votes
5) Umber hulks - 4 votes
6) Rust monster - 3 votes
7) Dragons - 3 votes
8) Orcs - 2 votes
9) Invisible s.- 2 votes
10) Purple w. - 2 votes
11) Vampires - 2 votes
12) Trolls - 1 vote
I listed cockatrices first even though xans got more votes because
most of the people who voted for cockatrices said it was the first
thing they'd kill, and most of the people who voted for xans said
it was the second thing they'd kill.
I broke ties by taking into account the priority the voters gave
the respective monsters. For instance, the Rust-monster voters
said they'd kill them first, third and third respectively whereas the
Dragon voters said they'd kill them third, third and fourth.
Interestingly, I got a lot of responses right away and then some more
later. Almost unanimously, the early respondents said cockatrices first,
and the later respondents said other things (xans most notably) first.
I don't know if the early responses reflect people who made snap judgements
as opposed to people who thought it through; or if the early responses
were from people who'd thought the issue out in advance.
A few comments follow:
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Cockatrice first. Xan second. Umber Hulk third.
It may be tempting to do Dragons, but you will need to eat
one for permanent fire resistance.....
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First I would kill the Nymphs, then I would kill the damn Orcs, the billyuns
& billyuns of Orcs...
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I think I would zap the orcs first, they're a pain in the a**.
maybe cockatrices, second.
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The only swallowing monster I can get rid of is purple worms.
After that, I don't think I would genocide anything else. It would take
too much fun out of things.
By the way, orcs rob shops!
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I kill off xans, usually. Orcs are cannon fodder and real good doggie food;
cockatrices can be useful, but xans always get me when i'm down...
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The first thing I use it on is cockatrices - they're overly nasty for the
level on which they first appear. Once these babies are gone, you've
got a chance to get enough experience to survive the next 10 or so levels.
Witness the huge number of cockatrice deaths on early teen levels in
the score file, then a gap before more deaths appear in the twenties.
I don't genocide anything else BUT cockatrices. The game becomes real
boring if you do. One genocide per customer should be enforced.
-------------------
What would I genocide first? It probably would depend on what
kind of armor and hit points I have. I normally use the following order:
1) xans
2) Umber Hulks
3) Rust Monsters
I'd have to think about it some more, but that's pretty much it. Some
people seem to want 52 scrolls of genocide, but most of the monsters are
more of a nuisance than a threat after a while.
-------------------
Depends on what level I'm on. If I'm already safely past the
levels with Cockatrices, I save the scroll against a rainy day.
-------------------
it all depends on what I go down into the dungeon as. If I go down as a
tourist, I'll usually kill off the killer bees first (the first thing I'll
meet that's a pain), and then I'd ding cockatrices since gloves are so hard
to find... and xans last.
If I'm a caveman I'll get rid of xans FIRST. then
cockatrices I suppose.
As for the others, it's usually xans, then cockytrices (except for knights
who LOVE cockytrices...)
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Usually, in the easier levels, I first genocide cocks, then Xans,
then Nymphs. The first is just too deadly, but the Xan and Nymph
have a nuisance value that can too easily cause you to die of something
else.
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The second thing I get rid of is imps, just because they are
a nuisance.
-------------------
1. Nymphs - because they steal things
2. Xans - Because they are hard to kill and limit how much I carry
3. Killer bee's - because they swarm and poison
-------------------
(1) cockatrices : ALWAYS FIRST
(2) xans : usually second (depending on how many potions of speed you have
to counteract their attacks on your legs)
(3) dragons or umber hulks :
If you are fire resistant then umber hulks else dragons
- I personally like to genocide things such as
- Nymphs , so that can't steal all the stuff i have collected
_ Invisible Stalkers , not because they are so tough , but because they are
so annoying
Never genocide the minotaur (m) , because thy will always leave a wand of
digging after you kill them (a minotaur with a wand of digging will
always be found on the maze level)
One thing to beware of:
- chameleons can change into anything !!!, even monsters that have already
been genocided..
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Usually the first thing to go are cockatrices. If I have real good armor
(<0), including gloves, and good strength (18+), I would rather risk
having them around, since they make such good weapons.
-------------------
1. R unless you have an elven cloak.
2. x unless you have *lots* of food and can wait around indefinitely
to be healed.
3. c just on general principles of safety. They're fun to wield, but
I've lost lots of good games to them even being pretty careful.
Nasty things that should never be genocided:
1. N. Sometimes the *only* way to get rid of things (like ball and
chain, cursed levitation ring, etc.)
2. k unless you can't even use more strength and food.
3. D. They're not *that* tough, and you get lots of experience for
croaking them.
-------------------
And now for some comments of my own:
Disclaimer: These are only opinions derived empirically from playing
the game. I've never looked at the source code or the rumors file. If
you get killed from believing something I told you, don't come crying
to me; I'll probably get killed that way too.
I used to genocide Orcs first, because they'd gang up on me and I'd always
lose. In fact recently, I had just taken my armor off to sell it, and
the shop was suddenly filled with Orcs. I died before I got the armor
off; no chance to fight back or even enscribe.
However, that's a freak occurrence. All you need to do with Orcs is
back into a tunnel so that they can only get at you one at a time. I find
that they're usually carrying valuables such as armor, weapons, gems
and money. If they appear in a shop, it's your lucky day. Back out to
the doorway and kill them one by one. They'll leave a pile of gems and
other stuff they've stolen from the shop and you can sell it all right
back to the shopkeeper.
Killer bees are also easy to deal with once you get the knack. If you
have strength over 18 or a potion of medicine ("makes you feel great" --
what's it really called?), you can afford to tackle them briefly. Kill
the first one by whatever means you have available and eat it. From
that point on, you'll be immune to poison. I've also eaten tainted
meat twice and lived; I ascribe this to the poison immunity acquired from
dead killer bees. I think you'll need poison resistance to survive
the game, so it's best to get rid of the bees the hard way.
A couple of respondents mentioned that they don't genocide the bees
because they want the royal jelly later. Well, it doesn't matter.
I've genocided the bees and five levels later found
empty rooms full of royal jelly.
Imps aren't all that tough, and you can eat them. Usually I'm GLAD to
see an imp, 'cause I know where my next meal is coming from. If you're
having trouble with imps, you're moving down into the dungeon too fast;
take your time and let your experience and hit points grow first.
Cockatrices are fun weapons, but FAR too dangerous to handle. One
pit or trapdoor and you're history (just like -- no I'd
better not say it). When I kill one, I stay FAR away
from the corpse until it disappears, just in case I accidentally trip
over it or something. On the other hand, I haven't been killed in a
fight with one since I learned about enscribing "Elbereth", so they're
not all that bad.
Generally, if I have gloves, I get the xans first; otherwise cockatrices.
Never nuke the Nymphs. Someday you might need one to get a cursed
ring of hunger or a ball and chain off of you. Sure they do rob you,
but you can always hunt them down and kill them later. Just don't let
one near you when you're in a fight, or you could wind up losing your
armor.
Don't genocide the Wraiths either, they're good for experience points,
and they can't hurt you through an elven cloak anyway.
Rust monsters can't hurt your armor through an elven cloak. For safety,
I remove my gloves/helmet/shield when I'm neer one but I've never
actually had them corrode either while wearing a cloak. If you do
get caught by a Rust monster without your cloak, take all your armor
off. Rust monsters don't hurt you when you're not protected.
In general, if you haven't got a cloak by the time you reach the
levels with Rust monsters, you won't survive the game anyway.
Elven cloaks seem to protect me from Vampires, Wraiths, acid blobs,
Rust monsters and all of the other magic nasties down there. So let
these monsters alone.
If you get attacked by an Invisible stalker, back into a hallway. That
way you'll know where the attack is coming from and can fight back.
Eating an Invisible stalker gives you intrinsic see-invisible, so you
can throw your see-invisible ring away. After that, they'll never be
a problem again.
Purple worms are the minority of swallowing monsters, so there's not
much to gain by nuking them. You can attack a swallowing monster from
the inside anyway, so they're not much trouble in the first place.
I get swallowed several times per game, and just look at me today.
Trolls are just ordinary monsters, and they make a good meal. If you
can't handle them, you're playing above (below?) your level. Go back
up for a while until you're better equipped to deal with them.
The same applies to Umber hulks. Also, if you keep them on the defensive,
they don't gaze at you all that much.
As for Dragons, if you've got a ring of fire resistance, go for it. If
not go back and get one. You MUST have fire resistance to win the game,
so you might as well have it intrinsicly. Also, if you never do find a
ring, you might be able to find a way to kill a dragon without it and
get fire resistance that way.
SUMMARY:
Save your scrolls for a rainy day. I hate genociding xans and getting
killed by a cockatrice on the next level.
Somebody asked what you got for eating certain monsters; here's
the list of what I know:
a: poisonous; rumoured to give some sort of immunity to c's
b: makes you sick
c: DEADLY
d: edible
e: edible
f: edible
g: edible
h: poisonous
i: edible
j: edible
k: poisonous; gives you poison immunity.
l: edible
m: haven't eaten one yet
n: haven't eaten one yet
o: edible
p: edible
q: edible
r: edible
s: poisonous
t: gives you teleportation ability
u: never killed one
v: edible
w: edible
x: makes you sick
y: makes you sick
z: edible
A: makes you sick
B: makes you confused
C: edible
D: edible, gives you fire resistance
E: makes you sick, gives you monster detection when blind
F: gives you cold resistance
G: edible
H: edible
I: makes you confused and invisible, gives you see-invisible
J: edible
K: makes you sick
L: gives you teleportation ability
M: try it, it's fun
N: gives you teleportation ability
O: sometimes edible, sometimes makes you sick
P: edible?
Q: edible
R: makes you sick?
S: poisonous?
T: edible
U: makes you sick?
V: makes you sick?
W: gives you one experience point
X: edible
Z: edible
spinach: increases your strength
royal jelly: increases you strength
salmon: makes you drop your weapon & rings. Useful for getting rid
of cursed things.
The ones marked "?" I may have wrong.
Poisonous things take a lot of hits and reduce your strength.
Things that make you sick take hits.
Things that are "Blecch" have little or no nutritional value.
Don't eat poisonous things unless you have medicine or natural poison
immunity or don't mind the bad effects.
Now for some questions of my own:
Has anybody ever caught or killed a unicorn? What happens if you
eat it?
What happens if you eat a dead nurse?
What happens if you eat a dead human?
A couple of people mentioned potions of speed and royal jelly as
safeguards against xans. How does this work?
I wasn't paying much attention to the "stuck at level 29 or so"
discussion, and now I find I'm stuck there myself. My pick-axe won't get
through the floor, so how do I get down?
Somebody mentioned making a trapdoor on the level above with the pickaxe,
but how do I know that won't just drop me in the maze again? What if
I can't find scrolls of teleportation?
If you go down by carving holes in the floor, how do you get back up?
I assume the ring of levitation is the secret, but how do you find the
hole again? Do you have to do the whole rest of the game with
teleortation/confusion?
How do people cart so much stuff around? Somebody mentioned having
70,000 gold pieces. I never carry more than a few hundred.
What good is money besides buying stuff and raising your score? How
does it raise your score, do you have to have it on you when the game
ends?
What good are gems besides selling in shops and giving unicorns?
Are unicorns good for anything besides raising your luck?
How do you get close enough to a unicorn to give it a gem? I find them
to be much too elusive.
Why do wands of wishing not always work ("unfortunately, nothing happens")?
Does this have something to do with your luck?
What does the ring of stealth do?
What does the wand of cancellation do?
Finally, a hint: drop pieces of gold (one at a time) in the maze
levels to keep track of where you've been.
-ed falk, sun microsystemshopp@nbs-amrf.UUCP (Ted Hopp) (03/20/86)
> And now for some comments of my own: > > Disclaimer: These are only opinions derived empirically from playing > the game. I've never looked at the source code or the rumors file. If > you get killed from believing something I told you, don't come crying > to me; I'll probably get killed that way too. I noticed a couple of errors in what you said as far as version 1.0.2 is concerned. You also had some questions. > Don't genocide the Wraiths either, they're good for experience points, > and they can't hurt you through an elven cloak anyway. That last isn't true in version 1.0.2. But I agree with the advice. > Rust monsters can't hurt your armor through an elven cloak. For safety, > I remove my gloves/helmet/shield when I'm neer one but I've never > actually had them corrode either while wearing a cloak.... > > Elven cloaks seem to protect me from Vampires, Wraiths, acid blobs, > Rust monsters and all of the other magic nasties down there. So let > these monsters alone. In hack102, gloves and shield never rust; helmet and armor can be made rust-proof by reading a scroll of enchant armor while confused. (Be wearing only the item you want rustproofed to avoid having Hack pick the wrong thing.) An elven cloak only protects the armor, not the helmet. Also, an elven cloak provides no protection against Vampires, Wraiths, etc. (other than the aforementioned rust prevention from rust monsters and acid blobs). (Have things changed in 1.0.3?) > Trolls are just ordinary monsters, and they make a good meal. Trolls and a couple of other monsters will regenerate their hit points when you aren't attacking them. If you go under Elbereth they get a break, too. > The same applies to Umber hulks. Also, if you keep them on the defensive, > they don't gaze at you all that much. Also, umber hulks won't confuse you in a passageway. > Somebody asked what you got for eating certain monsters; here's > the list of what I know: > > d: edible BAD BAD BAD news to eat your dog. You get intrinsic aggravate monster "ability", and there ain't no cure. Same for '@' (dead shopkeepers) and n's. > m: haven't eaten one yet > n: haven't eaten one yet no problem with m's n's are almost as bad as dogs. The only good thing about eating them is that they restore all your hit points. (On the other hand, killing one is bad luck.) > y: makes you sick Also confused for a while. > D: edible, gives you fire resistance Poisonous > I: makes you confused and invisible, gives you see-invisible confused and invisible are temporary (just clarifying; I'm sure you knew that) > P: edible? > R: makes you sick? > S: poisonous? > U: makes you sick? > V: makes you sick? sick, yes, yes, yes, poisonous There is a 20% save on poisonous and sickness effects. You left out: Y: cold resistance > royal jelly: increases you strength Also cures pricked legs from xans and restores hit points. We modified the game so it also cures food poisoning. Anything as healthy as that ought to do at least that much. > salmon: makes you drop your weapon & rings. Useful for getting rid > of cursed things. Corollary: don't open a tin while wielding a crysknife. > Now for some questions of my own: > > Has anybody ever caught or killed a unicorn? What happens if you > eat it? Eating one is nothing special; killing one is VERY bad luck. > What happens if you eat a dead nurse? > What happens if you eat a dead human? bad things -- see above > A couple of people mentioned potions of speed and royal jelly as > safeguards against xans. How does this work? They are not safeguards, they are cures. (They also work when you damage your leg by throwing a ball you are chained to while in a bear trap.) > I wasn't paying much attention to the "stuck at level 29 or so" > discussion, and now I find I'm stuck there myself. My pick-axe won't get > through the floor, so how do I get down? Scroll of teleportation while confused and wearing a ring of teleport control. > Somebody mentioned making a trapdoor on the level above with the pickaxe, > but how do I know that won't just drop me in the maze again? What if > I can't find scrolls of teleportation? You will never get past level 29 through trap doors. There is a wand of wishing under a rock at a dead end at every maze level. There is a wand of digging under the minotaur when you kill it to get to the wand of wishing. (Don't genocide minotaurs unless you have a pickaxe!) Use the wand of wishing to get what you need. > If you go down by carving holes in the floor, how do you get back up? > I assume the ring of levitation is the secret, but how do you find the > hole again? Do you have to do the whole rest of the game with > teleortation/confusion? There's always a stairway up. It comes up right where the next up staircase is, until you get out of the maze. The ring of levitation is of no use here. > How do people cart so much stuff around? Somebody mentioned having > 70,000 gold pieces. I never carry more than a few hundred. > > What good is money besides buying stuff and raising your score? How > does it raise your score, do you have to have it on you when the game > ends? Get your strength up. I've carried at least 10,000 around (never 70K). The weight of all your other stuff limits how much gold you can carry. Gold has weight, so it may diminish your agility in a fight. Other than shops, gold is of no use other than in scoring. You have to have it with you when you leave the game. One trick is to use the "feature" that you always pick up all the gold there is when you step on it; you just can't move afterward. Well, step on 70K (or whatever you can accumulate), get confused, and teleport to level 0 (or a negative level for a thrill, but be wearing a ring of levitation). > What good are gems besides selling in shops and giving unicorns? Some of them are worth a lot of gold when you exit. > Are unicorns good for anything besides raising your luck? no > How do you get close enough to a unicorn to give it a gem? I find them > to be much too elusive. potion of speed (or being a spelunker), or surprising one in a dark room. > Why do wands of wishing not always work ("unfortunately, nothing happens")? > Does this have something to do with your luck? Exactly. If your luck is negative, there is a chance it won't work. If it is less than -5, it will never work. > What does the ring of stealth do? It makes you stealthy (:-)). Actually, in our version it doesn't do anything, although I think it's supposed to make it easy for you to go into a room without waking up the monsters. A ring of stealth is redundant if you are a spelunker. > What does the wand of cancellation do? Cancels special talents of certain monsters (e.g., L's can't steal gold, N's become "plain" and can't seduce you; R's can't rust anything; V's and W's won't steal hit points or levels). No, it doesn't work on c's. Also, you can "cancel" objects, making them revert to unknown status. Useful on worthless pieces of glass so you get at least one luck point giving it to a unicorn. > Finally, a hint: drop pieces of gold (one at a time) in the maze > levels to keep track of where you've been. That's a cute idea. -- Ted Hopp {seismo,umcp-cs}!nbs-amrf!hopp
ray@utcsri.UUCP (Raymond Allen) (03/21/86)
In article <3377@sun.uucp> falk@sun.uucp (Ed Falk) writes: >Somebody asked what you got for eating certain monsters; here's >the list of what I know: > Ed has just begun to ask about 1000 questions. I will add comments as necessary. >a: poisonous; rumoured to give some sort of immunity to c's Not exactly. In version 1.0.3 ONLY, eating a dead acid blob will save you if you about to be turned into stone by the hiss of a cockatrice. >b: makes you sick >c: DEADLY >d: edible (True, but gives you PERMANENT aggravate monster characteristics) >e: edible >f: edible >g: edible >h: poisonous >i: edible >j: edible >k: poisonous; gives you poison immunity. >l: edible >m: haven't eaten one yet (Is edible and is a BIG mouthful) >n: haven't eaten one yet >o: edible >p: edible >q: edible >r: edible >s: poisonous (But gives you permanant poison resistance.) >t: gives you teleportation ability >u: never killed one (Don't ever kill a unicorn. You lose 5 luck points.) >v: edible >w: edible >x: makes you sick >y: makes you sick (Will also confuse you for ~50 moves.) >z: edible >A: makes you sick >B: makes you confused (Also about ~50 moves.) >C: edible >D: edible, gives you fire resistance >E: makes you sick, gives you monster detection when blind >F: gives you cold resistance >G: edible >H: edible >I: makes you confused and invisible, gives you see-invisible As a further bonus, if you quaff a potion of invisibility before eating a dead stalker, you will be permanently invisible to all monsters. As well (I think) you will also gain searching characteristics (exactly as if you were wearing a ring of searching). This is true for version 1.0.3. Other versions? I have no idea. >J: edible >K: makes you sick >L: gives you teleportation ability >M: try it, it's fun >N: gives you teleportation ability >O: sometimes edible, sometimes makes you sick (see note below) >P: edible? (Usually makes you sick) >Q: edible >R: makes you sick? >S: poisonous? (Yes, poisonous) >T: edible >U: makes you sick? >V: makes you sick? >W: gives you one experience point (Not one point, one LEVEL!) >X: edible >Z: edible > Note about monsters that make you sick: Once in a while (but rarely) you will be able to eat a monster that normally makes you sick or is poisonous without any ill effects. When you see the message "You feel sick" it means that you will lose some hit points and get NO food value from the corpse. Thus, it is advisible to never eat such monsters. >spinach: increases your strength >royal jelly: increases you strength (Also restores your carring ability) >salmon: makes you drop your weapon & rings. Useful for getting rid > of cursed things. > >The ones marked "?" I may have wrong. > >Poisonous things take a lot of hits and reduce your strength. >Things that make you sick take hits. >Things that are "Blecch" have little or no nutritional value. (about 1/4 the usual value) > >Don't eat poisonous things unless you have medicine or natural poison >immunity or don't mind the bad effects. > > > >Now for some questions of my own: > >Has anybody ever caught or killed a unicorn? What happens if you >eat it? See above. > >What happens if you eat a dead nurse? Your hitpoints are completely restored but you also obtain permanant aggravate monster characteristics. > >What happens if you eat a dead human? See above. > >A couple of people mentioned potions of speed and royal jelly as >safeguards against xans. How does this work? Xan pricks lessen your carrying ability. Potions of speed and royal jelly restore this. In version 1.0.3 your carrying ability will be restored by itself after some time. > >I wasn't paying much attention to the "stuck at level 29 or so" >discussion, and now I find I'm stuck there myself. My pick-axe won't get >through the floor, so how do I get down? You must have already found a wand of wishing. (If you haven't then its because you didn't look hard enough. Try looking under some rocks in maze dead-ends.) To survive (or even make it to) the lower levels you must have: A ring of teleport control A potion of confusion (or some other means for becoming confused) A scroll of teleportaion Fire resistance (either a ring or eat a dead dragon) After becoming confused and while wearing the ring of teleport control, read the scroll. Because you are confused you will mispronounce the words and, voila!, you inchant a spell of teleport level! Because you are wearing the ring you will be asked to which level you wish to teleport to. Always go to level 40 since you final score is affected by the lowest level to which you travelled. Once there, you are on your own. Oh, one other thing. You can never go down maze levels so once you go from level 40 to 39 you will not be able to go down again unless you teleport there as described above. > >Somebody mentioned making a trapdoor on the level above with the pickaxe, >but how do I know that won't just drop me in the maze again? What if >I can't find scrolls of teleportation? See above. > >If you go down by carving holes in the floor, how do you get back up? >I assume the ring of levitation is the secret, but how do you find the >hole again? Do you have to do the whole rest of the game with >teleortation/confusion? To go up you just use the stairways. > >How do people cart so much stuff around? Somebody mentioned having >70,000 gold pieces. I never carry more than a few hundred. Leave all your gold in one place. When you are ready to finish the game, pick all of the gold up and use the confusion/teleportation method to teleport to level 0. > >What good is money besides buying stuff and raising your score? How >does it raise your score, do you have to have it on you when the game >ends? Nothing else. One point per gold piece (I think). Yes. > >What good are gems besides selling in shops and giving unicorns? They are also worth points if you are carrying them when you leave the dungeon. > >Are unicorns good for anything besides raising your luck? No, but that in itself is pretty good. Try throwing an identified, valuable gem at one sometime. > >How do you get close enough to a unicorn to give it a gem? I find them >to be much too elusive. You just have to keep trying. Being invisible helps. > >Why do wands of wishing not always work ("unfortunately, nothing happens")? >Does this have something to do with your luck? Yup. You must have killed a "d", "n", "u", or "@". > >What does the ring of stealth do? Causes monsters not to wake up unless kicked. > >What does the wand of cancellation do? Removes monster's magical properties. (e.g. A's sting, R's rusting ability) -- Ray Allen | "A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it." utcsri!ray | - Oscar Wilde as quoted in "Parachutes & Kisses" by Erica Jong
djb@rayssd.UUCP (Douglas J. Bonn, Esq.) (03/22/86)
From: falk@sun.uucp (Ed Falk) >Killer bees are also easy to deal with once you get the knack. If you >have strength over 18 or a potion of medicine ("makes you feel great" -- >what's it really called?), you can afford to tackle them briefly. The potion is called "Restore Strength". >...the first one by whatever means you have available and eat it. From >that point on, you'll be immune to poison. I've also eaten tainted >meat twice and lived; I ascribe this to the poison immunity acquired from >dead killer bees. Poison Resistance DOES NOT protect you from "Ulch! That meat was tainted!" (... 3 seconds later ...) "You die from food poisoning." You must have quaffed a potion of healing or extra- healing at those times. >Don't genocide the Wraiths either, they're good for experience points, >and they can't hurt you through an elven cloak anyway. Eating a wraith raises you one experience LEVEL, not experience point. It is the same as quaffing a raise level potion. A wraith can still drain your level even though you wear an elven cloak. The cloak protects your armor (and you) from rust and acid (R's and a's), and seems to be the armor first destroyed by the destroy armor scroll. >For safety, >I remove my gloves/helmet/shield when I'm ne[a]r [a Rust Monster] but >I've never actually had them corrode either while wearing a cloak. You may leave your gloves and shield on, for they do not rust. >Elven cloaks seem to protect me from Vampires, Wraiths, acid blobs, >Rust monsters and all of the other magic nasties down there. So let >these monsters alone. Same comment: a cloak is NO guarentee against level-draining undead! >Eating an Invisible stalker gives you intrinsic see-invisible, so you >can throw your see-invisible ring away. After that, they'll never be >a problem again. You must eat the invisible stalker corpse and while under its effect, quaff a potion of invisibility. This produces two effects: 1) you gain the "see invisible" ability, and 2) you yourself are now invisible w.r.t the monsters (ie: you can see yourself--I don't find that this helps much, though). >a: poisonous; rumored to give some sort of immunity to c's The legend states that while you are petrifying, eating an acid blob dissolves your stoniness. I have never tried this. >b: makes you sick >h: poisonous >k: poisonous; gives you poison immunity. >s: poisonous >x: makes you sick >A: makes you sick >K: makes you sick >S: poisonous? >V: makes you sick? Many of the "make you sick types" are merely poisonous if eaten. Poison resistance protects you. Killer bees and scorpions convey poison resistance. >d: edible True, but killing YOUR dog or any tame creature damages your luck. >E: makes you sick, gives you monster detection when blind The effect is called "telepathy". >P: edible? Yes. >R: makes you sick? >U: makes you sick? No. >Has anybody ever caught or killed a unicorn? What happens if you eat it? >What happens if you eat a dead nurse? >What happens if you eat a dead human? Your luck drops like a paralyzed falcon (you cannibal!). >A couple of people mentioned potions of speed and royal jelly as >safeguards against xans. How does this work? After croaking the beastie, quaff or eat the potion or the lump and "Your legs feel somewhat better now." >I wasn't paying much attention to the "stuck at level 29 or so" >discussion, and now I find I'm stuck there myself. My pick-axe won't get >through the floor, so how do I get down? Keep trying (usually the seventh hit or so makes some progress); OR use a wand of digging (ie: croak the minotar); OR wear teleport control ring, quaff potion of confusion, read scroll of teleportation (asking for level 40), and be fire resistant. >What if I can't find scrolls of teleportation? Each maze level has a wand of wishing on it. (Hint: ask for three diamonds as often as possible!) >If you go down by carving holes in the floor, how do you get back up? It will be obvious when you get there. >How do people cart so much stuff around? Somebody mentioned having >70,000 gold pieces. I never carry more than a few hundred. Gold "weighs" one encumbrance point for ever 500 pieces, rounded down. Therefore 999 gold weighs as much as one gem. Each piece of armor weighs 8 encumbrance (ie, plate, leather and gloves EACH weigh 8). Maybe you should throw away your shield and helmet and gloves and wear a +3 cloak to converse weight. >What good is money besides buying stuff and raising your score? How >does it raise your score, do you have to have it on you when the game ends? >Are unicorns good for anything besides raising your luck? No offense, but you have just proved wrong the old adage that there is no such thing as a stupid question. :-) >What good are gems besides selling in shops and giving [them to] unicorns? Try identifying one. If you get a diamond, it is worth 4000 gold pieces. You mentioned the guy carrying 70,000 gold (which weighs 140 encumbrance points). If he carried 140 diamonds instead, which weighs the same, he has a worth of 560,000 gold. >How do you get close enough to a unicorn to give it a gem? I find them >to be much too elusive. Keep trying. The better you luck, the more that they will "trust" you, and the closer they will get. I usually wait until one moves into my line of fire, and then throw a gem at it. >Why do wands of wishing not always work ("unfortunately, nothing happens")? >Does this have something to do with your luck? Yes, and it uses a charge from the wand, too. >What does the ring of stealth do? A ring of stealth makes you somewhat invisible to the monsters until they (finally) detect you. What does the wand of cancellation do? This wand removes the special powers of a creature. Dragons can't flame you, cocky's can't stone you, Rusty's can rust you, Ant's can't poison you, The Wizard can't blow you away with a blast of fire....etc. (I must know what I am talking about: look at my scores (hack 1.0.3): 860219 947 37 40 238 238 2201480 WM Oz,escaped (with amulet) 860211 947 36 40 120 120 1385062 KM Greyhawk,escaped (with amulet) 860111 947 1 39 140 140 955570 SM Dr_Jones,escaped (with amulet) 851212 947 1 39 124 124 784090 TM Pogo,escaped (with amulet) 860124 947 25 25 -6 92 61729 CM Greyhawk,demon 851202 947 39 39 -2 92 51374 FM Sysiphus,xorn ...and these ain't fakes, either.) -- Douglas J. Bonn ...!allegra! My opinions are *MY* Raytheon Company ...!raybed2!rayssd!djb opinions and are not Submarine Signal Division ...!brunix! necessarily those of 1847 West Main Road ...!linus! Mr. Raytheon or his Portsmouth, RI 02871-1087 401-847-8000 x 3991 henchmen. All this `dying to self' is KILLING me!
falk@sun.UUCP (03/24/86)
> > I've also eaten tainted > >meat twice and lived; I ascribe this to the poison immunity acquired from > >dead killer bees. > > Poison Resistance DOES NOT protect you from "Ulch! That meat > was tainted!" (... 3 seconds later ...) "You die from food > poisoning." You must have quaffed a potion of healing or extra- > healing at those times. You're right, I had. The very next game I was in after posting this poll I died from tainted meat. > >Eating an Invisible stalker gives you intrinsic see-invisible. > > You must eat the invisible stalker corpse and while under its > effect, quaff a potion of invisibility. This produces two > effects: 1) you gain the "see invisible" ability, and 2) you > yourself are now invisible w.r.t the monsters (ie: you can see > yourself--I don't find that this helps much, though). N.B.: You don't need the potion to obtain see-invisible, you only need it for effect #2. > >What good is money besides buying stuff and raising your score? How > >does it raise your score, do you have to have it on you when the game ends? > >Are unicorns good for anything besides raising your luck? > > No offense, but you have just proved wrong the old adage that there > is no such thing as a stupid question. :-) I didn't think those were dumb questions. I was already aware that having money added to your score when the game was over (1 point per gold piece). I was just wondering if you had to have it on you, or if just finding it gave you credit too (a'la Adventure). As for the unicorn, I have never attacked one or mollested one in any way (other than to throw gems). For all I know there might be other powers to unicorns. Some new questions: What makes you hungry? I know that there is a ring of hunger and I think that other rings make you hungry too. I also think that teleporting makes you hungry. Do all rings make you hungry or only some rings or only cursed rings or only rings of hunger? Does all teleportation make you hungry or do you get a free ride from teleport traps and scrolls? I have also heard that eating L/N/t gives you teleportation that doesn't use food. -ed falk, sun microsystems