YASD - soooooo close!

[bebo]

A high elf ranger, character level 40, loitering at dlvl's 96-98 searching for artifacts and uniques to kill, already well kitted out - pretty much in a good place, right?

wrong

there is also the human factor - as murphy would be glad to point out

And once again the death of a very promising char (actually the most promising one since my only winner) is sealed by Huan, Wolfhound of the Valar
I made the mistake of resting a bit after teleporting him away, no double frost resistance, and i'm toast - pun intended -

Oh, well, on to tinkering with dwarf paladins again.

  [Angband 3.1.1 dev (r1359) Character Dump]

 Name   Raziel                                   Self  RB  CB  EB   Best
 Sex    Male         Age            108   STR! 18/100  +1  +2 +12 18/***
 Race   High-Elf     Height          83   INT:  18/10  +3  +2  +1  18/70
 Class  Ranger       Weight         195   WIS:  18/30  -1  +0  +8 18/100
 Title  Pathfinder   Social   Respected   DEX:  18/90  +3  +1  +9 18/***
 HP     -96/872      Maximize         Y   CON! 18/100  +1  +1  +8 18/200
 SP     82/90                             CHR:     18  +5  +1  +8 18/140


 Level               40   Armor   [59,+133]     Saving Throw         95%
 Cur Exp        2806944   Fight   (+43,+36)     Stealth           Superb
 Max Exp        2806944   Melee   (+58,+54)     Fighting          Heroic
 Adv Exp        2875000   Shoot   (+61,+18)     Shooting       Legendary
 MaxDepth   4900' (L98)   Blows      5/turn     Disarming            78%
 Turns           567825   Shots      3/turn     Magic Device      Heroic
 Gold            885759   Infra       70 ft     Perception        1 in 5
 Burden       308.4 lbs   Speed          13     Searching            42%

 You are the only child of a Telerin Ranger.  You have light grey eyes,
 straight black hair, and a fair complexion.



 Acid:......+.*.+.. Confu:.........+...
 Elec:......+...... Sound:........+....
 Fire:..*...+...... Shard:.......+.....
 Cold:......+...... Nexus:....+........
 Pois:....+........ Nethr:.............
 Fear:+.+.....+..+. Chaos:........+....
 Lite:............+ Disen:......+......
 Dark:......+...... S.Dig:..+..........
Blind:............. Feath:.............

PLite:.+........... Aggrv:.............
Regen:..+.......... Stea.:....+..+.....
Telep:..+.......... Sear.:....+........
Invis:+.+..+......+ Infra:....+.......+
FrAct:.++.....+.+.. Tunn.:.............
HLife:............. Speed:..+++......+.
ImpHP:............. Blows:.............
ImpSP:............. Shots:.............
 Fear:............. Might:.+...........


  [Last Messages]

> On the ground: a Short Sword (1d7) (+10,+7).
> You have 22 charges remaining.
> You have no room for a Halberd (3d5).
> On the ground: a Halberd (3d5) (+5,+9).
> You have 21 charges remaining.
> You have no room for a Heavy Crossbow (x4).
> You have no room for Leather Scale Mail [10].
> On the ground: Leather Scale Mail of Resist Acid (-1) [10,+20].
> You have 20 charges remaining.
> You sense the presence of traps!
> You sense the presence of doors and stairs!
> You sense the presence of objects!
> The Mithril Plate Mail of Celeborn has recharged.
> Huan, Wolfhound of the Valar breathes frost.
> You die.

Killed by Huan, Wolfhound of the Valar.

  [Character Equipment]

a) a Scythe of Slicing (Holy Avenger) (8d4) (+15,+18) [+1] (+4)
     +4 wisdom.
     Slays evil creatures, undead, demons.
     Provides resistance to fear.
     Sustains intelligence.
     Blessed by the gods.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.
     
     Combat info:
     5 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 104.2 vs. evil creatures, 127.6 vs. undead, 
     127.6 vs. demons, and 80.8 vs. others.
     
b) a Long Bow of Lothlorien (x3) (+18,+18) (+1)
     +1 dexterity, shooting power.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, fire.
     Prevents paralysis.
     
     Radius 1 light.
c) The Ring of Power 'Narya' (+6,+6) (+1) {!!}
     +1 strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution, 
     charisma, speed.
     Provides immunity to fire.
     Provides resistance to fire, fear.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains strength, constitution.
     Slows your metabolism.
     Speeds regeneration.
     Prevents paralysis.
     Grants telepathy.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.
     
     When activated, it grants you protection from evil for 1d25 plus 3 
     times your character level turns.
     Takes 673 to 1320 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
d) a Lapis Lazuli Ring of Speed (+11)
     +11 speed.
     
e) a Bronze Amulet of Trickery (+3)
     +3 dexterity, stealth, infravision, speed.
     +15% to searching.
     Provides resistance to poison, nexus.
     Sustains dexterity.
     
f) The Star of Elendil {!!}
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.
     
     When activated, it maps the area around you.
     Takes 168 to 330 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
     Radius 3 light.
g) The Mithril Plate Mail of Celeborn (-3) [35,+25] (+4) {!!}
     +4 strength, charisma.
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold, dark, 
     disenchantment.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
     When activated, it removes all non-unique monsters represented by 
     a chosen symbol from the level, dealing you damage in the process.
     Takes 1650 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
h) an Elven Cloak of Protection [6,+15] (+2 stealth)
     +2 stealth.
     Provides resistance to shards.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
i) The Small Metal Shield of Thorin [4,+25] (+4)
     +4 strength, constitution.
     Provides immunity to acid.
     Provides resistance to fear, sound, chaos.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Prevents paralysis.
     
j) The Metal Cap of Thengel [3,+12] (+3)
     +3 wisdom, charisma.
     Provides resistance to confusion.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
k) The Set of Caestus of Fingolfin (+10,+10) [5,+20] (+4) {!!}
     +4 dexterity.
     Provides resistance to acid.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Prevents paralysis.
     
     When activated, it fires a magical arrow with damage 150.
     Takes 102 to 198 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
l) The Pair of Steel Shod Boots of Thror [6,+20] (+3)
     +3 strength, constitution, speed.
     Provides resistance to fear.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     


  [Character Inventory]

a) 3 Books of Magic Spells [Magic for Beginners] {@m1@b1}
b) 3 Books of Magic Spells [Conjurings and Tricks] {@m2@b2}
c) 4 Books of Magic Spells [Incantations and Illusions] {@m3@b3}
d) 3 Books of Magic Spells [Sorcery and Evocations] {@m4@b4}
e) a Book of Magic Spells [Resistances of Scarabtarices] {@m5@b5}
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
f) a Book of Magic Spells [Mordenkainen's Escapes] {@m7@b7}
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
g) 13 Brown Potions of Cure Critical Wounds
     
h) 7 Scrolls titled "modabrum pior" of *Destruction* {!*}
i) 10 Cast Iron Rods of Treasure Location (6 charging) {@z1!!}
j) 4 Lead Rods of Healing {!!}
     Cannot be harmed by electricity.
     
k) 7 Mithril Rods of Teleport Other (1 charging) {!!}
l) a Zinc-Plated Rod of Recall {!*}
     Cannot be harmed by electricity.
     
m) 10 Zirconium Wands of Teleport Other (85 charges)
     
n) 6 Cottonwood Staves of *Destruction* (9 charges) {!*}
     
o) a Banyan Staff of Mapping (10 charges)
     
p) 2 Eucalyptus Staves of Banishment (3 charges) {!*}
     
q) 3 Hemlock Staves of Teleportation (22 charges) {!*}
     
r) 8 Mahogany Staves of Speed (1 charge) {!*}
     
s) 2 Hickory Staves of Identify (20 charges)
     
t) an Elven Cloak of Aman [6,+15] (+4 stealth)
     +4 stealth.
     Provides resistance to nexus.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
u) The Battle Axe of Balli Stonehand (3d8) (+8,+11) [+5] (+3)
     +3 strength, constitution, stealth.
     Slays demons, orcs, trolls.
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold, blindness.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Feather Falling.
     Speeds regeneration.
     Prevents paralysis.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.
     
     Combat info:
     5 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 93.9 vs. demons, 93.9 vs. orcs, 93.9 vs.
     trolls, and 63.6 vs. others.
     
v) 18 Arrows of Acid (1d4) (+10,+15)
     Branded with acid.
     Cannot be harmed by acid.
     
     Combat info:
     Hits targets up to 140 feet away.
     Average damage/round: 447.3 vs. creatures not resistant to acid, 
     and 149.1 vs. others.
     35% chance of breaking upon contact.
     
w) 22 Seeker Arrows (4d4) (+9,+6)
     Combat info:
     Hits targets up to 140 feet away.
     Average damage/round: 142.8.
     35% chance of breaking upon contact.
     


  [Home Inventory]

a) 5 Gold Speckled Potions of Healing {!*}
     
b) 3 Purple Speckled Potions of *Healing* {!*}
     It can be thrown at creatures with damaging effect.
     
c) 3 Metallic Blue Potions of Life {!*}
     It can be thrown at creatures with damaging effect.
     
d) 7 Cyan Potions of Restore Mana {!*}
e) a Lapis Lazuli Ring of Speed (+10)
     +10 speed.
     
f) an Opal Ring of Damage (+0,+13)
g) The Ring of Barahir (+1)
     +1 strength, intelligence, wisdom, dexterity, constitution, 
     charisma, stealth.
     Provides resistance to poison, dark.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
h) a Dragon Tooth Amulet of the Magi [+5] (+3)
     +3 intelligence.
     +15% to searching.
     Provides resistance to confusion.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains intelligence.
     Prevents paralysis.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.
     
i) an Agate Amulet of Weaponmastery (+4,+4) (+2)
     +2 strength.
     Provides resistance to fear, disenchantment.
     Sustains strength, constitution.
     Prevents paralysis.
     
j) The Amulet of Ingwe (+3) {!!}
     +3 intelligence, wisdom, charisma, infravision.
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, cold.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Prevents paralysis.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.
     
     When activated, it deals five times your level's damage to all evi
     l creatures that you can see.
     Takes 168 to 330 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
k) The Jewel 'Evenstar' (charging) {!!}
     Provides resistance to cold, dark.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains intelligence, wisdom, constitution.
     Stops experience drain.
     
     When activated, it restores your experience to full.
     Takes 495 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
l) The Palantir of Westernesse (+2) {!!}
     +2 intelligence, wisdom, infravision.
     +10% to searching.
     Provides resistance to blindness, chaos.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Grants telepathy.
     Grants the ability to see invisible things.
     Aggravates creatures nearby.
     Drains experience.
     
     When activated, it maps the entire level and detects objects, trap
     s, doors, and stairs.
     Takes 168 to 330 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
     Radius 3 light.
m) The Chain Mail of Arvedui (-2) [14,+15] (+2)
     +2 strength, charisma.
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold, shards, nexus.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
n) The Full Plate Armour of Isildur [26,+25] (+1)
     +1 constitution.
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold, confusion, 
     sound, nexus.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
o) The Hard Leather Armour of Himring [8,+15] {!!}
     Provides resistance to poison, nether, chaos.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
     When activated, it grants you protection from evil for 1d25 plus 3 
     times your character level turns.
     Takes 333 to 660 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
p) The Leather Shield of Celegorm [4,+20]
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, fire, cold, light, dark.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
q) The Mithril Shield of Gil-galad [10,+20] (+5) {!!}
     +5 wisdom, charisma.
     Provides resistance to acid, lightning, dark, disenchantment.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains wisdom, dexterity, charisma.
     
     When activated, it fires a line of light in all directions, each o
     ne causing 10d8 damage.
     Takes 330 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
     Radius 1 light.
r) The Hard Leather Cap of Thranduil [2,+10] (+2)
     +2 intelligence, wisdom.
     Provides resistance to blindness.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Grants telepathy.
     
s) a Pair of Steel Shod Boots of Speed [6,+15] (+6)
     +6 speed.
     
t) The Katana 'Aglarang' (8d4) (+8,+9) (+5)
     +5 dexterity, speed.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains dexterity.
     
     Combat info:
     5 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 67.4.
     
u) The Beaked Axe of Hurin (3d6) (+12,+15) (+2) {!!}
     +2 strength, constitution.
     Slays trolls, dragons.
     *Slays* demons.
     Branded with acid.
     Provides resistance to acid, fire, dark.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
     When activated, it puts you in a berserker rage for d50+50 turns.
     Takes 267 to 528 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
     Combat info:
     5 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 88.8 vs. trolls, 88.8 vs. dragons, 88.8 vs.
     creatures not resistant to acid, 112.5 vs. demons, and 65 vs.
     others.
     
     Radius 1 light.
v) The Beaked Axe of Theoden (2d6) (+8,+10) (+3) {!!}
     +3 wisdom, constitution.
     Slays dragons.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Slows your metabolism.
     Grants telepathy.
     
     When activated, it drains up to 120 hit points of life from a targ
     et creature.
     Takes 132 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
     Combat info:
     5 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 71.2 vs. dragons, and 55.4 vs. others.
     
w) The Pick of Erebor (3d4) (+5,+20) (+5)
     +5 strength, constitution, tunneling.
     Slays demons, orcs, trolls.
     Branded with acid.
     Provides resistance to light, dark, chaos.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     Sustains strength.
     
     Combat info:
     5 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 84.3 vs. demons, 84.3 vs. orcs, 84.3 vs.
     trolls, 84.3 vs. creatures not resistant to acid, and 67.3 vs.
     others.
     
     Radius 1 light.
x) The Mattock of Nain (2d8) (+12,+18) (+6 searching) {!!}
     +6 strength, infravision, tunneling.
     +30% to searching.
     Slays orcs, trolls, giants, dragons.
     Provides resistance to dark, disenchantment.
     Cannot be harmed by acid, electricity, fire, cold.
     
     When activated, it turns rock into mud.
     Takes 6 turns to recharge at your current speed.
     
     Combat info:
     5 blows/round.
     Average damage/round: 88.5 vs. orcs, 88.5 vs. trolls, 88.5 vs.
     giants, 88.5 vs. dragons, and 67.6 vs. others.
     


  [Options]

Maximize effect of race/class bonuses        : yes (adult_maximize)
Randomize some of the artifacts (beta)       : no  (adult_randarts)
Restrict the use of stairs/recall            : no  (adult_ironman)
Restrict the use of stores/home              : no  (adult_no_stores)
Restrict creation of artifacts               : no  (adult_no_artifacts)
Don't stack objects on the floor             : no  (adult_no_stacking)
Lose artifacts when leaving level            : no  (adult_no_preserve)
Don't generate connected stairs              : no  (adult_no_stairs)
Adult: Monsters chase current location       : yes (adult_ai_sound)
Adult: Monsters chase recent locations       : yes (adult_ai_smell)
Adult: Monsters act smarter in groups        : yes (adult_ai_packs)
Adult: Monsters learn from their mistakes    : no  (adult_ai_learn)
Adult: Monsters exploit players weaknesses   : no  (adult_ai_cheat)
Adult: Monsters behave more intelligently (broken): no  (adult_ai_smart)
Score: Peek into object creation             : no  (score_peek)
Score: Peek into monster creation            : no  (score_hear)
Score: Peek into dungeon creation            : no  (score_room)
Score: Peek into something else              : no  (score_xtra)
Score: Know complete monster info            : no  (score_know)
Score: Allow player to avoid death           : no  (score_live)

[Pete Mack]

Bummer. That pair of hounds (Huan & Carcharoth) are surprisingly dangerous.

[Zikke]

Wow you had a great kit for being level 40. I'm sorry to hear about the yasd.

I've never really gotten a ranger down to "end game" levels. I was too scared about the "missile management". Any pointers you may have to lessen that burden?

[bebo]

I don't really have that much experience with rangers, veteran players will have better insight for sure, but here are a few tips from personal experience:

- if you dive fast enough decent arrows won't be that plentiful, so don't squander, but they are not as scarce as many seem to believe (ie better be safe than sorry: use them and don't worry too much about depleting them)
- as a side note, don't count too much on tenser's; when i play rangers i never seem to find the damn book
- scrolls of detect treasure and later rods are the difference between life and death (as for all characters except rogues which have the spell); they directly translate to much better equipment at lower levels. This is particularly noticeable at char lvl 20 when you really need a good bow
- i also find mapping an invaluable tool in most cases; the predominant line of thought here on the board seems to be that it's useful mainly to reduce turn count; i don't believe this - i found out often enough it's a life saver, more than worth the inventory slot
- rings of escaping, especially around dlvl40 or so when you already have a decent shooter (hopefully) and good equip are godly: you can still shoot with them on, and if you wear two the malus don't stack
- intelligence is more important a stat than you might think; i always seem to lack sp's and have high failure rates at certain points in the game, especially when i equip heavy artifact armour for the resists

and, most importantly, don't rest after you teleport away a nasty unique (duh!)

[Dragonboneman]

- if you dive fast enough decent arrows won't be that plentiful, so don't squander, but they are not as scarce as many seem to believe (ie better be safe than sorry: use them and don't worry too much about depleting them)

In the main I agree with this, but would say Seekers Arrows of Acid should be stored until you fight Sauron while Seeker Arrows of Holy Might should be reserved for Morgoth.

[Zikke]

Do rangers melee very often? If I only shot arrows I would run out real fast with the 35% break rate... :-\

[Djabanete]

Do rangers melee very often? If I only shot arrows I would run out real fast with the 35% break rate... :-\

When I played a Ranger I used about 50/50 melee/ranged. I'd use ranged for when I had to be careful (hounds/uniques) and melee when it didn't matter so much. With that badass Scythe, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same for this guy.

[Pete Mack]

Do rangers melee very often? If I only shot arrows I would run out real fast with the 35% break rate... :-\

This depends entirely on playing style and your equipment. If you want to kill every monster, you will have to melee. If you are extremely choosy in what you kill, you can get by with archery alone. Of course, you can always melee weak mobs and hope for drops. But you can also kill very powerful monsters with essentially a starting kit. (An ordinary longbow is sufficient for Smaug, given double resist and a bottle of !speed. With branded arrows, he's an easy kill, at ~40*3*2 = 240 damage/turn.)

[PowerDiver]

You can mostly clear an orc or troll pit, maybe even worthwhile on a large group not in a pit, with a staff of dispel evil. One trick is to approach from the side opposite the door and use stone-to-mud to breach the moat. It may be necessary to burn a charge of speed to get into position before they annoy you and get out of the interior of the pit. You may only kill 90% with the dispels, but not too many arrows to finish the rest.

A bunch of orcs or trolls in a corridor are often susceptible to the lightning beam spell, which has great damage/mana [not wands or rods which throw bolts], and rods or wands of light beams.

It is annoying, but you can buy out the general store pretty cheaply to force a restock, so arrows are available in unlimited supply.