How I beat Sil

[Fendell Orcbane]

How I beat Sil….

I started out not knowing too much about Sil other than what I learned from the tutorial. So I didn’t know much about the monsters and what they could do to me. I also wasn’t sure about what abilities to take and what stats to boost. I will start out by saying that it seems to me that most players tend to use a smith/song slinger type build, or a stealth/melee build.

When I first started out with the game I had planned on using a song/melee based build. Sadly this did not work out too well for me. I’d find my self surrounded by orcs and while I might be able to repel them with Song of Elbereth, I would sooner or later encounter Snow Trolls or Wargs and I’d be made short work of.

Then I tried pumping up stealth which worked until I would be caught by Wargs…who I would not be able to fight.

With my character Gunar I finally hit upon the perfect template for a character that could avoid anything that he didn’t want to fight and yet be able to fight when he HAD to. Yet despite making it down to 950 ft. and having reasonable combat skills he died at the claws of a young fire drake. I did commit the sin of save scumming and so I was able to go down to the Throne Room.

And I’m very glad that I did because I had no idea of HOW I would get a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown and having gotten one how I could escape the retinue of Morgoth. SO after 5 death’s I figured out how to get a Silmaril off his crown and escape. Now that I knew what to do I was ready to put a character in the green.

After about ten or so different characters death’s I managed to get a character(Valgalien) to a point where he could survive the deeper levels of the Iron Hells. One of the things that I did with Gunar and with Valgalien was I boosted his Con at the expense of Str. I thought being able to survive a few more hits was more important than dishing out more damage.

I noticed in one of HallucinationMushrooms dumps that he was using charge to cause more damage…and once I tried it I was hooked. I also noticed that people were picking up sprinting. Sprinting is another key ability that enabled me to survive a bit longer. The next ability that I considered essential was Loremaster, because you can’t count on being able to find an ID staff and just quaffing potions is a waste. Plus you just have more choices in terms of gear to use without having to try stuff out. Sil isn’t very forgiving and the wrong choice often is the last one that you get to make.

From then on I focused on my Will ladder because you can survive more stuff if you can resist being confused,stunned and poisoned. I also choose Hardiness for the extra protection. Also Inner light is a great help, being able to see is really important as many monsters create shadows and make it really hard to hit them.

So at this point 500 ft down I finally invest some points into stealth and pick up Disguise. Although I have been basing my game around being stealthy I realized that I needed to get the essential abilities first and make do with stealth mode, light armour and whatever stealth items I could find. At this point in the game I have kept my options open on which abilities to invest exp. on . Often the magic items I have found will dictate what abilities I get first. I have also been investing in Melee and Evasion, because while I planned on avoiding the really hard fights I also realize that sometimes you will have to fight. Werewolves are really good at spotting you and Shadows are easy to walk into, so boosting Melee and especially Evasion is important. Another thing that I noticed is that Giants became a lot easier to fight because although they can hit hard they won’t hit often if your Evasion is high enough and they are easy to hit. Orcs are sort of like this, but they don’t tend to hit that hard.

So at this point I started focusing on getting my stealth high enough to buy a point of Dexterity. First though I needed Exchange. Exchange had saved me from a couple of tight spots and I consider it quite important. The next important ability was Vanish. Sprinting + Vanish can get you out of a lot of tight spots. Sprinting,Exchange and Vanish I would say were key to my escaping Angband with a Silmaril.

The next ability that I focused on getting was an extra point of Con. By now I think you can see that I tend to plan for the worse and so I like having as many extra HPs as possible. The next ability that I picked up was Assassination, because I thought it would help in the throne room.

For whatever reason I wasn’t able to have a nice stock pile of potions and so I reluctantly made my way to the throne room because I thought that it was possible that I might get caught in a tight spot that would waste my very limited supply of potions…and I didn’t need to hang around the throne room for much time anyway.
So down I went.
************ Spoiler Alert!!!!***********
For those of you who have not seen the Throne room yet…its scary. Because you have Troll guards and a Master Vampire at least right by the stairs…plus you can’t leave with out a Silmaril…..and the level doesn’t reset. So no room for mistakes here! Although I didn’t have a staff of revelation I knew what the layout was because I save scummed my last character. I know some people will whiny about it, but I’m too busy to lose a character and have to come all the way back until I figured out how to actually get a Silmaril from Morgoth. To me it was a time saver. Anyway, where was I …okay so I knew that layout and a staff of Foes let me know who was around. When I saw the list … I got scared all over again…Glaurung( next to Morgoth),Ungoliant ( on the right side next to the cat exit)Smaug,Lungorthin( top left side) and Ancalagon( top right side)

I tired making my way down the left hand shaft, but I couldn’t find the secret door and I didn’t want to risk using the staff of freedom I had, so I made my way in by the left hand main door. And then kept to the left and went down the left hand side. I might have knocked something out on the way down, but I probably didn’t want to take the risk. I then made it past Morgoth and into the bottom right chamber to see if I could get my hands on some of the loot in the room. After I got some advice from Scatha and HugotheGreat I decided against it. I’m not sure how getting Morgoths crown to fall off works but I used my axe of Nogrod and then used my potion of Strengt, my potion of Constitution ,my elemental resistance potion and one of the two potions of quickness I had left and knocked Morgoth’s crown off with my third shot. I then switched to Anguirel to remove the Silmaril which I was lucky enough to get off on the first try. I then equipped it since it’s the best light source in the game. Glaurung, entranced me but I snapped out of it quickly and switched to my helm of defiance. I then made my way to the left shaft and used my staff of freedom to open the secret door and I had to switch places on the exit. I might have used a healing potion or two to make good my escape ….but escape I did.

The run to the surface was rather uneventful because my stealth was high enough so that Morgoth never spotted me when we ended up in the same room. I tended to sneak around everything, I DID have to take on Dagorhir and friends…but by that point I got a Dragon horn longbow and I soften them up before I made short work of them with Anguirel.

Then at the gates I avoided the side rooms and went for the exit. Carcharoth didn’t see me but I wanted to kill at least one more unique before my exit, so I shoot him up and cut him down when he got in range…I did buff my Con one time before we fought. The fight was short and sweet and I just walked away with my Silmaril.

Here is the dump 
  [Sil 1.0.1 Character Dump]

 Name   Vangalien     Age    1,933       Str   5 =  1  +1      +3
 Sex    Male          Height   7'1       Dex   8 =  4          +4
 Race   Noldor        Weight   168       Con  10 =  6          +4
 House  Fingolfin                        Gra   2

 Game Turn   29,716   Melee  (+30,3d8)   Melee       30 = 16  +8  +5  +1
 Exp Pool       982   Bows  (+11,2d12)   Archery     11 =  0  +8  +2  +1
 Total Exp   74,182   Armor [+24,5-15]   Evasion     24 = 18  +8  -2
 Burden       113.9                      Stealth     23 = 11  +8  +4
 Max Burden   248.7   Health    37:123   Perception  10 =  8  +2
 Depth           0'   Voice      28:28   Will        18 = 12  +2  +3  +1
 Min Depth       0'                      Smithing     2 =  0  +2
 Light Radius     6                      Song         2 =  0  +2

 You are the only child of a warrior from the house of Fingolfin. You
 have light grey eyes, wavy brown hair, and a fair complexion.






  [Last Messages]

> You have been severly poisoned.
> You miss Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst.
> Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst misses you.
> You miss Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst.
> Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst bites you...
> You hit Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst.
> Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst misses you. <2x>
> You miss Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst.
> Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst bites you.
> You have been badly poisoned.
> You miss Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst.
> Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst bites you.
> You have been severly poisoned.
> You hit Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst!
> You have slain Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst.


  [Screenshot]

  .......
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  .~.@...
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  ..~~...
  ...~...


  [Equipment]

a) The Bastard Sword 'Anguirel' (+3,3d5) [+1] 5.0 lb
   It cuts easily through armour.  It increases your hunger.  It
   cannot be harmed by the elements.  It does extra damage when
   wielded with both hands.  
b) a Dragon-horn Longbow of Radiance (+0,2d7) [-1] 5.2 lb
   It fires shining arrows.  It can shoot arrows 20 squares
   (with your current strength).
c) an Onyx Ring of Protection [+0,1d2]
d) a Bloodstone Ring of Accuracy (+2)
e) a Ruby Amulet of Constitution <+0>
   It increases your constitution by 0.  It sustains your 
   constitution.  
f) a Silmaril
   It sustains your grace.  It grants you the ability to see
   invisible creatures.  It cannot be harmed by the elements.  
g) Studded Leather of Stealth [-2,1d5] <+3>
   It improves your stealth by 3.  
h) a Shadow Cloak [+2] <+2>
   It improves your stealth by 2.  It creates an unnatural
   darkness.  
i) (nothing)
j) a Great Helm of Defiance [-2,1d3] <+3>
   It improves your will by 3.  It provides resistance to fear.  
   
k) a Set of Leather Gloves of Power <+1>
   It increases your strength by 1.  
l) a Pair of Leather Boots of Softest Tread [+0,1d2] <+1>
   It improves your stealth by 1.  
m) 48 Arrows of Piercing
   They cut easily through armour.  They can be shot 20 squares
   (with your current strength and bow).
n) 52 Arrows (+3)
   They can be shot 20 squares (with your current strength and bow).


  [Inventory]

a) 8 Pale Herbs of Rage
b) a Black Herb of Healing
c) a Wrinkled Herb of Restoration
d) 2 Clear Potions of Miruvor
e) 2 Murky Brown Potions of Orcish Liquor
f) 3 Pale Green Potions of Healing
g) a Green Potion of Quickness
h) a Sparkling Blue Potion of Dexterity
i) a Golden Trumpet of Blasting
j) an Ebony Staff of Freedom (4 charges)
k) an Oak Staff of Light (6 charges)
l) a Golden Staff of Foes (2 charges)
m) a Mahogany Staff of Majesty (7 charges)
n) an Emerald Ring of Warmth
   It provides resistance to cold.  
o) a Round Shield of Frost [+0,1d4]
   It provides resistance to fire.  
p) a Crown of True Sight <+3>
   It improves your perception by 3.  It provides resistance to 
   blindness and hallucination.  It grants you the ability to
   see invisible creatures.  It cannot be harmed by the
   elements.  
q) a Greatsword of Brilliance (-2,3d5) [+1] 7.3 lb
   It lights the dungeon around you.  It requires both hands to
   wield it properly.  
r) a Mithril Longsword (Vampiric) (+1,2d5) [+1] 2.2 lb
   It drains life from your enemies.  It increases your hunger.  
   It cannot be harmed by the elements.  
s) The Great Axe of Nogrod (-4,4d5) <+1> 11.0 lb
   It increases your strength by 1.  It slays orcs, trolls, and 
   raukar.  It provides resistance to fire.  It cannot be harmed
   by the elements.  It requires both hands to wield it
   properly.  
t) a Shovel (-3,3d1) <+1> 6.5 lb
   It improves your tunneling by 1.  It requires both hands to
   wield it properly.  


  [Notes]

Vangalien of the Noldor
Entered Angband on 15 Feb 2012

    Turn     Depth    Note

     555    100 ft    (Charge)
   1,317    150 ft    (Dodging)
   2,022    200 ft    (Lore-Keeper)
   3,340    250 ft    Slew Gorgol, the Butcher
   4,048    300 ft    (Sprinting)
   5,724    350 ft    (Lore-Master)
   6,382    350 ft    (Clarity)
   6,919    400 ft    (Inner Light)
   7,865    400 ft    (Hardiness)
   8,597    500 ft    (Poison Resistance)
   8,862    500 ft    (Disguise)
  10,906    450 ft    (Keen Senses)
  12,074    550 ft    Slew Uldor, the Accursed
  12,985    550 ft    Slew Gilim, the Giant of Eruman
  13,627    600 ft    (Finesse)
  14,269    600 ft    (Follow-Through)
  16,355    700 ft    (Exchange Places)
  17,428    750 ft    (Vanish)
  18,409    750 ft    Found The Longsword 'Orcrist'
  19,869    750 ft    Found The Bastard Sword 'Anguirel'
  20,152    800 ft    (Dexterity)
  22,516    950 ft    (Constitution)
  23,487    950 ft    (Assassination)
  24,659    900 ft    (Critical Resistance)
  24,811    900 ft    Found The Great Axe of Nogrod
  25,526  1,000 ft    Entered Morgoth's throne room
  25,715  1,000 ft    Found The Massive Iron Crown of Morgoth
  25,720  1,000 ft    Cut a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown
  25,721  1,000 ft    Found The Massive Iron Crown of Morgoth
  26,068    900 ft    (Whirlwind Attack)
  26,689    900 ft    Slew Dagorhir, the Elfbane
  29,638     Gates    Entered The Gates of Angband
  29,704     Gates    Slew Carcharoth, the Jaws of Thirst

  29,715     Gates    You escaped the Iron Hells on 18 February 2012.
  29,715     Gates    You brought back a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown!




  ['Score' 041170284]

BTW I forgot what tags to get the scrolling dump display...let me know and I'll edit this.

[HugoVirtuoso]

Great write-up of your Sil experience! Definitely an inspiration to future Sil players!

[Fendell Orcbane]

Great write-up of your Sil experience! Definitely an inspiration to future Sil players!

Thanks! I just wish that some one like Psi would write up their experience. And I hope that you do as soon as you get a character in the green....which should be soon.

[Psi]

Thanks! I just wish that some one like Psi would write up their experience.

The character notes give a lot of insight into playstyle and I also put interesting situations in the dump comments. Was there anything else in particular you were after? I've only played smith characters so far, so don't have that wide an experience of the game.

[Fendell Orcbane]

The character notes give a lot of insight into playstyle and I also put interesting situations in the dump comments. Was there anything else in particular you were after? I've only played smith characters so far, so don't have that wide an experience of the game.

Not really...I just think it would be cool for things to be collected in one place with your over all observations of the game. But I have been looking at your dumps : ) I think its cool that you have managed to actually damage let alone kill Morgoth...I don't think I've ever gotten him down past a star : (

BTW do you know the tags for putting character dumps in these entries?

[debo]

Not really...I just think it would be cool for things to be collected in one place with your over all observations of the game. But I have been looking at your dumps : ) I think its cool that you have managed to actually damage let alone kill Morgoth...I don't think I've ever gotten him down past a star : (

BTW do you know the tags for putting character dumps in these entries?

Put CODE tags around your character sheet text. In the post editor, there's a button that has a # symbol on it -- that will generate the tags for you, just like QUOTE tags.

Anything in code blocks displays as fixed-width font

And in this forum, it makes a little scrolly-box for it if the text is long.

[Fendell Orcbane]

Put CODE tags around your character sheet text. In the post editor, there's a button that has a # symbol on it -- that will generate the tags for you, just like QUOTE tags.

Anything in code blocks displays as fixed-width font

And in this forum, it makes a little scrolly-box for it if the text is long.

Thanks! fixed it !

[Fendell Orcbane]

I've played around with the Throne room some more and I guess I was lucky to make it out the first time. It seems like Morgoth won't drop the crown if you are surrounded. I also got killed by Morgoth at 950ft once because I couldn't escape him and he kept creating earthquakes...Basically I'm looking for the perfect way to knock the crown off of Morgoth's head...because the sooner you do that the better your odds of making it out of the throne room...at least for this type of character. I'm probably gonna try a song/fighter combo next.