Is stair scum diving legal? - Comp 61

[buzzkill]

In a competition based on XP/turn, is stair scum diving legal in this competition?

If you just stair scum 2 levels down, 1 level up, and repeat, you'll obviously get to the depth you want in a lot fewer turns than if you have to find a new down staircase on every level in order to descend.

It's better than recall, because you can go to precisely the level you would like (instead of your deepest dive), and maybe find a few items along the way.

It's better than recall, because you'll always be safely on a staircase. The turns you would normally wait for recall to kick in, could be used to stair scum to the level you'd like, so you really lose nothing.

[PowerDiver]

Anyone who wants to discourage stair-scumming should submit savefiles with disconnected stairs.

[Nick]

In a competition based on XP/turn, is stair scum diving legal in this competition?

Yep. Of course, you have to live with yourself

[buzzkill]

Anyone who wants to discourage stair-scumming should submit savefiles with disconnected stairs.

Indeed, I will play with disconnected stairs. I'd encourage others to do the same. It will make your victory that much more legitimate.

It's worth noting also, for those of you having trouble with the initial recall point, the auto-scum is turned on, and auto save is turned off (if you just downloaded the game), thus making the levels harder than normal. Maybe auto-scum explains all the death by hounds.

Can someone tell me what Harry's 3rd spell book will be, assuming that there is one and that he lives that long.

[Nick]

Can someone tell me what Harry's 3rd spell book will be, assuming that there is one and that he lives that long.

Mysteries of Angmar. One of my attempts found it, and it was massively useful until I threw the character away in an even more stupid way than usual.

[buzzkill]

Mysteries of Angmar. One of my attempts found it, and it was massively useful until I threw the character away in an even more stupid way than usual.

That sounds an awful lot like a tease, care to elaborate...

[buzzkill]

The Corvid of Shadow shrieks for help... Harry playing O110u wants to know...
Does it just wake monsters in the area or the entire level?
I thought (in FAA) it hasted enemies too, but it didn't seem to that this time, and the description isn't specific on what shrieking does.
----
Just one turn later this happened...
The Killer Red Beetle spits on you.
You are enveloped in flames.
Your Set of Steel Gauntlets {good} was destroyed.

Why did flames destroy my enchanted STEEL gauntlets?

[Narvius]

It did melt? Or bugs simply use some magic anti-steel fire?

[Nick]

That sounds an awful lot like a tease, care to elaborate...

Stayed in LoS of a Giant Paladin when I was low enough on HP to be killed by a curse, because I was low on healing potions and didn't want to teleport away and then come all the way back. Now you see why I didn't say before

[buzzkill]

Stayed in LoS of a Giant Paladin when I was low enough on HP to be killed by a curse, because I was low on healing potions and didn't want to teleport away and then come all the way back. Now you see why I didn't say before

Not bad. I just died because I willfully ignored (and when I say ignored, I mean ignored. I didn't realize how much damage he could do until the low hitpoint warning came on) the Corvid of Shadow attacking me, because I considered him to be the lesser threat. I had a plan to finish off the Chimera that I hand down to 30% HP before he breathed again and possibly destroyed my only WoR (and because he has worth like 300 XP). In the two or three turns it took me to finish the Chimera, the Corvid had me below 50% HP.

[Nick]

The Corvid of Shadow shrieks for help... Harry playing O110u wants to know...
Does it just wake monsters in the area or the entire level?
I thought (in FAA) it hasted enemies too, but it didn't seem to that this time, and the description isn't specific on what shrieking does.

It wakes up monsters in the local area, but doesn't haste them. If Harry is at 1800' without free action, this is bad. And yes, this did happen - he survived that time, but died to paralysis shortly after.

[buzzkill]

I noticed in one of my recent (now deceased) Harrys, that after a dive or two, I was only delivering 2 blows with my starting rapier. I wasn't slowed, or burdened, and even after dropping some stuff, I still only had 2 blows. All my equipment was ID'd, nothing was cursed, and only stat loss was 1 point of CON (15 instead of 16). I may have been wearing the Barbut of Wisdom, but I don't think that should matter.

I know that rapier usually deliver 3 blows, but I couldn't get it to do so this time. Info gathered from I)nspecting the weapon, not actual use. I ended up switching to a heavier 2 blow weapon. Does anybody have any idea what happened?

[Psi]

I noticed in one of my recent (now deceased) Harrys, that after a dive or two, I was only delivering 2 blows with my starting rapier. I wasn't slowed, or burdened, and even after dropping some stuff, I still only had 2 blows. All my equipment was ID'd, nothing was cursed, and only stat loss was 1 point of CON (15 instead of 16). I may have been wearing the Barbut of Wisdom, but I don't think that should matter.

I know that rapier usually deliver 3 blows, but I couldn't get it to do so this time. Info gathered from I)nspecting the weapon, not actual use. I ended up switching to a heavier 2 blow weapon. Does anybody have any idea what happened?

Number of blows is only dependent on STR, DEX and weight of weapon. If none of that has changed then something very strange has happened...

[buzzkill]

Stair-scum diving revisited

This is the last time I'm going to bitch about this... I promise.

Here's my proposed solution for stair scum diving, assuming that anyone agrees with me that it is a problem in the first place. And quite frankly, I wouldn't care either, if not for the competition ladder. Easy to understand, simple to implement and hard to argue with (hopefully). If you decide to continue down another level, then you don't get a stairway back up. In essence, dis-connected stairs, for that particular level, if you choose to descend the extra level. Choose whatever reality you'd like to accomplish this, 'you slide down a chute', 'you fall through a trap door', or simply 'the stairway collapses behind you'.

Alternatively, a stairway that you choose to take you down two levels, must then also take you up two levels. Something like 'This stairway continues upward for 100 feet. Are you sure (y/n)?'. If you would only like to ascend a single level, then you must find a different staircase.

If it's going to be left the way it is now, you might just as well turn it into an elevator and just have the player enter the dungeon level he'd like to arrive on.

[Pete Mack]

the invariant here is that any time you go up stairs, the same stairs down will take you only 1 level.