Mage characters

[Derakon]

I know in D&D 3e mages can use hand crossbows as a way to give them something to do when they aren't actively casting spells, which is often. You generally don't want a character that alternates between "amazingly useful" and "twiddling his thumbs" because that means the player controlling him/her will be bored half the time.

[buzzkill]

I'd say bows yes, shields/helms/gauntlets/boots of leather (and wicker shields) but not metal. :-)

I'd take issue with the bow. Back in my AD&D days, I don't recall every character carrying a bow. Though not specifically prohibited (I think), I don't recall mages normally having one.

[Chud]

Can you use shields? Helms? Gauntlets? Boots? A bow?

I'd say bows yes, shields/helms/gauntlets/boots of leather (and wicker shields) but not metal. :-)

[Derakon]

Can you use shields? Helms? Gauntlets? Boots? A bow?

PowerDiver's won with an ego-less mage, and this would be easier, so yes, you'd be able to win...but you might have to be tediously cautious to avoid death depending on how stringent your restrictions are. The big stuff you need to cover are speed, CON, FA/SI, and the basic 4 resistances; after that, get as much INT as possible (for killing general enemies) and load up on Annihilation wands (for killing Sauron and Morgoth).

[Chud]

How difficult would it be to play a "voluntary challenge mage" - stick to the traditional restrictions on magic-users from old-school D&D: no metal armor (or robes only, if one wanted to really be challenged), and you can only wield daggers. Is there enough usable equipment with those restrictions to still be doable?

[Knight]

That's fine, it's probably for the best anyhow. I'll enjoy them more when I'm not dying every other turn.

Aha, thanks very much for the information on the macros, that will really come in handy!

Haha, on the clvl 33 rogue I started yesterday, I have everything you mentioned but magic shield, and I'll get that the next clvl.

[Djabanete]

Hmm, after reading the article Djabanete provided and hearing some other stuff from around the forum, I think mages are still a bit too advanced for me. However, I still want a magic-wielding character, so I created a high-elf rogue and I'm pretty happy with the combination of magical arsenal and weapons he's got. Leveled him up to clvl 28 (that means 'character level', no?), perhaps I'll post a progress report in the AAR forum and upload him to the ladder.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to discourage you

Gnome Mages and High-Elf Mages are quite approachable --- what you want to do is start with 18/50 intelligence. Magic Missile kills just about everything. The main thing that takes diligence --- and it's not a question of super expert skills --- is remembering always to use Detect Monsters to scope out the danger and Phase Door to make sure nothing ever touches you. Mages with 18/50 can cruise along quite comfortably using 7 spells --- Magic Missile, Detect Monsters, Detect Traps, Light Area, Phase Door, Teleport Self, and Identify. All you have to do is this:

Shoot the bad guys until you have to bail out. Bail out. Rest and come back. Shoot more. Repeat until there are no more bad guys. Long before you are deep enough for this process to stop working, you will have a good grasp of the basics

That said, best of luck with the Rogue --- all classes are very enjoyable

@Derakon: Ah, thanks.

@debo: Yeah, I definitely agree that the high-elf rogue is pretty easy to play, even for a newb like me. :P

@will_asher: Yeah, I'm pretty much spamming the detection spell.

Could somebody please explain how macros work? Is it linking a key to an action so you can do it quickly? I have a feeling that that would be very useful in terms of spellcasting.

Yup, exactly.

(A) Go to "=" menu.
(B) Choose "interact with macros" (or something).
(C) Choose "new macro".
(D) Enter the keystroke that will become a shortcut. Choose a key you don't already use.
(E) Enter the sequence of keystrokes you're currently using.
(F) Press $ to terminate the sequence.
(G) Save it. You're done!

I usually set TAB to rest fully, 1 to "shoot nearest monster", 2 to "detect evil/monsters", 3 to "detect traps/doors", 4 to "light area". Here is an example.

For "Magic Missile nearest bad dude", set the key of your choice to: " maa*t " without the quotes. Now suppose the book moves around in your inventory. Inscribe your book ( "{" ) with "@m1" (without the quotes). That inscription means "for the purpose of macros, this item is always "1" when using the "m" command, that is, casting spells." So with that inscription and the macro "m1a*t", you can spend the whole game turning the nearest orc into a smoking crater with just a single keypress.

Edit: When playing a mage I usually set 7 to "Identify" or sometimes "Identify what's on the floor at my feet." The numbering is idiosyncratic because this whole system is a relic of the ad-hoc system I used for my first ever winner and the muscle memory is built in now! I had things set to 5, 6, and 8, but most of my characters aren't good enough to have Resistance, Haste and Magic Shield.

[Knight]

@Derakon: Ah, thanks.

@debo: Yeah, I definitely agree that the high-elf rogue is pretty easy to play, even for a newb like me. :P

@will_asher: Yeah, I'm pretty much spamming the detection spell.

Could somebody please explain how macros work? Is it linking a key to an action so you can do it quickly? I have a feeling that that would be very useful in terms of spellcasting.

[will_asher]

Being a recent newbie to the game, I believe that High-Elf Rogue is the most newbie-friendly character.

Paladins are terrible starter characters IMO because their healing and their utility spells suck in the early game, and you're constantly waking up everything around you...

When I was a noob I thought paladins were the most noobie friendly character, they seemed like it cause they're tough fighters and they're healing spells are actually the second best of any class (CLW is by no mean insignificant when you have it as a low level, low-cost spell). But I was wrong. The problem with paladins is that their good fighting and low stealth encouranges the bad habits of not carefully choosing your fights and not running away when you need to.

Now I agree the rogue is best. Playing rogues is more likely to encourage good habits like detecting often and choosing your fights.

[debo]

Being a recent newbie to the game, I believe that High-Elf Rogue is the most newbie-friendly character.

Paladins are terrible starter characters IMO because their healing and their utility spells suck in the early game, and you're constantly waking up everything around you. With a Rogue, you get to pick and choose your battles a lot more, and your initial utility spells are incredibly helpful in comparison.

Rangers are tedious because of the ranged-play, and I think a newbie is likely to lose patience and melee something he shouldn't be meleeing because of it.

My 2 cents.

(Also, my third cent is that a mage is definitely NOT a newbie-friendly character )

[Derakon]

Yep, clvl is character level, dlvl is dungeon level, mlvl is monster level. I guess olvl would be object level but I don't think I've seen anyone use that.

Rogues are a decent introduction to spellcasting since they still have excellent melee. Rangers are more fragile and have weaker melee, but significantly stronger missile and spellcasting abilities. Paladins, IIRC, are basically holy rogues with bad stealth.

[Knight]

Hmm, after reading the article Djabanete provided and hearing some other stuff from around the forum, I think mages are still a bit too advanced for me. However, I still want a magic-wielding character, so I created a high-elf rogue and I'm pretty happy with the combination of magical arsenal and weapons he's got. Leveled him up to clvl 28 (that means 'character level', no?), perhaps I'll post a progress report in the AAR forum and upload him to the ladder.

[Max Stats]

Rest often to get yourself to full mana.

If you don't have a "rest until healed" keymap ('R&[Enter]' or 'R&\r' under the old system), now is the time to create one. Bind it to an easy to access key, like Tab. Then use it. Lots.

[PowerWyrm]

I'd like to play a mage character, but I'm completely unfamiliar with them. I've always played warrior/fighter characters, but I'm slowly learning that you can't bash through every sticky situation at > DL50. What are some tips on playing mage characters? Do any particular race(s) lend themselves more to mage characters?

Check this for starting tips: http://www.mangband.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1307

[Timo Pietilä]

undead are suseptible to fire as well

Not all of them are. Some of them are hurt by fire more than usual, but most just don't resist it, and some high-level ones do resist fire.

It's not very "clean" system, there are exceptions.

Almost all demons don't resist cold but do resist fire and almost all undeads don't resist fire but resist cold.

Anything that breathes something also resists that same thing.

Best is Acid: almost nothing is naturally resistant to it (oddly all yeeks are). Almost all elementals, all mobile eyes, mobile jellies and multihued things resist it, most of the rest don't.

Second best is Electricity. There is almost as many monsters that resist both fire and cold as there are monsters that resist electricity. For counting pure resists Elec and Acid are tied, but difference is that many high-level uniques are not resistant to acid while they are to electricity.

If there is no indication of elemental connection in monster description chances are that acid or electricity works against it.