Sky's Checklist Pt. 8 - Half-Troll

[Pete Mack]

Bow of power is only an issue of you find it really early. Rather than nerf it, perhaps make it a bit deeper? It's suitable for around DL 25.

[tangar]

yep, I mean exactly that by current nerf. Also I raised it price to 4500. But actually I think all dices and probabilities for ranged ego weapons should be revamped completely in future.

[Sky]

there are several considerations to make.

First - it heavily depends if you play with or without selling. You can test this yourself, but going on "shopping trips" to the dungeon at DL <20 can net you a great deal of money; and once you start finding armors of resistance, you practically have a limitless supply of gold.
AND you don't have to kill anything. Useful for classes that have utility spells but lack in damage.

Second - the armorer and the weaponsmith both occasionally offer deep drops, for *very* little money. 25k gold for boots of elvenkind +9 is nothing, and 14k for gloves of thievery is also nothing. If you find a longbow of extra shots, you can easily enchant it to +10,+10 (higher becomes harder with normal Enchant scrolls). a CL20 ranger with a bow of +1 shots already deals the same damage that a warrior deals in melee, with a depth-appropriate ideal setup.

Obviously the ranger needs to watch his arrows, which is, so to speak, the "downside" of that class.

You cannot really factor in artifact bows, because there is no telling what you'll get out of a randart set. I've had randart sets with no rNether, no ESP. I've had rangers with only randart slings, not a single bow. (yeah, you can use a lothlorien, but you need to be DL90+ to find one)
And then i've had randart sets with a 7d9 weapon and +3 offhand blows.
I recall one randart set that i had actually found, and i had a crossbow randart x5, a ring of +2 shots, and a armor of +2 shots. It was i think a priest, and i didn't use them even though the damage would have been obscene, but out of principle.

.. on a final note, it's not a rose garden for rangers either; i recall a game, a couple years ago, where i had a super-kitted out ranger, and i was just cleaning house on the uniques, when i got into a fight with some fire breathers and lost ALL my arrows. Think, 160-odd seekers of slay evil or wounding, and lost nearly all of them, 120+, to fire. (i don't let that happen anymore)

[Sky]

on a side note, i lost two more mages.

one, to a super-successful Priest that managed to pull of two superb Cause Wounds spells in a row
and another to a black wraith after i recalled into a level where i was surrounded by mobs both in my recall spot and in both sides of the map for TS. I even used my !Mana and CCW. Eventually the wraith cornered me and i only had the option to melee it, and it didn't go well.

[Pete Mack]

But what do you *do* with all that gold? I'd rather use valuable inventory slots for things I actually might use.

[Sky]

But what do you *do* with all that gold? I'd rather use valuable inventory slots for things I actually might use.

Sound like you play a lot of iron man. I just recall and sell stuff.

I won't lie, i've risked more than once, by dropping stuff - spellbooks, phase scrolls - that i need, to carry more loot, and i've hardly ever died because of it.
Sometimes i did die. Upsides, downsides.

.. look, it's compulsive. I'm from old skool AD&D and i cannot leave good loot on the floor.

In regards to your question "what do you do with the money", the truth is that money is:
1. very useful before CL30
2. in some fairly rare occasions, useful also after CL30
3. but often completely useless after CL30

Early on, it allows you to buy stuff that is either far beyond your current depth, or stuff that is really convenient to have; potions of Heal and *Heal, Speed, good quality ammo, the ever so useful rings of STR and INT, rods of treasure / mapping and occasionally TO, even spellbooks.
Normally, this stuff comes from the Black Market, but - rarely - from the armourer / weaponsmith. These two will also sell key gear such as gloves of FA, helms of INT or Seeing, but they cost little and yes, you'll find them in the dungeon, but it's nice to have FA right away.

Now, sometimes, you'll find good but expensive stuff in the BM: Ethereal Openings, wands and rods of TO, potions of Exp, AUG, and obviously the most popular - stat increase potions. A single AUG is 150k, which is a lot of money, but generally still doable.
You can also find .. well, anything. But there's stuff in the BM that can really turn things around for a early-midgame character.

Now, once you get past CL30, you start finding a whole lot of useless weapon artifacts .. think "sword 2d6 +10 slay trolls" which you know will never be used for anything - so the money starts piling up. And more often than not, the BM will not stock anything useful to a high level character.

But .. occasionally. I've bough Kelek's (90k gold IIRC), ring of damage +15, boots of elvenkind (50k), weapons / armor with ESP, AUGs, Exp (75k), all stuff that's always good to have and expensive enough that carrying back all those Dwarven Plate really does make a difference.


Anyway; it's a game. You can play any way you want, really. People who can't be bothered with buying / selling, it's fine, you're not missing much.

[Sky]

... and, dead again.

recall to dungeon, im right next to a dragon. i phase, detect, and immediately get assaulted by the 3 trolls uniques.
I teleport, and i find myself in a room full of undead and a mage that can blind me. I teleport again - must have played 6 turn - and find myself face to face with the balrog of moria. I manage to TO him away (39% fail), when a 11 headed hydra breathes on me.

Shame. i won't get to play with this:

the Mace of Disruption 'Mithalda' (11d8) (+11,+12)
--------------------------------------------------
Slays undead, trolls, animals.
Provides resistance to disenchantment.
Cannot be harmed by acid, fire.

[Estie]

No more waltzing Mithalda for me.

[Sky]

erp ..

Wrath Of God is a cool 270.000 gold from BM.

[Estie]

erp ..

Wrath Of God is a cool 270.000 gold from BM.

Well, if you have it already, you wont buy it, if you dont have it and dont have the money, you wont buy it either, if you dont have it and have the money youll buy it of course. Not really any interesting choices to make.

[tangar]

the Mace of Disruption 'Mithalda' (11d8) (+11,+12)
--------------------------------------------------
Slays undead, trolls, animals.
Provides resistance to disenchantment.
Cannot be harmed by acid, fire.

Inspired for some poetry:

Slays undead, trolls and animals,
Disenchantment won't prevail!
Can't be rusted, can't be fired,
Help kill dragons for scale mail!

[Nick]

No more waltzing Mithalda for me.

This means you're basically an honorary Australian.

[Pete Mack]

There's an idea: Ozband! But with Bunyips instead of Wicked Witches....

[Estie]

This means you're basically an honorary Australian.

Why thank you!

[Sky]

congratulations on your new citizenship. i hear they are doing well down under.