Trying out this whole "dive" technique

[Jungle_Boy]

I have the same experience myself. I successfully dive down to a depth I haven't spent much time in and think "Wow, let's see what kind of gear monsters will drop here," or, "I'd better slow down a minute and get my bearings before moving on."

Invariably this means testing your mettle against an unknown baddie who will end up being more than your match. It seems safer in general to tackle things that you meet about 800-1000' deeper than the first time you met them. In any case you're bound to screw up and die, though. That's why Angband has such a bigger learning curve than, say, Nethack. I managed to beat Nethack after only about six weeks of playing (and it was my first roguelike), because once you reach a certain point in the game you can tackle anything. Not so with Angband. I've been on Angband for about 9 months now and I still consider myself something of a neophyte. One of those "easy to learn, difficult to master" things, I suppose.

Also, one of the biggest advantages, IMO, of diving is getting past 1000-2000' will thin out the hounds quite a bit which is quite nice.

I've been playing Angband and before that Rogue for well over a decade and still have not had a winner. So yea, easy to learn difficult to master probably fits. Also from the one character I've had that got to Morgy, if I remember right there are hounds all the way down.

[Donald Jonker]

Also from the one character I've had that got to Morgy, if I remember right there are hounds all the way down.

There are, but there seems to be a stunning profusion of them, especially fire and water hounds at ~1500' (before and after). I frequently have trouble keeping my cash flow in the black at that depth just because I get blasted to hell and back on what seems like every level...and that's using every possible escape to get away from them. Maybe it just seems like there are more of them since hounds at other depths don't hurt your inventory so badly.

edited for orthography.

[Nile]

I know it seems to be recommended that the armor is unimportant

Unimportant only in the sense that everything else is more important. If you get hit with a melee attack, your AC straight up reduces the damage you take.

Each of my wizards did meet an untimely demise - 2 from running into Mughash and his cronies and once from being surrounded by hill orcs. This second one, I didn't have the second book (it wasn't in the shop), and when I did a phase door, I landed next to a floating eye, who paralyzed me and well, I got brutalized from there...

As a mage, these situations should never happen. Cast detect monsters like crazy (remember, monsters can spawn after you start exploring the level) and always have a safe escape route planned back to the stairs. When I say "safe escape route" I mean a route that doesn't require you to pass through or by a room full of sleeping monsters. If you are fighting monsters that shoot (kobold archers), make sure your escape route is not through big open rooms or you will be pelted. When I explore on early levels, I first go one direction away from the stairs, then retrace my steps and go a different way, so I'm never far from the stairs.

My biggest challenge right now is learning to run away - something I am simply not accustomed to doing.

That's the key to the game - knowing when to run and when to fight. If things are not looking good - retreat. There's nothing to be gained by dying, and anything you might have gained from fighting you can find another time. Always remind yourself of that, especially when taking on vaults.

[starstealer]

Here's my first character to bother putting on the ladder. He's nothing special yet and somehow I managed to pick up enough stuff to start that I'm apparently running at -1 speed (Large Metal shield and Tulwar are both equipment I picked up in my recent dive - so I'll exchange the shield for a lighter one).

The only thing of note that I've gotten so far is a Potion of Charisma on level 4 of the dungeon. Other than that its been a pretty uneventful foray. Hopefully he'll continue on well enough in the next few days.

[Pete Mack]

you might want to go without a shield at all until you get more strength or find one with some resistance. BTW: to count as a dive, I always assume that CL<<DL. By CL 12 that means DL 20, with plans to kill young dragons asap. Mage really is a tough character for a newbie. Rogue, warrior, or ranger are much easier starting classes.

[PowerDiver]

Rogue, warrior, or ranger are much easier starting classes.

Besides rogue warrior and ranger, the other classes in V that are easier than a mage for novice diving are priest and paladin.

[Tenka]

Biggles the Gnomish Mage (Sorcery, Chaos) preparing to dive, Sir!

Never done much diving, never played a Gnome or a mage.

I feel this is going to go really well.

>Those bandits nevar knew what hit them!...Fer' real probably..a Gnome is an odd sight to behold.