Share your memorably near-death experiences

[Mark]

So this thread isn't so much about sharing a time where you simply came close to dying; but those times where it was some odd twist or other than either landed you in grave danger, or rescued you!


To get the ball rolling, I found myself last night staring death in the face, although my HP never actually got low.

I was in a new-style room, with mini sub-rooms, each subroom was filled with potions. The room became filled with Hummerhorns; which breed, hit, and confuse. I did not have confusion resistance. I thought I had a potential cure - Mushroom of Fast Recovery - but I learnt that actually doesn't cure confusion

I had plenty of !CSW but no hope of escape, I couldn't reach the doors, I was getting 'more confused' every turn, I couldn't WOR, or cast spells... ...my HP fell slowly, and sooner or later I would run out of health potions.

What did I do:

• Drink a potion of speed - increasing the chance I could move into any empty spaces that opened up.
• Kept attacking/moving randomly, and got lucky that I 'escaped' into a side room.
• Closed the door (blessed doors!) No idea if I got lucky closing the door or if confusion doesn't inhibit that.
• Only had 1 Hummerhorns in the subroom with me, and it was only 3 spaces big, so I got the situation under control
• Hummerhorns can't open or bash doors! Thank goodness.

It was a strange feeling having recovered full health in that little 3x1 subroom; knowing if I walked out into the main room I was pretty much a dead dwarf, at the mercy of those little insects!

That's the first time speed + random movement and closed door has combined to save me!

What stories do you have?

[Timo Pietilä]

In NPP some monsters can teleport in your general direction.

So adventuring peacefully at about clvl 20 dlvl 20, *poof*, there's Vecna. More than twice my speed, insta-death capable undead with bazillion HP. No chance to kill it, escape I must. Teleport "OK, there's a GV", *poof*, Vecna, teleport "great there's stairs", *poof* Vecna, teleport, *poof* Vecna, teleport, stairs one grid away, Vecna, take risk and step to stairs. Escape. Not once did Vecna do anything else than move toward me. If he had chosen to cast a spell I would have been toast.

[Philip]

In O, every step in the dungeon can feel like that. Particularly on some of the themed levels. Moria is weak compared to the others, the worst you'll find is some of the nastier giants (no titans, fortunately), humans, humanoids and I think there are some nasty demons somewhere, sometimes. Still, I frequently found myself hoping to god that there wasn't a giant wherever I was teleporting to.

I also recall running a druid and being forced to blink without mana, hoping to god that there wouldn't be any orcs between where I landed and the stairs. There weren't, but I was still at single digit HP when I got down the stairs.

[tynan]

An Epic Battle against a Greek Titan (undecided)

Human Warrior. Dungeon level 39. Inside a Greater Vault. I had just had an undecided battle with Arien, Maia of the Sun whereby I had teleported her away after she roasted some of my equipment (and me as well!).
I rested against the granite wall that I would have to tunnel through to continue through the Vault, with permanent brown walls on either side of me. I felt there were superb treasures here, so I knew I must finish the vault before Recalling.
With health back at full, I tunneled through the next seal. And LO!! A colossal giant named Polyphemus of Greek legend approached me. A level 69 Unique on level 39! What the...?!
The Warrior in me suspected him to be purely melee, so I hoped there was a slim chance at defeating him, though it would cost me all of my potion resources. Wielding the scimitar 'Haradekket', I smite him multiple times and he is barely wounded...then he attacks back...and causes an earthquake! I had never seen this ability before. Many mighty creatures in the vault died around us, rubble strewn everywhere. I attack back and still not even a single star of damage taken away yet.
I managed to go toe to toe with this giant for only a few rounds, until the next attack caused the ceiling over my head to cave in, I was severely wounded, multiple hit point warnings. But he wasn't finished with his attacks yet, and he hit me two more times before the round was done. I had 5 hit points left. It was my turn. I teleported him away.
Is it common for Uniques to generate so far out of their depth?

[Thraalbee]

Vaults come with OOD monsters and treasure. Outside vaults and special rooms highly OOD monsters are far less common. Some summoning creatures and uniques can pull in a bunch of nasties rather quickly too, but you will usually be aware of this happening.

[Malak Darkhunter]

latest run in Sang, drank an unidentified potion from fundin bluecloak...turned out to be a potion of death, dropped all my stats down to their lowest levels, moved my hp to 0, description said that "you feel death flowing through you, but apparently you are fated for something else", Survived..guess I passed a saving throw.

[Timo Pietilä]

Is it common for Uniques to generate so far out of their depth?

Not common, but in greater vaults there are spots where monsters are created as if the spot would be 40 levels deeper and good object 20 levels deeper (guaranteed to be at least ego for weapons and armor). So just 30 levels OoD was ordinary for that kind of vaults.

[Ingwe Ingweron]

My level 40 dwarf paladin, Tarwe, fought and killed Ar-Pharazon on DL 99. While ransacking his corpse for anything useful, a Dracolisk came round the corner. Tarwe tried teleporting the interloper away, but failed! Draco promptly breathed Nexus, which was one of the few holes in Tarwe's resistances. Instantly, Tarwe was down to exactly 1 h.p.!

A secondary effect of that noxious breath was a teleport away, smack into a room with the Balrog of Moria! Luckily, the Balrog was asleep and Tarwe managed to slip out, cast a few healing spells, and then lured the Balrog into more favorable terrain for battle.

Both uniques dead, but it is the closest call I've ever had without getting the tombstone.